Chapter 12: We Meet Again

Lan Mo looked up at a 45-degree angle. Was this man just too handsome?

At that moment, it seemed as if a beam of light shone on his face. His dashing, sharply angled eyebrows, the deep, dark eyes beneath long eyelashes like unfading ink, a tall, straight nose, perfectly shaped lips, and a sharply defined jawline as if carved by a knife…

No matter the era, good-looking people always made others want to take a second glance. Lan Mo was instantly stunned.

Gu Yan’an hadn’t expected this tall yet graceful female comrade before him to have such delicate features—skin as fair as fine jade, lips as red as peach blossoms.

Her brows and eyes were like a painting, her long, thick eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings. Those captivating peach blossom eyes stared blankly at him—how could she be so adorable?

His gaze inadvertently swept over that full, prominent area. Gu Yan’an slightly turned his head away, the tips of his ears instantly flushing crimson.

Lan Mo snapped back to reality and quickly took the paper bag. “Thank you, comrade!”

She didn’t notice that when she took the bag, her fingers brushed against the back of his hand. Gu Yan’an felt as if his heart had been gently stroked by a feather, an uncontrollable, ticklish sensation making it race wildly.

Thump… thump…

To suppress this strange feeling, Gu Yan’an forced himself to calm down.

This man was at least 1.84 meters tall, wasn’t he? Tall and straight, with sharp, cold features—but what kind of expression was that on his face?

Had she offended him somehow? Why did his expression darken the moment she took the bag?

What a pity. Such a handsome man turned out to be as stern as Judge Bao.

Lan Mo no longer had the mood to look at the fountain pens. She said to the male comrade again, “Thank you, comrade. Goodbye!” Then she walked away without looking back.

Gu Yan’an came to his senses and wanted to chase after her, but he didn’t know what to say.

The purpose of his trip to Haishi was to study at the First Automobile Factory. His second aunt had arranged an appointment with an orthopedic specialist at their hospital, so before returning to Jingshi, he planned to have the bomb shrapnel in his calf removed.

Just then, a thin young man walked over. “Cousin, what are you looking at?”

“Oh, nothing… Xiao Wei, which fountain pen caught your eye? I’ll buy it for you!”

“Cousin, forget about the fountain pen. I’m not planning to retake the college entrance exam again. My dad is arranging for me to get into the shipyard.”

“Since you’re not planning to continue studying, work hard! It wasn’t easy for your dad to get you into the shipyard. Consider this pen a gift for your first job.”

In the end, Gu Yan’an bought two Hero fountain pens in different colors—one he clipped to his shirt pocket, the other he handed to his younger cousin, Yang Wei.

Before leaving, he glanced once more at the gleaming Parker 51 in the display case, then quickly left with his cousin.

When Lan Mo returned home, Su Mei hurried over. “Momo, show Mom what you bought!”

“A dress!” Lan Mo handed over the paper bag.

“Wow, this dress is really beautiful! The fabric looks expensive at first glance. Did Grandmother give you enough money? I’ll give you some more later.”

“Mom, that’s not necessary. I still have money.”

“Momo, go back to your room and change into the dress. The relatives will be here soon.”

“Mom, I still need to help you with the cooking later.”

“You don’t need to help with the cooking. We already braised the pork belly once at noon, you’ve already marinated the intestines, and the chicken soup is simmering.”

Steamed fish and boiled shrimp, along with other vegetable dishes, are easy to prepare. Today is your birthday—just focus on eating well, drinking well, and looking beautiful. Hurry back to your room and change into that dress!”

Lan Mo was swayed by Su Mei’s words. She also wanted to try on the dress to see if it fit and how she looked in it.

Lan Mo slowly walked out wearing a long dress, and Su Mei’s eyes lit up. “Mom, come quickly and look at Momo! My Momo has really grown up!”

Lan Mo glanced down at the prominently raised chest in front of her, her face slightly flushing.

The original owner’s figure was too good, making her feel a bit uncomfortable. She hadn’t even eaten papaya—why was her chest so big?

“Oh, my Momo looks like a fairy descended from the heavens. This graceful figure, this stunning face surpasses even Ziwan back in the day…” Old Mrs. Lin laughed so hard her eyes were almost shut.

