AYLS – Chapter 138

Although Lin Qiao was usually carefree, the nightmare had been so vivid that it left a lingering effect even after she woke up. She got out of bed still in a foul mood.

She worried, What if Gu Huayuan finds out one day? He wouldn’t really turn me in, would he?

And then… would she really be quizzed on history? She knew so little.

Thinking about the possible consequences made Lin Qiao clench her teeth in frustration. “That big bastard Gu Huayuan! How can he be so cruel?”

At the chicken farm, her mood didn’t improve, and she worked with a pout.

Su Weizhen came by early and saw her like that, unable to suppress a laugh. “Who annoyed you this early in the morning? You look ready to puff up like a porcupine.”

Seeing her, Lin Qiao’s troubled mood immediately lifted.

If anyone could understand her worries, it would be Su Weizhen. Not only had she transmigrated, she also had a space. At this moment, she was especially curious about how the heroine was feeling.

“Nothing much, Zhenzhen. I want to ask you something,” Lin Qiao said.

Su Weizhen, checking the hens and their eggs as she spoke, asked, “What is it?”

Lin Qiao stood beside her, nervously fiddling with her fingers. “Do you have any secrets that you absolutely can’t let Captain Xu know?”

Su Weizhen froze. “Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“…I just wanted to ask… in a marriage, can you really tell each other everything? Is it okay to have some secrets?”

Su Weizhen wasn’t as troubled by this question. She had seen plenty of couples’ lives.

The saying “intimate or distant, it’s all the same in a marriage” wasn’t wrong. When things were good, couples could die for each other. But when love faded, they could feel like enemies.

She sighed. “I don’t know why you’re asking, but it depends. If you really trust someone and feel like you want to tell them, then you can. If not, you don’t have to. Marital feelings have layers, it’s not one-size-fits-all. For me, even the deepest love doesn’t mean I’d reveal everything. Some things aren’t about trust; they’re about preserving the beauty of the relationship.”

For example, if she told Xu Yuanzheng that she married him only after reading his autobiography, he might start doubting her original intentions. That perfect relationship could be ruined. She didn’t dare say it.

Lin Qiao asked, “Wouldn’t that make you feel like you don’t trust each other?”

“Of course not. I trust Xu Yuanzheng’s character. No matter who tries to badmouth him, I won’t believe it. He feels the same about me.”

Smiling, she asked Lin Qiao, “If someone said something bad about Gu Huayuan, would you believe it?”

“Of course not! He’s amazing!” Lin Qiao said firmly.

“Exactly,” Su Weizhen smiled. “Then why worry? Say what you want, or keep it to yourself. It doesn’t affect your relationship either way.”

Lin Qiao hesitated. “…Do you think Gu Huayuan would trust me the same way?”

“Do you even need to ask? Everyone knows how he feels about you.”

Su Weizhen turned to wash her hands, poured a glass of water, and continued, “Honestly, your Gu Huayuan has a warm face but a cold heart. Most people can’t win his genuine affection.” This was even mentioned in the memoirs, where Commander Gu personally said it. That’s why he helped Yuanzheng so much later—because Yuanzheng was someone Gu Huayuan could entrust with his affairs.

Thinking of this, Su Weizhen felt a pang of curiosity about Lin Qiao. What really happened to her in the original timeline? Why wasn’t there a single word about her?

Lin Qiao, oblivious to her inner thoughts, bristled at anyone saying something bad about Gu Huayuan. “Nonsense! My Gu Huayuan is the warmest and most helpful person ever!”

Seeing her like that, Su Weizhen laughed. “Alright, alright, your Gu Huayuan is the best. My mistake. If you have so much faith in him, why worry? But… what secret is so big you can’t tell your Gu Huayuan? Spill it to me.”

Lin Qiao, of course, denied it. “I have no secret, I’m just asking casually.”

Hearing that, Su Weizhen dropped it, and Lin Qiao stopped overthinking. Either way, she couldn’t tell him.

If Gu Huayuan knew she came here just to play a game, he would lose affection for her, and she couldn’t return. But deceiving someone’s feelings felt wrong, and she felt a twinge of guilt. Being unable to hide her thoughts, some of it showed on her face.

Seeing her expression, Gu Huayuan remembered: Lin Qiao’s mood had been affected ever since he asked a few extra questions that day. Probably his pressure had caused it.

Pretending not to notice, he confessed to Lin Qiao, “Comrade Xiao Qiao, no matter what happens, you can’t leave me.”

Lin Qiao was stunned. “Huh? Why are you saying this all of a sudden?”

“I heard a comrade’s marriage had issues. I was worried.”

“Nonsense! That won’t happen.” Lin Qiao said seriously. How could they divorce? After all the effort to marry, it would all be wasted.

“Good. Then it’s settled—we won’t separate no matter what happens.”

“…Okay,” Lin Qiao replied.

Gu Huayuan felt a pang at her tone.

“I’m serious. No one can take you from me. Otherwise…” He smiled, leaving the threat unsaid.

