Introduction: Can such a thing still happen in this era?
When Zhang Yong and Zhu Zhifei saw Su Xiaoman standing beside Xie Mingtu, they finally believed Shen Mingle’s words. The beautiful girl who had performed the solo dance that night really was Old Xie’s wife.
He actually had such a beautiful wife!!!
Among the four of them, three were single dogs. Only Xie Mingtu had a wife! Not only did he have a wife, he had such a beautiful wife! And she could dance! A girl from the art troupe!
Envy, jealousy, and resentment instantly filled Zhang Yong and Zhu Zhifei’s hearts.
This guy was too hateful. A winner in life!
Especially when they saw Xie Mingtu’s hands tightly wrapped around the beautiful girl’s shoulders, their fists itched. They really wanted to hit someone.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t beat him.
“Hello, sister-in-law. I’m Zhang Yong.”
“Hello, sister-in-law. I’m Zhu Zhifei.”
Zhang Yong and Zhu Zhifei were actually a little older than Xie Mingtu, but under pressure, they called him Brother Xie. Naturally, they had to call her sister-in-law too.
“Hello. I’m Su Xiaoman.” Su Xiaoman smiled and greeted them. The two of them looked more or less as she had imagined.
“Mingtu told me a bit about you.”
Zhang Yong: “??!! He did?!”
Zhu Zhifei: “What did he say?!”
Shen Mingle: “??!!!”
The three of them widened their eyes at the same time and turned to look at Xie Mingtu.
Xie Mingtu: “…”
Su Xiaoman was even more confused. “…What’s wrong?”
“Sister-in-law, what did he say about us?”
Su Xiaoman was baffled. “…Just that you’re good comrades who trained and went on duty together.”
Xie Mingtu: “…”
Shen Mingle: “?!”
Zhang Yong and Zhu Zhifei hugged each other, suddenly feeling deeply moved.
Old Xie actually said they were good comrades.
Su Xiaoman: “…Did something happen between you all?”
So at the dinner table, Shen Mingle began explaining to Su Xiaoman the complicated fate between the three of them.
Su Xiaoman: “…”
So our dog brother actually did something like that.
During the meal, Su Xiaoman heard many things about Xie “dog” she had not known. They actually said he had a cold and proud personality?! That he was ruthless when leading training, steady in handling matters, expressionless, and never joined discussions about men and women—so much so that people joked he was frigid and unlike a normal man…
Frigid?!
Su Xiaoman: “??!!!”
She had a lot to say about that, but those things could not be said in front of outsiders.
“When you talked about… those topics, what did you all say?” Su Xiaoman knew that when a group of men gathered, they would definitely discuss certain things.
Zhang Yong enthusiastically began, “It was just—”
Shen Mingle coughed, reminding them to take it easy. This wasn’t just a group of men chatting nonsense anymore. Their sister-in-law was here too.
“Nothing much.”
Zhu Zhifei added, “Exactly. Sister-in-law, don’t worry. It was just those guys chatting. Brother Xie never joined in. People didn’t dare say those things in front of him. He didn’t hear anything.”
Su Xiaoman: “…”
No. He definitely heard.
Whatever you talked about, he heard it all.
Good. This stupid dog must have learned some things he shouldn’t have.
Su Xiaoman secretly ground her teeth and glanced sideways at Xie Mingtu, who sat beside her with a calm, expressionless face.
Ever since meeting these good comrades, his facial control had improved. He looked extremely calm and steady.
—This guy seemed to be developing more and more in the direction of being outwardly restrained but inwardly shameless.
In front of others, he looked perfectly proper, and had even become “Brother Xie.” Su Xiaoman did not expose him.
Fine. She would give him some face.
Su Xiaoman smiled brightly, picked up food with her chopsticks, and placed it into Xie Mingtu’s bowl. Her entire manner suddenly became gentle, considerate, and understanding, like a little woman immersed in happiness.
“Mingtu, eat this. It’s your favourite.”
…
This scene made the other three envy and resent Old Xie even more.
Look how lucky he was. He had married such a beautiful and considerate wife.
The food in their mouths instantly lost its taste.
The stir-fried greens from this restaurant had a sour taste. Very sour. Who knew if the owner had secretly added vinegar?
Xie Mingtu: “…”
But Xie Mingtu felt like he was sitting in a frying pan. Today’s Manman was different from usual. He would rather she called him stupid dog or dog brother. He did not want her acting like this. It made him feel as if he would be punished later…
The wolf tail behind him instantly became alert.
“Manman, after we eat, let’s go boating by the lake.”
“Manman, are you tired?”
“Manman, are you scared?”
“Manman, here, hold onto me.”
