The next day, Chen Lina paid close attention, and sure enough, Nie Weimin’s candies were indeed for Chen Tiantian.

The little girl didn’t hold back at all, tossing piece after piece into her mouth.

Even the rare, round chocolate ball disappeared with a single bite.

Watching her eat was a true pleasure.

“Comrade Chen, have you heard? That Sun Xia’ai took Liu Xiaohong to the clinic in the mining area, then ran off herself, leaving Liu Xiaohong at the hospital until Qin Sheng brought her back. I heard our Armed Forces Department is now looking everywhere for her,” Sister Wang said, knitting a sweater for Chen Tiantian.

“She ran away? How could Qin Sheng just let her go without handing her over to the Armed Forces? How did she get away?” Chen Lina paused, knowing that Nie Bozhao had long suspected Sun Xia’ai of being a true Soviet infiltrator.

“In my opinion, good riddance. She was a terrible stepmother, always hitting the child. Better off gone,” Sister Wang said.

When she got home, Chen Lina felt sorry for little Liu Xiaohong.

She filled a big bowl with freshly fried dough fritters, added a large pile of crispy twists on top, and personally took them to the Liu family’s door.

The room was cold and dark.

The little girl was squatting by herself, trying to light a fire and cook.

When she saw Chen Lina bringing the fritters, she insisted on giving her a big orange in return.

Poor children grow up fast.

Girls her age should still be acting spoiled in their mothers’ arms, like Chen Tiantian.

That day, Engineer Nie was still working overtime. In the sixth-floor lab, large film reels were running through the projector as Student Xiao Zhu copied notes attentively.

Seeing Engineer Nie doing calculations on the blackboard, he said, “Teacher, when you’re done, can we watch a movie tonight?”

“Yes, let’s sneak in a movie! I want to see Five Golden Flowers. Just thinking about Wang Jinhua makes me feel like I’m in love,” said Xiao Wang, the film operator.

Comrade Nie snorted. “These films were obtained at great risk from Soviet scientists. If you’re not careful and scratch even a little, you’re out of my lab tomorrow.”

The students exchanged a playful look. “But a cozy movie night would be so much better than the outdoor square, especially after months of hard work, don’t you think, Teacher?”

“Don’t even think about it,” Comrade Nie said, without a hint of warmth.

That evening, Chen Lina made arrangements for Nie Weimin and his two brothers to stay at Engineer Chen’s house, claiming she had to visit relatives.

But Er Dan complained, “Dad, aren’t they supposed to be showing a movie tonight? The projector team hasn’t left.”

Engineer Qian, standing outside, chimed in, “The team’s vehicle is still here. Why isn’t there a movie? Can someone ask them what’s going on?”

“Yeah, I heard they weren’t leaving and got excited all evening,” said Lü Fangfang, dragging her son along.

Nie Bozhao stayed calm, stopping for a moment to explain, “The projector team stayed because the screen is needed elsewhere. But there’s definitely no movie tonight, so everyone should go back home.”

Even Chen Lina was curious.

Everyone was straining their necks toward the square, waiting for a movie.

How could Nie Bozhao be so certain there wouldn’t be one?

At the base building, the main building of the compound, Chen Lina felt uneasy as they walked down the dark hallways.

She instinctively held the man’s hand.

He pulled out a flashlight and led her up five flights, stopping at a large iron door on the sixth floor—the door to his lab.

Only he, certain leaders of the base, and his students had access to it.

Oil refining is like nuclear science; while the world’s great powers forged paths in advanced labs with the finest equipment, the Republic’s scientists, on the harsh, dusty frontier, struggled forward with only limited knowledge and resources.

Nie Bozhao stopped at the door, saying, “If you were truly a Soviet infiltrator, I’d be guilty as charged. But I’m certain you’re not.”

She really was, perhaps, just a “little princess” who had taken a few wrong turns.

“Comrade Nie, you actually brought me to your lab? That’s out of character for you,” she said, knowing him to be a man who kept his private and professional lives separate.

“Didn’t you want a little romance?” he replied.

“I was only joking! Are you planning to lock me up for questioning?” she asked, feeling slightly nervous in the empty hallway.

To her surprise, the sixth floor had a large meeting room, equipped with a ping-pong table and a basketball hoop.

She had thought life in his lab was dull, but it looked quite lively.

