After leaving the hospital, Su Manning happily spun around once.
She was tall and slender to begin with, with long legs and a slim waist. When she was happy, she was like a butterfly, and the passersby all cast astonished, admiring looks her way.
He Huai leaned against the bicycle, watching her without blinking. “That happy?”
Su Manning lifted her chin proudly. “Of course. This is the launch of my career.”
“Then you really should celebrate.” He Huai felt his fingers itching to move.
He suppressed the longing in his heart and secretly warned himself not to rush.
If he was too eager, he would frighten her.
He was a hunter and had never lacked patience. He had to lay his trap securely—securely enough that she would be completely unable to escape his grasp—before he could reveal his feelings.
Then he would completely erase He Yan from the depths of her heart!
“Would you like to go downtown for a look around? We can celebrate.”
“You’re treating me?”
“Of course. I can’t let a lady pay.”
Before Su Manning could agree, He Huai straddled the bicycle. “Get on.”
Su Manning climbed onto the back. “I should go back and tell Second Aunt.”
“It’s fine. When we leave the military district, we’ll pass the reception room. I’ll have Little Zhou send word for us.”
The two of them left the military district. The flat ground soon became steep, and He Huai rode very slowly. The scenery along the way was beautiful.
Through the reflective surface of the bicycle bell, he saw the girl behind him running her slender fingers over the branches. Her touch was so gentle that it looked as though she were caressing human skin.
He Huai could not help swallowing.
He coughed lightly, suppressing the unruly thoughts in his mind, and took the initiative to start a conversation.
“Do you have a younger sister?”
“Yes. Brother He, you’ve met Tongtong?”
“The Red Flag Village we’re passing through is where your younger sister was sent to the countryside.”
“Do you want to go see her?”
Su Manning shook her head. “No. She isn’t ready to see me yet.”
Her relationship with Su Mantong was somewhat complicated. That girl had clung to her ever since they were little, but after growing up and learning to understand right from wrong, she had instead become rebellious.
Especially when they were in school. Since the Su family had only two daughters, everyone was always comparing them.
In that kind of environment, the one who did worse was always prone to breaking down.
Either she would unleash her potential and climb upward to prove that she was no worse than anyone else, or she would simply give up.
Su Mantong had chosen to give up.
Naturally, from that point onward, the relationship between the two of them had sharply deteriorated.
Whenever Su Mantong saw her, she would take a detour.
Two years ago, she had gone to the countryside for the sake of a man who did not even like her. Her life there was probably difficult, and she likely wanted to see Su Manning even less now.
Su Manning did not enjoy being mistreated, either. She did not believe Second Aunt had failed to tell Su Mantong that she had come to the military district.
When Su Mantong wanted to see her, she would come to the military district herself.
At the same time, Su Mantong was busy in the fields with the summer harvest.
She had just paused to catch her breath when someone suddenly called out, “Mantong, look—isn’t that your sister?”
Su Mantong dropped into a crouch in the field with a whoosh, trying to use the wheat to hide herself. With her head covered in yellow dust, she looked around wildly. “Where? Where?”
“Stop hiding. She was sitting on a bicycle, and she’s already disappeared.”
Su Mantong stood up and scratched her itchy arm, rolling her eyes at her classmate. “You should have said that sooner.”
She had given herself such a fright for nothing.
Li Xiao watched the bicycle recede into the distance and said sourly, “You really can’t compare people. We nearly work ourselves to death out here in the countryside, while your sister goes to the military district—someone probably hands her a glass of water before she even has to ask.”
Su Mantong snatched up some wheat and flung it at her face.
“What, did you eat shit? Keep talking and I’ll rip your mouth apart.”
Li Xiao’s expression turned awkward. “Aren’t you the one who doesn’t like your sister?”
Su Mantong spat without a shred of decorum. “What the hell does it have to do with you?”
When she had been young and ignorant, she had been manipulated by others and had envied and resented Su Manning.
But after two years in the countryside, she wanted to strangle the person she used to be—the one who had shouted in front of Su Manning that she would wither away without love.
She was exhausted.
This fucking life was no way for a human being to live.
But she had no face to go back!
Whenever she thought of Su Manning laughing at her past stupidity, she wanted to find a block of tofu and kill herself by smashing her head against it.
Li Xiao felt bitterly dissatisfied and deliberately stabbed at her sore spot. “Tongtong, has Tao Peng agreed to go on a date with you?”
Su Mantong’s expression immediately darkened. “If you don’t know how to talk, then shut your mouth.”
Two years had passed, yet she still had not managed to win him over.
The worst part was that she could not let go of the damn man.
Li Xiao sneered. Su Mantong was a fool. She had such wealthy parents and a powerful Political Commissar Second Uncle, yet she did not want to rely on them in the slightest. All she wanted was to put down roots in the countryside through her own abilities.
Tao Peng had all but openly told her that he wanted to return to the city, yet Su Mantong had never agreed.
That fool probably did not know that Tao Peng had already latched onto the daughter of the Military District Hospital’s vice president and was preparing to dump her.
She would have plenty to cry about when that happened.
After being jolted along the entire way, Su Manning felt as though even her buttocks had been sore from sitting.
