A man in his thirties with no children at all—how could the town chief not be anxious about it?
A strange glimmer flashed through Liu Xiaocui’s eyes as she deliberately said enviously, “It’s great to marry the town chief’s son. They’re rich.”
“All right, Lili. Since Jiaojiao is already engaged back home, there’s no way anything can happen between her and Commander Meng. The military doesn’t allow anyone to deceive or interfere with a military marriage. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Wen Lili’s eyes lit up. “Right! I almost forgot. If Wen Jiaojiao really gets involved with Commander Meng, then she’d be two-timing someone. The military would definitely discharge her!”
“Exactly…”
The two chatted and laughed as they walked into the dormitory.
……
Wen Jiaojiao and Meng Weiguo arrived at the training field. It was a suitable place to talk because they could be seen by others, while no one would be able to overhear their conversation.
After all, it was late at night, and the two of them were an unmarried man and woman. They still needed to avoid giving people the wrong impression.
“Commander Meng, did you need to talk to me about something?”
Meng Weiguo smiled. “When we’re alone, you don’t have to call me Commander. Just call me Weiguo.”
“Uh… I don’t think that would be appropriate.”
Looking at his expression, Wen Jiaojiao couldn’t help making a bold guess.
This was only the second time they had met. Surely he couldn’t be…
“There’s nothing inappropriate about it. Don’t be nervous. I’m not here to talk about official business.”
Wen Jiaojiao immediately regretted coming.
She should have just said she was busy and left. Talking about personal matters was precisely what made her nervous!
His status was almost on par with Jiang Ting’s. She was only a new recruit and had no business getting involved with someone like him.
She needed to find an excuse to leave.
“I’m sorry, Commander Meng. My stomach suddenly feels a little uncomfortable. I need to use the restroom. We can talk another day.”
The young woman looked embarrassed and apologetic. Meng Weiguo didn’t think much of it and let her go.
Watching her retreating figure, Meng Weiguo gradually regained his composure.
Fortunately, he hadn’t said it out loud. She had only been at the military base for a few days. If he confessed now, he might frighten her.
But at the same time, he felt a little conflicted.
There were so many wolves around here. If he didn’t stake his claim first, someone else might get to her…
As Wen Jiaojiao hurried back, she suddenly saw someone approaching from the opposite direction.
Her footsteps instinctively came to a stop.
“Commander Jiang!”
Jiang Ting stood beside a tree with both hands behind his back. His gaze toward her was deep and cold.
“Where did you go?”
“I just went for a walk. Why haven’t you gone back yet, Commander?”
The word “Commander” made the man’s jaw tighten slightly. His already expressionless face somehow looked even more intimidating.
Wen Jiaojiao suddenly understood why the veteran soldiers called him the Cold-Faced King of Hell.
He really was frighteningly stern…
Had she said something that displeased him?
Afraid of saying the wrong thing, she firmly shut her mouth.
Jiang Ting stared at her for several seconds before asking in a hard tone, “What did Meng Weiguo say to you?”
“Huh?”
Wen Jiaojiao looked up in surprise.
How did he know that Meng Weiguo had come to talk to her?
“He didn’t say anything. We just happened to run into each other and chatted for a couple of minutes. Then I came back.”
Wen Jiaojiao felt a little uneasy.
What had she done today to make everyone want to have a private conversation with her one after another?
Meng Weiguo had probably wanted to talk to her about his feelings, but the man standing in front of her definitely wasn’t here to discuss romance.
Jiang Ting didn’t continue with the subject. Instead, he asked, “How’s your foot?”
The sudden change of topic left Wen Jiaojiao struggling to keep up with his train of thought.
She gave an innocent smile. “The medicine you gave me worked really well. After resting for a day, it was completely fine.”
Jiang Ting nodded. It was exactly what he had expected.
Wen Jiaojiao waited for a while, but when she saw that he had nothing else to say, she prepared to leave.
Just as she was about to say goodbye, he suddenly called her name.