Ah, Mother-in-law really shouldn’t have brought up her sister-in-law for no reason. No matter how pretty her sister-in-law was, could she compare to her own daughter? Just in height alone, she was a head shorter than her daughter.

Su Mei quickly changed the subject, pulling out some change and soy sauce coupons from her pocket and handing them to Lan Mo.

“Momo, we’re running low on soy sauce at home. Go to the kitchen, grab a bottle, and head to the grain and oil shop at the street corner to get some soy sauce.”

“Okay, I’ll go get it right away!”

Lan Mo took an empty bottle and walked to the grain and oil shop at the street corner.

“Comrade, could you please get me a pound of soy sauce?”

“Comrade, please wait a moment. Let me weigh the rice for this male comrade first, then I’ll help you with the soy sauce.”

Gu Yan’an was going to stay at his aunt’s house for quite some time. Thinking their food supply might be insufficient, he specifically went to a nearby grain shop to buy some groceries.

Hearing a familiar voice, Gu Yan’an instinctively turned around. Was it her?

A little over an hour ago, when he saw her at the department store, she was wearing a short-sleeved shirt with long pants. Now she had changed into a light green dress, looking as beautiful as a fairy descended from the heavens.

Should he go over and greet her?

But he didn’t even know her name. Would greeting her be too abrupt?

Gu Yan’an smiled and said to Lan Mo, “Hello, comrade, we meet again!”

The handsome man from the department store? What was he doing here? What kind of fate was this? They had met twice in less than half a day.

But he looked really nice when he smiled, not as cold as before.

“H-hello!”

Gu Yan’an smiled, unsure of what to say. Asking for her name or age would seem too forward.

Just then, an older saleswoman walked over. “Xiao Lan, did your mom send you to get soy sauce today?”

Lan Mo looked at the smiling auntie but couldn’t remember who she was. Afraid of saying the wrong thing, she simply nodded.

The saleswoman took Lan Mo’s empty bottle and said warmly, “Come, let Auntie help you with the soy sauce! I heard it’s your birthday today—happy birthday!”

How strange—how did a saleswoman know it was her birthday today?

“Okay, thank you! Auntie, how did you know it’s my birthday today?”

“Of course, your mom told me. She came by this afternoon to buy some oil and rice.”

Gu Yan’an hadn’t expected the female comrade he felt connected to to be celebrating her birthday today. She was so beautiful—did she have a partner? But she didn’t seem very old, so she probably didn’t have one, right?

“Male comrade, your ten pounds of rice have been weighed!”

“Okay, just leave it there for now. I’ll take a look at other things.”

The female comrade hadn’t left yet, so he certainly wasn’t in a hurry to go. He still needed to inquire with that aunt about her information.

The empty bottle Lan Mo brought was exactly a one-jin capacity. The salesclerk filled the empty bottle, screwed on the cap, and Lan Mo immediately handed over the money and ration coupons.

“Auntie, we have guests coming to the house later, so I’ll head back first.”

“Alright, take care on your way!”

Lan Mo tightly hugged the soy sauce bottle, glanced up at Gu Yan’an, and quickly walked out of the grain and oil store.

As soon as Lan Mo left, the salesclerk who had served her muttered, “Su Mei’s daughter is really beautiful! Even prettier than the calendar girls! I wonder which scoundrel will get lucky with her…”

“Comrade, do you know that female comrade from just now?”

“What? Are you interested in her? Comrade, although you look handsome and seem to have good conditions, don’t get your hopes up about her!

Her father is the deputy director of the Dongcheng Branch Police Station, and her mother is the director of the non-staple food counter at Yong’an Department Store. Her eldest brother is the head of the research group at the First Automobile Factory, and her second brother is a battalion commander in a certain military unit in Jingshi.

She herself is twenty years old, a medical university graduate, and currently works as an orthopedic doctor at our First People’s Hospital. Her family treasures her like the apple of their eye.”

If possible, she would have liked to introduce her own disappointing son to her, but the problem was that this fairy-like young lady was so capable, and her own burly, incompetent son wasn’t a match for her.

Gu Yan’an’s face darkened. What did she mean by saying he wasn’t a match? His family’s conditions were no worse than hers.

First People’s Hospital Orthopedics Department? Wasn’t his second aunt the head nurse of the Obstetrics Department? He could go back and ask her to find out.

Having lived for twenty years, he had finally felt moved by a female comrade. No matter what, he had to give it a try.