Cheng Su thought about sharing the good news with Qi Taiguo as soon as she got home, but once there, she learned from her elder sister that Qi Taiguo wouldn’t be coming home for dinner because there was some sort of welcome party being held at the unit.
Cheng Su didn’t mind and figured there would be plenty of opportunities to talk to Qi Taiguo now that he had returned. Humming a tune, she went to cook dinner.
Qi Fenglian opened her mouth as if to say something, but swallowed the words back down. Never mind, Taiguo wasn’t the type to be fickle, and besides, it was all unsubstantiated rumors. Why make her sister-in-law feel unhappy?
The atmosphere at the welcome party in the army was very lively.
As the leader of the team assigned to go to the grassroots, Chiang Qing was singing and dancing with great talent. Long Shaoguang whispered to Qi Taiguo, "Having a mother who was a director of the Cultural Work Troupe sure left its mark; the inherited talent is truly strong. Born with such a fine voice! Look at our soldiers, their eyes are practically ablaze with excitement. Tsk tsk, I’m afraid they will all switch to cold showers when winter comes!"
Qi Taiguo chuckled and replied, "Then you’d better keep an eye on your men. If some morally corrupting scandal arises, it won’t look good!"
"You’re right! Starting tomorrow, we’ll intensify the training for the whole company!" Long Shaoguang nodded gravely.
At this point, Chiang Qing suggested, "It’s not enough for just us women medics to sing. How about we also invite the soldier brothers to perform a song? I’ve heard there are quite a few strong singers in our forces."
Murmurings and whispers spread among the crowd. Deputy Battalion Commander Dong Jun’s face lit up with pride since he was well-known as the unit’s top singer. Just as he was about to stand up, Chiang Qing said, "How about we start with Commander Qi?"
The color drained from Dong Jun’s face, and he sat back down onto the stool he had just left.
All eyes turned to look over at once.
Qi Taiguo was taken aback and furrowed his eyebrows.
Long Shaoguang poked Qi Taiguo in the ribs and winked, revealing a mischievous smile.
"Commander Qi, surely you wouldn’t deny us the pleasure, would you?" said Chiang Qing with a teasing, persistent smile.
"How about a duet?" someone shouted from the crowd.
"Great idea!"
Applause burst forth.
"With such a rare invitation from a beauty, Commander Qi, you should grace us with your presence," laughed Regimental Commander Mai.
"Indeed! Commander Qi is truly fortunate," said Dong Jun, seated next to Regimental Commander Mai, giving Qi Taiguo a forced smile.
Qi Taiguo’s face darkened as he said, "I can’t sing."
Chiang Qing looked hurt, biting her lower lip and appearing so pitiful that it attracted quite a few sideways glances.
The mood had become somewhat awkward.
Gao Linbing stood up and said, "I dare not listen to Commander Qi’s pig-slaughtering voice, but our Deputy Battalion Commander Dong has a great voice. Didn’t he win some singing award last year? He has a voice that could match professional singers. Why not pair up with Doctor Chiang to perform a song for us?"
Long Shaoguang chimed in with agreement.
Dong Jun finally cracked a smile and said, "How can I accept such an honor?"
"Deputy Battalion Commander Dong, don’t be so modest."
"Right, give us a song."
"Sing for us, sing for us!"
Only then did Dong Jun stand up, looked at Chiang Qing, and said, "If Doctor Chiang doesn’t mind my old voice, I’ll go ahead and embarrass myself?"
Chiang Qing naturally wouldn’t say anything negative and nodded with a smile, but her phoenix eyes darted a glance at Qi Taiguo.
As the singing began, Qi Taiguo exhaled and sat back down.
"You just mentioned catering to her, so how have you offended her already?" Long Shaoguang said in a hushed voice.
So many people, and she specifically picked out Qi Taiguo—what was up with Chiang Qing? Either she held a grudge or she had an ulterior motive?
Qi Taiguo was also feeling quite frustrated, silently reflecting: had he somehow offended the Bodhisattva?