Qi Weiguo was very tall.
At Li Zhihuan’s height of 1.65 meters, she only reached his chin.
The moment he stepped closer, his tall figure completely enveloped her.
A clean soap scent mixed with the faint smell of sweat unique to a man forcefully invaded her senses.
Aggressive, and very… hormonal.
Li Zhihuan’s heartbeat skipped for a second.
At that moment, the professionalism she had built as an overworked corporate employee nearly collapsed.
She forced herself to raise her head and look directly into his eyes at close range.
They were extremely beautiful eyes—long and narrow, with pitch-black pupils. But they were filled with frost.
“What rules?” she asked steadily.
Qi Weiguo’s gaze slid from her forehead to her eyes, then to the lips she was pressing together slightly out of nervousness.
His voice became even deeper.
“First, remember your place. As the daughter-in-law of the Qi family, you should know what you should and shouldn’t do.”
That covered quite a broad range.
Li Zhihuan complained inwardly, but her face remained calm.
“Second,”
he continued,
“You are not allowed to make trouble or cause scenes with anyone in the military compound ever again.”
That struck directly at the original owner’s biggest flaw.
Li Zhihuan nodded.
“Fine.”
A trace of surprise flashed through Qi Weiguo’s eyes. He clearly hadn’t expected her to agree so readily.
After a brief pause, he stated the third rule.
“We sleep in separate beds.”
The instant those words fell, Li Zhihuan’s eyes lit up.
Separate beds?
There was actually such a wonderful arrangement?
This was simply paradise tailor-made for a slacker office worker like her!
No need to deal with a husband, she could still receive salary and benefits, and she had the protection of an iron rice bowl identity.
How was this a cannon fodder script?
This was clearly a top-tier VIP lounging-around script for slackers!
She almost failed to hold herself back and wanted to give this “heavenly husband” a thumbs-up on the spot.
But she endured it.
Lowering her eyes, her long eyelashes concealed the wild joy in them. Her voice even sounded slightly wronged and disappointed.
“Okay. I’ll listen to you.”
Her appearance of “enduring humiliation for the greater good” caused the small suspicion that had just risen in Qi Weiguo’s heart to fade a little.
Perhaps she truly had figured things out and wanted to change the way she lived.
Having received a satisfactory answer, he straightened up and widened the suffocating distance between them.
The oppressive atmosphere in the room instantly eased.
Lin Fen, who had been ignored the whole time, finally found a chance to speak.
“Separate beds? Absolutely not!”
she screamed.
“What married couple sleeps separately? If word gets out, where will the Qi family’s dignity go? Weiguo, don’t be fooled by her fake act! She’s deliberately putting on a show for you today!”
Qi Weiguo turned around and coldly glanced at his mother.
“My decision doesn’t require your instruction.”
His tone wasn’t harsh, but it carried unquestionable authority.
Lin Fen choked on her words, her face flushing red with anger. Her chest rose and fell violently, yet she couldn’t say a single word.
Qi Weiguo’s position in the family was absolute authority.
“And another thing,”
Qi Weiguo said to the neighbors lingering outside the door. His voice wasn’t loud, but it was perfectly clear.
“My family’s matters are no concern of yours from now on. You may all leave.”
The neighbors awkwardly withdrew their heads, and the doorway quickly became quiet again.
Without another glance at Li Zhihuan, Qi Weiguo turned and walked out of the room.
Inside, only Li Zhihuan and the still-fuming Lin Fen remained.
Lin Fen glared viciously at Li Zhihuan, as if she wished she could carve two chunks of flesh off her body.
“Just you wait! Don’t think that just because Weiguo is protecting you, you can do whatever you want in this family! I’m telling you, impossible!”
After throwing out those harsh words, Lin Fen stormed off angrily as well.
The room finally fell completely silent.
Li Zhihuan let out a long breath.
Her entire body collapsed weakly back onto the bed, as though all her strength had been drained away.
