Seeing Second Uncle’s attitude soften, He Yanchu’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly. She had just breathed a sigh of relief when He Jiashu suddenly shifted gears. His brow furrowed, and his voice turned stern:
“But Xiaochu, you’re a young woman! How can you just bring a strange man home? If word gets out, what’s to become of your reputation?”
Yanchu opened her mouth to explain, but Yang Donghui beat her to it. Smiling, she stepped forward and patted her husband’s arm to smooth things over.
“Old man, Comrade Han is a soldier—a hero protecting our country. It’s only right that we look after him.”
“Hmph!” He Jiashu glared at his wife. “That doesn’t mean a young girl should be the one doing it!”
His eyes darted back and forth between He Yanchu and Han Qingmo. Suddenly, his face went rigid as he turned to Han Qingmo with an unquestionable tone:
“Comrade Han, since you were saved by my niece, according to the rules of the He family, you must take responsibility for her!”
Han Qingmo blinked, clearly not expecting the conversation to take such a sharp turn. “Responsibility?”
“Yes!” He Jiashu slapped his thigh, his voice booming. “You must marry our Xiaochu!”
“Second Uncle!” Yanchu’s face turned beet red instantly. She rushed forward and tugged on He Jiashu’s sleeve, whispering urgently, “Stop scaring him! He… he already agreed to ‘repay’ me with his hand in marriage.”
She winked at him desperately, terrified he’d say something even more outrageous.
Oh no, Yanchu thought. If Second Uncle blabs about that whole “saving a life means marriage” thing I said on the mountain, Han Qingmo is going to think my family are a bunch of bandits! This is so embarrassing!
He Jiashu caught her signal. The corner of his mouth twitched into a subtle, satisfied smirk that said good girl. His gaze then shifted to the corner, where Uncle Zhang was listening with great interest. He Jiashu’s eyes practically screamed: Why are you still here?
Uncle Zhang, who had been enjoying the drama with his arms crossed, caught the hint. He rubbed his nose awkwardly and let out a dry laugh.
“Well… I’ll leave you all to it. I have things to do at home. I’ll take my leave!”
He grabbed his medical kit and hurried out, though he couldn’t resist sneaking one last peek over his shoulder before closing the door.
Once Uncle Zhang was gone, Yang Donghui finally snapped out of her shock. She pulled Yanchu aside and hissed in a mix of panic and frustration:
“Xiaochu, what nonsense are you talking about? I know your Second Uncle is obsessed with getting you married, but you can’t use moral kidnapping on Comrade Han!”
“How is she kidnapping him?” He Jiashu argued, sticking his neck out stubbornly. “Didn’t you hear her? He already agreed. It was voluntary!”
He grew more excited as he started counting on his fingers. “Xiaochu is twenty this year; it’s time she was betrothed. Comrade Han is talented, handsome, and a soldier—it’s a match made in heaven!”
Standing to the side, the twins exchanged looks. He Yanhua leaned in and whispered to his brother, “What is Dad playing at? Why is he suddenly forcing a wedding?”
He Yancheng’s mouth twitched. He shook his head helplessly. “Who knows. Probably since none of us older ones will get married, he’s shifting his focus to Xiaochu…”
By now, Han Qingmo had finally processed the “shotgun” proposal. He took a deep breath and said seriously:
“Uncle He, I am deeply grateful to Comrade He for saving my life, and I admire her greatly.”
He paused, looking firmly at He Jiashu. “As soon as my injuries are a bit better, I will immediately return to my unit to file a marriage report and then take her with me to the military base.”
He then turned to the twins with a sincere tone:
“I’ll have to trouble the two of you for a while. For the sake of Chuchu’s reputation, would you mind moving in here to stay with us?”
It’s moving fast, Han Qingmo thought, but if it’s her… it’s actually not bad! I quite like her family’s direct personality.
Hearing him call her “Chuchu” again made Yanchu’s ears burn. Her heart hammered against her ribs.
Good lord! she screamed internally. Who said people in this era were conservative? He just called me ‘Chuchu’ right in front of my elders!
He Jiashu’s eyes lit up, his grin reaching his ears. Before his sons could even speak, he waved his hand grandly. “Xiao Mo, you’ve thought of everything! It’s settled!”
He slapped Han Qingmo’s shoulder—so hard the wounded man winced. “You just focus on recovering. If you need anything, tell the twins. Don’t be polite!”
He then turned to his wife. “It’s getting late; time for dinner! Let’s head home and slaughter a chicken for Xiao Mo to nourish his strength.”
Yang Donghui, who had been scowling moments ago, was now beaming. She looked at Han Qingmo with the doting eyes of a mother-in-law.
“Alright, I’ll head home to cook. Xiao Mo, get some rest. We’ll bring the food over shortly and we’ll all eat together—consider it a welcome feast.”
Yanchu watched her aunt and uncle fawn over Han Qingmo. This is overkill, she thought. Are they serious? They’ve known him for less than half a day and they’re already treating him like a son-in-law?
She stole a glance at Han Qingmo and saw him sitting upright. Though he looked calm, his ears were slightly pink. He was clearly a bit overwhelmed by the He family’s sheer intensity.
He’s good at playing it cool, Yanchu mused. Does he think my family is weird?
He Jiashu and his wife didn’t care what the young ones thought; they rushed out the door like a whirlwind. Han Qingmo had a polite refusal on the tip of his tongue, but they were gone before he could speak.
“They move so fast,” Han Qingmo muttered. “I didn’t even get a chance to do the ‘polite refusal’ thing. It feels so rude…”
Once their parents left, He Yanhua finally burst out, “Dad and Mom just agreed? No one objected?”
He scratched his head. “We just met him today! Doesn’t anyone feel this is… a bit rushed?”
He Yancheng shrugged. “Who knows. My guess? Mom and Dad fell for his face.”
He tilted his chin toward Han Qingmo and lowered his voice. “You know how they are. All the people they tried to set us up with—and En and Nuo too—were they ever ugly? They always say, ‘Only good-looking parents produce pretty kids; we won’t have any crooked melons or cracked dates in this family.'”
He Yanhua couldn’t help but laugh. “By that logic, given Comrade Han’s looks and his military status, Mom and Dad are probably discussing the wedding banquet as we speak.”
Sure enough, as He Jiashu and Yang Donghui walked down the dirt path:
“Wife, what do you think…” He Jiashu rubbed his hands together, his eyes sparkling. “Once Xiao Mo can walk, should we just throw the banquet? We can wait for his marriage report to clear before getting the certificate. Does that sound good?”
Yang Donghui nodded with a smile. “I think so! Better early than late. Let’s lock it in.”
She sighed emotionally. “A handsome man like Xiao Mo is hard to find. Zhizhi would be so happy to know her daughter found such a good-looking husband.”
At the mention of her late sister-in-law, Yang Donghui’s gaze softened. “She always did love beautiful people.”
He Jiashu laughed heartily. “You can say that again! When she first laid eyes on my big brother (Yanchu’s father), she said he looked exactly like her future husband and insisted on marrying him!”