It lasted only for a brief moment before Lin Jiaojiao quickly regained her composure.
She then extended her hand toward Gu Tingzhou.
Gu Tingzhou merely glanced at her hand, roughened from years of hard labor. Then, supporting himself with one hand on the bed, he sat up with practiced ease.
Lin Jiaojiao secretly pursed her lips but still gathered her courage to meet Gu Tingzhou’s scrutinizing gaze. He remained silent, studying her intently.
Taking a deep breath, she looked at him seriously and said, “Hello, Comrade Gu. You should still remember me. I’m Lin Jiaojiao, the woman you just met on a blind date.
I believe you’re wondering why you suddenly lost consciousness and why you’ve woken up here, am I right?”
Gu Tingzhou narrowed his eyes dangerously as he looked at the woman before him.
The woman standing before him was completely different from the timid, reserved person he had met at the restaurant earlier. Whether it was her demeanor or the way she spoke, everything had changed.
Although he had no idea why her personality had shifted so drastically or what she was planning, he simply nodded.
The coldness in his expression lessened slightly, replaced by a trace of curiosity.
He found it difficult to believe that the woman who had been too nervous to even look him in the eye at the restaurant was the same confident, radiant woman now standing before him.
Seeing him nod, Lin Jiaojiao quietly let out a sigh of relief before continuing.
“What I’m about to tell you may sound unbelievable. You might even think I’m lying to you.
But everything I’m saying is the truth. If you don’t believe me, you’re free to investigate it yourself.
As an outstanding soldier, I’m sure you’ll make the right judgment.”
While speaking, Lin Jiaojiao carefully watched every subtle change in Gu Tingzhou’s expression.
The man was cold—his eyes, his aura, everything about him.
He gave people the feeling that he kept the entire world at arm’s length.
Drawing on her experience from her previous life, she knew that a man whose heart was as cold as his appearance was someone extremely dangerous.
For a moment, she hesitated.
Should she really negotiate with this man?
After all, escaping a wolf’s den only to fall into a tiger’s lair would hardly be worth it.
“Speak.”
The single word clearly conveyed Gu Tingzhou’s attitude.
Delighted, Lin Jiaojiao immediately poured out everything about Lin Miaomiao’s scheme, revealing every detail without holding anything back.
After she finished, she cautiously observed his reaction.
Yet Gu Tingzhou remained completely expressionless.
Lin Jiaojiao: “…”
“What do you want?”
Just as she was feeling speechless, Gu Tingzhou suddenly fixed her with a sharp gaze and asked.
He wasn’t a fool.
He naturally understood that Lin Jiaojiao wouldn’t explain all of this unless she wanted something in return.
Normally, he kept everyone at a distance.
But for some reason, this woman had managed to pique his interest.
It was a feeling he had never experienced in his twenty-seven years of life.
It was unfamiliar.
But he didn’t dislike it.
He was curious about what exactly she wanted.
As long as it wasn’t excessive, he was willing to consider helping her.
If only because her eyes were as clear as spring water—honest, open, and completely free of calculation.
“Comrade Gu, may I ask… would you be willing to become my revolutionary partner?”
Lin Jiaojiao’s words were nothing short of shocking.
She wasn’t speaking on impulse.
She was completely serious.
After all, a family like the original owner’s was worse than having no family at all.
According to the novel, while the original owner was away on her blind date with Gu Tingzhou, her stepmother and scumbag father had already registered her to be sent to the countryside.
Even though she had taken over this body, she couldn’t change that fate.
Once the registration was submitted, it couldn’t be canceled.
Going to the countryside would free her from those awful relatives, but she didn’t want to go.
She was perfectly capable of holding a surgical scalpel.
A farming hoe, however, was another matter entirely.
She didn’t believe those stories where the heroine casually bribed a village chief and ended up with an easy job—or even no work at all.
Nor did she have any desire to test whether those stories were true.
