Sheng Xiao knew that Yang Xixi was the type to push her luck. If he didn’t make things clear, she would only make more outrageous demands.
In a firm tone that left no room for negotiation, he said,
“Yang Xixi, you and I both know exactly what our situation is. I won’t shirk the responsibilities I should bear, but I can’t provide you with anything beyond that.”
“If you can accept that, then we can continue living together peacefully. I will be absolutely loyal to and protective of my own family. But if you can’t accept this kind of life, or if you have other expectations, I can compensate you in other ways. There’s no need for me to waste your entire life!”
Yang Xixi was frightened by the decisiveness in Sheng Xiao’s voice and immediately became obedient.
Only now did she realize that everything she had to rely on came from this man’s sense of responsibility. If she kept pushing him, she might not only get nothing—she might even lose everything she had now.
Her family was already far worse off than before. She had to hold on tightly to this lifeline.
In her previous life, none of these things had happened.
Although Sheng Xiao had received an unexpected order and returned to the military camp, at that time Su Man had already been tricked by the Yang couple into getting an abortion and had been sold to the Yang family.
Yang Xixi learned about it over the phone and immediately had nothing left to worry about. She simply stayed in the capital, waiting peacefully for Sheng Xiao to marry her.
She knew Sheng Xiao was a man who kept his word. As long as no one exposed her true nature, her comfortable life in the future was guaranteed.
Naturally, she had put on a flawless act before marriage.
In this life, Su Man’s “disobedience” had made her feel that things were slipping beyond her control. For some reason, she felt that she had to register her marriage with Sheng Xiao as soon as possible, or she would regret it.
And as it turned out, sometimes even the smallest change could produce a completely different outcome, just like the butterfly effect, sending everything far off course.
After Yang Xixi arrived in the southwest, her selfish and spoiled nature was exposed ahead of schedule. Sheng Xiao treated her even more coldly than he had in their previous life, when they had at least maintained a polite distance.
She began to feel afraid.
Sheng Xiao’s warning had indeed worked. Yang Xixi stopped making trouble, and Li Yumei breathed a sigh of relief and began steadily preparing for the engagement banquet.
The date was set for three days later.
Sun Qinqin had recently finished her vacation and returned to work at the hospital. He Jinxiu also had her own work to attend to, so Su Man spent most of her time at the Liao family’s little courtyard.
Su Man asked Sun Qinqin to help her obtain several medical books. She told everyone that she was interested in medicine and had bought the books to study on her own.
In reality, she needed a legitimate reason to take the medical texts from her space out and study them openly.
After all, this might become the means by which she supported herself in the future.
Of course, she hadn’t forgotten to ask about Yang Xixi’s situation either. Fortunately, with Sun Qinqin around, she didn’t even need to deliberately gather information. Sun Qinqin would come running over and gossip with her anyway.
After Sheng Xiao’s warning last time, Yang Xixi had been keeping a low profile recently.
But Su Man knew her nature. It wouldn’t be long before she reverted to her old ways.
Su Man could afford to wait.
But the baby in her belly couldn’t.
She was already four months pregnant, and her belly was beginning to show. If too much more time passed, there was no way she could keep it hidden.
Yang Xixi.
It was time for them to meet!
Early on the day of the engagement banquet, quite a few military wives came over to help and join in the festivities.
He Jinxiu had someone specially make a dress for Su Man and then personally gave her a simple makeover.
Once she was finished, He Jinxiu walked around Su Man, her eyes filled with admiration.
“Our Manman is becoming prettier and prettier! Look at you all dressed up—you’re absolutely gorgeous. Aren’t you going to outshine everyone else later?”
Su Man was embarrassed by her blunt praise and coquettishly shook He Jinxiu’s arm.
“How could I possibly compare with you, Auntie He? You’re the prettiest woman in the whole compound. I only look this good because you have such skill and know how to dress people. I’m just benefiting from it!”
Those words made He Jinxiu positively beam.
She had always wanted a sweet, sensible daughter to dote on, and now she had finally gotten her wish.
This girl was certainly much better at making people happy than those stinky boys.
After spending these past few days with Su Man, He Jinxiu was completely satisfied with her.
She was beautiful, hardworking, neat and capable, and most importantly, she had an excellent personality. She was neither servile nor arrogant, and she handled people and situations with poise and thoughtfulness.
Even Old Liao hadn’t said how long Su Man would be staying.
As far as He Jinxiu was concerned, she had heard that Su Man’s parents were both gone and that there was no one at home to take care of her. The poor girl was all alone.
Why not just let her live with them permanently and become her goddaughter?
If that happened, she’d be getting the deal of a lifetime!
The more she thought about it, the better the idea seemed.
When they returned that evening, she would bring it up with Old Liao!
Today was the day of the engagement, and Yang Xixi had unusually gotten up early.
She put on the outfit she had specifically prepared for the engagement banquet and even hired someone to do her makeup.
A group of military wives surrounded her with compliments. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, she was very pleased with herself as well.
Today, she was the main character.
She absolutely had to be the most dazzling woman in the crowd.
Sheng Xiao and the others had training during the day and hadn’t specifically asked for leave. No one thought much of it. The men in the military were simply like that—they valued training above everything else.
Here and there, small groups of people gathered in the courtyard, some helping with preparations and others chatting.
Someone sitting in the courtyard casually brought up a topic.
“Hey, have any of you seen Commander Liao’s niece?”
Someone who wasn’t very well informed immediately asked,
“Commander Liao only has two sons, doesn’t he? Where did he get a niece?”
The woman who knew the inside story immediately perked up when she saw the other’s confused expression and began showing off her knowledge.
“Your information is out of date! You mean the girl who came over with Qinqin the other day? She usually lives pretty far from here, so she doesn’t show up very often.”
“I’m telling you, the other day I went to see Director He about something and saw that young girl in their courtyard. Tsk, tsk, tsk! Good heavens, I’ve never seen such a pretty girl before!”
“Her little face was as smooth as a peeled egg. And those eyes, that little nose—she was absolutely exquisite. I think she’s even prettier than those girls from the Cultural Troupe who performed last time!”
A short-haired military wife with dark skin thought the woman was exaggerating and looked completely unconvinced.
“Is she really as ridiculously beautiful as you say? Doesn’t everyone have one nose and two eyes? How beautiful could she possibly be?”
Another tall military wife chimed in when she heard that.
“I’ve seen her too. I think she came to see Qinqin that day. That girl really is beautiful! Anyway, I’ve never seen a girl that pretty in our compound.”
“Hmph. I think you’re only saying that because she’s Commander Liao’s niece. You’re just trying to curry favor with her!”
The tall military wife was furious at being accused like that and snorted.
“Wu Dahua, you just don’t look very good yourself, so you’re jealous of other people. She’ll be here soon. Just look for yourself and you’ll know!”
Seeing that things were about to turn sour, everyone immediately stepped in to smooth things over.