Although Aunt Liu could be a little naggy at times, she was genuinely a good person.
She especially doted on Qin Yu’e’s two children as if they were her own.
There hadn’t been any small children in the military unit for years, so when Qin Yu’e brought these two little ones over, everyone naturally paid extra attention to them.
Aunt Liu worked in the cafeteria chopping vegetables. Whenever there was anything good to eat, she always saved some for the two children first.
After living at the unit for only half a month, both the children and Qin Yu’e herself had visibly gained weight.
Even Xiao Feng and Xiao Yue’s little faces—which used to be tanned dark from the sun back home—had lightened considerably. Now their cheeks were plump and rosy, and they had finally reached the healthy weight of ordinary children.
After carrying the basket for half the journey, Qin Yu’e was already slightly out of breath.
The moment Aunt Liu noticed, she quickly reached over to take one of the children.
“Little Qin, tired already? Let me carry them!”
Qin Yu’e felt a little embarrassed.
“No, no, it’s fine! They can walk by themselves.”
“There are too many people around here. If a child got lost, that’d be terrible. Better to hold them—it’s safer.”
As she spoke, Aunt Liu scooped up the children effortlessly, one in each arm.
Little Zhuyue played along perfectly, wrapping her tiny arms around Aunt Liu’s neck and pressing her chubby cheek against her.
“Auntie Liu~”
That one sweet call practically melted Aunt Liu’s heart on the spot. How could she possibly not adore the child?
The two women wandered around the market carrying their baskets, buying quite a few things.
By the time they had shopped enough to grow tired, Qin Yu’e’s basket was already filled to the brim.
Ahead of them was a steamed bun shop selling big stuffed buns, both meat and vegetable varieties.
Aunt Liu quickly called out,
“Come on, Little Qin! Let’s go eat some buns together. My treat!”
She still remembered the fried cakes Qin Yu’e had given her earlier.
Qin Yu’e smiled and nodded, leading the two children into the bun shop.
The moment they entered, the owner called out enthusiastically,
“Hey there, sisters-in-law! What’ll you have? Vegetable buns are two cents each, meat buns are eight cents! Which kind?”
“Boss, vegetable buns please. Four vegetable buns.”
Before Aunt Liu could even speak, Qin Yu’e had already ordered.
Aunt Liu looked a little embarrassed.
“Little Qin, honestly… now I’m taking advantage of you again.”
“Aunt Liu, we’re neighbors—why bother keeping score? Besides, who knows if the meat in outside buns is even good quality? Better to eat the meat made by our own unit back home. At least that’s clean.”
“Well… that’s true too…”
Qin Yu’e’s reasoning sounded both comforting and convincing, so Aunt Liu had nothing more to say.
She ordered three large bowls of mung bean soup as well—one cent a bowl with unlimited refills. Just like that, the two adults and two children sat down to eat together.
Halfway through the meal, Qin Yu’e suddenly heard a familiar voice nearby asking,
“Comrade, how much is this floral fabric? I want something with a younger-looking pattern!”
Huo Guangji?
Why was he here?
Qin Yu’e instinctively turned her head and immediately spotted Huo Guangji standing by a roadside fabric stall.
Beside him stood another familiar figure—He Jiaojiao.
He Jiaojiao was leaning shyly against Huo Guangji’s side, casually pointing at a bolt of floral cloth.
In a soft, coquettish voice, she said,
“Big Brother Huo, I think this one looks pretty nice. The pattern’s fashionable—it’d definitely look stylish when worn!”
Her voice pierced Qin Yu’e’s ears like needles.
Even though she had long mentally prepared herself, Qin Yu’e’s heart still skipped painfully, a tearing ache spreading through her chest.
That scumbag Huo Guangji!
Hadn’t he just sworn up and down earlier that he absolutely wasn’t involved with any woman?
So what was this now? Were her eyes seeing ghosts?
Qin Yu’e gripped her chopsticks tightly.
Across the table, Aunt Liu had clearly noticed something was wrong. She craned her neck outside just in time to hear He Jiaojiao’s flirtatious words.
“Hey! That little vixen! So she really did latch onto Captain Huo!”
Aunt Liu slapped the table and immediately started to get up, ready to march out and argue with them.
Qin Yu’e instantly grabbed her arm, her voice icy cold.
“Aunt Liu, forget it. They clearly like each other. I don’t want to play the villain here.”
“So we’re just going to let that little fox seduce someone else’s man like this?”
Aunt Liu was a typical fiery Sichuan-Chongqing woman; her temper ignited instantly. Seeing He Jiaojiao acting like this made her want to rush over and scratch her face apart.
Fortunately, Qin Yu’e still had her rationality.
She simply shook her head.
“There’s an old saying: flies don’t land on seamless eggs. One hand alone can’t make a clap. If it were only the girl pursuing him one-sidedly, this never would’ve happened.”
“But Captain Huo is still a man. Men are always…”
Aunt Liu trailed off awkwardly.
Then Qin Yu’e said coldly,
“And what about men? Does being a man mean he should flirt around with women? You can’t blame only the woman for this. If Huo Guangji doesn’t know how to behave properly, then a man like that isn’t worth wanting in the first place!”
“Oh my, Little Qin, you…”
Aunt Liu felt uncomfortable hearing it, but at the same time, she couldn’t deny Qin Yu’e made sense.
In the end, she sat back down.
Acting as if nothing had happened, Qin Yu’e picked up two buns and handed one each to Xiao Feng and Xiao Yue before silently continuing her own meal.
She no longer paid attention to the drama unfolding across the street.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the road—
Huo Guangji frowned and shoved He Jiaojiao away as she nearly plastered herself against him. He deliberately stepped aside, widening the distance between them.
Looking at the woman in front of him with a frown, he couldn’t understand why he found her so irritating.
It was as if she had no sense of personal boundaries at all, constantly trying to cling to him the moment they met.
The overpowering floral perfume on her body was so gaudy it nearly made him nauseous.
If he hadn’t happened to run into He Jiaojiao at the market—and if she hadn’t immediately latched onto him—they wouldn’t have ended up walking together at all.
Meanwhile, He Jiaojiao was secretly delighted.
She had been searching everywhere for Huo Guangji these past few days. Who would’ve thought she’d run into him while coming down the mountain for market day? Truly, persistence paid off.
Luckily, before leaving home she had carefully changed into nicer clothes and even sprinkled perfume powder onto them.
Today, she was determined to win Captain Huo over.
“Big Brother Huo, do you think this fabric would look good on me?”
She deliberately revealed a slender white arm and draped the cloth across her chest while asking in a sweet voice.
Unexpectedly, Huo Guangji looked utterly disgusted.
“Comrade He, please stand properly! Men and women should keep their distance. Stop rubbing against me all the time.”
“And besides, I’m picking this fabric out for my wife. What’s the meaning of you holding it against yourself? If you like it, pick another one. I’m buying this piece.”
The moment those words left his mouth, He Jiaojiao’s face alternated between red and white with humiliation.
She was so embarrassed she wished she could crawl straight into a crack in the ground.