Chapter 16

The night was pitch-black and thick with darkness, the cemetery silent and still.

When she was singled out and pulled aside by Captain Wu, Ye Manzhi had already prepared herself to be interrogated.

But unexpectedly, after leading her to an open space away from the cemetery, Wu Zhengrong’s previously solemn expression softened. Using his usual gentle tone, he asked, “Didn’t I remind you not to go out at night? What’s the deal with your patrol team?”

“We’re a joint patrol team temporarily formed by the neighborhood committee and the local police station,” Ye Manzhi replied seriously. “Our main purpose is to prevent a second clash and protect the lives and property of the people!”

Wu Zhengrong raised an eyebrow slightly and nodded at the stove ash hook in her hand. “And you’re going to protect them with that?”

“The people involved in the clash are all civilians. Even if each of us was issued a gun, we couldn’t point it at civilians. I’m not carrying this thing to defend against people…”

She trailed off mid-sentence, but Wu Zhengrong understood.

If the stove ash hook wasn’t for fending off people, then it must be for fending off ghosts.

Truly the kind to walk right into the tiger’s den knowingly—afraid of ghosts but still daring to patrol a cemetery.

The flashlight beam swept over her hands, tightly gripping her “weapon.” Wu Zhengrong looked away and said in a voice low enough for only the two of them to hear, “We already invited the Buddhist Association to perform a ritual here. The wandering souls have been released. It’s just barren land now—no ghosts.”

“Huh? Really?” Ye Manzhi was shocked.

“Mm.”

“And the factory leaders actually approved something like that?”

This kind of thing could easily be seen as feudal superstition.

Seeing her delicate brows knot together in concern, Wu Zhengrong said solemnly, “After all, they’re expanding the factory on this land. Just a matter of peace of mind.”

“Yes, yes, exactly! Just for peace of mind. The factory leadership is so wise!”

Given how Captain Wu had always presented himself as mature, wise, steady, and reliable in front of her—and more importantly, extremely good-looking—Ye Manzhi didn’t even consider the possibility that he might be lying.

Now that she knew the cemetery had been spiritually cleansed by professionals, she felt like the surrounding temperature rose by several degrees.

In her heart, she was sincerely touched by how humane the 656 Factory leadership really was.

Of course, Captain Wu was amazing too, actually trusting her enough to share such a big secret!

Righteous and kind Wu Zhengrong warned her earnestly, “Keep this to yourself. Don’t spread it around.”

“Don’t worry! I’ll keep it a secret. I won’t tell a soul!”

She was excellent at keeping things under wraps!

“Good. You should—”

Wu Zhengrong was just about to tell her to lead the patrol team away, when suddenly, a mournful wail came from the nearby woods.

The next second, a figure burst out of the trees, sprinting towards them like his life depended on it.

A military dog was hot on his heels, barking wildly, refusing to give up the chase.

Alert, Wu Zhengrong instinctively pulled Ye Manzhi behind him, his hand reaching toward his waist.

A man appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the night—his identity unclear—Ye Manzhi knew she wasn’t much use in a fight, so the least she could do was not get in the way. She stayed silent and ducked behind the tall officer.

But just as she settled into place, the man running toward them suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs:

“Ye Manzhi! Ye Manzhi! Tell them to stop the dog!”

Ye Manzhi: “……”

Wu Zhengrong turned and asked, “You know him?”

“Do you know him?”

“I do, I do!”

Wu Zhengrong gave a sharp whistle to signal the military dog to stop attacking.

Thanks to that brief pause, the man who had been chased by the dog sprinted over like a bullet and, like a fledgling bird flying into the forest, threw himself into Ye Manzhi’s arms.

“Aiya, help me! I was scared half to death!”

Seeing him clutching tightly onto Ye Manzhi’s arm, practically pressing his entire body against the girl, Wu Zhengrong frowned and firmly grabbed the man’s wrist, yanking him off her.

“Qin Xiang,” he called to the communications officer, “take him back for questioning!”

Ye Manzhi quickly said, “Captain Wu, this is my fourth brother! He probably came looking for me—he’s not a bad guy!”

“……”

Wu Zhengrong glanced back and forth between them.

This so-called fourth brother didn’t look very bright—or attractive. He really didn’t seem like he could be her real brother.

“What’s he doing here in the middle of the night?”

Ye Manzhi wanted to ask the same thing.

“All because of you!” her fourth brother grumbled as he rubbed his sore wrist. “You’re a young woman, running into a graveyard at night—how could the family not worry? Dad was afraid you’d be upset, so he told me to secretly follow and keep an eye on you.”

Ever since Ye Manzhi became a junior cadre, she’d started acting like an adult.
She didn’t want family tagging along on patrols—afraid people would think she wasn’t mature or that she wasn’t trusted.

