Chapter 23: Farewell

Chapter 23: Goodbye

Before the event, the men had already been briefed on the women's backgrounds, and they were reminded again at the door. Three guys thought it over and bailed, while the rest signed the acknowledgment agreement.

"Hey, Brother Jing, look at that young lady—she's really beautiful, even prettier than the stars on the posters," Song Shan said, pointing at Lin Zhijin, who was seated behind a table, in a low voice.

Song Jing glanced over. "She is indeed beautiful. Come on, stop staring. She's a government worker—out of your league."

Song Shan pressed his lips together. True enough—they were penniless and had younger siblings to support. No matter what, he and Brother Jing had to land a match today. Once they got a house and some land, the younger kids would have a shot at surviving.

Lin Zhijin finished sorting the paperwork and tucked it away. She was about to look for Li Yue when she saw Yang Su walking toward her.

"Commander Yang, what brings you here?" Lin Zhijin looked at him curiously.

"I needed to see Director Zhang about something. You guys put together a solid event here," Yang Su said with a smile, glancing around.

Lin Zhijin felt a swell of pride. Many of the ideas here were hers—like the notification letter and the acknowledgment agreement. Everything was laid out in black and white. If anyone ever tried to drag up a woman's past, the Women's Federation would show up with the signed, fingerprinted agreement. They'd chew them out and hit them with whatever punishment was due, and if the woman wanted a divorce, they'd support her.

"Director Zhang is over there," Lin Zhijin pointed in a direction. "I should get back to work."

"I won't hold you up." Yang Su gave her a nod and went to find Director Zhang.

Li Yue, who'd drifted over at some point, nudged Lin Zhijin's shoulder and jerked her chin at Yang Su's back. "Who's that?"

"Commander Yang Su. He was with me on my field assignment yesterday," Lin Zhijin said, handing the documents to Li Yue. Seeing the gossip-hungry look on her face, she gave her a push. "Come on, they're calling us over there."

Ye Ruxue was the headliner at the Welcome Spring Pavilion. Naturally beautiful, with that smoky, seen-it-all vibe, she turned heads the second she walked in.

You'd think she'd be the most popular, but ironically, almost no one dared to talk to her—actually, no one did.

"You okay, sis?" Ruyue looked at Ye Ruxue with concern.

"What's gonna happen to me? These guys are just too scared of their own shortcomings." Ye Ruxue let out a disdainful laugh. She was about to find a spot to people-watch when a big, rough-looking guy with a dark tan and rugged features walked toward her.

"Hello, my name is Song Shan. I'm twenty-two, originally from the northwest. My parents have passed away. I've got one older male cousin, one younger male cousin, and two younger female cousins. I think you're very beautiful—can I get to know you?" Song Shan said, looking a bit shy.

Ye Ruxue raised an eyebrow. Didn't think anyone would have the guts to come up to her.

"Ever heard of the Welcome Spring Pavilion? I used to be the top girl there," Ye Ruxue said deliberately.

"No wonder you're so pretty. All I've got is muscle and nothing else. Would you... give me a shot?" Song Shan scratched his head sheepishly, then quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll bust my ass. I'll never let you go hungry or cold."

Ye Ruxue looked him up and down. He seemed a little simple, but also had a hearty, no-nonsense vibe. He didn't seem like the men from South City—more like a real northwestern guy. His eyes were clear and honest, without that creepy, leering look other guys gave her. That alone was enough to give him a chance.

Meanwhile, Li Yue and Lin Zhijin stood in front of Sun Fengxian, glaring at the troublemaker.

"Sun Xiaoqiang, who the hell gave you the nerve to get handsy here?" Li Yue demanded.

"Officer, when did I ever get handsy? I just got a little excited seeing Little Fengxian. I only wanted to shake her hand, that's all," Sun Xiaoqiang said with an aggrieved look, then muttered under his breath, "It's not like she's never been touched before. Acting all pure and innocent now."

Lin Zhijin's face went dark. "Sun Xiaoqiang, we made it clear before this event: the past stays in the past. No one is allowed to bring up old matters, or you're out. You signed and put your thumbprint on it. So what are you trying to pull now?"

"Ma'am, I just misspoke. I really didn't mean it. Please give me another shot." Sun Xiaoqiang kept sneaking glances at Lin Zhijin and swallowing hard. Damn, this female cop was even hotter than Little Fengxian. If she'd been at the Welcome Spring Pavilion, she'd have been the top girl, no question. Tsk, she's even prettier when she's pissed.

"Sun Xiaoqiang, what are you staring at? You wanna keep those eyes of yours?" Li Yue pointed at the door. "Because of your bad behavior, you're disqualified from this event. Get out."

"What'd I do wrong? What, I can't even look now? What are eyes for, huh? And what was I even looking at?" Sun Xiaoqiang protested loudly.

Lin Zhijin racked her brain for what she knew about Sun Xiaoqiang. His family used to be well-off but had hit hard times. Now he only had his mother and two younger sisters. He hadn't originally qualified for the event—another eligible man had strongly recommended him. After meeting him, they'd found him acceptable and added him to the list.

He was clearly good at putting on an act. When she'd talked to him earlier, he'd been polite and refined, playing the perfect gentleman. She hadn't expected him to reveal his true colors so quickly.

Thank goodness he'd shown his hand early. Otherwise, whichever girl married him would have been in for a miserable life.

"Leave now, before we have someone escort you out," Lin Zhijin said irritably.

