Chapter Thirty-Five: Red Thread of Fate Ties the Couple Together

  Han Ankang returned to his room to calm down and recover, unaware that in this sanatorium, two unscrupulous men were plotting against him. Similarly, Han Ankang was also unaware of being plotted against, just like the beautiful girl who received a phone call about her grandfather's illness and rushed from Beijing by plane to the military sanatorium.

  When the girl was taken to the residence of Old Commissar Liu Gang by several excited guards who had been watching her reappear, she heard a loud voice from inside the room shouting "No take-backs!" in a thick accent, and suddenly felt very puzzled.

  Grandpa didn't tell her on the phone that his old illness had relapsed? There was no one around to think of her, so she hurriedly asked for leave from the college leadership and flew directly here from Beijing. Even family members, she just called to inform them. Now listening to Grandpa's voice, it doesn't seem like he's sick!

  As soon as the girl pushed open the courtyard door and entered the living room, she saw her old man arguing with an old man in a wheelchair over a game of chess.

  Upon seeing the girl walk in, the old man sitting in a wheelchair suddenly smiled and said: "Hey, isn't this Little Tingting? It's been years since we last met, and that little yellow-haired kid has turned into a beautiful young lady. Scholar, I really doubt how someone as rough as you could have produced such a lovely granddaughter?"

  Old man just opened his mouth, turned around to see his granddaughter looking at him with a puzzled face. Liu Gang was about to call her over when he saw Zhao Hu coming in a wheelchair to visit. When Liu's attention shifted to his granddaughter, Zhao messed up the chessboard, ruining the game that Liu was about to win.

  At that moment, Liu Gang was so angry that he stood up and shouted: "Zhao Lao Hu, you scoundrel, your chess skills are still so poor. I was about to win, but you cheated again. Do you still want to save face?"

  This made him very angry, but what he got in return was his own granddaughter's unhappy expression: "Grandpa, you actually deceived me. You're fine now, where did the old illness come from? Scared our family to ask for leave directly and rush over without even going home. But you're actually okay, still playing chess with this old man. I want a reasonable explanation from you! Hmph!"

  Liu Gang, seemingly frightened by his granddaughter's angry look, immediately tried to placate her with a smile: "Xiao Ting, it's not that you haven't come to see Grandpa for so long, Grandpa misses you so much, just told a small lie to trick you! When you were little, Grandpa loved you the most, now that you've grown up, don't you want to be filial to Grandpa anymore?"

  Facing this grandfather who loved to show off in front of her, Liu Liting, who had traveled from Beijing, was also left crying and laughing at the same time. Growing up with her grandfather in a military compound since she was young, her relationship with him was undoubtedly the closest. Her parents were always busy with work, and when she was a child, they almost always left her to grow up with her grandparents in the military compound.

  Until a few years ago when grandma passed away, fearing that this retired grandfather would be lonely by himself, she also fulfilled her duty as a granddaughter and accompanied this grandfather to live in the old house of Jilin Military Region.

  Until later, her grandfather was invited by the military district to move to this sanatorium for recuperation, she moved to Beijing to live with her parents. In addition, since she just entered university life this year, as long as there is a holiday, she will come to see this increasingly mischievous grandfather. After all, compared to her parents who are busy working every day, she is undoubtedly the most leisurely person in the family.

  Seeing Liu Gang eating in front of his granddaughter, Zhao Hu looked at him with a smile and said: "Xiao Tingting, don't you recognize me? Have you forgotten that when you lived in the military compound, I used to hold you in my arms? After all these years, the little girl who used to cry so much has grown up to be so beautiful.

  No wonder your grandfather, that old thing, has been boasting all day that his granddaughter looks like a celestial being, and dared to have that crooked idea. However, with this girl's appearance, it's not a loss for her to be with Little Han."

  Just as Liu Liting was wondering who this 'Little Han' was, Liu Gang smiled and said: "Of course, it doesn't matter whose family he's from. Girl, come over and meet your Grandfather Zhao. This is Grandfather Zhao, who lived next door to Grandpa back then, the one you used to beg for that tiger skin blanket when you were little, Commander Zhao."

  As soon as she heard this, Liu Liting quickly recalled the events of her childhood and suddenly realized that the old man in front of her was actually Zhao Hu, the commander of the military district who lived in the military compound when she was a child. As for wanting to use the tiger skin as a quilt, it was also something she had heard people say when she was young, that tiger skin was very warm and cozy, and it was a joke she made because she was afraid of the cold.

  Thinking back to the time when she saw this old man, it's been almost ten years since he retired from the military district number one, Liu Liting said with a very polite and dignified tone: "Grandpa Zhao, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you just now. I've heard Grandpa mention before that after you retired, he had no one to drink or play chess with. I didn't expect that even in old age, you two would still get together. With you as his companion, Grandpa won't be so bored anymore!"

