Chapter 20: The Fickle Heartbreaker Gu Jianing

“Ningning comrade, I heard you got engaged today?”

Sheng Zexi walked over and, from a distance, spotted two figures. Both of them were turned slightly away from him, but the petite, charming one was unmistakably his little fiancée, Gu Jianing, whom he’d only met not long ago.

As for the other person—even if he turned to ashes, Sheng Zexi would still recognize him.

Sheng Zexi’s gaze darkened, his lips pressed into a straight line. She really did meet with Wen Zhuqing.

Why? Was it just a coincidence, or…?

Before he could get closer, he heard Wen Zhuqing ask a question.

Sheng Zexi stopped in his tracks, just out of their line of sight.

Suddenly, he was very curious to hear Gu Jianing’s answer.

After all, he knew Gu Jianing had once liked Wen Zhuqing. It was precisely this affection that had driven Sheng Zexi nearly mad with jealousy—though Gu Jianing herself had never known.

Now, as he waited, Sheng Zexi felt his breath lighten and his heart leap into his throat. Even on the battlefield, he’d never been this nervous or anxious.

“That’s right, I got engaged.” Gu Jianing’s voice soon rang out, sounding cheerful.

“So, are you here to congratulate me, Comrade Wen?” Gu Jianing smiled sweetly at Wen Zhuqing.

Her question and smile left Wen Zhuqing momentarily stunned, unsure how to respond.

It seemed her answer was completely unexpected.

But Wen Zhuqing quickly composed himself, lowered his eyes, and feigned sadness. “I… I thought, with how well you took care of me before, that you had feelings for me. I guess I misunderstood.”

Gu Jianing’s lips were still curved in a smile, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. That was just like Wen Zhuqing in her previous life—always acting aggrieved and melancholy, making her feel guilty, so she’d hand over everything he wanted, while he played the part of an innocent, pure-hearted boy.

Thinking of this, a trace of mischievous mockery flashed in Gu Jianing’s eyes. “No, Comrade Wen, you didn’t misunderstand.”

As Wen Zhuqing looked on in surprise, Gu Jianing continued, “I did like you before, and I even thought about marrying you. But after I met Brother Sheng, my feelings changed.”

“Brother Sheng is a promising officer from the capital, while you, Comrade Wen, though you’re from Shanghai, are just an educated youth now. Who knows when you’ll get to return to the city? Brother Sheng gets a salary every month, but you don’t have a job, and you can’t even earn full work points in the fields. Besides, Brother Sheng is taller, stronger, and more handsome.”

“So, I think Brother Sheng is the better choice.”

Originally, Gu Jianing had considered exposing Wen Zhuqing’s true colors, but thinking of her future plans, she decided to hold off for now.

So, she might as well play the part of a fickle, heartbreaker for the time being.

Wen Zhuqing, though usually composed, was clearly stunned by her blunt “heartbreaker” speech.

He hadn’t expected Gu Jianing, for all her innocence, to be so quick to change her affections.

Not far away, Sheng Zexi’s hand clenched, relaxed, then clenched again.

When he heard Gu Jianing say she liked him more, that he was better than Wen Zhuqing, his lips couldn’t help but curl up, his eyes sparkled, and his heart soared with joy.

But after hearing the rest of her words, he was also stunned.

He thought, doesn’t this mean that if this little girl meets someone even better looking or more outstanding than him in the future, she might just be swept away?

Sheng Zexi ran his tongue over his back teeth, feeling an urge to pin the little girl down and give her a spanking.

But he made a mental note of this and reminded himself to work even harder, to become even more outstanding—and to take better care of his looks.

He reached up to touch his face. Sheng Zexi had never cared much before, thinking it didn’t matter if a man was a bit rough around the edges, but now he felt he ought to take better care of his appearance.

His mood was a rollercoaster, all because of Gu Jianing’s words.

“Comrade Wen, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going. Oh, and in the future, please just call me Comrade Gu when we meet. I’m afraid my fiancé might misunderstand if you use your old way of addressing me.”

With that, she ignored Wen Zhuqing, who seemed to want to say more, hid the flash of hatred in her eyes, and left.

As she walked away, she thought she glimpsed the corner of a gray uniform ahead, and thinking of a certain someone, a plan began to form in Gu Jianing’s mind.

Wen Zhuqing wanted to catch up and say something, but from a distance, he saw a tall, handsome man in a military uniform walking toward Gu Jianing.

The man’s gaze seemed to brush over him, carrying a hint of challenge. Wen Zhuqing stopped in his tracks.

When Gu Jianing walked up to the man with a familiar intimacy, Wen Zhuqing was sure—this must be the officer fiancé Gu Jianing got engaged to today.

Was he really inferior to that officer?

All his life, Wen Zhuqing had been showered with praise, always the model child in everyone’s eyes. His refined features twisted slightly in frustration.

But thinking of the other man’s status as an officer, and his own current situation, he decided it was best to avoid direct confrontation for now.

Wen Zhuqing had always been good at biding his time.

But as for Gu Jianing—he just couldn’t let her go.

“Brother Sheng, didn’t you go back to the county?” Gu Jianing’s round, almond-shaped eyes were full of surprise, but there was also a hint of guilt. She wondered if he’d seen her talking with Wen Zhuqing.

Sheng Zexi, noticing the guilt in her eyes, gave a cold laugh inwardly, but didn’t seem to mind much.

He had no intention of bringing up what he’d just seen.

Pushing aside his earlier thoughts, Sheng Zexi’s usually unruly features showed a rare hint of shyness. “It’s nothing. I just forgot to discuss with you—when should we take our wedding photos and get our marriage certificate?”

So that’s what it was.

Gu Jianing stopped thinking about Wen Zhuqing and let Sheng Zexi’s words distract her.

“Let’s take the wedding photos tomorrow. Once they’re ready, we’ll go get our marriage certificate.”

“Okay.” Sheng Zexi agreed immediately, as if afraid she’d change her mind if he was even a second late. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow morning and we’ll go to the county photo studio.”

“Alright.” Just then, Gu Jianing seemed to remember something. “Oh, about that box your grandparents gave me…”

Gu Jianing quietly told him what was inside the wooden box.

“…The things inside are too valuable. I can’t accept them.”

Sheng Zexi’s eyes grew a little unfocused as he looked at Gu Jianing. The little girl’s gaze was clear and sincere, with no hint of pretense.

She genuinely felt the items were too precious to accept.

Wasn’t this little money-grubber always taking and never giving?

He knew she had a bit of a greedy streak.

But he hadn’t expected that, for all her love of money, she was still so clear-headed.

He didn’t think loving money was a bad thing.

Most of those jewelry pieces had been his mother’s dowry. Later, when that man remarried, and his new wife tried to take his mother’s jewelry, he’d made a scene and eventually reclaimed all his mother’s dowry for his maternal family—including the shop and the house.

Now, Sheng Zexi felt there was nothing wrong with giving them to Gu Jianing.

So he said as much.

“…My mother’s things are meant to be passed down to me, or to you. Husband and wife are one. Giving them to you now is the same. Besides, since my grandparents gave them to you, there’s no reason to take them back. Just accept them with peace of mind.”

In the end, with Sheng Zexi’s persuasion, Gu Jianing could only accept.

She planned to put the whole box into her system’s storage space when she got home. That way, she wouldn’t lose it, and it would always be with her."