Chapter 40 - First Update

Qin Yao couldn't help but admire her own imagination. How could she possibly imagine Gu Cheng as herbal essence of orthosiphon? Just the thought of it made the coolness of menthol immediately permeate her surroundings. Few people knew that the herbal essence of orthosiphon contained a high concentration of alcohol. Therefore, when you drank it, the fiery heat would rise, making you feel spirited, clear-headed, and stimulated all at once.

Gu Cheng led Miao Cuiye back to the office. Qin Yao, to avoid suspicion, waited outside.

She stood under the shade tree by the door, where the lawn was a lush green, and several soldiers were trimming it.

Many pairs of eyes were on her. Qin Yao tugged at her sleeve, thinking it would be better to go into the office with them. Being watched outside made her feel uneasy.

"Comrade Xiao Qin!"

While waiting outside, she ran into "Jiang Chao," whom she had met once before. Half a year ago, when she came to ask Gu Cheng to sign some documents, they had exchanged a few words. Jiang Chao had courteously let her go first.

"Comrade Xiao Qin! It really is you."

The annoying Comrade Xiao Qin, who had said that Captain Gu was in a good mood, had caused him quite a bit of trouble.

Half a year had passed, and things had changed, but Jiang Chao was still wearing his sailor uniform. However, due to his recent excellent performance appraisal, he was about to be promoted.

Coming to ask Captain Gu to sign documents today, he had unexpectedly met Qin Yao again. This comrade had left a deep impression on him.

Qin Yao was vastly different from half a year ago, but the one thing that remained the same was her skin, still a rosy white. Such fair skin was rarely seen on the island.

The sun here was harsh, and people's skin was either exceptionally dark or exceptionally white. Jiang Chao had encountered several people whose skin never tanned, and Qin Yao was one of them.

It was a good thing for girls not to tan, but for men, especially male soldiers, not tanning wasn't necessarily good. They had to tan evenly; otherwise, if they took off their pants and still had a "white pants" line on their legs, it would be utterly embarrassing.

"You are... Comrade Xiao Jiang." Qin Yao hadn't expected to meet Jiang Chao and, upon learning of his promotion, congratulated him.

Jiang Chao humbly smiled, revealing a set of white teeth. "Thank you, thank you."

Qin Yao: "..."

"Comrade Qin, you and Captain Gu are getting married. I knew it, I knew it. The moment I met you half a year ago, I felt you were extraordinary and left a deep impression on me."

Qin Yao sighed. "I don't know why the story turned out like this."

At first, she liked Gu's younger brother, but she ended up spending more time with the proud and aloof Captain Gu, who was like a white peacock. Today, he had become a herbal essence of orthosiphon that kept her spirited.

Jiang Chao: "It's fate, fate. A thousand miles of marriage is connected by a single thread."

"How did you know we were getting married?"

"I heard about it. Captain Gu has already submitted the marriage report."

Hearing about this marriage report made Qin Yao's head feel twice as big. When the three-month period was up, it felt like she was being forced into something, and it didn't feel real. Was she really getting married? It seemed like there hadn't been any major ups and downs.

She always felt something should happen.

Gu Cheng, having finished his work, was anxious to see Qin Yao waiting outside. As he walked out and saw the familiar figure under the tree, he stopped in his tracks and quietly admired the woman's silhouette.

Unconsciously, a few well-rehearsed sentences floated through his mind. Gu Cheng's mind went blank, his blood boiling hot, his nose feeling scorched and dry. He couldn't help but touch his nose.

On this cloudless sunny day, Captain Gu thought that autumn and winter indeed made one prone to dryness and heat.

Lately, Gu Cheng had been easily irritated, and the closer the date got, the more anxious he became, especially since the marriage report had been submitted, but he hadn't yet "secured" the person. The waiting period was the hardest.

Recently, he had been having those kinds of dreams, which were unbearable.

Like poison acting up, each time it happened, it was worse than before. The only time he could shake off the troubles of his body was when he was deeply immersed in work. But once he was free, that disobedient little sponge would stir up trouble in places no one could see, and no matter how much he tried to suppress it, it didn't work.

Captain Gu refused to admit that he was so thirsty.

He was a proper man, yet it was as if he was bewitched. Neither the Four Books and Five Classics nor the Buddhist scriptures nor Das Kapital helped. No matter what he recited at night, he still wanted a woman's body.

Day and night, he thought about it so much that he couldn't think anymore. He wished they could get married immediately and live an affectionate life together, so he wouldn't have to wash his pants alone every morning.

Now, the person Captain Gu envied the most had become Gao Jianguo.

"Gu Cheng?" Qin Yao noticed his gaze and turned to see him standing on the walkway, puzzled as to why he was standing there motionless.

Gu Cheng came to his senses and rubbed his brow. "It's still hot this time of the month, and I'm a bit dizzy."

Qin Yao immediately said, "Do you need herbal essence of orthosiphon?"

"What herbal essence of orthosiphon?" Gu Cheng's sharp sword-like brows lifted, his presence sharp as if a drawn sword. He crossed his arms. "I haven't settled the score with you yet. What's this about Captain Huo? Who is this Captain Huo?"

Qin Yao coolly replied, "I was feeling dizzy just now and thought of the herbal essence of orthosiphon, so I said it out loud."

"You're dizzy too?" Gu Cheng seemed to be losing control, unable to contain the bizarre thoughts popping into his head even at the office door.

They say lovers have a deep connection. A man desires a woman's body, so does this person in front of him also want his body?

This question, once it appeared, was more challenging than any math or physics problem. Gu Cheng's mind couldn't find any formulas or logical deductions. In this area of knowledge, he was as impoverished as a beggar in the desert.

He was the beggar in the desert, and Qin Yao in front of him was the mirage mushroom or the desert mirage.

