Chapter 106 Allowance She felt the world around her had changed. ...

After speaking with Lin Xiuqin, Gao Rong rode her bicycle back into the compound. Looking at the patrolling soldiers, Gao Rong couldn't help but feel a little suspicious.

This man can like other men?

Lin Xiuqin told her to "pay close attention."

Could it be that Lin Xiuqin, as a nurse, knows some strange secrets?

"Gao Rong, could you go to the health center to get some medicine for me? I'm not feeling well." The grandmother in the wheelchair instructed her granddaughter-in-law, Gao Rong, to go to the hospital near the family compound to get medicine. Whenever Grandma Gou felt unwell, she would always ask someone to get her some painkillers.

Gao Rong nodded. The hospital was close to the family compound, and there were military doctors and several medics on duty every day. Of course, both the military doctors and medics were men. She walked to the hospital entrance. Today, the military doctor on duty was a man with a rugby ball-shaped haircut and wearing round-framed glasses with silver rims. His surname was Zhang. He was twenty-seven years old this year, a graduate of military medical university, and not yet married. This guy was a bit bald, and his temples were dyed with white hair. He was only twenty-three years old when he was assigned here after graduation, but he looked like he was thirty-five or thirty-six years old then, and he still looked like that now.

"Dr. Zhang, my old lady asked me to come and get some medicine."

Doctor Zhang nodded and gave them some common medicine. In the duty room next door, two young male medics were laughing and joking around. Both of them were young men in their twenties.

One of the male medics suddenly hugged the other from behind. One laughed and told him to let go, but the other wouldn't. The two wrestled like they were arm wrestling, making some incomprehensible noises.

Both were wearing military uniforms, tall and slender, with long, straight legs that were even more delicate and beautiful than a woman's. When they were playing around, a section of their ankles would be exposed, and they were very white.

"Let me go!"

"I won't let go!"

"Call me 'brother' and I'll let you go."

...

The two were laughing and joking around, a heartwarming scene full of brotherly camaraderie, but Gao Rong's gaze gradually turned strange.

She felt that the world around her had changed.

Gao Rong returned home suspiciously and gave the medicine to Old Mrs. Gou. Even when her husband, Gou Qiang, came home, she noticed a change in his expression. Gou Qiang whispered to her, "What are you doing?"

Gao Rong pulled Gou Qiang to the flowerbed outside the door. After glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she whispered, "Qiangzi, have you... have you ever met a man who likes men?"

"There are so many men in the army, you've been with your father since you were little... have you ever seen them?"

Gou Qiang shook his head.

Gao Rong breathed a sigh of relief.

“However… I guess there probably are.” Gou Qiang scratched his head. Over the years, there have certainly been many unsubstantiated stories. He whispered to Gao Rong, “The military does not allow such people to exist. Once discovered, they will be asked to leave.”

Gao Rong suddenly realized that it might really be true.

—I heard that Qin Xiangxiang's husband hadn't been home to see his wife and children for the past three or four years.

Just as Gao Rong was thinking this, a loud argument came from upstairs: "There's a fight going on upstairs."

Judging from the voices, it was a man and a woman, probably a couple arguing. "It sounds like Chen Ruifeng and Zhao Yangyang, a couple from the third floor, they're arguing."

Their building is densely populated, much like a tenement building; if one family is arguing, the whole building can hear it.

Gao Rong and Gou Qiang listened for a while, and the couple upstairs got louder and louder, and the noise even reached the corridor. Many people came out of their homes to see what was going on.

"Chen Ruifeng, why are you two arguing?"

"What's going on? Why are you arguing so loudly!"

Qin Xiangxiang and Li Jianzhi were both at home. Li Jianzhi was wearing an apron and said he was going to cook a big yellow croaker for the family to avenge their previous humiliation.

"With ten years of experience in fish-killing in the old navy, my heart is cold, just like the icy waters of the North Sea." Li Jianzhi held a kitchen knife in his hand, while his wife Qin Xiangxiang watched him kill fish from the doorway.

Originally, Li Jianzhi was a quiet and reserved guy, but now that he has a wife and children, he has learned to tell jokes with a straight face.

Unfortunately, Qin Xiangxiang might not understand the joke, but that's okay. Couples can be happy just chatting about anything.

"Look carefully, don't puncture the gallbladder again!"

Li Jianzhi: "I now have ample practical experience."

Before the couple had even finished processing the fish, a startling argument erupted from upstairs. The kitchen window was open, and the sounds of the argument were crystal clear.

"Who's having a fight again?"

Li Jianzhi: "It sounds like Chen Ruifeng and Zhao Yangyang, the couple upstairs."

Qin Xiangxiang was shocked: "?"

Did the male and female leads have a fight?

In the past, she and Li Jianzhi would always argue in her dreams, while Chen Ruifeng and Lin Xiuqin were always loving and affectionate. Now, the male lead, Chen Ruifeng, is arguing with the female lead?

And this couple, who are both incredibly awful, are discussing how to kill fish—it's really beneath their class.

