As soon as he finished speaking, Qian Xing’s eyes widened slightly, like a startled cat.
“Are you serious?”
Huo Yuan’s expression became more solemn. “Of course. I wouldn’t joke about something as important as marriage. But ultimately, it depends on what you think.”
“Why?”
Qian Xing was genuinely curious. She agreed because she trusted her master, but why would Huo Yuan agree?
In terms of background, the original owner’s identity was unknown. In terms of appearance, her current self looked like a dark, skinny monkey. There was no way he would fall in love with her at first sight.
Huo Yuan raised an eyebrow. After thinking for a while, he said, “We’ve only known each other for two days. It would be a lie to say I like you that much, but my instincts tell me that if I don’t do this, I’ll regret it.”
Qian Xing couldn’t help laughing. “Just because of your instincts?”
“My instincts have always been accurate.” Huo Yuan stood up and looked at her. “What about you?”
Qian Xing spread her hands. “I came here in the first place to find you.”
To find him? Or to find that destined person?
Huo Yuan felt a strange sense of displeasure, even though he himself was that person.
He lowered his eyes, suppressing that feeling. “Then I’ll go submit the marriage report.”
“Wait.”
Qian Xing stopped him. “There’s something I need to tell you…”
She turned around and took a piece of clothing out of the suitcase she had brought with her, then told him what Huo Qiang had said.
By the time she finished, her throat had gone dry from talking. She tugged on Huo Yuan’s clothes.
“I want some water.”
Huo Yuan froze for a moment before pouring her a cup.
Qian Xing gulped it down, only to notice that Huo Yuan didn’t look particularly surprised.
“You knew about this?”
Huo Yuan didn’t hide it from her. “I had my suspicions. There isn’t a single place where I look like them. And from childhood until now, they only ever doted on Huo Jianguo. Even my name was given to me by the team leader.”
He said it casually, but Qian Xing caught a trace of deeply buried pain in his eyes.
She thought for a moment, then leaned forward and hugged him.
“It’s okay. I don’t have parents either. From now on, the two of us can live together.”
The sudden embrace left Huo Yuan visibly stunned. He hurriedly stepped back several paces.
“I’ll go submit the marriage report first. You get some rest.”
He left so quickly that Qian Xing only caught sight of one flushed ear.
Qian Xing stared after him for a while, then rubbed her own equally hot earlobe.
This was… kind of strange.
She shook her head and began looking around the room.
Besides the main hall, there was another room on the side. It was just as simple, containing only a bed and a cabinet.
At the end of the main hall was a small balcony. On the left side sat a coal stove, with a small table beside it, though there was nothing on top.
After searching for a while, Qian Xing found a hanging pot on the inner wall of the balcony. It looked quite new, as though it had barely been used.
“Knock, knock!”
A sudden knock came from the door.
Qian Xing went to open it. The person outside was none other than the woman Huo Yuan had brought over earlier to see whether she could see the birthmark on Qian Xing’s neck.
“Hello!”
As soon as the door opened, before Qian Xing could say anything, the woman outside gave her a huge smile. Her teeth looked especially bright against her slightly dark complexion.
She was the kind of person who immediately made others feel fond of her.
Qian Xing smiled involuntarily as well. “Hello.”
The woman looked left and right. “Huo Yuan went out?”
She called him Huo Yuan instead of Battalion Commander Huo?
Then she must be someone who knew him well.
Qian Xing nodded. “He had something to do and left first. My name is Song Qian Xing. I’m—”
“His wife, right? I know.” The woman was straightforward and cheerful. “Oh, right, my name is Zhou Maishu. I live right next door. My husband is also a battalion commander. His name is Yan Fengshou. He and your Huo Yuan are good friends, so I thought I’d come over to see if you need any help. Don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Comrade Zhou—”
“We’re about the same age. Just call me Maizi.” Zhou Maishu waved her hand dismissively.
Qian Xing smiled and nodded. “Maizi, come in and sit. Then you can just call me Qian Xing.”
Seeing the kettle and cups on the table, she poured her a cup of water and handed it over.
“No, no, no!” Zhou Maishu waved her hands in horror. “Huo Yuan has a cleanliness obsession. You absolutely cannot touch the pots, bowls, cups, or tea things in his room.”
Qian Xing’s hand holding the kettle trembled.
Thinking of the water she had just drunk, the corners of her lips curled upward.
