Chapter 18 – The Female Supporting Character in the Confession Book

Zhang Xiuying’s description left Wen Xin momentarily stunned. “Mom, although he’s a bit fairer than most soldiers, he’s not exactly a little white face. We have several people in our unit who are even fairer than him.”

Zhang Xiuying made a face full of disdain. “How is he not a little white faced? Your father is the most handsome man. Neither of your brothers can compare to him. As for men, they should be a bit darker to look better. Besides, his face is even more handsome than yours. If he wore a skirt, he might even be prettier than you.”

In these times, people didn’t have much awareness about skincare. Wen Yuejun, after years of sun and wind, had skin as dark as Lin Jianzhang’s. As Wen Yuejun grew older, wrinkles also appeared on his face.

Wen Xin was unintentionally shown her parents’ love, and then she immediately heard Zhang Xiuying’s words about Gu Xiuping, saying that if he wore women’s clothing, he would be even more beautiful than her.

She was completely influenced by Zhang Xiuying. Unconsciously, she began to imagine what Gu Xiuping would look like in women’s clothing, and then she felt completely in a daze.

Zhang Xiuying wasn’t done speaking yet.

“You said that young man is from Yanjing. Oh, that’s the capital, a big city! We come from this poor, remote place, so of course, they would look down on us. Your second sister-in-law, she married into the county town, but she’s always been bullied by her in-laws. They talk down on us, saying we’re from the countryside, dirty and unclean. Every time she comes home, she ends up crying to your aunt.”

Zhang Xiuying was talking about the second daughter of the Zhang family, who was good-looking and married into the county town. At the time of her marriage, everyone was so happy, but in just two or three years, she aged drastically. She was only twenty-three or twenty-four, but looked like she was in her thirties or forties.

Every time she came back home, both mother and daughter had red eyes. At that time, Zhang Xiuying swore that she would never let her daughter marry up in the world.

There was no girl who didn’t suffer when marrying up. It was said that even the second sister-in-law was beaten by her husband and in-laws.

“Ah, Mom, it’s too early to be talking about this, the marriage hasn’t even begun.” Wen Xin said, resting her head on Zhang Xiuying’s shoulder.

Zhang Xiuying patted her daughter’s hand. “Just remember what I said, alright? A girl can’t marry too far. If you marry someone nearby, and he bullies you, your dad, your brothers, and I can go over there and deal with it. But if you marry far away, what can I do besides cry with you?”

Wen Xin felt the deep love Zhang Xiuying had for her daughter, and it filled her heart with sweetness. She affectionately rubbed her face against Zhang Xiuying’s. “I understand, Mom.”

Zhang Xiuying was satisfied. “Don’t just understand, remember it. By the way, we have some glutinous rice flour at home, and I noticed it might go bad, so I thought of making some tangyuan. Do you want some?”

Wen Xin nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, yes, yes.”

Zhang Xiuying went to the kitchen and made a large pot of tangyuan. Each person in the family got a bowl, with white sugar in it. It was sweet, soft, chewy, and not too greasy. After finishing the tangyuan, everyone went back to their own business.

Zhang Xiuying returned to the room and whispered with Wen Yuejun. Every now and then, Wen Yuejun chimed in with a few words. After the morning’s reasoning, Wen Yuejun had learned his lesson.

When it came to her daughter’s lifelong matters, Zhang Xiuying’s word was final, though her ideas were clearly not her daughter’s ideas.

Wen Yuejun thought being a soldier was a good choice. Being a bit fairer or more handsome didn’t matter at all. His daughter wasn’t bad-looking either, and if both parents were good-looking, their grandson would surely be even more handsome.

Unfortunately, his wife wasn’t clever enough to think of it this way. As for the idea of marrying far away, Wen Yuejun didn’t see it as a problem. His daughter would be going off to college next year, becoming a proud college student, and wouldn’t that also mean she would have to go far? It was pretty much the same as getting married.

To take it a step further, if his daughter really got married and was bullied, Wen Yuejun would give his all to seek justice for her. He wasn’t one of those men who would let their daughter suffer for the sake of saving face.

