Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

The political department building is located on the east side of the compound, with withered yellow ivy climbing all over its red brick walls.

Gu Changfeng walked very fast, and Lin Wanrou had to jog to keep up. Her face, which had turned pale from being frightened by Zhao Fang earlier, was now flushed with a blush from the strenuous exercise.

Meng Yaya followed leisurely behind, still clutching a small pebble she had picked up on the road, humming an unknown tune. Zhao Fang, that woman, was probably hiding in some corner biting her handkerchief right now.

"Report!"

Gu Changfeng stopped in front of a dark brown wooden door, his voice loud and clear.

"Come in!" came a strong but slightly aged voice from inside.

The door was pushed open. Behind the desk sat an elderly man with gray hair, blowing on tea leaves from an enamel mug. He was Zheng Guoqiang, the former political commissar of the military region, and the one who had introduced Gu Changfeng to the army.

When Zheng Guoqiang looked up, he saw Gu Changfeng's cold face. He was about to make a joke about yesterday's meeting when his gaze fell on the woman and child behind him, who were covered in patches.

"This..." Zheng Guoqiang put down his teacup, his eyes wide like saucers. "Changfeng, this is that..."

"Lin Wanrou. My love." Gu Changfeng pulled her in front of him without any preamble. "We've come to file for marriage and complete the formalities."

Lin Wanrou was so nervous that she gripped the hem of her clothes tightly with both hands, not daring to lift her head. She could only manage a mosquito-like hum: "Hello...Commander."

Zheng Guoqiang walked around the table, circled the three of them, and finally squatted down in front of Meng Yaya.

"Yes, it's just like you." Zheng Guoqiang patted his thigh. "Your eyebrows and eyes are exactly the same as yours when you were a kid, except you're a bit too thin."

Meng Yaya confidently stretched out her little hand: "Hello Grandpa, I'm Meng Yaya. My dad said that you'll be in charge of me from now on. If anyone bullies us orphans and widows, we'll come to you to complain."

Gu Changfeng's lips twitched. When did he say that?

Zheng Guoqiang laughed heartily, pulled a handful of White Rabbit milk candies from his pocket, and stuffed them into Meng Yaya's handbag: "Alright! Grandpa's on your side!"

After laughing, Zheng Guoqiang straightened up, his expression becoming more serious: "Changfeng, there's no problem with completing the paperwork. But we have to go through the procedures and verify their identities, after all, it's a military marriage..."

"I have a letter of introduction and proof of identity."

Gu Changfeng pulled a stack of crumpled papers from his pocket and slapped them on the table.

"She was a bride from the Meng family in Xiahe Village. We got married the year I joined the army. Because I had to join the army, I didn't have time to go to the county town to get our marriage certificate. Then the war started, and we lost contact. So this matter has been delayed until now."

Gu Changfeng spoke casually, but every word he uttered felt like a stone hitting the ground.

"Eighteen years old..." Zheng Guoqiang sighed, picked up the letter of introduction issued by the village, and looked at it. The red stamp on it was obtained through Sun Shouzhen's efforts; it was absolutely genuine.

"Originally, we needed to send a letter to the local police station to verify..." Zheng Guoqiang hesitated.

"What are you verifying, Grandpa?" Meng Yaya said indistinctly as she unwrapped a milk candy and popped it into her mouth.

"If I'm verified again, I'll be sold to that idiot in the next village as his wife. My grandma... that old hag, she beat my mom half to death for fifty yuan as a bride price. If I hadn't run away quickly, you wouldn't be seeing your precious grandson right now."

The little girl spoke in a flat tone, as if she were talking about someone else's business.

Zheng Guoqiang's beard trembled as he listened, and he slammed his fist on the table: "Damn it! How many years has it been since the founding of the People's Republic of China, and there are still such heinous acts of human trafficking! I'll sign this! This will be a special case!"

He picked up the pen and signed his name heavily on the marriage application report, the force penetrating the back of the paper.

"Take this slip, go to the photo studio next door to take pictures, then go to the civil affairs department to get your marriage certificate." Zheng Guoqiang handed the slip to Gu Changfeng. "From now on, she's your legal wife. Anyone who dares to gossip about her, I'll kill them!"

The photo studio is on the second floor next door.

The photographer was a young man wearing thick-rimmed glasses, fiddling with an old-fashioned Seagull twin-lens reflex camera.

"Sit down. Get closer," the young man instructed.

The background is a red cloth. Gu Changfeng and Lin Wanrou are sitting on a long bench.

