"Hello sister-in-law!" The two cried out in unison.
"Hello, you two." He Zhilan gave a sigh of relief. She had noticed a dark head suddenly popping out from the doorway earlier, which had given her quite a scare.
"Squad leader, you didn’t introduce your sister-in-law to all of us when she arrived! That’s not very generous of you!" As Kang Xing spoke, he barely glanced at He Teng, instead focusing his attention on He Zhilan. "Sister-in-law, I’m Kang Xing!" He then proceeded to pull Niu Rang over and introduced him, "This guy here is Niu Rang, he has the darkest skin in our corps!"
Having been made fun of in front of his sister-in-law by Kang Xing, Niu Rang was furious and his face turned red. However, restrained by He Teng’s presence, he dared not retaliate, he just showed his white teeth and chuckled foolishly.
He Teng knew exactly why Kang Xing and Niu Rang were here. Everyone in the army had clearly found out that He Zhilan had arrived, but Kang Xing and Niu Rang, being the most daring and impatient were the first to approach him.
"Sister-in-law, since you arrived at the corps around lunchtime, you probably haven’t eaten yet, right? Squad leader, why haven’t you taken your sister-in-law to the cafeteria yet? If you’re late, those wolf cubs would clean out all the food. Please, take her to the cafeteria quickly!"
After some hesitation, this is what Niu Rang finally blurted out.
Upon hearing this, He Teng responded with a nod and looked at He Zhilan.
He Zhilan shook her head, indicating to He Teng that she indeed hadn’t had lunch yet.
"Let’s go." He Teng said, stepping out of the room first. He Zhilan followed closely behind him.
Feeling confident about his comrades in the corps, He Teng simply left the key in the door and led Zhilan away.
Upon her arrival, Zhilan had no idea about the size of the troop. She thought that the army base was vast, but sparsely populated and eerily quiet. However, when she arrived at the cafeteria, she realized how naive she had been.
"Hello, sister-in-law!"
All along the way, Zhilan received many "hellos" and caught the attention of numerous people. Although Zhilan isn’t the type of girl who gets easily embarrassed, she felt a bit shy since she was being watched by so many adult men. Thus, she kept edging closer to He Teng, almost clinging to him.
He Teng looked down at Zhilan, noting a hint of amusement in her eyes. However, given his reserved personality, he could not bring himself to hold her hand in front of all his comrades. Still, he made sure to shield her from invasive looks, allowing her to be a bit more relaxed.
"Squad leader, sister-in-law! You have a seat, Niu Rang and I will get your food!" Kang Xing pointed to an empty seat nearby.
He Teng looked at Kang Xing and said in a languid tone, "I won’t need you to serve my wife’s meal, I can handle it myself!"
Kang Xing, filled with enthusiasm, was left standing there. He watched as He Teng led Zhilan to an empty seat and instructed her to wait there, before heading off toward the counter.
Kang Xing could only feel a sourness spreading in his heart. His squad leader, cold and unfeeling, even refused to let him serve his sister-in-law’s meal. How could such a heartless, ruthless and dominant man find a wife? How is this world so unfair?
Niu Rang sneered at Kang Xing, who was gloating over his misfortune, then he quickly got his food and sat down across from Zhilan.
As He Teng scoped out the lunch dishes, he paused to consider Zhilan’s preferences. But, he realized he didn’t really know her food preferences. All he remembered was that she preferred lighter dishes, so he chose two vegetable dishes and one meat dish.