Both of them kept their marriage registration a secret by mutual understanding, agreeing to reveal it only after Lu Huaizheng returned from Tuslan.
However, Yu Hao couldn’t resist and secretly disclosed this confidential information to Zhao Dailin. The joy of marriage was too much to keep to herself. That afternoon when Yu Hao returned to work, she quietly pulled Zhao Dailin into a bathroom stall.
“What are you doing, being so mysterious?” Zhao Dailin leaned back slightly against the sink, frowning at her.
Yu Hao kept grinning, her eyes curved with joy, looking at her delightedly without saying a word.
Zhao Dailin grew impatient and pushed Yu Hao’s head. “Are you having a mental breakdown?”
“Swoosh!” Something quickly flashed by, bright red. By the time she focused her eyes, it had already been hidden behind Yu Hao’s back, who was still smiling. Zhao Dailin suspiciously tried to peek behind her, growing anxious.
“If you have something to say, say it. If you need to fart, just fart!” Zhao Dailin had no patience to waste time with her. “I haven’t finished my research proposal. I don’t have time for this nonsense.”
Only then did Yu Hao bring out the red booklet from behind her back, covering half her face with it, revealing only her bright, glistening eyes as she smiled shyly. “I got married.”
Zhao Dailin had been facing sideways with impatience, but her expression instantly changed. She stood there like a wooden post, her slightly open lips slowly forming an O shape. Finally, she snatched the red booklet from Yu Hao’s hand, flipping through it back and forth, examining both the inside pages and the outside cover countless times until she noticed the registration number under the marriage certificate and finally came back to her senses.
“Does your mother know?”
Those words deflated Yu Hao’s excitement. She looked up timidly and said quietly, “Can’t you just let me be happy for a while?”
Zhao Dailin didn’t know what to say. She understood Feng Yanzhi’s personality. Although she was anxious for Yu Hao to get married, if she found out that Yu Hao had quietly gotten her certificate, she would surely strip off a layer of her skin. “You’re quite daring, and Lu Huaizheng is bold too. Are you two not satisfied until you turn Beijing upside down? Do you believe that if your mother finds out, she’ll cause an absolute uproar?”
Yu Hao was already trembling with fear. She felt better when Lu Huaizheng was around—at worst, he would shield her. But now that he wasn’t here, she was truly afraid, mainly of Madam Feng going into a frenzy. So she said quietly, “That’s why I’m only telling you. I don’t even dare tell Professor Han, afraid he might accidentally mention it to my mother.”
Zhao Dailin looked at her coldly. “Aren’t you afraid I might accidentally mention it too?”
“If you happen to see my mother recently, just avoid her.”
Zhao Dailin snorted and folded her arms, saying nothing for a long time. Turning to see Yu Hao’s joyful demeanor, she did feel relieved—at least one of them was happy.
Thinking of this, she nudged Yu Hao and asked, “How does it feel to get married to the man you love?”
Yu Hao grinned, “Like a falling meteor, a burst of fireworks everywhere, crackling and popping—the feeling of wanting to burn together with him.”
“…Could you be any more nauseating?” Zhao Dailin’s skin crawled hearing this.
She thought for a moment and then said, “Or it’s like you both arrived at the Civil Affairs Bureau and saw a mountain of graves. The staff said, ‘Come, choose a coffin. This will be your home from now on.’ But after hearing this, you weren’t afraid at all. You happily held his hand and lay down inside.”
Zhao Dailin wanted to slap her. “Even more disgusting!”
Meanwhile, before his departure, Lu Huaizheng visited the hospital.
Sun Kai was still in a cast with his arm in a sling, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth. When he saw Lu Huaizheng push open the door, his expression suddenly changed. He instinctively reached for the crutch beside his bed, poised to hit him. “Was it you who told Zhao Dailin about my injury?”
Lu Huaizheng didn’t deny it. He walked in casually, now dressed in military fatigues, looking tough and handsome. He pulled a chair over to the bedside, sat down, and leaned back, blocking Sun Kai’s crutch with his hand. With raised eyebrows and a tilted head, he looked him over and realized something was wrong. “It seems my good intentions had bad results?”
