Chapter 6: Writing an Ideological Report for Huo Xiao
Zhang Qin’s face turned stark white.
Huang Guixiang and her daughter were using every trick in the book to force her to give up Brother Xuyang!
First, Lin Wan had tried to drive a wedge between her and Brother Xuyang right in front of him, and now Huang Guixiang was throwing a tantrum at home using this method. Most of their wages were handed over to the household, yet they couldn’t even fill their stomachs at a single meal. Who could endure this? Her older brothers and sisters-in-law would definitely take turns trying to convince her to hand over her boyfriend.
However, Lin Wan had been right about one thing: she had no right to treat Brother Xuyang like an object to be passed around.
Zhang Qin steadied her mind and snapped, “We’re out of soy sauce. I’m going to go buy some!” With that, she grabbed the soy sauce bottle and bolted outside.
Seeing her run off, Eldest Sister-in-law Bao Yan and Second Sister-in-law Zhong Hongmei quickly chased after her, blocking her just outside the family compound to offer their well-meaning advice. “Qinqin, just give Guo Xuyang up to Lin Wan. Otherwise, this home is truly going to be ruined by that mother and daughter’s antics!”
“Dad only makes a few dozen yuan a month in wages, and there’s a whole massive household to feed. Your nephews and nieces cry every day about not getting enough to eat…”
“Meanwhile, she treats money like paper to play with…”
“Now her mother is being even more outrageous, straight up refusing to give us real food, leaving us with just a few chunks of sweet potato. If you don’t feel bad for your brothers, at least have some pity for your nephews and nieces. You raised them all with your own hands, and they’re so close to you!”
“Qinqin, you’ve always been the most sensible one. You wouldn’t have the heart to watch this family tear itself apart because of you, right?”
“Guo Xuyang isn’t the only man under the sun. If you let her have him, your sisters-in-law will find you another one, and we’ll make absolutely sure you won’t have to go to the countryside!”
Lin Wan, who had followed them out, felt like she was about to explode with rage upon witnessing this scene. “Are you guys ever going to stop?”
“My boyfriend bought those envelopes and stamps for me to play with! There’s no grain left at home because the grain station’s supplies are hard to grab—every single household is facing the exact same thing, so why blame my mom?”
“Besides, I don’t care for Guo Xuyang at all, so stop trying to force him on me!”
“Of course, if Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law fancy him so much, hurry up and swiftly divorce Eldest Brother and Second Brother so you can remarry him instead!”
“But this is the new society now, and concubinage isn’t allowed. Whichever one of you wants to marry him should have a fistfight to settle it!”
Her venomous tongue spared no one.
Bao Yan and Zhong Hongmei’s faces turned completely green.
Yet they could only swallow their anger. Otherwise, if the young one went back to complain, the old one would instantly kick both their families out into the street! Their father-in-law acted as if Huang Guixiang had cast a spell on him, obeying her every word. That old vixen Huang Guixiang and the little vixen she brought along were both far from helpless.
The two women took deep breaths, forced a smile, and said, “Little Sister shouldn’t talk nonsense. How could we possibly fancy Guo Xuyang? Anyway, you mentioned your boyfriend—you actually have a boyfriend?”
“Who is your boyfriend?”
“Where does he work, and who is in his family?”
“Is it Geng Xiangyang from the state-owned restaurant, or Pei Yongjun from the department store?”
“Or maybe Ruan Xuewu from the meat processing plant?”
“Or Sun Zhi from the cotton mill?”
Lin Wan smirked triumphantly. “My boyfriend is named Huo Xiao. He’s an Air Force regiment commander, and he’s way more badass than Guo Xuyang!”
“He’s taller than him, handsomer than him, more capable than him, and richer than him!”
It was all utter nonsense anyway.
Once she secured her job, she could just claim that his family fiercely disapproved and that they had broken up. How big of a deal could it be? The urgent priority right now was to stop Zhang Qin from continuing to misunderstand, which would disrupt her marriage to Guo Xuyang.
A jeep was parked by the curb not far away. A man was leaning sideways against the car door with his arms crossed over his chest, his long legs crossed, looking thoroughly relaxed from head to toe. He lifted his eyelids to look toward Lin Wan and the others, a flicker of mockery emerging in his lazy, phoenix-like eyes.
He watched Lin Wan boast with animated gestures to her family about “him” and “his” unreachably high family background.
