Inside, Yang Xixi listened to the commotion outside, her fingers gripping the comb so tightly that her knuckles had begun to turn white. She was unbearably irritated.
What niece? Damn it!
Today, everyone should have been paying attention to her!
The women’s chatter reminded her of the days when she had still been at home. Whenever guests came over, she would be wearing the newest and most fashionable clothes, and they would always shower her with compliments when they first arrived.
But the moment Su Man appeared, even if she was wearing clothes Yang Xixi had discarded because she no longer wanted them, everyone’s attention would immediately shift away from Yang Xixi and onto her.
They would start praising Su Man—how pretty she was, how good-natured she was, how hardworking she was!
It was as if Su Man had been born to draw everyone’s attention, while everyone else was merely there to serve as her backdrop.
Yang Xixi had had enough of feeling that way.
She hated nothing more than having someone else steal her spotlight!
In truth, Yang Xixi didn’t want to socialize with these military wives. She felt that most of them came from rural areas and were rather crude in the way they spoke and behaved.
But she couldn’t openly show her disdain, especially after what had happened last time. She had clearly sensed that Sheng Xiao was no longer as willing to indulge her as he used to be.
One of the military wives accompanying her noticed that something was off about her expression and cleverly spoke up in a flattering tone.
“If you ask me, it doesn’t matter how beautiful a woman is. What really matters is what kind of man she marries. A woman’s truly blessed when she marries well!”
“I’d say Xixi is probably the luckiest among all of us. She’s the one who married best! Just look at Major Sheng—what kind of man is he? So many girls have been throwing themselves at him, desperate to marry him, but he chose our Xixi!”
“That’s what you call being born lucky!”
Those words finally made Yang Xixi feel a little better. She put on an affectedly shy expression.
“Oh, Sister-in-law Yang, don’t put it that way. Sheng-ge and I were simply meant to be. Sometimes, when fate comes knocking, there’s nothing you can do to stop it!”
Everyone chimed in with agreement, and the conversation soon shifted back to how capable and impressive Sheng Xiao was.
Hmph! So what if she was the division commander’s niece? When she came later, Yang Xixi wanted to see just how impressive she really was. Could she possibly be prettier than that little bitch Su Man?
At that moment, however, Su Man had no idea Yang Xixi was thinking about her at all.
Because of Sheng Xiao, He Jinxiu had deliberately set out early with Su Man. Since the destination wasn’t far, the two of them decided to walk there together.
There was a small river beside the military camp. Normally, the water level was fairly low, but it had rained heavily a couple of days earlier, and the river had risen considerably.
The weather happened to be hot, so several mischievous boys had run down to play in the water.
The boys were splashing around and fooling about when, all of a sudden, one of them froze.
His legs suddenly cramped, and his body began sinking uncontrollably.
His companions immediately panicked. They reached out and grabbed him, working together to pull him safely back to shore.
The boy who had been dragged onto the bank kept his eyes tightly shut. His face had taken on a frightening bluish-gray hue, his chest was barely rising and falling, and his entire body lay limp on the ground.
The group of children immediately panicked, standing around him in stunned terror.
That was exactly what He Jinxiu and Su Man saw when they arrived. The two women hurried over.
Su Man pried open the boy’s eyes and saw that they were already rolling back.
He Jinxiu panicked as well, but she had been through enough in life to keep her head. She immediately told one of the older children to go get help.
Su Man knew there was no time to waste.
Without thinking about the fact that she was pregnant, she relied on the knowledge she had learned from her books.
First, she cleared the water from his mouth and nose. She pinched his nostrils shut, pried open his tightly clenched teeth, lowered her head, and began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. At the same time, she placed one hand over his chest and began pressing down firmly and rhythmically, alternating breaths with compressions in an all-out attempt to restart his breathing.
After several minutes of this, the unconscious boy’s eyelashes trembled faintly.
His tightly pursed lips parted slightly, and he suddenly coughed up several mouthfuls of water. His chest heaved violently.
Slowly, he opened his eyes. His gaze was still dazed and unfocused, and he breathed weakly, but he had finally regained consciousness completely.
Seeing that the boy had been brought back, Su Man finally let out a sigh of relief.
He Jinxiu stared at Su Man in astonishment.
“Manman, I had no idea you knew how to save people!”
Su Man smiled sheepishly.
“I just learned a little from books. I was scared to death just now too. I only went ahead because I had to. I was really afraid something might go wrong.”
He Jinxiu encouragingly patted her shoulder and reassured her.
“In an emergency like that, you just do everything you can. That’s all anyone can ask.”
Just then, the mothers of the boys arrived. They were all crying and sobbing, completely beside themselves with fright. The moment they saw their children standing safely on the riverbank, they rushed over and hugged them.
Once they came to their senses, some started smacking their children on the butt, some simply took off their shoes and started whacking them, while others picked up branches from the ground, determined to teach them a lesson they would never forget.
For a while, the riverbank was quite a lively spectacle.
The boy who had just regained consciousness, however, looked rather dejected as he watched the scene unfold.
Su Man curiously asked He Jinxiu in a low voice, “Auntie He, where’s his mother?”
He Jinxiu was already getting a headache from the chaos in front of her. Upon hearing the question, she took a closer look at the boy and sighed.
“That’s Zhou Hu. His father was killed in action before the Lunar New Year, and there’s no one left in his hometown. Sheng Xiao and several of his comrades discussed it and decided to take him in together. But his father died while saving Lin Jin, so his household registration is under Lin Jin’s name.”
“What do a bunch of grown men know about taking care of a child? They’re busy with training too. Whenever they have time, the military wives here help look after him.”
Su Man hadn’t expected the boy to have such a tragic background. Fortunately, he had still ended up surrounded by a group of kindhearted people.
Su Man didn’t know what to say to comfort him, so she could only gently pat his head.
The boy looked up at her sensibly and smiled. A little shyly, he said, “Thank you, Sister!”
Su Man gave him a warm smile.
Once He Jinxiu saw that the parents had more or less finished disciplining their children, she quickly stepped forward to intervene.
“All right, all right. Usually, I tell you to keep a close eye on them, but none of you take it seriously. Now that something’s happened, you know how to panic. From now on, keep a close watch on your own children. If something really happens, where are you going to cry then?”
The parents looked embarrassed and led their children home.
He Jinxiu had originally planned to take Zhou Hu home and get him changed. But when she turned around, she discovered that Su Man’s clothes had gotten wet as well.
She helped Zhou Hu get cleaned up first, then took Su Man home to change.
Even so, the two of them arrived with Zhou Hu somewhat late.
Yang Xixi was extremely displeased.
Word about what had happened by the river had already spread throughout the compound. Su Man herself hadn’t arrived yet, but the story of how she had saved the boy had already made the rounds. The military wives were vividly recounting the incident, and everyone was talking about it.
Yang Xixi’s face darkened.
She felt that He Jinxiu was deliberately disrespecting her. On such an important and happy day, she had done nothing but spoil things for her!
The courtyard gate opened.
The little courtyard fell silent for a moment as He Jinxiu and Su Man walked in hand in hand.
Everyone’s eyes turned toward the newcomers.
Yang Xixi impatiently raised her head to look.
The instant she saw Su Man, she was struck as if by lightning.