Even though the three of them were all educated and had stable jobs with decent salaries, taking out that much money still meant saving for a long time. Liu Qingyue felt she couldn’t accept it.
Now that she had her little “space” and resources, she believed she could build a good life on her own.
“This is our sincerity,” Xu Yunjie said warmly. “Aside from the bride price, we’ve already prepared everything else for the wedding.”
She carefully went over all the wedding arrangements with Liu Qingyue.
Since they were a military family, they couldn’t hold a large, extravagant wedding. But proper traditions still had to be followed. After calculating, they decided to invite enough guests for about ten tables.
“In about ten days, we’ll go off the island to buy supplies. I’ll have Fengting take you along so you can pick anything you like, and we’ll prepare everything properly,” Xu Yunjie said seriously, always asking for Liu Qingyue’s opinion.
Liu Qingyue was deeply touched.
In both her past life and this one, Xu Yunjie and Lu Mingsheng had always treated her well.
How could she ever let them down?
She silently decided she would treat them even better in return.
“As for registering your marriage, we can do it on the same day you go out to buy things. Just take a couple of extra days off,” Xu Yunjie added.
Since they needed to leave the island to register, that timing worked perfectly. Liu Qingyue had no objections.
After discussing further, they decided to hold the wedding one month later.
“I hope you don’t mind keeping it simple,” Xu Yunjie said kindly. “Since we all work here, we’ll just have a modest ceremony on the island. Is that okay?”
She consulted Liu Qingyue on everything, making her feel respected and valued—so she gladly agreed.
After everything was settled, it was getting late.
Lu Fengting walked Liu Qingyue home.
On the way back, she reached out and gently held his hand. Naturally, he held hers back.
After all, they were about to get married—it would be strange if they hadn’t even held hands.
After dropping her off, Lu Fengting stayed a bit before heading home to discuss more details with his parents.
Meanwhile…
Liu Wanwan had planned to talk to Yang Su about the wedding, but forgot that Yang Su was on the night shift. She waited until late at night and eventually went to sleep.
The next day…
Liu Wanwan had already gotten used to life on the island.
Even though some people talked behind her back, others were still willing to be friendly.
After all, Zhou Heshan was still a deputy battalion commander. He hadn’t been demoted—just suspended for a month. No one knew what would happen in the future.
So most people didn’t dare offend her directly. They just gossiped quietly.
That morning, she went out to buy groceries as usual.
Not long after leaving, she overheard a group of military wives chatting:
“My husband went over last night—he got an invitation to the deputy regiment commander’s wedding.”
“I heard they’re hosting about ten tables?”
“That’s already quite a lot. Most people only have two or three tables!”
“Well, he is a deputy regiment commander—more people want to attend.”
…
Since these women didn’t get along with her, Liu Wanwan didn’t approach them and kept walking.
After a short while, another military wife came over and linked arms with her.
“Wanwan, let’s go buy groceries together!”
Her name was Wang Guihua. Her husband was just an ordinary soldier, so she didn’t dare offend Liu Wanwan and preferred to stay on good terms.
As for Liu Qingyue, too many people were already trying to get close to her—there was no room left. It was easier to build a connection here instead.
And who knew? If things changed in the future, her husband might even get an opportunity for advancement.
Liu Wanwan was happy to have someone talk to her, so she agreed.
“Have you heard about your sister and the deputy regiment commander?”
“They’re actually having ten tables at their wedding!” Wang Guihua said, clearly a bit jealous.
When she got married after coming to the island, she only had three tables.
Most military couples held bigger weddings back in their hometowns, but on the base, there were strict rules—no excessive spending. So weddings on the island were usually kept small.
They never expected Liu Qingyue’s wedding to be such a big deal.
“I heard about it,” Liu Wanwan said casually, not very interested at first.
But Wang Guihua rolled her eyes and leaned in, saying,
“You’re not any worse than her! Your future mother-in-law is the head nurse at the military hospital. She’s your sister—your wedding should be just as grand!”