The distance between the two was wide enough to fit a cow.

Gu Changfeng stood upright with his hands on his knees, his whole body resembling a javelin, his face expressionless, radiating a chilling aura that kept strangers at bay.

Lin Wanrou hunched her shoulders, half of her body almost dangling in the air, as if she would fall down in fright if Gu Changfeng moved even slightly.

"Um... gentlemen, smile. Ladies, move closer to the middle." The young man looked up from the viewfinder, a helpless expression on his face. "This is a wedding, not an interrogation."

Gu Changfeng forced a smile, which looked worse than crying.

Lin Wanrou didn't dare to move at all.

"So inefficient."

Meng Yaya sighed, chewed up the last bit of milk candy, and swallowed it. She threw her small handbag on the ground, rolled up her sleeves, and rushed forward.

She climbed onto the bench: "Mom, move over a bit!"

Meng Yaya stretched out her little hand and pushed Lin Wanrou's waist. Afraid that her daughter would fall, Lin Wanrou quickly moved to the middle.

"Dad, do you have a thorn on your shoulder?" Meng Yaya turned to look at Gu Changfeng.

Gu Changfeng lowered his head: "No."

"Then why are you so far away from my mom? Are you afraid she'll bite you?" Meng Yaya grabbed Gu Changfeng's thick arm and pulled him in forcefully. "Come here!"

Gu Changfeng felt a tremendous force coming from him, and he involuntarily swayed to the side, his shoulder colliding directly with Lin Wanrou's shoulder.

Their shoulders were pressed tightly together.

Gu Changfeng could smell the faint scent of soap on Lin Wanrou, the smell left from washing clothes with his soap last night. His body tensed instantly, but for once, he didn't move away.

"That's right." Meng Yaya nodded in satisfaction, then plopped down between the two men's legs, hooking her little arms around each of their arms. "Uncle, take a picture! Make it look like we're a family!"

"Okay! Look at the camera—"

The young man seized the opportunity and pressed the shutter.

"Click."

The flash went off.

The image freezes.

In the photo, the man still has a cold expression, but his body leans slightly inward—a protective posture. The woman, though shyly looking down, has a reassuring smile on her lips. The little baby in the middle smiles the brightest, her two dimples brimming with mischief and smugness.

Half an hour later.

Two newly issued marriage certificates, bearing the double happiness symbol, handwritten names and dates, and black-and-white photos, have been printed.

It was stamped with a bright red steel seal.

Lin Wanrou held the thin piece of paper, rubbing the stamp with her fingertips again and again until her fingertips felt warm.

This is more than just a piece of paper.

This was her talisman in the military region, a guarantee that she and her daughter would no longer have to live a life of constant displacement.

"Keep it safe." Gu Changfeng folded his own and put it in his shirt pocket, close to his chest. "Take it with you when you go out. Show it to anyone who needs to check."

"Okay." Lin Wanrou nodded heavily and carefully tucked the documents into the medical notebook that Sun Shouzhen had given her.

As I stepped out of the office building, the sun was already high in the sky.

The courtyard became more crowded; it was lunchtime.

Gu Changfeng glanced at his watch, but instead of taking them back to the single dormitory, he turned and walked in another direction.

"Dad, where are we going?" Meng Yaya toddled after him. "Aren't we going to the cafeteria to grab some braised pork?"

"Logistics Department." Gu Changfeng said without turning his head, "Go get the keys."

"key?"

"There's not enough room in the single dorms." Gu Changfeng's voice was emotionless, but his steps were noticeably lighter. "I have a certain rank; I can be allocated a small, detached house. Now that we've got the marriage certificate, let's move in today."

Meng Yaya's eyes lit up.

A detached house with its own yard? Does that mean I can finally have a yard to grow some vegetables? Can I finally take those mutated tomatoes and cucumbers out of the house and eat them openly?

"Let's go! Let's move!" Meng Yaya excitedly pushed Lin Wanrou. "Mom, we're going to have a big house to live in!"

As soon as the three of them reached the entrance of the logistics department, they heard a sharp argument coming from inside.

"I want that house! I'm a key member of the sanitation team, why shouldn't I get one?"

The voice sounds familiar.

Meng Yaya stopped, tilted her head to listen, and then a playful smile appeared on her lips.

It's really a narrow road.

Isn't this Zhao Fang, the "career woman" who was just driven away by her? Looks like this house isn't so easy to get after all.

"Let's go." Gu Changfeng had obviously understood what he meant. His face darkened, and he strode into the logistics department. "I want to see who dares to take my place."