The Great Beauty of the Art Troupe [70s]

Shi Man had a dream.

In the dream, she had married Deputy Commander Ling, the same one she had glanced at a few days ago. He was handsome, but cold and domineering. Even though his future prospects were limitless, he was ruthless, harsh, and extremely overbearing.

As for her… after marriage, she constantly found fault with him, nitpicked over every little thing, acted overly dramatic at every turn, and doubted everything. After years of arguing and torment, they finally divorced. On top of that, she fell from being the shining star of the art troupe to being expelled, ending up in a bleak and lonely life.

This was impossible!

Shi Man woke up in a fright and looked at the jar of trendy candies that the matchmaker had left on the table—that was exactly what Commander Ling had sent her, identical to the ones in her dream.

There was no way she would live a life like that.

Shi Man was the art troupe’s top star. Suitors lined up all the way to the barracks courtyard. There were plenty of decent, thoughtful, well-off officer’s sons interested in her. Why would she suffer through that kind of misery?

She would refuse the matchmaker outright and tell her parents to choose a suitable son-in-law carefully—by no means should it be Commander Ling.

…..

Ling Zhen had been reborn and knew Shi Man’s dramatic tendencies all too well. He was both frustrated and helpless. Cold-faced, uninterested in women, conservative in thought, and old-fashioned, he only wanted to marry her and had never once looked at another woman.

Since life had given him an early start this time, he planned to deal with all the troublesome matters early, so there would be fewer things for her to fuss over in the future.
 

After work, he returned home, only to see the matchmaker clap her hands excitedly. “Ah, Commander Ling! I knew you weren’t interested, so this is perfect—you two won’t be matched!”

Ling Zhen: “?”

 
…..

Everyone knew Shi Man was the art troupe’s top star, and she had countless admirers in the army. Gifts from both inside and outside her family were practically overflowing.

And the young, cold-faced Commander Ling was the most relentless of all. Every day after morning drill, he kept his uniform on, stiff and formal, and rushed to watch her performances, sitting in the front row without missing a single show, guarding her closely.

The other soldiers advised him, “Shi Man is the art troupe’s top star. She has high standards. If she doesn’t like you, just forget it. There are so many girls who like you; hurry up and choose one!”

Ling Zhen shot them a cold glare, then kicked one of the men aside with his long legs. “Get lost!

Was she your wife?

These fools would get all starry-eyed whenever they saw Shi Man. They secretly slipped all sorts of gifts to the matchmaker, thinking he didn’t know?