Chapter 19.1

Gu Ying, who had been lying in bed, suddenly got up, tiptoed around the people sleeping on the floor, quietly opened the door, and peeked out.

In the kitchen, Gui Xiwu stood by the sink, carefully turning on the tap. One hand held a pillowcase, the other held a bar of soap, and he awkwardly rubbed them together.

Gu Ying let out a soft chuckle, contentedly withdrew her head, climbed back into bed, and went back to sleep.

—

A few days later, Gui Xiwen received a notice from above—he was to report to the Forestry Department.

When it came to Gui Xiwen reporting for duty, Zhang Dongling was most concerned about the issue of the newlywed housing. She reminded him, “After you start working at the Forestry Bureau, you must pay close attention to the wedding house situation. Follow up constantly, understand?”

Gui Xiwen corrected her, “It’s not the Forestry Bureau. It’s the Forestry Department.”

Zhang Dongling didn’t care much about these details. “Oh please, these names change every other day. It used to be called the Forestry Department, then the Agriculture and Forestry Department, then the Forestry Administration, and now it’s back to Forestry Department. Who cares—I’ll just call it the Forestry Bureau.”

She went on and on, and finally told him, “Once you’re at work, you need to manage your temper and get along with your colleagues, hear me?”

Gui Xiwen was getting annoyed. He waved his hand and said, “It’s not like I’m not coming back. You can save these lectures for later.”

“Peh peh peh! What a jinx to say such unlucky things!” Zhang Dongling scolded, smacking his arm a few times in frustration.

Gui Xiwen silently took the blows. After she was done talking, he turned to look at Gu Ying.

Gu Ying stood off to the side, head down, picking at her nails, as if she had no intention of speaking to him.

Hah. It’s his first day of work. As his wife, shouldn’t she say a few words of encouragement?

Gui Xiwen coldly withdrew his gaze, his mood instantly sinking.

“I’m leaving.”

It was unclear whom he was speaking to. His voice was full of grievance.

Just two steps out, Gu Ying called after him in a gentle voice, “Be careful, okay?”

“Got it.” Gui Xiwen didn’t even turn his head as he walked off.

Zhang Dongling was a little stunned watching all this. She looked at Gu Ying and tentatively asked, “Did you two have a fight again? Something feels off about Xiwen’s attitude.”

Gu Ying looked ahead at Gui Xiwen’s increasingly light and carefree steps, smiled faintly, and reassured her, “It’s nothing. We’re doing fine.”

Gui Xiwen was indeed in a great mood. And when he was in a good mood, he became noticeably more pleasant to be around.

When he reported to the Forestry Bureau, Sister Zhao from the HR department was startled while registering him.

Gui Xiwen’s hair had grown longer—not the buzz cut from before. Perhaps because he was in high spirits, the stern expression he usually wore had softened into a natural, approachable friendliness.

His features were well-defined and his figure was solid. At a glance, there was no flaw; on closer inspection, even less so.

After the registration, Sister Zhao took the documents to Financial Department Chief Zheng Qianghua. When she entered the finance office, she immediately said to her colleagues with a gossipy tone, “Let me tell you, this new guy is a textbook definition of a handsome man. In nearly thirty years of my working life, I’ve never seen such a good-looking young man!”

Her words successfully piqued everyone’s curiosity.

The slickest person in the finance office, Qin Changkang, strolled up to Sister Zhao and joked, “I’m the flower of this department. How does the new guy compare to me?”

Sister Zhao chuckled and patted his shoulder twice. “Young man, go look in the mirror before saying stuff like that.”

Everyone burst into laughter.

In the midst of the laughter, Gui Xiwen walked in.

The room went dead silent. All eyes turned toward the newcomer standing at the office door, holding their breath and saying nothing—as if they had forgotten they were supposed to welcome him.

After a moment, Qin Changkang was the first to recover. He walked over with a smile and held out his hand. “Hello, welcome. I’m Qin Changkang. You can just call me Changkang.”

Applause erupted throughout the office.

Gui Xiwen walked to his workstation amidst the enthusiastic welcome, but the colleagues were perhaps too welcoming—they couldn’t stop staring at him. He felt a bit uneasy but suppressed it.