“You dare to mention it!” Sun Kai was furious.
Lu Huaizheng shrugged.
That night, Fang Yan was also there. Fang Yan cried, saying she regretted it and wanted to reconcile with Sun Kai. Seeing a woman he once loved crying so pitifully before him, Sun Kai wavered for a moment. He silently leaned against the headboard smoking, thinking: what’s the point of all this trouble? One could live with anyone, and since she was willing to come back, he might as well forgive her this once. But another voice deep inside was telling him:
Could he tolerate that she had slept with another man? No, he would become suspicious and distrustful!
Sun Kai looked at Fang Yan coldly, the cigarette in his hand accumulating a thick layer of ash, yet he remained motionless like a clay figure sitting there bewildered. “What if he comes looking for you again? Can you control yourself and not sleep with him?”
Fang Yan was embarrassed and cried, “I didn’t mean to that day. I was drunk…”
Sun Kai had one foot on the edge of the bed, head tilted, slowly taking a drag from his cigarette. “Drunk…” He laughed self-mockingly. “Do you think I’m an idiot? Don’t I know how many condoms were left at home? How many times have we done it together, don’t you know? Just once. Tell me, who used the rest?”
Fang Yan cried so hard she could barely breathe.
Sun Kai clenched his jaw, suppressing the anger in his chest, and squeezed through his teeth: “The Political Commissar told me you were a decent girl. I cared for you, I cherished you, didn’t want to touch you, and this is how you abuse yourself!”
Just as he finished shouting these words.
Zhao Dailin happened to appear at the doorway.
Both of them were stunned. Fang Yan was the quickest to react, seemingly finding an outlet for her frustration. She sprang up from her chair, pointed at the bewildered Zhao Dailin at the door, and hysterically shouted, “How pure are you? Do you think I don’t know about you and him!? He likes you. During that month you spent together in Yunnan, were you so pure and innocent, not doing anything disgraceful?”
Inexplicably on the receiving end of such anger, Zhao Dailin was furious and responded with equally harsh words: “Don’t think everyone is as lowly as you. If I wanted something with him, it wouldn’t be your business, believe it or not?”
“Shut up!” Sun Kai said coldly. He turned to Zhao Dailin, “What business is it of yours?!”
Fang Yan ran away crying, leaving the two of them staring at each other. Zhao Dailin looked away and, after restraining herself, asked, “Where are you injured?”
Sun Kai: “It’s none of your business. Don’t come looking for me again. Go.”
Zhao Dailin looked at him for a while, as if about to cry, but ultimately said nothing and turned to leave. Her high heels clicked loudly on the hallway floor. The man in the room remained motionless, watching outside the window with a profound expression. Only when her footsteps could no longer be heard did he slowly take a drag from his cigarette, as if finally catching his breath.
…
After finishing his story, Sun Kai took a breath and smoothly changed the subject: “Enough of that. Why are you here? Aren’t you leaving?”
Lu Huaizheng had one foot on the edge of Sun Kai’s bed, in a relaxed posture. He looked down at his watch. “Yes, I’m leaving. I came to check on you one more time. I’m not taking many people this time; I’ve left some at the base. When you recover enough, return to the unit. The Third Team can’t withstand our being away for so long.”
Sun Kai took a drag from his cigarette, indicating he understood. “How long will you be gone this time?”
“I don’t know, but I estimate at least three months.”
Sun Kai nodded, his gaze moving downward. Lu Huaizheng sat casually in the chair with his foot on the bed, his military pants pocket bulging, with a red corner peeking out. He looked suspicious and pointed with his chin, “What’s that?”
Lu Huaizheng lowered his head accordingly, swinging in the chair, then looked back out the window, unexpectedly dropping three words: “Marriage certificate.”
“…”
Sun Kai was shocked, feeling as if struck by lightning. His hand trembled, and cigarette ash scattered downward, falling onto the bed.
