The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

"Thanks, Lin. Looks like you have one more person with you this time."

When Marina had gone out to meet Gu’er earlier, she saw an unfamiliar face—it was Liu Yuan. So, she asked Gu’er about him.

"Yeah, he’s with us. His name is Liu Yuan. He’s really good-looking, isn’t he?"

Gu’er spoke casually with Marina. She felt like she was already treating Marina as a best friend, the two of them secretly gossiping about men in the room.

"He’s alright, I guess. I think you Chinese men all look more or less the same. Oh, right, there is one who’s different—that guy... what’s his name, Dingzi? His name is so strange. But he’s very handsome."

Marina seemed to regard Gu’er as a best friend too. She nodded as she spoke, as if she strongly agreed with her own words.

Gu’er was dumbfounded by what Marina said.

’What kind of taste does Marina have?’ She had to admit Marina had a point; to her, Chinese men probably did look similar. After all, she felt the same way about foreign men—they all looked more or less the same, and unless they had particularly distinctive features, it was hard to tell them apart.

’But no matter how similar they look, Liu Yuan is obviously way more handsome than Dingzi, right? Dingzi is a great guy, and he has a unique quality that most people don’t possess. But his looks are just average, aren’t they? How could Marina think Dingzi is handsome? What is she seeing?’

"You think Dingzi is the most handsome?"

Gu’er asked again.

Marina nodded at Gu’er very seriously.

Gu’er was speechless, not knowing what to say.

"Lin, that Dingzi... when all of them are standing there, he’s the first one I notice. Even though he’s always quiet, I just can’t ignore him. He gives me a very, very special feeling. I can’t quite describe it, but I just think he’s the most distinctive, the most handsome."

Marina also seemed to be treating Gu’er like a best friend, sharing her innermost thoughts.

Gu’er could tell that Marina was speaking from the heart.

’I guess this is what they mean when they say everyone has different tastes.’

"Brother Dingzi was a soldier. His fighting skills are incredible, and he definitely has something others don’t. But don’t you think he’s a bit cold?"

Gu’er asked again.

"Not at all. I think he’s very cool."

But Marina had a different opinion than Gu’er.

Gu’er had nothing more to say. Marina had spent the same amount of time with all the men, yet she had a good impression of Dingzi. This could only mean there was some kind of fate between them.

But Gu’er didn’t overthink it. ’Two people from different countries... it’s impossible for Dingzi and Marina. We’re just gossiping when no one’s around.’

On the way back after saying goodbye to Marina, Gu’er couldn’t stop staring at Dingzi. Even someone as composed as him started to feel unnerved by her gaze.

"Hey, Gu’er, what’s with you? Why do you keep staring at Dingzi? Aren’t you afraid Jiaming will have a problem with it?"

Li Zhi finally couldn’t take it anymore and called her out.

Sun Jiaming just smiled. ’Gu’er must have been talking with Marina about Dingzi. Marina probably said something unexpected about him, which is why Gu’er is staring at him now.’

"I’m not staring at you, so why do you care? Brother Dingzi is handsome, more handsome than all of you. Can’t I take a look?"

Gu’er shot Li Zhi a glare.

"Who says? Leaving Liu Yuan aside, both Jiaming and I are much better-looking than this kid. What do you mean he’s more handsome than us? Whoever said that must be blind."

Li Zhi said indignantly.

"Marina said it. Why don’t you go and try telling her she’s blind?"

Gu’er had actually asked Marina if she could tell Dingzi and the others what she’d said. Marina didn’t mind, saying she could say it to Dingzi’s face, so Gu’er didn’t feel like she was betraying a best friend’s confidence.

"No way! What kind of taste does Marina have? How on earth could she think this kid is better-looking than us? Th-these Old Russians... what’s wrong with their eyes?"

Li Zhi was shocked. He truly hadn’t expected Marina to say something like that.

A flicker of surprise crossed Dingzi’s eyes. He hadn’t expected it either, but he said nothing.

"I also think Brother Dingzi is really impressive."

Sun Jiaming genuinely admired Dingzi’s skills from the bottom of his heart.

"I admit he’s impressive, but I’ll die before I admit he’s better-looking than me."

Li Zhi was still very pleased with his own appearance. Aside from that kid Liu Yuan being a bit more handsome, he didn’t think anyone else could compare to him. Now that Marina was saying Dingzi was better-looking, he was naturally indignant.

"I think Brother Dingzi is impressive too."

Liu Yuan added.

"I’m done talking to you guys."

Li Zhi was exasperated. ’They’re not supposed to be talking about how "impressive" he is, okay? I’m talking about looks! Looks, get it?’

Gu’er chuckled softly. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Dingzi. ’It’s a shame Marina is from the Soviet Union and from a family like that. Otherwise, it would be nice if she and Dingzi could get together. Although Dingzi doesn’t talk much, he’s a genuinely good person. If a woman became his wife, he would definitely treat her well for his entire life and never betray her. It’s a blessing to find a man like that. What a pity.’

"Sigh. Even this kid Dingzi is having some luck with the ladies. Where’s my wife?"

Li Zhi started sighing dramatically again.

Dingzi opened his mouth to speak, but Li Zhi quickly clapped a hand over it. "If anyone says my wife is still in my mother-in-law’s belly, I’ll fight them."

Gu’er couldn’t help but laugh.

"How about I introduce you to someone? There are quite a few unmarried girls in our village."

Sun Jiaming could tell Li Zhi was just goofing around.

"No thanks! The only good one in your village was Gu’er, and you’ve already snatched her up. The rest are all duds. I wouldn’t take them even if they were free."

Li Zhi pouted.

"Yeah, besides Gu’er, there aren’t many decent girls in that village."

Liu Yuan, ever the honest one, said this very seriously.

"You kid, don’t tell me you’ve got a crush on Gu’er too? Let me tell you, that’s a no-go. Gu’er belongs to Jiaming. You can’t be having those kinds of thoughts."

Li Zhi immediately slung an arm around Liu Yuan’s shoulders.

"N-no. Gu’er already made things clear to me. She sees me as a big brother. I’m not having any funny ideas."

Liu Yuan’s face turned red.

Li Zhi felt it was best not to tease him any further. Liu Yuan was too earnest. ’Actually,’ he thought, ’I’m the same as him. We both used to like Gu’er and pursued her. Later, we all became friends with her and Sun Jiaming. It’s actually pretty great this way. We can all still hang out, talk, and laugh together. It’s really nice.’

Gu’er glanced at Sun Jiaming, and he was looking back at her. Her eyes were bright, her gaze as soft as water. ’She and Sun Jiaming didn’t have a world-shaking love story, nor was their love a grand, dramatic affair. It was more like a gentle, silent rain nourishing the earth. They existed in each other’s hearts, mutually nurturing, mutually trusting. This was exactly what she wanted.’

After the group finished selling their goods, they took Liu Yuan around for a day of sightseeing, ate some food from the Soviet Union, and then boarded the boat back with the merchandise Wen Bin and the others had purchased.

On the boat ride, inspectors came looking for money. They gave them a few dozen US Dollars as a token payment, and the inspectors let them pass. The journey back was fairly smooth without any incidents. It wasn’t that they had never encountered danger on these trips; they had been robbed twice, but Li Zhi and Dingzi subdued the attackers both times, so they never lost anything.

——————

I don’t know what time I’ll be back tomorrow, so the update might be late.