Huo Xiao let out a self-deprecating chuckle. He stood up, opened the car door, and slid into the driver’s seat. The engine started, and with a grim face, he slammed his foot down on the gas pedal. The jeep roared to life and swept past Lin Wan’s side with a furious gust, blasting her face full of exhaust fumes.
It gave Lin Wan a massive fright.
Is this person out of his mind?!
The road is so wide, yet you refuse to drive down the middle and insist on hugging the side. Are you a gecko or something? Brother!
However, very quickly…
The jeep backed right up, stopping directly beside Lin Wan.
The car door swung open.
The very first thing that caught Lin Wan’s eye was a pair of long, straight, slender legs.
Lin Wan followed the legs upward with her gaze, and the curses she was about to hurl got wedged right in her throat.
Oh my god!
This man was absolute perfection!
It was as if a man she had painstakingly whaled for in an otome game had stepped right into reality, hitting every single one of her aesthetic preferences from head to toe. He had the looks of a male fox spirit. Yet his aura wasn’t delicate or effeminate at all; rather, it was as crisp and aloof as pine and bamboo. He resembled an immortal master from an angsty romance drama, radiating an air of detached isolation.
A layer of frost dusted the features of his pale-skinned face, his ink-dark eyes chillingly cold, and the slight upward curl of his lips carried a hint of mockery.
The moment Lin Wan locked eyes with him, her heartbeat completely lost its rhythm. Her face flushed red as well. She urgently searched through the original host’s memory, completely certain that this person was not a single one of the fish in the host’s pond.
“Comrade Lin Wan!”
“Shall we have a talk?”
His magnetic voice was crisp and cool, seemingly carrying an innate touch of emotional detachment.
“Wanwan, who is this comrade?” Bao Yan asked inquisitively. Zhong Hongmei and Zhang Qin also turned their gazes collectively toward Lin Wan and the man.
The man cast a glance at Lin Wan, the curve of his lips deepening. “Huo Xiao!”
Lin Wan: (ΩДΩ)
Holy crap!
She had used someone as a shield, only for the actual person to overhear it!!!
Ahhh, wait, why on earth was Huo Xiao in Huacheng? He belonged to the same unit as Guo Xuyang! Guo Xuyang had returned on family leave, but Huo Xiao’s home was in Capital City. Even if he were visiting family, he should have gone to Capital City! Otherwise, why would she have felt so safe and bold talking absolute nonsense?
“Comrade Lin Wan?”
Huo Xiao’s voice snapped Lin Wan back to reality.
Lin Wan hurriedly chirped in rapid succession, “Let’s talk, let’s talk, let’s talk! Let’s find somewhere else to talk!” She yanked the car door open and scrambled inside.
Huo Xiao gave a brief nod to Zhang Qin and the others before sliding into the driver’s seat. The car drove off.
Lin Wan’s toes were completely curled with tension, her head buzzing wildly, unable to come up with a single way to handle this.
System, give me a hint here. What on earth am I supposed to do?
The system didn’t even spark a bubble. It was completely outside its scope of duties. It was merely a system, not toilet paper meant to clean up someone’s mess.
Huo Xiao drove the car to a deserted area in the suburbs.
The vehicle came to a stop. He looked through the rearview mirror at the woman in the backseat, who had her head buried low like an anxious quail.
“Comrade Lin Wan.”
“We are complete strangers, yet you have such a thorough grasp of my situation. Do you understand the implications of this?”
“Allow me to remind you that I am an active-duty Air Force officer!”
Lin Wan whimpered internally. She had kicked a literal iron plate! The Air Force represented pure prestige; the Air Force in the sixties and seventies was the absolute pinnacle of prestige!
“Speak. How do you know about me?”
Huo Xiao’s gaze remained fixed on the rearview mirror, not missing a single one of Lin Wan’s small movements. His slender fingers gently tapped against the steering wheel. The faint sound felt like a small hammer dropping onto a drum, beating directly against Lin Wan’s heart.
Lin Wan grew even more nervous. She lifted her head and looked pitifully toward Huo Xiao, resembling a cat that had made a mistake but stared at its owner with an innocent face.
How could a little kitty ever be at fault? The fault lies with others!
Lin Wan looked ready to cry. “If I say I made it all up blindly, would you believe me?”
Huo Xiao didn’t say a word, but the force of his fingers tapping the steering wheel grew stronger. Within his seemingly indifferent eyes, a sharp, knife-like glint flickered.
The atmosphere inside the car grew oppressive to the extreme. The air seemed to condense into water, and the water froze into ice, locking Lin Wan firmly inside. She could barely breathe.