Suddenly, with a flick, the lights dimmed.

A classic film screen appeared on the wall.

It was a movie.

For someone raised on outdoor movies, there was always something thrilling about the creaky sound of the film rolling.

She dropped into a seat, the reel’s familiar hum blending with a recognizable melody.

“Casablanca?” It was her favorite movie.

Nie Bozhao had the reel ready, and the projector whirred to life.

“Did the apricot tree branch in your past life like this movie too?” he asked playfully.

“If you want to call yourself that, I won’t object,” she replied with a smile.

While the entire base’s families craned their necks at the square, he had set up a private screening of Casablanca, just for the two of them.

Awkward as he could be, it seemed he knew how to be romantic after all.

The classic Warner Bros.

logo appears, in black and white, and the nostalgic movie soundtrack starts playing.

“Comrade Nie, how did you manage to get this screen and projector? You know the kids outside are eagerly waiting for a movie.”

“I need it for my research work, so I brought it up,” Nie Bozhao replied dismissively. “It’s freezing out on the small plaza. If the kids watch there, they’ll all catch colds tomorrow. Better if they just go to bed.”

“You’re abusing your power for personal gain,” she teased.

“Do you like it?” His voice turned suddenly husky.

With his good looks and scholarly charm, Chen Lina’s heart nearly leaped out of her chest.

“But isn’t this decadent capitalist trash? Weren’t these films all burned during the Four Olds campaign?”

She was genuinely worried.

In this environment, if someone caught them watching a romantic movie like this, they’d likely be sent down to the cowshed the next day.

“My mother loved this movie dearly. She kept this reel hidden away herself.

Though she was a revolutionary too, before the Liberation, she was the daughter of a prominent Beijing family.

During the ’66 campaign to root out the Four Olds, she turned in everything else, but she couldn’t bear to give up this reel.”

The wars hadn’t defeated her, nor had the work of building a new nation.

But to protect two reels of film, she was finally broken.

“I’ve seen photos of my mother-in-law; she was an outstanding woman. With such a remarkable mother-in-law, how could I, Chen Lina, fall short…” That was why she wanted to be the director of the farm.

“Did that peach tree in your last life tell you all of this?”

…

“I object. He wasn’t me. I believe in Marx and Lenin, not reincarnation. The first time I watched this film, it was with a critical eye. I don’t deny the greatness of love, but I believe that patriotism is more important in every sense.”

“That’s why you’re not as good as he was. He once told me that I was his only joy. Before he met me, his life was full of loss, and I was the only gain he ever had.”

“Comrade Chen, I’m begging you not to go on. Jealousy drives people mad, and I can’t even hit him.”

“But he never showed me this reel, nor mentioned that he had such a precious film collection.”

Comrade Nie’s pride was immediately soothed, and he naturally took Comrade Xiao Chen’s hand.

Both sat upright in their liberation uniforms, watching the shocking movie together with a critical eye.

On the screen, Rick and Ilsa were meeting at the train station, planning to leave Casablanca the next day.

Ilsa was pleading with Rick: “Kiss me as if it were the last time.”

Chen Lina had seen this many times and knew that Ilsa’s request was because she would never show up and would not leave with Rick.

A classic movie seems to hold sway over emotions, no matter how many times you watch it.

Right now, her heart felt like it was shattering.

Suddenly, she felt warmth on her neck as he turned and kissed her, capturing her lips, prying them open, and invading deeply.

His kiss was long and lingering, intense and profound—not frantic, but powerful.

Alright, even across two lifetimes, his kissing skills were beyond reproach.

The light and shadows on the screen kept changing as the movie played: “In Casablanca, I love you more and more each day, as time goes by…”

Dazed from the kiss, Chen Lina felt like she was in a trance.

This was romance, even more so than in her last life.

Suddenly, she grabbed his warm, rough hand and held it tightly. “Comrade Nie, I didn’t expect to give up my first night here. Last time was already too hasty. I won’t do it again this time.”

Nie Bozhao lifted his head, and they were face to face, just like the protagonists in the film.

With her full lips, clear eyes, and soft curls, she was even more beautiful and enchanting than Ingrid Bergman on screen.

“This is my lab. Absolutely not—don’t even think about it,” he said righteously, though, to him, nothing was more sacred than the lab.