He was a disabled military officer who doted on his research work in the Northwest.

"Um?"

"I feel like Qinghan has someone in his heart."

Mu Chengyuan turned to look at her. Su Mingyue's eyes were slightly red, but she stubbornly raised her chin, refusing to let the tears fall.

"You noticed?"

"I'm not blind." Su Mingyue pouted and sniffed hard. "The way he looks at Shen Tang... is completely different from how he looks at me."

Mu Chengyuan remained silent.

"When he looked at me, there was nothing in his eyes." Su Mingyue's voice was a little hoarse, but her tone remained straightforward. "But when he looked at Shen Tang—his eyes were bright. Like...like there was a flame inside. Although he hid it, I could see it."

Silence filled the carriage.

"You know, I've liked him since I was little." Su Mingyue turned her face to the car window, letting the wind dry the tears in her eyes. "But he's never treated me like a woman at all. I used to lie to myself that it was just because he was slow to realize things, that things would get better eventually." She paused, her voice tinged with self-mockery.

"Now he's finally figured it out—but not for me."

Mu Chengyuan reached out and gently patted Su Mingyue's shoulder. Su Mingyue didn't need those comforting words like "You're great" or "You'll meet someone better"—

"Mingyue is upright and honest, able to take things in stride. No wonder she is Commander Su's daughter." His voice was gentle yet solemn.

Su Mingyue rubbed her eyes vigorously and forced a big smile: "Brother Chengyuan, please stop praising me, or I'll cry. I, Su Mingyue, can't bear the embarrassment."

"Since you're in the Northwest now, would you like to go see your father?"

"I'm not going. If I go, he'll scold me again. This time I secretly ran away from home without telling my mom," she took a deep breath, swallowing back the bitterness she felt as a young woman. "But there's something I need to remind you of," Su Mingyue suddenly said seriously.

"What?"

"I know about the bracelet, but don't rush into it," Su Mingyue said earnestly to Mu Chengyuan. "Although the marriage was arranged by the family, the two people involved are the ones who should decide whether or not to call it off. We shouldn't make that decision for them."

Mu Chengyuan looked at the cheerful girl and nodded. "You're right, they can decide their own marriage." He turned his gaze back to the endless Gobi Desert outside the car window.

…………

That evening, in the duty room of the military hospital.

Dr. Chen brewed a pot of strong tea and poured a cup for Mu Chengyuan.

"So, how's the situation at the machine factory?"

Mu Chengyuan, holding his teacup, slowly recounted what he had seen and heard in the family quarters that day—the timing of Shen Guoping's promotion to deputy factory director, his doting on his adopted daughter, Shen Yao and Zhao Jianhui being inseparable, and the neighbors' sympathy for Shen Tang and their criticisms of Shen Yao.

After listening, Dr. Chen sighed heavily: "This Shen Guoping... the old man misjudged him back then."

"It's not the old man's fault. When the engagement was made, the old master of the Shen family was still alive, and he was a man of impeccable character. It's just that the old master passed away early, and Shen Guoping's generation has been disappointing." Mu Chengyuan put down his teacup. "Old Chen, there's no rush with the bracelet."

Doctor Chen was taken aback: "No more rush?"

"Yes." Mu Chengyuan's tone remained gentle, but every word carried undeniable weight. "I'll discuss it with my family after we return to Beijing. Wait for my news regarding the specific arrangements."

"What's wrong with you...?" Doctor Chen asked tentatively.

Mu Chengyuan smiled but didn't answer directly. He simply said, "The Shen family is no good, but I think Shen Tang is a decent person, and Qinghan's attitude is ambiguous. We can observe them first. No matter what the final result is, we shouldn't handle this hastily."

Looking at his old friend's gentle and refined face, Dr. Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Mu Chengyuan is an extremely thorough person. His saying there's no rush means he won't easily change Shen Tang's position.

"What about Mingyue's side..." Doctor Chen hesitated, then stopped.

