Liu Zhixia’s gaze swept across the audience below the stage.
The front row still held that burning, intense attention.
Helplessly, she brushed a strand of hair from her forehead.
The sparring match ended in Gong Xinyue’s confused defeat.
Rubbing her aching chest, Gong Xinyue suppressed her unwillingness and stepped down.
Liu Zhixia smiled freely, with a hint of teasing.
“Was the performance enjoyable? Thank you all for giving me the opportunity to perform.”
The later performances by the military wives, after Liu Zhixia’s display, seemed rather dull in comparison.
Her sparring match had carried a kind of visual shock—beauty and strength intertwined.
The military wives’ section fell unusually quiet.
Everyone had their own thoughts—some felt she had brought honor to military wives with strength no less than female soldiers, while others felt wary of her.
As the welcome meeting ended, Zhou Yunting and Liu Zhixia walked home together.
The night wind lifted the edges of their clothes.
Neither of them spoke for a long while.
Zhou Yunting broke the silence first, his voice cool yet filled with concern.
“Did you get hurt during the sparring?”
Liu Zhixia had thought he would blame her for acting recklessly or exposing her strength too early.
She had even prepared excuses—but instead, he asked that.
“I’m fine. Gong Xinyue was too impatient and overly competitive.
People like her…”
She shook her head and said no more.
Zhou Yunting, almost unconsciously, reached out and gently touched her short hair.
Just as soft as he had imagined.
The softness made him pause—and her suddenly widened eyes only made him feel even more amused.
“Gong Xinyue was unlucky to meet you.
Otherwise, her ability is still decent,” he said calmly.
“……”
“……”
That night, Liu Zhixia simply reheated some food for dinner.
All the ingredients were ready-made from her space.
Canned fish, boiled meat, braised eggs, boiled fish, shredded cabbage, and cold cucumber salad.
Seeing the abundant dishes, Zhou Yunting felt his appetite surge.
But he still asked in confusion, “Zhixia, did you cook all this earlier today?”
“I guessed we’d be hungry at night, so I prepared it in advance at home.
It’s better not to go hungry,” she replied casually.
Zhou Yunting quietly looked at the table of food, warmth filling his heart.
It had been a long time since he felt such gentle care.
Since his mother passed away, his father and grandfather did care for him—but no one in the family actually knew how to cook.
Much less personally make food for him.
His throat moved slightly, his voice low and a little hoarse.
“Thank you, Comrade Liu Zhixia.”
Liu Zhixia was startled by the depth in his eyes and shivered slightly, as if she had done nothing special at all.
They silently cleaned up together.
Wiping the table, washing dishes.
Both worked smoothly.
At one point, their hands accidentally touched.
They both instantly pulled back.
A faint, electric numbness spread from their fingertips to their hearts.
Liu Zhixia thought she was just feeling guilty—if she remembered correctly, she had been the one who touched him first…
Awkward and unsettled, the moment ended.
She quickly ran into her space, forcefully pushing aside that brief, rising heartbeat.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yunting lay in bed, recalling the girl’s dazzling presence that day.
Even with his eyes closed, her short hair and bright eyes kept flashing in his mind.
He suddenly sat up, opened the door, and went out.
After several kilometers of running, he finally returned to his room.
Perhaps due to exhaustion, he finally slept soundly until morning.
In the space, after finishing her “beauty care,” the girl woke up refreshed.
Her complexion was especially radiant.
Breakfast was still from the space restaurant, though she symbolically lit a fire.
Pork and onion buns, two bowls of hot millet porridge, pickled cabbage, and a plate of salted peanuts.
Zhou Yunting left early for morning drills, eating quickly.
After seeing him off, Liu Zhixia stood at the door and looked around.
Their corridor was not enclosed.
From here, she could clearly see the sea.
A large ship slowly docked at the pier.
Her heart stirred again.
She felt she needed to go out and take a look—she couldn’t just stay on this bare island every day, basking in the sun and cooking.
Last time she went to the county town, she hadn’t really explored it properly, and with Zhou Yunting and Shen Hao around, it wasn’t convenient.
Now she finally had the chance to go alone.
She estimated Zhou Yunting wouldn’t be transferred anytime soon.
According to the original story, he would only return to Beijing three years later, yet now he had left the countryside early and come to this island unit instead.
Since this trajectory was already different, there was little chance of another transfer soon.
With that thought, she quickly packed up, locked the door, and headed toward the ship.
Her timing was perfect—there were few people, and she boarded quickly after buying a ticket.
What she didn’t know was that just after she left, Division Commander Luo Zongming, Zhou Yunting, and the political commissar He Guoxian arrived in a hurry, accompanied by a female officer.
They froze when they saw the locked door.
Zhou Yunting frowned.
She had already gone out at this hour—meaning she left just after he did.
Luo Zongming shouted, “Zhou, what are you standing there for? Hurry and ask where your wife went! We’ve got serious business and need her opinion!”
The loud voice attracted attention from nearby families.
A neighbor, Ge Erhua, poked her head out.
“Hello leaders. I think I saw Comrade Zhou’s wife earlier—she seemed to have boarded a ship and left.”
“I wanted to ask where she was going, but she walks fast, and I couldn’t catch up…”
Hearing this, everyone felt slightly disappointed.
Luo Zongming sighed and said to the female officer, Lan Guiying,
“Comrade Lan, we’ll have to wait until she returns to discuss this.”
Lan Guiying replied regretfully, “If I had known, I would’ve come earlier.”
Her tone carried clear disappointment.
Zhou Yunting, however, looked toward the vast sea, his eyes deep and unreadable.
Back in Hongshan Village, Zheng Chunli had been feeling unwell lately.
Her space was gone, and the powerful backing she once planned to rely on had already married and left.
She couldn’t understand why this life had changed so much.
But when she thought of the fact that Liu Zhixia—who should have already died in the original timeline—was still alive, she concluded that she must be the variable.
She had to eliminate her and restore everything to its rightful course.
Recently, as she came to terms with reality, even while ill, she began to care more attentively for Sun Haomin.
Her constant concern and attentiveness greatly satisfied his ego.