In the early autumn of Beijing, the sky was high and clear, the sunlight so bright it was almost dazzling.
Beside the two imposing stone lions at the entrance of the military compound stood two fashionably dressed women.
They were Su Huaijin’s stepmother, Wang Fang, and stepsister, Su Wan.
“Mom, what do you think that girl looks like now?”
Su Wan had deliberately dressed up today. She wore a beige trench coat bought from the Friendship Store, her hair styled in the trendiest big curls, with delicate makeup on her face. As she repeatedly glanced at the Plum Blossom brand watch on her wrist, she asked with undisguised glee.
Wang Fang snorted and fanned herself with a handkerchief, her face full of disdain.
“What else could she look like? That place in the Northwest is full of sandstorms and harsh sunlight. With her delicate body, after a few months there, she’s probably already tanned black, her skin rough as tree bark. And after three days and three nights on a hard-seat train…”
She clicked her tongue twice, as though she could already see Su Huaijin covered in dust and grime, looking like a refugee.
“I bet she looks no different from those beggars who come into the city asking for food.”
Su Wan covered her mouth and laughed.
“When Brother Xu sees her looking like that, he’ll definitely be glad he never got engaged to her! Hmph, she used to act so aloof just because she was pretty. Let’s see how proud she can still be now!”
Mother and daughter exchanged a glance, both seeing the anticipation of a good show in each other’s eyes.
They had purposely waited here today just to give the fallen stepdaughter a humiliating welcome the moment she returned, to make her understand that without the Su family, she was nothing.
“They’re here! Is that the jeep?”
Sharp-eyed, Su Wan pointed excitedly at a military-green jeep driving toward them in the distance.
It was an old Beijing 212 jeep, covered in dirt and mud, clearly having traveled a long way.
The vehicle slowly stopped at the compound gate.
Wang Fang adjusted her clothes and put on the airs of a dignified mistress of the house. Su Wan straightened her back too, ready to use her own glamorous appearance to highlight her sister’s misery.
The guards at the gate recognized the license plate—it belonged to the Northwest Military Region. They immediately saluted and let the car through.
The car door opened.
Wang Fang and Su Wan stretched their necks eagerly, prepared to welcome the “dust-covered village woman.”
However—
The first thing to step out was a long leg clad in black combat boots.
Then, a tall and powerfully built man emerged from the car.
At that moment, both Wang Fang and Su Wan stopped breathing.
The man was simply too tall, at least six foot three. He wore a military uniform with the collar button fastened meticulously. Though covered in the dust of travel and sporting stubble, it did nothing to diminish the overwhelming aura around him.
Standing there, he looked like a heavy sword freshly returned from the battlefield, still stained with blood—sharp, imposing, and terrifying.
Especially his eyes, cold as winter ice. When his gaze swept over Wang Fang and Su Wan, both women felt a chill down their backs, as though they had been targeted by a wild beast. The mocking words at the tips of their tongues froze instantly.
This was… Cheng Beitang?
That withdrawn, poor soldier?
How did he look anything like some impoverished nobody? His presence was more intimidating than the senior officials in the compound!
After getting out of the car, Cheng Beitang paid no attention to the two stunned women.
He turned naturally to the other side of the vehicle and opened the door.
Then he extended a large hand inside.
Wang Fang and Su Wan instinctively followed his movement with their eyes.
A slender, fair hand gently rested in his rough, calloused palm.
Then, dressed in a deep-blue trench coat, a graceful figure stepped elegantly out of the car while holding onto Cheng Beitang’s hand.
Wang Fang and Su Wan’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
Th-This was Su Huaijin?!
The Su Huaijin who had spent months eating sand in the Northwest and endured three days and nights in a hard-seat train?!
She hadn’t gotten darker.
On the contrary, her skin was still dazzlingly pale, almost translucent beneath the sunlight. Though slightly weary from the long journey, it only added a fragile, heartaching beauty to her appearance.
She hadn’t become ugly.
Her hair was simply pinned up, and she wore no makeup, yet her face remained stunningly beautiful, every feature flawless.
Most shocking of all was what she wore.
The deep-blue trench coat on her body was simple yet elegant, perfectly tailored to her figure. A matching belt cinched her slim waist, and polished leather shoes completed the look.
She looked fashionable, refined, and effortlessly sophisticated—far more stylish than the Friendship Store trench coat Su Wan was wearing.
How was this a refugee returning from hardship?
She looked more like a glamorous socialite freshly returned from abroad.
“H-How is this possible…” Su Wan muttered, her face twisting with jealousy.
