“Why, though? Is my cooking not to your liking?”
Liang Yu was utterly perplexed by Lin Yu’s sudden request, her curiosity piqued as to the reason behind it.
Gently, she plucked the half-eaten bun from Lin Yu’s lips and took a bite herself. “Surely not,” she murmured, “the taste is practically identical to theirs…”
Observing her senior’s descent into self-doubt, Lin Yu swiftly interjected with an explanation, “It’s not that your cooking isn’t delicious; it’s simply that I’ve had a realization.”
“A realization about what?”
“They’ll speak ill of me, making it impossible for me to truly integrate into the frontline unit, and that would be…”
Just as Liang Yu raised her hand, intending to flick her forehead, Lin Yu, with lightning-fast reflexes, parried the gesture with the back of her hand. The intended flick, meant for her brow, merely met her palm instead.
A faint tremor resonated from her steel helmet, seemingly a result of her knuckle striking its rim during Lin Yu’s defensive maneuver.
“Ouch… *cough, cough*. This is easily handled.” She shook out her hand, quickly masking her wince of pain, then tucked the remaining half of the bun from her left hand back into Lin Yu’s mouth. “Just watch me.”
With that, she took the mess tin from Lin Yu’s lap and presented it to the other soldiers.
The soldiers regarded her with puzzled expressions, but she simply pulled out a meat bun and pressed it into one man’s hand. “A share for everyone present,” she declared, “don’t be shy.”
Out of the eight small, delicate meat buns, Lin Yu had consumed one, leaving seven. With only five people present, there was more than enough for each person to receive one.
As she placed the pristine white meat buns into their grimy hands, Liang Yu offered them a slight smile. “Little Yu is still a fresh recruit, not yet accustomed to everything. Should she make any missteps in her daily duties, I kindly ask for your patience and understanding.”
The atmosphere within the bunker erupted the moment they realized the buns were filled with meat, and a chorus of greedy gazes converged upon the medical senior’s metal mess tin.
“Should the opportunity arise in the future, we’ll bring some cigarettes along,” she continued, “and we hope everyone can get along well with Little Yu. While she may seem quiet on the surface, she’s actually a very kind-hearted child.”
Having delivered her message, and ignoring their fervent stares, Liang Yu returned to Lin Yu’s side, crouching down to place the mess tin, along with the two remaining buns, back onto Lin Yu’s lap.
With a playful nudge, she even used a finger to push the partially eaten bun further into Lin Yu’s mouth.
“Men are all like this, you see,” she whispered conspiratorially to Lin Yu. “Give them a few cigarettes, a bit of liquor, and they’ll be perfectly content, laughing merrily without a care in the world. If you happen to share some of your perks with them when you receive special treatment, who would ever ostracize you? They’d be scrambling to get close to you.”
“As long as you don’t always hoard everything for yourself, sharing a little with them ensures no one will ever accuse us of giving you preferential treatment.”
As Lin Yu chewed the starchy bun and its savory meat filling, she simultaneously mulled over the senior’s words in her mind.
‘Give them some cigarettes and liquor, and they’ll be happy?’
Pondering the senior’s insight, Lin Yu recalled her contaminated water bottle from the previous night.
While she currently felt no interest in the cigarettes Liang Yu mentioned, she remembered how, just yesterday, he had seized her water bottle without a word and taken a massive gulp. Even if he wasn’t a confirmed drunkard, he clearly had a strong fondness for hard liquor.
Having neither smoked nor drunk in her previous life, and now, without access to either cigarettes or alcohol—and not even being a man—she likely would never truly grasp the pleasure they offered.
Taking another bite of the bun, she skillfully separated the meat filling with her tongue, swallowing it before the bread. Lin Yu then quietly contemplated her next course of action.
To thoroughly shed her tarnished reputation, she needed to find a compelling positive example to widely publicize. Perhaps a certain ‘dead man’ she had treated, who was now unequivocally alive and well.
“Oh, by the way, didn’t Nangong take you to sit with Lieutenant Xia for a bit yesterday?”
“…Yes, that’s right.”
The senior shuffled two steps sideways, settling onto a wooden crate beside Lin Yu. “So, what did you think?”
Lin Yu blinked, not quite grasping the implication. “What do you mean, ‘what did I think’?”
“Lieutenant Xia, of course. He’s quite a catch, still single, handsome, and educated to boot. While his rank is only that of an officer, for a civilian who enlisted, he’s achieved considerable success. And mind you, he’s not even thirty yet.”
‘Hmph, and I’m only fifteen.’
Lin Yu now understood the senior’s underlying intention: she was trying to find her a ‘match’.
