Chapter 44

The completion of the mural attracted more and more people who enjoyed taking walks in that area.

Shi Tingyu’s reputation also spread throughout the residential compound.

Nowadays, as she walked down the street, people would occasionally greet her.

Shi Tingyu was a bit bewildered; many of these people she didn’t know, so she just smiled stiffly in response.

Principal Ren was worried that the mural might accidentally get dirtied, so he drew a line one meter away from the wall, forbidding people from getting too close. He also instructed students and guards to supervise and take care of it more.

As a result, parents who liked to stroll near the wall were cautioned sternly by their children at home:

“Don’t get close to the mural.”

“Don’t throw trash near the mural.”

If they delayed the school’s bid for the most beautiful campus, they would be the culprits of the military district.

With such a stern warning, the parents could only nod in agreement.

Not only did people in the military district know about this, but even the neighboring Weapons Research Institute heard about it.

One day, technician Wei Jian in the research institute heard about this.

He sighed, “It seems Xiao Yu is doing well at school. It’s good to see that she can settle down in the countryside with Professor Shi.”

Next to him, Professor Li sighed but said nothing.

Wei Jian glanced at him and stopped talking, continuing to check the data on hand.

After work, Shi Tingyu was cooking with Lu Weiguo when someone knocked on their door.

Lu Weiguo raised an eyebrow. Who would visit at this hour?

He opened the courtyard gate and saw a man carrying canned goods and powdered milk.

The man was about the same age as him, slightly shorter but about 1.8 meters tall, wearing glasses, a shirt, and trousers, looking polite and cultured.

Upon seeing Lu Weiguo, he seemed surprised by his appearance and instinctively took a step back.

“You are?” Lu Weiguo asked.

Wei Jian realized his earlier behavior was impolite. He stepped forward somewhat embarrassedly and said, “Excuse me, is this Shi Tingyu’s house? I’m her friend, Wei Jian. I had some free time today, so I came to see her.”

Upon hearing Shi Tingyu’s name, Lu Weiguo became cautious. “Are you from the military district?”

If he wasn’t from the military district, the sentries wouldn’t have let him through without verifying his identity.

Wei Jian felt Lu Weiguo’s scrutiny but honestly replied, “I’m a technician at the Weapons Research Institute. I used to be in Professor Shi’s team.”

Lu Weiguo narrowed his eyes slightly and then let him in.

Shi Tingyu happened to come out of the kitchen and saw the man following Lu Weiguo.

But she didn’t recognize him at first.

Wei Jian spoke first, “Xiao Yu, don’t you remember me? I’m Big Brother Wei, a researcher in Professor Shi’s team.”

Shi Tingyu furrowed her brow, thinking hard before recalling him from deep memory.

Indeed, he was from her father’s team. They had met a couple of times before, but she wondered why he had come this time.

She smiled at Wei Jian and said, “So you’re Big Brother Wei! Long time no see. Come on in.”

With that, she nudged the somewhat distracted man beside her since she called him Big Brother Wei, “Weiguo, entertain the guest first. I’ll cook some dishes, so let’s have dinner together tonight, Big Brother Wei.”

Wei Jian handed the items to Lu Weiguo and scratched his head awkwardly. “It’s okay; I just wanted to see how you’re doing, if there’s anything I can help with. Dinner… dinner isn’t necessary.”

With such a generous gift at this time, Shi Tingyu couldn’t just let him go.

“Weiguo, please take Big Brother Wei inside first,” Shi Tingyu said, turning to Wei Jian, “Big Brother Wei, I’ll cook quickly. Let’s have dinner together tonight no matter what.”

Finally, Wei Jian followed Lu Weiguo into the house.

Inside, the two men sat quietly. Neither was particularly talkative, exchanging only a few words in half a day.

The atmosphere only brightened up again when Shi Tingyu brought the food over.

Seeing Shi Tingyu’s smiling face, fair complexion, and healthy appearance, Wei Jian knew she must be doing well and felt relieved.

He sighed, “I’m glad to see you’re doing well. Professor Shi took good care of me before, so seeing you doing well makes me happy for Professor Shi too.”

Shi Tingyu’s eyes darkened. Her own days were fine now, but she didn’t know how her parents were doing.

They had just been relocated not long ago, and she didn’t feel it was appropriate to write them now. Bits of information could only be known when Lu Weiguo called home.

Seeing Shi Tingyu like this, Wei Jian finally realized, “Xiao Yu, don’t think too much. Things will gradually get better.”

Shi Tingyu sighed, then smiled and called out, “We must be hungry now, let’s eat quickly.”

Her cooking skills were as good as ever, which surprised Wei Jian. Were Shi Tingyu’s cooking skills always this good?

He had heard Shi Qian mention that his daughter could cook, but he never knew she was this good at it.

At the dinner table, Wei Jian’s praise flowed freely, as if it cost nothing. What surprised Shi Tingyu more was that he didn’t seem afraid of Lu Weiguo, and in their conversation, he expressed considerable admiration for Lu Weiguo.

If it weren’t for Lu Weiguo’s naturally cold demeanor, after a meal, they might have become good friends.

After dinner, Wei Jian didn’t stay long and left.

Lu Weiguo finished washing the dishes and looked at Shi Tingyu. “Wei Jian seems to be very good to you, specifically coming to see you.”

Shi Tingyu looked up at him and said, “I didn’t expect him to come either. We’ve only met a few times. Maybe he came out of respect for my father, since they worked together.”

Lu Weiguo frowned slightly. “He’s very close to your father? Even closer than your father is to Professor Li?”

Shi Tingyu paused, unsure. “I don’t think so…?”

Her father and Professor Li were not only neighbors but also colleagues. They had lived in the residential compound since returning to China, and their relationship was exceptionally good.

She thought Wei Jian’s relationship with her father couldn’t be that close.

Lu Weiguo said, “Could he have some ulterior motive towards you?”

Otherwise, with such a good relationship, why hadn’t Professor Li come to see her? Yet Wei Jian had. It felt like there was more to his visit than met the eye.

Shi Tingyu lightly punched his arm and rolled her eyes, unable to help but tease, “What nonsense are you talking about?”

Lu Weiguo chuckled at her playful jab. “Alright, my bad. I was just speculating.”

Shi Tingyu didn’t dwell on this issue.

It was probably just her father’s colleague paying a visit. After this visit, he probably wouldn’t come again, especially since their family had been relocated. Not many people would want to maintain such relationships.

Later on, Wei Jian came a few more times, just dropping by without staying for meals, and eventually, he didn’t come again.

One day, on her way home from work, Shi Tingyu heard many people discussing the promotion of Captain Chen Qiang from the Third Battalion.

Specifically, it was said that Captain Chen was called in for a physical examination yesterday.

In the military district, a physical examination was no small matter because promotions and appointments required a physical examination beforehand.

Usually, such news wouldn’t spread so widely, so Shi Tingyu was certain it wasn’t leaked by Captain Chen Qiang or his wife.

As the wife of the Third Battalion Captain, Liu Xiaohong usually got along well with her, but she hadn’t mentioned anything. There was also no joyous expression on her face.

Moreover, making such matters widely known wasn’t a good idea.

If something went wrong, Captain Chen’s promotion could be jeopardized.

However, Shi Tingyu didn’t know that this matter would also involve her in the future.