“I—I don’t have any extra stools at home. Oh, dear, my child must be hungry. I’ll be going first!”
After saying that, Ren Weihong hurried downstairs without waiting for anyone to react.
Looking at her departing figure, Qian Xing blinked and said innocently:
“I was going to say that there aren’t enough stools at home, so it wouldn’t be convenient to have her stay as a guest. Sister-in-law didn’t misunderstand me, did she?”
He Manhong had watched the entire scene and had to swallow hard.
This girl was dark-skinned, but her heart was even darker!
Of course, He Manhong knew Ren Weihong. Ever since she had followed her husband to the military district, there had been no shortage of complaints about her. The most common one was that she loved taking advantage of others.
If she saw someone in the neighborhood cooking something good or gathering wild vegetables, she had no shame about going over and asking for some. Sometimes she would say she was borrowing it, but once she borrowed something, the owner could forget about ever getting it back.
Everyone was disgusted by her behavior, but ultimately, it was only a little food. It wasn’t worth making a huge fuss over, and if word got out, people might even think they were making a mountain out of a molehill.
So everyone could only put up with her and avoid her from a distance.
After all these years, this was the first time He Manhong had seen Ren Weihong fail to get her way.
Not only had she gotten nothing, she’d even lost a bowl.
In an instant, He Manhong abandoned the thought she’d secretly been entertaining of having her younger sister make another attempt.
With her sister’s straightforward personality, going up against this woman would leave her thoroughly outmatched.
Qian Xing had no idea how much her few words had stirred up the people around her.
All she knew was that one person who had come to take advantage of her had run away, while the other woman who had insulted her still hadn’t apologized.
Talk about running into an old enemy wherever she went.
Who would have thought that the mother and son she’d encountered on the train would end up living right next door?
On the train, Qian Xing had simply been eating a boxed meal and got accused of showing off. Now, she’d cooked a meal at home and was being scolded again for making the food smell too strong and disturbing them.
This time, Qian Xing really had to teach this woman a lesson.
She glanced at Huo Yuan, whose lips were slightly curved.
So he could smile after all.
But stop smiling. There was still one more person here to deal with.
She nudged the person beside her with her elbow.
“Huo Yuan, so we can still cook fragrant food at home in the future, right?”
Huo Yuan cleared his throat lightly.
“Of course. You cooked during mealtime. No one has any right to complain about that. Otherwise, everyone might as well stop cooking.”
With that one casual sentence, he effortlessly pulled everyone who had been watching into the argument.
“What the heck! How are we bothering her by cooking during mealtime?”
“Exactly! If someone cooks in the middle of the night and disturbs others, I can understand complaining. But it’s mealtime right now. If you can’t stand the smell, move out. Or tell your husband to work harder and get promoted to regiment commander. Then you’ll be living in a detached house.”
The moment she heard that, Qian Xing’s eyes lit up.
So being a regiment commander came with benefits like that?
She silently made a note of it in her mind.
Meanwhile, Zhu Xiuyun panicked and hurriedly defended herself.
“I didn’t mean that! I wasn’t complaining that her food smelled too strong…”
“Still denying it? I heard everything clearly from inside my room. You rushed into Qian Xing’s room and cursed at her several times.”
Zhou Maishu stepped forward and repeated, “You said things like, ‘You can’t even have a son, yet you’re cooking something this fragrant just to show off? Who are you showing off to?’ and ‘Be careful you don’t choke to death after eating it.’ There were even worse things, but I’m too embarrassed to repeat them.”
“I didn’t! You’re taking her side!”
Zhu Xiuyun stubbornly refused to admit it.
“Zhu Xiuyun!”
A furious roar from outside the crowd nearly pierced everyone’s eardrums.
Qian Xing looked toward the person who had shouted and saw a somewhat short, thin, and frail-looking man.
“That’s Qian Xuefeng, Zhu Xiuyun’s husband. He was just promoted to battalion commander.”
