Chapter 52: Separation
He had always known that the girl he loved was exceptionally beautiful and intelligent, but when she smiled like that, she radiated a captivating charm that drew people in completely, making it impossible to look away.
“Comrade Gu Tingxiao, please take good care of me from now on,” she said softly.
Hearing this, Gu Tingxiao snapped his boots together and delivered another crisp salute, his voice steady and echoing with absolute resolve. “Guaranteed to complete the mission!”
He looked down at her with intense solemnity, treating this new relationship with the utmost respect.
Gu Tingxiao was scheduled to deploy out of Chengdu that very evening, which meant they were forced to part ways almost immediately after confirming their relationship. He knew deep down that his demanding military career meant he was already falling short as a partner to Sheng Wanyan, and he could only strive to make it up to her in every other way possible.
After a quick sweep to ensure the surrounding alley was deserted, he stepped forward and pulled her firmly into his arms. He still felt as though he were dreaming.
Sheng Wanyan felt an immediate sense of safety wrap around her. She rested her cheek against his chest, listening to the strong, steady rhythm of his heartbeat. Looking up from this angle, she could see the clean, sharp lines of his jaw.
Gu Tingxiao was truly the type of man who became more attractive the longer one looked at him. His features weren’t like the soft, delicate aesthetic of the idol boys in her past life; his entire presence exuded an aura of raw, masculine power and unyielding discipline. His sharp, vigorous charm was the kind that would never cause visual fatigue.
This was the first time Gu Tingxiao had ever held a girl in his arms. The sweet, natural fragrance of her hair and the soft, delicate feel of her body against his chest almost drove him wild. He didn’t dare exert too much pressure, constantly plagued by the irrational fear that if he squeezed too hard, he might accidentally crush her fragile frame to pieces. He carefully loosened his grip, using just enough strength to hold her close and feel the comforting warmth of her body.
The two stood in silence, sharing the long embrace for what felt like ages before finally stepping back. As they parted, Sheng Wanyan immediately reached into her bag and tried to return his stack of cash.
The eighty yuan felt entirely too hot to handle. From what Gu Tingxiao had mentioned earlier, his family had not yet formally divided their estate, and the legal separation would only take place after he officially wed. This meant his monthly salary was likely expected to be handed over to his mother. If he handed his entire income over to a girl he had just started dating, she couldn’t help but wonder what the Gu family elders would think of her.
She was genuinely invested in courting Gu Tingxiao, but she had absolutely no desire to become the source of domestic discord in his family.
“You should mail this money back to your parents,” she insisted firmly. “I have my own salary and savings.”
Gu Tingxiao’s chest tightened with immediate anxiety. She refused his commodity coupons, and now she wouldn’t touch his cash. If she wouldn’t depend on him, what was the point of him being a grown man? If a man couldn’t provide a sense of security or tangible value to the woman he loved, what kind of partner was he?
“I will mail half of my salary directly to you every single month from now on,” he countered stubbornly. “When my older brother and younger brother were courting their wives, they did the exact same thing. Half of their pay was sent to their future brides to spend as they pleased, and the other half was turned over to the family pool. No one in our household has ever raised a single objection. It’s an established, fair tradition.”
Hearing this explanation, Sheng Wanyan let out a quiet breath of relief. If they had just begun dating and she inadvertently became the villain who fractured his family’s domestic harmony, she would have been utterly drowned in the gossip and disapproval of his relatives.
Even so, she still pressed the bills back into his hand. After all, he hadn’t formally set up the arrangement with his mother for this month yet, so it only made sense for him to submit his pay to the family pool one last time. Furthermore, traveling all the way back to his remote military base required a substantial amount of cash—train tickets, emergency travel expenses, and daily rations along the route all cost money.
“Take this month’s salary back with you,” she commanded, her tone brook no argument. “We can revisit the arrangement next month.”
Seeing her unwavering stance, Gu Tingxiao ceased his protests. Once he arrived back at the base, he would simply mail his letters alongside his money order to her every single month regardless. There was absolutely no world in which he would allow his girl to wait for him central to Chengdu with empty hands.
“Alright, I’ll do as you say,” he murmured, a soft smile breaking through his stoic mask. Whatever his future wife decreed, he would follow implicitly; he possessed nothing but the utmost respect for her choices.
Gu Tingxiao pulled out a piece of paper where he had carefully written his military unit address and handed it to her, promising to write as often as humanly possible whenever he wasn’t deployed on classified operations.
Sheng Wanyan nodded, tucking the paper away safely. “I promise I’ll reply.”
With that assurance, the heavy tension in Gu Tingxiao’s chest finally dissolved. He checked his watch and realized with a jolt that his departure time was fast approaching.
“I… I have to go now.”
Sheng Wanyan had to return to her factory shift for the afternoon, and because his orders had come down so suddenly, she hadn’t even had the chance to prepare a travel pack of snacks or chili sauce for his journey.
