The next morning, Lin Yan was woken by the noise outside. She had stayed up late the night before finishing the drafts, so she had pulled an all-nighter.
She had intended to sleep in a bit longer but was unfortunately woken up. Lin Yan had no choice but to get up and wash herself.
Xu Haoran hadn't brought breakfast over, likely because morning training wasn't over yet. But it seemed to be quite early, so why was it so noisy?
Lin Yan combed her hair and then used the leftover hot water from yesterday to brush her teeth. She then picked up the water pitcher, intending to go downstairs and get some more water. As she opened the door, she saw a group of people with luggage preparing to enter the rooms. It seemed they were the cause of the morning's commotion.
After pouring out the water, Lin Yan took the pitcher to the front desk downstairs. It was from the front desk staff that she learned the identity of this group.
This group was the cultural troupe that had come to perform. As for why they arrived so early, she didn't know. But it wasn't her concern.
Lin Yan didn't pay much attention to these artists from the cultural troupe. After washing her face, she returned to her room.
She tidied up the blueprints on the table and then found a manila envelope to put them in.
What Lin Yan didn't know was that while she wasn't paying attention to these artists, they had started paying attention to her.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, a young and beautiful girl staying at the military district's guesthouse was likely a soldier's girlfriend.
"Do you know who the woman we saw this morning was?" a female artist asked as she walked into the room, speaking as if she had discovered a great secret.
"Who?" Where there are people, there is gossip. And where there are only girls, there's even more.
"You won't believe me if I tell you."
"Who is it? Don't keep us in suspense."
"It's the Ice Block's girlfriend." The artist who spoke had an incredulous expression.
"Which Ice Block?" someone nearby asked, confused.
A girl with braided pigtails sitting nearby hadn't been paying attention to the other girls' conversation. As someone inherently proud, she usually disliked participating in such gossip.
However, when she heard the familiar nickname, she couldn't help but start paying attention to their discussion. It couldn't be him, could it?
"Who else could it be! It's that one who always says, 'Boring, not interested!' The youngest company commander!" This girl seemed to have a significant grievance against the company commander she was referring to.
The girl with pigtails accidentally knocked over a water cup on the table. She frantically started tidying up the items.
"Tao Ya, are you alright?" the girls next to her rushed over to help clean up.
"I'm fine." Tao Ya tidied the table and then asked casually, "Wang Jing, were you talking about Company Commander Xu Haoran just now?"
"Yes, him. The female comrade we saw today living on the third floor is his girlfriend," Wang Jing stated directly.
"Are you sure? Didn't we hear that Company Commander Xu was single before?" a girl next to Tao Ya asked, disbelief coloring her tone. She then looked at Tao Ya with concern.
"There's no mistake. I just saw Company Commander Xu coming to bring her food. And I heard from the front desk comrades that they even brought her hot water last night!"
Wang Jing said this with a seemingly straightforward demeanor, but a hint of malice flickered in her eyes.
"Wang Jing, you really saw it!" a girl nearby exclaimed in surprise.
"Of course! He probably hasn't left yet!" Wang Jing's voice rose slightly.
"Should we go take a look?" one girl suggested.
"That might not be appropriate!"
While several people were enthusiastically discussing, Liu Lu looked at Tao Ya worriedly. She knew her friend had a crush on Company Commander Xu.
Tao Ya had once subtly expressed to Company Commander Xu her desire to be in a relationship with him, but he had shown no reaction. She had always believed that as long as she persisted, Xu Haoran would eventually agree.
However, she hadn't expected that not long after, he would have a girlfriend. She recalled the woman she saw in the morning, but she hadn't paid much attention to her at all. She only heard others say that she was good-looking.
She suddenly felt a desire to see what kind of person she was, and what it was about her that had captured Xu Haoran's attention.
Xu Haoran was very outstanding, the most outstanding soldier she had ever encountered. She had always considered him her future partner, but she hadn't expected to lose to a woman she hadn't even noticed.
Tao Ya shook her head at Liu Lu. "Liu Lu, I think I'll go back to my room first. If anything happens, come and let me know."
"Alright, if anything comes up, I'll get you," Liu Lu readily agreed.
Tao Ya left the hall. As she went upstairs, she desperately wanted to go to the room on the third floor to see what the other woman looked like. But her reason told her she couldn't.
Lin Yan was eating the lunch that Xu Haoran had brought. The meal was very generous. Xu Haoran seemed to have ordered one of every dish from the cafeteria.
Fortunately, the portions weren't too large. And with a soldier with a good appetite next to her, the food wasn't wasted.
"Those cultural troupe artists arrived quite early today," Lin Yan said casually.
"Yes, they're from a nearby area. Their last performance was in the neighboring county. Plus, the leaders wanted to take this opportunity for a social gathering, so they asked them to come early," Xu Haoran explained without reservation. After all, this wasn't something that could be hidden.
"Social gathering? Is it fun?" Lin Yan thought that since she was idle, she might as well experience it. She had never seen such a social gathering before.
"It's not fun. It's incredibly boring," Xu Haoran replied quickly. "I'll take you to the county town this afternoon. I still have some tickets, you can see if there's anything you want to buy."
Lin Yan gave Xu Haoran an amused look. "I don't need to buy anything."
"You have a girlfriend, so you shouldn't go to the social gathering." If his girlfriend was so good, going to the gathering might bring him a bunch of love rivals.
"Alright, I won't go then!" Lin Yan didn't particularly want to go; she was just curious about what social gatherings were like in this era.
"Only single people need to go to social gatherings. We won't take up resources," Xu Haoran said, a smile appearing on his face. "So, where do you want to go this afternoon? I can drive you."
"It's too cold, I don't want to go out," Lin Yan complained.
"Then we won't go out. We can go to the auditorium tonight. There's a dance there in the evening."
"A dance? Is it for the social gathering today?" Lin Yan inquired.
They were quite thoughtful. A social gathering first, then a dance. The leaders really went to great lengths for these single men!
"More than that. Family members from the military district will also be there. It's the Lunar New Year, so let's liven things up! This is another form of social gathering, we can go see it together."
Xu Haoran could tell that Lin Yan was curious about the social gathering. He couldn't let her go to the afternoon's event, but he could accompany her to the evening dance. Many of his comrades' wives would also be there, and it would be a good opportunity for him to introduce them to Lin Yan.