A flash of jealousy and resentment immediately crossed He Jiaojiao’s eyes. Her fingers tightened around her mess tin, trembling slightly.
Damn it! How come no one ever told me that Brother Huo was already married?!
All her efforts had been for nothing. She had given gifts, pulled strings, and gone through all that trouble just to come to this remote, impoverished place with the performing troupe.
If it weren’t for Huo Guangji, why would she have voluntarily applied to come all the way here for a cultural performance?
And more importantly, she couldn’t afford to wait any longer.
If she missed her chance with Huo Guangji, by the time the month-long performance tour ended, her pregnancy would already be showing.
By then, not only would she lose her job, but her reputation would be ruined as well.
He Jiaojiao gritted her teeth viciously and secretly made up her mind.
No matter what happened, she was going to make Huo Guangji take responsibility for her pregnancy.
She quietly squeezed her way toward the front of the line. Then she heard Huo Guangji speak softly to the woman behind the serving window.
“Give me a little meat to try. Not too much.”
The tenderness in his voice was so unlike the Huo Guangji she knew that He Jiaojiao clenched her fingers tightly.
If she hadn’t witnessed this scene herself, she would have thought Huo Guangji was simply cold by nature and treated everyone the same way.
She looked up at the woman behind the serving window.
Her first impression was that the woman was incredibly thin.
She couldn’t exactly call her ugly, but she was far too skinny. Her complexion was dark, and the clothes she wore looked plain and old-fashioned.
No matter how He Jiaojiao looked at her, she couldn’t see anything particularly beautiful about her.
At most, she could say the woman wasn’t ugly.
With a woman like this, how could she make Brother Huo so devoted to her?
And what right did she have to occupy Brother Huo and refuse to let him go?
Just as He Jiaojiao was thinking this, Qin Yue’e coldly handed over half a spoonful of cold meat and dropped it straight into Huo Guangji’s mess tin.
The resentment in her action was obvious—even Aunt Liu standing beside her could see it.
The noisy crowd suddenly fell silent for a moment.
Huo Guangji’s expression didn’t change much. He simply lowered his voice and said to Qin Yue’e,
“When I’m done with things here at noon, I’ll come find you. And don’t lock the door again today.”
With that, he turned around and walked away, leaving the serving window free.
Qin Yue’e ignored him, her face cold.
So he’s planning to come back to me after he’s finished his date with He Jiaojiao?
What a scumbag!
At noon, she decided she would stay at the mess hall with the children and help out.
She wanted to see where that man would find her!
“Big Sister—”
Just as she was thinking about it, a bright and youthful face suddenly appeared at the serving window.
The girl had wide, almond-shaped eyes that seemed to sparkle with every movement. Her long black hair was braided into two thick braids that hung over her chest. When she smiled, her eyes curved beautifully.
She leaned toward Qin Yue’e through the serving window.
“Big Sister, my name is He Jiaojiao! I’d like to try some youtiao. Do you still have any?”
Qin Yue’e froze slightly.
The original novel had spent countless words describing He Jiaojiao’s beauty, but seeing her in person was still completely different.
Today, Qin Yue’e finally met the female lead herself, and she felt as though her eyes had been struck by a flash of brilliance. Her brain even short-circuited for a moment.
No wonder she’s the heroine written by the author’s favorite pen. When it comes to looks, she really could rank first in the entire unit.
“Youtiao, right? Do you want anything else? Our cold meat dish is pretty good too. It’s made from the bear meat we had yesterday. Would you like some?”
Qin Yue’e was actually quite friendly.
After all, He Jiaojiao was the female lead. It probably couldn’t hurt to have a good relationship with her.
Besides, in the original novel, He Jiaojiao was actually a fairly decent person. She was especially kind toward Qin Yue’e’s two children. She wasn’t particularly devoted to them, but she was still much better to them than their own father, Huo Guangji.
Qin Yue’e had no personal prejudice against He Jiaojiao, so she didn’t show any hostility.
But the next words out of He Jiaojiao’s mouth made Qin Yue’e’s heart suddenly turn cold.
“I’ll have some meat too, Big Sister.”
He Jiaojiao blinked her large eyes and smiled warmly from outside the serving window.
“Big Sister, I heard you’re Captain Huo’s wife? You only brought the children to the army a few days ago, right? Did you come here to find Brother Huo because you wanted to keep an eye on him?”
Qin Yue’e’s hand stopped.
She instinctively looked at He Jiaojiao.
The girl’s face was still covered with an innocent, sweet smile.
But the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
If one looked closely, there was something cold in her gaze.
Even… jealousy and resentment.
Why is she jealous of me?
Qin Yue’e couldn’t quite understand.
She was nothing more than a cannon-fodder wife who was supposed to die in the original story. She didn’t seem to be getting in the way of He Jiaojiao and Huo Guangji at all.
After He Jiaojiao appeared yesterday, Qin Yue’e had deliberately avoided Huo Guangji. She hadn’t seen him again.
But then she suddenly understood.
In the original novel, the cannon-fodder wife Qin Yue’e had already died.
But things were different now.
The woman who was supposed to be dead was still standing here alive and well.
Not only was she alive, but she was still occupying Huo Guangji’s position as his wife.
Of course that made her an obstacle.
So my very existence is what stands between the male and female leads.
Qin Yue’e remembered that in the original novel, He Jiaojiao had once said a very famous line.
The general meaning was that Huo Guangji already had children with another woman, so how could he possibly come back and pursue her?
At the time, Qin Yue’e had deeply agreed with He Jiaojiao. She had thought the heroine’s attitude was realistic.
But now that she was the one involved, Qin Yue’e found herself unable to explain her situation.
Who would’ve thought that I would be the woman who had supposedly “tainted” the male lead’s life?
Fortunately, Qin Yue’e had one very good quality.
She would never bow her head to reality.
There was no way she was going to die just to make the male and female leads’ love story work!
With that thought, Qin Yue’e’s expression immediately turned cold.
She pushed He Jiaojiao’s mess tin back toward her.
“Your food is already served. Please step aside. Next person, come forward. Hand me your mess tin.”
She had no intention of entertaining He Jiaojiao.
Qin Yue’e had already said it clearly to herself: whatever love story belonged to the male and female leads was none of her business.
She simply wanted to survive and raise her children.
That was all.
He Jiaojiao took back her mess tin, a cold smile already appearing at the corners of her lips.
Although Qin Yue’e had completely ignored her, He Jiaojiao felt that this kind of woman would be easy to deal with.
She wasn’t a threat at all.
He Jiaojiao had approached her so openly, yet Qin Yue’e had done nothing except avoid her.
Clearly, she was probably just an ignorant country woman who didn’t understand anything.
How could a rural wife like this possibly compare with a talented arts troupe performer who could sing and dance?
As long as Huo Guangji wasn’t stupid, he would never devote his entire heart to this woman.
He Jiaojiao sneered and casually threw out one final sentence.
“Big Sister, I heard we’re staying in the same place. I’ll come find you after you finish work. You seem very kind, and I’d like to have a chat with you!”
Then she turned and walked away.
Qin Yue’e watched her retreating figure and rolled her eyes dramatically.
One after another, everyone wants to come talk to me.
What’s there even to talk about?!