Xiao Yang was a new recruit, having only been in the army for two years. He was young, with a round face and a somewhat childish manner in his speech.
Lei Guotao glanced at the kid, thinking to himself, “What do you know?” But as someone who does ideological and political work, he couldn’t use such vulgar language.
“Tell me, what do you think of Deputy Regiment Commander Xiao’s wife?”
Xiao Yang couldn’t lie, “She’s exceptionally beautiful.”
Lei Guotao chuckled, “You little rascal,”
He didn’t say anything else.
Throughout history, beautiful women have often been considered a source of trouble; whether it’s a blessing or a curse is truly hard to say.
After seeing the person off, Qiao Meili looked around the small courtyard. It seemed that Xiao Heng hadn’t moved houses in the past three years and was still living in the same one.
The house isn’t very big; the living room and dining room are in one space, there’s a kitchen, and three bedrooms—one large and two small.
The original owner was arrogant and disliked the conditions here when he first arrived. He complained that the furniture was too old and that there was no place to take a bath. So Xiao Heng converted one of the north-facing bedrooms into a bathroom.
Of course, there was no bathtub, but a carpenter was asked to build a large wooden tub for taking baths.
All the furniture in the room, including the bed, was newly made when the original owner came to join the army, costing Xiao Heng a lot of money.
Several years have passed, and the house is still very well maintained; the furniture is still quite new.
However, since there was no woman in the house, the room felt empty and lacked any sense of life.
The courtyard outside was completely deserted, unlike other people’s homes, which were mostly filled with vegetables and looked full of life.
Qiao Meili thought to herself that she should take it slow and that the most important thing right now was to settle down.
She carried her suitcase to the bedroom, hesitated for a moment between the master bedroom and the small bedroom, and finally chose to go into the master bedroom.
The bedroom was simply furnished, with a bed against the wall, a double-door wardrobe next to the bed, and a desk by the window on the south side. Apart from that, there was almost nothing else in sight.
The only thing that seemed out of place with the room’s cold and austere style was the pink curtains hanging by the window, with lace trim around the edges.
Needless to say, this was also the original owner’s aesthetic sense.
It’s quite remarkable that Xiao Heng hasn’t changed these conspicuous curtains after all these years.
After glancing around, Qiao Meili opened the wardrobe, which was almost half empty. Xiao Heng rarely wore casual clothes and didn’t buy many clothes.
Qiao Meili took out several sets of her clothes from the suitcase and put them in.
There are also some skincare products and face oils, which are placed on the writing desk.
The room was generally clean, and Qiao Meili stayed there for a while longer.
Xiao Heng hadn’t returned yet, and she didn’t know if he was genuinely busy or deliberately avoiding her.
Qiao Meili had no choice but to get up and go to the kitchen to cook, since it was almost time.
Xiao Heng might be back soon. She wasn’t thinking about conquering a man’s stomach; she just thought that people feel better after they’ve eaten their fill.
Hopefully, Xiao Heng will be in a better mood and won’t send her away!
Since there has been no woman in the house for a long time, it is obvious that Xiao Heng does not cook at home very often.
Qiao Meili only found some rice and a few eggs in the kitchen. With just those two things, no matter how good her cooking skills were, she couldn’t come up with anything fancy.
Suddenly, I remembered that when she was on the train, she met a little girl who saw her eating cookies. The little girl clamored to have some too, and then the little girl’s mother traded some tomatoes from her own garden for a bag of cookies.
She didn’t like eating raw tomatoes, so when no one was looking, she threw the tomatoes into her spatial dimension.
I don’t know if it’s still safe to eat now.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around in the west, Qiao Meili used her mind to take out a tomato from her spatial storage. Upon seeing it, she was amused.
The tomatoes are exactly the same as when they were put in. It seems that time in her space is essentially frozen. In other words, she can throw in things like meat that are not easy to store, which is much more convenient.
Qiao Meili happily thought about making tomato and egg rice with the only ingredients she had on hand.
Although simple, it has a sweet and sour flavor that is very appetizing.
Rice was simmering in the pot. Qiao Meili remembered seeing wild green vegetables in her yard, so she went out and picked a handful.
As soon as they came out of the house, they saw the gate to their courtyard open from the outside, and a young woman with a long braid walked in, leading a little boy by the hand.
Qiao Meili was taken aback. She first glanced at the young woman, but her attention was quickly drawn to the little boy next to her.
The little boy had big, round eyes, red lips, and white teeth; he was extremely cute and was tilting his head back to look at her.
He is… Zhao Zhao?
“No, who are you? This is a military family compound. How did you get in? Who let you into Brother Xiao’s house?” Zhang Miao shouted.
Qiao Meili was called back and, sensing the other party’s hostility, immediately retorted, “And who are you?”
Zhang Miao questioned even louder, “Now I’m asking you a question. If you don’t answer, believe me, I’ll call the sentries to arrest you as a spy.”
Qiao Meili was amused. She had come back this time wanting to keep a low profile, but even if she wanted to keep a low profile, she couldn’t let someone point at her and scold her in her own yard.
“Please get your facts straight. I’m in my own backyard. What right do you have to yell at me?”
Zhang Miao scoffed, “I think you’ve got something wrong with your head. This is clearly Deputy Regiment Commander Xiao’s house, when did it become yours?”
Qiao Meili said, “So you know this is Deputy Regiment Commander Xiao’s house? Then who are you to him, shouting like that here?”
Zhang Miao really couldn’t answer this question, since she and Xiao Heng really had no relationship. Her face slowly turned red, like a boiled shrimp.
Suddenly, Qiao Meili understood everything; this girl probably had a thing for Xiao Heng.
Before he could say anything more, his eyes swept across the courtyard and he noticed a person standing outside. The person was dressed in military uniform, tall and imposing, and even from a distance, he could feel the powerful and intimidating aura emanating from him.
We’re doomed!
Qiao Meili silently lit three incense sticks for herself in her heart.
Why did Xiao Heng appear at this time?
She clearly wanted to leave a good impression, at least to present a reformed image, and definitely not to start a loud argument with someone in her own yard as soon as she arrived.
Otherwise, why would she travel so far to clean the house and cook for us? What would she be after?
Qiao Meili suspected that fate was deliberately making things difficult for her, and she hung her head dejectedly.
Now, Xiao Heng’s impression of her is probably even worse. He might just send her back right away!
When Zhang Miao saw her like this, she assumed that she was feeling guilty. Moreover, with Xiao Heng back, she seemed to have regained her sense of self-control. She let go of Zhao Zhao and walked outside, complaining as she went.
“Brother Xiao, you’re back just in time. I brought Zhao Zhao back, and before I even entered the house, I saw this woman in your yard. She looks unfamiliar to me, and I don’t know if she’s some kind of unknown person who’s snuck in. In my opinion, we should arrest her first!”
“Brother Xiao, Brother Xiao…”
Zhang Miao’s words did not receive a response from Xiao Heng, so she called out several more times.
Only then did they realize that Xiao Heng was staring at the woman in the courtyard, his gaze deep and unfathomable. Although he didn’t say a word, his aura seemed to have changed, sharp and intense yet as if he was trying his best to suppress something.
“Brother Xiao, what are you looking at…?”
Realizing something belatedly, Zhang Miao glanced at Xiao Heng, then looked at the woman standing in the courtyard, her eyes widening little by little.
No way!
At this moment, Qiao Meili also cheered up and smiled slightly at Xiao Heng, “Long time no see, I’m back.”