Chapter 31: Second Update

Head Nurse Ge floated her steps to pick two fresh, crisp cucumbers and returned home. She sat at the doorway, shelling peas, her hands moving absent-mindedly.

When her husband Zheng Yongli returned, the noise startled her, pulling Head Nurse Ge back from her thoughts. She suddenly slapped her thigh. "That guy outwitted me!"

Even with a dull mind, she could guess the truth. What examination period? From the start, when he replaced Assistant Director Xiao in the blind date with Qin Yao, this brat surnamed Gu had ulterior motives.

He obviously had a crush but played turtle in front of her.

"Who? Who could deceive your sharp eyes?" Zheng Yongli asked curiously.

"Who else? Captain Gu. He had me spinning in circles and I never suspected a thing."

Zheng Yongli became more curious. "What do you mean?"

"It's Xiao Qin examining him, not the other way around. This guy is desperately pursuing the girl, getting muddied and not daring to lose his temper." Speaking of this, Head Nurse Ge felt a malicious joy.

Immediately after, she felt regret with a tearful heart.

If she had known that the arrogant Captain Gu would shamelessly pursue Xiao Qin, she should have seized the opportunity to thoroughly embarrass him. But she missed her chance.

Now, it's too late. The young couple is flirting and getting along well.

Head Nurse Ge wanted to see Gu Cheng anxious, but there was no chance left.

Ge Yunxia was so angry she wanted to flip the table!

"Stop making things up. Do you think I'd believe that?" Zheng Yongli sat on the recliner, waving his hand. "Would Captain Gu really let a woman ride on his head?"

Head Nurse Ge snorted.

The truth is always in the hands of a few.

Head Nurse Ge pondered all night but kept it to herself, not telling anyone.

Gu Cheng, with his good conditions, attracted many young girls. Even those who had married had a crush on him back in the day. Although these were old stories, who knows if they've turned a new page?

Chen Baozhen traveled a long way to the island for the blind date, and many people said sour words, unable to hide their jealousy.

Now that Qin Yao and Gu Cheng are dating, it's impossible for some not to feel envy. But because of the "examination period" and Gu Cheng's cold demeanor, many sympathized with Qin Yao.

Being with such a cold-faced tyrant isn't a good thing after marriage.

If people had known from the start that Captain Gu was shamelessly pursuing Qin Yao, and Qin Yao set an examination period for him, the public opinion would have been very different.

"Forget it, I'll help you keep the secret." Head Nurse Ge didn't sleep well all night, and in the morning, listening to the bugle call, she decided to be a proper matchmaker.

"A handsome man is a treasure before marriage and tofu dregs after."

Like Dr. Xie in their hospital, when he first came as a young man, he joked and played with many young girls. Even after he had a girlfriend, he continued to play around, which Head Nurse Ge disapproved of.

After Dr. Xie got married, all the surrounding women began to avoid him, and later got married themselves. A few years passed, and Dr. Xie gained ten pounds after marriage, not ugly but lacking the handsomeness of his early twenties.

The young girls who used to cling to him became mothers, and upon meeting him, they mercilessly mocked him, "swollen like a pig's head" and "squished features."

Thinking of Dr. Xie's former cool and handsome demeanor and comparing it to his current downfall, Head Nurse Ge felt a sense of satisfaction.

Serve you right for entangling with young girls!

Her husband Zheng Yongli raised an eyebrow. "Who are you scolding?"

Head Nurse Ge said, "Not you. You were tofu dregs from the start."

Head Nurse Ge went to work in high spirits, ate a bowl of rice noodles in the cafeteria, and ran into the gentle nurse Xu Yun in the office.

Xu Yun casually asked, "How are Comrade Qin and Captain Gu getting along? She hasn't come to consult me."

The fact that Yuan Li was her niece hadn't been publicized, and no one knew. At this point, Xu Yun resented Qin Yao and wanted to teach her a lesson.

Yuan Li was sentenced for a few months, but what hurt more was losing her good job and having to return to her hometown.

Since her niece lost her job, Xu Yun wanted Qin Yao to lose her relationship. Did she think she could marry Captain Gu? No way.

"Oh, let them be. Xu Yun, there's no need for you to get involved. They're getting along well." Head Nurse Ge smiled slightly, a mysterious expression on her face.

As a mature matchmaker, in her current assessment, she didn't need Xu Yun's help anymore, but rather to give Captain Gu a push.

She had used the wrong approach initially.

Let Captain Gu learn from Xiao Wu, who was really good with women.

"Is that so?" Xu Yun's expression faltered, a forced smile on her face. "That's wonderful! I'll go find out more. I was hoping for some big wedding candies."

*

"Wait, Xiao Qin. Let me handle this. You rest here." Zhang Yufei, having eaten the candy given by Gu Cheng, helped Qin Yao with some errands without complaining about the tiredness.

