Chapter 60: Rejected

Chapter 60: Chapter 60: Rejected

Xu Yan’s heart hammered in her chest. After getting Su Wan’s assurance, she couldn’t help but feel a surge of anticipation.

After Su Jue left, Su Wan returned to her usual, peaceful life.

She went to the research institute every day, and thanks to her contributions, the mine detector project was making leaps and bounds.

"Wanwan, let’s have lunch together!" Just as Su Wan was leaving the research institute, Xu Yan and Liu Xiangju walked up, arm in arm, and warmly invited her.

Su Wan looked at them in surprise. "What are you two doing together?"

"Because Xiangju is going to introduce us to her new prospect, and she wants us to help vet him." Xu Yan winked, teasing Liu Xiangju until her cheeks turned bright red.

Su Wan looked at Liu Xiangju, astonished. "Xiangju, that was fast! Who is he?"

"He’s also a soldier from our unit. Liu Lang has already apologized to me in public and was disciplined for what happened."

"My mom didn’t want me to dwell on the past. She wanted to see if there was someone who wouldn’t mind my history and would be willing to build a life with me. She said that would prove he has good character, so there’s no reason to delay. She had my big brother arrange some meetings with suitable men, I went, and I finally picked one."

"His name is Song Feng. Coincidentally, he’s one of the soldiers under Battalion Commander Lu. He’s not a lieutenant, but he is a squad leader in the artillery company."

Su Wan was happy for her. After all, whatever Liu Lang’s reasons were for his choice, he clearly wasn’t the right one for Xiangju.

Liu Xiangju had an officer for a big brother—Battalion Commander Liu—and a doting mother. She was also a soldier in the performance troupe. She was a great catch by any standard.

"Okay, let’s go meet him."

"Great! I trust Wanwan’s judgment. If you think he’s a good guy, then Xiangju didn’t make the wrong choice." Xu Yan linked arms with Su Wan, and the three of them headed to the cafeteria in high spirits. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Su Wan asked someone from the residential compound to go back and tell Zhang Yun she wouldn’t be home for lunch.

The three of them soon arrived at the base cafeteria.

Before they even got close, they saw a clean-cut man in uniform standing at the entrance, holding a mess tin and peering outside.

"Comrade Song Feng." Seeing him, Liu Xiangju nervously walked up and greeted him first.

"Comrade Liu Xiangju, hello."

Song Feng’s face broke into a friendly, outgoing smile.

"This is fresh braised pork. I just managed to snag a portion; I was worried it would be all gone if you came late." Song Feng handed her the mess tin with a touch of bashful formality.

Liu Xiangju was pleasantly surprised but quickly waved her hands. "Oh no, this is too much. You eat it. I’ll just grab something with Wanwan and Yanyan."

It was only then that Song Feng noticed Su Wan and Xu Yan.

He blushed and greeted them. "Sister-in-law, Comrade Xu Yan, hello."

Su Wan noticed a distinct respect in the way Song Feng looked at her. He even gave her a proper military salute.

"Comrade Song Feng, there’s no need for formalities." It was the first time Su Wan was truly conscious of her status as the battalion commander’s wife.

"Sister-in-law, even though the Battalion Commander isn’t here, please let me know if you need anything at all." Song Feng was very formal and spoke with great sincerity.

From his attitude, Su Wan could sense Song Feng’s deep respect for Lu Zhengchuan.

"Are you and Lu Zhengchuan close?" Su Wan asked, curious.

Song Feng’s eyes filled with a resolute admiration. "Yes!"

"Battalion Commander Lu saved my life once. He’s an excellent leader."

Su Wan nodded, not pressing for details.

But Xu Yan couldn’t help but huff. "What’s so great about Battalion Commander Lu? He hasn’t sent Wanwan a single letter this whole time. He clearly doesn’t care about her. It’s only because Wanwan is too nice to make a fuss. If it were me, I’d have kicked him to the curb by now."