“I think your family could do the same… or even better! That way everyone will know you’re the one who ‘won’!”
Wang Guihua loved competing and kept pushing her.
After hearing that, Liu Wanwan started to think it made sense.
Right now, everyone believed she only got Zhou Heshan because she was pregnant.
But if her wedding was big and impressive, people might think differently—
They’d think Zhou Heshan truly loved her and valued her.
Yes… that was it.
With that idea in mind, Liu Wanwan went home planning to discuss it with Zhou Heshan.
But he wasn’t home yet.
So she prepared a meal first. By late afternoon, Zhou Heshan finally returned—with Yang Su.
As soon as Yang Su saw Liu Wanwan, she turned away, grabbed some dishes from the kitchen, and sat down to eat without saying much.
“Heshan…” Liu Wanwan didn’t dare speak too directly, so she gave him a look and asked,
“When are we going to register our marriage?”
“Probably in about ten days,” Zhou Heshan replied. “We can take the boat out after tomorrow, register the marriage, and buy what we need for the wedding.”
He had gone to the base earlier and even met with the brigade commander to admit his mistakes. Afterward, he felt too annoyed to go straight home, so he stayed out longer.
Now, hearing about the wedding, he felt it should be arranged soon.
While he spoke, Liu Wanwan kept glancing at Yang Su.
But Yang Su showed no reaction at all—just quietly eating, as if none of this concerned her.
Liu Wanwan clenched her teeth, then spoke again:
“Heshan, I heard my sister’s wedding will have around ten tables. How many are we planning?”
“I think we should invite more people too—you have a lot of friends. The wedding should be grand!”
Before Zhou Heshan could respond, Yang Su suddenly put down her chopsticks with a loud clatter and said unhappily:
“There’s no need to make it that big. You’re not on the same level as Deputy Commander Lu. If you make it too grand, it won’t look good—and there aren’t that many people on the island anyway.”
“Just a few tables is enough. Keep it simple.”
Yang Su clearly didn’t want to spend extra money.
Liu Wanwan frowned immediately.
“But if I lose to my sister, what will people say about Heshan?”
“Auntie, I’m thinking about him—you misunderstood me!” she said, moving closer to Zhou Heshan.
“I’m worried people will talk badly about him behind his back, that’s why I suggested it.”
That made Yang Su even more irritated.
What kind of person is this?
Before things escalated further, Zhou Heshan spoke firmly:
“Then we’ll just match their scale.”
That settled it.
Yang Su pursed her lips but said nothing more.
Liu Wanwan was still unhappy—but as long as she didn’t lose to Liu Qingyue, matching her was acceptable.
“Then when is our wedding?” Liu Wanwan asked again.
She had already heard that Liu Qingyue’s wedding was set for one month later—why didn’t theirs have a date yet?
Yang Su ignored her and kept eating, as if it had nothing to do with her.
Liu Wanwan was furious inside.
This is my future mother-in-law—why does she act like she doesn’t care about anything?
“I’ll have my dad check for a good date,” Zhou Heshan said.
At that moment, Zhou Zhenhai, who had been sitting nearby, nodded.
“I’ll ask someone tomorrow. Once we pick a date, I’ll let you know.”
Then he added seriously,
“The situation on the island has already become a big scandal, so the wedding should be kept simple.”
Zhou Heshan didn’t object.
But Liu Wanwan pouted, clearly unhappy.
She had put in a lot of effort to be with him—to marry a deputy battalion commander, to live a better life, and to have a grand wedding.
How could she accept having nothing?
She hesitated, then finally spoke up:
“Auntie… even though my parents aren’t here, our families had already agreed on the marriage before. The bride price should still follow what was agreed, right?”
Previously, both families had agreed on a bride price of 388 yuan, which was not a small amount.
That’s why she brought it up now.
But Yang Su glanced at her coldly and said bluntly:
“That bride price was for my son marrying your sister.”
“This time, there’s none.”