"Captain Han, you’re dating someone? Could it be a gift from your partner?" The speaker was Yang, from the second platoon.
"Yang, don’t tease me." Han Yi’s voice was pleasant, like a radio announcer’s. He didn’t show much emotion and didn’t bother explaining further.
"Han Yi, could it be that girl from last time?" Huang Guozhong, holding a sweater, suddenly spoke in a high-pitched voice, causing several soldiers in nearby dormitories to curiously poke their heads out.
The first thought was — Captain Han has a partner?
"Han Yi, you rascal, didn’t you say there was nothing between you two last time?" Han Yi furrowed his eyebrows but didn’t have time to explain as Gao Ran seemed to already understand the situation. He used his arm to jab hard at Han Yi’s chest.
Han Yi quickly stepped back with an agile response, took the sweater from Huang Guozhong’s hand, and coldly said, "What are you guessing about?" Then he strode towards his dormitory. Han Yi’s anger made it easy for people to misunderstand. Nearby dormitories’ soldiers suddenly had a topic for gossip; everyone now knew Captain Han had a partner.
Gao Ran felt a bit of regret and disappointment. Disappointed because his friend seemed interested in a girl who wouldn’t help his career much, and regretful that such a nice girl ended up with a cold-hearted person.
"Hmm, this jerky is really good." Beside him, Huang Guozhong, already married, didn’t worry about finding a spouse. He was holding an oil-paper package, eating with relish.
While eating, he gestured to Yang and Gao Ran to try it.
Most soldiers liked meat; if there’s meat, who cares about others? Without reservation, they grabbed a handful from the package.
After eating a piece, they kept praising, "Han Yi really scored, finding a great partner."
Gao Ran, initially upset, saw them enjoying the snack and couldn’t bother with personal issues anymore. He grabbed some jerky himself, tried it, and found it delicious, hurriedly stuffing his pockets while grabbing more.
Initially, Lin Wan hadn’t prepared much jerky, and with their large hands digging in, there was soon very little left.
Added to this, some soldiers from dormitories came over to try it too. They grabbed pieces one after another, and within seconds, it was all gone.
Han Yi returned to his dormitory and realized what had happened. Looking outside again, there was no one there.
Knowing it was in their hands by now, he wouldn’t get it back. By then, it was probably already eaten, leaving Han Yi annoyed at his carelessness.
The jerky Lin Wan made was really tasty; he had two pieces on his way back. Alas, it’d be hard to taste it again in the future.
The next day, the rumor spread quickly in the troop. It was said that Captain Han’s partner was not only beautiful but also considerate and caring, worried he’d be slighted in the troop, and specifically made a big package of jerky as snacks for him.
Upon hearing this, Han Yi’s face didn’t look good, and he coldly explained to them, which made them mistakenly think he was shy.
The more he explained, the worse it got. Han Yi finally stopped bothering with them, and over time, everyone in the troop knew Captain Han had a partner.
"Bro, how was that troublemaker dealt with in the end?" Lin Wan asked worriedly after returning.
"They were directly chased away by the government management office. We suffered when we were in Huai Town, can’t afford any mishaps. That person just wanted to evade the bill, quite meaningless. Later, I slipped twenty bucks to someone at the management office to handle it for us. We’re not short of a meal; better to resolve it calmly. With government people around, they’ll have to think twice before causing trouble again." And inevitably, had to treat the people at the management office to a meal.