"Captain, are you going to your sister's place for dinner again? Why is the difference between sisters so huge?" Wang Xiaojun grumbled. "I grew up under my sister's stick. Her favorite saying was that you have to beat your younger brother early, otherwise he'll be too big to beat when he grows up!"
"Back when I was little, making me run errands was one thing, but now I'm eighteen, a proud and upright man, and they still treat me like our family's little donkey!"
"Except when I'm taking a dump, they call me for literally everything else!"
"Captain, I really envy you for having such a good sister!"
Wang Xiaojun chattered endlessly all the way, while Hechengming occasionally cast his dark gaze out the car window.
As they neared the entrance of the family quarters, Sutan slowed down. She used her fingers to brush back a few strands of hair blown wild by the wind.
She hid the bags of rice and flour hanging from one handle of her bicycle, and took the pork hanging from the other handle directly into her hand—she certainly didn't want to get waylaid on the way.
She pushed her bike forward a couple of steps, then stopped again.
"Big Brother, do we know each other?"
Sutan certainly hadn't forgotten that this man had made her choke on his exhaust fumes this morning.
And now she'd run into him again on her way back; if she hadn't deliberately slowed down, she would have eaten his exhaust once more.
Sutan furrowed her pretty willow-leaf eyebrows, a crease forming between them.
With her cheeks puffed out, she looked kind of like...
Hechengming thought she looked quite a bit like a mouse.
A faint smile brushed across his unfathomable eyes, and the corners of his mouth—usually pressed into a straight, emotionless line—lifted in a barely perceptible arc.
Sutan bit her lower lip. "We don't?"
"Since we don't, then please step aside!"
Hechengming looked at her lips, which were so dry they were peeling, and a dark, unreadable emotion flickered in the depths of his eyes.
"Sutan, Zhou Jianfeng is not the right man for you. He has another woman in his heart, and he only married you because you're suitable for marriage!"
Sutan clicked her tongue twice. "Big Brother, does your family live by the ocean?"
"What do you mean?" Hechengming's eyes showed confusion.
Sutan scoffed. "You sure like meddling in things that are none of your business. For a grown man to say such baffling things to a complete stranger, I have every reason to suspect you're trying to harass me!"
"Considering you're a soldier, I'll be the bigger person and not call the police this time, but if you blast me with car exhaust again, I don't care who you are!"
Seeing that she had truly forgotten him completely, Hechengming felt his dark temples throb twice.
His jawline suddenly tightened.
His lips, pressed into a straight line, parted. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Hechengming, and we used to be junior high school classmates. We had a pretty good relationship!"
Sutan froze as she reached for her door, then turned her head, her almond-shaped eyes rolling as she looked Hechengming up and down from head to toe.
In that brief moment, countless thoughts raced through her mind.
This man said they were junior high classmates. Yesterday, when Zhou Jianfeng tried to lay a hand on her, Hechengming protected her.
And today he deliberately waited at her doorstep just to tell her to leave Zhou Jianfeng early—could this guy have a thing for her?
At the thought that he might be interested in her, Sutan's flippant gaze turned dead serious.
She scrutinized Hechengming carefully from head to toe once more.
He was the standard rugged soldier of the eighties. Because of years of training, his skin was tanned, his facial features were sharply defined, and his looks were striking and handsome.
Especially his brown eyes, which were clear and devoid of any impurity.
Even just looking at her gently, she could feel the steadfastness and loyalty in his gaze.
The body wrapped beneath his dark blue military uniform looked thoroughly solid.Such men would be a rare find in the future.
Sutan’s Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily. She replied with a calm "Oh," the corners of her dry lips curling up slightly. "So, we were old classmates. It must have been so many years since we last met that I didn’t recognize you!"
"I hadn’t planned on getting a divorce, but since a comrade in the military has brought it up, I will certainly give it serious consideration."
Sutan’s transition was seamless—so seamless that Hechengming, a soldier, didn’t sense anything amiss.
Hechengming gave a slight nod. "If Zhou Jianfeng lays a hand on you again, you can go to the neighborhood committee or see the director of the Women’s Federation. If you need anything, I can help you too."
"Um!" Sutan pursed her lips, her clear, bright eyes widening slightly. "Your name is Hechengming, right? Do you... do you have a partner yet?"
"Not yet."
"Who says he doesn't!"
He Chengfang, who had been cooking at home, heard her son mention that his younger brother was talking to Sutan at the Zhou family's doorway. She hurriedly took the boiling kettle off the stove and rushed outside, just in time to hear Hechengming’s reply.
He Chengfang strode over and shot Hechengming a fierce glare. "Sutan, the regimental commander introduced his younger sister to Chengming. She’s a doctor. Chengming went on a blind date today!"
Sutan looked up. Hechengming’s expression remained calm, with no intention of explaining himself, which meant he truly had gone on a blind date today. She felt a twinge of regret.
"Sister, please don't misunderstand. I only asked that because I was thinking of introducing a partner to Comrade He. Since he already has someone, just pretend I never said anything." She added, "I’m heading home now."
Sutan pushed her bicycle inside and calmly shut the gate.
He Chengfang punched her brother hard in the arm, frowning as she scolded, "We'll talk about this at home!"
"I have work to attend to at the unit."
He Chengfang brought her raised foot down heavily. "Hechengming, I don’t care what you think about Sutan, but Mother and I will never let you marry a woman who has been married before! Are you sick in the head? You ignore all those wonderful girls just to fixate on Sutan! Sutan’s parents are bloodsuckers; if you get tangled up with her family, you’ll be reeking of their mess for the rest of your life!"
Hechengming’s thick brows knit together, and a flicker of anger appeared in his brown eyes. "Sister, do not talk about people behind their backs. Sutan cannot choose the family she was born into."
"You..."
"You’re overthinking it. I have no feelings for Sutan."
Before He Chengfang could say more, Hechengming walked away with long, steady strides. He Chengfang stared at the closed gate of the Zhou household for a moment before sighing and heading home.
Standing in her own courtyard, Sutan sighed as well. She figured that if Hechengming had ever held any interest in the original owner of her body, she never would have ended up marrying Zhou Jianfeng. Hechengming’s concern for her just now was merely out of their old school ties.
Her stomach growled.
Sutan first found a place to hide her bankbook, then stoked the stove and set a kettle of water on it. She rolled up her sleeves to knead dough for dumplings. She had a habit: whether she was happy or unhappy, she loved to eat dumplings. Especially those made with her own hands; once a bowl of dumplings was in her stomach, the emptiness in her heart felt filled.
From kneading the dough to having the steaming dumplings ready, it took less than half an hour.
Sutan had just eaten one dumpling when she heard Qin Hongmei’s affected, sycophantic voice. "Jianfeng, Sutan definitely won't agree. After you left, I asked her to hand over her work duties, and she refused. Now that you're asking her to help me look after Taotao, Sutan is bound to make a scene with you!"