“No problem. I can give you a bit more for living expenses,” Gu Beiting said. His monthly salary alone was over a hundred yuan, and he also received bonuses from missions.
“No need. We’ll each pay our own share,” Mu Youyou replied seriously.
“As you wish.” Gu Beiting raised an eyebrow. She had completely overturned his first impression of her.
“There’s one more thing. My household registration has already been moved to the military with you. If we divorce in the future, you must help me transfer it back to the capital unconditionally.”
In this era, transferring household registration was difficult. With the Gu family’s connections, it would be much easier than for her, an orphan.
“Alright.” Gu Beiting looked at her. Was she so certain they would divorce?
“That’s all.” Mu Youyou let out a breath. Facing someone with such a strong presence had made her palms sweat.
“Let’s go.” Gu Beiting stood up and picked up the luggage she had already placed on the floor.
The original host had already mailed her dowry bedding earlier. This time, there were only two large bundles of clothes and a smaller bundle of food for the journey.
Mu Youyou carried the small bundle and followed behind him. A soldier opened the rear door of the vehicle for them.
Gu Beiting placed the luggage beside her and sat in the front passenger seat. The car belonged to the capital military district and had been assigned to his father, used now to send them to the train station.
After arriving, Gu Beiting, being a soldier, brought Mu Youyou aboard first. Since they wouldn’t be traveling overnight, they had hard seats.
At that time, train seats accommodated three people. Gu Beiting gave her the window seat and took the middle.
The two didn’t speak along the way. A young man sitting across from them glanced at Mu Youyou several times, until Gu Beiting’s cold gaze made him look away.
“Do you want some water?” Mu Youyou took out a kettle and two ceramic cups.
“Mm.” Gu Beiting nodded. Normally, he could go 24 hours without drinking water during missions, yet today he accepted the water she offered.
He tasted a hint of sweetness—had she added sugar?
“I added a little sugar,” Mu Youyou said, noticing his expression.
In truth, she had mixed in some spirit spring water. These days, she had been adding a little to everything she drank.
“Mm.” After drinking, he felt a warm sensation in his abdomen, assuming it was just from the sugar water.
After finishing her own cup, she asked if he wanted more. When he shook his head, she put everything away.
At lunchtime, a train attendant pushed a food cart down the aisle. Gu Beiting was about to buy food when Mu Youyou stopped him.
“The food on the train isn’t very clean. I brought some,” she said, taking out two lunch boxes and handing him the larger one.
He looked at her before accepting it. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled. For a moment, Gu Beiting felt distracted—her smile was bright, like winter sunlight warming his heart.
Clearing his throat, he opened the box.
The aroma was rich. Inside were braised pork, scrambled eggs with green peppers, and stir-fried vegetables.
People nearby glanced over. The young man across from them suddenly felt his meat bun wasn’t as appetizing anymore.
They ate as if no one else was around.
Having grown up in an orphanage, Mu Youyou had once eaten hastily, but she had since changed. Now she ate slowly and neatly.
Gu Beiting, due to military life, was used to eating quickly during missions.
When he finished, she was still eating. He waited until both were done, then took their lunch boxes to wash them.
While he was gone, the young man across from her hesitated before asking, “Miss, that soldier… is he your brother?”
“He’s my husband,” Mu Youyou replied, then turned to look out the window.
Unbeknownst to her, Gu Beiting—returning with the washed lunch boxes—heard this clearly. A faint smile appeared on his lips without him realizing it.
“Host’s favorability toward target: 20.” A voice different from Caicai’s suddenly sounded in her mind.
“Caicai, what’s going on?” Mu Youyou leaned back, pretending to rest.
“Sister, let me think.”
“I’ll think too.” Mu Youyou pondered, then suddenly realized something.
“Caicai, earlier you could detect whether Gu Beiting would harm me, and now there’s this favorability. Could our mission be to win him over?”
“Uh… but Sister doesn’t like Gu Beiting,” Caicai said.
Data appeared above Caicai’s robotic head: Mu Youyou’s affection was 0, favorability 20.
“Sister, I get it now. You only have 20 favorability because you like his looks,” Caicai concluded.
“Wait, if I’m supposed to win him over, why is it showing my data?” Mu Youyou asked.
“The target’s consciousness is too strong. I’m still an underdeveloped system, so I can’t detect his data.”
Mu Youyou was speechless.
“Sister, if you don’t like him, we can just not complete the mission. I’m just a rookie system—it’s okay to fail once. Besides, the task requires both you and the target to reach 100 affection to succeed,” Caicai said, spinning in place.
“I understand.” Mu Youyou’s brows moved slightly. Then she would just let things happen naturally.
When Gu Beiting returned, he thought she was resting uncomfortably. Just then, Mu Youyou opened her eyes and met his deep gaze.
“Host’s favorability toward target: 25.”
“Caicai, can you turn that voice off?” Mu Youyou felt annoyed—it was pointless hearing only her own data.
“Right away, Sister.”
“Do you want this?” Gu Beiting, thinking she felt unwell, took out some orange candy his mother had packed for her.
“Thank you.” Mu Youyou took one, unwrapped it, and put it in her mouth, then tucked the wrapper into her bag.
“They’re all yours.” He handed her the rest.
She looked at him. “Thank you.” She accepted them in the end.
As he withdrew his hand, he rubbed his thigh slightly. That soft touch just now—had it been her fingers brushing against him?
The nearby passengers looked at them curiously. This couple was unusually polite—constantly thanking each other.
Finally, the uncle beside Gu Beiting couldn’t hold back. “Young man, married life isn’t like being in the army. If you’re this polite to your wife, be careful—she might not let you onto the bed at night.”
“……” Gu Beiting’s ears turned red.
Mu Youyou’s face flushed instantly as she turned toward the window.
“You two must be newlyweds. Look how shy you are,” an older woman across from them said with a smile.