Chapter 8 An Emotionally Unstable Man
Gu Qiuyue frowned subconsciously when she heard the word "special approval." She was now well aware of her own situation. With parents sent down to the countryside, she wasn't a good match for a soldier, as the political review process would be difficult. But how could Xie Shiyu still get special approval? Furthermore, would having such parents-in-law affect Xie Shiyu's future?
Xie Shiyu could easily see Gu Qiuyue's concerns and doubts, but he interpreted this as Gu Qiuyue's regret for the marriage. A nameless anger rose in his heart, and he stared at Gu Qiuyue with even colder eyes. In the end, he even turned around and walked into the heavy rain regardless of the rain. It was Wu Cheng who was quick enough to run a few steps and handed him an umbrella.
Gu Qiuyue just watched him holding a big umbrella and quickly disappearing outside the courtyard. She could feel that he was angry, but why was he angry for no reason? Did she really do the right thing by marrying such an emotionally unstable person?
"Comrade Gu? Comrade Gu?" Wu Cheng's voice interrupted Gu Qiuyue's thoughts. "The rain in this season is still quite cold. You should go inside first. As for Elder Tang... he also cares about you, but... well, don't take it too seriously."
Gu Qiuyue suddenly came back to her senses and found that half of her body was wet by the slanting rain.
She forced a smile at Wu Cheng, then sat down on the sofa again in a daze, lost in thought.
No! We have to find a way to make Xie Shiyu change his mind before he formally submits his written report.
Thinking of this, Gu Qiuyue stood up suddenly and was about to rush out to chase Xie Shiyu who had disappeared when the door leading to the study from the living room opened. Old Tang was standing at the door. The anger on his face had disappeared, replaced by an indescribable complexity and helplessness.
"Qiuyue," Mr. Tang's voice sounded a little tired, but still unquestionable.
Gu Qiuyue's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that Mr. Tang knew that she was going to marry Xie Shiyu? But at this point, she could only bite the bullet and follow him in.
After returning to the study, Mr. Tang did not sit back at the desk. Instead, he walked to the window, turned his back to Gu Qiuyue, and looked at the rain outside the window which was still falling.
"Just now... Shi Yu's leader called me and told me about his marriage report." Old Tang's calm voice reached Gu Qiuyue's ears through the sound of rain, making her heart skip a beat.
Yes, how could she have forgotten this? With Elder Tang's status, how could he not know about many things happening in the army? Moreover, given Xie Shiyu's familiarity with Elder Tang, it was not surprising that Xie Shiyu's marriage announcement would reach his ears immediately.
Gu Qiuyue stammered, not knowing what to say. Should she tell the old man that she had taken the initiative to climb up? Although this was the truth, she felt ashamed to tell it in front of Mr. Tang.
Elder Tang slowly turned around, his sharp eyes scrutinizing Gu Qiuyue's expression. After a pause, as if realizing a possibility, he suddenly took a step forward, his voice filled with pain and urgency: "Qiuyue, tell Grandpa Tang the truth, isn't it...is it that Xie Shiyu who threatened you to marry him with the letter of recommendation? Is that right?!"
"Ah!" Gu Qiuyue was completely stunned. Threats? Forced marriage? Where did that even connect? Xie Shiyu might have been a little cold and emotionally unstable, but...it was she who had initiated the marriage. How could Elder Tang have such a misconception about Xie Shiyu?
"No, Grandpa Tang, it's not what you think." Gu Qiuyue waved her hands hurriedly. Although she regretted coming up with this absurd idea, she couldn't let Grandpa Tang misunderstand Xie Shiyu like this. "It's me... It's me..."
"Your own what?!" Old Tang didn't believe it at all. He was sure that Xie Shiyu was taking advantage of the situation. "Qiuyue, don't be afraid. With Grandpa Tang here, Xie Shiyu will never bully you. Grandpa Tang will go to his boss right now. This marriage is off the table."
Just when Old Tang was shaking with anger and Gu Qiuyue was running around in a panic, with a "bang", the study door was pushed open violently.
Xie Shiyu, who had returned, stood at the door. His tall figure blocked the light. A large area of his clothes on his shoulders was wet, and there were even water droplets on his hair. His face was darker than the weather outside. Obviously, he had heard the last words of Mr. Tang.
His deep gaze swept over the anxious Gu Qiuyue and the furious Old Tang. He frowned, walked in, and closed the door behind him.
"Tang Lao," Xie Shiyu's voice was low and penetrating, instantly suppressing the tense atmosphere in the study. "You misunderstood."
He stood still, looking calmly into Mr. Tang's scrutinizing and angry eyes.
"Comrade Gu Qiuyue took the initiative to ask for marriage," he stated calmly. "I agreed, so I submitted the report."
Both Mr. Tang and Gu Qiuyue were stunned.
Xie Shiyu turned his gaze to the still bewildered Gu Qiuyue, his expression complex and difficult to discern. He then looked back at Elder Tang, his tone becoming more serious than ever before:
"As for the 'threat' you're worried about... there's absolutely no such thing. I agree because..." He paused, as if choosing his words, his eyes sweeping over Gu Qiuyue's pale face, "... I understand her reluctance to return to the countryside, and my identity happens to provide a reasonable and legitimate reason."
Xie Shiyu changed the subject, his eyes sharpening as he looked directly at Elder Tang again: "But, Elder Tang, Comrade Gu Qiuyue destroyed your letter of recommendation. Her concerns were not groundless."
He stepped forward, his voice lowered, the solemnity of conveying a confidential message. "I don't know if my superiors have told you, but just yesterday, an internal notice leaked a 'caring letter' signed by a deputy secretary of a prefectural party committee in a neighboring province, instructing his niece to return to the city for work." He enunciated the words clearly: "'Undermining the great strategy of educated youth taking root in the countryside,' 'Exerting bourgeois privileges,' 'Undermining socialism.'"
The anger on Mr. Tang’s face froze instantly, and the blood color faded visibly.
Xie Shiyu continued, "That deputy secretary has been placed under quarantine for investigation. Everyone who handled that letter, including the head of the receiving unit where his niece had just reported three days ago, has been suspended and is under investigation. The implications... are very wide."
He stared directly into Elder Tang's suddenly constricted pupils, "Elder Tang, the situation right now is much more serious than you imagine. A letter of recommendation signed by you, if it falls into the hands of someone with ulterior motives, would be like a sword stabbing you."
The study was deathly silent, with only the monotonous sound of raindrops hitting the glass outside the window, which now sounded like the beat of a death drum.
Mr. Tang's hands began to tremble slightly, and he suddenly sat down in the chair, as if all his strength was drained in an instant. There was a turbulent wave of fear, awakening, and a feeling of exhaustion after surviving a disaster in his cloudy eyes.
He looked at Xie Shiyu's serious face, which showed no sign of joking at all, and then at Gu Qiuyue's pale face. His lips trembled as he tried to say something, but in the end, he only let out a heavy, long sigh that seemed to contain a thousand words: "...Alas!"
This sigh was like a huge rock falling to the ground, and it completely relieved the heavy guilt in Gu Qiuyue's heart.
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