Lu Huaizheng raised his chin, smiling as he reminded him, “Don’t burn the sheets.”
“Whose marriage certificate is it?” he pressed.
“Who else could it be?” Lu Huaizheng still swung his chair back and forth nonchalantly. “In all these years, have I ever been with anyone other than Yu Hao?”
Comparatively, Sun Kai had more romantic experiences than Lu Huaizheng and dated more girlfriends. He considered himself to have some understanding of women. When the Political Commissar introduced him to Fang Yan, he immediately saw that she was an honest girl, suitable to be brought home as a wife, and he agreed to the Political Commissar’s suggestion to date her. Sun Kai’s appearance was decent, not as attractive to women as Lu Huaizheng, but he was a solid, upright young man. In Li Hongwen’s words, he was just an honest kid.
Fang Yan had destroyed Sun Kai’s trust in women.
If even someone as seemingly honest as Fang Yan could do such things, not to mention someone as shrewd as Zhao Dailin. He didn’t deny having feelings for Zhao Dailin, but those feelings were not strong enough for him to take that step.
His good friend had gotten married, and he felt even more lonely. He exhaled dejectedly.
Lu Huaizheng checked the time and found it about right. He pulled his foot back, and the chair landed on the floor with a “thud.” He stood up with his hands in his pockets. “I have to go.” At the door, with his hand on the cold doorknob, he half-turned his head and said, “While I’m gone…”
Sun Kai impatiently waved his hand. “Alright, alright, you’ve said it a hundred times. I thought it was already understood between us. Your father is my father. And now that you’ve added a new member, your wife is also my wife…”
Lu Huaizheng wasn’t angry, knowing Sun Kai was joking. He just smiled and scolded, “Go to hell.”
Then, without looking back, he said lazily, “I’m off.”
Sun Kai had a cigarette in the corner of his mouth, looking at the smooth, rounded moon outside the window. Despite feeling utterly lonely, he responded cheerfully, “All right!”
They had experienced such partings countless times, but the faith in their hearts never changed—Green mountains between two shores, wishing our motherland prosperity, eternally lasting a hundred years.
Lu Huaizheng left Sun Kai’s ward and met several familiar nurses who greeted him with smiles, “Captain Lu!” He politely nodded to each until he turned at a staircase, which led not to officer wards but to regular wards.
In a corner where all was quiet, tree shadows cast on the frosted glass window at the end of the corridor, swaying gracefully. From the innermost ward came faint, rustling voices, floating gently in the night.
Lu Huaizheng stopped because he saw a familiar figure.
The man was wearing a suit, slightly hunched, sitting by a hospital bed, peeling an apple for an elderly person. Who else could it be but that handsome man Shen Xiyuan?
“Haven’t you found a girl you like yet?” From inside the ward came the elderly person’s suppressed coughing and a hoarse, torn voice.
“Not yet,” the man shook his head.
The elderly person sighed. “I remember that girl from the Yu family. Although she wasn’t so likable, at least she wasn’t dislikable. Is there no chance for you two anymore?”
Shen Xiyuan: “Grandmother, we’ve already broken up.”
The elderly person regretted, “Didn’t I tell you not to go abroad? Look, you came back from abroad with no change and even lost your girlfriend. So not worth it.”
Shen Xiyuan smiled and handed over the peeled apple. “Didn’t you dislike her back then?”
“But among all the girlfriends you’ve had, I thought she was the best—simple and uncomplicated.”
The cold wind blew through the corridor. A tall, slender shadow slanted at the doorway of the ward. The man leaned against the wall, hands in pockets, head tilted back against the wall, smiling as if mocking himself. His heart ached dully, and the marriage certificate in his pocket felt hot.
So she had been with someone else—
Besides him, she had been with someone else.
The wind rushed in, blowing his hair and into his collar. Lu Huaizheng took out the marriage certificate and looked down at it.
Their heads were close together, intimately leaning against each other.
Hmph.
