Chapter 1: Her Name Is Chi Mo, Guan Yizhou's Girlfriend
The July sun over Shazhou was vicious enough to melt a person alive. The wind sweeping across the Gobi carried fine sand that stung like hell when it hit your face.
A Jiefang truck bounced its way into the regiment headquarters compound.
Over a dozen young women were crammed into the truck bed. They were all marriage-age female workers from the provincial capital, here for the military-civilian mixer organized by the textile mill.
They’d been jolted around for over ten hours, every one of them with an aching back and a sore waist, but now that they’d arrived, they couldn’t help craning their necks to look around.
The truck stopped in front of a row of single-story buildings. A wooden sign hung under the eaves: Political Department Temporary Reception Point.
The last girl off the truck had fallen far behind the rest.
She was fair-skinned and delicate, with a slender figure.
Two long braids hung down from her shoulders all the way to her waist. The ends were already fraying, loose strands whipping around in the wind.
She hugged a canvas duffel bag with her left arm and lugged an old leather suitcase with her right, her waist slightly bent. She walked two steps and rested for one, looking like she was struggling hard.
One glance told you everything—this was someone who’d never done heavy labor in her life.
“Can’t stand that spoiled act, acting like she’s some precious princess.” A female worker curled her lip. “Only evil capitalism could breed someone who can’t carry or lift a damn thing. Who knows who she came all the way out here to find. Just looking at the conditions here, I bet she won’t even last a day.”
Several workers glanced over, their eyes full of undisguised disgust.
They were extremely unhappy about this capitalist daughter who’d been picked up at the train station halfway through the trip.
The driver said she came from Hu City, that someone in the army had specifically put in a word to give her a ride along the way. Rumor was she’d traveled thousands of miles to join her family in the military.
Even an idiot could guess a pampered girl like this was probably running away from being sent down to the countryside, coming here to slack off.
But did she really think this construction corps in the yellow sands of the Great Northwest was a place to enjoy herself?
An officer ran over to greet them. “You’re here! Everyone register first, get your temporary passes, then follow me to the guesthouse to settle in!”
The women chattered quietly among themselves, grabbing their small bags and lining up.
The registration desk was set up under the eaves. The awning was made of old army-green canvas, snapping loudly in the wind.
A man sat behind the desk.
Even sitting down, you could tell his build was incredibly tall and solid.
He wore an army-green training uniform, collar slightly open, revealing a neck and collarbones tanned bronze by the Gobi sun. His sleeves were carelessly rolled up past his elbows, veins standing out clearly on his forearms, a few old scars on the backs of his hands.
He wasn’t sitting properly—one foot propped on the chair’s crossbar, the other stretched way out.
He was looking down, flipping through a registry book. The lines of his profile were as hard as if carved with a knife, his skin rough but textured, fine beads of sweat clinging to the bridge of his nose. His chest rose and fell slightly with each breath, like he’d just finished heavy labor and temporarily sat down here to catch his breath.
The moment he looked up, several women at the front of the line sucked in a breath at the same time.
Those dark eyes staring over were like a wild beast—feral, rough, carrying an aggressive edge, nothing like the soldierly bearing they’d imagined.
Not righteous and upright. More like a rogue.
The officer led everyone to the desk and introduced him from the side. “This is the comrade our regiment assigned to handle registration. Please cooperate and register here first.”
Song Tingyue tapped his fountain pen against the registry book, his voice low. “Letters of introduction, work unit certificates. Take them out. Don’t crowd. One at a time.”
He didn’t even lift his eyelids while speaking, his tone cold and stern like he was drilling new recruits.
The first female worker stepped forward and handed over her documents, her hand shaking a little.
Officer Wu Ping coughed lightly a few times, trying to secretly remind the guy not to bring his army attitude onto these female comrades. Normally he wouldn’t dare say such a thing, but this mixer was specially arranged by the organization to solve the marriage problem of the single young men in the regiment headquarters. It was the most important matter in life.
This place was in an arid zone, conditions were harsh to begin with, even water had to be rationed.
If it weren’t for the organization’s arrangement, plus the high ideological awareness of these female comrades, regular people really wouldn’t be willing to come here.
The line slowly shuffled forward. Every woman who passed that desk was pressed down by some indescribable aura, not daring to make a sound. Their eyes darted around randomly, and once they finished registering and got their temporary passes, they hurried off to the side.
“He’s so scary…”
“Look at that arm of his, stiff and packed with muscle. One punch could kill someone. Terrifying.”
“Aiya, are all the soldiers here like this? This place is so remote. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have volunteered.”
