The two visitors arrived hesitantly but left satisfied.
As they were leaving, Section Chief Zhong glanced at Jiang Si with unspoken words. If not for the division commander's repeated reminders, he would have shamelessly made his request anyway—after all, this mural was Jiang Si's creation, and naturally, she would be the best person to complete it.
Ye Mingfeng shared the same sentiment.
In art, seniority meant nothing; ultimately, the work spoke for itself.
He had come here with a mindset to learn.
Jiang Si's skills were undeniable, and he was thoroughly convinced.
Jiang Si understood their intentions but, after some thought, politely declined.
She still needed nearly half a month to refine the facial feature database sketches she was working on. Taking on this additional task would stretch her too thin.
"Next time. I'm stationed with the Fourth Division anyway—there will be plenty of opportunities to collaborate in the future."
That said, she assured them that if any issues arose with the mural later, she’d still offer assistance where she could—whether in color mixing or overall composition.
With that, Section Chief Zhong couldn’t press further. After expressing his gratitude repeatedly, he and Ye Mingfeng returned to their unit with the draft Jiang Si had provided.
Now brimming with inspiration, they needed to finalize the design as soon as possible.
"Why didn’t you eat lunch?" Huo Tingzhou frowned as soon as the door closed.
Jiang Si gave him an amused look. His reaction time was absurdly slow—how was he still hung up on this an hour and a half later?
"Guess why?"
She pinched his cheeks lightly and scoffed. "You wore me out last night. I didn’t wake up until half past ten, and breakfast was so late—did you really think I’d have an appetite for lunch right after?"
"Also, next time we have guests, try to prioritize properly."
"Otherwise, your subordinates will definitely laugh at you behind your back."
Huo Tingzhou didn’t care about that. Once she finished speaking, he only asked one thing: "Are you hungry now? Do you feel like eating?"
At that, Jiang Si knew her earlier words had gone in one ear and out the other.
But she never denied her stomach. "A little. I want your handmade noodles."
"Wait here. I’ll make them right away."
Watching him dash to the kitchen in a hurry, Jiang Si couldn’t hold back a laugh.
She followed him shortly after, leaning against the doorframe as she quietly observed.
Huo Tingzhou kneaded the dough with practiced ease, the white mass shifting shapes effortlessly under his hands. Jiang Si’s ears grew inexplicably warm.
Just as her thoughts began to wander, his voice pulled her back.
"Sweetheart, it’s hot in here. Go wait in the living room."
Hot? That wasn’t it at all…
This clueless man…
Flustered, Jiang Si quickly changed the subject.
Huo Tingzhou seemed to remember something. "By the way, where are Uncle Zhong and Third Granduncle?"
Earlier, while they were discussing the mural, he had slipped away to check the attic—only to find both of them gone.
Jiang Si sighed. "They went foraging at the shore with Weidong and Weimin."
Huo Tingzhou noticed her tone seemed off.
Jiang Si gave him a meaningful look. "They went to dig for oysters."
The moment "oysters" left her lips, Huo Tingzhou’s back visibly stiffened.
Before she could say more, he suddenly turned, his dark eyes locking onto hers with unusual seriousness.
"My performance yesterday wasn’t up to par. Next time, I’ll do better—I’ll make sure you’re satisfied."
"……"
Jiang Si’s smile vanished instantly.
"Hmph." She turned to leave, but before she took two steps, his long arm hooked around her waist and pulled her back.
"I was wrong," Huo Tingzhou admitted promptly.
"Wrong about what?" she pressed.
He considered it earnestly. "I shouldn’t have performed like that yesterday…"
Truthfully, even he was baffled.
Jiang Si cut him off with two words: "Stop it!"
This topic needed to end now.
Just then, the water boiled. Huo Tingzhou dropped the sliced noodles in, adding two eggs to poach alongside them.
While waiting, he heated another pan, stir-fried some scallions, then poured in an entire jar of tomato sauce.