“Wen Jiaojiao.”
Her name sounded different coming from his lips, his low voice carrying a peculiar charm.
Her legs inexplicably went weak for a moment.
Then Jiang Ting took a step toward her with his long legs. He leaned down and whispered beside her ear,
“Keep your distance from the other male soldiers.”
After saying that, he straightened up.
“It’s getting late. Go back and rest. You have training tomorrow.”
With that, he turned and left.
Wen Jiaojiao stood there dumbfounded, still trying to figure out what exactly he had meant.
Was it a warning?
Or a reminder?
It should be a reminder, right?
After all, she was a new recruit. She hadn’t made any contributions yet, and she hadn’t joined the military to date male soldiers.
Yes, that had to be it.
He was simply reminding her to be careful about her conduct.
It wasn’t until she returned to the dormitory and lay down on her bed that she finally thought about it in a daze.
Commander Jiang was actually a pretty nice person~
For the first three days, they had focused on building their foundation. Once their basic training was mostly complete, they officially began their regular training.
They ran several kilometers every day.
After all, they were artistic soldiers, so their physical requirements weren’t as demanding as those for male soldiers. As long as they reached the passing standard, that was enough.
Shen Wenjie had quietly observed them for an entire week. When she returned to her office, she thought about it for a while before finally making a phone call.
……
“Commander, Commander! Commander Shen of the 42nd Division is calling for you.”
“Wenjie?”
Shen Yunxin had just finished rehearsing when she picked up the phone.
Shen Wenjie got straight to the point.
“Sis, guess what interesting thing I discovered?”
Shen Yunxin picked up her thermos and took a sip.
“What is it? You’re actually keeping me in suspense now.”
Shen Wenjie asked, “Sister, let me ask you something first. When you went to the countryside to work as a sent-down youth back then… did you ever have a child?”
Bang!
The thermos fell to the floor.
For a brief moment, Shen Yunxin’s face went pale. Water spilled all over the floor, but she didn’t even notice.
She forced herself to remain calm.
“I already told you I didn’t. Why are you asking again?”
Shen Wenjie heard the noise through the phone and immediately sensed that something was wrong.
“It’s like this. A few days ago, I saw a new recruit who looks exactly like you did when you were young. In fact, she’s even a little prettier than you were back then.”
“Is that so?”
Shen Yunxin’s hands instantly turned cold. She exerted all her strength to keep them from trembling.
Shen Wenjie knew her cousin well. She didn’t believe Shen Yunxin was the kind of person who would abandon her husband and daughter.
She didn’t press the matter further and simply said, “Sis, I’ll be going back to the old family home next month. Let’s meet then and talk in detail.”
“All right.”
After hanging up, Shen Yunxin pressed a hand against her chest as memories she had buried long ago resurfaced once again.
“Oh, Commander, how did you spill your water?”
A female soldier came in to deliver some documents. When she saw the water on the floor, she quickly put down the papers, picked up the thermos, and went to find something to clean up the mess.
When she returned with the cleaning supplies, the commander had already left the office.
The female soldier couldn’t help feeling puzzled.
The commander had been perfectly fine during rehearsal. Why had she suddenly looked so absent-minded?
Their Commander Shen certainly had an extraordinary background.
Her father was a senior military commander, and her two older brothers held impressive positions as well. Her family background alone was enviable, and the family she had married into was even more prominent.
Now in her forties, she had maintained herself so well that she looked no older than a woman in her thirties.
Shen Yunxin was so blessed that people didn’t even know where to begin envying her.
The female soldier merely had that thought before dismissing what she had seen.
How could their always elegant and composed Commander Shen possibly have looked so lost?
It was probably just because the rehearsal schedule had been too demanding and she was exhausted.
……
This little incident had no effect whatsoever on the new recruits’ training.
Everyone continued sweating it out during training.
The delicate, pampered appearance they had when they first arrived was nowhere to be seen. One by one, they all looked like little mud monkeys.