The dormitory door was left ajar as Zhou Cheng brought in a new blanket from elsewhere.

Not wanting to invite speculation from others, Zhou Cheng didn’t close the door completely:

“Your constitution isn’t as good as mine. One blanket would be too cold. Let’s add another one – you’ll have to make do with this arrangement tonight.”

Xia Xiaolan disagreed with his assessment. “How is this ‘making do’? I’ll have occasions to stay overnight at the unit in the future. I’m just getting used to it early!”

Though Xia Xiaolan was reluctant to come to the unit, she couldn’t avoid staying overnight indefinitely, could she?

When would she be able to stay overnight openly and properly? When she and Zhou Cheng got their marriage certificate.

As husband and wife, they would naturally share a room, and Zhou Cheng would be assigned slightly larger quarters than his current bachelor dormitory.

Zhou Cheng’s thoughts inadvertently wandered too far – certain matters between men and women weren’t appropriate for young audiences, only for married couples… No, he couldn’t continue that train of thought, or his whole body would start burning up.

He had no desire to experience what taking a cold shower would feel like in this weather!

Xia Xiaolan also didn’t dare to tease him further.

They had shared a bed before, had kissed and embraced, but never crossed the final line. Now they had suddenly reverted to an innocent relationship.

Xia Xiaolan couldn’t understand this development. Feeling slightly anxious, she saw that Zhou Cheng had finished making the bed and quickly pushed him out:

“This won’t do – if you stay in this room any longer, you’ll make me do something wrong!”

Zhou Cheng checked that there were no shadows at the window – surely no one would dare come close enough to eavesdrop. As Xia Xiaolan pushed him, he quickly stole a kiss.

“Good night!”

He stepped outside and pulled the door closed.

Xia Xiaolan wanted to hit him – how was she supposed to sleep now?

Looking at her watch, it was only just past eight…

She sat in Zhou Cheng’s chair reading for a while but still had no desire to sleep by nine.

She was about to undress and lie down to encourage sleep when a shadow appeared on the window. Xia Xiaolan quickly pulled her clothes closed:

“Who’s there?!”

“It’s me. Don’t open the door, dear – just open the window. I’ve brought you two thermoses of hot water to put in your blankets.”

It was Zhou Cheng’s voice.

The unit was already very secure, so Xia Xiaolan opened the window with a crack, and Zhou Cheng passed her two thermoses.

“Now really, good night. Get some sleep – I can see the dark circles under your eyes.”

Rechargeable hand warmers didn’t exist yet, but people’s wisdom was boundless. The ancients used copper hand warmers with hollow interiors for burning charcoal. Now people use rubber bags filled with hot water.

The thermoses Zhou Cheng brought were a transitional product between the two – used IV bottles filled with hot water that could still provide warmth when tucked into bedding.

These things were quite dangerous. IV bottles could explode from temperature changes, and glass conducted heat too well – high temperatures could burn the skin when placed in bedding… This was Xia Xiaolan’s painful experience from her previous life. She hadn’t noticed while sleeping but woke to find several large blisters on her feet.

But the two thermoses Zhou Cheng brought had been treated.

He had found wool yarn somewhere and wrapped it tightly around the bottles. With skin not directly touching the thermoses, there would be no burns.

Xia Xiaolan held the two thoughtfully prepared thermoses, feeling happier than if she’d received two stacks of money, and smiled to herself:

“What a silly thing to do.”

Heh, who was the silly one? Coming straight here after getting off the plane.

Maybe everyone’s a fool when it comes to love!

The thermoses warmed up the bedding, and the pillows and blankets all carried Zhou Cheng’s scent. This was Xia Xiaolan’s first time staying overnight at the unit, and she treated it as an early taste of life as a family member.

It wasn’t bad at all?

The next day was New Year’s Day, and the unit had a cultural performance.

She and Zhou Cheng sat together watching the show, though she couldn’t remember a single performance.

She just laughed along when everyone else laughed.

The family members at the unit found it strange. The conflict between Xia Xiaolan and Gao Fei had left a deep impression – they knew Gao Fei wasn’t easy to deal with, but their impression of Xia Xiaolan wasn’t particularly good either.

One should be forbearing and yielding to maintain overall harmony.

Everyone had their temperament, but this wasn’t an ordinary place – it was a classified unit!

They disliked family members who were too high-profile and would unconsciously exclude them.

Xia Xiaolan had been abroad for a year and hadn’t visited the unit once.

Gao Fei had been married to Fang Shizhong for so long, and now their child was over six months old. Though Gao Fei worked in the city, she often stayed at the unit on weekends… The wives naturally were more familiar with Gao Fei.

People tend to favor those they’re familiar with.

The wives weren’t familiar with Xia Xiaolan!

Hearing that Xia Xiaolan had stayed at the unit last night, several wives felt strange about it:

“She was already a university graduate and studied abroad – has she become even more arrogant now?”

“Still too young…”

“Can’t help it, who told Zhou Cheng to be so capable?”

Leader Li’s wife had the final word.

Leader Li had told her to associate more with Xia Xiaolan – they all knew Zhou Cheng was about to be promoted to another level.

After promotion, he would be Battalion Commander!

Even if Zhou Cheng became Battalion Commander, he couldn’t match the seniority of the current Commander and Leader Li – he wouldn’t dare disrespect them. But Leader Li thought differently. Zhou Cheng was much younger than them, yet had already reached almost the same rank. It was only a matter of time before he surpassed them.

Currently a subordinate, soon a peer, and maybe a superior in the future.

Understanding this reality, Leader Li’s wife couldn’t ignore Xia Xiaolan. When someone’s husband was successful, the wife would rise with him – wouldn’t she still have to deal with Xia Xiaolan? Better to establish contact now. If Zhou Cheng’s wife really proved arrogant, she could always just maintain superficial pleasantries without getting too close.

Leader Li’s wife approached Xia Xiaolan with this tentative attitude.

Then she found it strange.

Contrary to their expectations, Xia Xiaolan had tucked away her previous sharp edges and become approachable – she no longer did things like sending sheep to unit members. Whatever achievements she had outside, she remained low-key at the unit.

She addressed everyone as “Sister,” showing no apparent disdain for their cultural level.

Leader Li’s wife hesitated:

“Xiaolan, are you staying at the unit tonight too?”

“Yes, Sister. I’m on holiday now and want to spend more time with Zhou Cheng.”

Um, maybe it wasn’t appropriate – Leader Li had asked his wife to hint that she should leave tonight.

Leader Li’s wife carefully chose her words, “I heard you went abroad and were separated from Zhou Cheng for so long – it’s right that you should spend time together. Sister wants to tell you something – if you’re unhappy hearing it, just pretend I never said anything.”

Xia Xiaolan nodded, “Please speak, Sister. I know you must be looking out for me.”

“It’s about Gao Fei – you two had some unpleasantness before, right? Why don’t you take the first step and offer an olive branch? Everyone can make peace and put the past behind us, how about that?”

Gao Fei?

Xia Xiaolan had specifically asked Zhou Cheng-Gao Fei had give birth to a daughter for Fang Shizhong.

Previously, Gao Fei had feelings for Zhou Cheng, which was why she had been awkward and disapproving of Xia Xiaolan. The escalation of their conflict wasn’t one person’s fault – did Gao Fei still have feelings for Zhou Cheng?