Lin Wanshu had initially intended to yell at them, but at that moment, it felt as though someone had cast a freezing spell on her. She didn’t want to watch, but her legs seemed to have a mind of their own.
Thus, she stood there, watching the two of them act entirely unbridled in that room with the door wide open.
Xiaoxia’s face was slightly flushed, but her eyes were fixed straight on Lin Wanshu, flashing a look of sheer provocation. Zhang Rong simply unbuckled his pants, yanked them down, and went for it.
At this time of day, there was no one else in the courtyard, and Xiaoxia vocalized loudly for a solid five minutes.
Finally, Lin Wanshu’s legs managed to move. Before leaving, she didn’t forget to drop a parting remark: “That’s it? What a waste of my five minutes!”
Coming out of Zhang Rong’s house, she found that her parents had ridden the family bicycle off to work. She had no choice but to jog all the way to the veteran cadres’ residential community. What usually took ten minutes by bike took her over twenty minutes of running and stopping. By the time she arrived outside the Liu family’s courtyard, she was completely out of breath.
“Xiaofan, are you home?”
“Xiaofan…”
She called out as she entered the house. The housekeeper was in the small courtyard tending to the vegetable patch; she merely glanced up before burying her head back into her work.
Entering the living room, she found it entirely empty. Without hesitation, she rushed upstairs. She peeked into Xiaofan’s room, but she wasn’t there either. Having no choice but to back out, she noticed the door to the adjacent room was slightly ajar, and there seemed to be some movement inside.
Without a second thought, Lin Wanshu stepped up and pushed the door open. “Xiaofan…”
Xiaofan wasn’t in the room, but her brother was.
Lin Wanshu swallowed hard, carefully pulled the door shut, and turned on her heel to bolt.
Liu Yuning was standing with his back to the door, looking as though he had just finished a shower. His clothes were still sitting on the bed, and he hadn’t had a chance to put them on yet. Hearing the commotion, he turned around, but saw nothing. The voice that had been shouting ‘Xiaofan’ up and down the stairs just moments ago had vanished entirely. All he heard was the frantic thud-thud-thud of footsteps running downstairs.
……
Retreating to the courtyard, Lin Wanshu asked the housekeeper, “Auntie, is Xiaofan not home? How come there’s no one around today?”
“Oh, Xiaofan went out with the Old Chief early this morning. But they didn’t say where they were going. Why don’t you come back a bit later?” The housekeeper paused her work to answer.
Just then, a figure stepped out onto the second-floor balcony.
“I had Grandpa send Xiaofan to the female soldier boot camp to toughen up for three months.” He was slipping into a shirt, buttoning it up as he spoke.
Lin Wanshu glanced up, said absolutely nothing, and quickly turned around to run away again.
“Hey, Student Lin, don’t run! I actually have business with you!” Liu Yuning had no idea why Lin Wanshu was in such a rush. From the platoon of men his grandfather had picked for his sister, he had already filtered out three candidates from the roster. He was planning to pick one definitive match from those three, and he wanted Lin Wanshu to give her input…
……
Lin Wanshu ran all the way home in one breath.
Bursting into the kitchen, she grabbed the enamel mug off the table and, without caring whether the water was cold or hot, gulped down half a mugful. Having run too fast, her chest was still throbbing with sharp, sporadic pains. She leaned against the doorframe, panting heavily.
Her mind was an absolute mess. It was completely filled with the image of Liu Yuning’s shirtless back and his sharply defined muscle lines. She had never seen such a perfect specimen…
Ptui, ptui, ptui!
Lin Wanshu shook her head vigorously, trying to banish those chaotic thoughts from her mind. The news of Liu Fan being sent to a military camp was something she needed time to digest. But what about Zhang Rong? She couldn’t just leave Liu Fan in the dark, only for her to come back still hopelessly pining over that brat, could she?
While she was pacing around in frustration, a knock echoed from the courtyard gate.
Knock, knock, knock.
It was deliberate, rhythmic, and unhurried.
“Who is it?” Lin Wanshu called out, assuming it was one of the neighbors.