Her back was already soaked with sweat.
That intense confrontation earlier had exhausted every ounce of her energy.
But no matter what, she had narrowly passed the first hurdle.
Not only had she kept her identity as the “Qi family’s daughter-in-law,” she had also unexpectedly secured the benefit of “sleeping separately.”
What an explosive start!
She lay on the bed for a full half hour before finally recovering a little.
At that moment, her stomach growled twice at the worst possible timing.
Only then did she realize she was starving.
The original owner hadn’t eaten since last night because of her tantrum, and after causing another huge scene today, her body had long since reached its limit.
No way. People needed food to survive, and even a slacker had to eat.
Li Zhihuan struggled up from the bed and prepared to head to the kitchen to find something to eat.
The house wasn’t large. It was a typical military family apartment with two bedrooms and one living room.
Her room with Qi Weiguo faced south and had a small balcony.
The smaller north-facing room belonged to her mother-in-law, Lin Fen.
The living room connected to the kitchen, and the space was cramped.
The moment she reached the kitchen entrance, she saw Lin Fen standing there like a door guardian.
“What are you trying to do?”
Lin Fen crossed her arms and looked at her sideways.
“Eat? Eat what?!”
Lin Fen sneered coldly.
“Do you think the family’s food is meant for a hen that can’t lay eggs like you? From today onward, don’t even think about eating a single bite in this house!”
She was trying to cut off Li Zhihuan’s means of survival from the very source.
Li Zhihuan understood that her mother-in-law was enforcing her own “rules,” trying to force her to give up and leave on her own.
Confronting her head-on was obviously not a wise choice.
Li Zhihuan neither argued nor made a scene.
She simply looked calmly at Lin Fen.
“Mother-in-law, Battalion Commander Qi just said that I should fulfill my duties properly. My understanding of my duties also includes chores like cooking and washing clothes. If you don’t let me enter the kitchen or eat, I won’t have the strength to work. When Battalion Commander Qi comes back and asks why no one has done the housework, how should I answer him?”
She brought up Qi Weiguo and used him as a shield.
Lin Fen’s expression changed slightly.
She could torment Li Zhihuan, but she was afraid of her own son.
“You…”
Lin Fen was rendered speechless by her words, yet unwilling to back down so easily.
“Besides,”
Li Zhihuan continued in her calm, businesslike tone.
“The family’s grain is subsidized by the military according to the number of people and rank. Part of it belongs to me as well. Eating my own share is perfectly reasonable. If you starve me into illness, Battalion Commander Qi’s position in the military will probably be affected too, won’t it?”
Neither servile nor overbearing, she spoke clearly and logically, every sentence striking directly at Lin Fen’s weak spot.
Lin Fen’s lips trembled with anger, yet she realized she could not find a single reason to refute her.
How had this woman suddenly become so sharp-tongued overnight, with every word making perfect sense?
At the stalemate, Lin Fen’s eyes suddenly shifted as though she had thought of something.
She rushed into Li Zhihuan’s room and began rummaging through everything.
“What are you doing?”
Li Zhihuan followed her inside.
“I’m looking for something!”
Without even raising her head, Lin Fen tossed the few clothes belonging to the original owner all over the place.
Very quickly, she pulled out a small bundle wrapped in a handkerchief from the bedside drawer.
Opening the handkerchief, she revealed several scattered bills and grain coupons inside.
“So it was you! I was wondering where my money had gone! Turns out a thief like you stole it!”
Holding up the money, Lin Fen spun around and immediately began shouting while pointing at Li Zhihuan’s nose.
“You shameless thing! Not only are you lazy and greedy, but now you’ve even learned to steal! Today I’m definitely sending you to the security office!”
The sudden false accusation left Li Zhihuan’s mind blank for a moment.
She knew this was her mother-in-law’s new round of attacks.
Crueler and more vicious than simply refusing her food.
In this era, the charge of “theft” was enough to ruin a person completely.