“I suppose that’s how it is, Comrade Xia. Have you decided what you wish to request?” asked Lu Tingxiao.
“I have. By the way, Commander Lu, I have a question I’d like to ask—if you don’t mind answering.”
“Ask away, Comrade Xia.”
“You know I’m from the countryside and haven’t had much schooling. I just want to know… what do you make of the saying ‘To repay a life-saving grace with one’s own person’?”
Xia Yuge finished speaking and looked at Lu Tingxiao with a faint, knowing smile.
“You—you—you… Comrade Xia, what on earth do you mean by that?” Lu Tingxiao’s eyes went wide with shock as he stared at her, stunned.
“There’s no need to answer right away, Commander Lu. Think it over, then come tell me at the guest house. I won’t keep you any longer. Bye!”
Xia Yuge waved her hand, and before Lu Tingxiao could recover, she turned and darted away like a streak of smoke.
She had to run. No choice!
After all, she was still a young woman. To put it so bluntly—offering herself in repayment for a kindness—even with skin as thick as hers, it would be far too embarrassing if he turned her down in front of everyone.
Besides, she had already accepted his money and ration coupons back then. Strictly speaking, she had no standing to ask anything more of him.
But… he had said she could make a request to the organization. Since he’d invited her to speak, she would speak her mind.
They were both unmarried. Who knew? Maybe it could actually come to pass.
As the old saying goes—if you don’t try, how will you ever know?
She had said what she said. Whatever happens, happens.
If it truly doesn’t work out, she’ll use this merit to earn the right to stay here. Either way, she loses nothing.
And one thing is certain—she is never going back to Gu Village.
What Xia Yuge did not know was that someone was waiting for her right at the entrance to the guest house… and her good mood was about to vanish entirely.
“Yuge, I heard you went to see the Political Commissar first thing this morning.”
Xia Yuge had barely reached the guest house doors and not yet stepped inside when Gu Nianchen blocked her path.
“Xia Yuge, I need to speak with you. Come over here!” Without waiting for an answer, Gu Nianchen dragged her toward a quiet, secluded spot.
“Platoon Leader Gu, what do you think you’re doing? This is a military camp—aren’t you afraid I’ll shout that you’re harassing me?”
His rough handling instantly wiped away every trace of good humour. Xia Yuge frowned, stepping back and staring him down.
“Harassment? You say that? Who do you think would believe you?” Gu Nianchen replied, his face twisted with open disdain.
He had just returned from drill that morning when a young soldier told him: Xia Yuge had gone straight to the Political Commissar and Commander Lu at dawn, claiming she had something important to report.
The news had sent him into a panic. He had searched every place she might possibly be, yet found her nowhere. In the end, he had no choice but to wait here and catch her on her return.
Now that he had finally found her—this was the attitude she gave him? It infuriated him beyond measure.
If only he hadn’t been so soft-hearted back then… if only he hadn’t let her leave Gu Village… none of this would be happening now.
“Gu Nianchen, if no one would believe me, then why drag me all the way out here?” Xia Yuge asked, laughing in sheer exasperation.
“Xia Yuge, answer me—did you or did you not go to see the Political Commissar this morning?” Gu Nianchen asked, barely restraining the fury rising inside him.
“I did. So what? Gu Nianchen, what are you to me? Do you honestly believe I need to report every single thing I do to you first?”
“Of course you should!” Gu Nianchen spoke without the slightest doubt that his demand was unreasonable. Even though she had ended their engagement, he still acted as if he were the sky above her.
In that moment it was plain—Gu Nianchen was truly his mother’s son, cut from the very same cloth as Old Madam Gu.
“Is that so?”
Xia Yuge’s patience had snapped. Her good mood was utterly destroyed, and her voice turned sharp and cold.
“Isn’t it? Don’t think that just because you’ve come to the camp now, you can do whatever you please and act without consequence!” Gu Nianchen’s expression hardened, his tone growing stern.
“Xia Yuge—I was the one who ended our engagement, that much is true. But you agreed to it! I paid you the compensation we agreed upon! And I even gave you permission to come here and look for a husband! If no one wants you because you’re plain-looking, that is your problem, not mine! And now? Now you dare to go back on your word?
My mother was right all along. You are faithless, cheap, worth—”
SLAP!
Before he could finish his sentence, Xia Yuge’s palm cracked hard across his face, silencing him completely.
“You… you dare strike me?” Gu Nianchen stared, disbelieving.
“And why wouldn’t I?” Xia Yuge leaned in, eyes flashing. “Let me warn you—if you ever speak to me with such filthy, loose words again, I will not hesitate to strike you. I might even do worse. Put me to the test if you don’t believe me.
And you—what right do you have to judge me? Which of your ears heard me say I would marry you? A man like you? Do you honestly think I would ever look twice at someone like you?”
She swept him with a look of unmasked contempt, disdain written clearly in her gaze.
Gu Nianchen was stunned. It had never occurred to him that one day Xia Yuge would look upon him with revulsion. Who did she think she was, to scorn him?
Seeing her longing to be as far from him as possible, he refused to let it go.
“Xia Yuge—do not think I am fooled! This is nothing but a trick to win me back! If you were not running to the Political Commissar to complain about me—then tell me, what exactly were you doing there?” he demanded, face flushing dark with anger.
“Since you are so desperate to know—I will tell you plainly. I went there to contribute merit! Rest assured: whether I marry within three months or not, so long as I choose to stay, I may remain here. I may even apply to move into the family quarters. Believe it or not.”
She paused, then added with biting sweetness: “Well? Are you satisfied? Surprised?”
“You—”
“You what? Haven’t you heard? A good dog does not block the road!”
Xia Yuge shoved him aside with all her strength and walked away without a backward glance, disappearing into the guest house moments later.
Gu Nianchen remained standing there, stunned, alone and motionless, left to ponder his existence.
Damn it!
Truly—Gu Nianchen was born to be cucumbers—meant to be beaten!
Xia Yuge washed quickly and changed into clean clothes.
It had been necessary: earlier that morning, coming down from the hills, she had deliberately rolled in the dirt to make herself look bedraggled and worn, so that her story would carry greater weight with the Commissar.
Alas… she had said all there was to say, done all there was to do. Now she could only rest, regain her strength, and wait.
But wait she did—for a very long time.
In all that time, only Cheng Wei came by once, to ask for more of the antidote. No one else called. Not even Gu Nianchen—who had received her slap—appeared again.