“We’ve already come this far. There’s no turning back now, is there?”
Yan Bingqin fell silent for a moment before nodding.
“Alright.”
In any case, she had never planned to spend Commander Xie’s money.
The savings she and Lulu had were more than enough to support themselves and to prepare a dowry for Lulu in the future.
Besides, she was still young. If the opportunity arose, she hoped to find work and earn her own income.
Commander Xie looked at her but said nothing more.
The woman before him was so beautiful that she seemed almost unreal, like a bubble that might burst with the slightest touch.
The first time he had met her, it had felt as though an earthquake and tsunami had erupted inside his heart.
Ning Tiegen had been a fool.
While married to such a woman, he had carried on an ambiguous relationship with a nurse at the military hospital. To keep Yan Bingqin out of the way, he had even sent her to take care of another man.
No one knew how tortured Commander Xie had been during the days Yan Bingqin cared for him.
The more he saw her, the more deeply he fell for her.
But she was his comrade’s wife.
And from everything he could tell, Yan Bingqin loved Ning Tiegen very much.
So he had ruthlessly buried those feelings.
Later, he married as well, living the ordinary life society expected of him.
His wife never truly liked him either.
She complained that he was too cold, that he rarely came home. After they had children, they became even more distant than strangers.
Then, on the day his wife died, a strange man came to the house, crying so hard he could barely stand.
Only then did Commander Xie understand.
After that, he raised his two children alone.
He knew he owed them much, but there was only so much he could do.
He endured it all for years.
Until the day he heard that Ning Tiegen had passed away.
For the first time in his life, he acted on impulse.
He contacted Yan Bingqin.
He had assumed that, with her honest and innocent nature, she would refuse him.
To his surprise…
She had agreed.
Watching Yan Bingqin walk back into the living room, Commander Xie silently reminded himself:
Don’t rush.
Absolutely don’t rush.
If I ruin this… I’ll never have another chance for the rest of my life.
By the time Ning Lu and Xie Qingle woke up, it was already nine-thirty.
Commander Xie had gone off to another meeting.
Yan Bingqin had left breakfast for the two girls.
Xie Qingle devoured her food in huge mouthfuls, her eyes turning red with emotion once again.
For the first time in her life…
She knew what it felt like to have a mother.
Without thinking, she blurted out,
“Mom Yan… These pancakes are so delicious!”
Yan Bingqin smiled warmly.
She handed Xie Qingle a red envelope.
“I didn’t get the chance to give this to you yesterday. It’s our first meeting—please accept this as a small gift.”
Xie Qingle was flattered and immediately tried to refuse, but Yan Bingqin insisted until she finally accepted it.
Just then, several visitors arrived.
One was Sister Wang, the wife of Company Commander Ma from next door.
The other two were He Wanyu and Meng Qingqing.
The moment Sister Wang entered, her eyes went straight to Ning Lu.
The longer she looked, the more she liked the girl.
The night before, several military wives had gathered to gossip.
Commander Xie’s second wife might be a little plump, but she was genuinely beautiful.
Her daughter, however, was an absolute knockout—so stunning that even Xie Qingle and He Wanyu were overshadowed.
Originally, Sister Wang had hoped to match her son with Xie Qingle.
But her family’s status simply wasn’t worthy of Commander Xie’s daughter.
Now, however, the commander’s stepdaughter seemed like a perfect match.
Most importantly…
Ning Lu was simply too beautiful.
She had to act quickly before some other young man in the compound beat her to it.
Sister Wang set down a basket of eggs.
“These are fresh eggs from the hens I raise myself. We’re neighbors now, and poor Xiao Ning hurt her head. My heart aches just looking at her. Let her have these to nourish herself.”
Eggs were a luxury in those days.
Watching this, He Wanyu smiled inwardly.
As expected…
This Ning Lu wasn’t as simple as she appeared.
She had only just arrived at the family compound, and already people were bringing her gifts.
He Wanyu also stepped forward carrying a can of fruit.
“You must be Aunt Yan. We’re all Qingle’s friends. We heard you’d arrived with Comrade Ning Lu, so we came to pay a visit.”
Meng Qingqing glanced at the scrape on Xie Qingle’s face with a mocking smile.
Then she looked at Ning Lu.
Beautiful though she was, there was still a thick bandage wrapped around her head.
Thinking about how perfectly she’d shoved Xie Qingle the day before, Meng Qingqing couldn’t help feeling smug.
She walked over, pretending to be concerned.
“Qingle, you’re really lucky! Even though you grew up without a mother, you’ve finally got a stepmother now!
“You should really behave yourself from now on. I know you were afraid your stepmother would mistreat you, which is why you pushed your stepsister the moment you met her.
“But that was going too far! You split her head open! Aunt Yan must have been heartbroken.
“Qingle, we’ve all grown up together, but this time I really think you were wrong. You can’t keep judging your stepmother unfairly. And you definitely shouldn’t bully Comrade Ning Lu anymore.”
Xie Qingle shot to her feet.
“What are you talking about? When have I ever been prejudiced against my stepmother? How did I bully Ning Lu? You were the one who pushed me!”
Meng Qingqing widened her eyes dramatically.
“Oh my. Aunt Yan, Comrade Ning Lu, I’m really not trying to stir up trouble.
“Qingle has always been spoiled and unreasonable. She refuses to admit it whenever she’s wrong and always shifts the blame onto someone else.
“Honestly, it’s because she grew up without a mother.
“Please don’t take it personally…”
Xie Qingle was about to explode with anger.
He Wanyu quickly stepped in.
“Qingle, Qingqing just speaks her mind. She doesn’t mean any harm.
“She only hopes you’ll get along well with your stepmother and stop hurting people so carelessly in the future…”
Watching the two of them put on their well-rehearsed performance, Ning Lu finally reached the end of her patience.
She picked up the bowl of rice porridge in front of her—
—and splashed it straight onto He Wanyu and Meng Qingqing.
“Ah!”
Meng Qingqing shrieked.
Before anyone could react—
Smack!
Ning Lu slapped her hard across the face.
Everyone froze.
Meng Qingqing screamed,
“What are you doing?! Have you lost your mind?!
“You country bumpkin! You little freeloader! You fat pig!
“Why did you hit me? What did you just throw on me?!”
Ning Lu calmly raised her hand again—
Smack!
Another crisp slap landed across Meng Qingqing’s other cheek.
He Wanyu immediately grabbed Ning Lu’s arm.
“How can you hit someone?
“This is the military family compound—not some countryside where you can throw tantrums and act like a shrew!”