Next came seasoning.
"Is this much sauce okay?" Knowing her preference for tangy sweetness, he scooped a generous spoonful.
Jiang Si eyed it. "Less noodles. I can’t finish this."
"Don’t worry. Eat what you can—I’ll take care of the rest."
She glared. "From the day you joined the Jiang family, you’ve never eaten leftovers. That won’t change now."
Huo Tingzhou wanted to say he didn’t mind, but under her gaze, he silently fetched another bowl.
"Much better." Jiang Si transferred the excess noodles to his portion.
"Let me carry it. Go sit down."
Before she could protest, Huo Tingzhou had already set the bowls on the table, uncapping a small soda for her. "Eat up."
The handmade noodles were delightfully chewy, and paired with the rich tomato sauce—perfection.
Jiang Si finished the noodles in her bowl in no time.
After the meal, Huo Tingzhou went to wash the dishes.
Meanwhile, Jiang Si wiped down the table with a cloth.
Seeing that he had finished washing up, she returned to her room to change out of her military uniform before heading to the vegetable garden to pull weeds.
Curious, Jiang Si asked, "Aren’t you going to the regiment later?"
"No, I’m not going this afternoon. I’ll officially return to duty tomorrow."
As he spoke, Huo Tingzhou glanced at her. "I’m sorry I can’t accompany you to the fishing village tomorrow to see the house."
Originally, he had planned to inspect the house today, but the matter of the leaked list had delayed him.
"It’s fine," Jiang Si replied with an easy smile. "Has everything in the regiment been resolved?"
Then she paused, realizing her mistake. "Oh, I forgot—is this something I shouldn’t ask about?"
Huo Tingzhou shook his head. "It’s alright. The list has already been finalized."
Knowing that a public reprimand would be issued across the district tomorrow, he explained further.
"The recommended list was originally classified, but the head of the organizational section disclosed it to a company commander he was close with."
"His wife was one of the two military dependents who instigated Deputy Company Commander Yang’s younger sister yesterday."
"Originally, it was a selection of two out of five candidates. But because those two dependents provoked Deputy Company Commander Yang’s sister into making a mistake, all three of them were disqualified from the recommendation and barred from reapplying for five years."
Jiang Si listened thoughtfully.
Noticing her prolonged silence, Huo Tingzhou added, "Don’t overthink it. Even without this incident, Deputy Company Commander Yang’s chances of being selected weren’t high to begin with."
Jiang Si nodded. She wasn’t overthinking it.
Even if she hadn’t said anything, those two dependents would have used the situation to their advantage.
Besides, when Yang Xiaoyu came yesterday, Jiang Si had made it clear she wouldn’t help cover it up.
After pulling weeds in the garden for a while and picking some fresh vegetables, the two went back inside to rest.
By evening, Third Uncle and Uncle Zhong returned with a bountiful haul.
Along with half a bucket of fish, shrimp, and crabs, they had also gathered a full bucket of oyster meat.
Third Uncle was exhilarated. "There were so many! We almost didn’t want to come back."
Jiang Si had initially wanted to complain about them going to the beach without her.
But remembering they’d left before 7 a.m., she quickly made peace with herself.
Forget it—she wasn’t cut out for that kind of hardship.
That night, as expected, they had five or six oyster-based dishes for dinner.
Fortunately, the portions weren’t excessive, as most of the oysters had been used by Third Uncle to make oyster sauce.
Even so, the two of them were kept busy late into the night.
The next morning, Jiang Si woke up clutching her sore lower back, silently vowing:
If anyone ever brought back oysters again, she’d lose her temper!
Shortly after breakfast, Hu Meili and Xu Mingjuan arrived.
Since it was Sunday and they had no other plans, they offered to accompany Jiang Si to the nearby fishing village to look at houses.
Jiang Si didn’t refuse. But just as they were chatting and laughing their way out of the residential compound, someone suddenly blocked their path—
