Ling Zhen’s mind buzzed as he listened to Sister Mei’s mouth moving nonstop, chattering away.
“Little Man is the flower of the art troupe—it’s normal for her to have high standards. She’s so pretty, got an A+ rating in the selection, has everything going for her. Of course she’s popular now.”
“You don’t know, Commander Ling—every day someone comes asking me to help match them with her. The little storeroom in my house is already piled full of gifts people want me to pass on to Shi Man.”
“So I stopped by your side first, so I can deliver everyone else’s tokens quickly. Wouldn’t want to keep them waiting.”
Seeing Ling Zhen’s expression grow darker and darker—though maybe that was just because the sky was getting dim—Sister Mei hesitated.
She added, “Don’t worry, I still have plenty of good girls on hand. Once you’re done with your busy period, I’ll keep introducing them to you.”
She was sure Ling Zhen had been busy lately—always coming and going like a dragon, impossible to catch. But it definitely wasn’t because of Shi Man. They’d been matched for days now, yet he hadn’t gone to her even once.
Sister Mei shook her head. Neither side seemed invested—how could this match possibly work?
Honestly, she had only herself to blame for misjudging them. She’d forced the two together and thought they were heaven-made.
Her matchmaking success rate was always high; she had never suffered such a failure before. So before she left, she earnestly advised Ling Zhen: if there was ever a next time, he’d better put in some effort with a young girl. You couldn’t expect a shy girl to take the initiative.
Ling Zhen stayed frozen where he was, unmoving for a long time. Moonlight spilled silently over the corridor, stretching the shadows of his deep thoughts.
It wasn’t until lights-out sounded that he finally snapped out of whatever state he’d fallen into.
His expression didn’t change even when he was alone, all emotions buried deep, like hidden undersea currents.
He pushed open the door and entered the dormitory. All the building’s lights had gone out, and he, familiar with the process, switched on his old desk lamp.
The batteries were worn, and the dim light fell over the completed house blueprints in front of him, and a list he had made long ago—
Wedding candy
(White Rabbit candies, orange-flavored gum, butter toffee, Haiyan assorted candy)
Book wedding photos
Headpiece and wedding dress
Shanghai-brand tourbillon watch
Phoenix-brand bicycle
A pair of burgundy corduroy handmade sofas
…
New home renovation
(soundproofing, toilet, lighting, layout)
Ling Zhen had checked off each item—every one something Shi Man had complained about in their previous marriage.
She’d said the candy selection wasn’t varied enough; said he hadn’t booked the best photo studio in Beijing early enough, so they had waited ages to take pictures; said she hadn’t worn a beautiful headpiece and wedding dress; said the watch and bicycle weren’t top brands; and she’d disliked the fabric pattern on the handmade sofas for being unfashionable.
Ling Zhen hated avoidable mistakes. In their last life, he hadn’t known her preferences and simply followed standard wedding procedures. He never imagined she would be dissatisfied with every single detail.
And then there was the marital home—the thing she complained about every single day after they married.
On the blueprint, traces of his nightly revisions were everywhere—writing, erasing, rewriting—until the paper was almost worn through. He had finally settled on a renovation plan that satisfied him.
He had submitted the proposal to the military region’s commander. Just today, the commander approved the plan, praising him for caring about the family life of married comrades. He ordered immediate repairs for the entire family housing building.
The other comrades, upon hearing this, were all grateful to him.
All Ling Zhen wanted was to solve future marital problems, but unexpectedly, he received praise from leadership and affection from the troops.
Who knew the bigger surprise came afterward—meeting Sister Mei on his way back, and receiving Shi Man’s letter politely rejecting him.
In their last life, it hadn’t been like this at all.
His gaze dropped to the final item on the list—
Shi Man’s parents.
That was the first thing he had checked off the day he was reborn. He had started preparations early—though it was the most complicated, the hardest.
Yes… in the previous life, things had been different. Her parents would pass away in a little more than a year. And at this time, Shi Man had not joined Squad One, she had been insisting they register their marriage quickly, so she could move out of that cramped Squad Five room and into their new home.
Ling Zhen suddenly recalled a word the chief had once mentioned—
“Butterfly effect.”
He rubbed at his tightly furrowed brows, furious, sitting stiffly at the desk the entire night. He still couldn’t understand why his rebirth had changed her decision.
That day, he heard she was participating in the selection and found it odd. He even made time to watch—but gained nothing.
Her dance was beautiful, exceptionally so, yet he couldn’t understand it.
Today was Shi Man’s first official training day after joining the First Division of the dance team.
