TPH Chapter 34

The Protagonist’s Halo [Arc 2] Chapter 34: True Love In Period Literature (17)

Four years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Han chose to skip a grade and went straight to the senior year of high school to take the college entrance examination. She did not choose Peking University, the best school in the capital, but instead took the exam for a military academy according to her interests.

Lin’s parents were initially worried. They already had one child serving in the military, which made them constantly concerned, and they even had to be prepared to accept sacrifice at any time. If another child joined the army, it would be very difficult for them as parents.

Xiao Han didn’t go against their wishes. She chose a major that wasn’t related to combat, but rather leaned towards administrative work, strategy, and weapons research. She was simply interested in these areas; she didn’t necessarily have to be on the front lines.

Moreover, based on the development trajectory of China in similar timelines, it was highly likely that there would be very few wars in the future.

Lin Hua didn’t die young like in the original story. Xiao Han didn’t know if he had carried out the dangerous mission that led to his death; military missions are classified, and even if completed, they wouldn’t be easily revealed. Xiao Han was only concerned that he hadn’t been affected by the divorce, and asked Lin’s parents to take good care of him.

Lin Hua was a cautious person by nature. He had family to care for and valued the safety of his soldiers, so he never sought personal gain or acted rashly.

Fortunately, his caution and patience saved him from being shot in the left shoulder, and the mission was successfully completed. Afterwards, Lin Hua didn’t tell his family, but subconsciously strung the extracted bullet together and made it into a pendant, which he gave to Xiao Han as a birthday present.

Xiao Han had a vague idea of what was going on, but she knew that even if she asked Lin Hua, he wouldn’t tell her because he strictly adhered to military discipline. So she happily accepted it, as it was even more meaningful than a hero’s badge.

When winter and summer vacations come, Xiao Han goes to the army to see Lin Hua. Lin’s parents are busy with work and can’t find time to visit their son at the army. Besides, Xiao Han is now in military academy, so going to the army is like getting a head start on his life there.

Over the years, with Xiao Han’s intentional or unintentional reminders, they have become much more concerned about Lin Hua, which is also reflected in their urging of marriage.

Mother Lin was still hoping to have grandchildren, but with Qin Qiu’s example as a precedent, she didn’t dare to choose casually. She only asked Xiao Han to inquire whether her brother had any suitable partners.

“If there’s someone your brother likes, I won’t care about their family background or looks. As long as they’re a good person and treat your brother well, that’s fine.”

Mother Lin took Xiao Han shopping to buy things for Lin Hua to take to the army in a few days. While shopping, she gave her daughter some instructions.

According to Xiao Han’s observations during his previous visits to the military base, Mother Lin really doesn’t need to worry. Lin Hua is quite popular. Although his promotions have been slow over the years, only two levels, he has caught the eye of many people with his abilities.
Although he didn’t receive Father Qin’s help and his promotion wasn’t as rapid, Lin Hua’s personal abilities were more evident, and his achievements were genuine and indelible.

In the military, those with real skills will never fail to rise to the top.

Since Lin Hua’s divorce, many people have felt sorry for Father Qin, who lost a good son-in-law. In order to avoid suspicion, Lin Hua has made a lot of effort to distance herself from the Qin family, preferring to endure more hardship rather than receive help from them or have any further connection with them.

Many more people are eyeing Lin Hua, this unpolished gem, and want to use him as a matchmaker.

Not to mention the high regard many bigwigs have for Lin Hua, Lin Hua himself is also very popular, with a bright future, upright and rigorous conduct, good looks, regular features, and a resolute character, which makes him quite popular with girls.

Every time Xiao Han went to the military base, she received a lot of care and small gifts from Lin Hua’s admirers, both overt and covert.

Lin Hua himself didn’t care much about this matter; he had turned down matchmakers in previous years. His mother was worried that he still missed his ex-wife Qin Qiu, but that was an overreaction. Lin Hua had his own principles and was simply more cautious in his considerations.

Having just divorced two years ago, Lin Hua had no interest in remarrying, and he worried that if he remarried too quickly, there would be more trouble. He focused on his work and missions in the military, and after several years of hard work, he no longer needed to be affected by the Qin or Chen families.

