His tall, imposing figure and handsome, stern features made him impossible for anyone to ignore. As long as Jiang Ting was present, no matter how outstanding the others were, they inevitably became mere background to him.
The instructors immediately stood up as one and saluted.
“Greetings, Commander Gu! Commander Meng! Commander Shen!”
The sudden change left the recruits scrambling. They hurriedly stood up and saluted the commanders along with the veteran soldiers.
Shen Wenjie’s stern expression softened into a faint smile as she waved at everyone.
“Sit down and eat. Relax.”
Shen Wenjie was the head of the Forty-Second Division’s Art and Cultural Troupe. Sitting beside her were Jiang Ting, Meng Weiguo, Li Liang, and Zhang Shaobing.
The recruits were extremely excited. It was only their first day, yet they had already seen three commanders. Their spirits were running high.
And that was precisely why the commanders had come—to get the recruits fired up.
Wen Jiaojiao looked at the commanders with bright, sparkling eyes. Only then did she realize that Meng Weiguo, who had eaten with her the previous day, was also a commander.
As everyone sat down, a gaze suddenly settled on her.
Wen Jiaojiao blinked and responded with a smile.
Jiang Ting expressionlessly withdrew his gaze, only feeling as though some part of him had been lightly brushed by a feather.
Zhang Shaobing went to get two meals, one for himself and one for Jiang Ting.
The commanders all sat at the same table. Li Liang had already brought Meng Weiguo his meal, and throughout lunch, Meng Weiguo kept glancing toward the area behind Jiang Ting from time to time.
Jiang Ting sat upright, concentrating on his food, while Zhang Shaobing, sitting beside him, was much less composed.
What did Meng Weiguo mean by this? Why did he keep staring at his future sister-in-law?!
The commanders had arrived late. Not long after they sat down, the female soldiers gradually began leaving.
Compared with Jiang Ting, the female soldiers preferred Meng Weiguo. Who could resist a young officer with a good family background, handsome looks, and a gentle personality?
If Commander Shen hadn’t been there, they would have dared to go over and chat with Commander Meng. But with Shen Wenjie around, they thought better of it.
She was terrifying. The female soldiers in the art troupe were all afraid of her. She was nearly forty and still unmarried, practically comparable to the legendary “Extinction Nun.”
The new recruits didn’t know this, but the veterans who had been enlisted for more than a year certainly did.
Jiang Ting was practically a god of death. His nickname, the “Cold-Faced Yama,” was no exaggeration. Any female soldier brave enough to fall for Jiang Ting would earn everyone’s respect as a true warrior.
He had given the senior officers no end of headaches. He was already twenty-eight and approaching thirty, yet he was still single. Whenever they asked about him, not a single girl dared to get close. It was embarrassing just to talk about.
Now that they had finally seen the Cold-Faced Yama take an interest in a young girl, Zhang Shaobing almost wished he could lock the girl and Jiang Ting in a room together and let them get married as soon as possible.
Of course, that was only wishful thinking. They were all upright soldiers, so everything still had to be done according to proper procedures~
“Shaoying, aren’t you going to go say hello to your brother?”
The four of them had finished eating and were preparing to leave. Seeing that Zhang Shaoying was acting as though nothing had happened, someone couldn’t help asking.
Zhang Shaoying rolled her eyes.
“No. I’m not close to him. Let’s go back to the dormitory.”
Just as the four of them reached the entrance, Zhang Shaobing called out to her.
“Zhang Shaoying, stop!”
Instead of stopping, Zhang Shaoying took off running. Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she absolutely couldn’t stand her own brother.
Zhang Shaoying ran without hesitation, leaving Wen Jiaojiao and the other two speechless. They turned around to look at the commanders, and sure enough, Zhang Shaobing’s expression had become rather unpleasant.
Shen Wenjie had initially only been curious about Zhang Shaobing’s younger sister. But when the three girls turned around and she saw one of them, her entire body instantly froze.
The chopsticks in her hand slipped from her fingers, but she didn’t even notice.
“Commander Shen?”
