Under the dim light, Gu Yunche looked at Mu Cheng, who was softly sobbing in his arms. Her face appeared especially hazy beneath the patchy shadows cast by the trees. Her delicate and stunning features emerged faintly through the shifting light, even the tiny soft hairs on her cheeks carrying an oddly vivid charm.
Mu Cheng nestled against him like a heartbroken little fox, soft and fragile, so close to his heartbeat.
Gu Yunche froze for a moment before finally pushing her away under the astonished gaze of the man standing opposite them.
“Mu Cheng, be mindful of appearances.”
Mu Cheng cried tears of relief.
Wiping her tears, she laughed and cried at the same time. “I thought you’d left me here and stopped caring about me.”
Gu Yunche had rushed over from the guesthouse. Sweat covered his forehead, and his face was full of anxiety.
Only after confirming Mu Cheng was unharmed did the tension in his brows slowly ease.
“Bai Lin came down with a high fever and was hospitalized. After taking her to the hospital, I went back to the guesthouse to look for you.”
Gu Yunche raised his eyes toward the equally anxious-looking man nearby and spoke in a deep voice.
“The comrade at the guesthouse said you came to the Zhang family’s house looking for me.”
Mu Cheng wiped away her tears.
She pointed toward Qi Heng behind her. “He brought me here. I couldn’t find Director Zhang’s house on my own.”
At that moment, Zhang Qingqing and the others were standing at the entrance of the alley, having witnessed Mu Cheng throw herself into Gu Yunche’s arms.
Zhang Qingqing’s face flushed red.
“That Mu Guiying—no, Mu Cheng—is so shameless! Hugging Brother Yunche in broad daylight!”
Zhang Qingguo immediately scolded her for speaking carelessly.
“Shut up. Don’t spread this matter around. It’ll negatively affect Commander Gu’s reputation. The Gu family… isn’t someone we can afford to offend.”
Zhang Qingqing curled her lips disdainfully.
Why shouldn’t she say it?
That Mu Cheng was clearly a shameless vixen trying to climb up the social ladder by seducing Gu Yunche.
If Mu Cheng dared to do it, why couldn’t she talk about it?
Gu Yunche had even changed Mu Cheng’s name and insisted on bringing her to the capital to register her residency. He was obviously biased toward her. As for whether that bias came from sympathy or romantic feelings, that was hard to say.
However, Zhang Qingqing noticed Qi Heng’s eyes remained glued to Mu Cheng the entire time.
An idea instantly formed in her mind.
Pretending to be obedient, she said, “I understand, Dad! It’s almost noon already. Let’s invite Sister Mu Cheng and Brother Qi to stay for a simple meal.”
That was also what Zhang Qingguo and his wife intended.
Smiling warmly, Zhang Qingguo walked over and opened the front door, inviting Gu Yunche, Mu Cheng, and Qi Heng inside to sit down, while Zhang Qingqing busied herself making tea and pouring water attentively.
Mu Cheng accepted the teacup Zhang Qingqing handed her.
She secretly wondered if the girl had suddenly undergone a complete personality change overnight.
Aside from winning the lottery, the chances of someone’s personality changing that drastically overnight were practically zero.
“Thank you.”
Mu Cheng firmly accepted the cup.
After all, she had read plenty of novels where scheming green-tea women deliberately spilled soup or water onto themselves to gain sympathy or onto others while pretending innocence.
She blew lightly on the tea and took a sip. The temperature was just right.
It seemed Zhang Qingqing still wasn’t skilled enough at being manipulative.
Holding his teacup, Gu Yunche occasionally glanced toward Mu Cheng.
The memory of the soft woman in his arms moments ago resurfaced in his mind, throwing his heart into chaos once again.
Gu Yunche felt increasingly abnormal lately. He needed to restrain his wild thoughts and strange dreams.
He had already decided—after settling Mu Cheng and Bai Lin at home, he would immediately return to the military unit.
Lowering his gaze to the tea leaves slowly sinking in the water, he suddenly thought of Mu Cheng standing with wet hair, water droplets sliding from the tips while she dried it with a towel.
Abruptly, Gu Yunche set down his teacup and stood up awkwardly.
“I’ll go buy a few extra dishes.”
Mu Cheng glanced at the clock. It was almost noon already, so it was normal for Gu Yunche to help reduce the Zhang family’s trouble by bringing back additional food.
After Gu Yunche left, Zhang Qingqing enthusiastically invited Mu Cheng to tour her room and Bai Lin’s room.
After looking around, Mu Cheng realized the Zhang family treated Bai Lin quite well. Almost everything Zhang Qingqing owned, Bai Lin also had—and many of the items were exactly identical.