Gu Tingxiao escorted her back to the factory gates. Sheng Wanyan detested the lingering sadness of goodbyes, so she offered a quick wave and turned to walk through the courtyard. Gu Tingxiao stood perfectly still, watching her slender silhouette until she vanished completely inside the building. Only then did he turn on his heel and stride away to rendezvous with his squad.
The young couple was forced to confront the harsh reality of long-distance separation the exact same day they formalized their bond, but both were determined to work hard in their respective fields, making steady progress toward a shared future.
Sheng Wanyan walked back into the Propaganda office, her mind drifting in a complete daze. Am I actually in a relationship now? she wondered, staring blankly at her desk.
“Wanyan, what on earth are you daydreaming about?”
“Wanyan?”
Wu Jiaxiu called her name several times before Sheng Wanyan suddenly snapped out of her trance.
“Oh! What is it?”
“I’ve been calling you for five minutes and you didn’t even blink,” Wu Jiaxiu teased, her eyes sparkling with unbridled gossip. Wanyan had been sneaking out for private lunches over the past few days, and her current distracted state practically shouted that a romance was unfolding. “What’s occupying that pretty head of yours?”
“I’m just… brainstorming some ideas, Sister Jiaxiu,” Sheng Wanyan stammered, frantically pulling her knitting needles and yarn out of her drawer to look busy.
Seeing her flustered state, Wu Jiaxiu let out a knowing chuckle, her expression saying I see right through you. Sheng Wanyan’s face flushed an even deeper shade of pink.
That evening, the moment Sheng Wanyan walked through her front door carrying the high-end gifts Gu Tingxiao had purchased, Mother Sheng’s sharp eyes locked onto the items. Recognizing the premium labels, she immediately cornered her daughter, pulling her into her bedroom for a thorough interrogation.
“Did Xiao Gu buy all of this?” Mother Sheng asked, her expression radiating supreme confidence that she already knew the truth.
Sheng Wanyan saw no point in hiding it and nodded generously. “Yes.”
“You two…”
“We’re officially dating.”
The words had barely left Wanyan’s mouth before Mother Sheng burst into a brilliant, triumphant laugh. She felt an immense surge of pride; her daughter was incredibly discerning, and her taste in partners was every bit as excellent as her own had been. She had favored Gu Tingxiao from the very start, silently hoping the two young people would find a way to connect. Now that both her son’s engagement and her daughter’s courtship were successfully secured, the heavy burden of maternal worry was finally lifted from her chest.
“Thank goodness you aren’t as brainless as your cousin Sheng Xiuying,” Mother Sheng huffed, patting her chest. “Otherwise, you would have driven me straight into an early grave.”
The moment Sheng Wanyan heard her mother launching into her familiar, long-winded comparisons, she subtly turned toward the door, plotting a swift escape.
“Sit right back down!” Mother Sheng barked.
Sheng Wanyan froze, reluctantly turning around to sit back on the edge of the mattress with an exaggerated air of caution. Mother Sheng’s temple throbbed slightly at her daughter’s dramatic behavior. She had noticed that Wanyan seemed to be going through a delayed rebellious phase lately, taking a distinct delight in testing her patience. It felt as though the girl woke up every morning brainstorming new ways to push her buttons. She truly had no idea which side of the family this difficult personality had been inherited from.
“Mom, do you have any other official instructions for me?” Wanyan asked playfully.
Mother Sheng tapped her forehead in exasperation. This girl truly lacked a proper appreciation for parental wisdom. “Let me ask you seriously: did Xiao Gu lay out his full family background to you?”
She was cutting straight to the heart of the matter. While Gu Tingxiao was undeniably an outstanding, honorable young man, if his extended family turned out to be a den of manipulative, toxic relatives, her precious daughter would suffer endless grievances the moment she married into the household. If that were the case, she’d rather Wanyan break it off and stay single at home. She would happily marry her daughter off to an ordinary, working-class man from a lower background, as long as his family possessed kind, upright characters who would ensure her girl lived a peaceful, comfortable life. Marriage was a lifelong commitment; it was absolutely no laughing matter.
“He shared a comprehensive overview of his family,” Sheng Wanyan replied, her tone turning respectful. “He is the third child, with an older brother, an older sister, and a younger brother. Except for him, all of his siblings have already wed and established independent households.”
“His grandparents are in excellent health, and his parents enjoy a remarkably stable, harmonious marriage. His grandfather actually has two sons and a daughter. The eldest son is Gu Tingxiao’s father. The second uncle’s branch is permanently stationed for work in Haicheng, and the youngest aunt married and settled right here in Rongcheng. Currently, the two elderly grandparents reside in the capital alongside Gu Tingxiao’s parents.”
Mother Sheng listened intently, nodding along as she processed the information. Still, she couldn’t help but furrow her brow slightly; a lineage that large meant an immense family tree—and in her experience, more relatives almost always translated to significantly more domestic complications.
