ebookland Chapter 21: Feeling Guilty and Short of Breath, Like Catching Adultery?
Chapter 21: Feeling Guilty and Short of Breath, Like Catching Adultery?
Another, older security guard nearby only yawned for a moment before watching the young man run forward aggressively, not even bothering to stop him. "Xiao Li, don't."
Hey, didn't you say you'd just do a quick patrol and then go back?
Can't we just relax and slack off anymore?!
In his previous life, Shu Yun had been a good citizen for over twenty years. He had never stolen or robbed anyone, never jaywalked, and always wore a helmet when using a small electric stove. He had never seen anything like this before. When someone suddenly stopped him, he was startled and hurriedly jumped back a step.
His guilty and short-breathed appearance looked just like someone caught cheating.
Gu Jun calmly withdrew his hand. "Comrade, we are husband and wife."
Xiao Li had only been at the company for two days, and his passion for dedicating his youth to socialism was burning brightly. In a state of high spirits and boundless enthusiasm, he pointed at Gu Jun and his wife and said bluntly, "Husband and wife? Is being husband and wife a reason? And how can you prove that you two are husband and wife?"
“Even married couples should be mindful of their behavior in public. Your actions just now were highly inappropriate in public. Hugging, pulling, and tugging at each other negatively impacts social morals. I could criticize and educate you, or even detain you.”
Is it really that serious?
"Hiccup." Shu Yun was startled and hiccuped. In the quiet alley, apart from the voices of the young security guards, there was only her hiccup.
There weren't many people in the alley at night, but it wasn't completely deserted either. Hearing the noise, they all turned to look. Shu Yun blushed and hiccuped as she moved her body behind Gu Jun, who then stepped back to block her.
This was the first time Gu Jun had encountered such a situation. He rubbed his temples and took out the tightly wrapped marriage certificate from the bag. "We just got our marriage certificate today. Do you want to see it?"
Just as Xiao Li was about to reach out to take it, his colleague Zhu Liye, who had caught up from behind, stopped him, saying, "What are you doing?"
He was panting heavily as he spoke, indicating that he needed to get back to exercising.
Zhu Liye took a deep breath, adjusted his breathing, and then turned to look at Gu Jun with a smile. "Is this Battalion Commander Gu? I'm sorry, Xiao Li is new here. He was a bit tactless in his words and actions. I apologize on his behalf. I hope you won't hold it against him. I will definitely give him a good talking-to on the key points and procedures later."
Gu Jun readily rewrapped the marriage certificate and put it back in his bag: "It's alright. We did make some mistakes. I will definitely pay attention to my behavior in public next time and humbly accept criticism."
Zhu Liye breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this; he was the kind of person who didn't hold grudges.
Then he heard Gu Jun ask with a hint of doubt, "I am currently the deputy regimental commander in the army. May I ask who you are?"
Since you can call out the battalion commander's name, you must have met him a few years ago.
Zhu Liye's expression became even more respectful upon hearing this. "Commander Gu, congratulations on your promotion. You may not recognize me, but I met you a few years ago when you came to the municipal government building for a meeting. My name is Zhu Liye. I used to work in the municipal government's security department, and now I've transferred to the public security team."
Gu Jun shook hands with him and said, "Hello."
Zhu Liye saw Shu Yun standing next to him and said with a smile, "I forgot to say congratulations. Happy wedding! You and your wife are a perfect match, a handsome man and a beautiful woman."
Gu Jun's complexion visibly improved, and he nodded reservedly, "Thank you." Then he took a few candies from his pocket, "Here, these are wedding candies."
Zhu Liye struck up a conversation, and the topic of conversation went on for a while.
Shu Yun took a deep breath and held it for a full seven seconds before the hiccups finally stopped. She stood there listening to the two talking for a while, but it got a little boring, so she quietly tugged at Gu Jun's sleeve.
Gu Jun understood and tried to hold Shu Yun's hand, but Shu Yun gently slapped it away.
Gu Jun smiled and interrupted the other person's endless chatter, "It's getting late, so we'll be going now?"
Xiao Li was clearly somewhat unconvinced, but Zhu Liye stopped him with a look, then smiled at Gu Jun and said, "Please, please. I'm really sorry about what happened today."
Gu Jun patted Shu Yun on the back, looking at the dark alley with only a dim streetlamp, "Let's go, I'll take you home first."
Shu Yun refused. The two security team members behind her were clearly still there, and under their gaze, Shu Yun felt even more uncomfortable: "No need, you can go. It's just a short walk."
Gu Jun ignored her and grabbed her arm, leading her forward. "This alley is too secluded, I'm worried about it."
Shu Yun shook her arm and glanced at him sideways, "Loosen your grip a bit, and be mindful of your behavior when we're out here."
Gu Jun smiled and leaned closer, "So you can do it at home?"
Shu Yun shook off his hand and strode forward, saying, "I didn't say that."
"move."
Shu Yun was relieved that there weren't many people in this alley, unlike the area in front of her apartment building where a group of people would often sit around like stone lions. If that were the case, she would definitely be the center of everyone's conversation tomorrow.
