The training whistle blew sharply, slicing through the silence of the Gobi desert like a blade.
Commander Cheng Beitang had just crawled out of the mud pit. His training uniform was so filthy its original color was unrecognizable, but his eyes were frighteningly bright.
“Commander!”
His guard, Xiao Zhang, came running over drenched in sweat, his expression strange. “Uh… something happened over at the family quarters.”
Cheng Beitang’s brow twitched.
Su Huaijin again?
“What did she do this time? Set the house on fire?” he asked while unwrapping the bandages around his hands and striding back.
“Not exactly…” Xiao Zhang swallowed nervously. “Sister-in-law bribed Battalion Commander Liu’s son Ergouzi, and all the instructor’s kids too…”
“Bribed?” Cheng Beitang stopped walking.
“She handed out a huge pile of White Rabbit candies. Now all the kids in the compound are following her around calling her ‘big sister.’ Sister-in-law Liu and the others are furious. They’re making a scene at the family committee office, saying she’s… she’s…”
“She’s what?” Cheng Beitang’s voice turned cold.
“They said she’s a spendthrift. Said she’ll bankrupt Commander Cheng’s household.”
Cheng Beitang snorted.
Spendthrift?
He remembered the pampered little thing from last night who needed scented soap to wash her face and demanded smooth wooden boards under the bed before she could sleep.
She really was extravagant.
But—
“My money. I’ll let her waste it however I want. Since when is it anyone else’s business?”
He tossed the bandages onto the ground and strode toward the family quarters.
“Come on. Let’s go take a look.”
He really wanted to see how that delicate little woman was stirring up trouble among wolves.
…
Sure enough, the atmosphere in the family quarters was tense.
Several wives were gathered beneath a tree, passionately listing Su Huaijin’s “crimes.”
Meanwhile, the center of the storm itself—Su Huaijin—was sitting calmly on a small stool outside her door, lazily fanning herself with a palm-leaf fan.
The children who’d gotten candy surrounded her attentively.
Some fanned her. Some handed her water. Ergouzi was even swatting flies away for her.
“Big Sister Su, you’re so pretty,” Ergouzi said sweetly.
“Good boy.” Su Huaijin smiled and pulled out another piece of candy.
When Cheng Beitang approached, this was the bizarre scene he saw:
A queen and her loyal servants.
Even his cold, hard face cracked slightly.
This woman… adapted surprisingly well.
“Commander Cheng’s back!”
Someone shouted.
The wives who had been criticizing Su Huaijin immediately swarmed around him as though they’d found their backbone.
“Commander Cheng! You’re finally back! You have to control your wife!”
Liu Guihua pointed accusingly at Su Huaijin, looking deeply pained. “Look at her! Not doing any work, not washing clothes, just throwing money around! White Rabbit candies are expensive, and she fed them to a bunch of stupid boys! How are you supposed to live like this in the future?”
“That’s right, Commander! Her behavior is a serious problem! She needs criticism and education!”
Everyone talked over one another, waiting eagerly for Cheng Beitang to explode.
After all, he was famous in the military for being strict and hating wastefulness.
When Su Huaijin saw him return, her heart skipped nervously.
She really hadn’t done any work. And she had shown off her wealth.
Would this man really humiliate her in public?
She tightened her grip on the fan and lifted her chin slightly, preparing for battle. If he dared scold her, she’d… she’d cry right in front of him!
Cheng Beitang’s gaze swept across the excited crowd before finally landing on Su Huaijin.
She sat there like a luxurious flower blooming from the dust. Though she looked composed, there was still a trace of tension in her eyes.
For some reason, Cheng Beitang’s heart softened.
He fought through bullets and bloodshed so the people at home could live well.
Now that he’d married her, how could he let her suffer grievances?
“What’s all the shouting about?”
His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an intimidating chill.
The courtyard instantly fell silent.
He strode directly to Su Huaijin.
Everyone held their breath. Liu Guihua in particular waited gleefully for the show.
Cheng Beitang looked down at Su Huaijin, his gaze falling on the hands resting on her knees.
What beautiful hands they were.
Long, slender fingers. Neatly trimmed nails with a pale pink sheen.
But now the backs of those pampered hands were slightly red from touching cold water and being blown by the wind.
