Gu Yijia pushed open her own courtyard gate and said to the man behind her, who was carrying things, “Please come in.”
Although he was carrying quite a few things in his hands, he looked rather relaxed. His sleeves were folded up to his elbows, and the lines of his exposed forearms were smooth and strong.
After the man came in, she did not close the courtyard gate, but left it open directly.
Here, whenever there was a guest visiting, unless there was something special, the host family generally would not close the front gate. Instead, they left it wide open, also to show the world that they acted upright, sat upright, and were open and aboveboard.
So as long as neighbors passed by, they could see what was going on inside the house.
However, this time, none of those aunts and older women dared get too close.
Although they were very enthusiastic about this military comrade and wanted to play matchmaker for him, it could not be denied that the aura around him looked hard to provoke. It was too cold, too fierce, and for no reason at all made people not dare to get close.
Things like leaning in at someone else’s door and gossipping in front of a military comrade, of course they did not dare do.
Gu Yijia invited him into the main room to sit down and rest, then put away the sun umbrella and set it to the side.
Baohua had already pattered off to pour water for the guest.
Gu Yijia then remembered that there was still a jar of tea at home, and politely asked, “Comrade Feng, do you drink tea?”
Feng Ling put down the things he had brought and sat on a chair. His reply was brief: “Either is fine.”
He was tall with long legs. Sitting there, his posture was upright and proper. At a glance, one could tell he had a soldier’s way of sitting, meticulous and unerring, his back held straight, tall and straight like a green pine, and at a glance he looked very strong.
Gu Yijia could not help looking at him a few more times, recalling the sitting posture of her older brother Gu Mingcheng from memory. They were all the same. However, compared with this, older brother Gu Mingcheng seemed much gentler, unlike this man, who looked too cold and too fierce.
After hearing that, Baohua obediently ran to take out that jar of tea and handed it to her little aunt.
This tea had been sent back from the provincial city by Gu Mingcheng. Aside from Gu Yijia, no one in the family drank tea, but even Gu Yijia did not drink much. She only occasionally tasted a little.
Gu Yijia took the tea, picked up the thermos on the table, and made tea with the hot water inside.
Every morning, Chen Aifang would boil water and pour it into the thermos. She did this in spring, summer, autumn, and winter alike, because Gu Yijia’s health was poor and she could not drink cold water or raw water. She could only drink warm water after boiled water had cooled.
After brewing a pot of clear tea, Gu Yijia poured a cup and placed it in front of him.
Baohua sat together with her little aunt, staring at the man without blinking, and asked eagerly, “Uncle Feng, when can my dad come home?”
Feng Ling said, “It depends on the organization’s arrangements.”
Baohua looked disappointed. Though she was still young, she also understood what “the organization’s arrangements” meant.
As soldiers guarding the country, their leave was very scarce. They could not go home often, and it was not as if they could come back whenever they wanted.
Gu Yijia understood this point. She patted Baohua’s head and knew that the little girl was thinking of her father.
She raised her eyes to look at the man across from her and asked, “Comrade Feng, how did my older brother ask you to help deliver things…” Seeing those deep and sharp eyes look over, her heart tightened. She subconsciously explained, “I, I mean, this is too much trouble for Comrade Feng. Will it delay your time?”
Feng Ling gave her a calm look. Her eyelids were lowered, and she seemed to be somewhat afraid of him, not daring to meet his gaze.
“It’s not a delay.” His voice was deep. “I also happened to be passing by here.”
The implied meaning was that because he happened to be passing by, he simply brought them over. It did not delay his time.
Gu Yijia immediately relaxed and smiled with closed lips. “Thank you, Comrade Feng.”
Then she did not know what to say.
Although she was not a dull person, and usually was cheerful and got along well with many people, those people were all ordinary folks. This was the first time she had faced such a serious, imposing iron-blooded soldier. Subconsciously, she did not dare act up in front of him, and she was a little restrained, not daring to say much.
Feng Ling’s reply was still very brief. “No need to be polite.”
Gu Yijia thought of how he had helped her with something yesterday, and today had specially come to deliver things, and was also her older brother’s comrade, so there had to be some kind of gesture.
She tentatively said, “It’s rare for Comrade Feng to come. Why not stay here for a meal before you go?”
In her heart, she was thinking about what dishes the family had to entertain a guest. It seemed there was a piece of cured salted meat in the kitchen. These days there were no refrigerators for storing food, so in summer meat could not be kept long. That was why people used old methods to cure it and place it in a cool spot. It could keep for many days without going bad, and it tasted distinctive too, very delicious.
