Qiao Lanshu studied Qin Yuanzheng’s expression. He did not look as though he was joking.
Qiao Lanshu suddenly had no idea what to do.
She had come specifically for Qin Yuanzheng, but the Qin Yuanzheng before her was too serious. He was older and strongly built, with a somewhat fierce look about him.
On top of that, after years of tempering in the military, he carried an imposing air.
Qiao Lanshu was only a girl of seventeen or eighteen. Even though she was thinking about the events of her past life, at that moment she still did not dare to reveal anything rashly.
She sat there, rubbing the corner of her clothes with both hands, not knowing what to say.
She could not quite figure out Qin Yuanzheng’s thoughts. In her past life, he had been so warm toward her—but that had been the Qin Yuanzheng who was nearly forty.
He was not this young Qin Yuanzheng. She thought that perhaps she should spend a few more days with him and get to know him better.
Qin Yuanzheng, however, felt that his idea was quite good.
Therefore, after he finished speaking, he looked at the little girl sitting there with her head bowed and rubbing the corner of her clothes, assuming that she was simply shy.
He stood up and said to Qiao Lanshu, “Little girl, don’t worry. Since your parents are thousands of li away and you have no relatives or friends here, I’ll temporarily make the decisions regarding your affairs. After all, I was the one who rescued you, and my former superior also instructed me to come check on you more often.”
In truth, his former superior’s intention had been for him to spend more time with this girl from the south—not merely to take care of her.
He simply felt that Qiao Lanshu was too well-behaved and still too young, so naturally, he had never thought of her in terms of finding a romantic partner.
Qiao Lanshu did not know what to say. Meeting Qin Yuanzheng’s gaze as he looked at her like a child, she could only nod.
Qin Yuanzheng was a man of action. As soon as he returned, he began considering the matter. He compiled a list of all the unmarried military officers above the rank of platoon leader and below the rank of regimental commander in the three independent battalions around Longcheng.
Naturally, there were also several unmarried platoon leaders and company commanders in his own regiment, so he included them on the list as well.
His first choice was, of course, a battalion commander, because a battalion commander’s family was allowed to join him at his post.
Company commanders and platoon leaders were also acceptable, though. Qiao Lanshu could find a job here and remain in the area.
After returning to his quarters, he drew up the list that very night. He did not need to look up any information about these men; he was thoroughly familiar with every one of them.
At first, he selected them based on their character and family circumstances. After crossing some names off, he began choosing according to height and appearance.
After all, the little girl was so well-behaved. He could not possibly find her some fierce-looking man.
The girl was so pretty and adorable, so he also had to find someone whose appearance was passable. Otherwise, would that not be a case of a fresh flower stuck in cow dung?
The girl’s family background was also quite good. Her father was the manager of a state-owned department store, while her mother—her stepmother—was an elementary school teacher. Both her parents had attended university, and the girl herself had studied through high school graduation. She was not only fair, wealthy, and beautiful, but also an intellectual.
The man’s family circumstances could not be too poor, either. There were many illiterate men in the army, and only a few had graduated from middle school.
But the officers had basically all attended military academies, so education was not the issue. The main issue was family background.
After picking and choosing all night, Qin Yuanzheng was rendered speechless. Looking at the list, he muttered, “These men really deserve to be single!”
Those with good looks had no figure, while those with both good figures and good looks had family backgrounds that were too poor.
There had been more than a dozen names on the list, but after all his selecting, only two or three remained.
Early the next morning, when he arrived at the mining area office, he glanced at Lin Yucheng, who was sweeping the floor inside, and suddenly asked, “Staff Officer Lin, how old are you this year?”
Staff Officer Lin said, “Regimental Commander, I’m two years younger than you. I’m twenty-seven this year.”
Lin Yucheng was twenty-seven and unmarried. He was a local, and both his parents were workers. There were four siblings in his family, and it seemed that all of them had jobs.
Qin Yuanzheng looked Lin Yucheng over critically. In terms of height and appearance, he could only be called average. He was still somewhat inadequate if he was to be paired with that little girl.