The moment she pulled the door open, she froze solid on the spot.
Liu Yuning stood at the threshold, having changed into a clean, military-green shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, revealing firm, powerful lines. In his hand, he held a mesh bag containing two apples.
“Student Lin, sorry to disturb you.”
Lin Wanshu’s brain went completely numb. Her immediate instinct was to slam the door shut. However, his foot had already seamlessly wedged into the door gap.
“My—my parents aren’t home,” she blurted out.
“I’m looking for you.” Liu Yuning’s tone was flat, completely devoid of any ripples.
With her hand still gripping the doorknob, Lin Wanshu was stuck, unable to step forward or retreat. Was he here… to settle scores? Had he discovered that she had barged into his room earlier?
“Um… Regimental Commander Liu… I didn’t mean to today…” She felt it was best to confess upfront to secure leniency.
Without waiting for her to finish, Liu Yuning handed over the apples. “I had Grandpa send Xiaofan to the unit. With that temperament of hers, she needs to be tempered.”
Lin Wanshu didn’t dare take them, her hand still locked tightly onto the door.
Liu Yuning continued, “But regarding her marriage… I’ve selected the three most suitable candidates from the list Grandpa gave me. I’d like to ask you… to help me look them over.”
Look them over? Lin Wanshu was bewildered. He had come all this way just to have her help choose a marriage partner for his sister?
“This… this isn’t appropriate, is it? I’m just an outsider…”
“You’re not an outsider,” Liu Yuning interrupted her. “You’re Xiaofan’s best friend. You should know her preferences better than I do. Furthermore…” He paused, his gaze landing squarely on her face. “You’ve already gone on a blind date on her behalf once. You have experience.”
Lin Wanshu’s face flushed a deep crimson. Getting caught by him for that incident was turning into a never-ending ordeal!
“Let’s go. I’ve already set up an appointment at the state-run restaurant to have lunch together.” Having said his piece, and without waiting for her consent, Liu Yuning turned around and walked toward the Jeep parked not far away.
Lin Wanshu stood frozen, her hand gripping the doorknob as an internal battle raged inside her. To go, or not to go?
If she went, the whole thing felt utterly absurd no matter how she looked at it. But if she didn’t go, this man held serious leverage over her. If he decided to expose her for going on those blind dates yesterday to Grandpa Liu Guoxing…
Letting out a sigh, she resigned herself to her fate, shut the door, and followed him.
……
Inside a private dining room on the second floor of the state-run restaurant.
When Lin Wanshu followed Liu Yuning inside, three military men in civilian clothes were already seated. Every single one of them was sitting perfectly upright.
The moment they saw Liu Yuning enter, the three of them stood up in unison, their movements perfectly synchronized.
“Greetings, Chief!”
“At ease.” Liu Yuning waved his hand and pulled out a chair, gesturing for Lin Wanshu to take a seat.
Lin Wanshu sat down stiffly, feeling as though she had stumbled into a wolf’s den—or rather, a military den. She was completely surrounded by an overwhelming, intense masculine energy, making her feel incredibly self-conscious.
“Let me introduce you,” Liu Yuning said, pointing at Lin Wanshu, his words concise. “This is my sister.”
Lin Wanshu’s heart skipped a beat. What did he just say? His sister?
She looked up at Liu Yuning, but he actively avoided her gaze, focusing instead on introducing the three men to her.
“This is the Guard Company Commander, Zhao Qiang.”
A heavily tanned, honest-looking man immediately nodded at Lin Wanshu with a warm smile.
“The Reconnaissance Battalion Deputy Commander, Zhou Hai.”
A man with sharp features and a piercing gaze let his eyes sweep over her face briefly before nodding in greeting.
“The First Battalion Commander of the Artillery Regiment, Sun Liguo.”
A rather refined-looking man offered her a friendly smile.
Lin Wanshu’s brain had completely turned to mush. She could only follow Liu Yuning’s introductions, mechanically nodding and greeting each of them one by one.
She finally understood exactly why Liu Yuning had dragged her along. Could he be putting her forward as ‘Liu Fan’ to let these three men vet her for marriage?