“If you come back, I’ll tell you all my secrets, right to your face.”
With those words, Su Qiao decisively ended the call.
The receiver emitted a series of “beep, beep” tones, each one like a heavy hammer pounding against Gu Changfeng’s heart.
He stood frozen in place, gripping the cold Bakelite receiver. The veins on the back of his hand bulged with tension. His mind was filled with nothing but that soft, seductive “Hubby” and her final, fatal invitation, echoing over and over again.
This woman!
She was a complete little enchantress!
“Bang!”
Gu Changfeng practically slammed the phone down before turning around and striding out of the communications room. His retreating figure looked almost as though he were fleeing in embarrassment.
……
Inside the phone booth, Su Qiao calmly placed the receiver back on its hook.
She pushed open the door, and the noisy voices outside immediately flooded back in. Everyone in the post office suddenly turned their eyes toward her.
Their gazes were incredibly complicated, mixed with envy, jealousy, and the sudden realization of, So that’s how it is.
Her sweet, syrupy “Hubby” had carried remarkably well. Even through the door, everyone had heard it loud and clear.
Now, the rumor in Happiness Village’s military housing compound that “Captain Gu absolutely dotes on his wife” had been officially confirmed.
A military wife who looked somewhat familiar approached her, her face covered in a friendly smile.
“Qiaoqiao, were you talking to your husband? You two are so loving. It really makes people envious.”
“Yes.” Su Qiao gave a perfectly timed, sweet and slightly bashful smile. “Changfeng just worries too much. He can’t even sleep if he doesn’t hear my voice for a day.”
That was exactly the effect she wanted.
She wanted everyone to know that she was the woman under Gu Changfeng’s protection, the apple of his eye. That way, she could eliminate as much unnecessary trouble as possible.
Amid the envious gazes around her, Su Qiao pushed her brand-new bicycle and happily headed home.
Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in the border military district, the atmosphere inside Gu Changfeng’s dormitory had practically solidified into a suffocating gloom.
He paced back and forth like a caged beast, restless and irritable in the cramped room.
Su Qiao. Su Qiao!
That name was like a spell, impossible to banish from his mind.
She was like a variable he had absolutely no control over, a huge and utterly irresistible mystery filled with deadly temptation.
He felt like he was going crazy.
No. He had to go back.
Once that thought surfaced, he could no longer suppress it.
Unless he caught that woman and brought her right in front of him, unless he questioned her about every single one of her secrets, he would never be able to eat or sleep in peace!
Gu Changfeng suddenly stopped, determination flashing through his eyes.
He grabbed his military cap and headed straight for his commanding officer’s office.
“Reporting!”
“Come in.”
Gu Changfeng pushed open the door and gave the division commander behind the desk a crisp military salute.
“Commander, I request leave to visit my family!”
His voice was firm and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
The division commander looked up, somewhat surprised by his most capable subordinate.
Gu Changfeng was famous for being a workaholic. In the more than ten years since he had joined the army, this was the first time he had ever voluntarily requested leave.
“Something happened at home?”
“…Yes.”
Gu Changfeng fell silent for a second before reluctantly admitting it.
Something big had indeed happened at home—a “major incident” involving a certain little enchantress who had completely thrown him into turmoil.
The division commander looked at his anxious expression. Then he remembered that Gu Changfeng had recently led his team in completing an impressive border-clearing operation, earning repeated merits. On top of that, the organization had been urging him to settle his personal affairs for quite some time…
He picked up his pen and smiled knowingly.
“Young man, has your old tree finally decided to bloom?”
With a flourish, he signed the leave form.
“Approved! Seven days. Is that enough? If it isn’t, I’ll give you more!”
“Seven days is enough! Thank you, Commander!”
Gu Changfeng held the lightweight leave slip in his hand, yet it felt heavier than a thousand pounds. For the first time, a feeling of almost childlike excitement surged through him.
He practically wanted to rush straight to the train station and buy the earliest ticket home.
However, just as he turned to leave the office, the red telephone on the desk suddenly rang sharply.
The division commander picked it up, and his expression instantly became grave.
“What?”
“Is the situation confirmed?”
“…All right. I understand.”
After hanging up, the division commander looked toward Gu Changfeng, his gaze sharp as a blade.
“Gu Changfeng!”
“Here!”
“Cancel your leave. Report to the command room immediately!”
The division commander’s voice carried an unquestionable authority.
“The military district has issued an emergency mission. An armed group carrying heavy weapons has been discovered in the mountainous region of a neighboring province. Their background is unknown, and their firepower is formidable. Local forces have already failed in two attempts to suppress them.
“The military district has specifically designated you to lead the operation. Assemble a temporary assault team and depart immediately!”
Gu Changfeng’s heart sank.
He gripped the freshly inked leave slip, his knuckles turning white from the force.
He looked at the commander’s stern face and listened to the emergency assembly whistle sounding outside.
In the end, he slowly folded the leave slip and put it back into his pocket.
“Yes, sir!”
Just one word, yet it was unbearably heavy.
Hope and exhilaration had been shattered completely by cold reality within the span of only a few minutes.
An indescribable sense of disappointment surged over him like a tidal wave, instantly swallowing him whole.
……
Several days later, Su Qiao never saw the man who had promised to come back and demand that she reveal her secrets.
Instead, she received a telephone call through the communications room of the military housing compound.
The call came from the military district headquarters. An unfamiliar female voice, formal and businesslike, came clearly through the crackling line.
“May I ask if this is Comrade Gu Changfeng’s wife, Comrade Su Qiao?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Hello, Sister-in-law. We’re calling from the military district headquarters. We are formally notifying you that Regiment Commander Gu Changfeng is currently carrying out a highly classified emergency mission in the mountainous region of Province A.
“For the duration of the mission, to ensure his safety, he may be unable to contact you. We also ask that you do not attempt to contact him.”
“Please don’t worry. Stay at home and wait patiently. As soon as the mission is over, he will contact you and report that he is safe.”
Listening to the formulaic reassurance, Su Qiao’s hand slowly tightened around the receiver.
The relaxed, carefree smile on her face also disappeared little by little.