Wen Yuejun’s lack of objection pleased Zhang Xiuying greatly. She felt that her husband was in full agreement with her, and as a result, she became exceptionally gentle that day.

Wen Yuejun wasn’t quite used to it, feeling uncomfortable all over, as though something was amiss.

Finally, that night, when Zhang Xiuying softly asked if he wanted his feet washed, Wen Yuejun teased her. Zhang Xiuying’s facade of gentleness shattered, and she immediately exploded, firing a rapid barrage of words at him like a machine gun.

Wen Yuejun felt a sense of relief, and as he lay in bed, his body felt completely at ease. In no time, he was snoring.

That night, Wen Xin wrote a letter to Gu Xiuping, including her mother’s evaluation of him. She laughed as she wrote, and by the time she finished, she couldn’t stop smiling.

The next day, when she went to send the letter, she thought about its contents again and imagined Gu Xiuping’s expression upon receiving it. Wen Xin couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

Gu Xiuping, upon receiving the letter, was completely shocked.

Just then, Ge Futinglai happened to come by for a visit. Gu Xiuping pushed Ge Futinglai down onto his bed. “Old Ge, come here, take a look at me. Do I look like a little white face?”

Ge Futinglai was momentarily confused by Gu Xiuping’s actions. Hearing his question, he rolled his eyes. “Don’t you know whether you have a little white face or not? Who in the whole unit is whiter than you, except those two pigs raised in the Kitchen Unit?”

“I just don’t understand. We all have the same training, the same sun exposure, so why can’t I tan?” Ge Futinglai’s frustration showed. Thinking about how his fiancée had asked why Gu Xiuping was so white and he was so dark made him even more upset.

Why did young girls today like men who were so pale? His fiancée was one of them. Even his sister’s boyfriend was pale and weak-looking, not at all heroic. Ge Futinglai refused to admit that he was jealous.

Gu Xiuping felt a jolt in his heart and muttered to himself: “Yeah, we all have the same training, so why can’t I tan?”

To Ge Futinglai, this sounded like an outright display of showing off, and his fist clenched in response.

Gu Xiuping had his neck squeezed by Ge Futinglai and was taken out for some physical exercise. After the workout, he returned to the dormitory, and his mind wandered back to his future mother-in-law’s comment that he would look prettier than Wen Xin if he wore women’s clothing. He couldn’t help but wrap a blanket around himself.

When he realized what he was doing, he quickly tossed the blanket away, as though it had burned him. He collapsed onto the bed and let out a long, dramatic groan.

After a while, he got up and began writing a letter to Wen Xin. In the letter, he explained, somewhat pitifully, that his inability to tan was due to genetics. He had inherited it from his father, who also couldn’t tan no matter what.

As for wearing women’s clothing, Gu Xiuping chose to conveniently forget about it.

After all, he had lived for twenty-six years without ever wearing women’s clothing, and he had no intention of doing so in the decades to come. He didn’t care if it looked good or not, how could he possibly know?

At the end of the letter, he subtly praised Wen Xin’s appearance, hinting that since both her parents were good-looking, their children would surely be attractive as well.

The next day, when Wen Xin received the letter, it was already Sunday, so she didn’t respond.

On Sunday, after having breakfast, Wen Xin left the house. She had already informed her parents that she was going to the bookstore to gather some materials.

Before she left in the morning, Zhang Xiuying gave her three yuan for buying books.

Gu Xiuping left the house before seven. He ran to the place where he and Wen Xin had agreed to meet, and not long after, Wen Xin arrived.

Gu Xiuping intentionally didn’t ride his bike, so Wen Xin sat on the back seat.

The road to the county town was a gravel road, worn down by years of use, so it wasn’t smooth. Potholes were common along the way.

After the first time he accidentally rode into a pothole and was unexpectedly hugged by Wen Xin around the waist, it seemed like Gu Xiuping had a realization.

He deliberately steered toward the potholes.

As a result, Wen Xin’s hands never left his waist for the rest of the ride.