Fat Cat piped up, “Ask him, otherwise what?”

Lin Qiao asked.

Gu Huayuan smiled. “Guess.”

Lin Qiao said, “He told you to guess.”

Fat Cat shrugged. “It can’t be good. But in your head, he can’t actually hurt me… unless he crushes your brain.”

Lin Qiao: “…You’d better not be too arrogant. If you piss me off, I’ll go bang my head against the wall.”

Fat Cat: “…”

Although Gu Huayuan’s confession gave Lin Qiao some reassurance, it also made her feel a bit guilty.

It was now a vicious cycle: the deeper Gu Huayuan’s feelings for her, the more guilty she felt.

It was instinctive—there was no helping it. After all, she still had a bit of a moral baseline.

To avoid feeling miserable, Lin Qiao chose to numb herself with work, keeping busy from morning till night.

The weather gradually turned cooler.

The chicken flock at the farm was also changing a lot. Every day was different. The healthiest chicks were still the ones hatched from the batch of fertilized eggs Lin Qiao and the others had brought. Except for two lost due to external factors, the rest were thriving.

In contrast, the chicks hatched from local eggs under Su Weizhen’s care, although tended meticulously, had a fairly high loss rate.

By comparison, the flock Lin Qiao brought was far superior.

It didn’t just catch the attention of the veterans in the logistics unit, who kept sneaking peeks; even some of the military dependents, upon hearing about it, came to inquire.

After all, the dependents were allowed to raise one or two chickens themselves.

Naturally, everyone wanted the good ones.

Lin Qiao told them that these chickens were indeed of excellent breeds and quality, and if properly raised, they would lay eggs regularly.

So, once this batch started laying, the eggs would be reserved as breeding eggs to allow more people to raise this breed in the future.

Some asked where these chickens came from, saying they’d never heard of them before.

Of course, Lin Qiao and Su Weizhen couldn’t tell the truth. They stuck to the explanation they had used back then.

They said it was a combination of skill and luck.

They happened to select chickens with strong constitutions. With careful nurturing, their health solidified, which influenced the next generation.

It was really like choosing good seeds for crops: good seeds produce good harvests. Raising chickens was the same.

Everyone understood, concluding that these chickens hadn’t been there from the start; they were discovered by these two comrades.

Impressive. Truly impressive.

Hearing this, everyone laughed. People in the compound were simple; anyone who could bring a better life was a good comrade.

If someone was easy to get along with and produced results through their own efforts, naturally, they would become even more popular.

Now, anyone who mentioned the two of them spoke highly of them.

The only ones a bit dissatisfied were the children, because after the second evaluation, Zhang Lanlan and Li Xiaojun still won.

However, other children had made significant progress, and overall, grades had improved.

Lin Qiao, of course, didn’t want this momentum to die out. With the chicks in the farm increasing, she proposed not only recruiting the highest scorers but also offering a spot for the most improved.

This gave everyone hope.

Especially for the children whose grades had originally been poor.

They thought, for the high scorers to improve further would be very difficult. Unlike themselves, who, with such low scores, could see improvement with just a little effort.

When Sheng Wen and Sheng Wu relayed this to Lin Qiao, she said, “…You’re really smart.”

She actually wanted to tell them that it wasn’t easy for struggling students to improve. Their foundations weren’t solid. While they were building it, others were already soaring. To make real progress, they had to work twice as hard as everyone else.

But she could never say that out loud. Children still needed encouragement. It was rare to have a child who could motivate themselves like this.

Lin Qiao gradually got so busy she forgot her unhappiness, but Gu Huayuan wasn’t idle.

He sent a coded letter to an elder he respected.

This elder had fought alongside his mother and had, after her sacrifice, brought him back to his father.

Gu Huayuan rarely contacted him, as their work required keeping a distance.

If it weren’t for this situation, one that he felt he couldn’t handle alone, he probably wouldn’t have reached out.

But he felt that his own experience wasn’t enough to catch the potential enemies this time. The evidence they had fabricated was flawless. Even though he knew it was fake, it seemed impossible to refute.

For example, those photos—he still couldn’t figure out how they were made.

Moreover, he was stationed at the border and couldn’t leave his post. His work was special, making it impossible to investigate personally. He feared that if he went off on some task, someone might take advantage of Xiao Qiao and cause irreparable harm.

In the letter, he requested that the elder investigate the Song family in Yuan’an County.

Including who they might have been involved with over the years.

After all, Xiao Qiao came from the Song family, so the root of all this must lie there.

The reason for the investigation naturally mentioned Xiao Qiao.

He didn’t imply suspicion toward her but stated that after discussing the past with his wife, he felt there might be issues in the Song family and that they could have left behind contingencies.

As for Xiao Qiao’s safety after the investigation, Gu Huayuan had already considered it.

Xiao Qiao hadn’t done anything wrong and wouldn’t face any punishment. At most, it might affect her future prospects.

That was fine—at worst, they could go back together to the Construction Corps and start afresh.