Chapter 13

The man’s footsteps were light, carrying a rhythmic pace. Little Ma was still catching his breath, his breathing not yet steady. The man in the white military uniform entered Nurse Ge’s line of sight.

He was wearing a cap, and at first, his face was not fully visible. Beneath the brim, his features were handsome and sharp. The man was tall and slender. When he looked up, a pair of ink-black eyes met Nurse Ge’s shocked gaze.

Gu Cheng stepped onto the last step, stopping to stand still. He removed his cap, fully revealing his exquisitely handsome face. He nodded slightly in the direction of Ge Yunxia.

The clouds blocked the sun, and the sky darkened. The sea breeze blowing into the corridor carried a cool moisture.

“He’s here? Then I’ll head in.” Gu Cheng pushed the door open and disappeared from Ge Yunxia’s sight.

Like the wind, he came and went. If it weren’t for Little Ma still catching his breath beside her, Ge Yunxia would have thought it was all an illusion.

What brings the King of Hell here?

Ge Yunxia asked, “Captain Gu, what brings you here?”

Nurse Little Ma replied, “To stand in for Deputy Director Xiao at a matchmaking meeting.”

Ge Yunxia: “...”

Qin Yao sat on the sofa, a braid resting on her shoulder. When Gu Cheng pushed the door open, he saw her tilting her head, her neck stretching as light flickered across her fair and soft cheek.

Gu Cheng lowered his eyes, casually locking the door behind him. He walked over and sat down opposite her in just a couple of steps.

He saw the surprise on the woman’s face. Her peach-blossom eyes widened instinctively. Gu Cheng felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards uncontrollably, but he quickly pressed his lips together, straightened his expression, and placed his military cap on the table.

Gu Cheng took out a paper document, opened it, and pushed it forward. He said calmly, “Gu Cheng. This is my personal information.”

“Qin Yao, you’ve already seen my file.”

A forced smile appeared on Qin Yao’s face. Her right hand, like a pianist’s, slowly reached for the document. She pinched it, then retreated quickly like an octopus grabbing its prey.

After quickly scanning Gu Cheng’s resume, Qin Yao couldn’t help but click her tongue inwardly. This guy was indeed a top-notch employee of “a certain fishing company.”

He was worlds apart from the little brother Gu Cheng she had imagined—separated by the entire Qiongzhou Strait.

Qin Yao put down the document and let out a long sigh of relief. The door was closed, and half of the window was open. From Qin Yao’s angle, she could see two heads peeking out from outside.

Qin Yao couldn’t help but smile.

She wasn’t here for a serious matchmaking session, just to repay a favor. If it had been someone else today, she might have felt nervous and embarrassed. But since it was Gu Cheng standing in front of her, it was as if fate had played a trick on them.

Rejecting him would be no pressure at all.

Qin Yao naturally curved her lips into a smile and spoke to Gu Cheng first, “Captain Gu, I didn’t expect to meet you again. I still need to thank you for the last time…”

Like any ordinary and mundane matchmaking meeting in the world, Qin Yao enthusiastically started a conversation with him, talking about how she and her best friend tidied up the yard on the day she arrived on the island, and then about playing with the children at Chen Baozhen’s school.

As an editor, she was a natural storyteller. She could even amuse herself with her own words.

Half chatting and half verbally recounting her diary from the past period.

Qin Yao’s voice filled the room, and even the people outside could hear her laughter. She alone could create a lively atmosphere.

Gu Cheng didn’t say much, just quietly listening to her. His eyes held a hint of gentleness that he didn’t even notice.

White clouds drifted far away, and the sun reappeared, shining through the window and casting a warm, light yellow glow on Qin Yao’s back.

The light wasn’t dazzling, and a bit of warm sunlight fell on her head, dyeing her hair golden.

From Gu Cheng’s perspective, he could clearly see her head full of long, fine hair. Her braid was loosely tied, lazily and loosely wrapping around her soft cheeks.

His palm suddenly felt a little itchy, wanting to reach out and touch her head.

Gu Cheng resisted the urge, straightened his body, and lowered his eyes to pretend to adjust his sleeve. “Please, continue.”

Qin Yao’s eyes fell on his spotless white uniform hem, and a book title inexplicably popped into her mind—*The Actor’s Self-Cultivation*.

She looked up, down, left, and right, but she couldn’t find a trace of the port’s little brother Gu Cheng in him.

The captain sitting opposite her was tall, straight, and sharp, his neat attire exuding an air of elite professionalism. Even when he was lowering his head to adjust his sleeve, the arrogance buried deep in his bones couldn’t be hidden.

The white on him was like the snow on Kunlun Mountain, and he was the palace hanging above it—difficult to reach, like a mirage.

As reflected in his resume, he came from a good family background and had outstanding personal abilities. At his age, he was more than capable of looking down on all his peers.

The tone in which he had spoken earlier made it seem as if he and Qin Yao weren’t on a matchmaking meeting but as if Qin Yao was reporting to him, and only with his permission could she “continue speaking.”

When words don’t click, even half a sentence is too much.

Qin Yao treated him like a confidant, but after talking for a while, it started to lose its charm.

Nurse Ge pressed herself against her window sill, hearing the faint sound of Qin Yao’s voice. A deep sense of exhaustion washed over her, as if she had pulled two consecutive night shifts.

“Captain Gu” was here as a stand-in, and she was really afraid that Qin Yao might develop feelings for him.

Nurse Ge muttered to herself, wondering why it had to be when Deputy Director Xiao was not around, and why Captain Gu had strangely come to stand in as a matchmaker.

