Chapter 15 (Catching Bugs)

He Hongyuan's attitude was actually within Lin Xiang's expectations. From his tough appearance to the various styles of behavior mentioned by Zhou Yuezhu, every detail showed that this man would not be easily manipulated.

However, Lin Xiang did not expect him to be so straightforward and too direct.

But it doesn't matter. Her goal is to get away from Saigon and settle down in Phnom Penh.

As if possessed by some mysterious force, Lin Xiang curled her lips slightly, raised her hand and touched her cheek. Not afraid of He Hongyuan's deep gaze, she looked into his eyes and asked, "Is it because I'm not good-looking?"

Frankly speaking, Aunt He's craftsmanship is truly remarkable. It's as if she has transformed Lin Xiang's face. To say that this face is not pretty would be an understatement.

She tried a little to see if this man only cared about looks.

He Hongyuan keenly caught the corners of Lin Xiang's mouth that rose and then quickly lowered, and his mind flashed through her mind as she leaned leisurely on the hard seat of the train. At this moment, he vaguely realized that this female comrade was a little different.

It was unlike anything he had ever encountered.

Instead, you want to tease yourself...?

His hawk-like eyes fell sharply on her small oval face, but due to her dark yellow skin, it was difficult to see her true appearance. He Hongyuan pulled the corners of his mouth almost imperceptibly, and whispered as if they were meeting a chess master: "Boil the berries for two hours, let them cool, and apply them on your face. Remember to apply them evenly."

Lin Xiang:?

In just a moment, Lin Xiang suddenly understood that the man in front of her had already seen through her fake face! He even pointed it out to her by telling her how to make berries.

Lin Xiang's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her face felt a little hot. Could it be that this man was deliberately waiting for this moment to make fun of her?

Just as she raised her eyes, she looked straight into He Hongyuan's deep eyes, trying to find some emotion in those dark pupils. She didn't know if it was her illusion, but there seemed to be a flash of teasing in those dark pupils.

But in a flash, the man still had a solemn, domineering and calm look, which made Lin Xiang wonder if she had seen it wrong.

She pursed her lips, determined to let it go, and changed the subject: "Comrade He, I took the train for three days and two nights to get here, I'm exhausted, and the first thing you said when you saw me was to get me out?"

The words were accusing the person of being inhuman.

But her voice is soft and tender, with a hint of southern Wu dialect, which is not offensive.

On the contrary, He Hong looked at her from afar, trying to grasp her emotions from beneath the layers of disguise, but it was really difficult to see anything.

She really wasn't afraid of me, and even when I bluntly said that the engagement was off, she didn't seem sad or angry at all. It was as if she had just heard some ordinary words and was unmoved.

This made He Hongyuan, who led countless troops and even had the means to pry open the mouths of spies and had complete control, not used to it.

Boom boom boom.

A series of knocks on the study door interrupted their conversation, and Zhou Yuezhu's clear voice rang out at the right time: "Cousin, cousin, my dad is back, we can have dinner now."

Zhou's house was a two-story building with a spacious area. The living room was connected to the dining room, extending in depth. The square table was covered with food, mostly seafood, steamed sea bass, blanched shrimp, stir-fried cabbage, and a plate of steamed buns made of two-grain flour. Feng Li also went to the army's kitchen to ask the quartermaster for two pounds of pork, which she cut into shreds and made into stir-fried pork with peppers.

Lin Xiang hadn't eaten seafood for a long time. When she took a bite of the sweet and refreshing blanched shrimp, her taste buds were satisfied.

However, the atmosphere of this meal was really a bit strange. Zhou Lu sat upright and asked Lin Xiang a few questions about the journey when he entered the door, and then fell silent. Later, he looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated to talk to He Hongyuan. After thinking for a moment, he only said one word, "treat others well."

He Hongyuan was even more puzzled. Aunt He clearly said that this was his third uncle's home, and Zhou Yuezhu also called him cousin. However, He Hongyuan called his third uncle and aunt only Zhou Lu and Aunt Feng, which was really improper.

