Chapter 21

At noon, Han Zecheng returned to the guest house to have lunch with Su Ruo and Han Guo. During the meal, he casually mentioned that the Gu family had invited them over for dinner.

He said, “You just got here and aren’t familiar with the environment yet. If you’re not comfortable meeting so many strangers right now, I can ask someone to tell the Gu family we’ll visit another day once we’ve settled in.”

Su Ruo didn’t mind.

She already knew about the relationship between Han Zecheng and the Gu family, so she said, “Commander Gu is a superior, and he’s your elder too. Since they’re inviting us, it’s out of kindness—of course we should go.”

Then she bared her teeth in a playful grin and teased, “Unless you think I won’t be able to handle it and will embarrass you.”

Han Zecheng glanced at her.

It wasn’t that he was afraid she’d embarrass him—he was afraid she was too perfect… so perfect that he wouldn’t be able to keep her.

He said, “I just worry you won’t enjoy dealing with those kinds of people.”

She used to prefer quiet and peace… although, now that he thought about it, perhaps who she was back then wasn’t her true self.

Still, no matter what, their current relationship was… unusual.

They weren’t exactly a typical married couple.

Visiting those people meant stepping into his life… and he wasn’t sure if she was willing to do that now.

He was overthinking it, but Su Ruo hadn’t considered any of that.

What she was thinking was that, since her time had suddenly skipped forward five years, she needed to quickly integrate into this new world in order to feel grounded again.

So she shook her head and smiled sweetly. “Not at all. Since you’re on good terms with the Gu family, I’m sure they’re good people.”

Han Zecheng was momentarily dazed by the curved smile on her face but didn’t say anything more.

He truly hadn’t realized that before going to the countryside, Su Ruo had been like this.

He had never seen her this cheerful and radiant before—when she smiled, it felt like she could melt someone’s heart.

The Gu family residence was big and decorated in a typical military style—simple yet dignified.

Han Zecheng rang the doorbell. Before the housekeeper could open the door, Gu Yilin had already gotten up and opened it himself.

To be honest, although he and Han Zecheng had been brothers for years, he had never met his wife or child. When he asked about them, Han Zecheng refused to say anything. Gu Yilin was dying of curiosity.

And when Han Zecheng had said that morning, “My wife is still young, don’t trouble her with messy things,” Gu Yilin’s curiosity practically exploded.

Since when did Han Zecheng say things like that?

No—since when was he even the type to say something like that?

But he had said it so seriously that, while it clearly sounded strange, you couldn’t quite say why it was wrong.

So how could he not be curious?

He was dying to know how someone who was already the mother of a four-year-old could still be called “young.”

When he opened the door, he still had his usual playful grin.

But the moment his gaze landed on Su Ruo standing behind Han Zecheng, his expression froze, and that grin faded into stunned silence.

“Yilin,” Han Zecheng called.

Gu Yilin’s stunned look quickly turned into a big, warm smile. He stepped aside to let them in and said, “Come in, come in! We’ve been waiting for you.”

Then he turned to Su Ruo and enthusiastically introduced himself, “Sister-in-law, I’m Gu Yilin, Zecheng’s closest buddy.”

Su Ruo smiled at him. “Mm, I know. Han-ge told me.”

Gu Yilin: …

She’s too obedient, too soft, and too beautiful!

Heavens, if it were him, he’d protect her like that too!

No wait—he couldn’t, he’d never be able to marry a woman like this!

He glanced at Han Zecheng, feeling betrayed. Weren’t they brothers? And he’d kept this a secret from him?

Oh well.

He perked up again, closed the door, and continued ushering them inside, calling out, “Gu Yang, Gu Xu, come greet our guests!”

At his call, two little boys came running from somewhere—one about six or seven, and the other around the same age as Han Guo.

The two boys stood properly and greeted, “Uncle Han,” then their eyes all turned toward Han Guo.

Although Gu Yilin had never met Han Guo before, he acted as if they were old friends and introduced them to his sons, “Gu Yang, Gu Xu, this is Uncle Han’s son. He’ll be four years old soon. From now on, you guys are brothers, got it?”

Gu Yang and Gu Xu had never seen Han Guo before.

But they were very familiar with—and admired—Uncle Han, so they felt a sense of closeness to this little guy who looked like him.

Gu Yang pushed the toy machine gun he was holding toward Han Guo and said, “Want to be brothers?”

Han Guo looked at the toy gun, then looked up at Gu Yang and Gu Xu.

Actually, his dad had already told him about these two before coming. They seemed decent—definitely better than that Han Laibao kid who would run off crying to his grandma after losing a fight.

He reached out and took the machine gun, then offered the toy truck he held in his other hand to them and said, “Let’s trade.”

Once Gu Yang accepted it and handed it to his younger brother Gu Xu, Gu Yilin stepped forward, placed a hand on Gu Yang’s and Han Guo’s little shoulders, and said, “Gu Yang, take Han Guo and go play over there.”