Shortly after sitting down, the ever-enthusiastic Qin Changkang came over and said, “Since you’re new, I’ll give you an overview of our Forestry Bureau. We’re in the finance department. Outside, there’s HR, and then the Silviculture Division…”

As he kept talking, Qin Changkang suddenly changed topics. “You just graduated from college this year, right? So young. And with a face like yours, I bet you’re not single, are you?”

As soon as he said that, Finance Chief Zheng Qianghua knocked on the desk with a stern face. “We’re on work time. No gossip.”

Qin Changkang grinned sheepishly and stood up to defend himself. “I was just trying to build rapport with the new guy. Get to know his life situation a little. It’s coming from a good place!”

Zheng Qianghua knew Qin Changkang was a glib talker. He just gave him a warning glare, then turned his attention to the newcomer, Gui Xiwen.

This new guy really was too handsome. His looks were great, but you can’t get by on looks alone.

Zheng Qianghua looked at Gui Xiwen and put on a boss-like tone. “Since today’s your first day, I’d like to test you. Can you tell me what the three components of forestry policy—‘San Ding’—are?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, Qin Changkang knew this was trouble. He tugged on the sleeve of the female colleague next to him, Wei Fang, and whispered, “Here we go again—our boss’s usual tradition.”

Every time a newcomer joined the department, Chief Zheng Qianghua liked to quiz them on forestry policies or knowledge. Qin Changkang himself had failed to answer back then.

He never understood it—he worked in finance, after all. Why would he need such in-depth forestry knowledge?

However, this rigid Section Chief Zheng didn’t see it that way. He believed that since they worked at the Forestry Bureau, no matter what specific job one did, they should have a good grasp of forestry knowledge.

Qin Changkang looked at Gui Xiwen with a bit of sympathy—sure enough, no newcomer could escape the section chief’s onboarding interrogation.

Wei Fang was tugged a little roughly by Qin Changkang, but she didn’t mind. Her eyes were fixed on Gui Xiwen, filled with anxiety. “Do you think this new colleague of ours will be able to answer?”

Qin Changkang glanced at Gui Xiwen’s face and shook his head uncertainly. “I don’t think so.”

Just as he finished speaking, they heard Gui Xiwen respond fluently, “Stabilize mountain rights and forest ownership, designate private hills, and establish the forestry production responsibility system.”

After Gui Xiwen finished answering, the office fell into silence once more.

Finance Section Chief Zheng Qianghua was the first to applaud. The others in the office followed suit and clapped along cooperatively.

It took a while before the applause finally died down. Zheng Qianghua stared at the new employee, very satisfied, and asked, “How come you remember it so well?”

Gui Xiwen was puzzled, but answered frankly, “Isn’t this something everyone joining the Forestry Department should know?”

Zheng Qianghua was stunned for a moment, then broke into a smile. “Listen to that! This new colleague has better awareness than some of our old comrades!”

Gui Xiwen lowered his eyes without speaking. Suddenly, he began to worry about his future livelihood.

At lunchtime, Qin Changkang warmly led Gui Xiwen to the canteen. A female colleague stood beside him, but Gui Xiwen didn’t pay much attention.

The two of them brought Gui Xiwen to the canteen and found an empty seat to sit down.

Qin Changkang grinned as he looked at Gui Xiwen. “Let me introduce this colleague—her name is Wei Fang. We usually call her Xiaofang.”

Gui Xiwen looked up and responded briefly, “Mm, nice to meet you.”

“H-Hello,” Wei Fang stammered slightly, her ears quietly turning red.

Qin Changkang was a shrewd person. With just one glance, he knew what Wei Fang was thinking. At the prime age of twenty, with decent looks, she was usually picky about men. But today, ever since she laid eyes on the new male colleague, she hadn’t looked away once—her feelings were obvious.

Qin Changkang was delighted to play matchmaker. He smiled at Gui Xiwen, “Let’s continue our earlier conversation.”

“What conversation?” Gui Xiwen had already forgotten.

