Huo Yuanzheng left.
After standing dazed for a moment, Su Manqing opened her luggage bag, wanting to find a set of dry clothes to change into.
But all the clothes inside were soaked through from the heavy rain.
There was no other way—she could only hang the clothes up first and see if they would dry by tomorrow morning.
The clothes she was wearing were also completely wet. Earlier, she had only taken off her top; the rest of her clothes were still clinging damply to her body, making her extremely uncomfortable.
Since no one would come anyway, she also took off her pants to hang them up.
Her stomach growled loudly with hunger.
She had come straight here after getting off the train, and with only three hundred yuan on her, she didn’t dare spend much.
Having gone hungry for half a day, she now felt a bit dizzy and lightheaded.
But Su Manqing couldn’t dwell on that. Through the small window, watching the torrential rain outside, she kept turning over the scenes from her dream in her mind.
If Huo Yuanzheng refused to accept her, how should she save herself?
There was less than a week left before the turmoil would begin.
Strike first? Report Su Manxue and Fang Peilan ahead of time?
But she had no evidence at all that Su Manxue was an illegitimate daughter.
Directly bringing them down wouldn’t be easy, and there wasn’t enough time.
Biting her finger, her mind worked so hard it felt like it might overheat, yet she still couldn’t think of a good solution.
The only path that could quickly remove her from danger was to reconcile with Huo Yuanzheng.
As long as she stayed within the military unit, their reach couldn’t extend here.
But that path was already blocked.
Her thoughts were a chaotic mess. She didn’t know how much time had passed when suddenly, the sound of a key turning in the lock came from the door.
“Who is it?!”
Su Manqing was startled!
Wrapping the blanket around her naked body, her voice trembled uncontrollably.
As soon as she spoke, the door creaked open, and Huo Yuanzheng’s handsome, chiseled face appeared behind it!
Seeing it was him, Su Manqing was surprised!
Hadn’t he left? Why was he back?
Huo Yuanzheng’s expression was still grim. After entering, he set down an oilcloth, then took out a lunchbox and a set of green military uniform from his arms.
“Here, eat.”
Su Manqing’s starry eyes widened in disbelief, clearly unable to understand what he meant by this.
Hadn’t he grown tired of her?
So tired that he didn’t even want to see her.
“N-no, thank you. I’m not hungry.”
Clutching the bedsheet, she lowered her gaze slightly and spoke softly.
After being rejected, she now felt only shame and embarrassment, wishing she could stay far away from him. How could she possibly bear to be in the same room with him while so improperly dressed?
Earlier, to let her hair dry, she had undone her hair tie.
Her thick, raven-black hair cascaded down, half-covering her delicate, rosy-white face, adding a touch of pitiable charm.
Huo Yuanzheng’s gaze darkened, his voice tinged with sarcasm.
“Tsk! Trying to play the hunger strike game with me again? Too bad it doesn’t work on me anymore.”
Su Manqing was left speechless, reminded once more of the scene where she had starved herself to force him into a divorce.
Not wanting to argue with him, she could only say, “Just leave it on the table. I’ll eat later.”
The woman’s face was somewhat pale, her eyes slightly red and swollen, as if she had been crying.
Her slightly lowered gaze carried a coldness that kept others at a distance.
It seemed as if she had already made up her mind to leave this place for good, to stay far away… from him!
Huo Yuanzheng laughed at himself mockingly.
What difference did it make? She would rather die than stay married to him!
Probably just another trick to toy with him.
She had always been like this.
But he could no longer endure her games.
"Rest for the night after dinner. Tomorrow, I'll have someone take you to the station."
Huo Yuanzheng spoke, his voice cold and indifferent, neither pleased nor angry.
Su Manqing's heart sank to the depths.
"Alright, I understand."
She made no further attempt to stay, lowering her eyes and nodding.
His attitude was already clear. Even if she had no shame left, she couldn't bring herself to cling to him any longer.
Even though she had agreed to return to Jingshi, Huo Yuanzheng felt no joy at all.
An indescribable feeling of restlessness and suffocation surged within him.
Yet he suppressed it fiercely!
He wouldn't fall for her tricks again!
Last year, when her attitude softened, Huo Yuanzheng had thought he had finally warmed her heart.
But then, in the blink of an eye, she had a huge argument with him, declaring she could never like him no matter who she might like!
This year was even more absurd. Everything seemed fine when they returned, but then she suddenly started demanding a divorce!
Not only that, she got into Lu Sinian's car and even went on a hunger strike for that man, insisting on divorcing him!
The memory of that scene made Huo Yuanzheng's blood boil uncontrollably.
His hand unconsciously clenched into a fist as he said coldly, "You'd better keep your word. Go back to your Lu Sinian. This is no place for you."
Don't come back later threatening to die or making a scene.
Hearing the name Lu Sinian, Su Manqing straightened abruptly, her eyes filled with urgency.
"Lu Sinian and I—"
Before she could finish, Huo Yuanzheng cut her off roughly.
"Enough! I don't care what's between you and him! I'm leading a training exercise tomorrow and have no time for your games!"
With that, he turned and walked out the door without another glance at her.
Watching his furious retreating figure, Su Manqing slumped weakly back onto the bed.
But she didn't blame him. She had brought all of this upon herself.
Why had she listened to Su Manxue's nonsense about using another man to force him into a divorce?
Lu Sinian…
Thinking of the man she had once believed to be a gentleman, Su Manqing dug her nails into her palm.
In her dream, it was his behind-the-scenes maneuvering that had led to her being sent down to the countryside so quickly!
And this man would soon forge connections with the committee!
The thought filled her with an indescribable sense of urgency.
Getting off the bed, she locked the door and changed into the military uniform he had brought.
The uniform was for women and, surprisingly, fit her perfectly.
Su Manqing had never liked wearing military uniforms or soldiers, finding them too rough—just like Huo Yuanzheng.
But now, as she put on the uniform, her feelings were complex and hard to put into words.
Even though he despised her so much, he had still been considerate enough to prepare clothes and food for her.
If she had any sense, she should respect his wishes and return to Jingshi as soon as possible.
Once dressed, her stomach growled loudly again.
Su Manqing didn't fuss any longer and opened the aluminum lunchbox.
Lifting the lid, she was greeted by braised pork glistening with red oil, along with tofu and cabbage.
But that wasn't the main point. What stood out was that the braised pork was all lean meat, without a single piece of fat.
Looking at the generously filled lunchbox, for some reason, Su Manqing's eyes grew moist.
In the past, she had been so prejudiced against him that she had never noticed these small details.
Now that she had set aside those prejudices, she realized just how far off the mark she had been.
In these times, when oil and fat were scarce, everyone loved fatty meat, and few preferred lean cuts.
But Su Manqing was different. Since childhood, she had never eaten fatty meat, only lean.
Even her grandfather hadn’t noticed this preference, yet he remembered it so clearly.
But once missed, it was missed forever.
She had already shamelessly taken off her clothes to seduce him, yet he remained completely unmoved.
Dreams weren’t necessarily entirely real.
After the meal, the rain gradually stopped.
Su Manqing fetched some water, washed the lunchbox clean, and sat on a stool to dry her hair.
Just as she was patting her hair dry, suddenly, a flash of red appeared on her wrist.
Su Manqing was taken aback. She raised her hand and was startled to see a small crimson mole on her fair wrist that hadn’t been there before.
What was going on?
Curiously, she reached out to touch the mole, wondering if it was just a stain of pigment.
But the next moment, a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she found herself in a strange place.
Su Manqing was terrified!
What kind of place was this?