Old Man Ye was worried about his daughter but also afraid she’d say no, so he sent her brother to quietly follow from a distance.

Who would’ve thought there’d be a military dog in the graveyard? The thing pounced on him like crazy—he nearly got his butt bitten!

Panicked, he reached into his pocket—oh no, the cricket jar was gone.

The little green cricket he’d just raised had escaped!

Ye Manzhi pulled her brother up from the ground. She thought the way he’d been chased by the dog was both a bit ridiculous and a little embarrassing, but deep down, her heart felt warm.

In front of outsiders, she had to protect her brother’s dignity.

She brushed the dust and grass off his clothes and formally introduced him:
“Captain Wu, this is my fourth brother, Ye Manguì. You know the phrase ‘A lone branch in Guilin’, right? My fourth brother is named Manguì, my fifth brother is named Manlín, and I’m Manzhi. We really are a family!”

Wu Zhengrong thought, Well, even among a dragon’s nine sons, each is different.
Ye Manzhi was clever and sharp—this fourth brother of hers was more on the goofy side.

“If he came just to check on you, then fine. But he needs to write a statement explaining the situation and submit it to the military liaison office.”

Ye Manzhi tugged on her brother, who still wanted to argue, and smiled. “Got it. We’ll write it tonight as soon as we get home.”

With the commotion he’d caused—chased by a dog, nearly arrested, and so many eyes watching—Captain Wu letting him off without some kind of procedure really wouldn’t fly.

With the situation resolved, Ye Manzhi said goodbye to Captain Wu, pulled her fourth brother along, and rejoined her patrol squad.

She also informed the team that the military had now taken over the area—there was no longer any need for small fry like them to patrol the cemetery.

The three people from the neighborhood committee breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Before leaving, Ye Manzhi looked back.

Captain Wu was still standing where they had just been, his tall silhouette faintly visible in the darkness.

After a moment of inner struggle, she asked her teammates to wait a bit—then ran back in his direction.

Her heart was pounding wildly. On one hand, she thought, He’s the one who walked right into this—can’t blame me for taking advantage of the opportunity. On the other hand, she was still trying to figure out how exactly to bring it up.

Wu Zhengrong seemed to sense something and stopped, turning back to look at her.

“What’s the matter?”

Since the flashlight had been left with her fourth brother, Ye Manzhi worried he wouldn’t recognize her in the dark, so she called out first: “Captain Wu!”

“Mm.”

“Our neighborhood patrol team doesn’t need to come patrol here anymore, so I just wanted to come and thank you.”

“You ran back just for that?”

“Ah, well, actually… there’s something else.”

But after saying that, she went quiet again.

Wu Zhengrong was very patient, waiting kindly for her to continue.

Ten seconds passed. Then fifteen. Twenty. Half a minute.

Still, she said nothing.

Darkness can breed fear—and also intimacy. In that short half-minute, Wu Zhengrong’s mind wandered through all kinds of awkward possibilities. He even mentally prepared himself to accept a confession from the girl—right here beside a graveyard.

“If there’s something you want to say, just say it.”

His voice was still gentle and warm, the kind of tone that made people think he was easy to talk to.

Ye Manzhi couldn’t see his face.

But his soft voice gave her courage. She suddenly felt more confident and asked boldly, “Captain Wu, can I confirm something with you?”

“Of course.”

“Well, recently I’ve been helping my fifth brother look for a place to live, and the comrades at the Housing Office mentioned…” Ye Manzhi paused for a beat, deciding to use a little rhetorical trick—by stating the situation as if it were already true, “They said the military liaison office might have a transitional housing unit up for sublet, is that right?”

Wu Zhengrong, who had waited so long: “……”

It felt a bit like waiting for the final course at a banquet, only to be served steamed cornbread.

“Captain Wu?”

When she didn’t get a reply and still couldn’t see his expression, Ye Manzhi had to gently prompt him.

From the moment she decided to chase after him, she’d been uneasy.

All that stuff about Wu Zhengrong “establishing authority” or “regretting” later was just her own speculation. That transitional housing might be earmarked for something else entirely.

If it weren’t for how badly she wanted to help her fifth brother get out of that alley and the rare chance to ask him in person, she honestly wouldn’t have had the nerve to bring it up.

Sensing the anxiety in her breath, Wu Zhengrong paused for a while and then asked, “What transitional housing?”

“It’s that courtyard right across from our compound’s east gate…”

Wu Zhengrong thought about it and asked, “Is it urgent?”

“No, not urgent.”

Her fifth brother would be out collecting coal briquettes for at least four or five days.

“Then come to my office Monday afternoon. I haven’t paid much attention to the property you’re talking about—I’ll need to go back to the factory to find out more.”

---

With the military liaison office now overseeing the graveyard, the neighborhood patrol squad was disbanded the very day it was formed.