Gu Cheng was someone who gave Nurse Ge quite a headache.

Many young and pretty girls had set their sights on Captain Gu and asked Nurse Ge to play matchmaker. She had hit many cold walls with Gu Cheng and returned empty-handed every time.

Though she smiled at him to his face, she didn’t know how many times she had cursed that brat behind his back.

When advising male officers, she used Chen Baozhen as a teaching example, saying that one should marry a home-oriented woman who knew how to manage a household. When advising young girls, she used Gu Cheng as an example.

“Teacher Chen is quite good at picking men. She chose Xiao Gao, Gao Jianguo. Regardless of other things, he’s quite capable in the kitchen when he comes home and puts on an apron. Although they bicker, their life is still manageable.”

"If it were Captain Gu, can you even imagine? They would have gotten divorced a long time ago."

"This marriage and family business is all about the mundane daily necessities."

There’s no question about Captain Gu’s family background and abilities. He’s a one-in-a-million kind of person. Young girls all "admire strength," and the story of a beautiful hero has existed since ancient times. Nurse Ge had also gone through that stage as a young girl herself, so she understood the hearts of younger women.

Over the past few years, Nurse Ge had not only discouraged one stubborn woman who was infatuated with Captain Gu, but several of them. And those were just the obvious cases; who knows how many were behind the scenes.

There were quite a few in their hospital, whether married or unmarried. When they found out that Chen Baozhen was set up on a blind date with Captain Gu, some were envious, some jealous, some biased, and some even hostile toward Chen Baozhen.

Captain Gu coming over so hastily, stirring up the feelings of these young girls—it was like flowers falling with no water to carry them, only adding to the heartache.

The difficulty of the matchmaking for Dr. He had just multiplied several times! A favorable situation had turned unfavorable.

Nurse Ge clapped her hands. What a mess this was.

"It's time," Nurse Ge knocked on the door from outside and called out in a loud voice, "It's getting late."

Qin Yao stood up and went to open the door proactively. Gu Cheng sat there, picked up his teacup, and took a sip. He hadn’t realized how quickly time had passed. After a small sip, he put the teacup down. When Ge Yunxia entered, he also stood up.

Nurse Ge looked exhausted. The sunlight slanted across her face, mercilessly adding a few more lines of weariness to the corners of her eyes.

The excitement she had while waiting for Deputy Director Xiao in the corridor earlier had deflated like a punctured balloon.

There was no time for casual banter. After a few pleasantries, Qin Yao and Gu Cheng left one after the other.

The next day, under Dr. He’s eager gaze, Nurse Ge opened her mouth but didn’t dare to go into detail about the blind date mishap from the day before. Nurse Little Ma hadn’t spread the news either.

"Nurse Ge, when can you arrange a meeting with Comrade Qin?"

Ge Yunxia coughed. "As soon as possible."

"I’ll ask Xiao Qin about her thoughts."

"Yes, good." Dr. He smiled sincerely. Ge Yunxia could see that he was really putting his heart into this, something she had never seen from the usually reserved Dr. He.

While thinking of a rescue plan in her head, Nurse Ge headed to the family courtyard to find Qin Yao. She pulled Qin Yao to a corner and asked her about her thoughts on the blind date.

"What do you think… well? Captain Gu’s conditions are quite good."

"Captain Gu is very outstanding," Qin Yao paused, then continued, "Although Captain Gu is a good person, he’s too old for me, we’re not a match."

Ge Yunxia blinked. Her surprised gaze swept over Qin Yao’s youthful, collagen-filled face, quite shocked by the answer she had heard.

"He’s already thirty, and I’m only eighteen. That’s a whole twelve years, a full zodiac cycle difference."

According to the records, "Captain Gu" was thirty, even if his actual age hadn’t quite reached thirty yet, his nominal age certainly had.

"He didn’t say much yesterday. I feel like we don’t have much in common, and it wouldn’t work out."

"Nurse Ge, could you introduce me to someone younger?" After speaking, Qin Yao’s pretty face flushed slightly as she pretended to be shy and twirled the ends of her braid.

"Alright, alright," Ge Yunxia beamed with joy. At this point, her fondness for Qin Yao increased significantly. This girl was smart, pragmatic, and didn’t beat around the bush.

"Xiao Qin, choosing a partner is like picking a shoe. You can’t just look at the appearance or the price. No matter how expensive or good a shoe is, if the size isn’t right, it won’t work. Only by wearing the shoe and walking in it will you know if it’s the right fit for you."

Qin Yao nodded, though in her heart she thought the issue was that she wasn’t ready to look for a partner yet, so she could only disappoint Nurse Ge’s kind intentions.

Fortunately, training would start in a few days, and she would only have to meet one more blind date prospect.

She wanted to maintain a friendly relationship with Nurse Ge and politely reject one more blind date to wrap things up perfectly.

Qin Yao moved closer to Ge Yunxia and took the opportunity to gauge her feelings.

"Her fondness toward you is 58 (She thinks you’re a smart girl)"

Qin Yao’s lips curled up. Just a bit more and she would pass. Winning over the nurse was a higher priority than any blind date.

"In a couple of days, you’ll meet Dr. He. Although he’s a few years older, it’s not by much. A man should be a few years older to truly know how to care. Plus, you’re about to start training. In the future, if you have any medical questions, you can ask Dr. He."

As these words left her mouth, Nurse Ge felt a sense of clarity, and the chirping of sparrows outside her window turned into the joyful sounds of magpies in her ears.

She thought to herself, marriage is predestined by heaven. When it’s your fate, there’s no escaping it.