That evening, Liu Cuicui blocked Huo Jun's only route to his dormitory.
"Brother Huo, I've come to take you home."
With so many people watching, Huo Jun, despite his annoyance, had no choice but to go back with Liu Cuicui.
Otherwise, if rumors of marital discord surface, his superiors will have even more doubts about his personal abilities.
After all, if they can't even handle things at home, how can they manage things at work? Let alone get promoted!
But as soon as he entered the door, Huo Jun's expression changed.
He slapped Liu Cuicui across the face.
"Didn't I tell you to stay home and stop embarrassing yourself?"
Huo Jun, being a soldier, had a strong hand. With one slap, Liu Cuicui's mouth bled and her ears rang.
But she didn't dare to get angry, after all, the issue of her being an escaped educated youth had become widely known a few days ago, ruining Huo Jun's promotion opportunity.
"Brother Huo, I have something to tell you."
Huo Jun didn't think Liu Cuicui had anything serious to say, and raised his arm again.
"What do you, a country woman, have to say?"
"We're all cousins. Lu Huai'an's wife is a hospital nurse, and what about you? A deserter! You're a real disgrace to me!"
"So what if Su Wantang is a hospital nurse? That doesn't change the fact that she's a bad element!"
Huo Jun lowered his raised arm: "What do you mean?"
"Hmph, Brother Huo, don't be fooled by Su Wantang's respectable appearance. She's a capitalist's daughter! A bad element! If she hadn't married Lu Huai'an, she would have been criticized and sent to the countryside long ago."
"What else do you know? Continue."
"Brother Huo, my mother died early, so I was taken to live with my aunt, who is also Su Wantang's biological mother. She pretends to be generous, but she's actually not nice to me at all. Brother Huo, aren't you curious why my name is on the marriage certificate? And why the Su family hasn't contacted you for so many years?"
Huo Jun was indeed puzzled. He looked at Liu Cuicui and gestured for her to continue.
Liu Cuicui twisted the facts and said angrily, "Grandpa Su once saved Grandpa Lu Huai'an, and then the two families arranged a marriage. But the Su family was suddenly labeled as bad elements and was to be sent to the countryside, so they came to break off the engagement. The Su family doted on their daughter and did not want Su Wantang to suffer with them, so they refused to agree and even threatened the Lu family that if they dared to do so, they would publish a statement saying that the Lu family was ungrateful."
"I don't know how the Lu family noticed me, so they came up with a compromise: marry me instead of Su Wantang. How could the Su family agree to that? But the Su family is hypocritical; they've been saying all these years that they've treated me like their own daughter. For the sake of face, they had no choice but to agree."
"Brother Huo, please sit down first, let's talk slowly."
“Back then, my aunt’s engagement to your family was originally in my name. My aunt couldn’t bear to see her precious daughter marry into the countryside and suffer. She also thought I was in her way, so she thought of marrying me off to Brother Huo. But I was too young at the time.”
Liu Cuicui suddenly looked up and glanced at Huo Jun with a shy and timid expression.
"But I love Brother Huo. I still remember the way he stood up for me; it's etched in my mind..."
She continued, "So, of course I disagreed and brought up this marriage proposal. Unexpectedly, my aunt and uncle found out that Brother Huo is now a platoon leader and actually wanted to arrange a marriage between my sister and me."
"Of course I don't want to! Brother Huo's tall figure is already deeply etched in my mind, how could I possibly be willing to marry Lu Huai'an?"
Huo Jun was very pleased with Liu Cuicui's words.
The pent-up frustration that had been suppressed by Lu Huai'an suddenly dissipated.
The woman Lu Huai'an wanted to marry didn't want to marry him; she wanted to marry him instead.
“But they insisted on forcing me to marry into another family despite my objections. I had no choice but to sign up to go to the countryside. On the train, I was robbed. Fortunately, God was on my side. I was assigned to Huo’s hometown and, with my mother’s help, I came to the army to find Huo.”
Huo Jun's pupils contracted. He grabbed Liu Cuicui's chin, forcing her to tilt her head back.
"Liu Cuicui, if you dare to lie to me..."
Liu Cuicui's eyelashes trembled violently, and she said in a shrill voice, "Brother Huo, I swear, I didn't lie to you. If you don't believe me, we'll go to Su Wantang's house tomorrow. They're having a housewarming party."
"Brother Huo, you'll see when you go and see for yourself, they'll definitely be sleeping in separate rooms."
"If I accidentally let slip that Su Wantang is a bad element... then who will remember that I was a deserter?"
The ten fingers that were gripping Liu Cuicui's chin suddenly loosened, and the bent fingers slowly moved upward to wipe the blood from the corner of Liu Cuicui's mouth.
"Cui Cui, it's my fault. I was too angry and that's why I lost control and hit you."
"It's alright, Brother Huo, I don't blame you! You just didn't know why!"
"Brother Huo, let's live a good life together from now on, okay?"
He lingered and circled his fingers on Liu Cuicui's face: "Does it still hurt?"
"It hurts, but... a kiss from Brother Huo will make it stop hurting."
The undisguised affection in Liu Cuicui's eyes darkened Huo Jun's gaze and made him breathe more heavily.
Sensing something amiss, Liu Cuicui said again, "Brother Huo, we...we...haven't..."
Halfway through her sentence, she shyly tried to lower her head, but Huo Jun moved his hand and lifted her chin. The woman's panicked eyes met his, igniting an unnamed rage within him.
“Brother Huo…” Liu Cuicui bit her lip.
Bang.
Liu Cuicui was pushed to the ground by Huo Jun without any mercy.
"You look down on Lu Huai'an?"
Liu Cuicui, deeply moved, had a dreamy look in her eyes and a charming smile.
"Of course! Lu Huai'an was just born into a good family, otherwise how could he compare to Brother Huo?"
These words truly struck a chord with Huo Jun.
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