Chapter 76 – As If Showing Off Affection on Purpose  

After figuring this out, the chaotic emotions in Jiang Rou’s heart gradually settled.  

Her complexion was no longer as pale.  

However, beside her—  

Those deep, dark eyes, filled with suppressed intensity, were still watching her with concern.  

A sudden warmth spread in Jiang Rou’s chest.  

She placed a hand over her heart and spoke softly.  

“Chongshan, I’m fine. Just now, I suddenly felt a bit stuffy in my chest, like I couldn’t catch my breath. But now that I’ve recovered, it’s all good.”  

As soon as she said that—  

Zhao Guifen immediately chimed in.  

“Chest tightness and shortness of breath? That must be from the heat! The weather has been getting hotter lately, and it was especially stifling at noon. Quick, let Sister Rou sit down and drink some water to ease it.”  

Hearing this, Zhou Chongshan immediately followed Zhao Guifen’s advice.  

He made Jiang Rou sit down and urged her to drink some water.  

Jiang Rou hadn’t wanted to make such a fuss. Her body was perfectly fine—there was no need to blow things out of proportion.

However, Zhou Chongshan’s persistent look of concern made it hard for her to do anything but go along with him.  

Jiang Rou took a sip of water, then discreetly gave the man’s palm a light squeeze.  

She spoke in an embarrassed tone.  

“Chongshan, Sister Hong is still here.”  

Yet Zhou Chongshan remained unfazed, his deep voice steady.  

“It’s fine. Sister Hong is one of us.”  

“Hahaha…”  

Yang Hongping burst into laughter upon hearing that.  

She grinned and said, “That’s right, that’s right. I was the one who personally submitted your marriage report. If you think about it that way, I’m basically a witness to your marriage.”  

At these words—  

Jiang Rou let out a light chuckle as well.  

But out of the corner of her eye, she was glancing toward Lin Yuyao.  

It wasn’t Yang Hongping’s presence that made her feel awkward—it was Lin Yuyao!  

Everything that had just happened made it seem as though she was deliberately showing off her affection in front of Lin Yuyao.  

It all just felt… strange.  

Jiang Rou looked at Lin Yuyao.  

Lin Yuyao was looking at Jiang Rou as well.  

She had observed the entire exchange from start to finish.  

Jiang Rou had merely furrowed her brows slightly, and yet everyone’s attention had immediately turned to her.  

Zhou Chongshan’s worry and concern, Zhao Guifen’s attentive care, and even Yang Hongping’s open fondness for Jiang Rou—everything was so obvious.  

Even she, the newcomer whom Yang Hongping had personally introduced to everyone, had been reduced to complete insignificance.

Was Jiang Rou the same kind of person in her past life?  

If Jiang Rou had been so well-liked in the military family compound, then why had her cousin, Lin Yulan, spoken of her in such a distant tone in their past life, as if she had barely known her at all?  

Lin Yuyao’s gaze lingered on Jiang Rou, filled with deep confusion and… concern.  

Zhou Chongshan’s devotion to his wife was undeniable.  

So, after Jiang Rou’s death, could Zhou Chongshan really let go just like that?  

Lin Yuyao had come here with firm determination—she was set on marrying Zhou Chongshan six months from now.  

But on her very first day on the island—  

At her very first meeting with Zhou Chongshan—  

Lin Yuyao had already begun to realize that her plan would not be so easy.  

Jiang Rou noticed the shifting expressions on Lin Yuyao’s face.  

At this moment—  

It was as if their emotions had swapped.  

The one feeling uneasy now was Lin Yuyao.  

Jiang Rou saw through it but chose not to say anything. Instead, under Yang Hongping’s watchful gaze, she took the initiative to speak.  

“Comrade Lin, hello. This is our first time meeting—it’s a pleasure to get to know you.”  

“…I, I feel the same.”  

Lin Yuyao was still caught off guard. Her response was delayed, and she spoke in a daze.  

Just like that—  

They exchanged their first formal greeting.  

---

With the task of introducing the new comrade, Lin Yuyao, now complete—

Yang Hongping finally noticed the bamboo basket that Jiang Rou had brought, placed on the desk. Inside the basket were half-eaten qingtuan and Qingming rice cakes.  

