Chapter 77

Chengzi received the drawing but didn’t immediately show it to Wang Ming. Instead, he looked at it himself, while his peripheral vision stayed on Wang Ming.

As soon as the young soldier entered with the drawing, Wang Ming’s body tensed up, completely different from his earlier indifferent state. Previously seemingly at ease, he now focused intensely on the drawing.

Seeing this, Chengzi understood.

He said, “You seem eager to see this.”

Wang Ming lowered his eyes, staring at his own fingers. “You’re imagining things.”

Seeing Wang Ming’s reaction, Shi Tingyu also understood.

Wang Ming’s actions were typical of someone avoiding emotions; he might not be ready to face what was coming next.

Chengzi turned the drawing towards Wang Ming. “This person should be the one you mentioned, the one whose mouth you couldn’t clearly see.”

Wang Ming’s eyelashes trembled slightly. Slowly lifting his eyes, the simple black-and-white composition of the drawing seemed to enter his pupils like a beam of light, causing his pupils to involuntarily contract.

At that moment, Wang Ming’s internal state could only be described as shocked.

He hadn’t said much. His descriptions had been vague, yet why could they draw this so accurately?

Only someone who had seen the real person could know how closely the drawing resembled them.

He didn’t know where things had gone wrong.

Could someone else have given them away?

No, that couldn’t be! They were the only point of contact; how could anyone else know?

Wang Ming remained silent for a long moment. Chengzi said, “You seem quite surprised. It looks like this drawing is quite accurate.”

Wang Ming forced calmness, scoffing, “I don’t understand what you’re saying. How could anyone draw someone they’ve never seen? I just think it’s a nice drawing, but it’s impossible.”

Chengzi chuckled lightly. “Haven’t you noticed you’ve been talking a lot today?”

Normally, he kept his answers brief. This time, he spoke unusually much.

Wang Ming’s face twisted momentarily, then quickly returned to calm. He refused to speak further no matter what Chengzi asked.

But it was enough.

Without Shi Tingyu needing to say a word, Captain Zhao, standing by the glass, could tell from his expression that the drawing was spot-on.

Shi Tingyu stepped down from the stack of red bricks by the door.

Captain Zhao looked at her with a smile. “Xiaoshi, thanks to you this time, you’ll get credit when we catch the person.”

Shi Tingyu modestly replied, “It’s what I should do.”

Captain Zhao felt even more that Lu Weiguo had married well.

Back then, they had worried a lot about Lu Weiguo’s marriage.

Lu Weiguo was such a good person, but those female comrades seemed to focus only on appearance.

The key was that Lu Weiguo didn’t care much either. Initially, many people’s first impression of him was fierce, but if he had been a bit more proactive, things might have worked out.

But as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait.

This time, they had really caught a good one with that young man.

Xiaoshi’s appearance was undeniable, an absolute gem of the family quarters—talented and with good character. It could only be said that heaven favored the simple-minded.

Lu Weiguo, feeling amused by the comments: …

Amid Captain Zhao’s paternal smile, Shi Tingyu left. She returned to Instructor Lü to continue training.

…

As August 1st approached, the atmosphere in the camp became lively.

After training, soldiers usually felt exhausted, but now everyone was smiling, walking with renewed vigor.

In addition to training, soldiers also found time to rehearse performances.

Yes, on the festival day, the performances were not just by the cultural troupe but also by the soldiers.

Soldiers from all over were talented; many could play musical instruments and sing. During festivals, they were exceptionally lively.

During this period, whenever Lu Weiguo returned home, he wore a faint smile.

Clearly, he was also happy about the festival.

Shi Tingyu thought about preparing a small gift for him when the time came. Life needed a bit of ceremony.

But before the gift was ready, Lu Weiguo pestered her to design a wall poster.

On the eve of the festival, they were to put up a special holiday wall poster.

The soldiers in the camp highly praised the murals Shi Tingyu had previously created for the elementary school. This time, they rallied around and asked Lu Weiguo to learn from his sister-in-law.

They weren’t unreasonable; they didn’t insist on Shi Tingyu helping with the wall poster, they just wanted her to provide some inspiration.

Shi Tingyu came out with a piece of paper, quickly sketched out some blocks, and said, “You can find someone in your camp who can write and draw to fill in some camp-themed designs in these blank spaces.”

Lu Weiguo nodded.

In just over ten minutes, Shi Tingyu filled the paper.

Lu Weiguo stared at her delicate and fair hands, feeling a bit amazed.

The pen in her hand seemed to obey her completely; even simple strokes were difficult for others to imitate.

Shi Tingyu said, “You can fill in the text content inside yourselves.”

Lu Weiguo acknowledged and confidently went to the camp with the paper.

When the soldiers saw the manuscript, their confidence soared. They were sure their camp would lead in the August 1st wall poster competition.

Soon, August 1st arrived.

The entire camp was decorated with red banners fluttering in the wind.

August 1st was a day without training tasks. After breakfast in the morning, Lu Weiguo went to the camp for a meeting.

It was a commemorative ceremony for the festival.

After the morning meeting, the camp organized tug-of-war and basketball games.

These events allowed family members from the residential area to participate.

The children were thrilled.

Shi Tingyu went to the camp with Mrs. Zhang and Damao.

From afar, she saw Lu Weiguo waiting for her at the camp gate.

Mrs. Zhang teasingly glanced at Shi Tingyu. “Alright, Xiao Lu is here to pick you up. Hurry over.”

Shi Tingyu didn’t hesitate and jogged towards Lu Weiguo.

Lu Weiguo nodded at Mrs. Zhang and, taking Shi Tingyu’s hand, they went inside.

It was Shi Tingyu’s first time participating in a festival event, and she enjoyed the atmosphere here.

Everyone was warm and welcoming. Almost everyone in the First Battalion knew her, and whenever they saw her, they would cheerfully call her “sister-in-law.”

Those black-red faces were festive to look at.

Originally, Lu Weiguo wasn’t supposed to participate in the tug-of-war, but he couldn’t resist the cheers from his brothers in the camp.

Lu Weiguo glanced at Shi Tingyu. “Should I join?”

“Go ahead, I’ll cheer you on.”

Suddenly motivated, Lu Weiguo took off his neatly pressed jacket and handed it to Shi Tingyu. “Darling, hold this for me.”

Seeing Lu Weiguo stepping up, someone quickly called over their Battalion commander.

Coincidentally, it was their neighbor, Battalion Commander Zhang Jin.

The two stood there—one almost six feet tall and the other about five feet eight.

The soldiers from the Second Battalion were unsure whether having their Battalion commander join was a good or bad thing.

But Damao, seeing his dad stepping up, shouted excitedly, “Dad, go for it!”