CHAPTER 18:  Feelings Revealed (Revised)

Not officially a military family member?
What did that mean?

Su Yuan unconsciously tightened her grip on the lunchbox. She suddenly felt that after their reunion, Fu Mobai seemed… different.

Not as sharp and cold as before — even a little fond of teasing her. Like now.

“Hurry and eat before it gets cold.”

He set a canteen beside her. Seeing her still not lifting the lid, he raised a brow.
“What’s wrong?”

She turned her head — and met his gaze head-on. Her heart jolted hard, thump, thump-thump, racing wildly.

She quickly looked away, almost sure she could hear her own heartbeat.

“Not feeling well?”

His deep voice sounded by her ear, and then a broad palm rested on her forehead. The warm touch made her look up in a rush.

Fu Mobai caught the flicker of panic in her eyes. Realizing only after the fact, he didn’t pull his hand back right away. Instead, he said with feigned seriousness,
“Not too warm — you should be fine.”

Steadying herself, Su Yuan said softly,
“I’m not sick.”

She lowered her head and lifted the lid, using the motion to cover her fluster.

Fu Mobai withdrew his hand. Not wanting to scare her off, he decided not to confess his feelings yet, and acted as though nothing had happened.
“There’s your favorite guobaorou and di san xian. Let’s just eat in the car. I’ll leave after you finish.”

The moment she opened the lid, the aroma rushed out, filling the air and making her mouth water. Su Yuan swallowed discreetly.
“Where did these dishes come from?”

“I made them.”

Under her astonished gaze, Fu Mobai passed her a spoon.
“Go on, try my cooking.”

Su Yuan took the spoon, still doubtful.
“When did you learn to cook?”

“Used to be on missions a lot — you need basic survival skills. Over time, I got pretty decent.”

He said it lightly, but it was a world Su Yuan couldn’t touch. She was silent for a moment, then nudged the lunchbox toward him.

“You haven’t eaten yet, have you? Let’s share.”

Fu Mobai was briefly stunned, then smiled.
“Alright.”

When he took out another pair of chopsticks from the mesh pocket, Su Yuan realized she’d walked right into his trap.
“You planned to eat with me from the start, didn’t you?”

“No. Those chopsticks were for you.”

He answered so seriously that she almost felt embarrassed for doubting him. Thinking she’d misunderstood, she quickly picked up a piece of guobaorou and offered it to him.
“You worked hard. Here, have some meat first.”

They hadn’t had such an intimate gesture between them since they were children. Fu Mobai stared at her for a moment, then opened his mouth to accept it. A faint blush spread across his ears.

Su Yuan returned the chopsticks to him and started eating with her spoon.

“You don’t have to come tomorrow. It’s more than an hour from Qingshan City to here, even by car — it’s not convenient.”

Fu Mobai paused at her words, then explained seriously,
“I have a task here. Seeing you is just on the way, so don’t feel pressured.”

Su Yuan believed him, her expression turning solemn.
“Is it dangerous? Then why are you still bringing me food?”

“It’s not dangerous. Cooking is part of the job — it’d be wasteful not to eat it, so I came to you.”

Her eyes lit up in surprise. She hadn’t expected to be able to help, even indirectly.

“Can I ask how long this task will take?”

“Maybe a month, maybe until next year — can’t say for sure.”

His tone was light, deliberately vague. She didn’t dare pry further.

“You’re not planning to bring me food again tomorrow, are you?”

“Mhm. Will you help me?”

Fu Mobai’s sincere expression made it impossible to refuse.

Thinking he meant some role-playing mission — like pretending to be a cook — Su Yuan agreed without hesitation.

After the meal, he got out of the car, bought a tea mug full of red dates from a roadside stall, and tucked them into a cloth bag for her. She had just turned to head back to school when she heard an excited voice behind her.

“Teacher Su! Wait for me!”

Her steps faltered. Slowly, she turned around, an ominous feeling creeping in.

There stood Jiang Yuan, not far away, smiling brightly at them.

There was no way to hide Fu Mobai now. She could only put on a brave face and say,
“Didn’t you eat at school? What are you doing out here?”

Su Yuan deliberately adopted a stern tone to distract her, but Jiang Yuan was too sharp to be fooled.

“Teacher, aren’t you going to introduce him? Don’t tell me this is your rumored soldier boyfriend?”

“…” Su Yuan was momentarily speechless.

In Jiang Yuan’s eyes, her silence was as good as an admission. She trotted over, all smiles, and greeted Fu Mobai with enthusiasm.
“Hello, Brother-in-law! I’m Jiang Yuan, Teacher Su’s student — and her honorary cousin. Nice to meet you!”

“Hello. I’ve heard Yuanyuan talk about you often.”

Compared to Su Yuan’s nervous guilt, Fu Mobai was calm, as if they really were a couple.

After a few polite exchanges, he turned to Su Yuan and murmured,
“I’ll wait for you here tomorrow. Don’t be late.”

