Chapter 32 Do you want to be siblings with your sister forever?

Song Yiyi figured she might as well use the advantage she already had and take the opportunity to turn the situation around. When the time came, she would make Song Minghui see for himself just how foolish his choice had been.

Gu Chengze personally escorted Song Yiyi back to the military family compound. This time, he didn’t leave immediately — he chose to stay.

He had originally assumed that once Song Yiyi stepped inside, she would rush to confront Song Minghui, demanding to know why he had gone behind her back and arranged an engagement without her consent. But to his surprise, Song Yiyi said nothing at all, remaining uncharacteristically silent.

“Yiyi, this ointment will help with the swelling. Apply it before you go to sleep,” Gu Chengze said, handing her a soft tube of ointment. He carefully added, “I asked — it’s safe to use on your face.”

He made sure to give her the ointment right in front of Song Minghui. Upon hearing it, Song Minghui awkwardly picked up his teacup and turned his face away.

Song Yiyi accepted the ointment without even glancing at Song Minghui, then headed straight to her room.

Once she was gone, Gu Chengze sent Cai Mengjun away and sat down beside Song Minghui.

“Dad, I have something I want to talk to you about.”

Because of Yiyi, Song Minghui’s expression wasn’t great. He seemed distracted. “Mm, go ahead.”

Gu Chengze glanced at the closed bedroom door and said quietly, “Let’s talk outside.”

Song Minghui hadn’t expected Gu Chengze to meddle in Song Yiyi’s marriage. He didn’t even have to think — it had to be that brat going to him to complain.

Gu Chengze had barely begun speaking when Song Minghui’s face darkened. He cut him off sharply:

“Chengze, anything else can be discussed, but Yiyi’s marriage is not up for negotiation. This girl is spoiled rotten by me — no matter how much she begs you, don’t get involved.”

“Dad, are you really sure about this?”

Song Minghui’s expression was firm. “There’s nothing to think about. Everything I do is for her own good. I’m her father — I won’t harm her.”

Gu Chengze couldn’t make sense of Song Minghui’s logic. It wasn’t that Song Minghui didn’t love his daughter — far from it.

He had raised her alone until she was five. Even during the hardest years, he never thought of finding a woman to help. The year of the flash flood, he had risked his life against the raging waters to climb the mountain in search of Song Yiyi.

When she failed the college entrance exam, Song Minghui had even considered retiring so Yiyi could take his position. Later, when she refused to retake the exam and didn’t want to be a teacher, he went along with whatever she wanted.

He seemed strict, but in truth, “indulgent” might be a better word. Song Yiyi had grown up barely ever setting foot in the kitchen — to this day, she could only cook a few specific dishes.

In the countryside, women her age were long since married with children. Villagers whispered about how she’d become an “old maid,” but Song Minghui had never pressured her.

Gu Chengze took a deep breath. “Dad, Yiyi doesn’t like Deputy Company Commander Cen. If she marries him, she won’t be happy. Marriage isn’t a one-day thing — do you really want to watch her suffer?”

Song Minghui stood in silence for a while.

After a moment, he pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, put one in his mouth, and reached for a matchbox. He tried several times to light it but couldn’t get a flame.

Gu Chengze reached over, took the matchbox, struck a match in one try, and lit the cigarette for him.

Once it was lit, he said, “Dad, you haven’t smoked in five years, have you?”

Song Minghui took a drag and sighed. “Chengze, Yiyi’s already twenty. She’s not a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl anymore. Once a woman reaches this age, if she doesn’t marry soon, she won’t find a good match.”

Gu Chengze paused for a moment. “Dad, the country is promoting late marriage now. There are plenty of people Yiyi’s age who aren’t married yet. Look at me — I’m ten years older than she is.”

He lowered his eyes, hiding the gloom in them. “Besides, we should respect Yiyi. She’s an adult now — she has her own thoughts.”

The evening breeze rustled the leaves.

Song Minghui took a deep drag of his cigarette and said to himself, “That Cen boy — I think he’s a good match. This whole incident was just him getting caught up in things. Men are… careless by nature. Besides, he knows he was wrong now, and it won’t happen again. There’s no need to blow a small matter out of proportion.

“Yiyi’s just like her mother — too petty. In marriage, you’re together for a lifetime. Even the upper and lower lips bump into each other now and then. Her temper’s not great, but that Cen boy’s easygoing. If she marries him, she won’t have a hard life.

“And honestly — in looks, family background, and character, that boy is hard to come by.”

Song Minghui stubbed out his cigarette, patted Gu Chengze on the shoulder, and said earnestly, “Chengze, you’re still young — you don’t understand a father’s heart. I would never harm my daughter. Every decision I make is for her own good.

“Even if she doesn’t understand now, even if she says she hates me, one day she’ll realize my good intentions.

“This child’s getting wilder by the day — if I keep letting her be, she’s bound to suffer for it.”

That night, after their talk, Gu Chengze still returned to the army. But his mind kept replaying Song Minghui’s words.

“Can’t sleep?”

In the darkness, Cen Yue spoke slowly. “Why don’t you just tell your sister the truth?”

Gu Chengze lay flat on his back. At those words, his eyes opened. “Old Cen, I regret it.”

The empty room made their voices echo. Cen Yue stayed silent.

After a moment, Gu Chengze let out a laugh. “Tell me — if I hadn’t let your nephew come to my house back then, what would things be like now?”

In the dark, Cen Yue’s lips curled into a cold arc. “Once you’ve drawn the bow, there’s no taking the arrow back. But even now, it’s not too late to go find her.”

Gu Chengze had been in love with his stepsister for years, keeping it buried in his heart. All this time, he had never dared tell anyone.

It wasn’t until after he turned thirty that he realized — no matter the distance or the years, nothing could change how he felt.

So on his birthday, he’d invited Cen Yue for a drink. Under the influence of alcohol, he’d poured out all the frustration he had bottled up inside.

He had known Cen Yue since childhood, and after joining the army they had been partners for many years. He trusted Cen Yue’s character — and indeed, Cen Yue had never spoken of it to anyone.

That night, Cen Yue had looked at him and suddenly made a suggestion. “Want to know what your sister really thinks?”

And so, Cen Bowen appeared in Gu Chengze’s line of sight.

Cen Yue had told him, “If your sister has feelings for you, she’ll definitely turn down my nephew.”

Gu Chengze had hesitated. “I’m afraid of scaring her. If that happens, we won’t even be able to be brother and sister anymore.”

It was precisely because of that fear that he had kept quiet for so many years.

Back then, Cen Yue had drained his glass, his expression lazy, a faint smirk on his lips. “Do you really want to be her brother for life? Then go ahead and be a coward.

“If I were you — I never planned on being just a brother in the first place. So why bother overthinking it?”

Gu Chengze had just assumed he didn’t understand what it was like to be in the middle of it all. After all, Cen Yue had always been someone who acted without following the rules.