Chapter 16 (Updated)

Lin Xiang found that although He Hongyuan was handsome, he looked ferocious when he was serious, especially when he frowned. He was full of awe-inspiring aura and intimidating without even getting angry. If someone with a weaker psychological endurance, they would probably be afraid of him.

"Hello, Comrade He." But Lin Xiang had experienced two lifetimes after all, and had seen people who had traveled through such big scenes before, so he was not afraid of anything.

He Hongyuan was the same as yesterday, except for a hint of struggle on his face. However, Lin Xiang was completely different from yesterday.

It can even be said to be a miracle.

Yesterday, Lin Xiang's skin was so dark and yellow that her facial features were almost blurred. In addition, she had pockmarks all over her face. Even Zhou Yuezhu and Feng Li, who knew in advance that she had been transformed by Aunt He, showed some non-malicious surprise when they saw her.

But when He Hongyuan saw her yesterday, he didn't seem to be surprised at all and spoke to her calmly and peacefully.

At this moment, Lin Xiang, who had taken off her disguise, appeared in front of him, finally revealing her true face. Her skin was whiter than snow, her eyebrows were curved like willow leaves, her eyes were as bright as autumn water, and she was smiling with her cherry lips. There was no trace of her yesterday.

Seeing that he still had no reaction, Lin Xiang only glanced at her and then slightly looked away. She thought to herself that this person was too calm. No matter who it was, if they met someone who suddenly changed his appearance, they would be surprised for a moment even if they were mentally prepared.

He is indeed the capable and steady soldier that Zhou Yuezhu described.

"I want to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things today, and then find a tailor to make clothes. Please take me there." Without saying anything else, Lin Xiang was ready to improve her quality of life first.

He Hongyuan listened silently, his eyes not fixed on her. After thinking for a while, he said, "You will be going back in a few days. It will not be convenient for you to buy things."

Wow, you really can't tolerate any oil or salt.

Lin Xiang turned her head and glanced at the man, only to sigh that he was really a straight man, too direct. She raised her cherry lips and smiled lightly, but did not respond: "Where is the supply and marketing cooperative of your army?"

He Hongyuan found this person to be... a little tricky.

In the past, if he had sternly said a few words of rejection, the female comrades who came to him for courtship would either accuse him of being ruthless with tears in their eyes, or run away angrily.

But Lin Xiang just held their marriage certificate in her hand, and remained indifferent no matter how serious and direct her rejection was.

He Hongyuan didn't reply, and Lin Xiang just looked at him. Because she was a head shorter than the man, she had to tilt her face up slightly, and her sight was all about his sharp jawline. The smooth lines were naturally neat, outlining his toughness and highlighting the aura of the man that kept strangers away.

He Hongyuan lowered his eyebrows and looked at Lin Xiang. He unexpectedly fell into her eyes that seemed to be filled with spring water. His throat choked and he could only say lightly, "In the courtyard at home."

"Okay, take me there."

The 119th Division's troop base covers a large area, and the entire island is under its jurisdiction. The family compound is like a small society, inhabited by soldiers and their families, and also has supply and marketing cooperatives, non-staple food stores, grain stations and other state-owned stores.

From afar, you can see the bustling streets with bluestone pavement, low-rise houses on both sides of the streets, and military families coming and going in and out of various shops.

The busiest of these is the supply and marketing cooperative.

The supply and marketing cooperative in the military family compound is not as big as the one in Xifeng City, after all, the area and population are too different. There are three brick bungalows with connected storefronts, displaying a wide variety of goods. At this time, the cloth has just been delivered early in the morning, and many military wives are gathered at the door of the supply and marketing cooperative to grab the cloth.

Now is the era of coupons. You need meat coupons to buy meat, cloth coupons to buy cloth, and grain coupons to buy grain. Among them, cloth coupons are particularly hard to come by.

Only residents in towns and cities had a monthly quota of cloth coupons, six inches a month, which was only a little over seven feet a year, barely enough to make a shirt. Therefore, people seldom made new clothes, but would sew and patch up for three years. The cloth coupons were saved for important occasions such as weddings.

