In her previous life, Shen Baifeng chose to marry Lin Feihe and come to Heicheng in order to avoid being targeted during the political purges.
Not long after moving there, she noticed Qin Xutao.
Qin Xutao was good-looking and highly capable—more than enough to give her a better life in that era.
But at the time, she was already pregnant. No matter how unwilling she felt, she could only quietly inquire about Qin Xutao from afar.
From other military wives, she learned that Qin Xutao originally had a fiancée, a capitalist’s daughter named Su Su.
Just like her name, Su Su was said to be fair-skinned and beautiful, but also vicious and spoiled, and she had caused a scene to break off the engagement.
Later, she was said to have hanged herself in a cowshed.
By then, Qin Xutao had already become a senior officer, and out of past ties, he had personally gone to collect her body and arrange her burial.
Shen Baifeng thought Su Su was incredibly foolish.
If it were her, she would have clung to such a man no matter what!
That was why, the moment she realized she had been reborn, she hurriedly followed Lin Feihe to the Heicheng military district. But this time, she did not rush into marriage.
Her goal was to take Qin Xutao for herself.
But why— why was Su Su, who should have been in Shanghai, appearing here?
A trace of hostility surfaced on Shen Baifeng’s face.
Though she didn’t know what had changed, she knew she had to act quickly.
She rolled her eyes at Su Su, then turned to Lin Feihe and said,
“How many times have I told you not to casually let strangers into the house? You don’t even know if she’s a bad person. What if she steals my things?”
“Hurry up and drive her away!”
Lin Feihe looked embarrassed and glanced apologetically at Su Su.
Sensing Shen Baifeng’s hostility, Su Su found it puzzling, but she didn’t say anything and simply left.
She only felt that this neighbor was someone she should avoid dealing with in the future.
But when she thought of the look Shen Baifeng had given Qin Xutao earlier, she suddenly understood where that hostility came from.
Shen Baifeng was treating Qin Xutao as something already in her possession.
Su Su immediately became alert.
So when Qin Xutao returned with the lunch boxes, Su Su kept staring at him, looking him up and down.
Qin Xutao truly had the qualities that attracted attention.
He was 1.88 meters tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist—the classic inverted triangle build.
As soon as he entered, he took off his coat, wearing only a black tank top on top. Through the fabric, the outline of his abs was faintly visible.
His bare arms extended in smooth, long lines, solid muscles packed with strength.
His neat, clean short hair gave off an overwhelming aura of masculine hormones.
Seeing Su Su staring at him, Qin Xutao frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, “Come eat.”
Even his voice was that magnetic.
Su Su sighed and said, “That neighbor just now seems to be interested in you.”
Qin Xutao’s brows knitted together.
“Lin Feihe? Don’t talk nonsense. He has a fiancée.”
Su Su choked unexpectedly. “Not him! I’m talking about his fiancée—Shen Baifeng!”
Unhurried, Qin Xutao reached out and gently patted Su Su’s back.
There was a smile in his eyes, and his voice was deliberately lowered, deep and rich.
“Su Su, what are you worried about?”
“I am your fiancé, and soon your husband. You are my fiancée. That will never change.”
“As for anyone else, they won’t even enter my line of sight.”
Qin Xutao had already noticed Shen Baifeng’s intentions, but he had no intention of giving her any chance.
The only wife he acknowledged was Su Su. If he wanted to give her a sense of security, some things had to be made absolutely clear— only then could future family conflicts be avoided.
Su Su nodded, feeling her ears grow warm.
A man who was usually so taciturn suddenly saying something like that really caught her off guard.
After dinner, Qin Xutao collected the lunch boxes and went to rinse them clean.
After Su Su finished bathing, she curled up on the sofa with a book to pass the time. As she read, she grew drowsy.
In her haziness, she felt herself being picked up, then gently laid down. Her forehead felt itchy, as if brushed by a feather.
The air around her was filled with a clean, refreshing scent of soap.
The next morning, Su Su was woken by a burst of laughter downstairs. She realized the space beside her was empty—Qin Xutao had already gone out for training.
Frowning, she opened the door and saw a crowd gathered below.
Standing in the middle was Shen Baifeng, wearing a Western-style dress and beautifully made up.
Though she smiled warmly and spoke gently, her gaze carried an air of condescension.
“Aunties, I’ve just arrived here and will be relying on all of you to look after me in the future.”
“These are some small gifts I brought from the capital—not worth much. If any of you like them, please take them.”
A round-faced aunt rummaged through the bag—there were watches, silver bracelets, necklaces, soap, face cream…
Her eyes widened in shock. “Goodness, people from big cities really are different—so generous!”
A long-faced aunt picked up the face cream and smeared it on her face, curling her lips.
“Not everyone from big cities is this generous. Look at that one from Shanghai—she hasn’t shown any goodwill at all. Looks like she thinks she’s too good to deal with people like us.”
“Well, her fiancé is Captain Qin. Of course she looks down on us!”
“……”
At that moment, Sister Fang came over with her son to look for Su Su. She said angrily,
“Little sister, don’t mind them. These people switch sides the moment they get benefits, acting like they’ve never seen anything before. It’s embarrassing!”
Su Su smiled indifferently.
If others wanted to play the good person and buy people’s favor, that had nothing to do with her. She just wanted to live her own life well.
She turned and said, “Sister Fang, I’d like to trouble you to come with me to the new house and help me think about what else we need to prepare for the wedding. I don’t really understand these things.”
Sister Fang looked delighted. “Your marriage application with Captain Qin got approved!?”
Su Su nodded.
“Oh, that’s wonderful! Come on, come on—I’ll go take a look with you!”
Su Su locked the dorm room door, took the keys, and walked toward the new house with Sister Fang.
As they passed the crowd downstairs, Shen Baifeng spotted Su Su and immediately stepped forward, warmly taking her hand.
“I was really sorry about yesterday. I’d just arrived in Heicheng and wasn’t feeling well, so I spoke rudely. Can you forgive me?”
“See if there’s anything you like here—consider it my apology.”
Su Su wasn’t used to having her hand gripped like that and pulled it back.
Before she could speak, tears streamed down Shen Baifeng’s face. Looking delicate and pitiful, she said in a wronged tone,
“Are you still angry with me?”
Su Su raised an eyebrow. Shen Baifeng really was putting on quite a performance. Anyone who didn’t know better would think Su Su was deliberately bullying her.
Sure enough, the aunties nearby started speaking up for Shen Baifeng.
“She’s already apologized—what more do you want?”
“You’re both capitalist daughters. Why is there such a big difference?”
“In my opinion, she doesn’t deserve Captain Qin at all. They should investigate—who knows what she secretly gave Captain Qin…”
Sister Fang was so angry her chest heaved. She cursed outright,
“You people—your mouths stink worse than the stones in a latrine!”
“Every single one of you, switching loyalties for a few gifts! You still have the nerve to speak against your conscience?”
“If you’ve got guts, go say it to Captain Qin’s face!”
Of course they didn’t dare. If their husbands found out, they’d be sent straight back to their hometowns.
And that was unacceptable—how could life back home compare to living in the military compound?
Su Su glanced at Shen Baifeng and sneered inwardly. Trying to play the innocent white lotus in front of her? She’d picked the wrong person.
She looked straight at Shen Baifeng and said,
“You’re right—I am still angry with you.”
“But if you kneel down and apologize to me right now, I might consider forgiving you.”