Only at this moment did Meng Youyou finally understand what Huo Qingshan meant by those vague, unfinished words before he left.

She recalled stories her mother had once told her about growing up—how back then, people were generally more conservative. When girls reached puberty, they were extremely shy about such matters. Sanitary belts were washed in secret and hung out to dry only when no one was around.

Before, Meng Youyou had only half-listened and never thought much of it.

When she made the shopping list that afternoon, she had simply estimated that her time was coming soon. And since she was unfamiliar with the place, she casually added it to the list without much thought.

To her, it had never been something that needed to be hidden or treated as shameful.

But now, looking at the item wrapped layer upon layer in kraft paper, she finally gained a concrete understanding of what her mother meant by “simple and conservative customs.”

So in that rigid, old-fashioned man’s eyes, openly asking him to buy a sanitary belt must have been practically outrageous.

Thinking about it that way, calling her “open-minded” was already a rather polite choice of words.

Meng Youyou curled her lips in disagreement.

She understood that people from different eras naturally held different beliefs. She couldn’t stand on some higher moral ground and judge the past by modern standards—that would be unfair.

But—

Humans all shared one common flaw.

Even when they understood the reasoning, whether they could truly accept it was another matter entirely.

Meng Youyou was a perfect example.

She didn’t like being lectured. She followed her own instincts.

Don’t tell me how to live—especially when I’m not wrong.

Even if these ideas were deeply ingrained in this era…

If everyone thought this way, did that make it right?

If it had always been this way, did that make it correct?

She remembered the first time she watched the American show 2 Broke Girls. One line had left a deep impression on her:

“If men got periods, tampons would be free and thrown from floats like Mardi Gras beads!”

That line had shaken her worldview at the time. She had carefully written it down and brought it to her mother.

“Mom, do you think this is true?”

Her mother had smiled gently, thought for a moment, and said:

“Do you remember when you scored sixty on your math test? I told you if you got eighty next time, I’d take you to the amusement park—but you ended up getting seventy.”

Then she asked,

“If I had only set your goal at seventy, do you think you would have reached seventy?”

It was because there were “radicals” pushing forward that “moderates” could gradually move toward neutrality.

Meng Youyou didn’t know if one day sanitary products would truly be celebrated openly—distributed from parade floats, handed out freely and joyfully to those who needed them.

But she held onto that hope.

And now—

Just because she knew that women in the 21st century could face so-called “period shame” openly and confidently say no—

Did that mean the history of women’s stigmatized, natural needs during this transitional era should simply be ignored?

Pretended not to exist?

Or accepted as something inevitable?

Should she follow the so-called safe mainstream and accept things as they were—stuck at a “forty or fifty out of a hundred”?

No.

Since fate had brought her here, Meng Youyou refused to be a silent witness to this muted chapter in the history of sanitary products.

…

The next morning, when she ran into Huo Qingshan in the cafeteria, she deliberately walked over.

She placed her tray across from him and sat down without hesitation.

Smiling brightly, she greeted him:

“Good morning, Battalion Commander Huo~”

He barely looked up, giving a small nod.

“Good morning.”

His tone was cold, devoid of warmth.

Her smile stiffened for a moment, but she quickly recovered—if anything, her smile grew even brighter.

With an innocent, almost naive tone, she asked:

“Yesterday, you said I was ‘open-minded’ and not properly conducting myself—and that I shouldn’t ask unfamiliar male comrades to buy certain things for me. What exactly did you mean by that?”

“I thought about it all night and still couldn’t figure it out.”

She held his gaze the entire time, refusing to back down.

“Let’s not beat around the bush. Since we ran into each other today, could you please explain it clearly?”

Being subtly insulted and simply swallowing it wasn’t her style.

After thinking it over all night, she had decided—

She wouldn’t let it go.

“Open-minded”…? What kind of comment was that?

Asking someone to buy a sanitary belt made her “open-minded”?

Sounds more like your thinking hasn’t evolved yet.

Huo Qingshan looked up and met her bright, blinking eyes—eyes that seemed to say, I don’t understand, can you explain?

