“Comrade Xia… I have reached my decision.”
“Commander Lu!”
“It truly is Commander Lu!”
The crowd watching instantly erupted into murmurs.
Xia Yuge turned toward the voice. There stood Lu Tingxiao, dust-streaked and travel-worn—clearly returned straight from a mission. Even so, he looked so strikingly handsome that no one could tear their eyes away. He walked forward with steady, purposeful strides, an air of unquestionable authority radiating from him.
Gu Nianchen’s face blanched dead white, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Commander Lu… what is the meaning of this? Surely… you cannot mean to marry Yuge?”
Those last few words were forced out through gritted teeth. He could not—would not—believe that Lu Tingxiao would ever look twice at someone like Xia Yuge. Everyone at Longhua Military District knew Lu Tingxiao was the favoured son of heaven: impeccable family background, and at the youngest rank of Commander across the entire Huaguo nation. Handsome, brilliant, the very man every noble-born daughter dreamed of wedding.
This could not be happening.
No. He must have misheard. Or Lu Tingxiao had spoken in error. Surely he had come to order Xia Yuge’s departure. That was it. It had to be. Gu Nianchen clung desperately to that comforting lie.
“Lu Tingxiao… you have finally made up your mind, then?” Xia Yuge looked up at him and asked.
“I have. Comrade Xia, my answer was settled long ago. These past days I was away on assignment. I intended to return last night—only the vehicle broke down on the road. So I ran fifty miles through the night and reached the base only this morning. Forgive me… for keeping you waiting.”
Lu Tingxiao walked straight to Xia Yuge’s side, cast one cold, sharp glance at Gu Nianchen, and then spoke his explanation.
“Quite so, Comrade Xia! The very first thing Commander Lu did upon stepping back onto base was drag me out of a warm bed—bearing this!” Yang Jianguo hurried forward, waving a document that still looked freshly printed, his tone tinged with helpless amusement. “A marriage application form.”
“Lu Tingxiao… do you truly wish to marry me?” Xia Yuge asked, looking him squarely in the eye, earnest and unsmiling.
“I do. My mind is made up. You saved my life—and such a debt is repaid only with a lifetime of devotion. Comrade Xia… I accept.” For the briefest moment, a rare, tender softness touched Lu Tingxiao’s face. Yes—fondness.
“What?! Comrade Xia saved Commander Lu? When did this happen? That is simply extraordinary!”
“Truly! Commander Lu is formidable enough on his own—if she saved him, then Comrade Xia must be extraordinary too!”
“Indeed! Lieutenant Gu—surely such a thing should have been known to you? Did she never tell you? What kind of elder brother are you, to be kept entirely in the dark?”
“I… I… Yuge… what is all this?” Gu Nianchen stammered. He had already been reeling from Lu Tingxiao’s words; now, with every eye turning upon him in accusation, resentment burned hotter in his chest. He looked at Xia Yuge, his tone heavy with blame. “Why did you never tell me you had saved Commander Lu?”
“Lieutenant Gu… and who exactly are you to me?” Xia Yuge replied coolly. “Why should I report my affairs to you?”
“Xia Yuge… do not go too far! I am—” Gu Nianchen began, then broke off abruptly. The rest of his words died in his throat.
“Go on, Lieutenant Gu. Do tell.” Xia Yuge challenged him openly. “Here, before the Political Commissar and everyone—tell us exactly what relation you are to me.”
“You… Xia Yuge! Don’t be absurd!” How dared he speak? True, he and Xia Yuge had never been formally wed—but to admit he had cast her aside was hardly something to boast of before his superiors.
“Lieutenant Gu… I too would like to know.” Yang Jianguo interjected. “What is your relationship to Comrade Xia? Do explain.”
“Commissar… Commander Lu… I…” Gu Nianchen stammered. He feared Lu Tingxiao far more than Yang Jianguo. In truth, scarcely a man on this base did not hold Lu Tingxiao in awe. It was no wonder—born into generations of high-ranking officers, himself the youngest Commander in the nation.
“Commissar, Commander Lu… perhaps I should speak.”
Xia Yuge had no wish to keep it from Lu Tingxiao any longer. Truth could not be hidden forever. Better she told him herself today than he learned it secondhand—and she very much wished to see his reaction when he learned she had once been Gu Nianchen’s child-bride.
“Yuge—don’t!” Gu Nianchen paled. He had worked so hard to reach his rank. If his superiors learned he had cast aside his betrothed without cause… any hope of promotion would vanish forever. Yet now, at this hour, how could he silence her?
“Hmph! Gu Nianchen—who do you think you are? You forbid me to speak? Your wishes mean nothing to me!”
Xia Yuge shot him one cold glance, then glanced toward a figure in uniform standing at the edge of the crowd. Then, before every curious gaze, she laid out plainly the truth of her relationship with the Gu family.
“What?! She is not some distant cousin—she was Gu Nianchen’s child-bride, and he broke the engagement? That is scarcely believable!”
“To think! He had a fiancée all along—and yet pursued Comrade Lin as well! That is nothing short of moral corruption!”
“No wonder he appeared at dawn insisting she must be sent back home! He feared the truth coming out and ruining his career!”
Opinions flew back and forth. Where some were quick to believe, others naturally raised doubts.
“Now hold on—are we to take Comrade Xia’s word alone? Besides—if Lieutenant Gu truly feared exposure… why ever did he bring her to the base in the first place?” Several officers friendly with Gu Nianchen spoke up in his defence.
“Oh, that is plain enough!” came the reply. “As Comrade Xia said—he brought her here only to keep her from making a scene elsewhere! It was a desperate compromise! Though… if Comrade Lin knew he was betrothed and yet still pursued him… that reflects poorly on her as well! Commissar—if this is true, it damages the honour of the entire service! Such conduct must be corrected! It is unjust to every loyal military spouse and unwed comrade serving here!”
Gu Nianchen stood frozen, mouth opening and closing in silence, unable to utter a single word against the accusations raining down upon him.
“Lieutenant Gu.” Yang Jianguo turned to him gravely. “How do you answer Comrade Xia’s charges?”
Yang Jianguo had come today intending to speak with Xia Yuge only of her reward. He had never expected Gu Nianchen to drag such scandal into the open. Truly—the ways of the world were full of surprises. He had never imagined anything like this.