There were also some summer vegetables and fruits in the patch of land, and she could pick some back. She could also go to Granny Huang’s family to borrow a piece of tofu. She heard they had gone to buy tofu today…
“No need to trouble yourself.” Feng Ling said, “I’ll be leaving in a bit.”
Baohua said with a disappointed face, “Uncle Feng is leaving so soon? My mom hasn’t come back yet, and my mom also misses my dad very much.” At night she slept with her mom, and sometimes she often saw her mom take out the letters her dad had written to look at, so she knew her mom was thinking of her dad.
Feng Ling’s expression paused. Looking at the little girl, he said, “I’ll wait for sister-in-law to come back.”
He and Gu Mingcheng were comrades-in-arms. Gu Mingcheng was two years older than him, so calling Chen Aifang sister-in-law was not wrong.
Gu Yijia could not help stealing a quick look at him. She found that although this man looked hard to provoke, he was unexpectedly considerate. When walking, if he noticed they could not keep up, he would match their pace. He had originally delivered the things and planned to leave, but after hearing Baohua say that her mother missed her father, he decided to wait for Chen Aifang to come back.
She smiled with closed lips and said, “Sister-in-law won’t be back until noon. Why not stay and have a meal?”
Feng Ling looked back at her. Seeing the young girl lower her eyes again and not dare meet his gaze, his expression did not change, only his Adam’s apple rolled slightly.
He said in a deep voice, “Then I’ll be troubling you.”
“No trouble at all.” Baohua said happily, “Uncle Feng, can you tell me about Dad?”
Gu Yijia sat to the side, holding her teacup in both hands, silently listening to Baohua chattering on and asking nonstop, while the man who looked so fierce and hard to provoke was unexpectedly patient, answering every question one by one, without brushing her off or growing impatient just because she was a child.
Although each answer was very brief, only a few words, it still made Baohua very happy.
This scene gave Gu Yijia a very warm feeling.
A battle-hardened tough guy and a young child, such a combination was extremely mismatched, yet unexpectedly harmonious, making people unconsciously smile knowingly.
At this moment, a bicycle bell rang outside the gate, followed by hurried footsteps coming this way.
Gu Yijia looked up and saw Gu Mingyue, wearing a dacron dress and dressed up delicately, striding in.
When she came in, her eyes were fixed tightly on Gu Yijia.
“Jiajia!” Gu Mingyue shouted.
Gu Yijia sat there without moving. Looking at her as she hurried up to her, she noticed that her face carried anxiety and panic, and there was also a barely perceptible trace of anger. She had some understanding in her heart.
It seemed Gu Mingyue already knew that she had sent Jiang Jinwang to the public security bureau. I’m afraid Jiang Jinwang’s situation was not too good right now. Thinking this way, her mood became cheerful. She held her tea and took a sip, hiding the upward curve of her lips.
Because Gu Mingyue came in, she interrupted Baohua and Feng Ling’s conversation.
Baohua nervously ran over and leaned by Gu Yijia’s side, afraid that the last incident would happen again. She had not forgotten that last time Auntie had said unpleasant things, making little aunt unhappy.
Baohua asked in a clear little voice, “Auntie, what are you here for?”
Feng Ling’s gaze fell on Gu Yijia, staring at the hand she used to hold the cup. From his angle, he could see the slight curve of her lips.
She really was not as weak as she looked.
Yesterday she had deliberately provoked that man called Jiang Jinwang, making him strike out in the street, so that his harassment would be confirmed.
However, for a female comrade protecting herself, even using a little scheme was nothing.
If men did not rely on the strength they were born with, or the wealth and status they had acquired later on, to do something to a female comrade, then why would a female comrade have to risk danger and do such a thing?
Gu Mingyue did not notice that there were other people in the room. When she came in, her eyes could only see Gu Yijia.
Seeing her sitting here leisurely, drinking tea unhurriedly, her beautiful face in the bright light, her brows and eyes refined and elegant, like a delicate and beautiful porcelain vessel, so beautiful it did not seem real.
When compared with Jiang Jinwang, who had been detained in the public security bureau for a night and was haggard and furious, she only felt heartbroken and indignant.
Gu Mingyue said in pain, “Jiajia, how could you do this?”
“What did I do?” Gu Yijia seemed puzzled.
Even Baohua had a face full of confusion. Auntie looked very angry. Did little aunt do something?
Gu Mingyue said angrily and sadly, “How can you say that Section Chief Jiang was harassing you? He didn’t do such a thing at all!”
