Chapter 156: He Wants to Find Her

Even if he didn’t really like the girl that much, as long as she had good character, a respectful and harmonious marriage would still be a good thing.

In fact, the second Miss Lin, whom Grandpa had suggested, fit the bill perfectly.

He’d met her before and had a good impression of her.

Originally, he should have agreed. But ever since he had that dream—ever since he experienced that feeling of true heart-stirring emotion in the dream—he could no longer lie to himself.

So, he rejected Grandpa’s proposal for him to meet and get to know Miss Lin better.

This was the first time in his twenty-four years that he’d ever gone against his grandfather’s wishes.

The second time was now, with his transfer to the Northwest Military District.

Actually, just as Grandpa said, the transfer to the Northwest was something he had orchestrated himself.

He knew very well that staying in the capital would be much better for his career.

But this time, he still went against Grandpa’s arrangements and pushed for his own transfer to the Northwest Military District.

In his dream, he couldn’t see the female doctor’s face clearly, but he remembered her voice.

And deep down, there was a voice telling him that this female doctor was in the Northwest Military District.

So, he wanted to go and see for himself.

He wanted to find her.

If he could only have one person to accompany him for the rest of his life, he hoped it would be her.

At first, Li Tingxuan thought dreams were just dreams. No matter how many times he had the same dream, no matter how real it felt, he had always been a staunch materialist—he didn’t believe in dreams.

But later, things started happening in real life that matched what he’d seen in his dreams.

This made Li Tingxuan start to believe that maybe everything in the dream was real.

The dream had lasted for over half a year and had become like a demon haunting his heart. He had to get to the bottom of it.

If that female doctor really existed, he was determined to pursue her.

If she didn’t exist, then...

He would come back and continue being the Li family’s eldest son, bearing all his responsibilities!

With this thought, the confusion in Li Tingxuan’s eyes disappeared, replaced by unwavering determination.

Oh, right—Sheng Zexi from the Sheng family seemed to be in the Northwest Military District too.

Come to think of it, in the whole compound, the only person Li Tingxuan considered a real rival was Sheng Zexi.

Although everyone said Sheng Zexi wasn’t as good as him, Li Tingxuan knew that Sheng Zexi was actually much more capable.

Without any help from his family—in fact, even facing pressure from his own father—Sheng Zexi had fought his way up to his current position all on his own.

As for Li Tingxuan, he’d only gotten where he was with the full support of the Li family.

He admired Sheng Zexi, and even envied him.

He envied that sense of freedom and wildness about him—like an eagle soaring through the sky.

While he himself was just a caged bird.

He thought, if possible, he’d like to be friends with Sheng Zexi.

He wondered if this trip to the Northwest would give him that chance.

—

Sheng Zexi, meanwhile, had no idea that Li Tingxuan, who’d just crossed his mind, was hoping to become friends with him after arriving in the Northwest.

At this moment, he was sharing his joy with his wife.

When he handed Gu Jianing the bank slip and the money his old man had just sent, her eyes widened in surprise.

“One, two, three, four, five, six—wow, six figures! He just transferred it to you, just like that?” Gu Jianing grinned, her pretty face lighting up with delight.

“I thought all your dad’s money was taken away by your stepmom.”

Sheng Zexi snorted lightly. “The old man always keeps the important things in his own hands.”

Sheng Xinhao was a man with a strong need for control—over money, status, power, and people.

That included Sheng Zexi himself.

Unfortunately for him, Sheng Zexi refused to be controlled, which was why he’d run all the way to the Northwest Military District and kept butting heads with his father.

Gu Jianing thought: Looks like this father-in-law of mine isn’t so muddle-headed after all.

“Grandma called too,” Sheng Zexi said. “She said the property deeds for the old house and the courtyard house have been given to them. Next time we go to the capital, they’ll give them to us. Or if she has time to come to the Northwest, she’ll bring them along.”

“Great!” Those were houses in the capital, and a courtyard house at that.

Plus, there were all the gifts they’d received as part of the betrothal.

Gu Jianing thought, after being reborn, it seemed she wouldn’t have to worry about scraping by anymore.

How wonderful.

Now she’d have time to do the things she really wanted to do.

With her own life on track, Gu Jianing started thinking about how to help her family live better, too.

For example, with the college entrance exam about to be reinstated, she needed to talk to her third brother ahead of time and get him to start preparing.

And with the household contract responsibility system coming in a few years, she thought her second brother would be perfect for it. If he worked hard, even if he couldn’t get rich overnight, he’d at least be among the first to prosper.

As for her eldest brother, he was doing well as a clerk at the steel factory for now, but state-owned factories wouldn’t be doing so well in the future.

When the time came, she’d see what direction he wanted to go in and help guide him.

She wondered what plans her sisters-in-law had for the future.

But for now, the most urgent thing was to deal with Wen Zhuqing, that ticking time bomb.

She wondered how things were going on that front.

—

That evening, at the Liu house, Liu Yuan came home from work to find both her parents already there, as if they’d been waiting for her.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she forced a casual tone, “Mom, Dad, you’re home early today—earlier than me?”

She set down her bag, glancing at her parents out of the corner of her eye.

A sense of foreboding crept over her.

Maybe it was because of what happened yesterday, but she’d been distracted at work all day, making mistake after mistake.

She’d finally made it through the day, only to come home and find her parents—who usually got home later than she did—already waiting for her.

It felt like something bad was about to happen.

Just then, Liu Ruzhi got up and closed the door.

Dujuan spoke up, “Yuan Yuan, tell us honestly—have you been spending a lot of time lately with a zhiqing named Wen Zhuqing from Huaihua Village?”

The moment she heard the name Wen Zhuqing, Liu Yuan’s heart lurched. She blurted out, “How did you know about that?”

As soon as she said it, she clamped a hand over her mouth. Oh no, she’d given herself away.

Seeing her reaction, Dujuan and Liu Ruzhi exchanged a look—they understood immediately.

Dujuan pulled her daughter over and asked, “Yuan Yuan, tell me the truth—are you dating that Wen Zhuqing? Do you know he’s married, and his wife is pregnant?”

“What? That woman’s pregnant? Brother Wen never told me that.” Liu Yuan really didn’t know Bao Shanyan was pregnant. If she had... If she had... She didn’t even know what she would have done.

“So it’s true, what was written in the letter?”"