"None of your business!"
The man wasn't annoyed; he stood up briskly and extended his hand to her.
"Xia Mengsheng, I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to take advantage of you."
Su Yuzhen hesitated for a moment, but still used his strength to stand up.
Upon closer inspection, the young man named Xia Mengsheng appeared to be in his early twenties, with a tall and upright figure and a heroic air about him, quite unlike the sleazy thugs on the street.
"Su Yuzhen."
She whispered her name, then noticed Xia Mengsheng's clothes and her eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait, are you from the compound?"
Xia Mengsheng raised an eyebrow.
"You know me?"
"Who doesn't know the young master of Commander Xia's family?"
Wang Xiaoyan slid over to chime in, her eyes gleaming with gossip.
"Yuzhen, you've run into a big shot."
Su Yuzhen was immediately at a loss.
To ordinary citizens like us, the children in the military compound are like people from another world.
Xia Mengsheng seemed to notice her embarrassment and smiled to defuse the situation.
"What 'young master' or 'young master'? We're all just ordinary people."
He turned to Su Yuzhen.
"Would you like me to teach you how to ice skate? As an apology."
"No, no need..."
Su Yuzhen quickly shook her head, only to see Wang Xiaoyan push her forward.
"Yes, yes! Comrade Xia, you must teach our Yuzhen well!"
Two hours later.
Su Yuzhen can now glide independently for a short distance with some difficulty.
Xia Mengsheng was an unexpectedly good teacher, patient and humorous, completely unlike the aloof and arrogant son of a cadre that she had imagined.
"Yes, bend your knees a little more...good!"
Xia Mengsheng slid backwards to guide the way.
"Maintain your balance..."
Su Yuzhen followed his instructions attentively, and before she knew it, the initial awkwardness had dissipated.
She couldn't help but cheer when she successfully completed a simple forward slide.
"I did it!"
Xia Mengsheng looked at her radiant smile, his eyes flickering slightly.
"You learn very quickly."
As dusk fell, the crowd at the ice rink began to disperse.
Su Yuzhen was stamping her feet to warm them at the exit when she suddenly felt a weight on her shoulder.
Xia Mengsheng draped his military overcoat over her shoulders.
"Put these on, you're freezing."
His tone left no room for refusal.
"I'll be waiting for you here at this time tomorrow. Just return the clothes to me."
Su Yuzhen was stunned.
"This won't do..."
"Why not?"
Xia Mengsheng had already turned and walked toward the jeep that was waiting not far away.
See you tomorrow, Comrade Su Yuzhen!
The jeep sped away, leaving Su Yuzhen standing there, still carrying the stranger's body heat and a faint scent of pine.
Wang Xiaoyan winked and made faces at the side.
"Oh, is our Yuzhen having a lucky streak with men?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Su Yuzhen pretended to hit her, but involuntarily wrapped her coat even tighter.
When she got home, Su Yuzhen, for some inexplicable reason, didn't wash the coat immediately.
She carefully hung it in the wardrobe, her fingers gently tracing the embroidered "Summer" character on the collar.
This is a corps officer's woolen overcoat, made of excellent quality, clearly not something an ordinary soldier could wear.
"Yuzhen, dinner's ready!"
The voice of Wang Xiulan, the mother, came from the kitchen.
"They're here!"
Su Yuzhen hurriedly closed the cabinet door, but her heart was still pounding.
At the dinner table, Su Jianguo, the father, was discussing the vegetable base with Su Jianjun.
"People from the land bureau came to see Mingfu today."
Su Jianjun said with a frown.
"They said they needed to complete some kind of property rights procedures for the barren mountain..."
Su Jianguo put down his chopsticks.
When did this happen?
"It was this afternoon. Mingfu brought the documents back, and after I looked at them, it was indeed our oversight. The property transfer for those mountains hadn't been completed yet."
Su Jianguo pondered for a moment.
"I'm going to the land bureau tomorrow; this needs to be done quickly. Now that the base has expanded, the property rights must be clarified."
Su Yuzhen absentmindedly ate her rice, her mind filled with the image of that handsome, roguish face on the ice rink.
"Yuzhen? Yuzhen!"
Su Jianguo raised his voice.
"What are you thinking about so intently?"
"ah?"
Su Yuzhen suddenly came to her senses.
"It's nothing... I'm just a little tired."
Wang Xiulan touched her daughter's forehead with concern.
"Are you cold? Your face is so red."
Su Yuzhen used the excuse of clearing the dishes to escape into the kitchen, her heart pounding like a drum.
She had never felt this way before; it was like having a restless little rabbit inside her, a feeling that was both sweet and unsettling.
In the dead of night, she opened the wardrobe again and buried her face in the military overcoat.
The scent of pine filled her nostrils, and she remembered Xia Mengsheng's warm and strong hands as he helped her up...
The next day, in the evening.
Su Yuzhen arrived at the skating rink early, carrying a clean and ironed military overcoat in her arms.
Xia Mengsheng was already waiting there, and his eyes lit up when he saw her.
"I thought you weren't coming."
He took the clothes, but showed no intention of putting them on.
"Want to skate a little longer?"
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