Lin Yucheng felt gooseflesh all over under his stare. Shifting uncomfortably, he said, “Regi—Regimental Commander, why are you staring at me like that?”
It was making him feel creepy.
Qin Yuanzheng was silent for several seconds before saying, “I rescued a girl a few days ago. You know about that, don’t you?”
Lin Yucheng nodded and looked at Qin Yuanzheng. “What about it? Do you want me to take her to the train station?”
Qin Yuanzheng fell silent.
Qin Yuanzheng said in an apparently casual tone, “Her fiancé, Sun Mingyong, is a swindler. You know that too. I saw how pitiful she was—she came all this way to find her husband and was deceived without even realizing it. Aren’t you unmarried? Why don’t you go over and meet her?”
Lin Yucheng: “???”
Lin Yucheng immediately became somewhat embarrassed. He scratched his head and said, “Th-this isn’t appropriate, is it? Regimental Commander, I… can I really do it?”
Qin Yuanzheng stared at him. “What’s inappropriate about it? Just go over and let her take a look at you. You’re a little lacking if you’re to be paired with her, but if you spruce yourself up properly, you’re not entirely beyond consideration.”
Lin Yucheng: “…”
…
And so, Lin Yucheng carefully tidied himself up. He put on a perfectly neat uniform and military cap, shaved his beard clean, and even got his hair cut again. He had his fingernails trimmed as well.
Carrying two bottles of canned tangerines and a pound of brown sugar, he arrived at the hospital on a blustery afternoon with the north wind howling.
Qiao Lanshu sat on the bed with her back held perfectly straight and both hands resting on her knees. Her hair was still hanging loose.
She looked at Lin Yucheng with some curiosity and thought to herself that the man Regimental Commander Qin had introduced to her really was a fine-looking gentleman.
It was a pity that he was a little too fair and delicate. She still preferred a dark-skinned, rugged man like Regimental Commander Qin.
Lin Yucheng sat across from Qiao Lanshu. Under her stare, his entire face turned bright red, and he was so nervous that he did not know where to put his hands.
He said somewhat stiffly, “Hello, Comrade Qiao Lanshu. I’m the chief of staff of the Longcheng Construction Corps 21st Regiment. My name is Lin Yucheng. I’m twenty-seven years old, and I’m a native of Longcheng.”
Qiao Lanshu nodded politely. “Hello.”
Lin Yucheng waited for her to introduce herself. However, after saying those two words, Qiao Lanshu did not speak again.
He looked over and saw the well-behaved, adorable girl lowering her head and listlessly poking at the quilt with her finger.
Lin Yucheng: “…”
Right. What else was there to misunderstand? The girl clearly had not taken a fancy to him.
Lin Yucheng felt somewhat disappointed. He wanted to say a few more words, but Qiao Lanshu barely responded to anything he said, leaving him feeling awkward as he sat there.
Thus, he soon took his leave.
From the moment he entered the room to the moment he left, less than ten minutes had passed.
Just after Lin Yucheng came out of the hospital room, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Qin Yuanzheng standing there!
Lin Yucheng was stunned. “Regimental Commander, wh-why are you standing here?”
Didn’t he know that one person frightening another could scare someone to death?
Qin Yuanzheng was wearing a thick military overcoat, both hands tucked into his pockets. Looking at Lin Yucheng, he asked, “How did it go? Why did you come out so quickly?”
As he spoke, his tone suddenly turned fierce. “You didn’t take a fancy to that girl?”
Lin Yucheng shrank his neck at the severity of his tone and hurriedly said, “No, Regimental Commander. She was the one who didn’t take a fancy to me. She couldn’t even be bothered to talk to me.”
Qin Yuanzheng: “…”
The fierceness in Qin Yuanzheng’s eyes instantly faded.
He rubbed his nose. “So she didn’t take a fancy to you. Well, that’s normal, too. You’re only average.”
Lin Yucheng: “…”
Lin Yucheng was utterly speechless. He had already suffered enough blows that day, and now his regimental commander was still making fun of him.
Qin Yuanzheng turned and walked away. “Looks like you’re simply out of luck. Come on, let’s go back to work.”
Lin Yucheng: “…”