After morning drills, at eight o’clock, they began practicing tumbling on the mats in the large rehearsal hall.
Instructor Wu checked his watch, keeping strict time. They practiced two full hours daily—not a minute less.
Shi Man dreaded mat training. She feared pain, feared falling, and especially feared hitting her face or body and leaving scars.
So, in her dream life at squad five, she always slacked off whenever she could, doing the bare minimum.
The instructors there weren’t as strict as Instructor Wu. They often looked the other way—they knew everyone was just muddling through.
But Squad One was different. Every girl trained seriously, pushing themselves relentlessly. They shed blood and sweat but never tears. One after another, they flipped “front bridges,” “back bridges,” and “mani flips.”
Because the moves were dangerous, everyone queued in a line, taking turns to perform on the mat before Instructor Wu. He would support their waist and legs to prevent injury and correct their form.
Shi Man dawdled at the very end of the line. Based on her dream-world experience in Fifth Squadron, she expected to wait an hour before her turn. But after only ten minutes—
She was suddenly first.
“Comrade Shi Man, get ready.” Instructor Wu beckoned her over. A tiny reflection from his watch glinted onto the carpet. He held out a hand. “Don’t worry. I’ll be here. You won’t fall.”
Shi Man gritted her teeth, stepped onto the springboard, and attempted the most difficult move—the springboard mani.
The board bounced her several meters into the air. She blanked out midair, unsure how she flipped sideways and landed. Instructor Wu even praised her, “For a first attempt at the springboard mani, that looked pretty good.”
Shi Man floated back to the end of the line. Soon, someone lined up behind her.
It was Jiang Lanfang, the captain of Squad One. She had just performed a beautiful springboard mani of her own and now stood behind Shi Man, checking the paleness of her face. “Are you alright?”
Shi Man shook her head, but after that first flip, she had no strength left. She let the assistants carry her through the next ones.
Not just mat training—everything in squad one was on a different level from Squad five.
The small jump combinations: Squad Five only practiced entry-level ones; squad one jumped straight to the hardest.
Basic training: Squad five did one set; Squad One did three.
Even after lunch, during the radio rest hour when others cooled off under the grapevine in the courtyard, Squad One went to learn opera techniques with the opera troupe—so they could develop the proper workers-peasants-soldiers bearing.
By dinner time, Shi Man felt like her bones were falling apart.
In the cafeteria, Squad Leader Jiang Lanfang sat beside her with her rice bowl and asked gently, “You don’t look well. Do you want me to take you to the medic?”
“I’m fine.” Shi Man insisted, unwilling to admit her pampered self was exhausted. She picked at the rice grains in her bowl and suddenly felt a bit envious of Wang Dongyun.
Wang Dongyun never had to flip. Captain Jiang often let her sit out of other exercises as well.
Noticing Shi Man’s gaze drifting toward Wang Dongyun, Jiang Lanfang explained, “Dongyun injured her leg during training before. It left a lasting issue, so I take extra care of her.”
Shi Man was surprised—she hadn’t known Wang Dongyun had such trouble. She also felt Jiang Lanfang was truly gentle, observant, and considerate—no wonder her future would be so good.
In her dream life, though not close to Jiang Lanfang, she had heard plenty about her.
She knew Jiang Lanfang would later be promoted young, become captain of the entire dance troupe, then rise to become the pillar of the art troupe.
Whether in newspapers, films, or performing on the Spring Festival Gala, she was always the troupe’s pride and joy.
Her dance skills were already excellent, her abilities strong, diligent, unifying, responsible—a model soldier.
And she was beautiful too: oval face, willow brows, cherry lips.
Before Shi Man arrived, Jiang Lanfang had been unanimously considered the flower of the troupe.
After Shi Man appeared, opinions split—some still favored Jiang Lanfang, but many thought Shi Man outshone her. Their beauty was different: Jiang Lanfang elegant and classical, reserved; Shi Man bright and dazzling, radiant.
Shi Man also knew Jiang Lanfang married well later—married a deputy commander’s son. Though he wasn’t as capable as Ling Zhen, his family background was excellent, and everyone envied her.
It was said he treated her like a princess, indulging her in everything, taking her words as “imperial edicts.” She once mentioned craving sweet cakes from East Gate, and he bicycled two hours to buy them.
Thinking back, Shi Man had heard Yao Wenjing gossip about Jiang Lanfang’s husband many times, which made her feel like every man in the world was gentler and more considerate than Ling Zhen… and the more she thought that, the less she could tolerate him, and the more fiercely she quarreled with him.
Lost in her thoughts, Shi Man shook her head.
Why was she thinking about Ling Zhen again…