Qin Qing first read the note:
[Eat first. Don’t wander off. I’ll be back at noon. Zhou Yansheng]
The handwriting was familiar, yet not a single extra word was written.
Inside the bag were some basic daily necessities.
Far from refined, they were merely functional.
Qin Qing sat down on the wooden stool. Without bothering to wash up first, she opened the lunchbox.
It had two layers: one contained plain rice porridge, the other held two steamed buns and pickled vegetables.
Everything was already cold.
Without even going to the kitchen to heat them up, Qin Qing picked up a cold steamed bun and took a bite.
If not for the bitter memories of her final days in her previous life, she wouldn’t have been able to swallow even half a bite of such a cold bun.
Remembering those times when she was penniless and couldn’t even get a steamed bun to eat, Qin Qing couldn’t help but feel tears welling up again.
Just then, the door lock turned.
A tall man blocked the light in front of her.
Qin Qing hurriedly wiped her tears with the back of her hand, not glancing at him.
Feeling somewhat flustered, she picked up the bag and headed to the bathroom.
When she came out again, the rice porridge and steamed buns had been heated.
There was also an extra large portion of dumplings on the table.
“Come eat first.”
He set out the bowls and chopsticks.
Only one set.
“Aren’t you eating?” Qin Qing, her eyes still red, sat down on the stool.
The room didn’t even have a sofa, let alone a chair with a backrest.
“You eat first.” Zhou Yansheng stood up and walked toward the door.
“Are you leaving?” Qin Qing reacted anxiously.
“Going out for a smoke.” Zhou Yansheng explained briefly before opening the door.
He didn’t close it.
From the dining table, she could see Zhou Yansheng lighting his cigarette.
Silently, she picked up a dumpling with her chopsticks.
This… must exceed the canteen’s meal allowance…
…
“Oh! Captain Zhou, you’re home!” A cheerful greeting came from outside the house, in the small courtyard.
“Mm, Sister Li, you’re busy.” Zhou Yansheng nodded, not wanting to say more.
However, he couldn’t stop the woman’s gossipy curiosity.
“Rare to see your door open, so I came to take a look,” the woman said as she pushed the door open. “Oh? There’s someone in the house!”
Qin Qing, awkwardly holding her second dumpling with chopsticks, froze.
“Oh my! What a pretty girl!” Li Qin’s eyes kept scanning Qin Qing up and down.
“Captain Zhou, aren’t you going to introduce her? What are you hiding her in the house for?”
Zhou Yansheng clearly seemed a bit impatient, but he still replied politely, “My wife. She just arrived and isn’t used to things yet. I hope you’ll look out for her.”
He acknowledged her as his wife!
Qin Qing’s ears instantly turned red.
“So it really is your wife! No problem, no problem!” Li Qin’s eyes never left Qin Qing. “She really is a city girl—so pretty! Just like the models on those calendar posters! Tsk tsk!”
“Hello.” Not wanting to be stared at like a spectacle any longer, Qin Qing took the initiative to greet her.
“Oh my! Her voice is sweet too! Captain Zhou, you’re really lucky! No wonder you never liked any of the matches we introduced—you already had someone!”
“Sister Li, I think I hear Dongzi crying at home.” Zhou Yansheng tossed his cigarette butt aside and said with a serious expression.
“Oh no! That little rascal must have woken up! I’d better go back! I live next door—come visit when you have time!” Li Qin hurriedly jogged back home.
Zin Yansheng closed the door and casually pulled a stool to sit on the other side of the table.
“Sister Li is Deputy Captain Xu’s family next door. You don’t need to pay her any mind usually.”
“Oh.” She nodded and continued burying her head in eating dumplings.
They were delicious—cabbage and pork filling.
“The divorce report was filed this morning. Once it’s approved and the formalities are completed, I’ll send you back to Beijing,” Zhou Yansheng continued, his tone flat.
This was the longest sentence she had heard from him since last night.
Qin Qing choked on a dumpling.
He had already filed the divorce report…
Wait!
Had he not read her introduction letter?
Or had he seen it and still insisted on divorce?
Qin Qing felt uneasy for a moment…
“Something wrong?” Zhou Yansheng frowned.
Qin Qing quickly racked her brain and tentatively asked:
“Can I have my introduction letter back?”
Zhou Yansheng paused, as if recalling the item he had casually tucked into his pocket last night.
He pulled out the marriage certificate and the introduction letter from his coat pocket.
Well, he really hadn’t read it! Last night, he had stuffed it into this pocket.
The letter had been carelessly shoved in, and the paper was now slightly crumpled.
Zhou Yansheng smoothed it out with his large hand.
In the next instant, his fingertips trembled almost imperceptibly, as if scalded by the words on the paper.
His entire body stiffened.
The words “accompanying the army” pierced his vision without any warning.
He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white.
This wasn’t just a simple identity introduction letter!
It was a letter for family members to accompany the army!
Qin Qing struggled to suppress the corners of her mouth from curling upward. See, he still had a reaction.
Was he so excited to see that she wanted to accompany him in the army?
“What’s going on?” Zhou Yansheng finally managed to ask after a long pause, his voice somewhat hoarse.
“Just pretend you didn’t see it,” Qin Qing reached out to take back the letter, playing hard to get—she knew how, “I’ll leave once the formalities are done.”
But the letter was pressed firmly under Zhou Yansheng’s palm.
“Explain clearly.”
“There’s nothing to explain,” Qin Qing bit her lip. Now was the time to act pitiful—she had almost been driven away by him…
With that thought, her eyes welled up with tears.
“Qin… Qing!” Zhou Yansheng’s tone sharpened.
As soon as he spoke, the young woman before him burst into tears.
“Damn it! I owe you!”
Zhou Yansheng angrily slammed his fist on the table.
The force was a bit too strong.
A dumpling jumped out of the plate.
The crying girl trembled in response.
So fierce!
She really wanted to cry now.
And it wasn’t an act.
Zhou Yansheng frowned, looking at his young wife who was silently weeping with her head bowed.
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, handing it to her.
Qin Qing kept her head down, deliberately not taking it.
Zhou Yansheng stood up irritably and wiped the handkerchief across the girl’s face.
“Take it.”
Little crybaby.
Always crying since she was young.
His habit of carrying a handkerchief was because of her.
Qin Qing didn’t refuse, nor did she look up, pressing the handkerchief against her face.
Hmph!
Let’s see what you can do to me!
A stiff voice came from above her head:
“I’ll handle the divorce report. As for accompanying the army… think it over carefully… we’ll talk later.”
Under the handkerchief, the young woman nearly laughed out loud.
Complete victory!
Zhou Yansheng then pulled a set of keys and a thick stack of cash and ration coupons from his pocket, adding, “The service center is to the right when you go out, just walk straight for five minutes. Buy whatever you need.”
“I’ll bring dinner tonight. Settle in for now,” Zhou Yansheng turned to leave, “I’ll stay in the dormitory.”
Only after hearing the door close did Qin Qing remove the handkerchief from her face.
That jerk!
He just left her like that.
Sigh! There’s some affection, but not much…
The revolution is not yet complete, comrades must still work hard!
The road ahead is long and arduous…
Qin Qing wiped away her tears and took another look at the simple little house.
Her gaze fell on the money and coupons on the table.
He had always been generous toward her.
After accepting the thick stack, Qin Qing resignedly opened her suitcase and began packing.
…
Zhou Yansheng returned to his office and immediately made a call back to the capital.
“Mom, it’s me, Yansheng… Yes, Qingqing has arrived… What’s this about accompanying the army…”