Last night when she was resting, she heard the people around her say in great surprise that Section Chief Jiang from the steel factory had harassed a female comrade in the street and was taken away by the public security.
At the time she thought they were talking about someone else. With Jiang Jinwang’s status, how could he do such a thing?
But thinking that there were not many section chiefs surnamed Jiang in the steel factory, she became somewhat uneasy in her heart.
So early this morning, she specially took leave and first went to the steel factory to inquire about this matter. Unexpectedly, it really was Jiang Jinwang.
Gu Mingyue was completely stunned and did not believe it. Hearing that Jiang Jinwang was still being held over at the public security bureau, she decided to go to the public security bureau to find out what was going on.
She spent some effort and also used some connections before finally seeing Jiang Jinwang, who was being held.
At first Jiang Jinwang did not want to pay attention to her, especially when he thought of her as Gu Yijia’s older sister, he became even angrier, wishing that the people from the Gu family would disappear in front of him.
Ever since he had been locked up, Jiang Jinwang had completely given up on Gu Yijia.
No matter how beautiful Gu Yijia was, no matter how much she moved him, a woman who could be so cruel as to have the public security take him away on a charge of hooliganism, he could no longer like her. What remained now was only disgust.
He even felt that Gu Mingyue’s coming here today was on behalf of Gu Yijia, simply to see his joke.
It was only after Gu Mingyue had repeatedly softened her tone, saying that she was merely concerned about him, and saying that Jiajia definitely did not mean that, that Jiang Jinwang believed Gu Mingyue was not here to make fun of him.
Jiang Jinwang stared at Gu Mingyue and finally understood that this woman actually had feelings for him.
This made him both laugh and cry.
Jiang Jinwang was not stupid. It was just that there were too many women around him who wanted to marry him, and he had already gotten used to those women’s looks. So for Gu Mingyue’s little thoughts, he simply did not care at all. What was more, she was Gu Yijia’s older sister. She clearly knew he wanted to marry Gu Yijia, yet she still developed such thoughts. One could only say that this woman was naturally despicable.
After laughing, Jiang Jinwang suddenly had an idea.
He told Gu Mingyue how he had been sent in, and said with pain, “I never expected Gu Yijia to be this kind of person. I did nothing, and she actually said I was harassing her…”
“This must be a misunderstanding!” Gu Mingyue said anxiously, “Jiajia is not that kind of person…”
Jiang Jinwang looked at this woman and the more he looked, the more foolish he thought she was, and he said, “But she did not deny it at the time, so I was locked up, and I still don’t know when I’ll be able to get out.”
As he said this, he became angry.
In fact, yesterday afternoon his father had already come to see him, but had not been able to get him out.
Jiang Jinwang did not know what went wrong in the process. The public security bureau was actually not afraid of the committee, and did not give his father face either. They still insisted on keeping him locked up.
Although they had not yet determined how to deal with him, they also did not let him leave.
He was faintly uneasy on instinct.
Gu Mingyue said hesitantly, “It must be a misunderstanding. I’ll go find Jiajia and ask her…” She suddenly thought of something and asked with a hopeful face, “If Jiajia says you didn’t harass her, then can you come out?”
Something stirred in Jiang Jinwang’s heart, and he nodded. “Naturally.”
But would Gu Yijia change her story?
Gu Mingyue seemed to make up her mind and said solemnly, “Section Chief Jiang, don’t worry. No one can slander you for something you never did!”
Jiang Jinwang did not speak, only looked at her with interest, wanting to know how far this woman could go.
Although she was not as pretty as Gu Yijia, she could still be considered a delicate beauty, and after a little dressing up, she did not look like a village woman. Instead, she looked more like the women in the city who had proper jobs, young and confident.
Even in the county town, she still looked decent.
Compared with Gu Yijia’s hateful repeated refusals, a woman like Gu Mingyue seemed not bad either.
Jiang Jinwang thought to himself. Watching Gu Mingyue leave, he viciously thought that if Gu Yijia regretted it, even if she wanted to marry him in the future, he would definitely retaliate against her viciously.
When Gu Mingyue thought of Jiang Jinwang whom she had seen in the public security bureau, and then looked at Gu Yijia now, she felt even more miserable.
Clearly there was such an excellent man who had taken a liking to her, one other people could not even beg for, yet she was utterly dismissive of him. Not only did she refuse him, she even sent him to jail…
Why was the difference between people so great?
Gu Yijia looked at her coldly. “Gu Mingyue, are you questioning me for an outsider?”
