Qin Jian simply didn’t want to ride on his father’s coattails in the military, so the Ning Family had always kept this matter tightly under wraps.
Rumors within the military began when people noticed that Qin Jian’s appearance bore a striking resemblance not only to the Commander’s, but also to that of the Commander’s wife.
So, people started discussing the matter enthusiastically.
Later, when several high-ranking officers inquired about the issue, Commander Ning neither confirmed nor denied it.
Such an attitude implied that there was a very high probability that Qin Jian was indeed the Commander’s child.
When this news spread throughout the military, the women soldiers of the literary and art troupe began to stir, especially Liang Manman, who felt incredibly unsettled.
Originally, she had taken a fancy to Qin Jian simply because she liked him, and not because of his family or any other factors.
But now that Qin Jian had become the Commander’s son, and An Hao was set to be the future daughter-in-law of the Commander, this made her particularly upset.
There was nothing she could do if Qin Jian didn’t fancy her, but it was still maddeningly frustrating for her.
The military’s grand competition was fast approaching, and after that, their literary and art troupe would perform at various units. The women soldiers, eager to make a good impression on Qin Jian, were recently practicing very hard and meticulously preparing for their performance.
Liang Manman found their efforts laughable, but she withheld the truth about Qin Jian being betrothed, wanting to watch people pour their hearts into it and then be disheartened by the cold splash of reality.
As the women soldiers were excitedly discussing this matter, the troupe leader saw through their intentions and said to them, "You girls better keep your hearts in check. Do you honestly think such a good thing could fall into your laps? Don’t you know that the communications troupe specifically transferred over a female soldier? She used to be a communications soldier but now she’s a journalist, in charge of interviewing the leaders and writing articles. That female soldier is no ordinary person! If you are thinking of making a move on Captain Qin, you’d better get past her first!"
The female soldier the troupe leader was referring to is Yan Huan.
Yan Huan’s father and the Commander were old comrades, who had carried guns and fought wars together, brothers-in-arms in the smoke-filled, shrapnel-strewn battlefields.
While Ning Bo was alive, the intention existed between the two families for Yan Huan to marry Ning Bo.
However, although Ning Bo was very fond of Yan Huan, he disagreed with the marriage because he had a heart condition—an internal time bomb, not knowing when it might explode. Therefore, he didn’t want to involve Yan Huan.
There was actually a marriage agreement between the two families.
Now that Ning Bo had passed away, Yan Huan set her sights on Qin Jian.
From the moment she first laid eyes on Qin Jian, she felt her heart flutter, and now, as a journalist, she had been transferred to the 686th Regiment. This was a golden opportunity to get close to Qin Jian.
How could Yan Huan, with her assertive nature, let go of such a providential chance?
Compared to the women soldiers of the literary and art troupe, she had a thousand legitimate reasons to approach Qin Jian!
In the days filled with anticipation from all soldiers of the Northern Military Region, the competition, after being postponed for two weeks, finally arrived.
Nearly ten thousand personnel participated in total.
As the newly appointed journalist of the 868th Regiment, Yan Huan’s role was indispensable.
She was lively at the competition venue, using her eyes, ears, camera, and pen to document this grand event.
As the soon-to-be Chief of Staff, Qin Jian did not participate in the competition; he sat on the main platform with Jian Ying, watching this grand spectacle unfold.