Xu Yan found fault with everything Lu Zhengchuan did these days.

’He doesn’t appreciate what a wonderful wife he has. My judgment of him was terrible.’

Song Feng rubbed his nose, not daring to talk back to Xu Yan’s tirade.

Once the three women were seated in the cafeteria, he quickly went to get their food.

He got Liu Xiangju her favorite dish, shredded potatoes with pork.

Xu Yan used her own meal ticket and got mostly vegetarian dishes.

But for Su Wan, he managed to snag the last portion of braised pork ribs.

"Sister-in-law, the Battalion Commander told us to look after you. He really does care about you, he must just be too busy with his mission to find time to write," Song Feng added, trying to smooth things over.

But he was only making things worse.

Su Wan hadn’t been too bothered by the fact that Lu Zhengchuan hadn’t contacted her in almost half a month.

But now, seeing an outsider like Song Feng scrambling to make clumsy excuses for him while Lu Zhengchuan himself remained silent, it struck her as clear proof that he truly had no feelings for her.

Although Su Wan had long suspected this, it was still disheartening to have it confirmed yet again.

She felt a pang of bitterness, but she didn’t let it show on her face.

"I know. Thank you for your hard work. Let’s all eat together. He’s a soldier; it’s normal for him to be busy. I don’t have much free time myself," Su Wan said with a faint smile.

Song Feng breathed a sigh of relief. ’This sister-in-law, Su Wan, is so gracious,’ he thought. ’Just as I expected. Once the rumors about her were cleared up, everyone could finally see her true character. I never realized she was this wonderful.’

-

After lunch, as the four of them were leaving, they happened to run into Liu Lang on his way into the cafeteria.

Upon seeing Liu Lang, Liu Xiangju tensed and instinctively glanced at Song Feng.

Song Feng walked right up to Liu Lang.

"Lieutenant Liu."

His initiative in greeting him startled Liu Xiangju and Xu Yan. They were afraid the two men would come to blows at any moment.

Liu Lang seemed taken aback for a second before giving a slight nod.

"Heard your marriage report with Comrade Zheng didn’t get approved?" Song Feng dropped a bombshell with a single sentence.

Liu Xiangju was stunned and asked instinctively, "The marriage report wasn’t approved? What happens now? Liu Lang, does this mean you’re not marrying Comrade Zheng Zhizhi?"

Xu Yan was snickering beside them, gloating. She pulled Su Wan aside and whispered, "Wanwan, this is poetic justice! That bitch Zheng Zhizhi is finally getting what she deserves. Stealing someone’s fiancé was all for nothing. I’d like to see how she manages to get married now."

’Zheng Zhizhi really brought this on herself,’ Su Wan thought. ’She had a perfectly good life and threw it away to create this mess. Now she’s caught between a rock and a hard place.’

Liu Lang pressed his lips together, clearly having no intention of explaining. He just gave a curt nod and walked away.

Liu Xiangju stared after Liu Lang in a daze, but when she noticed Song Feng watching her, she quickly looked away and gave him a shy smile.

"Xiangju, I’ll walk you all back."

"Song Feng, why didn’t you tell us about Liu Lang and Zheng Zhizhi?" Xu Yan demanded bluntly.

Song Feng smiled awkwardly. "I didn’t want to upset Xiangju."

"But when I saw Lieutenant Liu just now, I couldn’t resist... I just think he’s completely irresponsible." As he spoke, he glanced cautiously at Liu Xiangju.

Liu Xiangju managed a smile. "It’s okay. You were just standing up for me. I’m glad."

Song Feng’s heart was put at ease. He opened his mouth to promise, "Xiangju, don’t worry. I would never mistreat you."

"Mm-hmm." Liu Xiangju lowered her head shyly.

Su Wan returned to the research institute after lunch.

Time continued to pass. Another two or three days went by, and the calendar turned to August. It was now less than twenty days until Su Wan was set to leave for university.

That day, she got a message from Su Jue and took his call in the mailroom.