He rarely talked about these things with his family. Xiao Han often went to his unit and noticed some of them.

Xiao Han and Mother Lin were shopping at a department store when they unexpectedly ran into Qin Qiu.

The capital city is neither too big nor too small. Since Qin Qiu and Lin Hua divorced, the two families have had no contact and have almost never met.

Qin Qiu hadn’t changed much compared to a few years ago; she still possessed a cool and aloof demeanor, but had become even more intellectual and elegant. Beside her was a young, unfamiliar girl, who looked like a recent college graduate.

The girl, arm in arm with Qin Qiu, walked in and said in a light tone, “My friend said that the clothes here are all imported from the south, and many are the latest fashionable styles from Hong Kong. Editor Qin, see if there’s anything you like.”

When Qin Qiu saw Mother Lin and Xiao Han, her expression stiffened slightly, but she quickly regained her composure and nodded slightly, “Aunt Lin, Lin Yun.”

Qin Qiu considered herself very polite and disdained the kind of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law/sister-in-law conflicts. Even after the divorce, she was always generous and proper when they met, leaving no room for criticism.

Mother Lin snorted and showed no kindness to Qin Qiu, not even bothering to pretend to be polite. “We don’t deserve you calling us ‘Auntie.’ Our Lin family has nothing to do with you.”

Even though several years have passed, Mother Lin still harbors resentment towards Qin Qiu, after all, their breakup wasn’t amicable.

Ignoring the dress she had just been eyeing and wanted to buy for her daughter, Mother Lin pulled Xiao Han and headed out. Her dislike for Qin Qiu had reached the point where she didn’t even want to be in the same store as her.

The sales assistant couldn’t stop her, and sighed inwardly at the pity, since Mother Lin wanted to buy an expensive dress. She could only put on a smile and greet the two new customers, Qin Qiu and Lin Shi.

“Do you know them Editor Qin? How can this person be so rude?” The young girl next to Qin Qiu said indignantly on her behalf. Her name was Bai Xiang, and she was a college graduate who had just joined the newspaper this year.

After leaving Beijing University, Qin Qiu worked at two other universities. Her teaching ability and academic foundation were not a problem, but she could not shake off the rumors. The capital city is not a big place, and teachers are, after all, a profession of educating and nurturing people.

Other schools were not very willing to hire her. In the end, she found a stable and smooth job as an editor at a magazine owned by her aunt.

Qin Qiu said in a calm tone, as if she didn’t care at all, “She is my ex-husband’s mother, and she probably has some resentment towards me because of the divorce.”

Bai Xiang clenched her fist. “Hmph, she’s definitely another wicked mother-in-law.”

She started working under Qin Qiu as soon as she joined the magazine. She had heard about Qin Qiu’s divorce and single status. In her opinion, Teacher Qin was gentle, elegant, and talented.

She was perfect in every way, the kind of modern woman she admired—cultured, capable, strong, and independent. So, the divorce was definitely not her fault.

Maybe that woman was a wicked mother-in-law. Bai Xiang suddenly thought of the wicked mothers-in-law she had met when she accompanied them to the countryside for interviews. They couldn’t stand seeing their daughters-in-law do anything good. When she got back, she would write more articles to condemn such people.

Mother Lin, who had just come out of the department store, lost all interest in shopping after seeing Qin Qiu. She couldn’t bear to part with the dress she had just seen; it would have looked so good on Yunyun. But with Qin Qiu in the store, she didn’t want to go back. Mother Lin sighed, “Never mind, I’ll go buy it later.”

Xiao Han wasn’t very interested in how the female lead was doing. As far as she knew, the male lead, Chen Xi, should be back soon. The Chen family hadn’t given up on Chen Xi after all; he had been training for several years, so it was time to bring him back.

I wonder if Chen Xi will rekindle his old flame with Qin Qiu after he comes back.

Now, as a mere observer, she is also very curious about how the story will unfold.

…

Xiao Han never expected that after several years, she would meet Qin Qiu again, and soon after, she would meet Chen Xi.

It happened on the train she and Lin Hua were on returning to the capital.

