I perked up and listened intently. The host said, "Now, let's welcome a representative from the literacy class admissions to speak."
Two young women walked out, and I took a closer look. It was Su Jiayi and Gu Shunyin. As they neared the podium, my eyes met Su Jiayi's. She even gave me a playful wink. I curved my lips into a small smile.
Su Jiayi gave a usual speech about enrollment. Then it was Gu Shunyin's turn to speak. After she finished her prepared remarks, she looked towards Lu Jiao in the third row. When her gaze swept over me, she said with a smirk, "Everyone should learn from Commander Lu's wife. Even while pregnant, she has such a strong desire to learn that she's joining the literacy class. None of our family members should fall behind."
Her speech mentioned my name twice. Everyone immediately turned to look at the third row, and the chatter began.
"The commander's wife is illiterate?"
"No way."
"If she weren't illiterate, why would she join a literacy class?"
"What a pity. The commander is so capable, yet his wife is an illiterate who can't even read. It's so embarrassing."
"A vixen only needs her looks. What use does she have for substance?"
Saying this, a few of them burst out laughing.
These words more or less reached my ears. Of course, Lu Jiao, who was right beside me, heard them too. He suddenly felt that his way of handling things had been very inappropriate. Although I got the apology I deserved, it also put me right in the spotlight. But if he hadn't handled it this way, he couldn't have just stood by and let me suffer the grievance either.
With that thought, Lu Jiao looked at Gu Shunyin on the stage, and his entire face turned cold.
The woman never imagined that, despite being educated and a doctor, the man she was set up with would show no interest in her, only to turn around and marry a little village girl.
After the meeting ended, the crowd swarmed toward the exit. Lu Jiao pulled me backstage. "My wife isn't feeling well. We're just borrowing this space to rest for a moment."
Someone recognized Lu Jiao. "What's wrong?" they asked with concern.
A woman nearby who had children of her own immediately understood. "The commander's wife is pregnant, isn't she? It's common to feel nauseous during the first three months. Here. Here, sit here." The woman enthusiastically brought over a stool for me. "There's hot water outside. Have your husband get you some."
Lu Jiao said his thanks, helped me get settled, and then went to get the water.
The woman smiled and teased, "Everyone says the commander is as cold as a block of ice. But from what I see, he sure knows how to dote on his wife."
I chimed in. "If he dared to be cold to me, hmph, he could forget about getting into my bed at night."
The woman was stunned for a moment, then burst into loud laughter. She gave me another look. "I never would have guessed. You look so gentle and soft, but you're so amusing when you speak."
Just then, "Lin Yao," a clear, crisp female voice came from the doorway.
I turned to see Su Jiayi walking over to me. Her eyes were still sparkling with excitement. I remembered how charismatic she was when she spoke on stage just now. I couldn't help but compliment her. "Jiayi, you were so charismatic up on stage."
She ran up to me in a few steps and grabbed my wrist. Lowering her voice, she whispered in my ear, "Oh, enough of that. I'll take you to see something hilarious. A real joke."
Something hilarious. I stood up, puzzled. She pulled me out the main door in just a few steps, and the view suddenly opened up. It turned out there was a courtyard connected to the back of the main building. Su Jiayi pulled me along like she knew the place by heart.
She stopped in front of a wooden door. It looked like a kitchen inside.
"Shh, don't talk. Listen," Su Jiayi gestured.
She secretly pressed her ear to the door, and I could hear the voices inside too.
"Lu Jiao, what did you mean by that just now? I was clearly complimenting Comrade Lin. Why are you being so harsh with me?"
It was Gu Shunyin's aggrieved voice. Then came Lu Jiao's ice-cold voice.
"Comrade Gu, if Lin Yao wasn't my wife, would you still have mentioned her on stage this time?"
Gu Shunyin turned her face away and said nothing.
"I don't want her to feel pressured because of my position. I hope Comrade Gu refrains from doing such unnecessary things in the future."
Gu Shunyin's eyes turned red with anger. Lu Jiao couldn't be bothered to say any more. He turned and left.
When Su Jiayi and I heard the footsteps, we scrambled to run back the way we came. As Lu Jiao came out, he saw a familiar figure flash past the opposite doorway. He tightened his grip on his water cup. He frowned slightly and returned to the stool where he had been sitting.
I clutched my chest, panting. "Phew, that was so close. We almost got caught."
"Comrade Lin, your husband is seriously awesome. She needed to be put in her place, acting so high and mighty all the time just because of her family background." Su Jiayi had a look of pure satisfaction on her face. She and Gu Shunyin had never gotten along.
I wasn't really thinking about that. I just hadn't expected that even with such a small thing, Lu Jiao would be so considerate, afraid that I might feel pressured. At that moment, my heart felt as sweet as candy.
Just then, Lu Jiao came back with a cup of tea. Su Jiayi was about to say something else to me, but the moment she saw Lu Jiao's cold expression, she scurried away.
Lu Jiao placed the water in front of me. His brow was still furrowed. I thought he was unhappy about what had just happened. Who knew he would suddenly say, "You're pregnant right now. You shouldn't be doing dangerous things."
I was taking a small sip of my tea. "Huh?" I said, surprised.
Lu Jiao was thinking of how I had just been running to hide from him. He swallowed the lecture that was on the tip of his tongue. Forget it. She's barely twenty years old. Still just a girl. Why be so demanding?
"Hurry up and drink. I'll take you home after you're done."
"No need. I can go by myself. You should get back to your work."
Lu Jiao insisted. "I'm taking you."
I had no choice but to shut up.
The assembly hall was almost empty by then. Lu Jiao took me home and no one said a word the entire way. As I thought about him defending me, I stole a glance at him. His clothes were neat, his side profile handsome. Even though his face was cold, there was no denying he was attractive.
I cleared my throat. "Lu Jiao, thank you for speaking up for me, but I really don't take other people's teasing to heart."
His hand by his side twitched, but he remained silent. He just turned his head slightly to look at me, as if waiting for me to continue.
I shrugged. "You know, I grew up in the village and only finished elementary school. I'm not very educated, unlike Comrade Gu and Comrade Su. You can tell they're intellectuals. It's a fact that I'm uneducated. I'm not ashamed of it. It wasn't that I didn't want to learn. It's that I never had the chance. If I had come from a good family and didn't have to work and do chores every day, I don't think I'd be any worse at studying than anyone else."
"But now, I have this opportunity." The dejection in my voice vanished, and my eyes crinkled as I looked at him. "It's a chance you gave me. I won't let a few sour remarks from others get me down. Not only am I going to the literacy class, I'm going to get first place too. So, you don't have to worry about me."
The wind carried my cheerful voice behind me, and it also made Lu Jiao's heart flutter.
Most of the time, I give people the impression of a delicate flower from a greenhouse. Only Lu Jiao knew I wasn't a flower. I was a small sapling striving to grow into a big tree.