Meanwhile, completely unaware, Yu Hao was still on the phone with Zhao Dailin.
On the other end, Zhao Dailin was quite impatient but didn’t hang up. She lay on the sofa with her feet up, holding the phone to her ear, and rolling her eyes. “I know you’re married and have a very handsome husband, so can you go to sleep now?”
Yu Hao hugged a pillow, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. She answered honestly, “I can’t sleep.”
She was now rolling around in bed, missing Lu Huaizheng terribly.
But at this moment, he should be on the plane to Tuslan.
“Let me tell you our high school story one more time…” Yu Hao sat up suddenly, hugging her pillow.
Zhao Dailin couldn’t bear it anymore and shouted into the phone, “Pah! Do you have any humanity? I just got my heart broken! I’m heartbroken! As a heartbroken person, do I have to listen to your love story with your husband? Do you believe I’ll stab you to death at work tomorrow?!”
“Then why don’t you tell me about your story with Sun Kai?” Yu Hao asked cautiously into the phone.
The other end suddenly went quiet. After a long while, she heard a sigh, as if Zhao Dailin was smoking. Yu Hao listened attentively.
Zhao Dailin, exhaling smoke, said,
“I plan to end it with him.”
“Why?”
“We’re not compatible.”
Yu Hao thought for a moment and gave the most direct and sensible advice, “Captain Sun is an honest man.”
Zhao Dailin snorted, “He’s honest?” After a pause, she teased, “Your judgment of men is not as good as your judgment in choosing a husband. The only thing you’ve done right in your life is marrying Lu Huaizheng.”
“Is Lu Huaizheng really that good?”
“Don’t you know yourself whether he’s good or not?”
“No, I truly feel that Lu Huaizheng is the best man in the world. Maybe it’s because ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder,’ or maybe it’s because I don’t understand men, so when I meet one who treats me well, I’ll remember him for a lifetime. I’m very afraid of marriage, you know. My mom and dad, they look happy, right? My dad cares for my mom, but privately they also fight—over money, and parents. During holidays, sometimes when my mom wants to give money to my grandmother, she has to plan it so my dad won’t know. My dad is even worse. Sometimes when my mom does laundry and accidentally finds my dad’s hidden money, they’ll have a big argument. My dad appears to dote on my mom, but in reality, he feels guilty towards her. And Uncle Wang next door is the same, always scheming with my dad about how to deceive my mom. I don’t know what’s the point of living like that.”
Then, Zhao Dailin sighed on the other end of the phone. “Yu Hao, did you know that all love in this world eventually transforms into familial affection? Don’t be too idealistic.”
…
Yu Hao was skeptical about this. She believed that even at seventy or eighty, she wanted to be an old lady with a young girl’s heart.
She didn’t have much of a girlish heart now, except occasionally when facing Lu Huaizheng—like when he kissed her, when he whispered aimless sweet nothings in her ear, his every breath, or every ambiguous, meaningful glance, all of which made her little heart go pitter-patter.
She saw Lu Huaizheng again a month later.
By that time, Yu Hao’s war with Di Yanni had officially begun, and their dispute had even become a trending topic on Weibo, with all kinds of comments.
Some people thought she was riding on Di Yanni’s popularity, seeking fame.
Public opinion was in an uproar, like a mountain torrent. Yu Hao neither confirmed nor denied, continuing to write papers, prepare reports, and give lectures every Saturday, her life completely unaffected. There were even some of Di Yanni’s fanatical fans who came to her lecture to throw sulfuric acid.
She just sat there calmly through it all.
Only on that day, in the Military Wives Alliance group, she saw a photo of Lu Huaizheng. The photo was taken secretly.
He wasn’t wearing his fatigues but a crisp military uniform, standing straight beside the imposing fuselage of a J-20 fighter jet, giving a perfect military salute.
Behind him were the magnificent mountains of the motherland and the flag fluttering in the wind.
She covered her eyes and finally couldn’t hold back her tears, which flowed freely.
She missed him so much.