Huo Yuan’s lowered voice sounded beside her ear.
His breath brushed against her ear, sending a faint ticklish sensation through her.
She instinctively turned her head slightly.
In the blink of an eye, Qian Xuefeng had already reached them.
“What kind of nonsense are you spouting again? Hurry up and apologize!”
Qian Xing’s eyes widened slightly.
She had never expected this Qian Xuefeng to actually be a reasonable man.
“I—I didn’t—”
“Didn’t, my ass! Those are the exact words you always have hanging around your mouth. Hurry up and apologize. Stop embarrassing yourself out here!”
Being yelled at by her husband in front of so many people left Zhu Xiuyun with nowhere to hide.
She bit her lower lip and hurriedly muttered, “I’m sorry.”
Qian Xuefeng said apologetically, “Huo Yuan’s wife, we were in the wrong. We made you suffer an injustice.”
Qian Xing looked at the couple.
“So if I cook again in the future, I won’t suddenly get cursed at, right? It was really frightening.”
“No, no, that won’t happen. I’ll definitely have a good talk with her when we get home.”
After saying that, Qian Xuefeng turned to Hu Baoguo.
“Regiment Commander, sorry for causing you trouble. I’ll definitely keep her under control from now on and make sure she doesn’t go around talking nonsense.”
His attitude was extremely sincere.
Qian Xing watched him and raised an eyebrow.
Whether he was genuinely sincere or not didn’t matter. As long as she’d gotten an apology, that was enough.
Hu Baoguo looked at Qian Xing and Huo Yuan.
“What do you two say?”
Qian Xing smiled and waved her hand.
“Battalion Commander Qian has already apologized, so naturally we won’t pursue the matter any further.”
There were three parts grievance and seven parts compromise in her words.
Huo Yuan simply said, “I’ll listen to her.”
“Good. Then we’ll let this matter end here. It was only a small issue to begin with. Don’t dwell on it. Everyone, disperse.”
As the regiment commander, Hu Baoguo waved his hand, and everyone obediently returned to their own homes.
“What about dinner…?”
He Manhong hesitated.
After this incident, she no longer wanted to invite Huo Yuan and his wife over. Her younger sister had no filter and might offend Huo Yuan’s wife again.
Qian Xing looked at Huo Yuan, who briefly explained to her that the regiment commander had invited them to dinner.
Qian Xing blinked and pretended to be shy as she lightly punched him.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? How can I go to someone else’s house looking like this?”
She looked toward Hu Baoguo and He Manhong, a hint of apology in her eyes.
“Regiment Commander, Sister-in-law, I really don’t look presentable enough to visit your home like this. How about this? Tomorrow is Sunday, so we’ll host you instead. We’ll prepare a simple meal at home and invite you over. I hope you’ll do us the honor.”
Hu Baoguo exchanged a glance with He Manhong, and they both understood.
“Sure. Just make a few simple dishes. It’s been a long time since we’ve all eaten together anyway.”
After saying that, he patted Huo Yuan on the shoulder.
“You lucky bastard. Everyone says your wife isn’t quite right in the head, but from what I’ve seen, she’s pretty sharp.”
The words sounded like praise, but also like they weren’t quite praise. They sounded insulting, yet not quite insulting either.
Qian Xing smiled faintly.
“No wonder everyone has been looking at me strangely. I was wondering who started that rumor. I only became slow and lethargic because I was sick before. How did that turn into me being a fool?”
“Hahaha, so that’s what happened. Huo Yuan’s wife, don’t worry. After what happened today, I don’t think anyone will misunderstand you anymore.”
Hu Baoguo gave her a meaningful look before slowly leaving with his wife.
For a moment, only Qian Xing, Huo Yuan, and the husband-and-wife pair, Zhou Maishu and Yan Fengshou, remained in the corridor.
Qian Xing smiled at them.
This time, there was much more genuine warmth in her smile.
“The food in the pot is ready. Why don’t we all have dinner together?”