At the dinner table, only Zhou Yuezhu was enthusiastic. She talked to her parents, and then greeted her cousin and Lin Xiang, which livened up the atmosphere a little.

After dinner, Feng Li and Zhou Shenghuai whispered a few words to each other, and then said to He Hongyuan and Lin Xiang: "Hongyuan, Xiaolin has just arrived, and you haven't assigned her a separate house. She still lives in a single dormitory. Let her live in our house. Xiaolin, just treat this as your own home and live there with peace of mind."

"Okay, okay." Zhou Yuezhu was the first to agree. God knows how much she wished she had a sister of similar age at home so that she could have a companion. "Cousin, I can take you out to play!"

Lin Xiang was reluctant to agree privately, after all, her only connection with the Zhou family was He Hongyuan.

She was about to turn around and ask for his opinion when she heard He Hongyuan say calmly, "No need. I'll arrange a place for her to stay. No need to bother you, Aunt Feng."

Having said that, He Hongyuan lowered his eyes to look at Lin Xiang, and met her gaze unexpectedly: "Follow me."

For some reason, Lin Xiang raised her eyes slightly and saw some struggle in He Hongyuan's deep eyes.

It seemed that being entangled with this unwilling childhood marriage partner was better than having any intersection with his third uncle's family.

That's really strange.

After dinner, the sky over Phnom Penh was hazy, as if the azure blue sea was pouring into the sky, a vast expanse of blue that seemed endless.

The sea breeze blew in with a salty smell, dispelling the summer heat, but it made Lin Xiang feel intoxicated. The surroundings of the family compound were clean and tidy. Looking from a distance, one could see rows of coconut trees in the dim light, shading the small red brick buildings. Not far away, a white brick and white wall naval base stood, interlaced with the azure sea, complementing each other.

Everything here is in Lin Xiang's imagination, and it has an attractive power. She really likes this place, and her heart is moved at first sight.

If she were somehow transported back to the 1970s and had to choose a place to settle down, she would definitely choose this place.

She followed He Hongyuan with a bottle of berry juice prepared at Zhou's house in her arms. The pale juice was flowing quietly in the transparent glass jar.

"Soldiers who have relatives visiting stay at the guesthouse." He Hongyuan was a man of few words. He led Lin Xiang from his family compound to the guesthouse. He remained silent until they were close to their destination. He then spoke, "You stay here temporarily."

"Okay." Lin Xiang nodded in response.

He Hongyuan registered and paid at the front desk of the guesthouse and booked a room for Lin Xiang.

The military guesthouse is a small four-story building, and Lin Xiang was assigned to Room 201 on the second floor. Nowadays, there are not too many military dependents coming to visit their relatives. After all, most of those who go to such great lengths to come are officers above the battalion level who have been allocated separate housing in the family compound and can live directly at home.

The guesthouse was quiet, with only the occasional sound of some military dependents opening and closing doors, which could be heard clearly in the dark night.

He Hongyuan walked Lin Xiang to the door of Room 201 with a serious face, which made Lin Xiang laugh. This man really didn't want to have anything to do with his childhood sweetheart, but he was driven by a sense of responsibility and couldn't ignore her.

Lin Xiang opened the door with the key given by the front desk, and pulled the light cord beside the door. Suddenly, a dim light came on in the room, vaguely surrounding Lin Xiang, as if covered by a layer of halo.

"You can live here." He Hongyuan's expression and attitude did not change. "If I were still the same as before, it would be better to cancel this engagement."

Lin Xiang turned around and looked at the man standing at the door. His back was to the dark night. The moonlight shone down on him, making his sharp features more angular. He looked really handsome, but the words he said were really unpleasant. She asked, "What kind of person are you looking for?"

Lin Xiangchong smiled at him, without any shyness of being rejected, but instead showing a peaceful smile.

He Hongyuan was stunned. He definitely didn't expect her to react like this. The usually cold and indifferent He was speechless. After a while, he said coldly, "I have no intention of finding a partner or getting married. You stay here for a few days to rest. When our engagement is cancelled, I will personally send you to the train to go back."