Gu Jun followed behind Shu Yun, only a step away, which made Shu Yun feel at ease. After escorting her into the tenement building, he watched Shu Yun turn around and walk up the stairs before turning to leave, saying, "See you tomorrow."
On the other side, after watching Gu Jun and Shu Yun disappear from sight, the two security guards, including the young Li, were still very puzzled. "Master Zhu, why did you do that just now?"
Zhu Liye waved his hand, "So you still have a lot to learn. Although their behavior was indeed inappropriate in a public place, criticism and education should be tailored to the individual and the situation. Didn't you see the military jeep next to him? It belongs to the military, and he's now a deputy regimental commander. If he holds a grudge against you because of this, hehe, do you think you'll still have a chance for promotion next time?"
"The military? The military doesn't affect us. And Master, do you know that person?" Xiao Li was still a little unconvinced, but he was very sensible and lit a cigarette for Zhu Liye.
Zhu Liye accepted the compliment with a smile, saying, "So you're still too young. How can you separate government departments like that?"
"I have indeed met this person a few times. A few years ago, our city organized a large-scale 'Four Pests Prevention' campaign, right? At that time, the military provided technical guidance and material support, and sent additional personnel to participate in the local centralized action. The leader in charge at that time was this person, our Public Security Bureau Chief. Even Director Zhou treated him with great respect."
"You need to be more careful with your words and actions in the future. If you run into someone with a short temper, you'll get a beating."
Xiao Li didn't really understand at first, but when he heard "Director Zhou" from the Public Security Bureau, and thought about how Director Zhou always had a stern face and how Xiao Li was always terrified whenever he saw him, even if he hadn't done anything wrong, then that person was just like Director Zhou...
Very good, now that he thought about it, he felt his legs tremble, and he could see the end of his bright and smooth road ahead!
The next day was the day they were supposed to go house hunting together, but it wasn't a day off. Shu Yun was worried about interfering with Gu Jun's work, so she decided to come over at noon and take advantage of her break time to visit the military dependents' home.
Shen Rujun called home yesterday, saying she would be leaving in a couple of days, so Shu Yun thought she should cook a meal for her aunt.
In her past life, she lived alone. Although she struggled to make ends meet, she never neglected her food and stomach, so she focused all her life skills on cooking. But now, with resources scarce, Shu Yun searched the entire market and only managed to buy some fresh shrimp, potatoes, and pumpkin.
For her main course, she plans to make steamed buns, braised shrimp, hot and sour shredded potatoes, and steamed pumpkin.
Seeing that Shu Yun had bought so many ingredients, Shen Rujun was unsure of Shu Yun's cooking skills and was afraid that she might waste all of them, which would really break her heart.
She stayed in the kitchen to help out, and Shu Yun let her watch; she was extremely quick and efficient.
She skillfully removed the shrimp veins, heated oil in a wok, added scallions, ginger, and garlic to sauté until fragrant, then added the cleaned shrimp to the wok and stir-fried. She pressed the shrimp heads with a spoon to release the shrimp roe, enhancing the flavor of the broth.
Next, pour the pre-mixed sauce over the prawns. The hot oil immediately releases the prawns' fresh aroma throughout the kitchen. Finally, sprinkle some bright green scallions on top as a garnish. The red prawns are adorned with the green scallions, and the sweet and fresh aroma fills the air, making your mouth water.
Shu Yun picked up a piece of food with her chopsticks and brought it to Shen Rujun's lips, "Try it? What I make is just as good as what you get outside."
After Shen Rujun finished eating, her gaze towards Shu Yun changed. "It's really good. I didn't realize that you, Yunyun, who can't even distinguish between vegetables and weeds, are such a good cook."
Shu Yun's face darkened. "Auntie, can we not bring that up? I just don't recognize seedlings, but I know vegetables!"
Shen Rujun took another bite, nodded, and said, "Okay, okay, okay, I won't say anything more."
After a while, she returned to the kitchen and reminded him with concern, "Aren't you going to Xiao Gu's place later? Prepare some lunch for him too."
Shu Yun: "I didn't tell him I was going to make lunch. He might have already eaten, so bringing it over would be a waste."
Shen Rujun rolled her eyes at her, "Whether he's eaten or not doesn't matter. Bringing it over shows your feelings, and that's enough for him."
Okay, Shu Yun thought it made sense, nodded readily, took a lunchbox from the cupboard, and packed some of each dish into it.
By this time, the dough had almost fermented. She kneaded the dough into portions of roughly the same size. Since she liked sweet treats, she divided the portions into two parts: one half with added sugar and the other half without.
She neatly arranged the round white dumplings in the steamer. At this moment, there was still a small lump of dough left on the cutting board that couldn't fit in. She thought for a moment, kneaded the dough for a while, and soon several cute little pig buns were made. The ears and noses were made of yellow cornmeal, and two red beans were stuffed into the eyes. After steaming, the little pig buns became white and plump, and very cute.
Shu Yun put several pig-shaped buns and a few large steamed buns into her lunchbox. After she and Shen Rujun finished eating at home, she hummed a little tune and set off with her lunchbox.