The original owner and Gu Mingyue had a good relationship and was willing to call her “Sister Mingyue,” but the current Gu Yijia had no feelings for her. She really could not bring herself to say “sister,” so she simply called her by name.
Although it looked rude, Gu Yijia really did not want to call her sister, even if she was acting.
Gu Mingyue said with deep pain and indignation, “Jiajia, how did you become like this? If you really don’t like Section Chief Jiang, then just refuse him. Why use this method to send him to prison? Do you know how much harm this causes him? With his status, he simply cannot afford to lose this kind of face…”
Seeing that she was already completely immersed in her own world, Gu Yijia found it utterly baffling.
From Gu Mingyue’s words, she could tell that Gu Mingyue actually understood in her heart that she truly did not want to marry Jiang Jinwang, and the one who had been entangling with her all along was Jiang Jinwang.
But Gu Mingyue was standing on Jiang Jinwang’s side, feeling that Jiang Jinwang willing to marry her was “Gu Yijia” reaching too high, and that she should not have used such a harsh method to reject Jiang Jinwang.
Gu Yijia interrupted her. “But Section Chief Jiang did harass me yesterday!”
She bit down hard that Jiang Jinwang had harassed her, no matter who came, she would say the same thing, and she absolutely would not change her story!
Gu Mingyue was shocked and angry. “Section Chief Jiang said he did not harass you, that you misunderstood…”
“But I was really so afraid at the time!” A faint cloud of sorrow and fear hung between Gu Yijia’s brows. “Gu Mingyue, I’m your younger sister. Shouldn’t you be helping me? Why have you been helping Section Chief Jiang all along? Do you want to marry him?”
Because Gu Mingyue had rushed in to question her, quite a few neighbors had already specially come over to check things out.
Originally these neighbors had already been paying attention to this side because of Feng Ling’s arrival. Seeing Gu Mingyue hurry over, even leaving her bicycle outside, they immediately felt they had a reason to come and take a look, and all of them ran to the gate.
Hearing Gu Yijia say this, their faces showed realization.
So Gu Mingyue wanted to marry that Section Chief Jiang! No wonder some time ago she had actually angered Jiajia to the point of fainting. Presumably it was also for this matter.
The two sisters fighting over one man, that really was…
The way everyone looked at Gu Mingyue could not help but turn somewhat disdainful.
Gu Mingyue did not notice those neighbors’ gazes. At this moment, all her attention was on Gu Yijia.
“Jiajia, what are you saying? I, I did not! I was just feeling sorry for Section Chief Jiang. He is sincere toward you, sincerely wanting to marry you. You should not have done this to him. Do you know how much pain he is in?”
Gu Yijia: ￣▽￣How much pain? Well, that’s wonderful!
Seeing that Gu Yijia did not make a sound, Gu Mingyue thought she had been shaken. She knew Jiajia had always had a soft heart and was very easy to persuade.
So she softened her expression and said gently, “Jiajia, hurry to the public security bureau and tell them it’s a misunderstanding, that Section Chief Jiang did not harass you…”
“That won’t do!” Gu Yijia refused decisively. “He did harass me! Luckily Comrade Feng appeared at the time and pulled him away in time, otherwise I don’t know whether I would have been hit by him in a fit of embarrassment and rage.”
As she said this, Gu Yijia looked at Feng Ling across from her.
As a soldier, she believed he would stand on her side. What was more, he was her older brother’s comrade.
Under the circumstance that she had done nothing wrong, he would definitely help her.
Feng Ling stood up and walked over.
His highly oppressive male body carried a strong sense of presence, which also finally made Gu Mingyue notice his existence.
People like this were actually rarely ignored, only Gu Mingyue had someone in her heart, and on top of that was focused on finding Gu Yijia to question her, so when she came in she had ignored the people around her.
Feng Ling stood there, and without needing to speak, his aura was already overwhelming enough to make Gu Mingyue’s brain, heated up by Jiang Jinwang, clear up a little.
Her face turned pale.
Very few people could maintain composure in front of Feng Ling, let alone when those sharp eyes looked over.
Feng Ling spoke. “If you’re talking about that male comrade from yesterday, he really did behave improperly. The public security arresting him was the right thing to do.”
His voice was deep and pleasant, but his tone was too cold, making one unable to stop oneself from shivering.
Gu Mingyue was frightened. She swallowed and said timidly, “But, but Section Chief Jiang said he didn’t…”
“Whether he did or not is not up to him.” Feng Ling’s cold gaze swept over her. “It is decided by the public security. If he is truly innocent, the public security will naturally let him go.”
The meaning was that if he was not innocent, then he deserved it.