How could she still be this beautiful? How could she not have become ugly? Where did she get that coat? Beijing didn’t even have styles like that!
After stepping out of the car, Su Huaijin didn’t speak immediately.
She first took a deep breath of Beijing’s dry air before calmly sweeping her gaze over the two women who had once brought endless shadows into her life.
In the past, she might have been afraid. She might have retreated.
But now—
She could feel the warmth and strength of the large hand resting at her waist. Cheng Beitang stood beside her like a mountain protecting her.
What did she have to fear?
A faint yet sharp smile curled at Su Huaijin’s lips.
Linking arms with Cheng Beitang, she walked forward openly and greeted them first.
“Aunt Wang, Wan’er. Long time no see. Were you specially waiting here for me?”
Her voice was crisp and pleasant, without the slightest trace of timidity.
Wang Fang snapped back to her senses at the words “Aunt Wang.” Looking at the radiant stepdaughter before her, hatred twisted painfully inside her chest.
“Hmph!”
Quickly adjusting her expression, Wang Fang put on the posture of an elder and spoke in a sarcastic tone.
“Huaijin, you finally came back. Your grandfather was so angry with you that he ended up hospitalized, yet you still have the nerve to dress up so extravagantly? Anyone who didn’t know better would think you came back for a banquet.”
“Exactly!” Su Wan chimed in after recovering herself. “Sister, you’re so unfilial! Grandfather is critically ill, and you still have the mood to dress up? Did a dog eat your conscience?”
That heavy accusation of “unfilial” would once have sent Su Huaijin scrambling to explain herself.
But now, she merely raised an eyebrow lightly.
“Dress up?”
She looked down at the trench coat she wore—the one she had designed and sewn herself.
“Aunt Wang, Wan’er, you misunderstand. This isn’t dressing up. I made this outfit myself.”
“You made it yourself?” Su Wan widened her eyes in disbelief. “Impossible! You can barely even hold a needle properly. How could you possibly make something this beautiful? Some wild man must’ve given it to you—”
“Shut up!”
The furious roar exploded like thunder on flat ground, instantly cutting off Su Wan’s filthy words.
Cheng Beitang stepped forward, shielding Su Huaijin behind him. His bloodshot eyes locked onto Su Wan as murderous hostility erupted from him instantly.
The thing he hated most in this life was people throwing dirt on his wife’s name.
“Y-You… what are you trying to do?!”
Terrified by the way he looked ready to devour someone alive, Su Wan stumbled backward and hid behind Wang Fang.
“I’m warning you, this is the Beijing compound! Just try touching me!” Wang Fang shouted bravely on the surface, though her voice trembled noticeably.
Cheng Beitang sneered.
He disdained lowering himself to physically deal with women like them.
He simply stared at them with the gaze of someone looking at corpses and said coldly, word by word:
“My wife’s clothes were sewn stitch by stitch with her own hands. She’s a special costume designer for the Northwest Military Region Art Troupe. Even leaders from the General Political Department Song and Dance Ensemble praised her designs.”
“What are you people? What right do you have to criticize her work?”
Boom—
The sheer amount of information in those words stunned Wang Fang and Su Wan completely.
Special costume designer? Praised by General Political Department leaders?
Su Huaijin? That delicate young lady who only knew how to play the piano?
How was that possible?!
“Y-You’re lying!” Su Wan screamed. “How could she know how to design clothes? She’s just a pretty vase!”
“Whether I’m lying or not, you’ll find out soon enough.”
Cheng Beitang no longer bothered wasting words on them. Taking Su Huaijin’s hand again, he strode toward the compound without another glance at the mother and daughter.
“Huaijin, let’s go home and see Grandpa.”
Following his pace while holding his hand, Su Huaijin glanced back once at Wang Fang and Su Wan, who still stood frozen in disbelief. The smile on her lips deepened.
It felt amazing.
She had never felt this proud and triumphant in her entire life.
…
The Su family residence.
Although Old Master Su had already ordered Wang Fang to hand over control of the household, the servants had not yet been replaced.
When Su Huaijin and Cheng Beitang entered the living room, Zhang Ma, who was cleaning, jumped in shock.
“Y-Young Miss?”
Rubbing her eyes, Zhang Ma could hardly believe it.
Was this elegant, radiant woman before her really the same eldest miss who used to suffer silently and hide in her room crying?
“Zhang Ma, I’m back,” Su Huaijin said with a smile and a nod. “Where’s Grandpa?”
“The old chief is upstairs in the study,” Zhang Ma replied quickly. “He’s been in much better spirits these past few days and keeps talking about you.”
