Seeing that Wen Mingyao showed no reaction, Jiang Yao pulled the chair beneath her closer, leaned in, and whispered into Wen Mingyao’s ear:
“In this Yuncheng district, everyone knows that Brother Zhuo was forced by his family to marry you.”
Wen Mingyao ignored her completely, her pale fingertips resting on her wrist, idly stroking the pale blue ribbon tied into a bow.
The red marks on her wrist were conveniently hidden beneath the ribbon, like a deliberate decoration, looking quite exquisite.
Jiang Yao’s gaze followed hers to her wrist, and she couldn’t help but sneer.
Truly a capitalist’s young lady, always fussing over such useless things.
Didn’t she know that Brother Zhuo usually disliked these flashy, showy things the most?
Thinking of this, Jiang Yao’s smile deepened, and a hint of malice crept into her eyes as she looked at Wen Mingyao.
“Do you know what kind of girl Brother Zhuo likes?”
Noticing a flicker in Wen Mingyao’s eyes, she continued on her own: “He likes ballet dancers.”
After saying this, Jiang Yao paused, her eyes fixed intently on Wen Mingyao, as if waiting to see her lose her composure.
Wen Mingyao’s fingertips trembled slightly against her wrist, her eyes filled with shock and confusion. However, her lowered eyelashes happened to conceal the unusual emotions in her gaze.
She knew that Zhou Zhuo enjoyed watching ballet performances.
But before their marriage, back in Rongcheng, Zhou Zhuo would always drag her along whenever he went to see a ballet.
She had thought he simply enjoyed watching ballet.
But hearing this today, it seemed the girl’s words weren’t entirely baseless.
Wen Mingyao mechanically stroked the ribbon. The thought that Zhou Zhuo might truly have someone he liked sent a sudden, sharp pain through her heart, as if pierced by thousands of needles.
She forced herself to hold on, not letting any trace of it show on her face.
Seeing Wen Mingyao remain calm, Jiang Yao felt a twinge of disappointment.
But it lasted only a moment before she chuckled softly again. “The girl Brother Zhuo likes is the most beautiful flower in our compound. As for you…”
She paused briefly, her gaze lingering on Wen Mingyao’s pretty face for a moment, a hint of malice surfacing in her eyes.
“You’re just his wife in name only. You think you’ve gained status, but honestly, you’re the most pitiful one!”
Seeing Wen Mingyao remain silent, Jiang Yao thought she had struck a nerve and continued, “If I were you…”
Jiang Yao had only gotten halfway when Wen Mingyao coldly interrupted her.
“If you were me, what would you do? Gracefully step aside early? Or hand Zhou Zhuo over to someone else?”
A mocking curve formed at the corner of Wen Mingyao’s lips. “Miss, Zhou Zhuo is a person, a living, breathing human being, not an item to be passed around.”
Then, she turned her head, pressing both hands firmly on Jiang Yao’s shoulders, forcing her to meet her gaze directly.
Wen Mingyao looked at her dazed expression and sneered coldly:
“Before, I thought you really liked Zhou Zhuo! But now it seems, it’s nothing more than this!”
“Your affection for him is truly cheap.”
Wen Mingyao stared at her intently, enunciating each word clearly: “Not only cheap, but also superficial!”
Her voice was soft, yet to Jiang Yao’s ears, it felt heavy, as if striking a heavy blow to her heart.
Her entire body instantly swayed unsteadily.
Jiang Yao’s chest heaved continuously, her hands gripping Wen Mingyao’s wrists tightly as she glared at her through gritted teeth, still keeping her voice low. “I’m not like you. You like him for his family background, but I like Brother Zhuo for who he is!”
Wen Mingyao seemed not to feel any pain, merely glancing at her indifferently. “Oh, so according to you, your affection is even more shallow!”
“You say you like Zhou Zhuo for who he is. Then let me ask you: if Zhou Zhuo had several long scars on his face from serving abroad and came from an ordinary family, would you still like him?”
Seeing her gaze grow unfocused, Wen Mingyao reached out and pried her fingers open one by one, then rubbed her own wrist.
She shook her head with a light laugh. “You wouldn’t!”
“What you see is only Zhou Zhuo’s handsome appearance. What you’ve heard is merely the rumor that Zhou Zhuo comes from a prominent family!”
“You’ve never truly understood Zhou Zhuo as a person!”
“And your affection for him…” Wen Mingyao wore a gentle smile on her face, her red lips parting and closing, yet each word cut like a knife. “Not only stays on the surface, but it’s also laughable!”
“So laughable that you’ve even managed to live as someone else’s shadow…” Wen Mingyao gave her a meaningful look, her eyes filled with implication, and even dared to attempt to undermine a military marriage!
Jiang Yao’s breathing suddenly grew rapid. The phrase “living as someone else’s shadow” echoed in her mind like a curse, lingering for a long time.
Her eyes widened instantly, her tone painfully strained. “H-how do you know?”
Wen Mingyao smiled faintly, her face still wearing its usual gentle calm.
She didn’t speak, but instead stood up and walked past the panicked Jiang Yao. With each graceful step, she maintained perfect composure, showing no sign of distress.
Wen Mingyao turned her back to Jiang Yao, the corners of her lips curling into an extremely faint arc.
Just now, seeing that look in her eyes—clearly filled with intense longing, yet tinged with restraint, forcing herself to chew slowly and carefully…
With just one glance, that indescribable sense of dissonance was apparent.
Combined with her calling him “Brother Zhuo” and the words that followed…
It wasn’t hard to guess that she was deliberately imitating, imitating the person Zhou Zhuo was rumored to like.
Jiang Yao stood frozen in place, watching Wen Mingyao and Zhou Zhuo’s figures disappear from her sight, biting her lip.
That capitalist’s daughter was indeed beautiful—so beautiful that standing beside her made Jiang Yao feel like a kitchen maid in comparison.
But so what? Brother Zhuo didn’t like his wife; he liked Ye Jingjing.
Yet she had worked so hard, imitating Ye Jingjing’s every word and action.
If she gave up now, she couldn’t accept it!
Watching their figures gradually shrink into two small dots in the distance, a surge of intense resentment rose in Jiang Yao’s chest.
…
As soon as they entered the room, Zhou Zhuo’s face turned cold.
He took out a small stack of internal meal tickets, money, and various other coupons from his pocket, placing them on the table as he looked coldly at Wen Mingyao. “Starting tomorrow, you’ll go to the cafeteria to get your own meals!”
Wen Mingyao glanced indifferently at the items, reached out to take the money and tickets, but slowly shook her head. “Starting tomorrow, I’ll cook!”
Then, she looked up at Zhou Zhuo. “You can go to the cafeteria for breakfast tomorrow morning. I’ll go out to buy some things tomorrow morning, and from then on, we can start cooking at home.”
Start cooking?
Zhou Zhuo looked at Wen Mingyao, a mocking smile curling at the corner of his lips.
Wen Mingyao, a pampered young lady who had never lifted a finger for household chores, couldn’t even chop vegetables properly, let alone cook…
When she cuts her hand, she’ll probably settle down.
Zhou Zhuo gave her a cold glance, his voice icy. “Suit yourself!”