Thinking of Bai Lin’s rough hands she had intentionally displayed in front of Gu Yunche, Mu Cheng felt puzzled.
“Sister Zhang, your cousin must really love cleanliness, right? The bedsheets and pillowcases are hand-washed so neatly.”
Seeing Mu Cheng’s inexperienced expression, Zhang Qingqing pointed proudly toward the washing machine in the corner.
“Our clothes are all washed by machine. My dad used a washing machine coupon to buy it from the foreign goods department at the state trade mall. We’re the only family in this alley that owns one.”
Then how had Bai Lin’s hands become so rough?
Suddenly remembering something, Zhang Qingqing sneered.
“My cousin’s just pretentious. Two months before you arrived, she suddenly said she wanted to save electricity for our family and stopped using the washing machine. She insisted on hand-washing everything herself.”
She pulled Mu Cheng back to the living room and turned on the television.
“She studies under the lamp every night, but then she suddenly doesn’t care about wasting electricity? She’s obviously just trying to perform in front of my mother.”
Straightforward and quick-tempered, Zhang Qingqing blurted out everything she wanted to say without restraint.
Pointing at the television, she added, “You guys watch TV for a bit. I’m going back to study.”
Mu Cheng stared blankly at the eighteen-inch black-and-white television. The programs playing on it confused her even more.
Yet this absent-minded beauty of hers appeared especially charming in Qi Heng’s eyes.
He cleared his throat.
“Comrade Xiao Mu, I also managed to get a television coupon this year. My mother said we’ll bring the TV home before I get married.”
Mu Cheng didn’t understand where this conversation was going.
Smiling politely, she nodded. “That’s great. Congratulations, Comrade Qi. I didn’t know you were getting married already.”
Qi Heng paused and scratched his head awkwardly.
“My mother’s work unit also assigned us a new apartment. It’s a building unit—two bedrooms and one living room.”
Mu Cheng hadn’t expected Qi Heng’s family conditions to be this good, so she offered a few more compliments.
Qi Heng smiled proudly.
“We also have a refrigerator, washing machine, tape recorder, and bicycle!”
Mu Cheng: “……”
Was this considered early-stage flaunting of wealth?
She quietly took another sip of tea and stopped speaking.
Not long afterward, Gu Yunche returned carrying several lunchboxes.
The moment he entered, he saw Mu Cheng watching television. Her lively eyes were full of curiosity, though somehow that curiosity also carried traces of indescribable sadness.
Meanwhile, in the dining room, Zhang Qingguo and his wife were setting out bowls and chopsticks.
Gu Yunche called for Mu Cheng to wash her hands.
The Zhang family had an outdoor washbasin connected to running water, but the water was rather cold.
Mu Cheng immediately withdrew her hands.
“I didn’t expect the water to be this cold.”
Her slender fingers were pale, delicate, and soft. Gu Yunche glanced at them before silently returning inside to fetch a thermos.
“I’ll mix in some hot water for you.”
Gu Yunche remembered the village chief mentioning how much Mu Cheng cared about beauty, how she even saved money to buy face cream and skincare oil. Then he thought about Bai Lin’s roughened hands.
He didn’t want Mu Cheng’s hands becoming rough from cold water as well.
Inside the house, Zhang Qingqing tightly gripped the note in her hand.
Watching the two of them washing hands outside, the jealousy burning in her chest erased her remaining hesitation.
Zhang Qingqing walked over and grabbed Qi Heng, who was arranging stools, stuffing the note into his hand.
“Sister Mu Cheng wrote this in my room earlier and asked me to pass it to you.”
After saying that, she calmly went into the kitchen to help her mother cook.
Qi Heng’s heartbeat accelerated wildly.
After looking around carefully, he walked into a corner and unfolded the note.
In crooked handwriting mixed with pinyin, it read:
“Comrade Qi, I’ll wait for you in my guesthouse room at 9:30 tonight. As long as you don’t mind that I’m a countryside girl, I’m willing to date you.”
Qi Heng instantly crumpled the paper into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket.
After washing their hands, Gu Yunche and Mu Cheng walked back inside one after the other.
Gu Yunche glanced toward Qi Heng and noticed the man staring intensely at Mu Cheng.
That look made him extremely uncomfortable.
During the meal, Qi Heng continuously placed food into Mu Cheng’s bowl.
Gu Yunche’s expression darkened further and further.
He vaguely felt that Qi Heng seemed interested in Mu Cheng…
And was Mu Cheng falling back into her old habits again?