Volume One, Chapter Four: Gu Hanxiao... Is He Impotent?

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Su Nuan was unaware of the tangled thoughts swirling in Gu Hanxiao’s mind. She only knew she had apologized and that it wasn’t intentional. Yet Gu Hanxiao, much like the menopausal aunt living opposite the Su family, often wore a cold expression and got inexplicably angry at the slightest provocation.

At that moment, Huang Guixiang stepped closer.

Before leaving the flood zone, he had overheard quite a bit of gossip about the Su family. To be honest, he sympathized with Su Nuan and her mother and could understand why Su Nuan had snapped at Song Niannian before.

After all, no one liked it when their father brought home an old flame he had been thinking about for over ten years, and not just one, but two women at once.

Nowadays, everything was rationed—even food and housing. Many families crammed eight or nine people into a single room. Yet Su Xunan brought two unregistered outsiders home, not only taking up Su Nuan’s monthly allotment but also pushing Su Nuan and her mother into the kitchen to live. It was truly pitiful.

Alas, it was fortunate Su Nuan was a girl. Had he been in her place, he would have long since erupted in rebellion against the family.

Huang Guixiang looked at Su Nuan with a fatherly mix of tenderness and concern. He sighed and said, “Comrade Su Nuan, please don’t take it personally. Our Captain Gu isn’t targeting you... It’s mainly that he was wounded years ago on the battlefield. When it comes to relationships, he’s willing in heart but lacking in strength. That pent-up frustration has nowhere to vent, so he tends to lose his temper easily. Please understand.”

Huang Guixiang chose his words tactfully, but Su Nuan, having lived through two lifetimes, clearly understood his insinuation—that Gu Hanxiao was impotent.

See? She knew there was definitely something wrong with Gu Hanxiao’s body!

Wait, wait... How could she possibly know such a thing as an ordinary person? Was Gu Hanxiao going to silence her?

Su Nuan felt a twinge of fear, unable to resist mimicking the Red Guards from the model operas. “Comrade Huang Guixiang, what are your true intentions in telling me this?”

She stood tall, her almond-shaped eyes wide with righteous indignation. The whole act made her seem especially formidable.

“Oh dear!” Huang Guixiang played along with exaggerated seriousness, waving his elbows. “Comrade Su Nuan, don’t misunderstand. I told you because I noticed you seemed a bit intimidated by Captain Gu and I couldn’t help but reveal the truth. Besides, if neither of us says it, who else will?”

Of course, Huang Guixiang had his own motives for telling Su Nuan this secret.

His instinct told him Su Nuan wasn’t superficial; perhaps, over time, she and Gu Hanxiao might develop feelings for each other, potentially resolving their captain’s long-standing marital difficulties.

Su Nuan was unaware of these thoughts but raised her eyebrows upon hearing this.

After all, uncovering Gu Hanxiao’s big secret was like gaining a bargaining chip for future negotiations with him.

Moreover, because of her appearance and figure, Su Nuan had endured many lewd remarks over the years and sometimes even unwanted advances. And Gu Hanxiao was a man—living under the same roof, who knew when his primal instincts might flare up...

Now, knowing he was impotent, she felt a hundred and twenty times more at ease—almost ready to celebrate with fireworks!

Su Nuan was overjoyed and laughed mischievously with Huang Guixiang.

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The train station in the garrison town was no comparison to those in more prosperous cities. It was a large, peeling building with red tiles and white walls, flanked by corridors adorned with banners proclaiming service to the people.

Su Nuan withdrew her gaze and sighed as she looked at her train ticket.

The tickets were all pre-printed by the factory, made of hard cardboard, listing only the station and fare without seat numbers, so boarding was a matter of scrambling.

Having never traveled far before, Su Nuan was worried she wouldn't be able to compete with the burly men at the station and would have to stand for three days and nights. But once on the train, she realized her fears were completely unfounded.

Gu Hanxiao, dressed in his naval uniform and standing a towering 1.9 meters tall, planted himself in the aisle like a guardian deity with his cold expression. No one dared approach; even fellow passengers avoided walking near them.