With someone else present, Su Yuan’s guilty conscience made her go along with it.
“Mhm. You should be careful on the road.”

Seeing the scene, Jiang Yuan thought they looked perfect together — handsome man, beautiful woman, a match made in heaven.

When Fu Mobai left, she teased,
“Teacher Su, your boyfriend’s really handsome. No wonder you don’t bring him back to the village.”

Su Yuan rubbed the tip of her nose and made a rather presumptuous request.
“He’s a bit shy. Could you… not tell anyone you’ve met him for now?”

“Huh? He’s shy?” Jiang Yuan honestly hadn’t noticed, but after thinking for a moment, she agreed.

Su Yuan thanked her, and the knot of worry in her chest finally loosened.

….

The first afternoon class was politics.

After returning to school, Su Yuan headed straight for the office.

Passing the playground, she glanced in a certain direction—just in time to see that man walking out of the office with a thermos, heading toward the boiler room.

She quickly changed her route, planning to stage a “chance encounter.”

At this hour, both teachers and students had already finished lunch. Su Yuan entered the boiler room looking flustered, almost bumping straight into him.

Fortunately, she had kept her pace in check, and nothing actually happened.

“Sorry, I almost ran into you. My apologies.”

With her humble, deferential attitude, she seemed honest and harmless.

Tan Li frowned slightly. This girl looked unfamiliar.

“You’re new here?”

Su Yuan lifted her head and answered seriously, “Yes. Today’s my first day. I’m teaching Chinese for the first-year middle schoolers.”

Seeing her answer each question straightforwardly, Tan Li warmed up a little.

“I’m fine. Just be more careful next time—don’t be so reckless.”

Su Yuan thanked her repeatedly, then asked a little shyly, “By the way, when you were fetching water just now… did you happen to see a one-yuan note? My lunch money’s gone missing, and this is the only place I haven’t checked.”

A yuan was no small sum in those days.

Tan Li instinctively glanced around, then shook her head. “Haven’t seen it.”

Knowing when to stop, Su Yuan decided she’d achieved her goal for the day—to get her face remembered. She bid farewell and left the boiler room.

….

In the days that followed, she and Fu Mobai often met, and each lunch was different from the last.

Su Yuan patted her stomach, feeling like she was putting on weight.

Every Sunday, the two would meet at the town library—a quiet place with few people, safe from prying eyes.

….

Late October.

To celebrate the successful completion of the autumn harvest, the village chief gave the educated youth a day off. It happened to be Sunday, so everyone could take their introduction letters into the city to shop.

Shen Qing had been waiting for this day. When she got the news, she went to the Jiang household, linked arms with Su Yuan, and pleaded, “Come to Qingshan City with me. The things I want to buy aren’t available in town.”

Su Yuan bit her lip, looking troubled. She had already made plans with Fu Mobai to look for recipe books at the library.

A promise is a promise. After some hesitation, she chose to keep her word.

“I’ve already made plans with someone. Next time, I’ll go with you, okay?”

Shen Qing assumed it was someone from the village and asked curiously, “Who? Feng Shumiao?”

“No.”

Su Yuan wasn’t one to tell an obvious lie that could be exposed in one poke.

Just as Shen Qing was about to press further, Jiang Yuan happened to walk past and rescued her.

“Qing-jie, why don’t I go with you instead? As long as you convince Teacher Su not to make me do homework.”

Shen Qing was immediately sidetracked. Before Su Yuan could say anything, Shen Qing slipped into her elder-sister-in-law tone.
“That won’t do! If you skip homework for me, your brother will hate me.”

She liked Jiang Song—something Jiang Yuan was well aware of.

The two began chatting about that man, and Su Yuan successfully slipped away.

….

Sunday came.

She walked several hundred meters out of the village to a very secluded spot to wait for Fu Mobai.

This was their meeting place—safe so far.

Within two minutes, he appeared in the distance, riding a bicycle. Dressed in a black Zhongshan suit, his usual sharpness softened into something refined, like a noble young master—so different from his usual image.

Su Yuan stared at him in a daze, her heart racing again.

Soon, the bicycle stopped at her side. Fu Mobai dismounted and asked, “Have you been waiting long? I’ll come earlier next time.”

“Not long. I just got here when you arrived.”

From his jacket pocket, the man pulled out a neatly folded red silk scarf. Unfolding it, he reached up to tie it gently around her neck, the movement utterly natural.

“It’s getting cold. This will keep you warm.”

Feeling the sudden warmth, Su Yuan looked up at him, her nerves tightening.

They stood facing each other, bathed in the golden autumn sun. For a moment, time seemed to freeze—intimate and ambiguous.

“Thank you. It’s very warm.”

“As long as you like it.”

Fu Mobai lowered his gaze into her clear, glistening eyes. After a moment’s silence, he drew a deep breath, about to bare his feelings—when voices drifted over from not far away.