Chapter 67 - First Update

Gu Cheng hadn’t expected that by changing his clothes and demeanor, everyone would see him as a completely different person, and not a single person could recognize him as "Captain Gu."

It seemed that he was indeed a natural "chameleon."

"Last time you came to my house for dinner, the hospitality was lacking, please forgive us." He had prepared this apology long ago. He wasn’t someone who refused to admit his mistakes. That day, he had allowed his personal feelings to interfere, and he had been upset with Qin Yao, making the meal awkward and impolite.

"No problem, no problem." To his surprise, such a formal apology made Deputy Director Liu blush immediately.

After apologizing to Deputy Director Liu, Gu Cheng turned to the other man in the office with a half-smile, yet coldly said, "Comrade, shouldn’t you apologize to my wife as well?"

Under Gu Cheng’s cold gaze, Xiao Pan felt uneasy and apologized to Qin Yao, looking sullen.

"Sorry, it was a misunderstanding."

Qin Yao smiled slightly and said, "Be more careful next time."

"Wife, why are there some men who act like clowns, gossiping all day long about other people's relationships, as if it’s any of their business? Why do they care?"

"Butting into things that don’t concern them, like annoying flies buzzing around your ears in summer. They deserve a slap in the face."

Sitting at Qin Yao's desk, holding a thermos cup, Gu Cheng rambled on, his words sharp and biting. His expression was cold and mocking, his eyes slightly squinting, full of provocation, like a mighty lion ready to pounce, radiating intense pressure.

Xiao Pan wished he could sink into the ground, but he didn’t dare to talk back, only hoping this ordeal would end soon. After this, he didn’t dare to provoke the formidable Qin Yao again.

Director Huang, a humorous man, smiled with his eyes narrowing and occasionally chimed in, "Captain Gu speaks well, everyone should heed these words."

Deputy Director Liu lowered her head to organize some files. She realized that Qin Yao’s husband was more intimidating than Xiao Yan’s husband. When he smiled, he was gentle, but his words were like cold knives when he spoke seriously. However, he had one good trait: he was very protective of his wife.

As the event was about to begin, Xiao Pan went downstairs. Gu Cheng offered to redo Qin Yao’s hair. Her braids had gotten messy after a long day, and Gu Cheng personally re-braided her hair for the upcoming activities.

"Captain Gu, you sure have a sharp tongue." Qin Yao realized she had underestimated him.

Gu Cheng: "You haven’t heard Political Commissar Zhou nagging. He can go on for three or four hours non-stop."

"He saves all his words for the evening, and his team doesn’t disperse for half a day. It’s annoying."

Qin Yao smiled gently as the couple huddled together, whispering about household matters.

Deputy Director Liu closed the file folder and happened to look up just in time to see the man smiling gently as he finished combing his wife’s hair. He then crouched down to gather the fallen strands, tidying Qin Yao’s desk in the process.

The couple left the office together.

Even though they didn’t say any intimate words, Deputy Director Liu could still sense the deep bond between them. It seemed she had misunderstood them before.

Oh no, it’s best not to let Qin Yao and Xiao Yan meet, to avoid rubbing salt in her wounds.

Qin Yao and Gu Cheng participated in the three-legged race and won first place among all the couples. It was clear that they had great chemistry, but by the end of the race, most husbands were carrying their wives.

Gu Cheng was no exception, holding Qin Yao’s waist as he ran swiftly.

"We won, we won, it’s finally over." Qin Yao was breathless, feeling like an accessory during the race.

The nurses who knew her cheered her on:

"Xiao Qin, you’re incredible!"

"It’s only today that I noticed how handsome Captain Gu is; I didn’t think so before..."

"What are you getting at? With that smile, he looks years younger."

"Captain Gu is thirty-five, isn’t he?"

"I heard he’s nearly forty."

"He’s over forty."

Gu Cheng listened with a grim face to the women’s whispers from afar, and it wasn’t exactly pleasant. Just listen to the nasty things they were saying, arbitrarily adding years to his age and calling him an "old man."

As if doubling his age would make his "youthful appearance" seem even more exaggerated.

Qin Yao chuckled and whispered to Gu Cheng, "You’re about to turn thirty, so saying you’re approaching forty isn’t far off. Besides, I remember your file says you’re already in your thirties, right? Two years older?"

"If I’m forty, then I could be your father." Though he’s only ten years older, they’re exaggerating by saying he’s two decades older.

Yaoyao went along with it, "Daddy, I want a prize."

There were several middle-aged officers participating in the couple’s activities, most in their thirties or forties. Gu Cheng was relatively younger among them.

The male officers were even less restrained with their jokes than the female nurses. However, the jokes weren’t directed at Qin Yao but rather at targeting Gu Cheng.

On normal days, Captain Gu was fierce and imposing, and ordinary people wouldn’t dare joke with him. But now, out of his uniform and standing next to his young and beautiful wife, he looked like a twenty-year-old rookie, his presence suddenly diminished.

After all, men enjoy ganging up on a "fallen hero."

Each of them looked up to no good, all sneering like old eunuchs:

"Comrade Qin, where’s your husband? Why can’t I see him? Where’s our Captain Gu? How did a young guy replace him?"

"This young guy is too young, right? Has he even turned twenty? He just joined the army, right? He looks so green."

"Young man, who’s your squad leader?"

Gu Cheng laughed and cursed, "Get lost."

They were all a bunch of animals.

While Gu Cheng arm-wrestled with a few male officers, Qin Yao walked over to Chen Baozhen’s side. Chen Baozhen had brought her sister-in-law, Gao Yingzi, to watch the fun.