No, she was the desert herself, appearing abruptly, making him thirsty and parched, suffering from the scorching sun and sand, not knowing when he would reach the oasis in the desert and find satisfaction.

"A little? Not severe." Qin Yao pressed her head. She was dizzy, but not because of the weather. Was it pre-wedding jitters?

She always felt this marriage was too hasty, lacking the dramatic vows of eternal love, the long courtship, the terrible in-laws, the terrible sister-in-law, the betrothal gifts, meeting the parents, and the show of power...

Or rather, these issues might await them in the future, but because of the long distance and being on this remote island, none of them were problems.

Not to mention, in the countryside, young educated couples got married and lived together without needing parental consent. They had children without their parents meeting, and without even registering for marriage... If one of them returned to the city first, it would either be abandoning wife and children or abandoning husband and children.

That was the situation of this era, and looking back, it was something that would be hard to understand. Ordinary men and women would be accused of indecency if they got too close, but if a man and woman publicly declared themselves a couple, even if they didn't register or meet each other's parents, as long as they had a banquet in public, they could sleep in the same bed and have children... and that wouldn't be considered indecent.

Nowadays, people don't really acknowledge marriage certificates. They still follow the old traditions, where the wedding banquet is considered the true social contract ceremony for a man and a woman getting married.

Concerned, Gu Cheng asked, "Did you get a heatstroke?"

Qin Yao twitched the corner of her mouth. "If I got a heatstroke in this weather, what do you take me for?"

"Do you miss me?" Gu Cheng looked at her eagerly. What he really wanted to know was whether she missed his body.

Forces act on each other, and so do people. Men and women are all human, after all, and they ultimately converge on the same path.

He really wanted to know what it would be like when Qin Yao missed his body, when she thought of him.

"Captain Gu," Qin Yao called out, reminding him, "You're not behaving properly right now."

Gu Cheng's ability to control his expression was getting worse. For a moment, Qin Yao thought she saw a younger version of Gu.

Captain Gu, you're putting on a serious face!

Just now, he was like a cold, proud bottle of Huoxiang Zhengqi water, and now he's become a bottle of Arctic Ocean soda, transforming from a long-standing, hardcore drink to a young and joyful one.

Gu Cheng regained his composure. "I don't need your reminder. Answer my question first."

Qin Yao watched him change expressions like in Sichuan opera. Even after knowing him for half a year, she still admired the wonder of creation and the miracles of the Creator. How could there be such a face in the world, so versatile? When serious, his features were cold and arrogant; when relaxed, his facial features softened instantly.

Gu Cheng's face was contradictory, even polarizing.

Qin Yao had figured out the reason. It all lay in Gu Cheng's eyes.

Whether it was his lips, jawline, or his tall, straight nose, each feature was handsome on its own. Especially his nose, straight and high, even a bit arrogant.

But the Creator, in a mischievous and playful final touch, gave him a pair of "amorous peach blossom eyes."

With those eyes, everything changed.

When he deliberately raised his eyes, there was a condescending, fierce look. When he smiled, his crow's feet were evident, and his eyes became gentle little crescent moons, watery and innocent, making him seem like an innocent young man despite being almost thirty.

It made people's hearts itch.

Thinking of this, Qin Yao couldn't help but reveal a cockatiel expression, three parts amused, seven parts ridiculous.

"I missed you."

Gu Cheng was delighted. "Really? Then we're telepathic."

Qin Yao: "..."

She always felt they were thinking of different things.

"Little Mushroom," Gu Cheng called her softly.

Qin Yao was puzzled. "What are you calling me?"

"I'm calling you Little Mushroom." In his heart, the great poet Gu added, "As I wandered through the forest, you were the magical mushroom I encountered, stunningly beautiful in the dark, damp woods, not fatal but hallucinogenic, filling my dreams with mushrooms."

These lines naturally appeared in his mind, effortlessly turning into poetry.

He then lowered his head and, in a sexy, husky voice, recited this "spontaneous modern poem" into Qin Yao's ear.

Qin Yao covered her face, feeling the heat on her cheeks, making her head dizzy. She widened her eyes. Gosh, how could he recite something so embarrassing in public?!

Seeing the blush on her cheeks, Gu Cheng felt immensely proud. He mimicked Qin Yao's earlier expression, giving her a "three parts amused, seven parts ridiculous" look.

Qin Yao tugged at his clothes. "Aren't you supposed to care about your image? How can you recite this?"

Gu Cheng scoffed, "Which man cares about image? Can you win by caring about image?"

Qin Yao was both annoyed and amused. Wasn't it him who cared about his image in the first place? She couldn't help but reach out and rub Gu Cheng's handsome face, leaning in to whisper a warning, "Don't suddenly act crazy. When it's just the two of us later—"

"Ahem."

A rather abrupt cough interrupted them.

As if afraid they hadn't noticed, the person coughed a few more times, as if suffering from a smoker's cough.

Political Commissar Zhou hadn't expected to witness this scene. He had heard that Qin Yao came to see Gu Cheng and thought she was concerned about the marriage registration. Gu Cheng had submitted a marriage report and filled out the marriage registration form.

After all, they were a couple under his watchful eye, and there were basically no issues. With all the official stamps on the registration form, Political Commissar Zhou thought he'd casually deliver the marriage registration form to them.

Qin Yao could take the form back, and the unit could issue a marriage introduction letter.

With the marriage introduction letter, they could go and get their marriage certificate.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem—" Political Commissar Zhou cleared his throat, straightened his back, and holding the registration form, began to have doubts.

Ever since Qin Yao's actions earlier, things had started to feel off.

Was the man facing away from him really Gu Cheng?

Was this really the couple that had been under his watchful eye?