Su Wan recounted the whole incident in detail, and Sun Li was also angered.
“I knew that Grandma Zhou was unreasonable, but I didn’t expect her to be so domineering outside as well. Ah, Su, you’re really unlucky to run into someone like her.”
Su Wan agreed she was unlucky, but since she was now neighbors with such a person, she wasn’t going to back down. She would use whatever means necessary and keep going!
She picked two eggplants, over a dozen chili peppers, two tomatoes, and a handful of green beans. Feeling that was enough, she said goodbye to Sun Li and left.
At noon, she had asked the man about his schedule. He usually finished training around 5:30 p.m., though occasionally he would stay for extra practice—but that wasn’t often.
He had risen to battalion commander in just two years since joining the army. Su Wan knew he must have worked far harder than anyone else.
But hard work alone might not suffice. Su Wan hadn’t realized before, but now she understood—he was constantly sent on missions, some of which could be life-threatening.
She felt uneasy. If something happened to him on a mission, would she become a widow?
Absolutely not!
She needed to think of a way to keep him safe—but he wouldn’t agree to avoid missions.
He worked so hard in the army, Su Wan guessed it had something to do with his parents. She had heard from her father that Gu Huaizhi’s parents had disappeared when he was ten.
They had been part of the southwest unit, and during a secret mission, they went missing.
She didn’t know the details, and Gu Huaizhi probably didn’t either.
The ten-year-old Gu Huaizhi and seven-year-old Gu Xingyao were taken back to their hometown and raised by their grandfather. When Gu Huaizhi was sixteen, their grandfather passed away.
That’s why Su Wan’s father brought both of them to Shanghai. She didn’t know how her father knew Gu Huaizhi’s parents.
Back in the kitchen, she realized there wasn’t even any rice at home. Luckily, she had plenty stored in her space. She filled the rice bin, planning to just say it had been sent over.
There were two iron woks on the stove. Su Wan quickly scrubbed them. They were filthy—washing the first one turned the water black.
Just as she finished cleaning the woks, she heard movement at the door. She hurried out and saw Gu Xingyao.
Xingyao wore a beige dacron long dress, her two black braids hanging over her chest, and her large eyes gave Su Wan an unfriendly look.
Su Wan could argue with others, but with Gu Xingyao she felt a little embarrassed.
Thinking back to her past behavior, she realized she had really been unreasonable.
When Gu Xingyao first came, she was dressed plainly, thin, with big curious eyes, looking at Su Wan with awe.
But Su Wan didn’t like her. She ignored her and even ignored Gu Huaizhi.
Later, whenever her father bought her a dress, he also bought one for Gu Xingyao. Su Wan grew even more resentful, feeling Gu Xingyao was taking away her father’s attention.
She was self-centered, and when she disliked someone, she made it obvious. Gu Xingyao was sensitive and, knowing she wasn’t liked, kept her distance.
Later, when Su Wan developed feelings for Gu Huaizhi, she disliked Xingyao even more, jealous of how well he treated his sister.
Indeed, Gu Huaizhi treated his sister well. When he first came to Su’s house at sixteen, he was like a little adult.
He wore ordinary clothes but carried himself with calm composure. Gu Xingyao stood by him, clutching his sleeve, full of dependence.
Su Wan still remembered the first time she saw Gu Huaizhi coming downstairs—roughly dressed, yet more imposing than those well-dressed young masters.
And Xingyao’s eyes lit up when she saw him.
She wore a white puffed dress her father had bought abroad with foreign currency coupons, and a little crown on her head—her favorite outfit at the time.
It was 1965, and Shanghai was still relatively open. She could sneakily wear the dresses she liked.
At meals, Xingyao sat beside her, curious about Su Wan’s puffed dress.
She reached out her thin little hand to touch it. Su Wan immediately slapped it away, glaring.
“Your hands are so dirty. Don’t soil my dress!”
Xingyao’s face turned bright red. Su Wan felt a little guilty afterward but was too proud to apologize.
Looking back, she had indeed been excessive.
Later, she even tried to set Xingyao up with Zhao Mengxue’s cousin—at Zhao Mengxue’s suggestion.
She even told Gu Huaizhi that if Xingyao married, he would care for her more.
Now, thinking about it, she had only been trying to cozy up to Gu Huaizhi, the promising officer, seeing how fast he was rising.
And Zhao Mengxue’s cousin was just some street punk—how could he be suitable for Xingyao?
Zhao Mengxue had praised her cousin endlessly. If Su Wan hadn’t later seen him fighting on the street, she wouldn’t have realized how bad Zhao Mengxue’s intentions were.
Su Wan felt that in her previous life, she had been blind, trusting Zhao Mengxue too much.
After knowing Zhao Mengxue, she told Su Wan about her difficult childhood, the work she had to do, and the bullying she endured at school.
Su Wan had no siblings and felt sorry for Zhao Mengxue, treating her like a sister. She was fiercely protective—if she trusted someone, she believed them completely.
So she never doubted Zhao Mengxue, thinking she was kind and pitiable.
“Xingyao, long time no see. Tonight I’ll cook, and you can eat here! Oh, I also brought some things from Shanghai. You can take some home.”
Gu Xingyao’s expression was cold. Her features, somewhat resembling Gu Huaizhi’s, became striking when expressionless.
Su Wan’s voice grew soft. Xingyao turned toward the kitchen, her voice echoing:
“I’ll go cook. My brother told me to come!”
Her tone carried dissatisfaction. This afternoon, her brother sent word to the arts troupe that Su Wan had arrived. He had training and couldn’t come, so he asked Xingyao to return home to help with cooking.
She knew Su Wan was coming—her brother had told her—but she didn’t like this sister-in-law.
When she first went to Su’s house at thirteen, she had liked Su Wan, thinking she was the most beautiful person she had ever seen.
That impression hadn’t changed, but Su Wan had bullied her many times.
Her brother always said that Uncle Su had been kind to them by bringing them to Shanghai and told her not to argue with Su Wan, not to trouble Uncle Su.
She complied, but she shouldn’t have forced her brother to marry Su Wan.
She knew Su Wan had liked her brother at some point and had pushed him to marry her.
She felt for her brother, and later when Uncle Su suddenly had trouble, her brother had to join the army.
Su Wan fussed every day, refusing to let him leave Shanghai.
Her brother still went, and she stayed in Shanghai to keep him company, but their relationship had always been mediocre.
After he left, Su Wan frequently lost her temper, calling and arguing with him.
During that first year, he didn’t return to Shanghai because he was too busy.
She remembered arguing violently with Su Wan right before the Lunar New Year.
She had argued because Su Wan spoke harshly and tried to set her up with Zhao Mengxue’s disgusting cousin.
She told Su Wan to leave, braved the cold, stayed a night at the guesthouse, then bought a ticket to Chun Province, never to see her again.
And now she had actually come to follow the army. Gu Xingyao had no good impression of her. She knew Su Wan wouldn’t adapt to the harsh military environment.
She was someone born into luxury, a delicate flower grown from the softest silk.
She was sure to cause trouble!
“Xingyao, I’ll cook instead.”