With the problem of finding seats resolved, Su Nuan was in no hurry to sit down. She first looked for a place to stow her luggage. She didn’t have much—half a bundle filled with scraps of cloth and sewing tools, quite heavy.

Though Su Nuan was 1.7 meters tall, she still struggled to lift the bundle onto the overhead rack. Just as she was about to heave it up, someone pressed her gently into a seat.

“Hey!”

Su Nuan looked up into Gu Hanxiao’s icy face.

The man stood before her, swinging his long arm, effortlessly placing her heavy bundle onto the rack.

“Thank you, Captain Gu.”

After speaking, Su Nuan noticed Gu Hanxiao remained still, standing in place.

His tall figure cast her in shadow, his eyes cold as ice, staring at her without moving, as if interrogating a prisoner.

Gu Hanxiao said nothing, and Su Nuan didn’t understand his meaning, nor dared ask.

They stalemated until Su Nuan was about to lose patience when suddenly Huang Guixiang’s angry voice erupted from behind Gu Hanxiao.

“Bah! You scoundrels! Watching a young girl just put up her bundle—have you no shame?”

Huang Guixiang’s words made Su Nuan clutch her waistband sharply.

Over the past six months, she had grown quickly, and her current clothes were all too short, risking a glimpse of half a palm’s width of skin around her waist.

It must have been when she was lifting the bundle that she accidentally exposed part of her waist, and Gu Hanxiao, noticing someone leering at her from across the aisle, stood motionless in front of her, waiting for her to adjust her clothing.

Su Nuan hadn’t expected the seemingly cold and unapproachable Gu Hanxiao would stand up for her in such a small matter. When she saw him look down at her, she immediately flashed him a sweet smile.

“Thank you, Captain Gu~”

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Unfortunately, Gu Hanxiao did not respond to her smile; in fact, it annoyed him. He had intended to warn Su Nuan against flattering him, but upon seeing her bright, innocent face, his harsh words unconsciously softened into a simple “Hmm.”

Her repeated loss of control irritated Gu Hanxiao deeply.

“What’s so funny? Shameless!”

Their interaction caused Song Niannian, sitting opposite, to boil with rage, cursing Su Nuan silently as a seductress. Especially when she noticed Su Nuan’s flushed cheeks, she couldn’t help but sneer:

“Su Nuan, since you know your figure attracts attention, you should prepare more fitting clothes to avoid being targeted by men with mistresses. It’s not good for your reputation...”

Her words made Su Nuan’s face darken.

Was it that she didn’t want to wear well-fitting clothes?

Li Man had once saved fabric coupons for her, intending to tailor new garments, but midway, Feng Lan intercepted the coupons, claiming that Song Niannian’s high school was holding a speech contest and, to avoid embarrassing her alma mater, Song Niannian wanted new clothes.

Su Xunan favored his white-glove daughter, so Song Niannian’s wish was naturally fulfilled. Thus, until the flood disaster in the garrison town, Su Nuan had no well-fitting clothes in her wardrobe.

Unfortunately, only Su Nuan and Song Niannian knew this. Gu Hanxiao did not; he only saw Su Nuan glaring angrily at Song Niannian, who was speaking the truth.

Moreover, in Gu Hanxiao’s impression, while the Su family was not wealthy, they were hardly so poor as to be unable to afford a few decent new clothes—unless Su Nuan deliberately wore smaller sizes to attract attention.

As for the reason...

Gu Hanxiao’s gaze swept over the male passengers moving about the carriage.

In this era, most who could afford train tickets were business travelers, and those qualified to travel for work were hardly short on money. These well-off men especially liked keeping mistresses on the side.

Su Nuan’s purpose in coming to Pengcheng was to establish herself firmly. The Gu family could be one path, and casually luring wealthy men on the train could be another.

Thinking of Su Nuan’s enticing smiles directed at him earlier only deepened Gu Hanxiao’s displeasure, narrowing his eyes with annoyance.

Despised as an old man, and now treated as a backup mark to be fished for cash.

Ha! What a character, Su Nuan...

He was curious to see what other storms this enchantress might stir up next.