“…”
He Hong looked at Qiao Shu, who had been spacing out ever since Feng Xiao left, and she couldn’t help voicing her concern.
“…Shushu? What are you thinking about, child? You’ve been spacing out.”
Upon hearing He Hong’s voice, Qiao Shu finally snapped out of her daze.
“Ah, no, nothing.”
Qiao Shu pursed her lips and suppressed the doubts in her heart. In truth, she had been wondering why Feng Xiao had suddenly hugged her like that.
But then again, after hugging her, Feng Xiao had hugged everyone in the Feng Family equally, so Qiao Shu dismissed the thought.
However, this expression in He Hong’s eyes made it seem like Qiao Shu was particularly reluctant to part with Feng Xiao. Ever since her son had left, the girl’s entire mood had been off.
With that in mind, He Hong felt she couldn’t let things continue developing like this!
Although she was deeply moved by Qiao Shu’s profound affection for her son—even after learning that he had been injured down there and could no longer have relations, Qiao Shu still refused to abandon him.
But! Precisely because of this, they couldn’t let such a kind and loyal girl jump into the fiery pit that was her son’s situation!
So… it was time to get the matchmaking on the agenda right away!
Thus, after Qiao Shu returned to the study to write, He Hong quietly went back to her room and called her eldest daughter.
“Yingzi, look, your brother has gone back to the barracks. Should we help that child Shushu find someone???”
He Yingzi, sitting in her office, was stunned for a second when she received the call. She suddenly felt that her unlucky brother was truly a bit pitiful.
He had finally fallen for a girl, only for the whole family to want to sabotage their marriage.
But she quickly realized one thing—
“Mom, didn’t A Xiao tell you he wasn’t injured?”
“What do you mean not injured? Hasn’t his injury healed?”
Hearing He Hong say this, He Yingzi understood. It turned out her unlucky brother hadn’t clarified his lie to the family.
But how was He Yingzi to know that Feng Xiao thought she had already explained it for him?
“Mm, it’s healed…”
Realizing her family still didn’t know her brother hadn’t actually been injured down there, He Yingzi raised an eyebrow but didn’t spell it out.
She thought, this was all her unlucky brother’s own doing!
He had to joke about his own body to try to call off the engagement with Qiao Shu.
Although she no longer opposed them being together, they weren’t married yet.
A lot could happen in this year—maybe Qiao Shu would change her mind…
“Yingzi?”
“Mom, Shushu doesn’t want to go matchmaking. If you have time, you could take her out shopping instead, visit Dad and Grandpa’s old comrades’ homes more, meet some new friends. That way, Shushu can broaden her horizons by seeing more people…”
Listening to her daughter’s words, He Hong thought it made perfect sense!
So she immediately decided that from now on, she would take Qiao Shu out more and introduce her to some outstanding young men.
If none caught her eye in the Military District Compound, she would go to the Air Force Compound, the Navy Compound, the General Logistics Compound…
With so many military compounds in the Capital, there had to be one with someone pleasing enough to snap this little girl out of the severe brainwashing from her grandfather.
Poor Feng Xiao had no idea that right after he left, his closest family members were about to start poaching his sweetheart!
And Qiao Shu was even less aware. Although she had dodged the matchmaking she disliked, it had been replaced by another form that was underway.
And this method… Qiao Shu truly had no defense against it, and it was hard for her even to refuse~!
Considering Qiao Shu’s mood, He Hong didn’t drag the girl out to visit her ‘friends’ on the first day after Feng Xiao left. Instead, she just hinted a few times in front of Qiao Shu, hoping she would accompany her to see some old friends they hadn’t gathered with in a long time.
The obedient and filial Qiao Shu naturally agreed to He Hong’s request without hesitation.
After all, this didn’t seem like a big deal to her. In her previous life, she had been an orphan without family. Now that she had so many loving relatives, she wanted to spend more time with them and repay their affection.
“Alright, Shushu, it’s a deal then. Next weekend, next weekend, you’ll come with me to Aunt Cui Ping’s house.”
Seeing Qiao Shu nod, He Hong immediately beamed with joy.
Watching He Hong’s happy expression, Qiao Shu didn’t think too much of it. She just figured that this Aunt Cui Ping her mother-in-law mentioned must be a very close friend…
However, Qiao Shu had gotten that wrong.
If it was about being close, it was actually hard to say.
Back when they were young, the two had looked down on each other. Their husbands were both tiger cubs from military families, and they had been nurses in the same hospital but different departments, so they were always being compared.
Of course, they had secretly competed with each other, each trying to outdo the other.
But after years of rivalry, neither had come out on top. Both were the most envied women in the military compound.
After all, whether it was the husbands they married or the children they bore, they were all top-notch.
If there was one shortfall, Cui Ping had a picky mother-in-law above her.
He Hong, on the other hand, didn’t have as many sons as Cui Ping, and her only son had refused to marry for so long.
So, in a way, they were even.
Logically, two women who had been competing since youth should have a poor relationship. But as they aged, their mindsets had shifted greatly.
They weren’t close confidantes, but they had a civil acquaintance like gentlemen’s friends.
So when He Yingzi suggested that new idea, He Hong immediately thought of her old rival Cui Ping.
Because of their past comparisons, she knew her rival well. And over the years, she had kept tabs on the Chu Family that Cui Ping had married into.
Although Cui Ping had a picky mother-in-law, that wasn’t a big issue—after all, Cui Ping herself would make a fine future mother-in-law.
Moreover, Cui Ping’s sons were all exceptional.
And conveniently, her youngest son was about the same age as Qiao Shu. More importantly, this son of Cui Ping’s wasn’t a soldier but a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
The young man was not only handsome but also brilliantly smart. He had skipped grades into a youth class since childhood, and at just twenty-four, he already had several projects under his belt. He was a treasure of the Chinese Academy of Sciences…
The more He Hong thought about it, the more satisfied she became. She felt the Chu Family’s youngest son was absolutely worthy of her little girl.
One had talent, the other beauty—it was a perfect match of talent and looks…
Qiao Shu had no idea about all the wild thoughts running through her mother-in-law’s mind. At that moment, she was staring puzzled at the letter from the Fairy Tale Princess Magazine.
Seeing that her editor Weng Kanya had suddenly requested to meet her, Qiao Shu wondered why she wanted to see her.
However, when she read that it was related to royalties, Qiao Shu thought it over and agreed.
After all, she was currently earning her living from royalties.
Maybe she wanted to discuss raising the per-thousand-word rate???
Qiao Shu muttered to herself inwardly and picked up her pen to write a reply to Weng Kanya.
Since they had never met, Qiao Shu set the meeting place at a teahouse near the Military District Compound area for safety.
When Weng Kanya received Qiao Shu’s agreement to meet, her cool heart instantly warmed up!
Worried she might get nervous meeting her goddess, she prepared several proposals in advance on paper.
And she muttered inwardly—
If the magazine still refused to raise royalties after seeing the Reader Survey Report, she would take her goddess and leave this blind magazine!