Qin Xiangxiang quietly moved closer to Li Jianzhi: "Listen carefully, what are they arguing about?"

"Go live with your brother!"

Li Jianzhi repeated, both surprised and suspicious, "...Why don't you go live with your brother?"

Qin Xiangxiang: "?"

"Who said that? Which brother are you living with?"

Li Jianzhi repeated, "...Zhao Yangyang, don't be unreasonable."

Qin Xiangxiang: "?"

"Let me hear it, let me hear it, what are they arguing about?"

Li Jianzhi: "...Fine, fine, if you think your brother is better than your wife, then let your brother be your wife."

Qin Xiangxiang: "???? What are you talking about?"

Li Jianzhi: "I'm repeating their argument."

"Are your ears that sharp? You're not talking nonsense, are you?" Qin Xiangxiang hugged his arm. Why couldn't she hear what was going on upstairs? Could this man next to her be talking nonsense?

Li Jianzhi raised an eyebrow: "Are you curious? Go outside and take a look."

So the couple went out to see the excitement one after the other. Li Jianzhi took off his apron, washed his hands, and held his daughter Sui Sui in his arms. He was a qualified parent; even when going out to see the excitement, he had to bring his daughter with him.

Upstairs, Chen Ruifeng and his wife were arguing, and many people came out to watch. When Qin Xiangxiang pushed open the door, she was facing the door of the apartment above, and a female relative also came out.

The woman in question had a heart-shaped face, her surname was Bai, and her given name was Bai Yun. She had a long braid, and her lips were pale and purplish. Since moving here, she had hardly been seen leaving the house. It was said that she had undergone surgery for appendicitis and had been recuperating at home, not liking to go out or receive guests.

She even pushed open the door to watch the commotion upstairs.

"Are you Bai Yun, Sister Bai?" Qin Xiangxiang greeted her.

Upon hearing her speak, Bai Yun seemed startled, putting a finger to her lips in a shushing gesture: "Shh! Shh! Shh!"

Qin Xiangxiang lowered her voice: "What's wrong?"

"The doctor said I need to rest and be quiet! I can't talk too much." Bai Yun's face was very pale, and she looked panicked. This was the first time in her life that she had undergone open surgery, and she felt very scared. The doctor told her to rest for a while, so she kept quiet and didn't dare to speak at all.

Qin Xiangxiang: "...???"

Is this what "quiet rest" means—not being able to speak?

The group went upstairs together, where Chen Ruifeng and his wife were already arguing in the hallway. One of them said, "Don't even think about it," while the other said, "You're being unreasonable."

Gao Rong and Gou Qiang went upstairs, and soon after, even Sister Gao, the head of the intelligence department, arrived.

Why are you arguing?

Chen Ruifeng sighed, rubbing his forehead: "It's just a small thing, Yangyang, why are you so persistent? It's just a small thing."

Zhao Yangyang said with red eyes, "Your brother is so important, go live with your brother."

After asking around, Sister Gao learned the reason why Chen Ruifeng and Zhao Yangyang had argued. The cause was that a fellow villager and comrade-in-arms of Chen Ruifeng, who was a company commander in a nearby army unit, was getting married. This comrade-in-arms was from the same hometown as Chen Ruifeng, and the two had a good relationship and often kept in touch. Now that this brother was getting married, he wanted to take wedding photos with his new wife and wanted them to be taken in a respectable manner.

So this fellow villager and comrade-in-arms asked Chen Ruifeng to borrow a navy uniform for their wedding photos. Zhao Yangyang wouldn't have reacted so strongly to just borrowing clothes, but then this guy also asked to borrow an "imported watch".

Zhao Yangyang was traumatized by the last time she lent her watch to Gou Qiang, and when she heard that Chen Ruifeng was going to lend his watch again, she was furious and refused.

He also said, "Your comrade is too vain. He takes photos however he wants, and he even has to borrow clothes from others."

Chen Ruifeng said, "It's not easy for us soldiers to get married. He's so old and it's not easy for him to find a wife. How many times can a person get married in his life? He just wanted to borrow some clothes and a watch to take some photos."

"He's a really nice person. Don't call him vain; that's such an offensive thing to say."

Zhao Yangyang: "If he were really that honest, he wouldn't have asked to borrow your watch. Borrowing a watch like that is shameless!"

"Zhao Yangyang, don't go too far with your words."

Zhao Yangyang: "I'm going too far. You're so considerate of your good brother, why don't you go sleep in the same bed with him? Let him have your baby!"

Gao Rong: "????!!" Huh?

Zhao Yangyang: "Is it true that in your heart, your brother is more important than me?"

Gao Rong: "..."

"Of course you are important, but this is not the same thing at all. They just want to borrow a watch to take wedding photos. If you can be accommodating, it's not a big deal."

Zhao Yangyang: "Make an exception for me? Last time you lent me your watch and someone dropped it in the pigsty. This time, I'm not going to let them drop it in the latrine again!"

Gao Rong: "..."

Gou Qiang: "..."