Relief flooded Su Huaijin’s heart. As long as Grandpa was alright.
She exchanged a glance with Cheng Beitang, and the two hurried upstairs.
The study door was slightly ajar.
Standing outside, Su Huaijin took a deep breath to steady her emotions before knocking gently.
“Come in,” came her grandfather’s familiar voice from inside. Though aged, it still carried strength.
Su Huaijin pushed the door open.
“Grandpa!”
The moment she called out, tears streamed down her face. She rushed to the desk and dropped to her knees beside the old man, hugging his legs as she cried.
“Grandpa… I’m back… It’s so good you’re alright… You scared me to death…”
The anxiety of the past few days, the exhaustion and grievances from the long journey—all burst out at once.
Old Master Su put down his newspaper. Looking at his granddaughter crying in front of him, tears welled up in his own weathered eyes.
“Silly girl, why are you crying?”
He reached out his thin hand and lovingly stroked her hair.
“Isn’t Grandpa perfectly fine? Who said I was critically ill? Nonsense!”
As he spoke, he shot a fierce glare toward Wang Fang and Su Wan, who had shamelessly followed them upstairs out of fear Cheng Beitang would expose them.
The mother and daughter shrank at the doorway, barely daring to breathe.
“Grandpa, I’m sorry… It’s all my fault… I shouldn’t have stayed away so long without visiting you…” Su Huaijin sobbed apologetically.
“Alright, alright. You’re already grown up and still crying like this. Aren’t you afraid your husband will laugh at you?”
Old Master Su wiped away her tears, then lifted his gaze past her to the tall, silent man standing by the doorway.
Cheng Beitang.
This was the first time the old master had met his grandson-in-law in person.
He looked even better than in the photographs—more spirited, more steadfast.
That military bearing emanating from his very bones instantly appealed to the old soldier who had spent his life on battlefields.
“Beitang,” the old man called.
“Grandpa.”
Cheng Beitang stepped forward and gave a perfectly standard military salute.
His voice was powerful and steady, neither servile nor nervous despite facing someone of great authority.
“Good! Good boy!”
Old Master Su sized him up from head to toe and nodded in satisfaction.
“This whole matter was thanks to you. If it weren’t for that phone call from you, I’d still be kept in the dark by those two fools!”
As he spoke, he glared viciously at Wang Fang again.
Terrified, Wang Fang nearly collapsed to her knees.
“You flatter me, Grandpa,” Cheng Beitang replied calmly as he lowered his hand. “Huaijin is my wife. Protecting her is my responsibility. No one is allowed to bully her—not even me.”
The words rang out with force and conviction.
Not only did they express his stance clearly, they also served as a warning to everyone present.
Hearing this, Su Huaijin’s heart melted with warmth. Rising from the floor, she naturally slipped her arm through Cheng Beitang’s.
Standing together, one tall and imposing, the other graceful and delicate—
They looked perfectly matched.
Old Master Su watched the scene with immense satisfaction.
Back then, he had insisted against everyone’s objections on marrying his beloved granddaughter to the Cheng family’s only grandson, though even he had felt uncertain. He feared Huaijin would suffer. He feared Cheng Beitang’s cold personality would make him treat her poorly.
But now it seemed he had made the right decision.
Just look at Huaijin now—her complexion healthy, her eyes bright, her whole body radiating the confidence and happiness that came from being deeply loved.
That couldn’t be faked.
“Good! Wonderful!”
The old master praised them twice before waving his hand grandly.
“Alright, stop standing around. Zhang Ma! Add more dishes tonight! Stew that old hen! We’re welcoming my granddaughter and grandson-in-law home!”
“Coming right up!” Zhang Ma answered cheerfully from downstairs.
Standing at the doorway, Wang Fang and Su Wan watched the warm family scene before them, feeling as though it stabbed painfully into their eyes.
They had come intending to laugh at Su Huaijin.
In the end, they themselves became the joke.
Su Wan bit her lip viciously as she stared at Cheng Beitang’s tall, handsome profile and the undisguised protectiveness he showed Su Huaijin.
Jealousy gnawed at her heart like a venomous snake.
Why?
Why did Su Huaijin get everything?
The best family background, the greatest talent—and now, even marrying some poor soldier had somehow landed her such an exceptional man!
“Su Huaijin, don’t get smug too early!”
Su Wan cursed viciously in her heart.
“This is Beijing! Brother Xu still doesn’t know you’ve returned! Once he sees how arrogant you’ve become, let’s see whether he’ll even spare you a glance!”
She refused to believe that a country soldier from the Northwest could possibly compare to Xu family’s brilliant rising star in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.