“What happened to your hands?”
Suddenly, Cheng Beitang bent down and grabbed her hand.
Su Huaijin jumped, trying to pull away, but his rough palm wrapped firmly around hers. His hand was hot, covered in calluses, and the friction tickled her palm.
“You touched cold water?” Cheng Beitang frowned deeply.
Su Huaijin nodded blankly. “I… wanted to wash clothes earlier. The water was too cold.”
“Who told you to touch cold water?”
His voice suddenly rose with anger.
The wives nearby immediately thought: Here it comes! The commander’s finally going to scold her for being spoiled!
But in the next second, Cheng Beitang turned toward Liu Guihua and the others, his gaze icy.
“My wife’s hands are meant for playing the piano. Not for washing clothes.”
Boom—
The entire courtyard fell into dead silence.
Liu Guihua’s mouth dropped open. She wondered if her ears had stopped working.
Cheng Beitang continued before anyone could react. He pointed at the candy wrappers in the children’s hands.
“And those candies? I bought them for her. She can give them to whoever she wants.”
He pulled out a thick wad of crumpled bills and ration coupons from his pocket and stuffed them directly into Su Huaijin’s hands. The movement was rough, but overwhelmingly domineering.
“If you don’t have enough money, tell me. I, Cheng Beitang, may be poor, but I can still afford to buy my wife some candy. And if anyone can’t stand it…”
His wolf-like eyes swept coldly across the courtyard as his voice turned terrifyingly sharp.
“That just means her man’s too useless to buy any for her.”
That sentence was like a carpet bomb, slapping every wife in the courtyard across the face.
Liu Guihua’s face alternated red and white. She wished she could disappear into the ground.
So it wasn’t that Su Huaijin was wasteful.
It was that her man spoiled her.
“Come on. Back inside.”
Ignoring everyone’s reactions, Cheng Beitang bent down and picked up the pink basin full of clothes.
The girlish pink basin looked absurdly out of place in the hands of a rugged six-foot-three soldier, yet somehow strangely impactful.
“Leave this kind of rough work to me from now on. If I ever see you washing clothes yourself again…”
He lowered his head and growled threateningly into Su Huaijin’s ear:
“I’ll tie you up.”
It felt like fireworks exploded in Su Huaijin’s mind.
She stared blankly at this mud-covered man who somehow looked dazzlingly handsome at that moment, and her heart skipped a beat.
So this was what it felt like…
to be favored.
And honestly, it didn’t feel bad at all.
The corners of her lips lifted uncontrollably as she deliberately answered in a sweet, spoiled tone:
“Okay~”
The drawn-out response was sickeningly sweet.
Cheng Beitang stumbled and nearly dropped the basin.
His ears instantly turned bright red as he snarled through gritted teeth:
“Shut up! I’ll deal with you once we’re inside!”
Even so, his grip on the basin tightened.
The two of them entered the room one after the other, and the door slammed shut behind them.
All the shock and jealousy in the courtyard remained outside.
…
Inside the room.
Cheng Beitang set down the basin and turned to look at Su Huaijin.
The cramped space suddenly felt strangely tense.
Now that his domineering “protect-my-wife” mode had faded, Cheng Beitang returned to his usual cold demeanor—though he looked slightly awkward.
“About earlier… I only said those things to save your face. Don’t misunderstand,” he explained stiffly.
Sitting on the bed and swinging her legs, Su Huaijin smiled like a cat who’d stolen cream.
“I know. Commander Cheng is such a good person.”
Suddenly, she pulled a White Rabbit candy from her pocket and peeled off the wrapper.
“Cheng Beitang, hold out your hand.”
“What for? I don’t eat sweets.” He frowned in refusal.
“Open your mouth.”
Su Huaijin stood up on tiptoe and held the candy to his lips.
They were very close.
Her pleasant fragrance surrounded him once more.
Cheng Beitang lowered his eyes, looking at her sparkling gaze and those rosy lips only inches away.
As if possessed, he opened his mouth.
Her cool fingertips brushed against his lips as she slipped the sweet, milky candy inside.
Sweet.
So damn sweet.
“Is it good?” Su Huaijin asked with a smile.
Cheng Beitang’s Adam’s apple bobbed. With the candy in his mouth, he gave a muffled “Mm.”