It took about an hour to cycle from the village to the county town. From a distance, Gu Xiuping could already see the county town, and he regretted that the road wasn’t a bit longer. He should have ridden more slowly.

Wen Xin, on the other hand, finally relaxed. After being jostled for so long, no one could tolerate it. By the end of the journey, she felt like her body was about to fall apart.

The county town was much larger than the village, with several two-story buildings, and the bookstore and cinema were all located in the central area of the county town, which was the most prosperous district. Following their plan, they went to the bookstore first.

The bookstore was right next to the state-owned shop, a small storefront with a cashier sitting behind the counter, reading a book. Back in those days, bookstores didn’t have many books, and there weren’t many people inside. Wen Xin casually browsed through the shelves, buying some books she needed. When she spotted a chemistry book, she bought it as well. Gu Xiuping didn’t have anything he needed to buy, so he just followed her around.

Seeing the book she bought, he was surprised. “Comrade Wen, are you very interested in chemistry?”

Wen Xin shook her head. Compared to chemistry, she was more fond of literature. “It’s not that I’m particularly interested. I just feel that the knowledge from high school shouldn’t be forgotten. Since I’m free right now, it’s good to read and enrich myself.”

Because of his family background, Gu Xiuping agreed with Wen Xin’s sentiment. His grandfather was a veteran revolutionary, and before joining the revolution, he had been a student at Yanjing University. His grandfather always told him to keep learning throughout life, and he had lived by this principle. Even now, with poor eyesight, he insisted on reading for two hours every day.

Gu Xiuping admired his grandfather’s perseverance above all.

Gu Xiuping thought Wen Xin was even more adorable now. “Comrade Wen, if my grandfather were here, he would definitely appreciate you. He often tells me the same thing when I’m at home.”

This was the first time Gu Xiuping had mentioned his family. Wen Xin paid for the books, and the two of them walked out together. Wen Xin casually asked: “What’s your family like?”

Gu Xiuping was about to tell Wen Xin about his family, so when she asked, it saved him the trouble of finding an opening.

“There are five people in my family: my grandfather, my parents, my younger sister, and me. My grandfather is a veteran revolutionary and is now retired at home. My dad is a soldier, currently serving in the Yanjing Military District. My mom is a doctor at Yanjing Second Hospital, working in the obstetrics and gynecology department. My little sister is two years older than you. She used to be a soldier in the cultural troupe, but after she retired, she got married, and now her child can already talk.”

Thinking of his quirky little nephew, Gu Xiuping’s heart warmed. He thought that if he and Wen Xin had a child, it would definitely be even cuter than his nephew.

Compared to many families in the Yanjing Military District, Gu Xiuping’s family was rather simple.

Gu Xiuping’s background made him a so-called “red third generation.” and he was excellent in every way, good-looking too. Logically speaking, a man like him should have already been taken, but the fact that he was still single was puzzling.

The relationship between Wen Xin and Gu Xiuping was still in that ambiguous stage—more than friends but not quite lovers.

Wen Xin didn’t think she could keep herself from falling for him if they continued spending time together, so she decided it was better to clarify a few things now to avoid getting hurt later.

“Comrade Gu, there’s something I want to ask you.”

“Comrade Wen, ask away. I will tell you everything, no secrets.”

Wen Xin wasn’t shy about it. “Comrade Gu, you have such great qualities, why haven’t you gotten married by now?”

“I haven’t met anyone who makes me feel that way. Comrade Wen, my grandparents, and my parents are all together because of love. I grew up seeing their love and being influenced by it. I believe that when I get married, I have to find a woman who makes me feel that way. If I can’t find her, I’d rather stay single.”

Having witnessed such beautiful love, how could Gu Xiuping accept a marriage based on compatibility, age, or other reasons?

Gu Xiuping looked directly at Wen Xin, his gaze deep. “Wen Xin, when it comes to love, I’d rather have none than settle for something less. In my life, I’ve only ever had feelings for one woman.”

Wen Xin didn’t ask who that woman was, because in Gu Xiuping’s eyes, she saw that he was full of feelings for her.