However, soldiers received cloth coupons as subsidies, so the military families had the confidence to snatch the precious cloth.

He Hongyuan saw Lin Xiang staring at the supply and marketing cooperative in front of him, and secretly suspected that she would ask him to take her in...

He has made up his mind and is determined not to agree or give in.

"Comrade He." Just as He Hongyuan was lost in thought, Lin Xiang's clear voice rang in his ears, "Don't you want too many people to see us together? Then wait for me outside, I'll be back soon."

Having said that, Lin Xiang didn't care about He Hongyuan's reaction and hurriedly joined the shopping crowd.

Only He Hongyuan was left in the wind...silent.

When did she become so considerate?

Lin Xiang moved quickly, and soon came out with an oil-paper bag in her left hand, which contained half a pound of peach cakes, a can of vanishing cream, and half a pound of orange candy. In her right hand, she held a seven-foot dark red cloth, and with great interest she saw a tall figure standing in the corner, talking to a soldier.

He Hongyuan was dressed in a white military uniform, looking neat and stylish. There were many soldiers on the street, but none of them was taller and more handsome than him. It was indeed his looks that God was chasing him and feeding him.

Lin Xiang thought to herself, it was no wonder that she agreed to come over after seeing just one photo. After seeing so many ugly guys, anyone would be moved when they suddenly saw such a tough and handsome guy!

It is said that when a girl chases a boy, it is easy for him to fall in love with her. Lin Xiang didn't know if it was true or not, after all, she had no experience.

Lin Xiang walked slowly over, and the two men noticed her approach. An equally handsome soldier turned around and looked at Lin Xiang, then sarcastically said, "He Hongyuan, I thought you were really pure and unsexy, and you wouldn't be tempted by any lesbian. It seems..."

He was only halfway through his words when He Hongyuan interrupted him: "Jiang Zhenghao, if you can't speak, just shut up."

"Just don't see Meng Jing, huh." Jiang Zhenghao turned and left, exuding an unfriendly aura.

Lin Xiang heard the conversation between the two people not far away, but since she had just arrived, she couldn't say anything. She could only pretend that she didn't see it. When she got closer, she asked, "Comrade He, have you been waiting for a long time?"

He Hongyuan was not a hypocritical person, so he naturally could not complain to a lesbian, so he just said, "No."

"Let me treat you to breakfast." Lin Xiang returned home with a full load and in a very good mood. He was already thinking about how many things he would need to buy if he really wanted to settle down here. It wouldn't be just one or two things, but the satisfaction of running his own little home.

There was a state-owned hotel not far from the supply and marketing cooperative. Lin Xiang had five kilograms of national grain coupons that she had exchanged and two kilograms of grain coupons given by Aunt He, so she could afford this meal.

Standing in front of the counter, she looked at the small blackboard on the left wall that listed today's breakfast. Just as she made her choice, He Hongyuan stepped forward, took out money and a ticket and handed them to the waiter: "Three taels of臊子面, plus an egg."

Then he turned to Lin Xiang and asked, "What about you?"

Lin Xiang immediately replied: "Two meat buns and a bowl of soy milk."

He Hongyuan treated Lin Xiang to this meal first. As she ate the thin-skinned and thick-meat Chinese cabbage and pork buns, she knew very clearly that He Hongyuan probably just wanted to distance himself from her without any ambiguity.

"Can I make a phone call here?" Lin Xiang bit into a meat bun the size of her palm and looked up at He Hongyuan. "Auntie He asked me to let her know I'm safe."

"No thanks." He Hongyuan ate his noodle soup in big mouthfuls, quickly but not ugly, and said lightly, "She called me this morning and I told her."

However, He Hongyuan did not finish his words. Not only did he inform his mother Lin Xiang that she had arrived safely, he also proposed to cancel the engagement over the phone.

