But in the end, it had nothing to do with them, so Sun Qinqin quickly changed the subject.
“Manman, why don’t you come over to my place tomorrow? I happen to have a few days off. In a couple of days, I’ll have to go back to work at the hospital!”
Su Man also wanted to get familiar with her new surroundings as quickly as possible, so she agreed.
“Sure!”
Su Man had told He Jinxiu that morning that she was going out. Afraid that Su Man wouldn’t be able to find the way, Sun Qinqin had come over especially to pick her up.
After finally leading his team back to the base, Sheng Xiao had just finished reporting on their mission and was preparing to return to the barracks when someone told him that Yang Xixi had already arrived and had been assigned a residence in the military family compound.
Political Commissar Xu looked at the stern-faced man before him and couldn’t resist teasing him.
“I didn’t expect your fiancée to be so attached to you. Don’t worry, the logistics department has already arranged everything for her. When are you planning to file the marriage application? Several of the leaders have already said they’re looking forward to attending the wedding banquet!”
The moment Sheng Xiao heard that Yang Xixi had actually come all the way here, his expression darkened.
Hadn’t he already told her to wait for him at home?
But he merely thanked Political Commissar Xu without revealing anything on his face.
The moment he stepped outside, he headed straight for the family compound. He had a good relationship with Sun Jianlin, so there was no need for anyone to point out the way.
Su Man had barely stepped through the Sun family’s gate when Sheng Xiao arrived at the compound.
The courtyard gate wasn’t locked. He pushed it open and saw Yang Xixi sitting to one side, looking aggrieved.
The moment she saw Sheng Xiao walk in with a cold expression, her spoiled temper immediately erupted.
“You finally decided to come back! What kind of lousy place is this? It’s so inconvenient to buy anything, and there’s no one here to even talk to me. I can’t eat properly, and I can’t sleep properly either!”
In Yang Xixi’s mind, her fiancé was a major. She had looked into it beforehand—someone of that rank was roughly equivalent to a deputy regimental commander. And for someone his age to rise to such a rank was practically unheard of.
Although the surroundings weren’t what she had expected, Sheng Xiao’s status was real. Surely plenty of people would be eager to curry favor with her and flatter her. Then she could enjoy being praised every day and simply order others around whenever she needed something.
But reality was completely different.
Apart from Li Yumei helping her tidy up on the first day and He Jinxiu coming over on the second day to pay her a courtesy visit and exchange a few polite words, the only person she saw every day was the young soldier who delivered her meals.
On one side was the comfortable life she had only recently enjoyed at the Sheng family’s home in Kyoto. On the other was this lonely existence where no one paid her any attention.
How was she supposed to accept that?
The moment she saw Sheng Xiao, all her grievances came rushing out. She felt that this whole situation was his fault.
If he had registered their marriage with her earlier, wouldn’t all of this have been avoided?
In reality, things were exactly the opposite of what she imagined.
There were indeed several families who had considered paying her a visit and currying favor with her.
But everyone knew Sheng Xiao’s reputation for being impartial and uncompromising in the military. If anyone crossed him, he wouldn’t give them any special treatment, no matter who they were.
Besides, they didn’t know anything about Yang Xixi’s personality. If they accidentally offended her, it could end up doing them more harm than good.
After discussing it among themselves, everyone decided it was better to wait and see.
Sheng Xiao had just returned from several days of intense missions and hadn’t even had a chance to rest before facing Yang Xixi’s unreasonable accusations. His expression wasn’t pleasant either.
He said coldly,
“You’re the one who insisted on coming here. Didn’t I tell you that once I finished my mission, we’d get engaged first, and then register our marriage once the marriage application was approved?”
Seeing his indifferent attitude, Yang Xixi was filled with anger.
It was precisely his neither-warm-nor-cold attitude that kept making her feel insecure.
After all, he wasn’t truly hers yet, and that uncertainty constantly gnawed at her.
Now that Su Man was nowhere to be found, what if she really did come looking for him?
From beginning to end, Sheng Xiao had only ever shown that he intended to take responsibility for what had happened. To him, it might not matter who that responsibility was owed to.
But how could Yang Xixi possibly let go of this glittering future that was already within her grasp?
It wasn’t as though she hadn’t hinted to Sheng Xiao that the two of them had already slept together. Although they weren’t married yet, they could still do it again.
She had thought that as long as she slept with Sheng Xiao, this fake relationship could become real.
But Sheng Xiao was as stubborn as a block of wood. He insisted on maintaining the proper boundaries between men and women, saying that what had happened before had been an offense against her and that certain things had to wait until after they were married.
They had even argued about it once.
But as an unmarried young woman, she couldn’t exactly drag Sheng Xiao into bed, and she couldn’t force him either.
All Yang Xixi could do was stare in frustration.
In her mind, Su Man was like a ticking time bomb.
Until she had that marriage certificate in her hands, she could never truly feel secure.
She threw aside all concern for a young woman’s modesty and dignity and demanded outright,
“If we hadn’t kept putting this off, would I have had to come all the way to this unfamiliar place and suffer? You have to give me an answer today. Exactly when are we getting engaged and married? Otherwise, I’m going to ask your superiors whether soldiers are allowed to take a girl’s virginity and then refuse to take responsibility!”
Faced with Yang Xixi’s unreasonable behavior, Sheng Xiao was overcome by a deep sense of helplessness.
His mother had clearly suggested arranging an engagement banquet first, but Yang Xixi had been the one playing hard to get and refusing.
Today she wanted this, tomorrow she wanted that. She had said that a woman only got engaged once in her lifetime, so everything had to be prepared properly.
He had already tried his best to satisfy all her demands, yet now she was accusing him of being the one who kept refusing.
Sheng Xiao didn’t want to waste time arguing over such pointless matters. This was something he had done, and he had to take responsibility for it.
“Since you’re already here, settle in and stay here. I’ll submit the marriage application in the next couple of days. I’ll also arrange for someone to handle the engagement banquet. If you need anything, you can come to me at any time.”
Hearing this, Yang Xixi’s anxious heart finally relaxed a little.
She had achieved what she wanted.
A smile returned to her face.
Only then did she remember that Sheng Xiao had just returned from a mission.
“Are you hungry? Do you want something to eat? I…”
She had originally intended to show some concern, but then she glanced around the house.
Everything was still a mess, and the kitchen was cold and unused.
Even heating water to take a bath had taken her forever.
Back home, she had always made that little wretch Su Man do such things.
Sheng Xiao didn’t want to stay here any longer either. Without expression, he refused.
“No need. I’ll stay in the barracks.”
With that, he turned and left without another word, leaving Yang Xixi so furious that she stomped her feet where she stood.
Sheng Xiao walked out through the courtyard gate, carrying his cap in one hand.
After all the missions he had been on, this was the first time he had felt so exhausted upon returning.
As he thought about everything that needed to be arranged next, he suddenly turned around and walked to the gate of the neighboring courtyard.
He knocked.
Li Yumei had just heard some movement coming from the neighboring courtyard and already knew that Sheng Xiao was back.
She hadn’t expected someone to knock on her door a moment later.
She hurried outside and saw Sheng Xiao standing at her gate.
Puzzled, she asked,
“Xiao Sheng, you’re back. Is there something you need me to help with?”
A faint smile finally appeared on Sheng Xiao’s face.
“There is something I need to trouble you with, Auntie.”