"Why should I leave? You invited me here. What did I even do wrong?" Sun Xiaoqiang turned to Sun Fengxian. "Miss Fengxian, I used to be a regular at the Welcome Spring Pavilion. We've crossed paths a few times—we're practically old acquaintances, right?"

Lin Zhijin's anger had reached its limit. She called over the soldiers maintaining order to throw Sun Xiaoqiang out.

"Damn it! You tell me to come, I come. You tell me to leave, I leave? You talk about democracy, but isn't this just tyranny?" Sun Xiaoqiang shoved past Li Yue, trying to grab Little Fengxian's hand.

Just then, a man quickly stepped forward to block him. "The lady isn't interested. What you're doing isn't right."

"Mind your own business!" Sun Xiaoqiang glared at the man.

"What's going on here?" Two soldiers approached.

Seeing the armed soldiers coming, Sun Xiaoqiang immediately cowered, grinning obsequiously. "Nothing, nothing! We're just messing around."

"Cut the act. Come with us." The soldier stared at him with sharp eyes.

"I'm going, I'm going." Sun Xiaoqiang bowed and scraped as he followed the two soldiers away.

"Are you two alright?" The man who'd helped looked at Sun Fengxian and Lin Zhijin.

"I'm fine. Thank you!" Sun Fengxian's cheeks flushed slightly as she looked at the tall, handsome man.

Lin Zhijin's gaze flicked between them for a moment, then she pulled Li Yue away. "You two talk. We need to get back to work."

Lin Zhijin knew Song Jing's background too. He was a man of great responsibility—all his elders were gone, and he'd single-handedly raised his younger cousins. Honestly, if not for the burden of his siblings, he could have made something truly impressive of himself.

After working for a while, Lin Zhijin felt her throat going dry. She went to the rest area to drink some water.

"Are you alright?"

The sudden voice startled her so much she nearly choked. Swallowing the water, she turned around—it was Yang Su.

"Why haven't you gone home yet?" Lin Zhijin asked curiously.

"I've never been to a matchmaking event before. I was curious, so I stayed to watch." Yang Su asked again, "Are you alright? That man who was causing trouble earlier."

"I'm fine. They wouldn't dare cause real trouble." As long as they had any sense, no one would truly cause a scene on Military Control Office grounds.

"Good. Your colleague is calling you—you should go." Yang Su glanced at Li Yue.

Lin Zhijin nodded with a smile and jogged over to Li Yue. It turned out Song Shan and Ye Ruxue had hit it off.

"They matched?" Lin Zhijin asked in a hushed voice.

"Yeah, they did. First couple of the night." Li Yue said with a hint of excitement.

Lin Zhijin had been most worried about Ye Ruxue, but she'd been the first to find a match. What a pleasant surprise.

Perhaps Ye Ruxue's success set a good tone, because several more couples formed afterward. Song Jing and Little Fengxian hadn't officially matched, but judging by how well they were getting along, they might yet.

"A total of nine couples tonight—an outstanding result. Special recognition goes to Comrades Li Yue and Lin Zhijin. Their thorough preparatory work made the later stages go smoothly. Excellent work—keep it up." Director Zhang praised Li Yue and Lin Zhijin, then turned to criticize Wang Chunhua. "Comrade Wang Chunhua, I'll say it again: you only need to handle logistics. Communication matters are not your responsibility."

Wang Chunhua pouted. "I was only trying to help mediate. How was I supposed to know they'd start arguing? The man clearly looked down on the girl's background but pretended not to care, and the girl obviously thought the man was ugly yet kept praising his looks with a coy smile. I can't believe she had the nerve to say it."

"Then you can't go telling the woman that the guy seems to be looking down on her, and then tell the guy that the woman wasn't really complimenting him. Is that helping? You're just making things worse." Qian Dajie shot Wang Chunhua a dirty look and said, annoyed.

The wrap-up meeting ended around nine at night. Lin Zhijin packed up her stuff, getting ready to head back to the hotel.

"Comrade Lin, let me walk you back." Yang Su came out from behind a pillar.

Lin Zhijin looked at him, surprised. "You... thanks."

She wasn't some naive little girl. Yang Su staying this late and offering to walk her back—he'd clearly been waiting for her on purpose.

And honestly, she thought Yang Su was pretty decent and worth getting to know better.

"So what did you need to see Director Zhang about tonight?" Lin Zhijin asked, then quickly added, remembering their positions, "If you can't say, no worries. Just curious."

"When's the next singles event?" Yang Su changed the subject.

Actually, his transfer from the capital—and his reason for seeing Director Zhang—was all because of Lin Zhijin.

The mountain she'd donated had been confirmed to have gold ore, and a battalion had been sent to guard it. He was in charge.

"Next time? I'm not sure about that either. Oh? Commander Yang thinking of going?" Lin Zhijin raised an eyebrow.

So he's flirting with her but also thinking about going to a singles event?

Points deducted. Dropped from an A to an F.

"Will Xiao Lin be going?" Yang Su looked at Lin Zhijin seriously.

Oh, so that's his angle? Back to an A.

"I'm still young, what's the hurry." Lin Zhijin kicked at the pebbles on the road, not wanting to say anything definitive. "Our director said I have to get my elementary school diploma before I can date."

As for when she'd get that diploma, that was totally up to her.

"Seventeen, definitely no rush." Yang Su nodded, agreeing with Director Zhang. "We're here. Don't forget dinner tomorrow."

"Okay, see you." Lin Zhijin waved.

Author's note:

None