Chen Lang left, his tall silhouette melting into the night. Lian Qiao was still dazed, unsure what he meant by those inexplicable words.
When she entered the house, Yang Chunmei eagerly leaned in.
“What did he want? Coming here in the middle of the night…”
Lian Qiao handed her the kraft paper envelope.
“He said it’s the wages just issued this afternoon.”
Yang Chunmei felt the thickness of the envelope in the dark. “Today isn’t payday. Could it be that the battalion commander gets paid differently from others?”
Lian Qiao felt even more puzzled now.
“It’s not today?”
“It’s the 9th of every month. Today is only the 28th.”
“He was acting a bit strange today…”
Yang Chunmei grew excited and leaned in closer.
“What happened? Did he miss you? Using the money as an excuse to see you? Qiao’er, even heroes falter before beauty—he must like you.”
Lian Qiao closed her eyes, recalling his words.
“He said, ‘If anything happens, think of me first…'”
“Isn’t that still liking you? He wants you to think of him every day. Tsk, he’s better than your brother-in-law. Your brother-in-law just laughs foolishly, flashing his big white teeth, and doesn’t even know how to say sweet words. Qiao’er, I really envy you. You’ll definitely live a good life once you marry him.”
Lian Qiao felt too embarrassed to say that their relationship didn’t seem to involve affection—it was more like two people partnering up for life.
If she had to marry someone, she didn’t dislike this person.
She rubbed her wrist, which he had just held, her cheeks growing warm.
It really felt like an old cucumber pretending to be fresh—trying to act young again.
She was no longer an innocent, naive girl, yet her heart fluttered like a startled deer.
It was just a touch on the wrist—what was the big deal?
Seeing that Lian Qiao didn’t respond, Yang Chunmei thought she had fallen asleep and also fell silent.
Lian Qiao, unable to sleep, drifted in and out of consciousness, only falling asleep as dawn approached.
She had just been woken up groggily by her cousin when she heard an unexpected voice blaring from the loudspeaker.
“Testing, testing? All family members, all comrades, this is Zhang Daju.
I deeply recognize that I have committed a serious mistake. Within the family compound, I recklessly speculated, fabricated rumors, maliciously discussed Comrade Lian Qiao, and spread false rumors, which negatively impacted Comrade Lian Qiao’s reputation and disrupted the unity of the family compound.
I hereby publicly and solemnly apologize to Comrade Lian Qiao, admit my mistake, and guarantee that I will never repeat it. I also hope everyone will take me as a warning—do not create rumors, spread rumors, or gossip behind others’ backs. Let us consciously uphold the image of military families.”
Yang Chunmei and Lian Qiao listened intently, both stunned by the end.
“Qiao’er, you’re amazing! Zhang Daju apologized and self-criticized publicly for you?”
“…”
Lian Qiao wasn’t that capable.
She hadn’t intended to make this a public spectacle. First, she threatened to take Zhang Daju down with her, then escalated the matter to the regiment commander to demand an explanation, only then making her agree to back down while she was ahead.
But how did she end up apologizing?
Lian Qiao suddenly remembered Chen Lang’s inexplicable words from yesterday, and her ears burned hot.
It was him.
Did he know about this too?
It had only been a few days—could it have already spread to the military camp?
The loudspeaker’s voice echoed over the military compound. Meng Qing sat in front of her dressing table, her nails digging into her flesh.
The reflection in the mirror no longer held her usual aloof demeanor; resentment twisted her once-perfect face.
She had thought she could wait for Chen Lang to give up the marriage under pressure, but instead, she got Zhang Daju’s apology.
“Useless!” Meng Qing gritted her teeth.
Smack—
She hurled the jar of snowflake cream to the ground, shattering porcelain shards that flew everywhere and cut her ankle.
Blood trickled down her pale ankle, yet she felt no pain at all.
She couldn’t understand why things weren’t unfolding as she had planned.
