Chapter 70 Changing the Locks
She forced a dry laugh: "It's...not bad."
Nan Zhiyi ignored her and reported to Li Mei: "Section Chief, don't worry, practice makes perfect. Sun and I will try to finish the remaining three places within two days."
"Okay. Remember to balance work and rest."
"Thank you, Section Chief."
She glanced around and saw that Gu Xiao was already standing not far away, looking at her.
"Why are you here?" Nan Zhiyi was both surprised and delighted, and quickly walked over.
"I'll take you home."
Gu Xiao spoke succinctly, then turned his gaze to Section Chief Li and nodded in acknowledgment.
Li Mei was somewhat surprised, then suddenly realized: "Commander Gu? So Comrade Nan Zhiyi is your wife."
Nan Zhiyi blushed slightly. She was a little embarrassed to have her relationship exposed in front of her superior, but she still admitted frankly, "Yes, Commander Gu, it's my...lover."
As she uttered those two words, her heart skipped a beat.
Upon hearing this, Gu Xiao turned his head slightly toward her, his gaze softening.
Zhang Aihong, standing to the side, looked beyond just looking ugly.
The couple before her were a perfect match: the man was handsome and promising, the woman bright and capable, and so cherished by her husband. She then thought of her own aging husband who treated her like a mere decoration, and her perpetually insatiable family…
"Section Chief Li, Staff Member Sun, we'll be leaving now," Nan Zhiyi said politely.
Gu Xiao nodded to Li Mei again, took the straw hat and tool bag from Nan Zhiyi, and drove her away.
Zhang Aihong stood there, watching their departing figures, feeling that the scene was incredibly jarring.
Back home, Gu Xiao brought over an enamel basin and wrung out a towel to wipe Nan Zhiyi's face.
He suddenly spoke up: "You bought the lock because of the woman standing behind Section Chief Li just now?"
Nan Zhiyi was somewhat surprised.
She didn't say anything, not even a glance at Zhang Aihong, yet he sensed that subtle hostility? And even connected it to her changing the locks?
"..."
She was speechless for a moment, knowing she couldn't hide it anymore, so she simply put down the towel and honestly admitted it:
"It's just a minor office squabble; she might... not like me taking up a temporary position. I can handle it, don't worry."
Gu Xiao raised an eyebrow and chuckled, pinching her cheek: "You really don't need me to worry about you?"
Looking at him like this, Nan Zhiyi felt both warm and itchy inside.
She leaned forward, stood on tiptoe, and quickly "nibbled" at his chin.
I like you this way.
Gu Xiao's eyes darkened instantly. He stretched out his arm and pulled her into his arms without saying a word, kissing her until Nan Zhiyi felt dizzy and her legs went weak.
The next day, when Sun Xiaobing went to work, Section Chief Li sent him to the printing factory. Today, Nan Zhiyi carried her tools and paints alone and came to the small bulletin board on the side wall of the outpatient building of the military hospital.
This bulletin board was the smallest in size and located in a relatively secluded spot. Nan Zhiyi buried herself in her work, the composition already memorized, and its small size allowed her to progress rapidly.
She wanted to finish the hospital and service center projects today, and then focus on the cafeteria entrance, which had the highest foot traffic, tomorrow.
As lunchtime approached, the hospital's bulletin board was nearing completion, with only a few corners left to be colored.
"I understand!"
Nan Zhiyi turned around and saw Zhou Zhengping carrying a bulging military travel bag, walking quickly towards her, his forehead covered in sweat.
"Ah Ping? How did you find your way here?"
Nan Zhiyi was somewhat surprised and stopped painting.
Zhou Zhengping put the travel bag on the ground and wiped his sweat: "I went to the publicity department to find you, but Yaqin said you were drawing bulletin boards here. I... thinking you were working, I just brought it over."
Nan Zhiyi understood, and her gaze fell on the obviously heavy travel bag.
Zhou Anping asked him to carry something; did he need such a big bag?
"Thank you so much, Ping. I'll leave it here for now; I'm almost finished drawing."
She stood on the ladder and didn't come down.
Zhou Zhengping moved the bag over, but stood there without moving.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Nan Zhi picked up her paintbrush again.
Nurse Liu had just returned from changing the dressing when she ran into Lu Linlang in the corridor. She gossiped in a somewhat ambiguous tone, "Dr. Lu, the staff officer Zhou who brought you back last time was carrying a big bag and talking to the female comrade from the publicity department who was drawing bulletin boards!"
Lu Linlang paused, "Don't talk nonsense, Staff Officer Zhou was just giving me a ride."
That being said.
She walked quietly to a secluded spot and looked towards the bulletin board.
The female colleague Xiao Liu mentioned was actually Nan Zhiyi?
When did she join the publicity department?
Her composition...?
And that canvas bag.
She remembers it perfectly!
When Zhou Anping returned from his last visit to his relatives, he handed a small package to Zhou Zhengping before getting on the train, asking him to pass it on to Nan Zhiyi.
That package was definitely not a third the size of the travel bag in front of us!
Was it Zhou Zhengping? ...He secretly stuffed so many things inside again.
Why? It's one thing for Gu Xiao to ignore her, but even Zhou Zhengping... even Zhou Zhengping, whom her parents have been hinting at considering recently, only has eyes for Nan Zhiyi?!
The hospital's bulletin board is located in a quiet spot to the side of the outpatient building, next to the back of the boiler room, with a small patch of shade. At noon, almost no one passes by.
Nan Zhiyi finished her last stroke and carefully climbed down the simple wooden ladder.
"Watch out for the steps." Zhou Zhengping saw her coming down and reached out to help her.
Nan Zhiyi walked steadily, sidestepped his hand, stood back on flat ground, and smiled at him: "Thank you, Aping, I'm fine."
Zhou Zhengping's throat bobbed, a thousand words stuck in his chest, yet he didn't know how to speak, his face showing obvious struggle.
Nan Zhiyi looked at him like this and sighed softly.
With over twenty years of friendship, she understood his current dilemma all too well.
She disliked this drawn-out, tangled atmosphere.
“Aping,” she said helplessly, her voice gentle, “let’s have a good talk. Just say what you have to say.”
Zhou Zhengping's body tensed slightly.
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"Zhiyi...I...I owe you an apology. I'm sorry."
"Back then...at home...my mom...I really couldn't...I..."
He was incoherent, and his words were filled with pain and guilt.
"But I really thought back then that even if you... even if you went to the countryside, I would definitely find a way to take care of you... I... I never thought of giving up on marrying you..."
Nan Zhiyi shook her head, interrupting his difficult explanation: "Aping, I have never blamed you for what happened in the past. I understand your difficulties. Really."
"It's all in the past. I've let it go, and you should too. People need to look forward."
"I can't let go!" Zhou Zhengping's eyes reddened slightly. "Zhiyi, I...I can't let go..."
“Aping! I’ve already moved forward, and you must move forward too. We should all have our own lives.”
Zhou Zhengping was stung by her firmness and composure, and the rest of his words choked in his throat.
His shoulders slumped, and he remained silent for a long time.
"...Fifth Brother...is he good to you?"
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