In the kitchen.
By the time Qin An rushed in, thick smoke had already filled half the room, making it impossible to keep one’s eyes open.
Cheng Xi followed behind, coughing uncontrollably from the smoke.
Qin An pulled her behind him in one swift motion, his tall frame instantly shielding her completely, blocking most of the smoke and sparks.
He grabbed the bucket by the stove and splashed water over the flames with a loud splash.
The fire shrank by half.
He then pulled out the burning firewood one piece at a time, threw them on the ground, and stamped them out with the soles of his shoes.
His movements were quick and steady.
Cheng Xi stood behind him, watching his back, the sweat-soaked patch on his shoulder blades, and the taut lines of muscle on his arms.
Suddenly, she felt a little less afraid.
In less than a minute, the fire was out.
The smoke slowly cleared, and Qin An turned to look at her.
His face still wore that expressionless look.
He looked at the face before him—streaked with soot and tear stains, eyes red and swollen.
Pitiful.
His brow furrowed slightly, then relaxed.
It was the first time he’d seen someone nearly burn down a kitchen just by cooking rice.
Truly delicate.
But seeing her disheveled, soot-covered appearance, the scolding words on the tip of his tongue refused to come out.
Forget it.
The walls weren’t too badly blackened anyway.
He’d have the logistics team check it later to avoid another incident.
After a moment of silence, he spoke with a hint of resignation.
“…Did you get burned?”
Cheng Xi was taken aback and quickly shook her head. “N-no, I didn’t.”
Qin An let out a soft sigh of relief, averted his gaze, and bent down to pick up the charred firewood from the ground. But he couldn’t resist adding, “You nearly burned the house down just cooking porridge. You’re something else.”
Cheng Xi had felt a flicker of gratitude, but at his words, that gratitude was instantly replaced by indignation.
Feeling both guilty and annoyed, she couldn’t help muttering softly, “I didn’t mean to…”
“Hurry, hurry! Over here, over here!”
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard.
Qin An frowned, straightened up, and walked out of the kitchen.
The patrol team was rushing into the courtyard.
The one leading the group looked up and saw Qin An, instinctively snapping to attention and saluting.
“Regiment Commander Qin! We heard your house was on fire!”
As he spoke, a few patrol soldiers glanced into the kitchen.
Half the wall was blackened, the floor was wet and slick with water, and the air carried the smell of something burnt.
But the fire was already out.
The men, holding buckets, exchanged uncertain looks.
Well…were they still needed?
“It’s fine now.” Qin An dusted off his hands. “Sorry for the trouble.”
The patrol soldiers looked at each other, saluted, and retreated with their buckets.
They might have left, but the crowd at the courtyard gate hadn’t dispersed.
Zhao Yinghua had gathered everyone she could from the neighborhood, blocking the entrance to Qin An’s courtyard completely.
“Was there really a fire?”
“Just smell it—the burnt smell is so strong.”
“Where are they? Where’s Regiment Commander Qin’s wife?”
Several women craned their necks to peer inside.
Zhao Yinghua squeezed to the front and immediately spotted Cheng Xi standing at the kitchen door.
Her face was smeared with black and gray streaks, and bits of ash clung to her hair.
Zhao Yinghua’s lips curled downward at once.
Raising her voice loud enough for everyone behind her to hear, she said, “Cheng Xi, what happened to your face? Did you crawl into the stove?”
A few women behind her stretched their necks to look, and someone couldn’t hold back a snicker.
“Look at her, covered in soot. What a sight.”
“Setting the kitchen on fire just by cooking—who would believe it?”
"A capitalist's daughter, of course she's never done this kind of work."
Hearing others chime in, Zhao Yinghua grew even more spirited, planting both hands on her hips. "Sister Cheng Xi, I don't mean to criticize you, but if you can't even light a stove, how are you going to manage in the future? Regimental Commander Qin is busy on the training grounds all day, and when he comes home, he still has to take care of you? All of us military wives handle everything inside and outside the home. But look at you—you nearly set the entire residential compound on fire just trying to cook."
Someone nearby chimed in, "Exactly, exactly."
"She's just too pampered."
"How did Regimental Commander Qin end up with a wife like this?"
Zhao Yinghua grew more fluent as she spoke, raising her voice another notch. "She's only been here a few days, and one thing after another keeps happening. Today she dares to set the kitchen on fire, who knows if she'll burn down the whole residential compound tomorrow!"
A stir rippled through the crowd.
"It's not that serious, is it…"
"How is it not serious?" Zhao Yinghua slapped her thigh. "Just look—if this fire hadn't been put out in time, my house is right next door, and I'd be the first to suffer!"
Cheng Xi looked at Zhao Yinghua's gloating face and the large crowd behind her, and suddenly everything became clear.
These people—she had gathered them all here.
She just wanted everyone to see Cheng Xi make a fool of herself.
Cheng Xi took a deep breath and was about to speak.
Qin An stepped forward.
He stood in front of Cheng Xi, blocking Zhao Yinghua's line of sight.
"Enough."
