In the Lin family courtyard, Lin Dongguo returned home with a troubled heart. As soon as he entered, Shi Zhenzhen immediately complained to him: "That country bumpkin wife of yours from the countryside still hasn't left—she's back again! Dongguo, you can't publish a notice in the newspaper, and you absolutely must not explain things to those country relatives of yours. You might not care about face, but our Shi Family still has dignity to maintain! If you publish that notice, my father will be utterly humiliated!"
After Shi Zhenzhen finished speaking, she received no response from Lin Dongguo for a long while. Had it been before, Lin Dongguo would have already rushed to comfort her. What was wrong with him today?
Puzzled, Shi Zhenzhen looked at Lin Dongguo: "Lin Dongguo, I'm talking to you! Are you listening or not?"
Lin Dongguo completely ignored the furious Shi Zhenzhen. He found a stool and sat down, muttering to himself: "Impossible, this can't be, it's absolutely impossible!"
Enraged, Shi Zhenzhen grabbed the enamel cup from the nearby cabinet and smashed it onto the floor.
The cup clattered as it rolled several times on the ground, but the noise still failed to pull Lin Dongguo out of his thoughts. He looked up at Shi Zhenzhen and said, "Zhenzhen, do you know…"
Slap!!!
Before Lin Dongguo could finish his sentence, Shi Zhenzhen slapped him across the face: "Lin Dongguo, do you still have feelings for that country bumpkin? I've been wronged, and you're doing nothing about it! If Jianguo hadn't saved you back then, you wouldn't be neglecting me like this now. Why is my life so miserable?"
With that, Shi Zhenzhen burst into loud sobs!
Lin Dongguo was stunned. Though Shi Zhenzhen didn't hit hard, besides his mother, no one had ever slapped him before—this was utterly humiliating!
"Shi Zhenzhen!" Lin Dongguo roared, "Have you gone mad?"
With that, he stood up and stormed out.
Now it was Shi Zhenzhen's turn to be dumbfounded. She hesitated briefly, only to hear the sound of Lin Dongguo slamming the courtyard gate shut. This time, her tears were genuine as she immediately jumped up and ran after him.
Qu Chuning stared in astonishment at Xi Muzhou, who was washing vegetables: "You can cook too?"
Xi Muzhou nodded, working with rapid efficiency—scooping up the vegetables and immediately beginning to chop them.
Qu Chuning's gaze shifted from Xi Muzhou bustling by the stove to survey the kitchen. All the necessary pots, pans, bowls, utensils, firewood, rice, oil, salt, and sauces were fully stocked. Not only that, but after entering the house, she had also noticed the neatly made beds, with quilts folded at the foot into perfect square blocks.
In their garrison area, they had already started burning coal. The coal was shaped into small balls and burned in the stove.
The house was simply furnished. With just the two of them for now, they had only arranged two rooms. There was no private bathroom, but public toilets were available.
"How are you so fast?"
Hearing this, Xi Muzhou shot a quick glance at Qu Chuning. Fast? What did she mean by fast? Men seemed particularly sensitive to such words.
A profound darkness flickered in Xi Muzhou's eyes. Besides that drugged night, their interactions had been strictly proper afterward because Xi Muzhou could sense her silent resistance. And rightly so—even though they were married now, for couples who ended up together so inexplicably like them, he too would find it difficult to accept a stranger in such a short time.
Therefore, Xi Muzhou had given Qu Chuning time to adjust. So what did she mean by "fast" now?
Qu Chuning didn't notice the change in Xi Muzhou's expression. After asking her question, she occasionally glanced at him.
"Huh?"
Xi Muzhou's ancestral home was in the northeast, and his speech often carried a distinct northeastern accent.
"I mean, isn't our marriage happening too quickly?"
Qu Chuning glanced around the room, thinking about housing arrangements. She remembered military marriages involved complicated procedures—submitting reports here, undergoing background investigations in her hometown, waiting for approval before getting the marriage certificate, then applying for military spousal relocation and housing allocation!
With so many steps, how had everything been resolved within just a few days? Qu Chuning wanted to ask Xi Muzhou how he managed it.
"I'm thirty-two!"
Xi Muzhou only said this to Qu Chuning before starting to cook. He preferred braising dishes with water. Two dishes were ready in under half an hour. They had white rice for dinner, and both dishes contained meat.
Qu Chuning stared at the bowl of white rice, hesitating before asking, "Is it really okay for our family to eat like this?"
Her concern was understandable. In her previous life, she married into the Lin Family. Though Lin Dongguo was a military officer who sent money home monthly, Lin's mother constantly complained about household expenses, insisting on extreme frugality. Until the mid-1990s, Qu Chuning never experienced having white rice with every meal.
Xi Muzhou paused briefly, then stood up and brought several items from the room.
"Here's the family passbook, various ration coupons, and my salary from the past few months…"
Qu Chuning quickly stopped him, "Wait, you should keep these. Why give them to me?"
"We're married!" Xi Muzhou looked directly into her eyes, enunciating each word clearly: "From now on, you'll manage this household!"
That night, Qu Chuning lay beside Xi Muzhou, unable to fall asleep for a long time. While Xi Muzhou might view their marriage as him making concessions, only Qu Chuning understood she was the one gaining tremendously—in fact, she'd hit the jackpot!
Without identification cards (only introductory letters existed then), she couldn't travel elsewhere by public transport. She couldn't even stay long-term in the city. With nowhere to go, returning to her hometown was the only option.
The Lin Family was no longer an option. Her own family had severed ties with her the moment she married. Homeless and directionless, Xi Muzhou had given her a home—a warm, proper home.
The next morning, Xi Muzhou woke to find the person beside him tightly clutching his sleeve. He gazed at this scene for a long while before gently freeing his sleeve. After changing clothes and washing up quickly, he boiled water on the stove before leaving for morning drills.
Within just one night, news spread through the Military Family Area that Xi Muzhou had married—and to Lin Dongguo's former wife at that. Most people initially refused to believe it. After all, Xi Muzhou's status spoke for itself: barely thirty, already a Zheng Tuan Ji (regimental level) officer, and captain of the Inspection Team. Why would he marry a woman another man had discarded?
Despite their doubts, nobody dared to investigate personally. Moreover, everyone intentionally avoided the area where Xi Muzhou's assigned housing was located.
When Qu Chuning woke up, the space beside her had long gone cold. She hurriedly got up and prepared to make breakfast after tidying herself, only to discover the meal kept warm on the stove: a bowl of rice congee, a plate of pickled vegetables, and a steamed bun.
In just over ten short days, Qu Chuning had witnessed true cold-blooded ruthlessness and selfishness, but she had also experienced genuine care and concern. Holding a steamed bun, she began eating it in small bites.
After finishing her meal, Qu Chuning took a knife and started working in the yard. The Lin Family's courtyard was originally planted with flowers and plants, but she had no intention of growing ornamental plants—she wanted to cultivate some vegetables to save money in the future.
"Qu Chuning, did you really marry Xi Muzhou?"
Just as Qu Chuning was turning the soil, a voice came from outside the courtyard wall. She looked up and saw Lin Dongguo's incredulous, even somewhat irritated face before her. She couldn't help but retort sarcastically, "What does it have to do with you?"
"Do you even know what kind of person he is?"