Cannon Fodder in an Era Drama — I Survive with Acting-Chapter 96: Flattery

"Ajin, by the way, didn’t you say you were going to take me to West Lake sometime? It’s a famously beautiful place, completely picturesque. I heard the flowers in spring are especially gorgeous! The weather is so nice today, and it’s not raining. I think we should go."

Fei Jin hummed in acknowledgment, nodding slightly, his brow furrowed a little.

"If you really want to go, should we head out now?"

As he spoke, he glanced up at the sky.

The sun wasn’t too harsh. It was indeed a perfect day for an outing.

"Let me think... It’s probably better if it’s just the two of us."

Song Qingya said this while stealing a glance at the young couple nearby, who were in a bit of a standoff.

"No problem."

Fei Jin responded at once, agreeing crisply. His tone was firm yet relaxed.

He saw Song Qingya’s eyes keep drifting toward Xiao Yang and Lu Yao.

Fei Jin instantly understood what she was thinking—she wanted to play matchmaker.

A warmth spread through his chest, and the corners of his mouth lifted into a smile.

He then said in a low voice, "Xiao Yang."

His voice wasn’t loud, but it was clear enough for everyone present to hear.

Xiao Yang immediately straightened his back and called out, full of energy.

"Here! What are your orders, village chief?"

Fei Jin smiled and waved a hand at him. "You don’t need to drive me back this afternoon," he said cheerfully. "You two have some fun. You can head back to town tomorrow."

Xiao Yang’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t quite process it and blurted out in astonishment, "Huh? For real?"

’He was ecstatic.’

After a few seconds of stunned silence, he realized he had lost his composure and quickly added.

"It’s not that I don’t believe you, village chief... I’m just... a little too happy..."

Then, he turned to look at the jeep parked by the road, pointed at it, and asked cautiously, "Then, village chief, who’s going to drive the jeep?"

Hearing this, Song Qingya couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Still smiling, she naturally linked her arm with Fei Jin’s.

"Your village chief is driving, of course. Did you think that without you, the car would just fly into a lake on its own?"

"No, no, that’s not... I wouldn’t dare say that."

Xiao Yang quickly waved his hands, explaining in a flustered manner.

In truth, he deeply admired Fei Village Chief, even looking up to him with a kind of hero worship.

’In his mind, their village chief was an all-powerful, larger-than-life hero.’

’A man who could move between heaven and earth with ease.’

’Never mind driving a standard military jeep; he could operate even the most ancient machinery with incredible skill.’

When he had first enlisted, he’d heard the veterans speak with great excitement about it.

Years ago, Fei Village Chief had relied on an old, Soviet-made ZIS-150 truck.

He had maneuvered it through a battlefield ablaze with artillery fire, single-handedly carving out a lifeline.

He had rescued an entire platoon of wounded soldiers.

That battle became legendary, marking his path from a common soldier to the village chief.

"Alright then, we’re off. You two have fun, and make sure you enjoy yourselves!"

Fei Jin waved.

It was nearly noon. The sun was bright, but a gentle breeze tempered the heat.

Song Qingya’s stomach had been rumbling for a while now.

But she was too embarrassed to say she was hungry, so she just endured it in silence.

Xiao Yang, standing to the side, was in the same boat.

Both were young and easily embarrassed.

They protested in unison, blurting out at almost the exact same time:

"What’s so fun about hanging out with him?"

Only after the words were out did they realize they had said almost the exact same thing.

This startling synchronicity made them both freeze for a moment.

Then, their faces flushed bright red, and they quickly clapped their hands over their mouths.

The sight of this, however, made the onlookers erupt in laughter.

The atmosphere was light and cheerful.

’This doesn’t seem like a good place to linger.’

’We should probably leave quickly.’

As she thought this, she urged Fei Jin to hurry up and get in the car.

After all, it was boring to just stand around being a third wheel.

It would be much more practical to go find something to eat.

Fei Jin nodded, then walked around to the passenger side and carefully buckled Song Qingya’s seatbelt for her.

Then he grabbed a light-colored, thin woolen blanket from the back seat and gently draped it over her.

He adjusted the edges of the blanket, then got into the driver’s seat and stepped on the gas.

The car slowly pulled away from the curb.

Fei Jin suddenly brought something up. "Sister-in-law got back from the provincial capital yesterday. She called and said we should find some time to visit her and stop by Old Luo’s place for a bit. How about we swing by this afternoon since we’re already out?"

Song Qingya paused, slightly taken aback. "She called? How come I didn’t know?"

Her voice was tinged with confusion and surprise.

Fei Jin answered as he drove, "Mhm, Sister-in-law called close to midnight. You were already asleep, and I didn’t have the heart to wake you."

"Midnight? Was it that urgent?"

Song Qingya’s brow furrowed slightly.

’It really did sound like something had happened.’

Song Qingya was silent for a few seconds, then nodded. "In that case, let’s go see Brother Luo. We can’t show up empty-handed. Let’s buy some fruit and pastries to take with us. I remember Weiwei loves peach crisps."

Fei Jin nodded in agreement. "Okay. You’re always so thoughtful."

As they spoke, the car slowly pulled over to the side of the road in front of the general store.

Fei Jin turned off the engine, got out, and went into the general store to do some shopping.

It wasn’t long before he came back out.

In his left hand, he held an oil-paper package tied with a red string.

Inside was a large bag of sweet and scallion-flavored peach crisps.

In his right hand, he carried a small, bulging bag filled with fruit.

Song Qingya couldn’t help but laugh at his selection. "Wow," she teased, "I didn’t realize you knew the ropes so well. This is the classic get-well gift set, the absolute standard!"

A faint smile touched Fei Jin’s lips as he nodded.

"Although Sister-in-law didn’t say what was wrong over the phone, I could tell from her tone that Old Luo is most likely sick."

He paused, then continued, "You were the one who first noticed something was off, so you deserve most of the credit. We’ll have to make another trip to the general store on the way back to properly treat you."

With that, he smiled, pulled open his door, and got back into the driver’s seat, buckling his seatbelt.

The car started up again, heading slowly toward their next destination.

"Who knows if I really deserve that much credit? But thanks for the flattery."

A small smile played on Song Qingya’s lips.

She gently rubbed her slightly rounded belly with one hand and said with a grin.

"Since I’m in a good mood today, I’m going to do some serious shopping. It’ll be a treat for all my hard work recently, and a treat for the little one in my belly... and for you, too."

Fei Jin frowned slightly at her words. "Why treat me? I haven’t really done anything to help."

"What do you mean you haven’t helped?"

Song Qingya rolled her eyes, but her tone was still gentle.

"Weren’t you the one who went all the way to the market to buy that batch of medicine, then mailed it to Old Luo? And you even stay up with me every night while I read my medical books—"