The aftermath of the recent brawl had quite a wide impact. The entire street office was working overtime—soothing the families of the injured, dealing with inspections from higher-ups, and handling compensation and follow-ups.

Ye Manzhi was busy non-stop for two days straight, but she didn’t forget her appointment with Wu Zhengrong.

She and her fourth brother wrote a statement together, and just before the end of work on Monday, she brought it with her to keep the appointment.

At that time, in the military liaison office of the 656 Factory…

Wu Zhengrong had just returned from a meeting at the factory headquarters when he called over Qin Xiang.

“How many transitional housing units do we have on hand?”

“Three units—one inside the family compound, and two outside the factory in car shop.”

Wu Zhengrong frowned. “Do we still need that many transitional units?”

Transitional housing is meant for temporary accommodation for new comrades. If they meet the criteria, the factory quickly arranges permanent housing for them.

Back in the early days of the factory, new recruits arrived every month, so the demand for transitional housing far exceeded supply.

But now, the military liaison team had mostly stabilized. Occasionally, a comrade on a business trip might stay for a month or so, but the rest of the time, the units sat empty.

So—what was the point of keeping so many of them?

Seeing Wu Zhengrong acting so matter-of-fact and uninvolved, Qin Xiang couldn’t help but silently grumble, Weren’t you the one who insisted on keeping those transitional units in the first place?

You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask then?

But Qin Xiang, as the communications officer, knew his commander’s temperament far too well.

If Wu Zhengrong even knew the condition of his own house, that was already impressive—you couldn’t expect him to care about something as minor as transitional housing.

To put it nicely, he focused on the big picture and let the small stuff go. More bluntly—he just didn’t want to be bothered with trivial matters.

Qin Xiang gave him a tactful reminder: “Last year, Deputy Director Liu nearly sublet one of the transitional units, but you disagreed at the time, so the deal was called off. Then earlier this year, logistics allocated us another unit in the family compound.”

Two units had originally been enough for the liaison office’s needs. But thanks to Captain Wu’s fame after a major achievement, logistics—probably afraid of being held accountable later—gave the liaison office an extra unit when distributing housing to other departments.

The compound had better living conditions and was closer to the factory, so new comrades were usually placed in that unit.

After this reminder, Wu Zhengrong recalled that incident too. When he first arrived at the factory, some old hands had wanted him to just rubber-stamp paperwork as the military rep and not interfere in arms production. Soon after his arrival, they tried to give him a hard time.

They humiliated him and then tried to sublet the liaison office’s property. If he had let that slide, he’d have had no place in the factory. So, he stood his ground and embarrassed Liu at a meeting.

Still, that matter had long since blown over between him and Liu.

“What’s the situation with the two units outside the factory? Is the rent being paid?”

“The units are rented through the neighborhood housing authority, so yes, of course we’re paying.”

Wu Zhengrong paused for a moment, then instructed, “Go ask logistics if the family compound can allocate us another transitional unit. The rental at car shop was originally due to historical reasons. If the factory now has vacancies, we should use internal housing instead of wasting money on external rentals. And besides, the factory has a guesthouse now—if we run out of transitional housing, we can send people there.”

The fact that Qin Xiang had stayed by Wu Zhengrong’s side for so long proved he wasn’t a fool.

All the clueless ones had long since been driven away by the commander.

But even so, he really couldn’t make sense of Wu Zhengrong’s sudden interest in transitional housing today.

Why the sudden concern?

Still, he followed the order, ran off to logistics without a clue, got a clear answer, and rushed right back to report.

As soon as he stepped inside to give his report, someone knocked on the office door.

He assumed it was another one of those rough factory guys dropping by for a chat—but to his surprise, the person at the door was…

As soon as the door opened, there stood a young and beautiful female comrade. Her hair was softly curled, and she wore a snow-white puff-sleeve blouse tucked neatly into a midi skirt, subtly accentuating her waistline.

So fashionable!

The military liaison office rarely had the chance to receive female visitors. The most frequent ones were Chairman Zhang of the labor union, in her forties, and Chairman Yao of the women’s federation, nearly fifty.

Though Qin Xiang didn’t know why Ye Manzhi was here, he smartly greeted her with a grin, “Comrade Xiao Ye, welcome, welcome—please come in!”

Ye Manzhi had seen him driving Wu Zhengrong’s car before but didn’t know his exact role, so she replied politely, “Hello, Comrade Qin. I’m here to see Captain Wu. Is he available at the moment?”

Qin Xiang had a vague feeling there might be something unusual between her and his commander. Just as he was about to say “yes,” Wu Zhengrong’s voice came from behind, “No need to be formal, come on in.”

After greeting Captain Wu, Ye Manzhi was warmly ushered into the office by the enthusiastic Comrade Qin, as though she were an honored guest.