“This… this… is this qingtuan?”  

“Sister Hong, you recognize this.”  

“Of course, of course. Decades ago, I worked in the southern base areas. At that time, when the villagers brought us food, this was among them. They said it was something only eaten during the Qingming Festival.”  

Yang Hongping reminisced about the past.  

Zhao Guifen immediately followed up.  

“Sister Hong, you are amazing! You even know about this. When I saw Sister Rou making it this morning, I thought it looked so green that it might be poisonous. I almost made a big joke out of it.”  

Upon hearing this, Yang Hongping’s eyes lit up.  

She looked at Jiang Rou in surprise and exclaimed: “Sister Rou, did you make this qingtuan?”  

Jiang Rou nodded. “Yes, I made it.”  

Zhou Chongshan picked up a qingtuan and handed it directly to Yang Hongping.  

“Sister Hong, have one. My wife made it—it’s very delicious.”  

His words carried an unmistakable sense of pride.  

The usually stern and serious expression on Zhou Chongshan’s face softened for once.  

Not only did he give a qingtuan to Yang Hongping, but he also distributed them to Lin Yuyao and the guard standing behind.  

Lin Yuyao hesitated for a moment before saying: “…Thank you, Regiment Commander Zhou.”  

The guard was visibly surprised. “Ah?! I get one too? Thank you, Regiment Commander Zhou! Thank you, sister-in-law!”  

As soon as Yang Hongping and the guard took a bite, the fresh aroma of mugwort and the crisp, tender flavor of pickled bamboo shoots filled their mouths.  

“This is delicious!”  

“Mm! So good! Regiment Commander Zhou, sister-in-law’s cooking is truly amazing!”

The guard devoured the qingtuan in just a few bites.  

Yang Hongping, however, ate more meticulously. After taking a bite, she examined the filling inside and remarked with a hint of nostalgia,  

“This tastes exactly like the ones I had decades ago.”  

Lin Yuyao had been holding her qingtuan without eating it. Seeing everyone praise its taste one after another, she finally picked it up and took a doubtful bite.  

The moment she tasted it—  

…It was delicious. Truly delicious.  

Even better than what the professional chefs at her parents’ home had made.  

Her gaze toward Jiang Rou became more complicated.  

After finishing her qingtuan, Yang Hongping looked at the beautifully made Qingming rice cakes beside them.  

She turned to Jiang Rou and asked: “Sister Rou, what did you use to make the qingtuan?”  

Jiang Rou replied: “The dough is made from glutinous rice flour, and I also used some pickled vegetables. The rest are wild greens I gathered from the mountains, like mugwort, cudweed, and wild bamboo shoots. Sister Yulan and Sister Guifen took me there to collect them.”  

After listening, Yang Hongping nodded in understanding and then continued speaking at length.  

“Just the other day, Political Commissar Liu and I were discussing how, since it’s already Qingming Festival, we should improve the soldiers’ meals. They’ve been eating the same old three staple dishes from the canteen every day—if it’s not steamed buns, it’s steamed cornmeal buns.”  

“But since it’s difficult for supplies to reach our island, the only things we can transport easily are those basics. Even if we wanted to improve the meals, we don’t have the ingredients.”  

“This qingtuan is excellent—it’s a local specialty, and it uses wild greens from the mountains. The soldiers from the north should have a taste of some southern food.”  

Standing beside her, Zhao Guosheng nodded repeatedly.  

“Sister Hong is absolutely right. I’ve lived for over thirty years, and this is the first time I’ve even heard of this thing. It’s called… what was it again…”  

“Qingtuan, qingtuan! Green little dumplings! How can you not remember something so simple?”

Zhao Guifen complained teasingly.  

With the Zhao couple stirring things up, the atmosphere in the office became even livelier.  

Yang Hongping, smiling warmly, looked at Jiang Rou and asked,  

“Sister Rou, do you have time this afternoon? I’d like to trouble you to visit the military unit’s canteen and teach the mess squad soldiers how to make qingtuan.”