His tone was firm and domineering, as if he was giving an order. Combined with He Hongyuan's serious expression, most people would be nervous or feel weak at the knees.

But Lin Xiang didn't respond. She touched the door frame with one hand, pretending to close the door: "How many days are you staying? Then you have to show me around. I remember Yuezhu mentioned that you're on vacation recently, right? Remember to come find me early tomorrow morning, around eight o'clock. I'm unfamiliar with the place and have nowhere to go."

Seeing He Hongyuan frown and move his thin lips, as if he was about to refuse her, Lin Xiang added: "You can't bother your third uncle's family again, right?"

Hearing this, He Hongyuan pursed his thin lips into a straight line and said nothing more, but a hint of impatience appeared in his eyes.

"Okay, go back soon, see you tomorrow~" Lin Xiang even waved at him.

The wooden door slammed shut, and He Hongyuan stared blankly at the dark brown door in front of him, his frowning brows not relaxing at all. He was clearly rejecting her, but in the end... Was he tacitly agreeing to come see her early tomorrow morning?

He Hongyuan, who was always invincible and could easily reject people, stood there for a long time, still in disbelief. Besides, was her last mention of Uncle San's family unintentional, or did she see something to manipulate him? He Hongyuan's heart moved slightly, and after a moment he turned around and left.

On the other side of the wall, Lin Xiang was packing her luggage in the guesthouse. Soon she went downstairs with a clean enamel basin, towel and spare clothes, ready to go to the public bath downstairs for a thorough wash.

Of course, the most important thing is the bottle of berry water.

Half an hour later, Lin Xiang returned to the guesthouse again. She had changed into clean clothes, and her slightly damp long hair spread out like silky satin. Her fair and slender fingers took out a small round mirror from her bag. After a moment, a fair and tender face appeared in the mirror. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyebrows were graceful and smart. She raised her hand and touched her cheeks, and there was really no mark left, just like before.

She was even a little uncomfortable with it. After all, her face was dark yellow with pockmarks after a few days, so it was still quite new.

The wooden bed in the guesthouse was much better than the uncomfortable wooden bed in the Lin family. It was spacious and padded with cotton. Even the thin mattress was clean and tidy. Lin Xiang didn't choose the bed because she was tired after sitting on the train for three days and was sleepy...

But when she fell completely asleep, she thought vaguely that He Hongyuan was a handsome man, but he had a bad temper and she didn't know if she could win him over.

After all, she has no experience.

Lin Xiang slept until early morning. She didn't have a watch and didn't know the time, but she went to bed early and should wake up early too. The curtains were opened and the morning sun was rising slowly, casting a little light.

After getting up and packing, Lin Xiang found the newest piece of clothing from her bag, which had fewer patches. She looked down and felt a little worried. She only had seven feet of cloth coupons, which was barely enough to make a coat. She felt a little sad when she thought about it and was reluctant to use it.

There were no skin care products or cosmetics in that era, so people usually just applied some clam oil. Lin Xiang dissolved the thick clam oil in her hands and then applied it thinly on her face, thinking that she had to buy something good for herself.

She sold her job and got a huge sum of 700 yuan, which she used to make a new dress and buy a bottle of vanishing cream...

I don’t know what time it is now, and whether He Hongyuan will be “obedient” and come to see me.

Lin Xiang remembered that she had threatened him weakly last night that she would trouble his uncle's family. His eyes changed a little, which was quite funny.

Boom boom boom.

Lin Xiang, who had just dressed herself up, was looking in the mirror. She had put on a black short-sleeved, double-breasted jacket that outlined her slender curves. Her face, after taking off her makeup, was fair and beautiful, charming and attractive.

She heard a knock on the door and stood up and grabbed the doorknob.

Outside the door, there was He Hongyuan, who looked reluctant but had to come to see her because of the "threat".

As soon as he opened the door, his heavy gaze fell on Lin Xiang's face.