Gu Mingyue was even more frightened. Although this man’s face was very handsome, the aura around him was too terrifying, completely different from the people she usually came into contact with.
At this point, Gu Mingyue finally remembered who this person was, and why he was here.
She even thought, out of place, could this be someone being introduced to Jiajia? So Jiajia was being so firm in refusing Section Chief Jiang?
Thinking this way, Gu Mingyue seemed as if she had suddenly opened up a line of thought.
She felt that the reason Gu Yijia had kept refusing such a good man like Section Chief Jiang should be because she had been influenced by her older brother Gu Mingcheng, and the type of man she liked was soldiers, while this military comrade in front of her had suddenly appeared here, making him look very much like someone here to go on a blind date.
Gu Mingyue blurted out, “Who are you? Could it be that you’re the man someone introduced to Jiajia?”
As soon as these words came out, everyone present fell silent.
The aunts and older women eavesdropping outside the gate widened their eyes, their faces full of disbelief.
The military son-in-law they had set their sights on was actually the man coming to be introduced to Gu Yijia?
Gu Yijia stared blankly at Gu Mingyue, suspecting that she had misheard. How could she think of such a thing?
When she looked toward Feng Ling, seeing that he was silently looking back at her with those eyes, the embarrassment almost made her scalp explode.
He had only kindly helped her older brother bring things over, but was mistaken for having come to go on a blind date with her…
Chen Aifang just happened to ride her bicycle back.
She had been at school just now and was about to go teach class when the brigade leader sent a production team member to find her, saying that Gu Mingcheng’s comrade had delivered things for them.
Chen Aifang naturally could not sit still. She asked other teachers to cover her class and hurried back on her bicycle.
When she got near home, she discovered that many people were gathered at her doorstep and could not help feeling a little strange.
“What’s going on with you people?” Chen Aifang asked in confusion. Why were they all blocking her family’s front door?
Someone said, “Aifang, your family has a military comrade here. I heard he’s Jiajia’s blind date…”
Chen Aifang: ????
Chen Aifang was completely stunned.
Wasn’t it said that her man Gu Mingcheng’s comrade had come to deliver things? How did it turn into a blind date object introduced to Jiajia coming here?
Could it be that the brigade leader had made a mistake, and it wasn’t her husband’s comrade coming to deliver things at all, but rather someone coming to introduce Jiajia to a partner?
Chen Aifang immediately became anxious beyond measure. She even threw her bicycle to the side, because there were too many people crowded there and she could not push it in.
She pushed through the crowd. “Move aside, let me in!”
Seeing the host come back, the crowd also automatically moved aside, and Chen Aifang entered the house very smoothly.
The main room faced the gate, so one could see the people inside at a glance. Chen Aifang’s gaze swept over, and there really was a tall man in a green military uniform.
“Mom’s back!” Baohua called out happily.
Those words drew everyone in the room to look over. Gu Yijia, Gu Mingyue, and Feng Ling all looked this way.
Seeing Chen Aifang hurrying back, Gu Mingyue became even more convinced that this soldier was an object introduced to Gu Yijia. Otherwise, as the wife, she would not have rushed back like this.
Gu Yijia was already feeling embarrassed. Seeing her sister-in-law return, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
If Gu Mingyue kept talking, who knew whether she would scare this military comrade away.
Chen Aifang first sized up Feng Ling. Probably because she had a preconceived notion and thought this military comrade was an object introduced to her younger sister-in-law, she was not too afraid of his aura. Instead, she examined him very seriously.
If it had been someone like Jiang Jinwang, she would have rejected him without a second thought and driven him out.
But this one was a soldier, just like her man. Chen Aifang naturally had a favorable impression of soldiers. No matter what, she definitely could not drive him out.
The more she looked, the more satisfied Chen Aifang became.
This military comrade looked very young, and that face was really handsome. Sword-like brows and starry eyes, deep features. In her life, she had never seen a man this handsome before.
Her husband Gu Mingcheng was also handsome and had a dignified appearance, but he was still a little rough around the edges.
Unlike this man, whose features were all just right. Truly, one more point would be too much, one less point would lose its color.
Of course, what made Chen Aifang look at him differently was still his identity as a soldier; his appearance was only secondary.
Chen Aifang asked in a friendly voice, “May I ask how this comrade should be addressed? Are you here to go on a blind date with our Jiajia?”
After hearing that, Gu Mingyue understood. So it really was an object being introduced to Gu Yijia. No wonder she would reject Section Chief Jiang.
Gu Yijia: ????
No, my dear sister-in-law, how come even you are saying this?!!