The 3000 nutrient solution bonus chapter wasn't because you introduced Meng Yingying...
Chapter 20
Commander Fang felt that the name sounded somewhat familiar.
She murmured, "Meng Yingying? Where have I heard that name before?"
Qi Donghan paused for a moment, not explaining where the name Meng Yingying came from, but said calmly, "It's normal for Commander Fang to have heard of my friend."
That's a really strange statement.
Commander Fang looked at Qi Donghan as if he were a monkey, "Commander Qi, you actually have female comrades as friends, that's really—"
Unexpected.
Qi Donghan smiled but didn't explain. He simply changed the subject naturally, "I wonder what time the assessment is here?"
"Nine o'clock, I guess."
Commander Fang said, "I have to go out for a meeting at ten o'clock, so I won't be here then. Please make sure Comrade Meng isn't late."
If you miss this window, you'll just have to wait.
Qi Donghan nodded, "I will remind her." Having obtained the information he wanted, he also took his leave, "Then, Commander Fang, I will bring Meng Yingying over for the assessment tomorrow morning. I hope you will give me some pointers then."
Look, even Qi Donghan, who is usually very principled, can speak sweet words now.
Seeing him like this, Commander Fang became even more curious about Meng Yingying.
When Qi Donghan was about to leave, Commander Fang got up to see him off. In terms of rank, the two were of the same level, but in terms of age, Commander Fang was more than twenty years older than Qi Donghan.
The future of the two is almost predictable.
One is in the sky, the other on the ground.
This is not just empty talk, but a harsh reality.
Qi Donghan is young and has a long future ahead of him; to put it bluntly, he has a bright future.
Therefore, it was normal for Commander Fang to personally see him off.
However, only those who have been through it understand the intricacies involved. Other young people simply don't.
As they passed by the practice room, Lin Qiu and the others happened to see it and immediately stood on tiptoe to look for a while, somewhat puzzled, "Our Commander Fang and Commander Qi are both of the same rank."
"Why would he personally go to see Commander Qi off?"
In their view, this doesn't seem very scientific.
Ye Yingtao lazily did the splits, and while doing so, she slowly said, "Of course it's because Commander Qi has a bright future. Otherwise, why do you think our Commander Fang would personally go to see her off?"
Ye Yingtao's mind wasn't on dancing. She matured early and always knew what she wanted, so her gaze was always fixed on these high-ranking leaders.
She tried to figure out the meaning behind the actions of those high-ranking leaders. Of course, in the eyes of the other sisters in the art troupe, her actions were very sycophantic, obsequious, and fond of flattery.
Ye Yingtao didn't care. Why wouldn't she flatter him to get something good?
Saying a few nice words won't hurt you.
After she explained it that way, everyone understood. Lin Qiu and the others gave Ye Yingtao a complicated look. "Yingtao, you know so much."
Ye Yingtao smiled but didn't say anything, and everyone naturally changed the subject.
"Commander Qi is really influential."
They were able to get the highest-ranking leader of their performing arts troupe to personally deliver them.
Who can argue with that?
Ye Yingtao knew a lot of gossip and wanted to say a few more words about Commander Fang. However, before she could speak, she was interrupted.
"Cough cough."
Seeing that they were about to start talking about Commander Fang, Officer Xu took a pointer and slapped Ye Yingtao on the head, scolding, "Why aren't you practicing your dance properly? What are you thinking about all day long?"
This was made for Commander Fang to see.
Commander Fang naturally knew this. She pushed open the door and walked in, her expression stern. "Alright."
The moment she opened her mouth, the practice room fell silent.
Ye Yingtao was still somewhat resentful after being hit with a stick, but when she saw Commander Fang come in as well, her face turned pale with fright.
These people are gossiping about their superiors' superiors behind their backs; they're practically courting death!
"Commander Fang."
Ye Yingtao called out timidly.
Commander Fang glanced at her and said, "The cultural troupe's grand performance competition is coming up soon. Instead of chatting and gossiping here, you should think about how to win first place."
"Once you win first place, forget about gossip, you could even ask me to personally escort you out, that wouldn't be out of the question."
Ye Yingtao and Lin Qiu looked at each other, lowered their heads somewhat embarrassed, and stammered, "Commander Fang, we understand."
"But as you also know, there's Shen Qiuyue from the neighboring performing arts troupe—"
This girl is a genius; she's making all of them feel suffocated.
"Of course I know how capable Shen Qiuyue is, but just because she's capable, does that mean you're giving up?"
"Even your practice has become less serious?"
"Ye Yingtao".
Commander Fang called out, "I know your mind isn't on dancing, but rather on using your status as a female soldier in the cultural troupe as a springboard to jump higher. But Cherry, you need to know that you have to be strong yourself to succeed. If you're not strong, the higher you jump, the harder you'll fall."
Ye Yingtao's thoughts were exposed in front of everyone, which made her feel a little uncomfortable, and her face immediately turned red.
"I don't."
"Fang Tuan, Qi Changming and I are just ordinary good friends."
After accompanying Qi Changming to his home, she gave up her illusions about him. Although his family background was good, Qi Changming's mother, Chen Xiulan, was no pushover.
No one believes that.
After all, they had all seen what Ye Yingtao had done for Qi Changming.
Commander Fang said calmly, "I don't care what's going on between you and Qi Changming. All I want is for you to win first place in the next cultural troupe performance competition."
Ye Yingtao murmured, "But Captain, I can't beat Shen Qiuya at all."
"All of us here combined don't have as much talent as Shen Qiuyue alone."
Shen Qiuyue became like a curse to all of them.
They've already lost their morale before the match even started.