Xiao Han went to visit Lin Hua at the military base, only to find that Lin Hua had just finished her mission and was on leave. So she decided to go home with her. Over the years, Lin Hua has become more attentive to his family. Before, he kept them in his heart, but now he spends more time with his parents.

The train stopped at one of the stations, and the new passenger who boarded the next berth was Chen Xi.

Compared to Qin Qiu, whom Xiao Han had encountered recently, Chen Xi had become almost unrecognizable. His face had turned a wheatish color from the sun, and his arrogant and unruly demeanor had been worn away. He had matured considerably.

He was accompanied by a pretty young woman, very beautiful and stylish. The two seemed quite intimate as they walked together, their relationship clearly unusual.

Chen Xi was somewhat surprised and even embarrassed to run into Lin Hua and Lin Yun.

During his years in the Northwest, he matured a lot. Looking back on some of his past frivolous and immature actions and people, he still finds it somewhat laughable that he had fought with Lin Hua and even tried to show off in front of him.

Moreover, he is now in the army, but in terms of rank, Lin Hua is higher than him, and he still has to respectfully address Lin Hua as “commander.”

Lin Hua noticed the close relationship between him and that girl, but didn’t say anything, since Qin Qiu had nothing to do with him anymore.

The girl next to Chen Xi was straightforward and generous. She noticed that Chen Xi, Lin Hua, and Xiao Han seemed to know each other. To ease the awkwardness, she introduced herself directly to Xiao Han, “Hello, my name is Zhao Li, Chen Xi’s fiancée.”

Are the male and female leads’ couple relationship being broken up?

Xiao Han raised an eyebrow. This was a couple who hadn’t broken up despite their huge divorce scandal back then. Now it seemed they couldn’t withstand the test of time. Chen Xi and Zhao Li were obviously also heading back to the capital. She wondered what might happen if they ran into Qin Qiu.

Although surprised, Xiao Han still politely replied, “Hello, my name is Lin Yun.”

In truth, the Chen family was truly ruthless, throwing Chen Xi into the harshest place in the Northwest. Every day, he did nothing but dig in the soil and eat sand, working from dawn till dusk. Not only did he have no food to eat, but his life was also incredibly dull and monotonous. How could he possibly have any thoughts about romance or matters of the heart?

When Chen Xi first arrived there, he still missed Qin Qiu for the first two years, but as time went on, those feelings gradually faded.

Zhao Li’s appearance was like a beautiful sight. She was a nurse who came with the army to be stationed there. She was young, beautiful, cheerful and lively. She fell in love with Chen Xi at first sight.

Although she came from a good family, she was willing to suffer with him there. In the end, Zhao Li’s devotion also moved Chen Xi.

The Chen family and Zhao Li’s family had a good relationship, and after seeing that the two were together, they quickly arranged their marriage. After all, Chen Xi was twenty-four or twenty-five years old, which was not young anymore.

After the engagement, and because Chen Xi had matured and become more sensible there, the Chen family transferred him back. The rumors from back then were over, and it was no longer a problem to arrange for Chen Xi to join the army.

Qin Qiu was of course unaware of these matters. The Chen family was more than happy that Chen Xi had forgotten about her, and neither the engagement nor the news of his transfer back to Beijing had been shared with Qin Qiu.

Everything is back on track now, so why bring up those youthful mistakes?

Zhao Li wanted to chat with Xiao Han more, not only because they seemed to know Chen Xi, but also to pass the time on the journey. But Xiao Han didn’t intend to have much interaction with them.

Whether in the past or present, she can’t bring herself to like Chen Xi, the male lead.

They didn’t say a word the whole way.

Zhao Li wasn’t one to fawn over someone who wouldn’t listen. Since the other party was acting coldly, she wouldn’t deliberately try to get closer. Besides, Chen Xi’s attitude was strange, suggesting they might not be very close.

What upset Zhao Li even more was that Chen Xi was usually quite considerate and caring towards her, often doing small romantic gestures, which Zhao Li found sweet. But once on the train, Chen Xi seemed hesitant and didn’t show her much affection.

Fortunately, after arriving in the capital, Chen Xi became her loving and caring fiancé again.