Hello, Comrade. I'm Here to Marry You!

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: In Your Dreams

’This scene...’

Xie Huaizheng took a deep breath as images began to flash through his mind.

But he forced himself not to let his mind wander any further.

He grabbed her hand, stopping her. "I’ll do it myself."

Su Zhaozhao watched as Xie Huaizheng took the belt and buckled it swiftly, leaving her no room to interject.

’Does he hate me that much? He won’t even let me touch him.’

Still, she had to admit, the shirt and belt she’d bought suited Xie Huaizheng perfectly.

’My eye for this is truly something else. I only had to size him up visually to know the perfect fit for a man with a standard build like his.’

"It’s a perfect fit. Camp Commander Xie, you’re a natural model—you look good in anything," Su Zhaozhao said with a smile. Plus, it was a feast for her eyes.

Xie Huaizheng listened to her praise. The term "natural model" was a new one for him.

But regardless, the gift Su Zhaozhao had given him was a perfect fit.

He said to Su Zhaozhao, "Thank you for the gift. I like it a lot."

Su Zhaozhao stared at the smile on his face and faltered. She had rarely seen Xie Huaizheng smile with such tenderness. Even his usually icy eyes seemed to ripple like a clear spring pool.

Su Zhaozhao’s breath hitched.

’Xie Huaizheng is already so handsome, and now he’s staring at me with that expression...’ Su Zhaozhao’s heart pounded wildly. ’I really want to do something naughty!’

"You’re welcome. I’m glad you like it," Su Zhaozhao said.

’I’m about to leave anyway,’ she thought. ’Oh well. Since I can’t be with the male protagonist, I guess his first kiss should be saved for the female protagonist.’

’I’ll be a good person in the end!’

It was a bit of a shame, but she knew that regrets were just a normal part of life.

’In the future, I’ll definitely meet a man even more outstanding than Xie Huaizheng. Someone who isn’t the male protagonist probably won’t be as hard to deal with, either.’

’That second male lead, for example, seemed nice.’

When she thought about Lin Shumo’s fate in the novel, she felt it was a real pity.

’If I get the chance to date again in the future, maybe I should try for someone different.’

Xie Huaizheng sensed something was off about Su Zhaozhao today and couldn’t help but ask, "What’s wrong?"

She was acting strangely. She had seemed happy when he’d taken off his shirt for her, but now she had reverted to her distant demeanor.

"It’s nothing. I’m just a little tired. I probably haven’t fully recovered from my illness, so I’m still not feeling a hundred percent."

As she spoke, Su Zhaozhao yawned. "It’s getting late. I want to go to bed early."

Xie Huaizheng was about to ask something else when he heard Su Zhaozhao say, "If you’re not going to leave, I don’t mind sleeping with you."

Hearing her playful taunt, Xie Huaizheng gritted his teeth. She would truly say anything.

On the surface, however, he maintained a calm facade. "Keep dreaming. You can have anything you want in your dreams."

With that, Xie Huaizheng turned and left.

Su Zhaozhao noticed he was still wearing the new clothes and hadn’t changed back.

She couldn’t help but call out, "Wait, aren’t you going to change?"

"It’s fine. I’ll just wash them when I get back." Grabbing his old clothes, Xie Huaizheng left without a backward glance.

Su Zhaozhao watched his retreating figure. The white shirt gave the man’s tall, dashing silhouette an added touch of scholarly refinement.

His long-legged stride was crisp and efficient.

’So handsome.’

’I’m going to miss this a little,’ she thought.

As Xie Huaizheng was leaving the guest house and heading back to the military base, he ran into Xiao Yuanming.

Xiao Yuanming was surprised to see Xie Huaizheng in a white shirt. "Brother Zheng, this outfit... When did you get this? I’ve never seen you wear it."

"Look good?" Xie Huaizheng’s lips curled into a casual smile.

"It does," Xiao Yuanming said. Xie Huaizheng looked good in anything, especially a crisp, white dress shirt like this one.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a drop-dead gorgeous face to top it all off—tsk, tsk, how could he not look good?

"Thanks," Xie Huaizheng said as he walked toward the barracks.

Hearing Xie Huaizheng thank him, Xiao Yuanming’s eyes widened. He completely forgot what he had been about to do.

’Wait, am I seeing things?’

’His Brother Zheng, the infamous Cold-faced Yama, actually said *thank you* to him?’

’Am I dreaming?’

On the army base, everyone wore their military uniforms. Even during downtime, they would wear the standard-issue training fatigues.

Unless they went off-base for recreation, they might change into other colors, but otherwise, it was always army green or black.

Therefore, Xie Huaizheng’s dazzling white attire stood out dramatically.

Even at night, it drew everyone’s attention.

Combined with the fact that Xie Huaizheng was smiling the entire way back to the barracks, this uncharacteristic behavior struck everyone as even more bizarre.

News of this soon reached the army’s arts troupe.

Ever since her last setback, Jiang Manzhi was no longer as high-profile as she used to be.

When Xu Fengxia told Jiang Manzhi about it, Jiang Manzhi remained remarkably composed.

"Manzhi, have you given up?" Liu Ranran asked her.

"What else can I do?" Jiang Manzhi said. "How can I possibly compete with Su Zhaozhao?"

The story of how Su Zhaozhao had saved so many people that night had already spread throughout the entire base.

A young woman like her had managed to calm so many people and tend to their injuries all on her own.

Honestly, if she had been in that situation, she probably would have been terrified.

Admittedly, her personal qualifications and family background were superior to Su Zhaozhao’s, but beyond that, she had nothing.

When she said she was letting go, she truly meant it.

Even though her heart still ached, she knew she had to get over it on her own, little by little.

The next morning, Su Zhaozhao got up bright and early as usual. She planned to sell her goods at the market for one last day to earn a bit more money for her future plans.

But as soon as she arrived at the market, she was pulled aside by the chef from the military base’s elementary school.

"Miss, you’re finally here! Goodness, I’ve been waiting for you for days."

Su Zhaozhao raised an eyebrow. ’Is he exaggerating?’

’At most, I’ve only been gone for two days.’

"Those apples of yours were a huge hit! I didn’t expect them to sell out completely. The teachers said they were delicious, and when they heard the price, they thought it was a great deal and asked me to get more for them."

"And your sweet potatoes were excellent, too. An official came for an inspection the other day, had a couple of bites, and said they were even better than the ones they grow themselves..."

"I’ll take everything you’ve got with you. Can you deliver it to the cafeteria for me?"

"All right," Su Zhaozhao said.

That would save her a lot of time.

"Can you head over now?"

"But today is my last day here," Su Zhaozhao said. "I won’t be coming back starting tomorrow."

"What? Why not?"

"There’s more money to be made doing business in the south. I want to go to Guang City and try to make something of myself," Su Zhaozhao said.

"That’s a real shame," the chef said, shaking his head. "But there’s nothing to be done about it."

After all, he had no reason to try and stop her.

He paid Su Zhaozhao, and she took the goods to the military base’s cafeteria.

At this hour, she ran into Zhou Chengguo and his companions again, but as far as Su Zhaozhao was concerned, he was a stranger now.

’In any case, his whole entanglement with Wen Xiaoqi was probably over and done with.’

Just as they were brushing past each other, she overheard Zhou Chengguo say to a female teacher, "You mean Huai Zhen? He’s been swamped with training lately. I think his company was taken over by Camp Commander Xie, so the training has probably gotten even more intense. Once he has some free time, I’ll find a chance for you two to meet."

Hearing a familiar name, Su Zhaozhao’s steps faltered.