…
During the following trip to the park, Xie Mingtu performed a complete face-changing act in front of them. Cold, proud, unwilling to talk to girls? That arrogant, world-weary expression? None of it existed.
In front of the girl he loved, he busied himself around her, calling “Manman” this and “Manman” that.
Shen Mingle and the others thought coldly: this guy is so attentive…
Where was the force he used when lifting Zhu Zhifei, who weighed nearly two hundred jin? Where was that life-risking training drive?
Who was this bootlicker in front of them?
…
Why had the three of them gone out with a married couple on a perfectly good day off?
Zhang Yong said, “Old Zhu, do you have any younger sisters? Introduce me to someone.”
Zhu Zhifei said, “Are you sure? I do have a younger female cousin…”
“Forget it.” Zhang Yong looked at Shen Mingle. “Lele, you introduce me to someone instead.”
Shen Mingle almost gagged. “Can you not call me Lele? Who the hell is Lele? No girls. I can introduce you to men though.”
Su Xiaoman: “????!!!”
Huh? This kind of thing existed in this era too?
Zhang Yong: “?”
Zhu Zhifei: “!”
Shen Mingle said, “There are four brothers in my family: Ping, An, Xi, Le.”
The eldest was Shen Mingping, the second Shen Ming’an, the third Shen Mingxi, and the fourth was him, Shen Mingle.
Together, the four brothers made “peace, safety, joy, and happiness.”
Zhang Yong burst out laughing. “My eldest brother is Zhang Zhi, and I’m Zhang Yong. If we had two more younger brothers, they’d probably be Zhang Shuang and Zhang Quan—wisdom, courage, and completeness!”
Zhu Zhifei: “…I’m Zhu Zhifei. I’m the only one in my family.”
The three of them all turned their gazes to Xie Mingtu, their eyes burning.
Old Xie was so handsome. Did he have any older or younger sisters?
Su Xiaoman also looked at Xie Mingtu. She took his hand and interlaced their fingers.
Xie Mingtu said lightly, “I have two older brothers and one older sister.”
“How old is your sister? Is she married? Do you need a brother-in-law?”
Xie Mingtu’s face turned cold and expressionless.
The three of them had no choice but to give up and turn to Su Xiaoman instead.
“Sister-in-law, what about you? Do you have any sisters?”
Su Xiaoman shook her head. “I only have three older brothers.”
“Oh, three older brothers?”
“What do your brothers think of Old Xie?”
“Three brothers-in-law…”
Xie Mingtu: “…”
The brothers-in-law—and the father-in-law—had never really liked him.
After leaving the park with the three of them, they unexpectedly ran into Instructor Chen from training. When Instructor Chen saw Su Xiaoman beside Xie Mingtu, he nodded thoughtfully.
No wonder.
Since ancient times, heroes have always struggled to pass the test of beauty.
In front of the girl he loved, he was just a fool.
Xie Mingtu and the others were surprised to see the usually strict Instructor Chen—and even more surprised to see a woman standing beside him. She had shoulder-length hair and looked like a teacher. Instructor Chen was extremely attentive toward her.
Shen Mingle: “Heh…”
He glanced at Xie Mingtu, then at Instructor Chen, thinking the two were cut from the same cloth.
A vein popped on Instructor Chen’s forehead. “What are you ‘heh’-ing for, kid?”
Shen Mingle laughed. “Don’t try to threaten me. I’m not under your command anymore.”
Instructor Chen laughed too. “Idiot. I’ll still be your instructor at the flight training base for the next three months.”
Zhang Yong and Zhu Zhifei burst out laughing.
Su Xiaoman wasn’t sure whether she should politely laugh along.
At the same time, she realised that soldiers’ leave periods often overlapped—it made it much easier to bump into each other on outings.
That evening, when they returned to Grandpa and Grandma’s house, they happened to run into Instructor Chen visiting. He brought up something from two months ago, finally clearing up Su Xiaoman’s confusion about how their honest “dog boy” had turned into a walking powder keg.
…Though, thinking about it, he had never really been that honest.
“He rested for an afternoon, said he got a phone call, and when he came back, he was a completely different person…”
Su Xiaoman thought to herself: age really does bring wisdom.
Xie Mingtu: “…” It was all Grandpa’s fault!!!
Grandpa Jiang said, “My grandson is just too impatient. He still needs more tempering.”
Grandma Jiang thought: as if you weren’t impatient when you were young—no monkey was as restless as you.
That night, after her bath, Su Xiaoman changed into her sleepwear and recalled the day’s events. Compared to her usual rehearsals at the art troupe, today had been far more interesting. She happily picked up a pen and wrote in her diary.