“Liang Yu,” she countered, picking up another meat bun and speaking with a muffled voice, “we’re still in the midst of a war. This is hardly the time to be contemplating such matters.”
“Why can’t we consider it?” Liang Yu pressed. “This war is almost over, and talented officers like Lieutenant Xia will undoubtedly be in high demand. It’s a prime opportunity, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Besides, his given name is ‘Xia Yu,’ which perfectly complements yours. It’s practically a fated coincidence bringing you two together!”
‘Tsk…’
‘Why on earth am I suddenly being set up on a blind date? If it actually succeeded and I dared to declare a ‘going home to get married’ flag, I’d probably be obliterated, bunker and all, by a single howitzer shell.’
Lin Yu vigorously shook her head, dismissing Liang Yu’s suggestion. “It’s simply out of the question. Now isn’t the time. Once the war concludes—”
‘Wait, wouldn’t saying that also be a flag?’
Swallowing the latter half of her sentence, Lin Yu resolved to abandon the vexing topic. “Our careers must take precedence. Lieutenant Xia should dedicate himself to his duties, and I, likewise, to mine.”
“Alright,” Liang Yu conceded, sensing Lin Yu’s reluctance to discuss the matter further. She didn’t press her. “Then, next time you encounter someone you fancy, remember to tell us. We’ll all help you strategize.”
After finishing breakfast, she silently waved goodbye to her senior, and the daily routine of a battlefield medic officially commenced.
The buns her senior had distributed to the others seemed to have worked their magic. They no longer ostracized Lin Yu, either consciously or unconsciously, and occasionally, someone would even initiate a conversation with her. While the topics remained rather reserved, confined to mundane daily matters without delving into anything deeper, it was, perhaps, a sign of improving relations?
She couldn’t be certain if her image in their minds had improved, but one thing she knew for sure: only one person remained truly isolated now.
‘Hmm…’
‘Perhaps I should offer this fellow some advice? Considering he once testified on my behalf, I could extend a little help to him, something within my capabilities, to slightly improve his utterly dismal interpersonal relationships.’
“Hey, I’m talking to you.”
As she still didn’t know his name, Lin Yu resorted to the rather impolite address, “Hey.” “I have something I’d like to say to you.”
“Please, go on.”
“I simply hope you’ll refrain from constantly spouting phrases like ‘His Majesty the Emperor, loyal and patriotic’—I know you’re eager to speak, but please hear me out first—”
Raising her voice slightly to preempt his impending rebuttal, Lin Yu pressed on, “Do you believe I am loyal to the emperor and patriotic?”
He nodded.
“Do I constantly utter those words?”
He considered it carefully, then shook his head. “No, you don’t.”
“You must have noticed that one of the reasons for their aversion to you is your incessant repetition of those tiresome phrases. Yet, this doesn’t imply they are not His Majesty the Emperor’s most devoted warriors, for the qualities of loyalty and patriotism are not solely expressed through words.”
“They are all patriots; they merely harbor that sentiment quietly within their hearts. As soldiers, they remain steadfast in the trenches, continuing to obey their commanders’ orders. This, above all, is the truest embodiment of loyalty.”
“A traitor to the emperor could repeat those words a thousand times and never become a loyal patriot. Conversely, a truly loyal patriot, even if they never voice their devotion, would still harbor unwavering fealty in their heart. To embed those sentiments deep within one’s heart, to let them manifest in one’s actions rather than mechanically repeating them on the surface, that is the true mark of a patriot.”
“Do you understand now?” Lin Yu asked, half-crouching before him, having delivered her lengthy discourse.
Lin Yu, in truth, did not genuinely subscribe to the sentiments she was expressing. Having grown up in a republic in her previous life, she found herself utterly unable to comprehend the significance of an ’emperor’. Yet, given that the man before her was a veritable simpleton with nothing but “His Majesty the Emperor” filling his thoughts, she had no choice but to hold her nose and portray herself as a witty conservative (TL Note: A ‘yòurén,’ or ‘right-winger,’ generally refers to a conservative or reactionary individual.)
“I don’t understand,” he insisted. “Constantly repeating these words deepens one’s faith. Why bury them in one’s heart? Furthermore, I wish more people could truly comprehend His Majesty the Emperor’s profound devotion to all his people…”
‘He truly is an utter imbecile.’
Before anyone else could notice their impromptu patriotism lesson, Lin Yu quickly clamped her hand over his mouth, physically stifling his next ‘humorous’ declaration back into his throat.
Undoubtedly, he was a seasoned feudalist warrior, and his path to ideological ‘correction’ would be a long and arduous one.