Shen Fuyao looked at the hysterical, unhinged Xia Yulan and sneered inwardly. In her previous life, right before she died, that ungrateful little white-eyed wolf had still described Xia Yulan as gentle and elegant. Now, after just a few sharp words, she had revealed herself to be a full-blown madwoman.
“You’re just a dancer in the cultural troupe. What right do you have to put me in solitary confinement?”
The moment Xia Yulan heard that, she completely lost her composure.
Before today, she had never imagined that Shen Fuyao would be this beautiful—so beautiful it made her burn with jealousy.
And from Shen Fuyao’s words, she seemed to know about what had happened between her and Wang Chaoying. She even appeared to know that they had secretly given birth to twins.
Back then, when she became pregnant before marriage, Xia Yulan had only dared to tell her biological mother, Xie Furong.
When the pregnancy reached three or four months and began to show, Xie Furong arranged for Xia Yulan to return to her hometown. She took leave from the cultural troupe under the pretext of going home to care for her sick grandmother. She stayed away for more than half a year, gave birth to the children, contacted Wang Chaoying to take them away, and only then returned.
The commander was always busy and never noticed anything amiss. Xia Yulan had been only twenty years old when she gave birth—young, resilient, and quick to recover. On top of that, she was a dancer. After finishing her postpartum confinement and training for a month or two, her figure returned to normal. When she went back to the army, no one suspected a thing.
Xia Yulan didn’t know whether Shen Fuyao truly knew about her giving birth, or if she was just trying to bait her. But either way, she absolutely could not let this matter reach the commander’s ears.
Her stepfather had never mistreated her materially or in daily life. Perhaps to repay the life-saving favor her biological father, Xia Dadan, had once shown him, the commander treated Xia Yulan and her brother even better than his own biological son, Shen Nianqiu.
But giving birth out of wedlock was a scandal of the worst kind. If people in the army found out, there would be no way she could stay in the cultural troupe.
Xia Yulan loved dancing. Being forced to leave the troupe would be a devastating blow to her.
What was more, she prided herself on her beauty. In the entire military compound, she believed she was the prettiest. She could not tolerate anyone more beautiful than herself appearing before her eyes.
That was why Xia Yulan wanted Shen Fuyao dead.
Three days and three nights in solitary confinement—no food, no water. Even if she didn’t die, she would go mad.
Wang Chaoying was also afraid that Shen Fuyao would take the matter straight to the commander. The commendation ceremony was scheduled for the day after tomorrow, and his promotion hadn’t been finalized yet. He absolutely could not afford for things to go wrong at the final moment.
“Shen Fuyao, Yulan’s father is the commander. And you did collude with bandits. Why wouldn’t she have the authority to put you in confinement? If you insist that she’s just a cultural troupe member with no authority, then what about me, as a battalion commander—do I have it?”After speaking, Wang Chaoying continued ordering the security personnel to seize Shen Fuyao.
When the security staff heard the words “battalion commander,” they immediately stepped forward. Shen Fuyao prepared to fight back. She could not allow herself to be taken without resistance. She needed to find someone with higher rank than Wang Chaoying and lay out the truth completely.
When she had been resting with her eyes closed on the train earlier, her consciousness had entered her private space. While inventorying the items taken from the Wang household, she had discovered a locked drawer containing Wang Chaoying’s diary, with Xia Yulan’s photograph tucked inside.
With that evidence, she could conclusively destroy Xia Yulan over the issue of giving birth out of wedlock.
“Stop.”Before Shen Fuyao could make a move, Dongfang Yunqi forced himself upright in bed and shouted loudly,“I am the division commander of the 301st Science and Technology Division. I’d like to see who dares to arrest her.”
The moment the words “division commander” rang out, the security personnel immediately froze, not daring to step forward.
Wang Chaoying was stunned. He knew that the 301st unit had also participated in this mission, but he had never met Dongfang Yunqi and didn’t recognize him. Now, a division commander—several ranks above him—had suddenly appeared. Wang Chaoying no longer dared to forcibly take Shen Fuyao away. Lowering his tone, he said:
“Sir, Shen Fuyao colluded with bandits. My adopted son, Wang Zhuo’er, can testify. We need to take her back for investigation.”
Xia Yulan was far less polite than Wang Chaoying. To her, a mere division commander was nothing compared to her stepfather, a full army-level commander.
“Chaoying, why are you talking to him so politely?” she snapped.“My father is the commander—he would definitely agree to detaining her first. What, is a tiny division commander trying to shield a criminal now?”
Xia Yulan stared at Shen Fuyao’s exquisitely flawless face, jealousy twisting her features beyond recognition. She began spewing slander without restraint, turning to Dongfang Yunqi on the hospital bed.
“She’s your old flame, isn’t she? That’s why you’re protecting her. Let me tell you, don’t be fooled by her. She’s slept with several bandits already. You picked up a pair of worn-out shoes and treat them like treasure—just wait till you catch some filthy—”
Before she could finish the word “disease,” a figure flashed forward.
Xia Yulan didn’t even have time to react.
Smack! Smack!
Two resounding slaps landed hard across her face.
In an instant, two clear handprints appeared on her once-fair cheeks.
“Ah!”Xia Yulan screamed in pain, completely losing control.“Ahhh! I’m the commander’s daughter! How dare you hit me! You’re dead—I’ll tell my dad, and he’ll definitely avenge me! I’ll make him order you to be shot!”
“Nonsense!”A stern elderly male voice rang out.
Immediately after came a gentle middle-aged woman’s voice.“Old Shen, don’t be angry. Yulan must have been bullied badly to say something so impulsive. Let’s go in first and understand exactly what happened.”
“Dad! Mom! Someone hit me!”The moment she heard the voices, Xia Yulan rushed toward the door and threw herself into the middle-aged man’s arms, crying pitifully.
“Dad, Mom, look at my face—it’s all swollen from being hit!”
“Even if you were hit, you cannot invoke my name and talk about executing people,”Commander Shen reprimanded her immediately.“It’s fine to be willful at home, but you cannot throw your weight around outside just because you’re the commander’s daughter.”
“Dad, I was wrong. But she colluded with bandits. She not only refused to cooperate with the investigation—she even hit me.”Knowing her stepfather’s temperament, Xia Yulan softened her tone, pointing at Shen Fuyao with a pitiful expression.
Commander Shen frowned and looked toward Shen Fuyao—just as Shen Fuyao looked back at him.
The moment she clearly saw the commander’s features, Shen Fuyao’s heart gave a violent jolt.
Age had changed his face—his features and contours were not the same as when he was young. But looking carefully, he still bore a striking resemblance to the man in the old photograph her grandmother often took out to reminisce over.