Zhang Yufei was genuinely happy for Qin Yao.

Although Captain Gu seemed fierce, he was kind at heart and had no airs. Many people knew that Gu Cheng helped Qin Yao with farming tasks.

"Captain Gu is a good person. He may not be affectionate, but he's generous and has a gentlemanly demeanor, not standing by while women work."

"Xiao Qin, you're so beautiful, and Captain Gu is handsome. Your future children will definitely be outstanding. In a couple of years, when you have children, bring them to the hospital. We'll take turns helping you look after them."

Qin Yao's mouth twitched. These people were really thinking far ahead, bringing up children.

That day, Gu Cheng came to see her, bringing a large bag of things, including his spare military uniform and a few handkerchiefs. He instructed her to embroider his name neatly on them.

As an unmarried male officer, Gu Cheng's clothes were dried in the communal drying area. Even with different sizes, clothes could easily get mixed up. Generally, they would mark their clothes to avoid mistakenly taking someone else's.

"Over here, embroider my name on this spot, just follow this example."

Qin Yao flipped through his clothes and noticed that the name "Gu Cheng" was already embroidered on it. But this guy wanted his name embroidered on another spot, truly looking for unnecessary work.

"You still owe me nine handkerchiefs. On each handkerchief, embroider both of our names. Using our full names would be too indiscreet, so just embroider it as 'Gu-Qin.' You can add some flowers and plants on the side."

Qin Yao: "I don't know how to do that."

"It's simple." Gu Cheng took out a pink handkerchief, the one Qin Yao had given him. It already had both of their surnames embroidered on it, along with a magnolia flower.

"If you don't know anything else, just embroider it like this."

Qin Yao picked up the small pink handkerchief, which looked very familiar. It seemed to be the one she had given away. The original plain handkerchief now had both of their names and a lifelike magnolia flower embroidered on it.

It was evident that the person who embroidered this pattern had excellent skills, and Qin Yao couldn't help but admire it.

"Who did you ask to embroider it? Their skills are amazing! A real talent in your military unit." Qin Yao curiously nudged Gu Cheng's arm.

Gu Cheng was expressionless. "You could say that, a real talent."

"Who is it? Are they married?"

Gu Cheng frowned. "What do you want?"

"I want to ask them to embroider a couple of handkerchiefs for me. If the person is married, I should avoid any misunderstandings, right?"

Gu Cheng pursed his thin lips. "That won't be necessary."

"What?"

"Even if they're married, there's no need to avoid misunderstandings." Gu Cheng spread out the handkerchief and spoke in a low voice.

"Ah?" Qin Yao was startled, and suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head. She looked at him incredulously. "Captain Gu, could it be that you were the one who embroidered it?"

A man having such excellent embroidery skills was astonishing.

Gu Cheng nodded with a gloomy expression. "..."

If he hadn't been worried that Qin Yao would ruin the first handkerchief, Captain Gu wouldn't have had to step in personally. Although he didn't have much artistic talent, his ability to create diagrams was excellent, and his hand-eye coordination was superb. Embroidering a standard magnolia flower was a piece of cake for him.

"Something this simple, anyone with eyes can do it." Gu Cheng slightly lifted his chin, speaking with disdain.

Qin Yao was silent. "..."

As for Qin Yao herself, she had been thinking about giving up. However, the magnolia flower pattern embroidered by Gu Cheng was indeed beautiful, and Qin Yao wanted to embroider a handkerchief for herself and give one to her best friend Chen Baozhen.

She had never done much handwork before, except for raising silkworms in school when she was a student. She had also done some cross-stitch, knitted sweaters, and braided friendship bracelets... She had been happy doing anything except studying.

The same went for work.

The next day, after finishing lunch and before taking a nap, Qin Yao sat on a wooden chair and decided to start her handkerchief. She took out the handkerchief and needlework supplies.

Xu Yun saw this scene from the doorway. She smiled and had an idea in her mind.

As a gentle and virtuous woman, needlework was her specialty. She could use this to get closer to Qin Yao.

"Xiao Qin, what are you embroidering? Is it a handkerchief? Are you making it for Captain Gu?" Xu Yun walked up. "What pattern are you embroidering? I'm quite good at embroidery. Do you want me to teach you—"

Before she finished speaking, Xu Yun saw the pink handkerchief in Qin Yao's hand. It had a delicate and beautiful magnolia flower embroidered on it, with neat stitches and clean front and back sides.

Xu Yun was stunned and exclaimed, "Did you embroider this?"

Qin Yao was embarrassed. "You could say that."

Qin Yao was about to put away the handkerchief and needlework supplies when Xu Yun, still in disbelief, reached out and grabbed the handkerchief. Their hands accidentally touched.

Qin Yao took the opportunity to check the affection level.

"Her affection level towards her -30 (She dislikes you)"