“So you don’t usually eat together?”
“Occasionally. He has bowls and cups specifically for guests. He probably put them away somewhere. But he’s a grown man living by himself, and we can’t keep going over there to bother him. We usually eat at the cafeteria. Now that you’re here, though, it’s great! We can hang out and chat together. You have no idea how boring it gets when the men go off for training and we’re left at home.”
Qian Xing didn’t find her chatter annoying at all. Instead, she listened with great interest as Zhou Maishu introduced her to the place.
There were five households on their fifth floor. The layouts were more or less the same. At the end of the corridor were the bathroom and a water basin. Every day, they had to fetch enough water from there for drinking and cooking.
Huo Yuan’s room was closest to the bathroom, so there was no neighbor on his left. The neighbor on the right was surnamed Qian. According to Zhou Maishu, he had just been promoted to battalion commander and moved here, while his wife had only arrived yesterday.
“I only briefly met her this morning. She didn’t seem very nice.”
Zhou Maishu pouted.
Both of them were newly arrived military wives, but Song Qian Xing in front of her was much easier to get along with than the woman next door.
Although Song Qian Xing looked like she had come from the countryside, she wasn’t awkward or timid like Zhou Maishu herself had been when she first arrived. Instead, she had a particularly unusual air about her.
Calm and unhurried, as though everything was completely within her control.
“Oh, right. Have you eaten yet? I still have some steamed buns I bought from the cafeteria this morning. Want me to give you some to fill your stomach?”
“I can cook for myself. Maizi, could you teach me how to light this stove?”
“That’s easy.”
Zhou Maishu walked over to the balcony and found a box of matches and some thin pieces of wood for kindling. She squatted down and explained while demonstrating for Qian Xing.
As she moved her hands, her sleeves slid upward, revealing a horrifying scar about the size of the bottom of a bowl.
“Was this a burn? Why haven’t you put any medicine on it?”
Zhou Maishu noticed Qian Xing’s slight frown and pulled her sleeve back down with a smile.
“The hospital here is expensive. I bought some medicine and used it for several days, but it didn’t do anything. They were just trying to rip me off. Forget it. It’s only on my hand anyway. It doesn’t affect anything.”
After saying that, she stood up and reminded Qian Xing, “You have to be careful, though. Burns really hurt. Be careful when carrying bowls and changing the coal. If you can’t handle it, just let Huo Yuan do it.”
Looking at those skinny arms and legs, she looked as though a strong breeze could knock her over.
A warm feeling flowed through Qian Xing’s heart.
“Got it.”
“Oh, I’ve talked long enough. Kindergarten is out! I have to go pick up my son!”
“Wait, Maizi. When will Huo Yuan and the others come back?”
Zhou Maishu pointed at the clock hanging on the wall. “Training ends at five-thirty. It’s three-thirty now, so there are still two hours.”
After saying goodbye to Qian Xing, Zhou Maishu hurried downstairs.
Qian Xing watched the departing figure from below, somewhat understanding but not entirely.
She began planning to go collect some medicinal herbs and prepare some commonly used medicines.
Not only for Maizi, but someone like Huo Yuan, who trained every day, surely had plenty of injuries on his body.
While secretly planning what she would do next, she rummaged through the things she had brought from the Huo family.
There wasn’t much food—just some cured meat, sweet potatoes, dried bamboo shoots, rice, and a small bag of flour.
After thinking for a moment, Qian Xing took a small piece of cured meat and a section of dried bamboo shoots and soaked the bamboo shoots to rehydrate them.
She boiled some water in the pot, cut up the ingredients, put everything inside, and simmered it slowly over low heat.
If she had some fresh tofu to add, it would make a delicious one-pot dish.
But even without tofu, she could make some flour cakes to serve as the staple food.
Qian Xing found salt, soy sauce, and other seasonings on the small table by the balcony and leisurely began cutting the ingredients.
……
Two hours later, the food in the pot had been stewed to perfection.
Qian Xing lifted the lid, and an intense, irresistible aroma immediately rushed toward her.
“Even when I use diluted spiritual liquid to cook, it still smells this good.”
After muttering to herself, she was about to put the lid back on when—
Bang, bang, bang!
Someone knocked hard on the door, and there was a hint of anger in the force behind each knock.
Qian Xing frowned slightly and opened the door.
The people inside and outside the doorway both froze.