Chapter 53 Old Acquaintances

The private rooms in the third canteen.

When Gu Xiao led Nan Zhiyi inside, there were six people sitting there.

Several familiar faces turned around, and the relaxed smiles on their faces froze instantly when they saw the people next to Gu Xiao.

They all knew that Fifth Brother was bringing his wife to meet everyone tonight... Apart from Lu Linlang, no one present knew that Fifth Brother's wife was actually Nan Zhiyi...

Gu Xiao pulled out a chair for Nan Zhiyi to sit down, and then sat down next to her.

He glanced around, his gaze calm: "Zhiyi, say hello. We're all old acquaintances."

Nan Zhiyi suppressed the turmoil in her heart, a perfectly timed smile blooming on her face. Her gaze swept over everyone in turn, her voice still gentle: "Brother Weidong, Sister Yaqin, Brother Shengli, Brother Guodong, Dr. Lu, Aping, it's been a long time."

Her address carried the intimacy of the past, as if those earth-shattering changes were just a fleeting dream.

Li Weidong and the other three, recovering from their shock, greeted her.

Lu Linlang hummed in agreement, without even glancing at Nan Zhiyi.

Nan Zhiyi didn't look at Lu Linlang again. Her gaze swept over Zhou Zhengping, whose face was pale and whose eyes were complicated.

Nan Zhiyi met his gaze, her smile remaining unchanged, as if he were truly just an ordinary old acquaintance.

Zhou Zhengping squeezed out a few words from his dry throat: "Zhiyi...long time no see."

He thought she was already suffering in some unknown rural area. He even came here with the intention of asking Gu Xiao for help in finding her or secretly taking care of her.

He hated his own cowardice for failing to withstand the pressure from his family, but deep down he still harbored a sliver of delusion that there was still a future.

But fate had other plans, and she ended up marrying... Gu Xiao? And in this way at that?

Gu Xiao stood to the side, naturally rinsing Nan Zhiyi's tableware with hot water, showing exceptional domesticity.

The private room became unusually quiet for a moment.

Fortunately, the food and drinks were served one after another.

Li Weidong's loud voice forcefully stirred up the atmosphere.

As a combat staff officer with a smooth personality, he could see that Gu Xiao was protecting Nan Zhiyi. Besides, she was a girl he had watched grow up, so naturally he wouldn't make things difficult for her. He just treated it as an ordinary reunion of old acquaintances.

He stood up and poured drinks for everyone; the men drank baijiu (Chinese liquor) and the women drank beer.

"Come on, everyone! Let's have a toast!" Li Weidong raised his glass first, "To celebrate that we can all get together again!"

Zhao Yaqin was the first to stand up and respond: "That's right, it's also to wish Fifth Brother and Zhiyi a long and happy marriage."

Zhao Yaqin and Lu Linlang are the same age. From childhood to adulthood, adults have always compared them to Lu Linlang. The two dislike each other. Knowing that Lu Linlang has always been obsessed with Gu Xiao, she seizes every opportunity to stab Lu Linlang in the heart.

Nan Zhiyi and Gu Xiao also stood up with everyone, and the eight wine glasses clinked in the middle of the table.

She even touched Gu Xiao's wine glass, her fingertips tracing the back of his hand.

Seeing her slightly nervous look, Gu Xiao guessed that she was trying to reassure him, and his heart stirred.

After everyone was seated, Li Weidong urged them to eat, saying, "We're all family here, so don't be shy, eat as much as you like!"

Gu Xiao picked up the serving chopsticks, carefully removed the bones from the tenderest piece of fish, and placed it in Nan Zhiyi's bowl.

I also put two pieces of stewed pork ribs on her plate until they were very tender.

Nan Zhiyi whispered that she had had enough, so he stopped insisting.

After several rounds of drinks...

Li Weidong and several other men started urging each other to drink, insisting that they should offer their blessings to Fifth Brother and Zhiyi.

Gu Xiao picked up his wine glass and stopped Nan Zhiyi from drinking: "She has a weak stomach and can't drink too much. I'll drink for her."

He accepted all drinks without hesitation, and after a few, a languid, tipsy look appeared on his face.

Qian Shengli forced a smile: "Fifth Brother, I heard you led the team to first place again in this exercise? Impressive!"

Sun Guodong politely adjusted his glasses and continued the conversation: "Yes, Fifth Brother has always been a capable leader. Shengli, are you settling into the new camp?"

Qian Shengli was a newly transferred battalion commander, and Sun Guodong was an officer in the logistics department; they had known each other for many years.

Gu Xiao remained calm, raised his glass to clink with theirs, and simply hummed in response.

Nan Zhiyi maintained a faint smile, and occasionally when Li Weidong or Qian Shengli asked about her recent situation, she would vaguely say "I'm fine" without saying much more.

She lowered her head to eat, her manners impeccable, yet carrying a detached quietness.

Zhao Yaqin glanced at Gu Xiao and Nan Zhiyi for a while, then quickly scanned Lu Linlang's increasingly stiff and cold face beside her.

A hint of amusement crept onto Zhao Yaqin's lips.

She put down her chopsticks, deliberately raised her voice, and smiled warmly at Nan Zhiyi:

"I never expected this! Fifth Brother, this eternal iceberg, was finally melted by our little sister Zhiyi!"

She sighed dramatically, glancing around meaningfully, "Sigh, if this news gets back to the compound, so many girls' hearts will be shattered, haha!"

Her laughter sounded somewhat jarring in the quiet private room.

Li Weidong frowned and said in a low voice, "Yaqin! What nonsense are you talking about!"

He glanced at Lu Linlang.

Lu Linlang forced herself to look at Nan Zhiyi and forced a smile: "Yes, Zhiyi is really lucky."

She was heartbroken.

Why? She went to great lengths to transfer here, yet she couldn't even get a second glance from Gu Xiao.

How could a scoundrel like Nan Zhiyi so easily obtain everything she dreams of? And she even puts on this idyllic facade!

Gu Xiao and Nan Zhiyi seemed oblivious to Zhao Yaqin's veiled criticism and Lu Linlang's sharp tongue.

"Sister Yaqin, Dr. Lu is joking. I'm lucky to have married Gu Xiao."

Gu Xiao played along, saying, "I was lucky too."

He picked up the soup bowl in front of Nan Zhiyi, skimmed off the oil with a spoon, tested the temperature, and then pushed the bowl back to her.

"The soup isn't too hot anymore, have some."

Lu Linlang could barely maintain her smile. She picked up her wine glass and took a big gulp. The spicy wine burned her throat, but it couldn't extinguish the raging fire in her heart.

Zhao Yaqin looked at the affectionate glances between Gu Xiao and his wife and laughed again: "Haha, I really didn't expect to see Fifth Brother serving his wife like this! Wei Dong, Shengli, Guo Dong, did you see that? You all need to learn from him."

The expressions of the men he named were indescribable; they couldn't accept Fifth Brother openly serving his wife like that!

Sun Guodong even made a point of glancing at Zhou Zhengping, who had been silently eating and drinking on the side.

He acted like an outsider, only having a few drinks with the men at the beginning, and never said anything more.

He watched Gu Xiao remove fish bones from Nan Zhiyi's fish and test the soup temperature, and watched her slightly flushed yet composed face when Zhao Yaqin teased her... all of this felt like being cut by a dull knife.

He used to do these things.

He picked the fish bones out of her mouth, shielded her from malicious stares, and protected her when she was bullied by other children in the compound... He thought they would continue like this forever.

But his parents' pressure and his cowardice completely ruined everything.