The interior wasn’t quite what she imagined a factory leader’s office would look like.

Aside from a wide desk and file cabinets lining two walls, there were only two chairs.

She remembered Zhou Mu once mentioning that Deputy Director Zhou’s office had a sitting area with a couch and coffee table.

But this one didn’t. The overall style was simple and tidy.

Combined with the bold slogan on the wall—“Obey all commands in action”—the setup actually fit Wu Zhengrong’s identity quite well.

While she was glancing around, Qin Xiang had already made her some tea and cheerfully said, “Comrade Xiao Ye, the tea’s a bit hot, but I hope it’s okay. If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve prepared some chilled soda!”

“Oh, no need, tea is perfect,” she replied quickly.

But this Comrade Qin was just too enthusiastic—so much so that it made Ye Manzhi a little uneasy inside.

“That’s enough,” Wu Zhengrong cut off Qin Xiang’s excessive attentiveness. He wasn’t fond of fake formalities and got straight to the point. “I’ve just looked into the transitional housing situation…”

Ye Manzhi immediately sat upright, eyes full of anticipation.

However, Wu Zhengrong said, “The liaison office does have two transitional housing units rented from the neighborhood, but we can’t sublet one to your fifth brother.”

“Oh…” Ye Manzhi was briefly stunned but quickly responded, “I understand.”

To say she wasn’t disappointed would be a lie. She had assumed that Captain Wu inviting her to his office meant there was still room to negotiate.

She thought she’d be able to use this opportunity to help her fifth brother move out of Yueya Hutong as soon as possible.

If she’d known it would turn out like this, she wouldn’t have dressed up so nicely. She had even planned to treat everyone to a thank-you meal once it worked out!

Wu Zhengrong didn’t miss the disappointment in her eyes and explained, “It’s not appropriate for me to write an approval slip for this. If I did authorize a sublet, it might lead to unnecessary speculation from others.”

Ye Manzhi nodded, showing she understood.

Director Mu once said that leaders who value their reputation won’t casually sign off on things—maybe Wu Zhengrong was one of those leaders.

Whether it worked out or not had always been a fifty-fifty chance. She had mentally prepared herself for this outcome.

Just as she was thinking this, Wu Zhengrong spoke again.

“We’re planning to fully terminate the rental agreements for the liaison office’s units outside the factory. When that time comes, Xiao Qin will go to the housing authority to complete the cancellation. If you still want to rent, just arrange a time with him—once we return the unit, you can take over the lease. That way, we avoid the extra step of…”

“…skip the rental transfer paperwork too—it’ll save trouble.”

“???”

Ye Manzhi let out a small gasp of surprise.
She was caught off guard by the sudden and delightful twist, her eyes lighting up in astonishment.

“Captain Wu, the factory really doesn’t want that transitional housing anymore?”

“Mm. We’ve arranged a replacement unit in the family compound, so there’s no need to keep paying for outside rentals,” Wu Zhengrong replied, then turned to Qin Xiang, who was still standing nearby. “Find a time to go and handle the cancellation procedures for both units. It’ll help conserve housing resources too.”

“Oh—oh, okay.” Qin Xiang’s expression wasn’t much sharper than Ye Manzhi’s, as he blankly nodded along.

I knew it, he thought. This guy never cares about logistics—why would he suddenly be interested in transitional housing?

So that’s what this was all about. Ah, it all makes sense now!

He glanced at the delicate, jewel-like Xiao Ye, then at his strictly business-like commander, letting his eyes bounce between the two of them a few times before suddenly exclaiming, “Ohhhh~~~” in a drawn-out, knowing tone.

The winding, loaded sound of that “ohhhh~~~” made Ye Manzhi freeze in embarrassment, and her cheeks flushed a deep red.

She quickly lowered her head and took a sip of tea.

The last time she blushed, she could still blame it on being drunk. This time, she had no excuse.

Since the matter’s been settled, she thought, I should just take my leave quickly.

Doing her best to ignore her burning cheeks, she politely and sincerely thanked Captain Wu for his help.

The dinner invitation she had planned so carefully—under these awkward circumstances—she just couldn’t bring herself to say it.

So she improvised: “Thank you again for your help, Captain Wu. Maybe next time, my dad can treat you to a meal?”

“Hm. Last time, I believe you said your dad would treat me to a drink,” Wu Zhengrong replied.

When speaking to people, he had a habit of maintaining direct eye contact and focusing intently, which was why he hadn’t bothered putting a sofa in the office for guests.

Now, sitting face to face, Ye Manzhi’s embarrassment and shyness were on full display.

His gaze lingered on her cheeks, red like the morning glow, and he asked, half teasing and half serious:
“So… when exactly is your dad going to treat me to that drink?”