“Pay up! Your little brat smashed my window—must pay! Ten yuan! Not a cent less!”
A sharp scream cut through the peaceful afternoon of the military compound.
Under the old pagoda tree in the courtyard, Li Zhihuan was sitting leisurely, holding a comic book version of Romance of the Three Kingdoms, reading with great interest.
The scream interrupted her “spiritual nourishment,” making her brows slightly furrow.
She looked up and saw Aunt Wang arguing fiercely with Aunt Zhang from across the way.
Aunt Wang’s son was a mischievous kid, energetic like a monkey. While using a slingshot to shoot birds, he accidentally shattered Aunt Zhang’s window glass.
In this era, glass was a rare and expensive commodity.
Aunt Zhang stood with hands on her hips, spitting angrily as her loud voice nearly lifted the roof.
Aunt Wang, red-faced and anxious, kept apologizing, but she was clumsy with words. All she could repeat was “I’m sorry” and “I’ll pay,” completely unable to withstand Aunt Zhang’s verbal assault.
“Pay? Easy for you to say! That glass was something my husband specially got through connections in the city! Was it meant for your little brat to play with? I’m telling you, Wang Xiuzhen, this isn’t over!”
Aunt Zhang refused to let it go.
Soon, a crowd of military wives gathered around, chattering and trying to mediate.
“Alright, alright, Aunt Zhang, calm down. It’s just a kid being naughty.”
“Aunt Wang, you should’ve watched your child better.”
But their so-called “mediation” only added fuel to the fire.
Li Zhihuan sighed.
Honestly, they were disturbing her Three Kingdoms: Borrowing Arrows with Straw Boats reading.
She originally didn’t want to interfere.
But the noise kept escalating, seriously affecting the quality of her salted-fish leisure time.
Efficiently solving problems and restoring peace.
That instinct was deeply engraved in her corporate-worker DNA.
She closed the comic book and slowly stood up, walking toward the crowd.
The moment she moved, everyone’s attention turned to her instantly.
“Oh? Even Battalion Commander Qi’s wife came to watch the drama?”
Someone whispered.
In everyone’s eyes, Li Zhihuan was someone who normally ignored everything outside her own life—a “lazy woman.” Her initiative to step in was almost unheard of.
She ignored the murmurs and walked straight into the center of the confrontation.
First, she looked at Aunt Zhang, who was furious, then at Aunt Wang, who was on the verge of tears.
She didn’t mediate.
Instead, she said something completely unexpected.
“Aunt Zhang, your husband got a bicycle allocation ticket from Supply Officer Liu yesterday, didn’t he?”
The moment those words came out, the entire courtyard went silent.
Aunt Zhang’s aggressive aura deflated instantly like a punctured balloon.
She stared at Li Zhihuan in shock, mouth wide enough to swallow an egg.
“You… how do you know that?”
Her husband had only bragged about it after drinking last night. Not many people in the compound even knew about it yet.
Li Zhihuan didn’t answer. She continued calmly.
“It’s a ‘Forever’ brand ticket, right? Hard to get a bike. Your husband is worried—if it expires, the ticket will go to waste.”
These details came from casual gossip she had overheard while sunbathing a few days ago.
A said Aunt Zhang’s family got a ticket.
B mentioned Forever-brand bikes were hard to obtain.
C added that the ticket was about to expire.
To others, it was meaningless gossip.
But in Li Zhihuan’s mind—trained like a former information analyst—it automatically assembled into a complete logical chain.
Aunt Zhang’s expression shifted from shock to guilt.
Li Zhihuan then turned to Aunt Wang, who was already stunned.
“Aunt Wang, I remember you said your cousin works at the city bicycle shop, right?”
Aunt Wang nodded instinctively.
“Yes… yes.”
Li Zhihuan looked back at Aunt Zhang, her voice calm but clearly heard by everyone.
“Aunt Zhang, broken glass must be compensated. That’s fair.”
“But don’t push things too far just because you’re justified.”
“One pane of glass costs at most five yuan. You’re asking for ten—that’s anger money. But can anger feed you? Or get you a bicycle?”
She shifted her tone slightly.
“A nearly expired bicycle ticket, versus a favor—one that can help you turn that ticket into an actual bike—which one is more valuable? You know the answer yourself.”
Then she turned to Aunt Wang.
“Aunt Wang, paying for the glass is a small expense.”
“But in return, you gain a favor from Aunt Zhang’s family. Your child loses one future enemy in the compound, and you also help your cousin build a connection with Supply Officer Liu’s relative…”
“Isn’t that a loss?”
A few sentences.
No nonsense.
Every word struck directly at the core interests and emotional pressure points of both sides.
A dispute that was about to escalate into a full-blown fight was resolved effortlessly.
The entire courtyard fell into dead silence.
Everyone stared at Li Zhihuan as if she were a monster.
Was… was this still the same Li Zhihuan who used to only cause trouble and throw tantrums?
That mindset, that scheming, that ability to see through people… it was simply—truly—kind of frightening!
Sister Wang and Sister Zhang exchanged looks. The anger on their faces had long vanished, replaced by complicated and awkward expressions.
In the end, Sister Zhang spoke first. Her tone had softened, carrying a hint of embarrassment.
“Then… um, sister-in-law, about that ticket issue…”
Sister Wang quickly followed.
“Sister-in-law, I’ll compensate for the glass. Tomorrow I’ll have my cousin go ask about the car for you!”
Just like that, the conflict came to an end.
The crowd slowly dispersed, but everyone’s gaze toward Li Zhihuan had changed.
From earlier contempt and amusement, it had turned into respect and curiosity.
Li Zhihuan had achieved her goal of “restoring peace” and clapped her hands in satisfaction, turning to go back and continue reading her comic booklet.
However, as she turned around, she saw a figure standing at the gate not far away.
It was Qi Weiguo.
He stood there quietly in his military uniform, tall and straight like a pine tree.
No one knew how long he had been standing there—or how much he had seen.
His face showed no expression, but in his deep eyes, stormy waves were surging.
Shock, confusion, scrutiny—and something else… a heavy, unfamiliar sense of examination that Li Zhihuan had never seen before.
He looked at her as if she were a completely unfamiliar creature wearing a familiar skin.
Li Zhihuan’s heart gave a sudden jolt.
For the first time, she felt a sense of danger.
Just so she could peacefully live her life as a slacker, it seemed… she might have accidentally gone too far.
The way this man was looking at her made her realize, for the first time, what it felt like to be completely seen through.