If she wanted to avoid both the countryside and her terrible family, then marrying Gu Tingzhou and accompanying him as a military spouse was her best option.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t deal with her stepmother and father.
She simply believed life was too precious to waste on people who didn’t matter.
As for why she chose Gu Tingzhou…
It wasn’t because she loved him.
It was because they each needed something the other could provide.
She wanted a stable life.
According to the novel’s timeline, this was the 1970s, and the national college entrance examination would be reinstated the following year.
Once she was admitted to university, she could openly study medicine, giving her medical skills a legitimate background.
Only then could she practice medicine without restraint.
That way, everything she had learned in her previous life wouldn’t go to waste.
She would never forget the oath her grandfather had made her recite when she first began studying medicine:
“Health and life are entrusted to us.”
Even after reincarnation, as long as she retained her memories, she would never forget those words.
If she wanted to live peacefully through the coming year, take the college entrance examination, and use her medical knowledge to help others, then Gu Tingzhou was undoubtedly her best choice.
In return, she would give him what he wanted most.
And what Gu Tingzhou wanted was simple—
A wife in name who would unconditionally take care of his two children.
Spending one year as their caretaker…
She could accept that.
After staring at Lin Jiaojiao for quite some time, Gu Tingzhou suddenly smiled faintly.
“I have two children. You don’t mind?”
After all, during their blind date at the restaurant, the moment she learned he had two children, the rejection in her eyes had been impossible to hide.
Now she was suddenly asking to become his revolutionary partner.
He had every reason to question her motives.
Lin Jiaojiao immediately smiled, her eyes curving into crescents.
“I don’t mind at all.
But I do have one idea.
I’m just not sure whether you’d be willing to accept it.
If you can, then not only can I take care of your two children, I can even take care of you as well.”
Gu Tingzhou raised an eyebrow.
“Oh? Let’s hear it.”
Lin Jiaojiao didn’t waste any time.
Time wasn’t on her side.
After composing herself, she spoke.
“To be honest, Comrade Gu, today is the first time we’ve met.
And… our first meeting wasn’t exactly pleasant.
I also believe that someone as rational as you wouldn’t fall in love with me at first sight.
As for me, I don’t have those feelings for you either.
So if we get married now, there certainly won’t be any love between us.
Because of that, I think we should first have a trial period.
What do you think?”
“A trial period?”
It was the first time Gu Tingzhou had ever heard such a term, and his curiosity grew.
Naturally, Lin Jiaojiao couldn’t explain the modern concept of a trial marriage.
Otherwise, Gu Tingzhou would surely think she was behaving indecently.
In modern times, a trial marriage simply meant an unmarried couple living together for a period under an agreement.
To put it plainly—
Cohabitation.
But in the 1970s, if she dared utter those words, Gu Tingzhou would probably arrest her on the spot for immoral conduct and send her straight to jail.
Thinking of that, she quickly smiled.
“I mean that we get married first, but we won’t live as husband and wife.
I’ll take care of your daily life and your children’s daily needs.
I’ll also help teach them their studies and proper values.
As for you, all you need to do is provide me with the necessary living expenses.
Just the living expenses will be enough.
You can keep the rest of your military allowance.
We’ll do this for one year.
If, after one year, we’ve developed genuine feelings for each other, then we’ll become a real married couple.
But if a year passes and there’s still no spark between us, then we’ll divorce.
What do you think?”
After finishing, Lin Jiaojiao nervously watched Gu Tingzhou’s reaction.
She was afraid he would reject her proposal outright and walk away.
After all, in this era, her suggestion was practically unheard of.
It went against the values of both society and the times.
Moreover, a military marriage was sacred.
It wasn’t something people entered into casually, nor was it something they could simply end whenever they wished.
Deep down, she knew she lacked confidence.
Everything she could offer Gu Tingzhou was something another woman could also provide.
If he rejected her proposal…
She wouldn’t have any grounds to blame him.