Those idle rumors were enough to crush anyone, but that shameless woman still clung stubbornly to Chen Lang.
He must have had no choice.
Meng Qing felt as if a stone were lodged in her chest, suffocating her with a stifling heaviness. Resentment surged wildly within her, making her want to scream, to vent—but all she could do was sit there helplessly, watching the woman in the mirror weep.
Calmly, she wiped away the humiliating tears, smoothed her hair, and rose to leave the bedroom.
“Take my car to work today,” Meng Songshan said, his heart aching at the sight of her slightly swollen eyes.
“Alright,” Meng Qing replied with her usual gentle smile and a nod.
The more she acted this way, the more Meng Songshan felt like sighing.
His precious daughter had never suffered such grievances before.
Yet here he was, her own father, powerless to help. Matters of the heart were beyond anyone else’s control—no matter how high his rank, it was useless here.
“Qingqing, skip the cafeteria at noon. I’ve made soup and will bring it over for you two,” Zhou Min said. She had been leaving home later these past few days, aware of her daughter’s heartache but unable to do more than watch anxiously.
Meng Qing forced a faint smile. “Sure, then the three of us can have lunch together.”
Zhou Min saw her husband and daughter off before picking up her bag and heading in the opposite direction, hesitating over whether to pay a special visit to the Chen family herself.
The thought rankled—as a workshop director and the wife of a regiment commander, even if she schemed to marry her daughter into that family, it would feel like a step down.
She dismissed the idea.
If Chen Lang couldn’t recognize her daughter’s worth, it wasn’t as if her daughter couldn’t marry someone else!
Smoothing her newly permed hair, she straightened her posture and walked forward with her head held high.
Without Zhou Min to ease the tension, the atmosphere in the car between father and daughter grew heavy with silence.
Meng Songshan didn’t know what to say to his daughter anymore—whatever he brought up, Meng Qing would only respond with a quiet “mm” before falling silent again.
The low pressure persisted until halfway through the drive, when Meng Songshan decided to speak up.
“It’s time to let go. One can’t keep staring only at what’s right in front of them.”
Meng Qing silently turned her gaze to the window.
As soon as they entered the military camp, Meng Qing got out of the car. She waited until the vehicle had driven away before slowly making her way toward the mailroom.
The mail clerk, Xiao Zhou, was bent over sorting newspapers and organizing letters. This time of morning was always his busiest.
“Keeping busy?”
Xiao Zhou looked up to see Meng Qing’s smiling face.
With delicate features and a gentle, refined demeanor, Meng Qing’s every gesture tended to fluster people more than most female comrades.
A little shyly, he handed her the newspaper he had prepared earlier. “Sister Qing, you’re early today?”
“Mm, I caught a ride with Regiment Commander Meng. By the way, are there any letters for others in our clinic? I heard Xiao Tian say she’s waiting for a letter from her sweetheart.”
“Let me check for you. There are so many letters today—I’ve only sorted through half.”
Meng Qing took a couple of steps forward, her eyes scanning the pile of letters as she made casual conversation.
“You focus on your work; I’ll look for mine.”
“Alright, take a look first. I’ll put these newspapers away and then help you search.”
As Xiao Tian moved the newspapers from the table to a nearby shelf, Meng Qing swiftly plucked a confidential envelope stamped with a red seal from the letter pile and slipped it into the newspaper in her hands.
When Xiao Tian turned around, she casually rummaged through the pile of letters a couple of times. “Forget it, she’ll come check herself at noon. You keep busy, I have to get to work.”
Xiao Tian felt a bit embarrassed. “I’ll pick it out and set it aside when I see it. Take care on your way.”
“Alright.”
Suppressing the frantic beating in her chest, Meng Qing gave a faint smile and turned to leave the mailroom.
Head lowered, she hurried out, her palms slick with cold sweat. Just as she switched hands to wipe the sweat away, she collided head-on with someone coming straight toward her.