By the time they reached the city, it was nearly noon. Thinking of how none of Sister-in-law Xu’s four children had a decent pair of shoes, Su Manning went and bought four pairs of cloth shoes so that she could take them back for the children to try on.
He Huai also bought two portions of flaky pastries and some candy—one portion for Sister-in-law Xu and her children, and one for the two children in Political Commissar Su’s family.
After making their purchases, the two of them went to a state-run restaurant, ordered several dishes, and ate until they were full before sitting there to rest.
Su Manning touched her slightly rounded belly and leaned lazily against the chair like a cat.
“Brother He, will I have a dormitory after I start working at the hospital?”
He Huai poured her a cup of water. When she took it, his hand brushed against her palm unintentionally.
Both of them froze for a moment, then lowered their heads to drink as though nothing had happened.
“There are dormitories, but they’re in an apartment building, and bathing and using the toilet are both inconvenient. It would actually be better for you to stay at Political Commissar Su’s home.”
Su Manning sighed, her eyes filled with worry.
She was not someone who liked to watch other people’s expressions, yet Fifth Sister-in-law was always displeased with her and could find fault with anything she did.
Last night, Second Aunt had heated water for her to bathe, but Fifth Sister-in-law had turned around and said that the family’s coal was almost used up.
Xiaoshitou had pressed close to her and asked her to read to him, but the moment Fifth Sister-in-law saw them, she had sent Xiaoshitou away. It was obvious that she did not want him associating with her.
And that morning, Second Aunt had cooked her white-flour noodles. When Fifth Sister-in-law saw them, her face had turned livid, and she had said that all the family’s food was being squandered.
The only time Fifth Sister-in-law had shown her a pleasant expression was two days earlier, when Su Manning had given the whole family Angong Niuhuang Pills.
They were lifesaving medicine, and Su Manning had used precious ingredients that could not be bought outside. Only after hearing how expensive they were had Fifth Sister-in-law rewarded her with a smile.
Although Fifth Sister-in-law was always scolded by Second Aunt for acting that way, Su Manning still felt uncomfortable.
When all was said and done, she was a guest, while Fifth Sister-in-law was the mistress of the household.
“What’s wrong? Are you uncomfortable staying at Political Commissar Su’s home?”
He Huai was an exceptionally perceptive man.
He knew what Political Commissar Su and Director Zhou were like. They regarded Su Manning as their own daughter.
The only person who could make her look troubled was Fifth Sister-in-law Liu Ming.
His eyes flickered slightly as he gently rubbed his fingertip. “The dormitory isn’t a single-person room. You definitely won’t be able to adapt after moving in. It would be best for you to have a place of your own.”
“A place of my own?” Su Manning looked at him instinctively.
He Huai had a pair of phoenix-shaped eyes. Usually, his eyes were very dark, but sitting beneath the sunlight at that moment, they had turned brown. Her reflection shone within them, adding an unusual gentleness to his expression.
Su Manning’s heart began to race, and she hurriedly lowered her head to pick up her cup. “I’ve only just started working. I’m not qualified to be assigned a house yet.”
In a situation like that, the only way would be to marry a high-ranking official.
She knew that even ordinary officers were assigned nothing more than a one-bedroom apartment or a two-bedroom apartment. Some even had to share a courtyard with other people.
“Actually…” He Huai had just begun to speak when he suddenly noticed someone beside them carrying several bowls of noodles on a tray. That person was bumped into by someone and abruptly fell toward Su Manning. “Look out!”
Su Manning’s pupils contracted. Before she could react, He Huai had already pulled her into his arms.
The man’s embrace was tight and scorching hot, and the fresh, faint fragrance of soap rushed toward her.
Her breathing stopped for a moment.
She heard only a muffled groan from the man before the bowls and chopsticks shattered across the floor with a clatter.
“Brother He!” Su Manning looked at the man so close to her, her heart shaken.
The soup and noodles had been scalding hot. If all those bowls had fallen on her, she would have been burned!
“Is there any cold water? Hurry and help him!”
At Su Manning’s words, the servers hurried away from the tables, helped He Huai up, and took him toward the back kitchen.
As soon as the people in the back kitchen saw that someone had been burned, they quickly fetched a hose, connected it to the cold-water supply, and sprayed He Huai’s back.
But the force of the running water was too strong, making He Huai even more uncomfortable.
Su Manning’s expression changed. “I’ll do it.”
She had He Huai sit down, then poured the water downward from the places that had not been burned, soaking his back thoroughly.
There were quite a few scars on He Huai’s abdominal muscles and back. Once his clothes were soaked through, they clung tightly to the smooth, firm contours of his body. Even crouching down, his one-meter-ninety frame still appeared tall and imposing.
When Su Manning saw that his back was red over a large area, she asked the server, “Do you have burn ointment?”
“Yes, yes, we do.” The chef nodded.
Su Manning gave another instruction. “Please also bring over a clean piece of cloth.”
He Huai felt the fingers of the person behind him brush over his back, bringing with them a tingling sensation.
As for the pain, he actually did not feel much.
After all, he had suffered injuries far more painful than this.
But as he breathed in the woman’s delicate fragrance and listened to her soft, worried questions,
the close contact made it impossible for him to control the secret excitement rising within him.