Grandma, the blind elder, had already been loaded into the ambulance.
The county was over two hundred kilometers from the provincial capital, a journey that would take at least four hours.
After only a few minutes, Chen Qilan arrived, supporting Grandpa Yang into the ambulance.
“Shuyao, the old man insists on staying with your grandmother. The ambulance is cramped, so you and I will take the car behind and follow.”
Qin Shuyao didn’t dare move. She only stole glances at Grandpa Yang’s expression.
After a moment of silence, Grandpa Yang waved his hand.
“Go with him. I’ll stay with your grandmother.”
Once again, it was Liao Minliang driving, with Qin Shuyao and Chen Qilan in the back seat.
“How did you persuade my grandfather? He’s not the kind of man who compromises easily.”
Chen Qilan smiled faintly, holding her hand and lightly twirling it.
Her hands were so small and soft. Though her palms bore calluses, it didn’t lessen his fondness for them. Only her nails were a little sharp, leaving faint scratch marks on his back that throbbed slightly.
“Of course, I reasoned with him and appealed to his heart. You underestimate him—his breadth of mind is far wider than yours,” he said, flattering Grandpa Yang with earnest words.
Qin Shuyao lost her patience, pinching his thigh and grinding her teeth.
“Tell me the truth!”
“Ouch! Ow! That hurts!”
Chen Qilan, wincing, grabbed her hand and complained softly. “If you pinch any higher, Shuyao, you’ll be the one to ruin your own happiness for life.”
Liao Minliang cleared his throat loudly. Couples teasing each other was fine, but this was hardly the occasion. Did they think he was deaf and blind?
Before Qin Shuyao could protest, Chen Qilan took the initiative.
“I promised your grandfather that as long as you marry me, you can become a teacher.”
Qin Shuyao froze.
A teacher?
It had always been her dream and the hope of her grandparents. A teacher could educate and inspire generations and, most importantly, earn a stable government salary.
For a rural girl, such a position was a rare opportunity.
“I’m not bluffing your grandfather. I’m serious. Before I returned home, our base’s elementary school was short of several teachers.”
“You have a high school diploma. You qualify completely,” he explained.
Becoming a teacher was a dream Qin Shuyao had never dared imagine. For a moment, she pictured herself at a podium, teaching. She felt radiant.
But the car’s bumps jolted her back to reality.
In some sense, what was the difference between her and Zhang Lingzhi? Both had seized on Chen Qilan’s responsibility as a soldier to gain an advantage.
Chen Qilan treated her a little better only because she hadn’t pressed him relentlessly like Zhang Lingzhi.
At the end of the day, there was no real affection between them.
Qin Shuyao also remembered things Zhang Lingzhi had said in her previous life—Chen Qilan had loved someone else for many years.
Suppressing the faint feelings that had just begun to stir, Qin Shuyao reminded herself, as Liao Minliang had said, that Chen Qilan had an irresistible charm. She was no exception.
But she knew her place. She wouldn’t covet what wasn’t hers. She calmed herself and regained her composure.
“I know you’re a responsible man, and marrying you won’t be a loss for me. But… if one day you meet a woman you truly want to marry, we can divorce at any time.”
The light, cheerful mood in the car stiffened. Liao Minliang’s smile froze.
What just happened? They had been teasing each other, so why the sudden change?
Chen Qilan, however, remained calm, smiling faintly.
“Coincidentally, the woman I want to marry is already married. What can I do?”
He slipped an arm around Qin Shuyao’s slender waist.
“I have married, she has wed. Isn’t it as if fate itself arranged this?”
His candid admission of another woman stirred an unexplainable ache in Qin Shuyao’s heart, even though she knew she had no right to be jealous.
She forced a small smile, saying bitterly, “Let true lovers be together.”
“Yes. True lovers are destined to be together.”
Noticing the fleeting bitterness in her eyes, Chen Qilan smiled secretly.
He leaned forward to brush her lips with his, but she stopped him.
Her hand pressed gently against her slightly cool lips, her voice distant.
“This isn’t appropriate.”
Chen Qilan mischievously let a bit of saliva touch her hand.
“You…”
Startled, Qin Shuyao quickly withdrew her hand, rubbing it on her clothing several times.
Taking advantage of the moment, Chen Qilan successfully kissed her soft, sweet lips.
They tasted exactly as they had the night before—sweet, like a ripe, juicy peach freshly plucked from a tree.
Liao Minliang kept his eyes on the road, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
Ah, this young man had finally gotten what he wanted. No matter how invincible a man may seem, love melts him instantly.
Even Lu Jinzhong, who commanded respect in the military, would kneel at home. His nephew Chen Qilan was likely no exception—a future expert in kneeling on washboards. The gene of a strict wife clearly ran in the family.
That evening, upon arriving at the provincial hospital, Grandma Xie was taken into the operating room.
The chief surgeon was a renowned expert in the country, a master capable of saving lives from the brink of death.
“Professor Bai was still in Shanghai this morning, but our chief insisted—oh, rather, requested politely—so he took the noon flight to get here,” Liao Minliang explained tirelessly outside the operating room, easing Qin Shuyao’s tension.
Transferred from the county hospital under Director Qiu’s personal supervision to a top national expert, Qin Shuyao understood that Chen Qilan’s uncle, Lu Jinzhong, had done much behind the scenes.
In truth, Qin Shuyao still felt uncertain.
This was an unconventional match between families, yet Chen Qilan’s grandmother and uncle had shown her extraordinary acceptance and support.
In her previous life, Zhang Lingzhi had never received such treatment.
Moreover, Zhang Lingzhi, always eager to show off, had never mentioned Lu Jinzhong, indicating she knew nothing of his existence. Lu Jinzhong and his wife hadn’t intended to acknowledge that supposed daughter-in-law either.
Qin Shuyao felt a quiet, private joy. She wasn’t so proud as to deny a little womanly vanity.
When news of the successful surgery arrived, Grandpa Yang, who had remained silent in the corner, finally spoke.
“Shuyao, tomorrow you and Chen Qilan should get your marriage certificate. When he returns to his base, you will accompany him as a military spouse.”