Just like that, the three kids were ushered away.

Su Ruo was quite impressed by this unorthodox way of handling introductions.

Guoguo hadn’t met the rest of the Gu family yet.

By this time, the others who had been sitting on the sofa had already stood up.

The Gu family was large. Except for Commander Gu, who was still upstairs, the rest were all present. Like Gu Yilin, they were all curious about the wife Han Zecheng had brought back from the countryside.

While Gu Yilin had been helping the boys form their first bond of brotherhood, the rest of the Gu family had already discreetly observed Su Ruo and Han Guo.

Naturally, the main focus was on Su Ruo.

And without a doubt, most of them were somewhat stunned.

Because none of them had expected that the wife Han Zecheng had married in the countryside would be like this…

If she were just ordinarily pretty, that wouldn’t be too surprising. But she was stunning, with a scholarly air and a delicate, refined presence. Not to mention, that kind of aura wasn’t something one typically found in a rural wife—or even in the women they usually interacted with. This wasn’t the kind of girl a regular family could raise.

So of course they were shocked.

Zeng Yaohong had already stepped forward to invite Han Zecheng and Su Ruo to sit down. Smiling, she said, “Old Gu is still in the study. I’ll go call him down. You two go ahead and rest for a bit.”

After introductions were made, Commander Gu came downstairs soon afterward. Since there was still some time before dinner, everyone sat in the living room and chatted.

As they chatted, they continued to observe Su Ruo.

But under those curious and assessing gazes, Su Ruo remained composed and graceful. She spoke naturally and calmly, quiet yet never awkward.

So their first impression hadn’t been an illusion after all.

Zeng Yaohong asked, “Xiao Su, do you have any plans now that you’ve come to join the army life? Of course, taking care of Comrade Han and the child is very important, but we women should also have our own careers. Did you have a job back in your hometown?”

Su Ruo had grown up under the watchful eye of her stepmother. She was sensitive to people’s intentions, both genuine and false, kind or malicious—even just from their tone of voice.

To a certain extent, Zeng Yaohong and her stepmother Lin Wan Hua seemed to be the same kind of person.

But Su Ruo didn’t really care what Zeng Yaohong was thinking.

She smiled and said, “I used to be a teacher at a commune elementary school. That’s why I hadn’t joined the military life earlier. But now that the national college entrance exam has been reinstated, I’ve resigned from my teaching job and plan to focus on preparing for the exam.”

Everyone was taken aback… she was taking the college entrance exam?

But soon, they understood.

So she used to be a teacher. No wonder. She definitely didn’t look like someone who worked the fields all day.

Even Zeng Yaohong was surprised.

She said, “You gave up a government job to take the college entrance exam?”

“Xiao Su, are you confident? I heard this year’s slots are extremely limited, and there are tons of people applying. After all, the exam was halted for ten years—now there’s a backlog of students all trying to take their shot. I imagine the acceptance rate is really low.”

Su Ruo was quite confident in getting into university.

After all, her memory still lingered five years in the past, when she had just graduated high school.

And back then, she had always been a top student.

But she was aiming for a nationally renowned university—Qingda—so she couldn’t afford to be arrogant.

She smiled and said, “Who can say they’re confident for sure? I’m just giving it a try. If I don’t pass this year, I’ll just study hard and take it again next year.”

Su Ruo had a particularly beautiful smile.

Because she had skipped over the past five years, she appeared especially clear and bright, untainted by life’s troubles or any kind of heaviness.

Who would’ve thought Han Zecheng’s wife would be such a pure and radiant young girl?

At this moment, Gu Yilin’s wife, Yu Wan, suddenly joined in and asked, “Su Ruo, where are you originally from? Your accent doesn’t sound like Vice Commander Han’s. It actually sounds kind of like mine.”

Su Ruo smiled and said, “I was born in Nancheng.”

“No wonder—I’m also from Nancheng,” Yu Wan replied with a smile. “I lived there for over ten years. Moved to the provincial capital right before I graduated elementary school.”

Because of that little connection, Yu Wan’s previously polite and distant demeanor became noticeably warmer and friendlier.

“You’re not from Comrade Han’s hometown?” Zeng Yaohong asked. “Then how did you two meet, and how did you end up marrying into such a faraway place?”

These days, educated youths were scattered across the country, so it wasn’t hard to guess. But Zeng Yaohong asked anyway—she wanted the full picture.

Su Ruo knew that if she didn’t say it now, many more would ask later.

And it wasn’t something she needed to hide anyway.

She replied politely, “I met Comrade Han when I was sent to his area as an educated youth.”

So she was an educated youth.

Now the family finally understood.

But as Zeng Yaohong looked at Su Ruo, a different kind of thought flashed through her mind.

Back at the guesthouse, when she first saw Su Ruo, she had already felt something was off… No, not just because of her looks.