  This is not a false statement. As Liu Gang, who had partnered with Zhao Hu for a very long time, he admired this iron-boned commander. Later, the commanders who succeeded him could not find the kind of bold and generous spirit that was unique to northerners like Zhao Hu.

  Listening to Liu Liting's words, Zhao Hu smiled and said: "With your grandfather's drinking capacity, two of them are not my opponents. He likes to play chess with me, that is, he likes to find the feeling of victory on me. This guy is getting more and more cunning, now even such a beautiful granddaughter can be calculated.

  Xiao Tingting, don't mind him, let's chat with your Tiger Grandpa. By the way, I heard from your grandpa that you're now studying in Beijing? Is it Tsinghua or Peking University?

  Liu Liting looked a bit embarrassed and said: "Grandpa Zhao, I reported to the Academy of Arts, now a freshman at Kyoto Film Academy, majoring in acting."

  As soon as he heard this, Zhao Hu was stunned and turned his head to ask: "Bookworm, why did you let her take the entrance exam for that kind of school? I remember hearing you say before that this girl's grades have always been good. How come she ended up taking the entrance exam for a school like that?"

  For someone like Zhao Hu, perhaps only Tsinghua and Peking Universities, the top two universities in China, are the schools that their children should attend. For people from a military background like them, film academies are undoubtedly not what they hope for. After all, in their minds, no matter how good a film academy is, it's still a school that cultivates actors.

  Facing such a problem, Liu Gang also said helplessly: "Do you think I wanted to? This girl didn't inherit anything else from me, but she did inherit my temperament. In order to apply for film school, she said she wanted to be an actor and experience the ups and downs of life, and she wore me down for half a year. In the end, I couldn't stand her stubbornness, so I just let her sign up."

  Times have changed, and our old-fashioned ideas need to change too! As long as this girl behaves properly and does the right thing, then let her be happy. After all, I only have one granddaughter, and as long as she's happy, that's all that matters. However, when it comes to her husband, he must get my approval. If she dares to choose a boy I don't like, I'll shoot him dead!

  Listening to her grandfather mention this issue again, Liu Liting said helplessly: "Grandfather, I'm only 19 years old this year. Are you worried too early about this? I've said it before, I don't want to find a boyfriend for now. In the future when I do talk about having a boyfriend, I'll definitely let you take a look first. If you don't agree, then I won't pursue it. Can you finally be at ease?"

  From a young age, Liu Liting has always tried to avoid letting others know that she comes from a military family. Although her parents are now experts in scientific research and appear ordinary on file.

  It's rare to know that she has a grandfather who served as the political commissar of a large military region and retired with the rank of general. In Northeast China, the Liu family still has a relatively high reputation, but they live a relatively low-key life compared to her family. After all, neither of her parents holds any military positions, although two uncles and a cousin are currently serving in the Chinese army.

  Perhaps it was because both uncles' families had only boys, she was the family's only princess, and since childhood, she had been especially loved by Liu Gang and his wife. As a result, Liu Liting's relationship with her grandparents was also the closest. For this reason, whenever she spoke, her two older cousins, who were both junior and senior colonels in the military, would obediently listen to her commands.

  Coming from such a family, Liu Liting knew very early on that her marriage would not be as free as those of ordinary girls. Therefore, she has always tried to avoid contact with some boys who wanted to pursue her. Firstly, she really didn't have feelings for them, and secondly, she didn't want to face unanimous opposition from her family before the relationship had even started.

  After reiterating her attitude, Liu Liting did not expect that this grandfather who usually opposed her from being in contact with boys would smile as if he had a deeper meaning and say: "At 19 years old, you're not young anymore. If there's a suitable boy, you can try to get along with him. This time, Grandpa called you here to let you take a look at a boy who is four years older than you."

  You try to get in touch with him first, Grandpa knows that a forced melon is not sweet. But what I want to say is, you little girl have been arrogant since childhood, this time let you see what a young man with ambition looks like. You always told Grandpa that there are many boys who have a crush on you and are eager to please you. Now try it out for Grandpa and see if you can make that guy fall in love with you?

  The implication of this remark is that someone has arranged a blind date for her. Although she knew that her grandfather was intentionally provoking her, she really wanted to see what would happen. As the so-called "flower" of the film academy, could there really be a boy who wouldn't pay attention to her? It's probably not common in this day and age for cats not to eat fish or dogs not to eat meat, right?

  With this unyielding mindset, Liu Liting felt extremely frustrated in the days that followed. Because she didn't know that for Han Ankang now, studying medicine was the top priority, and everything else took a backseat. No matter how beautiful she was, in front of him, she was just a woman slightly healthier than his patients!