As a result, he was scolded by his mother. If they were not thousands of miles apart, she would have wanted to beat him up by now.

"That's good." Lin Xiang remembered something and said, "Auntie He packed me some salted duck eggs, saying they are your favorite. Will you come back to the guesthouse with me later to get them?"

He Hongyuan loved his mother's pickled duck eggs since he was a child, but he still refused bluntly: "No, you keep it for yourself."

Hearing this, Lin Xiang did not force herself and continued to eat her breakfast. She ate slowly, and after she had finished the last sip of soy milk, He Hongyuan, who had already finished his three or two bowls of soup noodles, stared at her and spoke.

"Comrade Lin Xiang." He Hongyuan sat with his back straight, like a pine tree. He folded his hands on the table, trying to solve the problem that was giving him a headache. "My mother told me about child marriages. I think this is a new society now. Neither you nor I need to be bound by arranged marriages or blind marriages. Such marriages will not last long."

He Hongyuan has always been straightforward and calm in solving problems in life. The fact that this matter has been dragged on until now has made him irritated and even felt out of control.

It didn't feel good.

"Although we were engaged as children, it's not a blind marriage." Lin Xiang blinked, the implication was obvious, "Aren't we meeting now to discuss the details? I am willing to this child marriage. Are you so unwilling because you have a lesbian crush on me?"

When talking about the lesbian she likes, Lin Xiang spoke softly, which made He Hongyuan's eyelids jump. He denied it righteously: "No."

"Do you simply hate the child marriage or do you hate me?" She asked so sincerely and bluntly that He Hongyuan was unable to utter the word "hate" which had been lingering on his tongue mercilessly.

Given his personality, he really would show no mercy.

"I originally agreed to fulfill the engagement after seeing your photo, but when I came here and saw you in person..." Lin Xiangying opened her lips slightly, as if she was not talking about a topic that would make ordinary girls embarrassed, but was extremely frank, "I found that you are more handsome in person than in the photo."

He Hongyuan has never been said like this. Most of his comrades said that he was too stubborn and had a bad temper. But if he really had his own way, even the female comrades who chased him to show their affection would be embarrassed. They praised him for his good fighting skills and called him a great hero...

How can someone keep talking about being handsome?

But she didn't care at all, as if she was just saying that the weather was nice today.

He Hongyuan had a seizure for the first time in his life and was immediately speechless.

"Comrade He, I am serious." The sun gradually rose, and the golden sunlight shone through the glass windows of the state-owned hotel, faintly falling on Lin Xiang's eyebrows. She looked at He Hongyuan with sincerity, "I came here from thousands of miles away just to make this child marriage come true. I understand your resistance, and I hope you will think about it carefully."

To He Hongyuan's ears, these words seemed to be a reminder for him not to act on impulse.

He Hongyuan's temples were throbbing and for the first time he felt helpless, as if he was unable to cope with it.

This woman, being fierce to her is useless, being strict to her is useless... Could it be that she is here to annihilate me?

"It's really not easy for me to travel by train for three days and two nights. My back and waist are sore." Lin Xiangchong winked at him and smiled slyly, "Can you take me around again?"

He Hongyuan didn't know why this lesbian wasn't as embarrassed as the other people he rejected. Usually at this time, he would refuse sternly and most of the time he would be able to get some peace.

But no matter what, he was unwilling to delay any longer, and just wanted to end the feeling of being out of control as soon as possible: "Don't say anything more, I won't agree to this child marriage, go back as soon as possible, as for my mother, I will explain it clearly to her."

He hates being bossed around.

If Lin Xiang still wanted to plead for mercy or say something about how miserable she was, he would never give her face. He Hongyuan made up his mind.

Seeing that this man was really stubborn, Lin Xiang almost choked up. She glanced at his deep eyes, which exuded ruthlessness. Lin Xiang paused for a moment, then smiled. With a face full of gold, she said softly, "If the child engagement is cancelled, wouldn't I have lost everything in vain? Captain He, can you give me a partner as compensation?"