It was because of her overall bearing and presence—this wasn’t something an average family could nurture. Even ordinary cadre families wouldn’t produce a girl like this. The temperament was different.

She asked, “So Xiao Su, you’re an educated youth from that area. What do your parents do? Do you have any other family?”

Han Zecheng frowned slightly.

Su Ruo didn’t answer right away.

The living room fell into a brief silence.

Then Su Ruo smiled gently and said, “My father is a schoolteacher. My mother passed away when I was young.”

The smile was polite and faint—clearly just a gesture of courtesy.

But no one could pick fault with it.

After all, when someone says their mother passed away when they were a child, what kind of expression do you expect them to wear?

Zeng Yaohong still seemed like she wanted to ask more, but at that moment, Commander Gu suddenly spoke up.

He said, “It’s good to take the college entrance exam. For young comrades to answer the nation’s call and strive for progress—that’s a very admirable quality.”

Topic ended.

Even if Zeng Yaohong wanted to ask further, she understood clearly what her old man meant.

So the conversation circled back to the subject of the college entrance exam.

Yu Wan smiled at Su Ruo and said, “Speaking of the college entrance exam, my younger sister also registered this time. Right now, reference materials and textbooks are really scarce—even in the provincial capital it’s hard to get them. So a bunch of them formed a study support group where they share resources and learn together. They even invited a former teacher from the provincial capital to give a one-hour lesson and tutoring session every afternoon. If you’re interested, I’ll ask my sister to bring you along next time to see if it’s helpful.”

Su Ruo was, of course, interested.

Although she was confident in the exam, the truth was no one really knew what it would be like after a ten-year suspension. She only had a few reference books at hand. If she wanted to review properly, she needed more materials—but just as Yu Wan said, resources were extremely scarce right now, practically impossible to buy even if you had money.

And having a teacher to provide direction would definitely help her get twice the results with half the effort.

So she gratefully thanked Yu Wan and said, “Then I’ll trouble you, sister-in-law.”

Yu Wan gave her a smile. Something flickered in her eyes, but she said nothing more.

Maybe it was because, aside from Zeng Yaohong, everyone else seemed to harbor goodwill. Even Zeng Yaohong, despite her other intentions, had arranged this dinner to show everyone that her niece had no romantic interest in Han Zecheng anymore—it was all a misunderstanding—so she treated Su Ruo warmly too. As a result, nothing unpleasant happened during the meal.

Han Guo quickly hit it off with Gu Xu and Gu Yang, becoming fast friends.

Su Ruo also asked Yu Wan for details about the military district kindergarten. She heard that while it was a military-affiliated institution, the education wasn’t rigid at all. On the contrary, the teachers played modified military training games with the kids—something unavailable elsewhere—and the children loved it. Su Ruo was intrigued and decided to take Han Guo for a visit soon.

That night, after Han Zecheng and Su Ruo left, Yu Wan sighed in their room and said, “Zecheng is really protective of his wife.”

She gave a wry smile and added, “I used to think… sigh.”

As a woman, she was sensitive to certain nuances.

Though Han Zecheng hadn’t said much the entire evening, his attention was always on Su Ruo. When her mother-in-law asked her questions, Su Ruo wasn’t nervous, but he looked as though he feared she’d be upset. If he hadn’t frowned, her father-in-law probably wouldn’t have interrupted the questioning.

Gu Yilin, who understood Han Zecheng far better than Yu Wan, had clearly noticed how nervous he was over his young wife.

After all, he even said something as tooth-achingly sweet as, “She’s still young…”

But he wasn’t interested in discussing this sentiment with his wife.

Lying on the bed, he chuckled lazily, “Well, she’s his wife. If he’s not nervous, who should be? Don’t I treat you just as well?”

Yu Wan rolled her eyes at him, still feeling conflicted.

She sighed again. “I was just thinking of Nianxue. I feel kind of sorry for her. All these years, she’s never really let go of Zecheng. Her decision to finally go through with the divorce this time—deep down she was probably still hoping to rekindle things with him.”

She used to believe there might still be a chance. But now, it was clear there was none.

Even back when Zhou Nianxue and Han Zecheng were together, she’d never seen him look at Nianxue the way he looked at Su Ruo.

She had once assumed that Han Zecheng was just a cold person and treated everyone the same. Now she realized—it was simply because the person wasn’t right.

Thinking of that made her feel even sorrier for Zhou Nianxue.

Gu Yilin’s usual laid-back expression disappeared. He sat up, looked at his wife, and said seriously, “You think she’s pitiful? She’s the one who walked away back then because the Han family’s circumstances weren’t good. Who can she blame now? Ah Wan, don’t be foolish.”

“Rekindle things? She must be out of her mind.”

Yu Wan: …

She was a bit embarrassed and mumbled, “Do you really think I’m that oblivious? I just… sigh, we’ve been friends for so many years. Back then, she was forced into it.”

Gu Yilin snorted. Yu Wan understood what he meant and said no more.