Qin Changkang asked directly, “You look so handsome—surely you’re not single, right?”

“No,” Gui Xiwen shook his head.

He focused on eating and didn’t notice the change in the expressions of the two people across from him.

Qin Changkang looked mildly surprised. He hadn’t expected Gui Xiwen to admit it so easily. But Wei Fang’s expression turned unpleasant. She quickly jumped in and asked, “You’re taken?”

Wei Fang’s sudden question surprised Gui Xiwen, who had been quietly eating. He looked up at the female colleague in front of him and replied seriously, “When I filled in my information for the HR department, I marked myself as married.”

Bang! Qin Changkang swore he could hear the sound of a heart shattering nearby. He stared at Gui Xiwen in a daze, shocked. “Wow, you’re so young—how come you got married so early?”

“Mm, just recently,” Gui Xiwen replied.

“So that means others don’t stand a chance at all,” Qin Changkang said with some regret. Meanwhile, Wei Fang’s face was flushed with embarrassment.

Wei Fang held her chopsticks without appetite, feeling low-spirited.

She had always had good conditions growing up, with plenty of male colleagues vying for her attention. She had never been interested in any of them. Finally, someone new arrived who caught her eye—only to find out he was already married.

When she heard Gui Xiwen say he’d just gotten married, Wei Fang felt even more uncomfortable.

If only she had met him earlier, or if he had joined the department sooner—maybe everything would’ve been different.

Ah, life. Sometimes being just one step too late means missing out on so much.

Wei Fang brooded over her regrets, but suddenly her eyes lit up with determination. She argued, “Marriage is a subject of lifelong learning. Whether two people can walk the road together is something that requires continuous effort and growth.”

Her implication was clear—whether Gui Xiwen and his wife would last was still up in the air.

Qin Changkang was alarmed when he heard that and quickly changed the subject. “Oh wow, this stir-fried tofu today is really tasty. And these greens—look at how glossy they are—delicious!”

Gui Xiwen didn’t catch the hidden meaning in Wei Fang’s words. He looked at her blankly and replied, “What you said does make some sense.”

For some reason, his thoughts drifted to his marriage with Gu Ying. He felt a flicker of realization. Marriage truly was a subject to learn. He did need to figure out how to keep going.

Little did Gui Xiwen know, that single remark gave Wei Fang the wrong idea. Her heart leapt with joy—it seemed Gui Xiwen’s marriage wasn’t very harmonious.

Nowadays, marriage wasn’t like in the past with arranged matches. Young people had their own thoughts. If a marriage wasn’t working, there was no need to force it.

So even if he was married, divorce was still a possibility. That meant all hope wasn’t lost.

Next to her, Qin Changkang clearly picked up on Wei Fang’s misunderstanding and grew anxious. Although he wanted to help Wei Fang find someone suitable, Gui Xiwen was already married and clearly not an option.

Suddenly struck by a clever idea, Qin Changkang proposed, “Xiwen, the Silviculture Department told us a while back that since we have new colleagues joining, we should encourage them to bring their families along for tree planting to support our department’s work. If you’re free this weekend, bring your wife along to Wuning Field to plant trees.”

Gui Xiwen thought of Gu Ying’s health and declined, “My wife’s not in great health—I’ll go alone.”

“No, no, bring her along. She doesn’t need to do anything—just come and watch. Really, we just want to meet her and build some camaraderie. I’ll be bringing my own wife too—she’s talkative. With her there, your wife won’t be bored.”

Qin Changkang insisted on having Gui Xiwen bring his wife along because he had a clever plan in mind.

Given how handsome Gui Xiwen looked, his wife must surely be stunning as well. If Gui Xiwen brought his wife along, then Comrade Wei Fang would probably give up once she saw her.

It had to be said, Qin Changkang’s thinking was logical—but not aligned with reality.

Wei Fang, who was sitting nearby, clearly also wanted to meet Gui Xiwen’s wife. She chimed in to support the idea: “That’s right, bring her along. We have plenty of female colleagues here—she won’t be bored.”

Gui Xiwen remained silent for a moment, then after some consideration, simply said, “I’ll ask her when I get home.”