Zhao Yinghua's voice faltered for a moment.
"Sister-in-law," Qin An said, looking at her. "I've told you before, there's no need for you to worry about my family's affairs."
His marriage to Cheng Xi wasn't something he had chosen for himself.
Even now, he still hadn't truly accepted her as his wife.
But hearing someone speak about her like this made him uncomfortable.
Very uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was because he couldn't just stand by and watch her being bullied right in front of him.
Zhao Yinghua was startled by Qin An's stern expression and took half a step back, stammering, "I—I was just thinking of everyone's safety. If that fire had spread…"
Qin An cut her off directly. "Did the fire reach your house?"
Zhao Yinghua was left speechless, her smile frozen on her face.
"Besides," Qin An continued, his tone flat, not accusatory but matter-of-fact, "who hasn't burned a pot while cooking?"
Zhao Yinghua grew anxious. "But this wasn't just burning a pot, this was clearly—"
"Sister-in-law."
Qin An interrupted her again.
"The year you first came to the residential compound."
"I remember you also set the kitchen on fire. Back then, you didn't know how to use coal."
The courtyard fell silent.
So quiet that the sound of the wind blowing over the walls could be heard.
Zhao Yinghua's face instantly paled.
A few of the older sisters-in-law exchanged glances.
Someone whispered, "I think that did happen…"
"I'd forgotten all about it until now."
"I remember now, it caused quite a stir back then. Half the roof was blackened by the smoke."
"Tsk, tsk. She set her own kitchen on fire, and now she's criticizing others."
Zhao Yinghua's face flushed red and then turned pale, her lips trembling. "Th-that was so many years ago! I—I was just careless!"
"Cheng Xi was also careless."
"She doesn't know how to do anything! She can't even light a fire! How is that the same?" Zhao Yinghua's voice grew shrill again, her finger pointing in Cheng Xi's direction as she stubbornly held her ground.
Qin An looked at Zhao Yinghua, his gaze heavy.
"Sister-in-law, are you saying that when you set the kitchen on fire, it was an accident, but when she does it, it's intentional?"
Zhao Yinghua's lips twitched a few times, but she couldn't squeeze out a single word.
The courtyard was deathly quiet.
The wives who had just been laughing at Cheng Xi along with Zhao Yinghua now all averted their gazes.
Some looked down at the ground, others pretended to tidy the basins in their hands—not a single person spoke up for Zhao Yinghua.
Who in the family compound didn't know what kind of man Regimental Commander Qin was?
Usually quiet, with a cold expression, he never mixed with these wives.
But if anyone truly provoked him, that dark look on his face would make anyone shrink back in fear.
Zhao Yinghua stood there alone, her expression shifting repeatedly.
Just then, hurried footsteps came from behind the crowd.
A middle-aged man pushed his way in.
His face was ashen, sweat still beading on his forehead—clearly, he had run over.
Qin An looked at him, his expression still dark, his tone carrying a chill.
"Deputy Regimental Commander Zhou."
Zhou Desheng flinched at the address.
Qin An usually called him "Old Zhou."
After all these years climbing the ranks in this compound, this was the first time he had seen Qin An like this.
"Take your wife back."
Qin An's voice was hard.
"Don't let her worry about our family anymore."
The muscles on Zhou Desheng's face twitched.
He worked under Qin An, and though Qin An was usually cold, he had never pulled rank on him before.
Today's words showed he was truly angry.
He strode over to Zhao Yinghua and grabbed her arm.
"Had enough of making a scene?"
Zhao Yinghua stumbled from his pull: "I—I wasn't making a scene! I was—"
"You were what?" Zhou Desheng's voice wasn't loud, but each word seemed squeezed through gritted teeth. "I could hear you shouting all the way from the training ground. Your voice echoed through the whole alley. If you're not ashamed, I am."
Zhao Yinghua's face flushed crimson: "I was thinking of everyone! She almost burned our house down!"
"Did she?"
Zhao Yinghua opened her mouth.
"Did she?!"
Zhou Desheng's voice suddenly rose half an octave.
Zhao Yinghua trembled all over from his shout, unable to utter a word.
Zhou Desheng took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, and turned to look at Cheng Xi.
His gaze lingered on the soot smudges on her face for half a second.
"Sister-in-law." He paused. "I'm sorry."
Cheng Xi was taken aback.
Zhou Desheng said no more, pulling Zhao Yinghua's arm as he walked out.
Zhao Yinghua stumbled along, still struggling: "Why are you dragging me? I wasn't wrong!"
"Shut up!"
Zhou Desheng's voice echoed back from the alley, heard halfway down the lane.
Zhao Yinghua was dragged away.
The crowd at the courtyard gate fell silent for two seconds.
Several wives exchanged glances, awkwardly stepping back.
"Let's disperse."
"Let's go…"
In less than half a minute, everyone was gone.
The courtyard fell completely quiet.
Qin An still stood there, his back to Cheng Xi.
Cheng Xi looked at his straight, upright figure.
Had he actually spoken up for her just now, shielding her from the whole courtyard?