“I’m talking about being on a mission. Prioritize the mission. If you really meet a girl you like, submit a report for review, follow confidentiality regulations, and go through proper procedures.”
The young men under him were still inexperienced, but Qin Zhoucheng wasn’t strict with them. The rules of the 285th Regiment had long been abolished.
The group exchanged glances. None of them dared to act up in front of Qin Zhoucheng.
“N-no, sir—Commander, we were just discussing sister-in-law. Sister-in-law came to deliver food, and then Li Dabiao mentioned your fiancée…” Sun Yongcheng lowered his head.
Qin Zhoucheng immediately frowned. “Fiancée? Me?”
Li Dabiao, who was rather simple-minded, still answered honestly.
“Yes, sir. In the compound, people say Xu Yiyan, the granddaughter of Colonel Xu, is your fiancée. That’s what everyone says.”
Seeing Qin Zhoucheng’s expression darken, Sun Yongcheng nudged Li Dabiao with his elbow, but it didn’t stop him.
Qin Zhoucheng’s face turned cold at once.
“She is not my fiancée. Who started this rumor? I’m a man—it doesn’t matter much for me, but Xiao Xu is a girl. You’re soldiers too, and you’re following rumors blindly?”
Li Dabiao froze, then quickly shook his head.
“Commander, don’t be angry. I just heard it from people in the compound.”
Qin Zhoucheng’s tone eased slightly.
“Our families are just old comrades-in-arms, and we grew up in the same compound. It was just jokes from the elders when we were children. It’s not true. Stop spreading this kind of talk. It affects people badly.”
“Yes, sir!” Li Dabiao stood straight and answered loudly.
Qin Zhoucheng frowned again. “Don’t shout. Maintain secrecy. Call me Engineer Qin here.”
Sun Yongcheng quickly said, “Uh… Engineer Qin, you’ve been busy all day. Come eat something too. This is from sister-in-law—she specially bought it from Jinjiang Hotel.”
“Sister-in-law?” Qin Zhoucheng paused, then reacted. “It’s her.”
“Sister-in-law is really beautiful. If she dressed up a little, she’d be even prettier than those young ladies from the compound,” someone said.
Qin Zhoucheng thought of her black grape-like eyes, the faint dimples when she smiled. A faint, almost imperceptible smile appeared on his lips. He glanced at Sun Yongcheng.
“So you only noticed she’s beautiful?”
“N-no, it’s not like that!” Sun Yongcheng quickly explained. “Before, didn’t you submit a report saying it was a forced marriage? We all heard you were married to someone fat and unattractive, so we felt sorry for you. Now that sister-in-law is so nice-looking and cares about you, we’re just happy for you. She even bought all this food and didn’t keep any for herself.”
Qin Zhoucheng fell silent for a moment, looking at the food boxes.
Four dishes—roast duck, braised sea cucumber, stir-fried wood ear with pork, and crispy fried shrimp—plus six big braised pork knuckles. The aroma was rich and mouthwatering with white rice.
This meal was not cheap.
“She went to the county today to deliver an order.”
“Deliver an order? What order?” No one understood.
Qin Zhoucheng shook his head. “Since she bought it, you all eat it.”
Then he added, “Wait.”
He picked a clean lunchbox, took some of each dish, added two pork knuckles, and carefully sealed it.
“That’s it for today. You guys eat together. I’m going back early.”
Qin Zhoucheng had multiple responsibilities. These men were personally selected and trained by him, later to be transferred to intelligence and public security units to help form a national security division.
He was indeed a military academy graduate with a master’s degree in information technology, and he had also received training from the KGB abroad. His responsibilities were heavy. That was why, even though he had saved people before, he didn’t want to be entangled by an old woman and agreed to the arrangement of pretending to be married to Lin Su.
Lin Su was indeed in a difficult situation, and he was willing to help her.
In fact, the unit did not lack funding, and Qin Zhoucheng himself was not short of money. At other times, he was willing to spend his own money to improve his subordinates’ meals. But since they were here to cooperate with an investigation mission, they had to eat and live like ordinary workers.
When Lin Su returned home, she saw someone standing at the gate looking around.
The woman was wearing a Dacron blouse, a tight floral skirt, and sandals—with white short socks inside.
This was a fashionable look in the village, but from Lin Su’s perspective as a designer, it was a disaster.
The blouse wasn’t tailored at the waist, making her look like a factory worker. The skirt had no structure and clung tightly to the body, exposing all flaws. And worst of all, sandals with white socks—an awkward, unfashionable combination.
Hearing the sound of a bicycle, the woman turned excitedly.
“Brother Qin, you’re back?”
The familiar voice and face—it was Yu Xiuli.
Even dressed so poorly, it was obvious she had tried hard to look good. She had even borrowed lipstick, painting on a bright red mouth.
When she saw Lin Su, her expression immediately turned defensive.
“Who are you? Are you also here looking for Brother Qin?”
Lin Su stared at her in disbelief.
Did she not recognize her? Or was she pretending?
“Yu Xiuli, what are you doing here? Looking for our Old Qin?”
“Our Old Qin? Who do you think you are? Keep saying ‘our Old Qin’—be careful Lin Su that shrew hears you and beats you up.”
Lin Su was stunned.
She really didn’t recognize her at all.
It had only been a month—how could the change be that big?
“What are you here for exactly?”
“What am I here for? Isn’t your goal the same as mine? Lin Su that fat woman doesn’t deserve a man like Brother Qin. If she can divorce my brother, she can divorce him too! That kind of woman only drags men down. Just you wait—they won’t last long.”
Lin Su narrowed her eyes.
“Oh, I see. You dressed like this to seduce Old Qin.”
She crossed her arms and sneered.
“So your Yu family really specializes in digging up other people’s relationships? First your brother cheating with a city lady, and now you trying to hook someone else’s husband? I even heard Old Madam Sun tried to seduce the lonely Old Wang at the village entrance, but he refused to raise her child, so she got ignored.”
“You—what did you say? Who are you? How dare you talk like that! I’ll rip your mouth off!”
Yu Xiuli lunged forward.
Before Lin Su could react, she suddenly heard a shout. Yu Xiuli fell to the ground, and Lin Su was pulled into a firm arm.
“What do you think you’re doing to Lin Su? Haven’t the Yu family caused enough trouble? Now you’re coming into someone else’s home to hit people?”
It was Qin Zhoucheng—he had pushed Yu Xiuli away.
Yu Xiuli’s face flushed red as she tried to get up. Then, after hearing his words, she froze in shock and screamed.
“You’re saying she is Lin Su—the fat, ugly woman?”
Her finger pointed at Lin Su, disbelief written all over her face.