Gao Yingzi wasn’t interested in Gu Cheng and was entirely focused on Xiao Pan, a true hopeless romantic.

Chen Baozhen and Qin Yao whispered on the side.

"Yaoyao, how old is your Captain Gu really?" Chen Baozhen was confused. With Gu Cheng’s smile, he could pass for a twenty-year-old young man without any disagreement.

Qin Yao coughed, "Age isn’t an issue."

"Who knew he’d look so young? If our Lao Gao stood next to him, he could pass as his uncle." Chen Baozhen kept laughing.

Qin Yao tugged at her sleeve, advising, "Don’t say these things in front of him; he holds grudges. He might throw mud at your place."

"Pfft, he’s not that immature." Chen Baozhen covered her mouth and laughed, "If you throw it, I’ll blame it on your Little Gu."

"Yes, my Little Gu."

Qin Yao was amused. With Little Gu stepping up, it solidified his "younger brother" status. She exchanged a few teasing remarks with Chen Baozhen, and Qin Yao nudged her with her elbow, "Is your sister-in-law so interested?"

Chen Baozhen sighed, "Once she makes up her mind, there's no persuading her."

Gao Yingzi was bowing her head, twisting a handkerchief in her hands, looking sad and desolate. In the distance, Xiao Pan and Jiang Xiaomiao were chatting and laughing, the man showing interest and the woman willing, a beautiful scene of springtime.

Qin Yao and Chen Baozhen went over to persuade her, "How did you end up setting your sights on Xiao Pan? His writing isn't that great, and he's just so-so as a person."

Not only is he average, but he has many sisters at home, looks down on women, and favors boys.

"He doesn't treat women with respect."

Gao Yingzi didn't mind, "He's an only son, only sons are a bit more pampered, more precious."

Chen Baozhen scoffed, "What's so precious about that?" Nonsense.

"He doesn't have any brothers, all the good things at home belong to him, and he has many sisters to support him."

As someone from the countryside, Gao Yingzi had her own ideas about choosing a partner. She preferred men who had many sisters and avoided those with many brothers.

Xiao Pan was the only son in his family. If she married into his family and bore a son, she would be highly respected; she would have secured the lineage of the Pan family.

But if Xiao Pan had many brothers, her son would carry less weight; and if she couldn't give birth to a son, her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law would mock her relentlessly.

Therefore, in Gao Yingzi's eyes, Xiao Pan, being an only son with many sisters, had the best conditions.

This was Gao Yingzi's evaluation of a suitable partner based on personal benefit, and Xiao Pan, being cultured, could write articles and poetry. Such a good man, she had to work hard to win him.

"Sigh, I was so foolish. Xiao Miao had a crush on He Tengfei, and I foolishly told her all this, now she's also vying for Xiao Pan's attention." Gao Yingzi was frustrated, hitting her forehead with her hand.

That day when they were catching mudskippers, Jiang Xiaomiao privately told Gao Yingzi that she had a crush on He Tengfei and mocked her for having poor taste, actually setting her sights on Xiao Pan, which infuriated Gao Yingzi. How dare she belittle the man I admire?

So Gao Yingzi eagerly listed Xiao Pan's advantages one by one.

As a result, Jiang Xiaomiao was persuaded and actively started pestering Xiao Pan, infuriating Gao Yingzi.

"Are you all crushing on Xiao Pan?" Qin Yao was astonished, Xiao Pan, of all people, causing a rivalry among several women, oh my god, she couldn't understand this at all.

In Qin Yao's opinion, He Tengfei had excellent qualifications, good enough to be set up with Deputy Director Liu, but both Jiang Xiaomiao and Gao Yingzi had their eyes on Xiao Pan.

What kind of taste is this?

Gao Yingzi's eyes were filled with infatuation, "Xiao Pan is so excellent, he's just like my brother in terms of his background."

"What?!" Chen Baozhen couldn't sit still when her younger sister compared Xiao Pan to Gao Jianguo.

Qin Yao was speechless, "What qualities does Xiao Pan have that compare to your brother?"

"He's driving me mad!"

"My brother used to be just like Xiao Pan. He also came from the village, wasn't very educated, but because he loved reading, he was valued by the leaders, who recommended him to a military academy, and then he became an officer."

"Xiao Pan is just like that, he's so excellent, he'll be recommended soon."

"He's younger and more capable than my brother, who couldn't write good articles or poetry."

"Wait, wait, wait—" Qin Yao quickly interrupted her, "The kind of culture you're talking about isn't the same as what the leaders consider valuable. To join the navy, there's a technical threshold; you need to study mathematics, science, mechanics, and electronics. Writing poetry isn't useful; you need to study mathematics and science."

Gao Yingzi was confused, "What are mathematics and science?"

Qin Yao: '...'

Qin Yao and Chen Baozhen explained things to Gao Yingzi at length before she finally came to her senses, realizing how different her brother and Xiao Pan were.

"Xiao Pan's writing isn’t even as good as mine," Gao Yingzi stated firmly.

"Then I won’t like him anymore then," Gao Yingzi said decisively.

"If you enjoy reading poetry, you can read my poems," Qin Yao continued to persuade her, thinking it wouldn’t be easy to change her mind.

"No, I don’t read poetry. I’m looking for a man who’s into math, physics, and chemistry," Gao Yingzi waved her hand dismissively.

She couldn’t understand poetry, nor the subjects of math, physics, and chemistry. But someone like her brother must be the best.

Gao Yingzi no longer held Xiao Pan in high regard.