Chapter 205: Li Tingxuan—Could He Possibly Like His Sister-in-Law, Gu Jianing?

Those girls in the past only dared to drop hints, or have their families come to the door.

None of them had ever been as direct as Fang Manping, coming right out and confessing her feelings to him.

But...

After the initial shock, Li Tingxuan quickly regained his composure and said, “Comrade Fang, thank you for your affection.”

“I really appreciate your feelings for me, and thank you for telling me.”

Li Tingxuan didn’t think Fang Manping’s confession was anything shameful or improper.

If you like someone, just say it.

“Comrade Fang, you’re a brave and passionate young woman, and a good person too.”

He genuinely admired Fang Manping’s courage and passion.

But...

“It’s just, Comrade Fang, I’m sorry. I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you, so...”

When Fang Manping heard Li Tingxuan’s praise, her eyes lit up, thinking she might have a chance.

But then, Li Tingxuan’s words suddenly shifted, and her mood plummeted.

Her heart instantly sank to the bottom, shattering into countless pieces.

“Can’t you at least consider being with me?” Fang Manping pleaded, her voice choked with emotion. Her eyes turned red, and tears began to fall.

“Maybe... maybe if we started dating, you’d realize how good I am?”

“I—I know I’m not perfect, but I do have my strengths. If there’s anything you don’t like about me, you can tell me. I’ll change, I promise...”

Fang Manping was sobbing so hard she could barely speak, looking completely lost.

At that moment, Li Tingxuan took out a handkerchief and handed it to her.

His tone was still gentle. “Comrade Fang, there’s nothing wrong with you, nothing you need to change.”

“Remember, you are who you are. Unless you want to become better for yourself, don’t force yourself to change for anyone else.”

“And don’t let love make you feel small or unworthy.”

“I believe that in the future, you’ll become an even better version of yourself.”

“And that better you will surely meet someone who truly cherishes you, loves you with all his heart, and wants to spend his life with you. It’s just...”

“It’s just that person can’t be you, right?” Fang Manping finished his sentence for him.

Li Tingxuan nodded, gently placing the handkerchief in her hand.

“Comrade Fang, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave. I need to get to the military district.”

“I hope everything gets better and better for you.”

With that, Li Tingxuan nodded to her and got into his car.

Fang Manping could only watch as the car drove farther and farther away.

She clutched the plain white handkerchief Li Tingxuan had given her, replaying his words in her mind.

“Li Tingxuan, you’re always so gentle...”

Even his rejection was so gentle.

The truth was, Fang Manping knew she wasn’t that good, or that brave.

She knew she’d never done anything truly bad, but she’d made her share of small mistakes.

She knew she had her own dark side.

But Li Tingxuan still thought she was a good person.

Staring at the spot where the car had disappeared, Fang Manping’s gaze gradually grew determined.

In fact, she had already expected Li Tingxuan’s rejection before she came.

But...

Even after being turned down, Fang Manping wasn’t willing to give up.

Still, she wouldn’t resort to any desperate or crazy tactics to pester Li Tingxuan.

Since Li Tingxuan thought so highly of her, then...

She would work hard to become even better. Fang Manping thought, if she became more outstanding, maybe—just maybe—Li Tingxuan would come to like her someday?

As long as there was even a sliver of hope, she would do her best to try!

—

That day, Gu Jianing once again took the car to the Hua family’s house to treat Hua Zhenrong.

In just two days, Hua Zhenrong’s treatment would be completely finished.

After the session, Hua Zhenrong walked her out. As he was seeing Gu Jianing to her car, he suddenly caught sight of a figure.

If he hadn’t been a scout in the army, he might not have noticed.

Not far away, Li Tingxuan was pretending to take a stroll, but was actually watching them.

No, to be precise, he wasn’t watching him—he was watching his sister-in-law.

Hua Zhenrong frowned slightly.

Ever since he’d regained consciousness, he’d been the one picking up and dropping off Gu Jianing at the Hua house.

And he’d noticed Li Tingxuan’s figure several times.

At first, he thought it was just coincidence, but when it happened too many times, it clearly wasn’t.

Li Tingxuan never came close, but Hua Zhenrong could tell he was watching his sister-in-law, Gu Jianing.

And that look in his eyes...

Could it be that Li Tingxuan likes his sister-in-law, Gu Jianing?

Before, Hua Zhenrong thought it was just a fluke and didn’t want to mention it to his brother, not wanting to cause unnecessary trouble.

“No, I’d better tell Zexi.” After all, he’d heard that Li Tingxuan would soon be transferred to the Northwest Military District.

With that, Hua Zhenrong turned and went home to make a phone call.

Meanwhile, Li Tingxuan watched Gu Jianing’s departing figure. He really wanted to go up and talk to her, but he held himself back.

When he saw the look on Hua Zhenrong’s face, he frowned slightly.

Did Hua Zhenrong notice something?

To be honest, ever since he’d made up his mind, Li Tingxuan had planned to keep his distance from Gu Jianing and not take the initiative to approach her.

But unexpectedly, he’d run into her by chance several mornings in a row.

It really was just a coincidence.

But even these coincidences made Li Tingxuan feel helpless and a little bitter.

Looks like he’d better avoid even these “coincidences” in the future. He didn’t want anyone to misunderstand Gu Jianing.

After one last lingering look at Gu Jianing’s back, Li Tingxuan turned and went home.

Back at the house, Hua Zhenrong checked the time and made a call to Sheng Zexi.

When Sheng Zexi heard there was a call from the communications office, he thought it was his wife. But to his surprise, it was Hua Zhenrong.

“Why are you calling? Did something happen with my wife?” That was the only reason he could think of.

Hua Zhenrong gritted his teeth at this, “Sheng Zexi, ever since you got married, you’ve become completely whipped. All you ever talk about is your wife.”

On the other end, Sheng Zexi shot back without hesitation, “If you married a woman as capable and beautiful as my wife, could you not think about her all the time?”

Hua Zhenrong thought about it and realized it was probably true.

But then, Sheng Zexi added, “But you’ll never meet anyone as good as my wife. At best, you’ll find someone not quite as amazing.”

Hua Zhenrong: “Sheng Zexi, you—!”

This guy just couldn’t stop himself from taking jabs at people.

“Do you talk to your wife like this too?”

“Of course not.” When it came to his wife, it was all sweet talk."