Mu Chengyuan was silent for a moment, then his voice softened unusually: "She figured it out herself."

"Have you figured it out?"

She said—he has someone else in his heart.

After a long silence, Dr. Chen finally sighed. "He's a good kid."

"Yes." Mu Chengyuan looked out the window at the starry sky in the northwest, "So we can't delay any longer. Only by cutting off her hopes can we find her own destiny."

……

Mu Chengyuan and Su Mingyue stayed in the military region for three days, and set off for Beijing early on the fourth day.

Before leaving, Mu Chengyuan went to the ward to say goodbye to Mu Qinghan.

The brothers' farewell was as simple as ever.

"Take good care of your leg." Mu Chengyuan patted his younger brother's shoulder.

"Mm," Mu Qinghan replied.

"Let's put the bracelet thing aside for now." Mu Chengyuan looked at him, his tone as calm as if he were discussing the weather. "I'll talk to Mom when we get back."

Mu Qinghan slightly raised her eyes, her gaze meeting her elder brother's for a moment. Mu Chengyuan smiled, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Some things don't need to be said; a glance between brothers is enough.

Su Mingyue stood at the door, hesitated for a moment, and then strode to Mu Qinghan's bedside.

"Brother Qinghan." Her voice was still crisp and clear, with its usual cheerfulness, "I'm leaving. Take good care of yourself."

Mu Qinghan nodded: "Be careful on the road."

Su Mingyue opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something. But in the end, she just smiled and patted Mu Qinghan's shoulder hard—so hard that Mu Qinghan frowned.

"Mu Qinghan, you owe me a meal. The day you stand up again, treat me to Quanjude."

Mu Qinghan looked at her, remained silent for two seconds, and then suddenly gave a soft "hmm".

With red eyes, Su Mingyue turned and strode out of the ward without looking back.

……

three days later.

Mu Qinghan moved much faster than Shen Tang had expected.

He had Chen Zhiyuan intervene, using the pretext of "receiving a distant relative, a descendant of a martyr, to come and join him," and through a special channel of the military region's political department, he arranged for Shen Tang to have her temporary household registration transferred. Her household registration was placed under the collective household registration in the military region compound, and her registered identity was—"Mu Qinghan's distant cousin."

At the same time, he personally wrote a letter to the principal of the local high school for children of employees, which was concise but weighty, requesting that Shen Tang be given an opportunity to take an entrance exam for transfer.

The principal replied that same afternoon he received the letter: the exams are scheduled for next Monday, one paper each for Chinese and Mathematics, and students who pass will be admitted.

When the news reached Shen Tang's ears, she was fertilizing the fourth batch of vegetables by the flower bed.

"You've registered your household registration?" Shen Tang suddenly stood up, her eyes lighting up for a moment, and reached out to take the brand-new temporary household registration page handed to her by Xiao Li.

Black ink on white paper, neat and tidy handwriting with a fountain pen:

Name: Shen Tang

[Relationship with the homeowner: Cousin]

[Registered Residence: No. 01, Family Compound, 1st Regiment, Northwest Military Region]

cousin.

Shen Tang's gaze lingered on the words "cousin" for two seconds.

She couldn't quite describe the feeling she had at that moment. Logically, this was the best possible outcome—legal status, a place to call home, and no longer the worry of being kicked out as an undocumented person. Mu Qinghan had already done more than enough.

But for some reason, when she saw those two words, what flashed through her mind was not relief, but the image of Su Mingyue standing in the ward a few days ago.

The girl, dressed in military uniform with her ponytail tied high, was bright and dignified. She stood in front of Mu Qinghan's hospital bed, smiling and calling him "Brother Qinghan"—the kind of intimacy that comes naturally from growing up together without any explanation.

And what about her?

Those who were married off in place of others, those who refused to leave, and those who didn't even have a proper title.

Now, it's written in black and white on the household registration—my cousin.