Xie Mingtu hugged her from behind, lifting her into his arms. Compared to his height, she seemed petite. With paper and pen still in her hand, she patted his face lightly.
“You’re disturbing me while I’m writing.”
He gently bit her earlobe. “What are you writing, Manman?”
“Nothing much, just thought today was interesting.” Su Xiaoman thought of Shen Mingle’s family and suddenly found naming traditions in this era quite amusing. Four brothers named Ping, An, Xi, Le—peace and happiness. And Zhang Yong’s family could make “wisdom and courage complete.”
But neither her family nor Xie Mingtu’s could form anything like that. She made a mental note to tease her mother about it later.
“If I tell my mum this, my brothers will definitely hate me—haha. ‘Fortune, prosperity, joy’ would be such lucky names.”
She buried herself in his arms, laughing.
Xie Mingtu leaned closer, brushing his eyelashes deliberately against her cheek. She giggled and tried to dodge.
“Manman can name our children like that,” he suggested.
Su Xiaoman: “???!!!”
You’ve exposed your straight-man taste again.
“You’re serious?” she blinked.
He tilted his head, one eyebrow raised. “Why not?”
She laughed and rubbed his face hard until it was completely distorted. “You’re terrible—you’d be a terrible dad, naming kids Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, Joy…”
“Aren’t you the one who said it first? What’s wrong with that?”
“It’s not bad… vulgarity can also be elegance, haha.” She suddenly thought of modern trendy names—Zihan, Zixi, Ruoxi—every era had its clichés.
She pushed against his chest. “We’re not even properly married yet. Who’s talking about having kids with you?”
“Alright, alright.” He indulged her contradiction. If they weren’t talking about kids, they could just… do things related to having kids.
“I’ll be gentler tonight.”
Su Xiaoman immediately wanted to slap him.
In the end, she was once again “devoured” by the shameless dog.
Of course, they took precautions. She wasn’t planning to have children yet—at least not before they were officially registered. Just like before, she worried about him “driving without a licence.”
Over the next couple of days, Su Xiaoman stayed busy at the art troupe making costumes, while Xie Mingtu picked her up and dropped her off. Gradually, people in the troupe learned about her handsome young soldier husband—good-looking, and even selected as a flight trainee.
Before, people already knew she had married young in the countryside—to some rural boy who later enlisted. Everyone had thought it a pity: such a beautiful girl, married so early.
Some had even heard that Mrs. Jiang once wanted her as a daughter-in-law…
If she hadn’t married early, she might have married a promising officer.
But now, after seeing Xie Mingtu—
“That’s her husband?”
“The one she married in the countryside?”
“That really handsome recruit in the fifth row! I noticed him that day too.”
“I heard he’s been selected as a pilot trainee—he’s excellent! She has good taste.”
…
Now many people actually envied Su Xiaoman.
Even if his background wasn’t special, he was tall, handsome, and had a bright future.
Most importantly—tall and handsome!!
“They look so good together!”
“Like a talented scholar and a beauty from old stories!”
…
People in her dorm also found out her husband had come. They started teasing, saying he should treat them to a meal at a state-run restaurant.
Xie Mingtu agreed and set a date to treat all seven of her roommates.
Wang Yue didn’t want to go at first, but she went anyway. Zhang Ying was curious about Su Xiaoman’s husband, while the others were happy to freeload.
Zhang Ying grinned, “Once you all get boyfriends, we can take turns getting treated.”
She was shameless—always switching sides, flattering whoever benefited her most.
Even Wang Yue, who sometimes disliked her, couldn’t resist being flattered.
Wang Yue thought Zhang Ying would make a perfect secretary—she knew exactly how to please people.
Even knowing her ulterior motives, one could still get dizzy from her praise.
“Wang Yue, are you going? It’s a dorm gathering—you shouldn’t skip.”
“I’m going. Of course I’m going. I want to see Su Xiaoman’s countryside husband for myself!”
In truth, they had already seen him during the performance—the striking recruit in the fifth row. Many girls had stared at him that night.
Some had even asked around about him—only to learn he was already married.
Countless hearts shattered.
Who would have thought he was Su Xiaoman’s husband?
…This couple really didn’t seem like an ordinary rural pair.
Now Su Xiaoman was quietly being called the troupe’s new “flower,” and the one who had already “picked” that flower… was also a handsome young man.
Even though Wang Yue didn’t get along well with Su Xiaoman and Qin Shanshan, she still had to maintain basic dorm harmony—or the political officer would step in.
On the day of the meal, Su Xiaoman wasn’t stingy—she ordered ten dishes.
Xie Mingtu sat beside her, pouring tea and serving her attentively.
Su Xiaoman found it amusing.
Was this what it felt like—newlyweds meeting each other’s friends and colleagues?
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