Liu Fan sat straight down at the officers’ table of eight.
“Brothers, I am truly sorry. The truth is, I already have a partner. My family just doesn’t approve and they’re trying to break us up.”
Hearing this, all eight men were stunned.
Initially, they had also felt that a military district commander’s granddaughter was far beyond their reach. So, that was what this was about.
“Your morning tea is on me, brothers. When you go back, just say you didn’t feel a spark, you couldn’t chat, or even say I’m ugly—anything works, just make up whatever excuse you like.”
Hehehe~
Her words actually brought a laugh out of the men. However, breaking up a pair of lovebirds was something they absolutely refused to do.
“Don’t worry about it, we understand. But we won’t stay for tea. It’s rare for us to get a trip out into the city, so we’ll just go walk around.”
The men stood up in unison, lined up, and marched out of the restaurant.
Zhang Rong sat at the adjacent table, visibly fuming. A few plates of dim sum and snacks had been served, but he hadn’t touched a single chopstick.
“Stop being angry, I was forced into a corner too. Let’s go. I’m utterly exhausted by all this. Let’s eat a little first, and then go see a movie.”
She sat across from him and picked up her chopsticks to start eating.
……
By the time Liu Yuning rushed to the restaurant, his sister was nowhere to be seen in the first-floor lobby.
He ran to the front desk to ask, “Hello, comrade. There was a female comrade here today having a blind date with some soldiers. Where is she?”
“Oh, that female comrade had morning tea with a male comrade and left,” the receptionist spoke bluntly, seeing that Liu Yuning also looked like a soldier.
A male comrade?
It must be that brat from the textile factory!
They left right after morning tea?
Liu Yuning pinched the bridge of his nose. Yesterday, Lin Wanshu had at least politely chatted with her dates, and the eight of them had carried on until dusk. How dismissive could his sister be to dismiss all eight of them in the span of a single morning tea?
But if he couldn’t find his sister, how was he supposed to find Lin Wanshu? And if he couldn’t find Lin Wanshu, he would have to go to the park for another blind date tomorrow!
No way! He had to search!
He hurriedly left the restaurant, driving aimlessly around the city to search for them.
Where would those two go? To the department store? To watch a movie? Or…
He shrank from the thought. Could that brat be so low and unscrupulous as to “cook the raw rice into porridge” (force her hand)? For some reason, from the very first moment he saw the guy, he didn’t strike him as the honorable type. He just couldn’t bring himself to like him.
Search! He had to find them today and give that brat a severe warning!
Thus, Liu Yuning first made a round through all the department stores, large and small, in the city. Then, he checked the movie theaters.
……
By the time Liu Fan and Zhang Rong finished watching the movie, it was already past noon.
For a young couple, there really wasn’t much else to do besides wandering around department stores and watching movies. Seeing that it was getting late, Liu Fan knew she needed to head home.
But Zhang Rong pulled her back.
“Xiaofan, don’t rush home just yet! Can we find a quiet place to sit for a while?”
“A quiet place? Let’s not do that today, okay? It’s the weekend, so my grandfather is home all day. I can’t return too late.”
“But during the week I have to work, and by the time I get off, it’s already dark. As soon as the sun goes down, you can’t come out…” Zhang Rong looked thoroughly aggrieved.
On previous weekends, the two of them could still stroll around during the day. But this weekend, Liu Fan had started going on blind dates. He was a man; whose ego wouldn’t suffer watching his own partner being forced by her family to go on blind dates?
Liu Fan knew he was upset, but she was helpless, so she could only comfort him.
“How about we go browse the department store? I’ll head home as soon as the sun starts to set.”
Yet, Zhang Rong remained displeased. “We aren’t buying anything, so what’s there to browse in a department store? I just want to find a quiet place to talk to you, just the two of us.”
“Look at how crowded the streets are. We can’t even hold hands.”
