When he returned to his seat, he saw Niu Rang sitting across from He Zhilan, constantly smiling at her. He Teng’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. Then he sat down next to He Zhilan with a plate and slid it towards her, noticing it was her portion.
Kang Xing was a bit slower, and with a face full of resentment, he stared at Niu Rang who had beaten him to the punch. The opportunity to interact closely with his sister-in-law was snatched by that kid, Niu Rang!
"Eh!" Kang Xing glanced at the plate in front of He Zhilan. "Squad leader, is that all you’re serving your sister-in-law? That’s barely enough for two mouthfuls!"
Once Kang Xing finished speaking, He Teng muttered something across from him, but said nothing further. Kang Xing, not understanding why, looked at the trio before lowering his head to eat his own food.
He Zhilan suppressed her laughter. She had not expected He Teng’s way of mocking to be so direct. A mere grunt, who wouldn’t know what he meant by that?
Niu Rang looked at Kang Xing with some sympathy and raised his head to look at He Teng. "Squad leader, Kang Xing here has never even held a girl’s hand despite his age and remains single up till now. He doesn’t understand that girls eat less."
The implication of Niu Rang’s words was that those without romantic partners should be excused for their ignorance.
"He Teng," Lan Li had known since early morning that He Teng’s wife would be visiting the unit today. So, he wasn’t at all surprised to see the two of them as he walked into the cafeteria.
"Commander Lan!" Both Niu Rang and Kang Xing instantly stood up upon seeing Lan Li.
"Sit down, it’s just a meal," Lan Li gave an order, which sounded commanding due to the lack of a smile on his face.
Listening to the conversation between Niu Rang and Kang Xing, He Zhilan briefly paused. She glanced at the insignia on Lan Li’s military uniform. Lan Li was about the same age as He Teng. She hadn’t expected He Teng to still be a squad leader while Lan Li was already a company commander.
He Zhilan remembered that by the time she was reborn, He Teng had already received a promotion. She had vaguely noticed his insignia then, which seemed to indicate the rank of lieutenant colonel. She wondered how He Teng had managed to climb up from squad leader to lieutenant colonel in such a short amount of time.
He Zhilan sighed silently, feeling regretful. In her past life, she had missed out on He Teng, leaving a blank space for his deeds over the years.
To become a lieutenant colonel in such a short time, she could only imagine the amount of blood, sweat, and hardship He Teng had to go through. In her previous life, He Teng had always been fighting alone in the military, with no one by his side. The thought of how hard and lonely it must have been for him was unbearable for He Zhilan.
He Zhilan knew Lan Li was sitting right next to He Teng. However, due to the incident at the restaurant last time, she didn’t have a good impression of Lan Li. As a result, she didn’t greet him and just focused on her own meal.
After sitting down, Lan Li chatted with He Teng and the rest by himself. Listening from the side, He Zhilan finally learnt from their conversation that even though He Teng and Lan Li were in the same unit, they weren’t in the same camp. No wonder Niu Rang and Kang Xing addressed Lan Li as ’Commander Lan’ by adding his surname.
As they spoke, more and more people gradually gathered around. Unlike with Lan Li, most of these people seemed more interested in He Teng’s wife. Consequently, as more people joined, the topics revolving around He Teng and He Zhilan increased, and He Zhilan was able to meet He Teng’s superiors and leaders.
Throughout the entire unit, apart from Lan Li, He Zhilan found the atmosphere rather pleasant. At least everyone talking to He Teng around here seemed to be doing so with good intentions.