Zhou Yue’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he let out a soft “mm” before going to tidy up the rest of the things.
There were still some weeds in the yard that hadn’t been cleared properly. Zhou Yue found a hoe and started removing them.
Xu Xi moved a stool to sit under the eaves, her eyes unconsciously drifting toward the man busy in the yard.
Zhou Yue had taken off his jacket, wearing only a military-green short-sleeved undershirt. With each swing of the hoe, the fabric stretched taut against his firm, powerful frame.
His shoulders were broad and solid, his deltoids prominently raised, the muscle lines strong and defined without exaggeration, exuding the ruggedness honed through years of training.
As Xu Xi watched, her thoughts suddenly drifted away.
She recalled their first night, when Zhou Yue had pinned her beneath him. Even in her dazed state, she hadn’t forgotten to take advantage.
She had felt his solid, well-defined abs—how many were there? Eight, it seemed.
His physique was quite good, exactly the type of muscular man she liked.
What a shame—Zhou Yue could only belong to the female lead.
As if sensing something, Zhou Yue suddenly stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her.
The moment their eyes met, he was met with her bright, unabashed gaze—like a little fox secretly eyeing its prey.
Direct and scorching, clearly staring at his body.
A flicker of discomfort crossed Zhou Yue’s usually stern and steady face. He knew this woman was up to no good.
He set down the hoe, put on his military-green jacket, and said, “I’m heading back to the barracks. If you get hungry tonight, go to the canteen first.”
Before Xu Xi could get her fill of looking, the man had already left.
She shook her head and sighed, then got up to close the courtyard gate before entering the Spatial Dimension.
Xu Xi first went to check the dense mist. Aside from the lower part being slightly thinner, there was still no change.
She hadn’t finished the eggs Mother Xu had given her, so she went to the stove beside the spirit field and boiled two for herself.
Now that her belly was growing larger—and with twins, no less—she really needed the nutrition.
…
After finishing the eggs, Xu Xi felt like sleeping.
Just as she had finished making the bed in her room, she heard the sound of an argument coming from outside the courtyard.
The voice sounded a bit like Wang Liya’s.
Guided by the principle of not missing out on gossip, Xu Xi decided to forgo sleep and went out to join the commotion.
But the moment she stepped one foot out of the courtyard, everyone turned to look at her in unison, as if she were the main attraction.
Wang Liya knew that Xu Xi was moving into the family quarters today and had specially brought a fresh fish to congratulate her.
Who would have thought that the military wives in the family quarters were quietly gossiping about Xu Xi, painting her in the worst possible light?
Wang Liya already regarded Xu Xi as her lifesaver and couldn’t tolerate others speaking about her this way.
In a fit of anger, she started arguing with the military wives.
Wang Liya walked up to Xu Xi indignantly and complained, “Comrade Xu, they’re all saying you’re vicious and despicable, that you drugged Battalion Commander Zhou so he’d marry you.”
“They must be making it up. Comrade Xu is clearly a good person. If it weren’t for you saving me on the train, I would have been drugged and taken away by traffickers by now.”
As for the drugging incident, Xu Xi really wanted to clarify that it wasn’t her doing—it was the original host and the Xu family.
If she said it out loud, others would surely think she was crazy, trying to shift the blame.
But the trafficker incident was true.
Xu Xi lifted her little face and said, “Comrade Wang is right, I really did catch a human trafficker on the train. I’m not that malicious or despicable—I’m just a concerned citizen.”
But the military wives still didn’t believe her, keeping things separate.
It was hard enough to believe Xu Xi hadn’t drugged someone else, let alone that she’d saved anyone. The idea was laughable.
This Comrade Wang had also just arrived on the island recently, so the military wives figured she was probably in cahoots with Xu Xi. They kept glancing at Xu Xi while continuing their chatter.
“I bet the human trafficker story is fake—they probably made it up to look good!”
“Other things can be faked, but the drugging incident can’t be, right? Everyone in the whole unit knows she used underhanded methods to trap Battalion Commander Zhou.”
“She thinks having a baby in her belly will tie a man down? I doubt it!”
One after another, their words dripped with disdain and contempt.
Wang Liya was so angry she wanted to go argue with them, but Xu Xi held her back.
“Comrade Wang, don’t get angry with them. It’s not worth it.”
Xu Xi knew the best way to shut them up was with evidence—and as it happened, she had proof.
When she got off the train, the railway police had given her an honorary certificate, which she’d stored in her Spatial Dimension.
Xu Xi went home, retrieved the certificate, and showed it to everyone.
The military wives fell silent.
She really had one? They’d all assumed Xu Xi made it up.
No one expected Xu Xi to be so brave, actually catching a human trafficker.
Afraid they might miss it, Xu Xi pointed to the section stamped with the railway police seal. “I couldn’t have faked this, could I?”
“I’m just an ordinary concerned citizen. If everyone maliciously speculated like you, who would dare step up and do good deeds in the future?”
The military wives hung their heads, not daring to say another word.
Wang Liya quietly gave Xu Xi a thumbs-up.
Sun Cuihua stubbornly pressed on, “Then how do you explain the drugging incident? My husband is from the same village as you—we know what you did!”
“Well…” Xu Xi really couldn’t argue her way out of this one.
She felt like crying but had no tears; even with eight hundred mouths, she couldn’t explain it clearly.
Just then, a deep, stern voice suddenly rang out from behind the military wives.
“What are you all doing crowded around my doorstep?”
Zhou Yue had just finished training and returned to the family quarters when he saw a crowd gathered in front of his house, with Xu Xi at the center being questioned by Sister-in-Law Sun.
She looked pitiful, her eyes misty as if she were about to cry.
He couldn’t help but speak up to stop it.
The military wives scattered in fright at the sight of Zhou Yue, leaving only Xu Xi and Wang Liya standing there.
Zhou Yue lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on the honorary certificate in Xu Xi’s hand.
“What’s this?”
Xu Xi didn’t answer, just shoved the certificate at him to see. Wang Liya, however, kept praising Xu Xi beside her, talking about how amazing she was, catching a human trafficker in the act of administering knockout drops.
Xu Xi beamed at the praise, her voice lilting with a hint of pride.
“Oh, I’m not that amazing…”
Zhou Yue lowered his eyes to look at the honorary certificate. It was real—she really had caught a human trafficker.
When he looked up at Xu Xi again, his dark eyes held a trace of complexity.
What kind of person was she, really?
Noticing him staring at her, Xu Xi took the certificate back and declared matter-of-factly, “I’m hungry.”
“Let’s go eat at the canteen,” Zhou Yue said, his tone not as cold as before.
Wang Liya, seeing the couple heading to the camp cafeteria, tactfully bid farewell to Xu Xi and returned to the educated youth point.
On the way to the cafeteria, Xu Xi looked up at him with dissatisfaction. “Why don’t you ever praise me?”
Zhou Yue pursed his thin lips. He had never known how to give compliments.
But faced with Xu Xi’s expectant gaze, his Adam’s apple bobbed slightly as he was about to say something when a clear woman’s voice suddenly called from behind.
“Battalion Commander Zhou.”