This made Commander Fang feel frustrated and disappointed. She left with these words, "Don't you feel ashamed to lose to an outside cultural troupe on our own turf?"
It's not that they don't feel ashamed, it's that it's too difficult to climb.
Shen Qiuyue is like a mountain, difficult to climb.
I don't even have the courage to think about surpassing her.
"I don't care how lazy you guys are usually, but before the competition, you all need to be focused and train hard."
"Strive to get first place."
Commander Fang turned to leave, then seemed to remember something, "Oh right, Commander Qi introduced someone for the assessment. Her name is Meng Yingying. Tomorrow I'll show you what a genius is."
Of course, this statement carries a hint of deception and encouragement.
Commander Fang never expected that the moment Meng Yingying's name was uttered, the surroundings would fall silent. Seeing that no one was speaking...
"What's wrong?"
Ye Yingtao stepped forward, her voice clear and crisp, "Commander, if you're hoping that Meng Yingying is a genius who can inspire us, that's probably not going to be very likely."
Commander Fang was puzzled.
She then explained to everyone, "Meng Yingying is Qi Changming, the childhood sweetheart from the countryside."
They had heard some things about why Qi Changming retired from the army.
She simply wanted to escape the marriage.
Commander Fang was dumbfounded. "Meng Yingying is Qi Changming's childhood sweetheart, the one who weighs three hundred pounds?"
Ye Yingtao nodded.
Commander Fang sighed, "Isn't this ridiculous?"
"Commander Qi—" she was about to say, "Commander Qi, isn't this ridiculous?"
But then I thought about it again, and Qi Donghan wasn't exactly a troublemaker.
"Just wait and see," Commander Fang said. "Meng Yingying will come to assess us tomorrow morning. We'll know whether she's a mule or a horse when we see her."
Ye Yingtao was somewhat surprised, standing there gracefully, "She's coming to our performing arts troupe for an audition tomorrow morning?"
"yes."
"That's going to be really interesting to watch."
Ye Yingtao murmured.
Commander Fang scolded, "All you do all day is watch the fun! Practice your dance properly! If you don't get first place, I'll skin you alive!"
Everyone shrank back.
After Commander Fang left.
Everyone immediately started discussing, "What is Meng Yingying doing here?"
"She was born in the countryside, and she can dance?"
"Yes, judging from the captain's tone, she's a genius."
Someone covered their mouth and laughed.
Ye Yingtao shook her head. "I don't know."
She was puzzled, though, why was Meng Yingying not going to Qi Changming to fulfill their marriage agreement, but instead coming to the performing arts troupe?
This is truly an eye-opener, like a knife pulling out a butt.
Just as Ye Yingtao was wondering, the communications soldier ran in from outside, "Comrade Ye, there is a woman named Chen Xiulan waiting for you outside."
Ye Yingtao was taken aback. She didn't understand why Chen Xiulan had come to see her at this time.
Ye Yingtao hesitated for a moment, then went to ask Officer Xu for leave, turned around and went out to the entrance of the garrison.
After Qi Changming retired from the army, it became difficult for Chen Xiulan to rejoin the team. She could only turn to Ye Yingtao, but Ye Yingtao didn't say she could get in.
She was not qualified to go in.
Chen Xiulan waited outside for quite a while before Ye Yingtao finally arrived. She was somewhat displeased, but ultimately she needed Ye Yingtao's help.
I endured it.
She stepped forward, took Ye Yingtao's hand, and said affectionately, "Yingtao, it's really not easy to see you."
It has a rather sarcastic tone.
Ye Yingtao avoided her touch and politely asked, "Aunt Chen, what brings you here?"
After seeing through Chen Xiulan's true character, it would be foolish for her to rush to marry Qi Changming.
Chen Xiulan noticed Ye Yingtao's aloofness, and her heart skipped a beat. She moved the peach shortbread in her hand forward a third of the way, saying, "It's because Auntie misses you. Ever since we parted yesterday, I've been thinking about how sincere you are to our Zhang Ming. My Zhang Ming also likes you. Why don't you take advantage of the fact that your uncle and I are still young and can help you take care of the children, and get your marriage certificate first?"
"In that case, we, the old couple, can help you more."
Upon hearing this, Ye Yingtao gave a forced smile and said, "Auntie, you're mistaken. Qi Changming doesn't like me."
"And these peach shortbreads—"
She refused, saying, "I can't afford it."
She refused decisively, leaving no room for negotiation. This left Chen Xiulan feeling somewhat uneasy.
She stopped pretending and said, "What do you want? Just tell me directly. As long as you can marry my Changming, I will fulfill any request you make."
That's what they say on the surface.
But deep down, he hated her to death.
If it weren't for her husband Qi Zhenguo's impending return and Meng Yingying's arrival at the garrison, she wouldn't have so easily allowed Ye Yingtao to marry into the Qi family.
Ye Yingtao said sadly, "I have no conditions."
"I prefer mutual affection." She looked dejected. "Qi Changming treats me as a friend, and I treat her as a friend too."
Seeing that Ye Yingtao was unresponsive to her words, Chen Xiulan grew anxious, "Yingtao, ah..."
Ye Yingtao smiled and shifted the focus, "Aunt Chen, you don't know yet, do you? Meng Yingying is going to join the cultural troupe."
"What?"
Seeing Chen Xiulan's shocked expression, Ye Yingtao, observing her look, tentatively asked, "Didn't you ask Commander Qi to introduce her to the cultural troupe?"
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Author's Note: I've seen the requests for more updates, so I'm already working like crazy. Here's one more chapter, more to come~ Please leave comments, they're so helpful! Let's have a lively discussion group!
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