Liu Fan understood his implication. Zhang Rong wanted to go to a hotel. However, it was unacceptable for an unmarried young couple to frequent hotels together.
“But look at the time. By the time we call Wanshu out, I’ll have to go home right after we get there.”
Liu Fan’s bottom line was that they must bring Lin Wanshu along if they were going to a hotel. With her present, they wouldn’t cross any lines.
“You just don’t trust me!” Zhang Rong’s eyes widened in deep displeasure.
Bringing Lin Wanshu again!
When Lin Wanshu was away at school in the provincial capital, Liu Fan resolutely refused to go to hotels. It was only when she came back for winter and summer breaks that Zhang Rong got the chance to go, by bringing her along. But what was the point of that?
“It’s not that I don’t trust you. We aren’t married. If we go to a hotel alone, what will people say?” Liu Fan was entirely at a loss. She knew Zhang Rong was currently consumed with jealousy.
“You just don’t trust me! Every time we date, you always bring along an extra person. I don’t even dare to say what’s truly in my heart.”
Zhang Rong was clearly angry now. Standing beneath a tree, he turned his head away, his cheeks puffed up in frustration.
“If you’re afraid of being seen, I’ll go open the room first. You can come up a bit later. We’ll walk separately, so who would ever know we’re together?”
“If you’re worried I’ll pull your pants off, then I swear—I, Zhang Rong, am absolutely not that kind of shameless scoundrel.”
As he spoke, he actually raised his hand to make an oath. “If I force you to do anything you’re unwilling to do, may Heaven strike me down with five bolts of thunder! May I be run over the moment I step outside! May I lose my job! And may my future son be born without an anus!”
Seeing this, Liu Fan quickly pulled his hand down. “Hey, hey, stop saying such things. I believe you. Can I please just believe you?”
At a time like this, no young woman could bear to hear such a vicious curse. They had been dating for six years and had both steadfastly guarded boundaries without crossing the line; today, she was naturally willing to trust him.
“However, there are only two or three hours left before sunset. We can only buy some snacks, and I have to go home right after we finish eating them.”
Liu Fan finally relented.
“Great, great, no problem. You go buy the snacks, and I’ll go open the room. We’ll meet back here in a moment.”
Delighted, Zhang Rong immediately began dividing the tasks. Conveniently, there was a joint-venture hotel not far from the intersection where management wasn’t strictly enforced.
“Alright, go ahead.” Liu Fan turned toward the street-side convenience stall.
……
After slipping stealthily into the guest room, Liu Fan quickly shut the door behind her. Acting like a thief gave her a slight thrill.
Zhang Rong was sitting inside. He stubbed out the cigarette in his hand and immediately came over to embrace her.
“When did you learn to smoke?” Liu Fan pushed him away slightly, waving her hand to clear the air in front of her.
“It’s only because you’ve been going on those blind dates these past two days! It drove me crazy, so I picked it up!” Zhang Rong grabbed her hands and placed them around his waist.
Then, his offensive began.
It was the first time Liu Fan had ever smelled tobacco on him, and it felt rather novel. As their tongues swirled, she felt as though she were smoking too; the taste was peculiar.
Without the intrusive presence of Lin Wanshu in the room, Zhang Rong was much more uninhibited, initiating a tempestuous whirlwind of affection.
His deep kisses left her lost in the clouds, utterly infatuated and dazed.
The bag of snacks fell to the floor with a loud rustle, entirely unnoticed by either of them.
Before long, this level of contact was no longer enough to satisfy them. Wrapping his large arms around her, Zhang Rong lifted her up and walked straight toward the large bed.
Soon, they were rolling together on the mattress.
Unsure of whose hands had moved first, the layers of fabric shielding them from the world grew fewer and fewer. Yet, instead of feeling cool, the air around them grew increasingly scorching.
Beads of sweat began to seep continuously across their backs.
“Don’t… this last piece has to stay on.” Liu Fan pressed her hand over Zhang Rong’s.