A few huddled together, whispering.
Wu Ping caught a few words from the side and couldn’t help sweating.
Who knew what kind of wind blew Regiment Commander Song here today. He’d just finished a five-kilometer light-pack run with his company, sweat still rolling down his neck, hadn’t even grabbed a sip of water before rushing straight to the camp’s temporary reception point.
He’d even chased off the original registration soldier and sat down there himself, playing clerk.
Regiment Commander Song’s usual cold expression scared even the grown men in the unit, let alone these young girls.
The line finally reached the end.
Wen Jianing dropped that bulging duffel bag and old leather suitcase by her feet.
“Documents.” The man used the same hoarse, low tone, exactly the same as when he’d dealt with the dozen people before her.
Maybe even a bit more unfeeling.
Wen Jianing placed the envelope on the desk.
Song Tingyue picked it up and opened it.
His long fingers tightened around the edge of the envelope, knuckles turning white, like he was forcing down some emotion.
He didn’t speak, just kept flipping through the documents. Page by page, item by item, flipping fast.
“Wen Jianing.” He finally read her name out.
Three flat, emotionless syllables, yet they made Wen Jianing’s heart clench hard.
“Yes.”
“Work unit.”
“No work unit. I’m not here for the mixer. I’m a dependent here to join my family in the military.”
He raised his eyes and looked at her.
The girl’s almond eyes were watery, holding a stubborn glint as she stared straight back, her lashes fluttering gently like little fans. After the long journey and hauling heavy luggage, her pale, tender face was flushed red, a few stray hairs stuck to her cheeks. Her expression was defiant, refusing to lose, yet somehow it only made her look pitiful.
Song Tingyue kept his official tone, but spoke a little slower than before. “Then where’s your household registration transfer certificate?”
“It’s inside.”
“Household registration transfer certificate, grain ration relation proof, neighborhood committee letter of introduction,” he ticked them off page by page. “Missing the marriage certificate.”
“I know. I lost it on the road.” The girl was wrong but refused to admit it.
Song Tingyue set the documents down on the desk and leaned back in his chair.
The chair creaked as he tilted his whole body back. His two long legs spread apart, arms crossed over his chest. “Incomplete documents. By regulations, we can’t accept you. Unless your family member comes in person.”
Not far away, those female workers watched the drama like it was a show, whispering to each other. “That girl’s screwed, she got blocked. The marriage certificate is the most important thing for joining the military. If she can’t produce it, she’ll have to go back home and reapply. Even having her family member come won’t help, right?”
Wen Jianing stood in front of the desk, biting her lip without a word.
He knew perfectly well—where would she get a marriage certificate!
Coming here was a gamble to begin with.
Song Tingyue glanced behind him and glared at Wu Ping. “What are you standing around for? Hurry up and take them to the temporary guesthouse. Check the roster carefully. If someone’s missing or extra, you’re responsible.”
Wu Ping nodded quickly and ushered the female workers out.
He was only in charge of the ones here for the mixer; the girl joining her family wasn’t his business. But the girl was so fair and pretty she was hard not to stare at, and somehow he ended up lingering a bit longer. He also kind of admired her guts. Out of all these girls, she was the only one who dared to meet Regiment Commander Song’s eyes, and even with her marriage certificate lost, she still stood there proud and defiant.
The group moved far away, and the courtyard went quiet.
Only then did Song Tingyue speak again, sounding like an interrogation. “Where’s your family member?”
Wen Jianing took a deep breath and lifted her head, her eyes already red. “Isn’t he right here? Besides you, where else would I have family in this massive Gobi desert?”
She looked at Song Tingyue and pressed her lips together, her voice very soft, trembling slightly. “…Brother.”
Song Tingyue’s expression didn’t change, but the fingers of his right hand curled against his arm.
Quickly. Unnoticed by anyone.
After a moment of silence, he scoffed. “Finally willing to acknowledge me as your brother? Who was it back then, writing me letters saying we’d have nothing to do with each other until we died? Saying you’d rather die than call me ‘brother’ again, ordering me to never show up in front of you for the rest of my life.”
“Wen Jianing, Mom and Dad raised me, and I remember that. But I don’t owe you anything. Those years, be honest, did I do less than any other brother in the world? I gave you my heart and soul. When you fell, I carried you. When you cried, I coaxed you. When you had a fever, I stayed up all night watching you. If you wanted the stars, I wouldn’t dare give you the moon. I even washed your diapers when you were little.”
“But you? How did you treat me? You heartless little brat!”