But having dealt with all kinds of people, he saw right through her act.

She knew exactly what she was doing.

He didn’t answer her directly. Instead, he asked calmly:

“You don’t know what I was referring to?”

His gaze met hers head-on, breaking through her carefully crafted innocence.

Seeing that there was no point in circling around, Meng Youyou went straight to the point:

“Let me ask you this—if one day your superior asked you to buy him a pack of cigarettes, would you think that was strange? Would you label him as ‘open-minded’ because of it?”

“I don’t think those two situations are comparable,” Huo Qingshan replied calmly. “There’s a fundamental difference. Your comparison is misleading.”

“Oh? What difference?” Her eyes sharpened, her presence suddenly more imposing.

He fell silent.

He simply looked at her, his expression indifferent, faintly displeased—like he found the question ridiculous.

Or unnecessary to answer.

Seeing this, her brows furrowed.

“Look at that—how arrogant,” she said bluntly. “When you can’t answer, you just refuse to engage.”

“Or are you avoiding the issue because it hits a nerve? Am I right, Battalion Commander Huo?”

She raised a brow in mockery.

“The truth is—you can’t explain the difference between buying cigarettes and buying sanitary products. Because there is no difference.”

“Buying a sanitary belt is just as normal as buying cigarettes. There’s no need to hide it. It’s not something shameful.”

“It’s just an ordinary hygiene product. The stigma comes from people’s long-ingrained beliefs—not from the item itself.”

“We women should be able to pass sanitary products as openly and naturally as men pass cigarettes.”

In truth, she didn’t expect to change his mind.

People shaped by rigid environments rarely changed easily.

“So, Comrade Huo Qingshan,” she continued, her tone firm and commanding,

“You judged me yesterday as ‘open-minded’ and lacking self-respect just because I asked you to buy a sanitary belt. I have every reason to believe your use of the word ‘open-minded’ was not a compliment. And I find that deeply offensive.”

“So today, I’ll return the favor.”

“I think you’re overly self-righteous, stubborn, and deeply patriarchal. You cling to rigid rules and refuse to adapt. I sincerely suggest you learn to listen to others instead of remaining a trapped beast, standing still in your own beliefs.”

At the end of the day, she still couldn’t let go of Zhang Yong’s punishment.

After venting everything in one breath, she picked up her tray and walked away without waiting for his response.

After a few steps, she suddenly stopped.

Then turned back.

She walked over and slammed a stack of cash onto the table in front of him.

“One hundred and five yuan. Keep the extra thirty cents as a tip for running errands, Battalion Commander Huo.”

She even shot him a provocative glare.

Then she stormed out of the cafeteria like a gust of wind.

Leaving behind—

Huo Qingshan, sitting silently in place.

And a group of soldiers, exchanging glances and quietly lowering the volume of their eating.

Author’s Note:

Some readers may not understand the female lead’s perspective on sanitary products, so here’s a brief explanation:

From her point of view, sanitary products are just ordinary items—no different from tissues. She doesn’t deny that the male lead has the right to refuse to buy them, but she rejects being labeled as lacking self-respect because of it.

I also hope readers who disagree with her perspective will consider the following:

1. Are today’s mainstream ideas already the most advanced possible?
2. In 30 or 50 years, could society become even more open-minded?
3. What exactly is “period shame”? Where are its boundaries?
4. What is the fundamental difference between sanitary products, tissues for nosebleeds, and toilet paper?

Please reflect on these questions before commenting, rather than simply saying, “That’s not how people do things nowadays.”

To be honest, this perspective isn’t entirely original—it comes partly from books and a blogger whose ideas made me think deeply. I included it in the story in hopes of encouraging more rational discussion.

I once saw a social experiment where a girl asked a stranger to help buy sanitary products. Not only did he agree, but he also accompanied her to the restroom and waited outside. I found that moment warm—and completely normal. Those young men were admirable.

Some brands have already begun encouraging women to place sanitary products openly on desks, just like tissues.

The slogan is: “Sanitary products don’t need to be hidden.”

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