6 Chapter 5: Confrontation_1

Perhaps it was due to her pregnancy, Gu Xiaobei had a sound sleep. When she woke up, she found she was alone. She supposed that Zhanguo must have gone to training. The excitement from having just traveled through time yesterday had disappeared; she felt somewhat perplexed. She was virtually unfamiliar with this era. She vaguely remembered reading about this period during school: it was a time when the communal dining hall system had been abolished, and homes became self-reliant for food. Yet, people still lived in poverty with many households not having enough grain to eat.

Gu Xiaobei woke up terrified realizing that it would be a huge pressure to sustain independently in this era. Was she supposed to depend on Lu Zhanguo? That was certainly not her character. She lay in bed, deep within her thoughts. She concluded to first familiarize herself with her surroundings, and then figure out what she could do to melt the iceberg that Zhanguo was.

Making up her mind and feeling positive, Gu Xiaobei hastily woke up. She noticed the curtain in front of her single bed was drawn, and the quilt was neatly folded. Fenghua had already left, it seemed.

The lid of the kettle on the stove was overturned, with a lunch box on top containing a boiled egg and a large steamed bun. The small pot of porridge on the side was nicely simmered, emitting the smell of rice. Chopped salted vegetables were placed on the Eight Immortal Table. Gu Xiaobei felt warm-hearted seeing all this - Zhanguo, the man who seemed cold on the outside, actually had a meticulous hearty side to him. She quickly washed and sat at the table, slowly eating her breakfast and thinking about where she could go for a stroll.

There were already people moving about in the corridor, and few casual chat sounds were audible. Gu Xiaobei initially didn't want to pay attention to the conversation outside, but she couldn't resist overhearing her name. An acerbic voice spoke, "Indeed it's heart-wrenching to see such a good man like Captain Zhanguo marrying such a wife." Another sickly sweet voice added, "You should not be so harsh, perhaps Gu Xiaobei has changed for the good because of the pregnancy. It's actually a great thing for Brother Zhanguo, right? He's really quite old now and should have a child of his own."

Listening to them, Gu Xiaobei sneered internally. Surely the owner of this innocent-sounding voice was no saint.

Another woman spoke up, "Xiaoyue, you were originally the perfect match for Captain Lu, everyone thought so, why did you suddenly break up? A gentle and virtuous woman like you is truly worthy for Captain Lu."

" Right? Everyone says that when you marry a wife, you marry an able one. Who doesn't wish to come home to a warm meal and a heated bed?" agreed the sharp voice.

Xiaoyue seemed a bit anxious to defend herself, "Ah, sisters, you mustn't talk nonsense. There was nothing between Zhanguo and me. What if someone outside hears and misunderstands?"

Gu Xiaobei by then was sure that these three were purposely speaking so she could hear them. Anyhow, having spent years in the corporate world of the twenty-first century and having seen enough corporate scheming, she could easily tell this was planned.

She scoffed inwardly, "There seem to be quite a lot of women pining for Zhanguo. It seems I must find a way to secure a livelihood for myself soon. If it turns out that Zhanguo is all show, I may have to withdraw without a fight. After all, for now, it's just infatuation and not love. Yet, this flesh in my belly…" She felt furious thinking about it.

With the ongoing chatter outside the door, Gu Xiaobei got up, flung the door open, and the three women in the corridor suddenly fell silent, looking at Gu Xiaobei with various expressions.

Gu Xiaobei swept her gaze over the three women and recognized two of them. One with a round face and big eyes, quite chubby, and, if she wasn't mistaken, was Xiangmin, the wife of instructor, Guo Huaqiang. Another was thin and tall, with thin brows, narrow eyes, and high cheekbones. She was Li Juan, the wife of the third company's captain. The third one, who was not familiar, must be the one they called Xiaoyue. She was slender, about 165 cm tall. She wore a fitted military uniform with delicate features, a melon-shaped face, willow brows, apricot eyes, a pointed nose, and a small mouth which was slightly agape in surprise. She incited a protective urge in whoever looked at her.

Despite all thoughts going on in her mind, Gu Xiaobei maintained her composure, exposing a toothy smile, "You all seem to enjoy yourself a lot. It's cold outside, why don't you come in and chat?"

All three were taken aback as Gu Xiaobei never even glanced at them before; whenever she saw them, she would just snort with a cold laugh.

However, Xiangmin was the first one to regain composure. She waved dismissively with a smile, "No need, Xiaoyue was just here to check on Aunt Fengmei's mother. She has been feeling unwell since coming here last night. We just bumped into each other in the corridor and were chatting."

Gu Xiaobei chuckled inwardly, was this just chit-chat? Gossiping about someone at their doorstep was indeed very laughable.

Without waiting for Gu Xiaobei to speak, Chi Xiaoyue spoke up, "Xiaobei, I heard from Brother Zhanguo that you're pregnant. Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? You can always come to me at the health team if you need anything!"

Gu Xiaobei figured out that she was the military doctor of the troop. The undertone of her words was interesting. On the surface, it seemed like a caring intention. But, it also hinted that her private matters were familiar to her because of Zhanguo, implying the special bond between them.

Having worked several jobs from the age of sixteen, Gu Xiaobei has seen it all and could easily see through Chi Xiaoyue's intentions. She slightly lowered her eyes, feigning a wistful tone, "Indeed, I feel our time as a couple hasn't been long enough before welcoming a child into the world. Thinking about becoming a family of three instantly, it feels surreal." This was another way of telling Xiaoyue to stop thinking about them as they were already a family of three.

Chi Xiaoyue clenched within, but managed to camouflage it with a slight smile, "Correct, you indeed need to be careful in the first three months of pregnancy, especially after being so careless yesterday."

"Right, you really scared us yesterday, sister. Fortunately, you're alright," Li Juan, with her shrill voice chimed in.

"Hmm, indeed I was being impulsive yesterday. I need to be more cautious in the future. After all, it would be heartbreaking for Zhanguo who waited this long for a child of his own," Gu Xiaobei feigned a repentant attitude.

Chi Xiaoyue looked at Gu Xiaobei who was all smiles, and she couldn't help but feel anguished inside. She thought that Gu Xiaobei, given her past temperament, would surely rebuke them for their malicious gossip. But seeing her calm and pleasant demeanor today actually made it difficult for one to foster a dislike towards her. Could it mean that Zhanguo had started to take a liking to her as well? The sourness crept in, and she couldn't bear to stay there any longer. She said, " Sisters, you can continue your chat. I've been out for a while now, I really need to get going." She nodded to the other three ladies, and hurriedly left as if being chased.

Xiangmin, and Li Juan also used this as an excuse to leave. Gu Xiaobei watched the three women retreat into the distance, she whispered to herself, "Well, it's true what they say, where there are women, there are conflicts," forgetting she herself was also a little woman.