Jiang Ting glanced at her, then at Wen Jiaojiao and the other two girls. A flicker of something unreadable passed through his eyes.
Only after hearing her name did Shen Wenjie come back to her senses. But when she wanted to take another careful look, the three girls had already left.
Meng Weiguo immediately put down his chopsticks.
“You two keep eating. I’m going out for a walk.”
Li Liang gave him an ambiguous smile.
He knew it! Commander Meng had definitely taken a fancy to one of the young girls. And there was a good chance she was one of those three.
One should never underestimate a soldier’s instincts.
Meng Weiguo’s departure made Jiang Ting’s expression turn cold for a moment, while Zhang Shaobing’s face darkened completely.
Was Commander Meng actually trying to steal someone right in front of the members of the Sword Division?
“Commander.”
“Let’s go.”
Jiang Ting coolly stood up and left.
……
Wen Jiaojiao hadn’t even reached the dormitory building when Meng Weiguo called out to her.
“Comrade Wen Jiaojiao, would you mind talking for a moment?”
Wen Jiaojiao was utterly confused.
“Now?”
The man gave her a gentle smile.
“Yes, now. Is that convenient?”
Wu Qin and Wang Xiaomei exchanged a knowing look. Wu Qin cleared her throat.
“Jiaojiao, it’s not lights-out yet. Since Commander Meng wants to talk to you about something, Xiaomei and I will head upstairs first.”
“Uh…”
Wen Jiaojiao watched helplessly as the two of them walked away. Maybe Commander Meng really did have something to discuss with her.
“All right, then, Commander Meng.”
After the two girls had left, Wen Lili and Liu Xiaocui finally emerged from the blind spot beside the dormitory building where they had been hiding.
Wen Lili’s eyes were practically burning with jealousy.
How long had it been? Wen Jiaojiao had already managed to get the attention of a commander—and such a young one at that.
While they had been eating, she had overheard the veterans talking. Meng Weiguo’s father was Commander Meng, the division commander.
She couldn’t even imagine what would happen if Wen Jiaojiao really managed to get together with Meng Weiguo. She would truly go from a sparrow to a phoenix.
“Xiaocui, don’t you think Wen Jiaojiao is shameless?”
A dark glint flashed through Liu Xiaocui’s eyes, but she merely sighed.
“Jiaojiao has been beautiful since she was little. It’s not strange that Commander Meng would like her.”
“Bah! She’s nothing but a shameless little seductress!”
Wen Lili spat the words out through clenched teeth. Inwardly, she cursed Wen Jiaojiao and thought that there was no way she would ever marry Commander Meng.
“Shameless. She already has a fiancé, yet she’s still seducing other men!”
Liu Xiaocui was startled by this.
“What fiancé?”
Wen Lili angrily replied, “Xiaocui, you don’t know yet? My third uncle and third aunt have already arranged a marriage for Wen Jiaojiao. The other family has even paid the bride price. As soon as Wen Jiaojiao goes home on leave, she’ll get married.”
“Is that really true?”
Liu Xiaocui’s eyes widened in surprise. It was difficult to tell whether she was excited or simply shocked.
“Of course it’s true. And Wen Jiaojiao’s fiancé isn’t some poor farmer. He’s the town chief’s son.”
“What? The town chief’s son?”
Wen Lili failed to notice the complicated excitement hidden in Liu Xiaocui’s voice.
The Liu family did indeed have a connection with the town chief’s family. To be precise, Liu Xiaocui’s grandmother was the town chief’s cousin.
Not a first cousin, but they weren’t particularly distantly related either.
Liu Xiaocui had heard bits and pieces about the town chief’s family at home, including what had happened to his son’s previous wives.
According to what her grandmother had told her, the first woman had been beaten to death, the second had died after enduring prolonged abuse, and the third had been unable to bear it any longer and had taken her own life by slashing her throat.
People in town knew more or less about what had happened. So no matter how wealthy the family was, no one dared marry their daughter to him.
But people in the villages didn’t know.
Because of that, the town chief often asked Liu Xiaocui’s grandmother to help find young girls from poor families and arrange marriages for his son.