Since Lin Wan didn’t speak, Huo Xiao didn’t urge her either. He resembled a highly patient leopard—crouching, observing, waiting for the perfect moment to suddenly spring out and deliver a fatal strike!
Lin Wan took a deep breath. “Whether you believe it or not, I really did just make it up blindly. You’ve never even met me, so how could you possibly fall in love with me at first sight and insist on marrying me no matter what?”
“However, I learned about your situation one day when I went to Yanshixiang. I overheard a girl named Xu Hui talking about it.”
“At the time, she was telling a male comrade who was pestering her that the one she liked was you, that you were a military officer, and told that male comrade to look in a mirror—since he couldn’t compare to you, he shouldn’t embarrass himself in front of her.”
This event was actually written in the book, so Lin Wan wasn’t afraid of being investigated at all! The reason Xu Hui and Guo Xuyang had ended up in bed together was precisely because that pestering male comrade had harbored malicious intentions toward her, and a drugged Guo Xuyang had appeared to save her. Seeing that Guo Xuyang was suffering, Xu Hui had slept with him out of gratitude for saving her life.
“Your purpose?” Huo Xiao asked.
Lin Wan buried her head once more, her voice growing smaller and smaller. “It was just to use you as a shield… Otherwise, my mom would keep assuming I like Guo Xuyang.”
“Any normal person should know that if someone has a catch like you as a boyfriend, it’s impossible to look at Guo Xuyang ever again.”
A flicker crossed Huo Xiao’s eyes, softening slightly without his realization. “Write a statement explaining everything you just said and give it to me tomorrow.”
“I will go verify it.”
“But until everything is verified, you must write me a letter every week to report on your recent situation as well as an ideological report.”
“I will give you the address tomorrow!”
Lin Wan was completely flabbergasted. Wait, had she somehow run into another client from hell?
“Comrade Huo Xiao, can we be reasonable here? I’ve already told you everything!”
Huo Xiao started the car. “If you are unwilling, I will deliver you to the Security Bureau right now to undergo an investigation.”
The car drove off.
Lin Wan: “!!!”
She absolutely couldn’t go to the Security Bureau! It wasn’t that she was afraid of an investigation, but she feared they would detain her for a few days first. If that happened, her job opportunity would be completely ruined, and she would have to go straight to the countryside upon release! She couldn’t endure the ultimate hardship of farming!
“Fine, fine, fine, I agree!”
Just another client! She could handle it with ease!
Huo Xiao dropped her back home. Rest with his elbow on the car window, he cast a casual glance at Lin Wan, started the engine, and sped away.
Lin Wan only felt a gust of wind sweep past. The car had already vanished around the corner of the street.
The neighbors from the family compound swiftly rushed over to surround Lin Wan, gossiping inquisitively. “Lin Wan, was that your boyfriend?”
“Oh my, he even drives a car!”
“Which unit is he a driver for?”
“Which leader does he drive for?”
“Aren’t you something else!”
“Did your boyfriend manage to find a job for you?”
“Hey, why don’t you have your boyfriend introduce one for our Cuihua too…”
Ever since she learned that her daughter had left with the boyfriend “Huo Xiao” she had mentioned, Huang Guixiang had been peering outside from the balcony of the hallway. Seeing her daughter step out of the car only to be swarmed by a pack of old women, she immediately brandished a spatula and rushed downstairs. “Out of the way, out of the way! Is your family so poor you don’t have food to eat, blocking people here at dinnertime?!”
“Is this any of your business?”
“Is it your place to ask?”
Her eyes rolled skyward with immense dramatic flair as she grabbed Lin Wan’s hand, pulling her rapidly out of the encirclement.
An auntie rolled her eyes at the backs of the mother and daughter. “What’s there to be so smug about? If you’ve got the ability, find a leader. Flaunting a driver is absolute nonsense!”
“Ptooey!”
Once they returned inside the house, everyone’s eyes locked onto Lin Wan.
Huang Guixiang pulled Lin Wan straight into her bedroom, shut the door, yanked Lin Wan down to sit by the edge of the bed, and asked urgently, “I heard from your eldest and second sisters-in-law that Huo Xiao is exceptionally tall and handsome?”
Lin Wan nodded. He was indeed remarkably handsome. He had nearly made her faint from infatuation.
But when a handsome guy like that came looking for trouble, the trouble was doubled! Lin Wan’s mind was currently a chaotic mess, terrified that Huo Xiao wouldn’t keep his word and would report her to the Security Bureau anyway.
