“What else?” Political Commissar Xie glared at him angrily, the veins at his temples throbbing. “If you’ve got the ability, go stop them yourself!”
Song Mingyuan kept his head down and didn’t dare speak. He didn’t have that ability.
Political Commissar Xie then looked at the onlookers. “All of you, disperse immediately. Remember what I said—without conclusive evidence, don’t spread rumors casually, lest you bring trouble to your families’ men!”
After saying this, Political Commissar Xie strode away, and Song Mingyuan followed behind him closely.
After thinking for a moment, Political Commissar Xie still said, “Yuting will be back in a few days. You’d better think about how to explain this to her. I watched her grow up. I don’t want this to affect your marriage.”
“I understand, Political Commissar. I will explain everything clearly to Yuting and my in-laws.”
Song Mingyuan stared at the distant mountain peak, thinking about how to quickly get rid of Wen Xi, this troublemaker.
And as for her dowry—now that it was already in his hands, he had no intention of returning a single thing.
After they left, the crowd began whispering among themselves.
“Do you think Deputy Battalion Commander Song really tricked her into marriage? She traveled so far to the military base; this probably means it’s true, right? She even wants him to return her things.”
“I don’t think so. That fat woman herself said her parents were politically ‘downcast.’ Someone like that, Song Deputy Battalion Commander would never choose a woman with such a background.”
“Exactly. Comrade Jiang Yuting is beautiful, cultured, attended an agricultural and military university, has a good job, and her father is a political commissar. If I were a man, I’d choose Jiang Yuting too. I heard she’s away for training these days; otherwise, this would be even more explosive.”
“But what’s going on with Regiment Commander He? Why did he step in to help that fat woman today and even bring her into the military compound? He’s usually cold and ignores everyone—no one can even get close to him.”
The family members chatted as they walked toward the residential compound. With such explosive gossip, who could keep it to themselves?
Even though leadership repeatedly warned them not to spread rumors, within half a day, the story spread through the entire compound like it had grown wings.
Wen Xi followed He Chengxiao to the single dormitory area of the base. Along the way, they ran into a few people whose curious gazes kept landing on her.
But because of He Chengxiao’s reputation for being strict and impartial, no one dared to approach or speak.
The young soldier handling registration asked, “Regiment Commander He, how should we record her identity?”
Wen Xi wasn’t a military family member, nor did she have a job there—she was just an unknown outsider brought in by the regiment commander. The soldier didn’t know what to do.
“This is simple. Just record her as my relative—my cousin. Give her a single room. Register it like that first; I’ll explain it to the leadership.”
The young soldier looked troubled. “Regiment Commander He, cousin probably won’t work. With your rank, only family members are allowed.”
“Ahem…”
He Chengxiao choked slightly on his saliva and felt a bit embarrassed. It was also his first time bringing a female comrade here, and he hadn’t known about this rule.
But since the words were already out, he couldn’t take them back.
“Regiment Commander He, if this violates regulations, I can stay in the city instead,” Wen Xi said after hearing the word “family member.”
They were essentially strangers who had only met once. No—he had probably been unconscious at the time and might not even remember her at all.
If she were labeled as his family member just for accommodation, that would be inappropriate.
And if word got out, it would affect both of them.
“Ahem, don’t worry,” He Chengxiao said. “I will explain this to the leadership. It will be kept confidential and won’t damage your reputation.”
Since he had said that, Wen Xi didn’t insist and let him arrange it.
After the registration was completed, Wen Xi took the room key. “Regiment Commander He, thank you very much today. Once this matter is settled, I’ll treat you to a meal.”
“No need to be polite. It’s my duty. Just stay here at ease. If you need anything, tell them. You can eat at the cafeteria. If anything can’t be solved, you can come to me.”
“Alright, thank you, Regiment Commander He.”
Wen Xi smiled and nodded. Seeing that He Chengxiao was still injured, she didn’t say more and returned to her room with her simple luggage.
The young soldier in charge of registration kept sneaking glances between the two of them, his curiosity practically bursting.
He felt like he was smelling something unusual!
Before leaving, He Chengxiao also instructed the soldier to pay extra attention to Wen Xi and report immediately if anyone gave her trouble.
The soldier agreed, but his curiosity only grew stronger—like a cat scratching at his heart. He really wanted to know why the usually cold and ruthless Regiment Commander He treated this fat woman so differently.
She was dark and heavyset, and apart from her bright, spirited eyes, she wasn’t particularly attractive.
Could it be that he liked this kind of fuller body type?
The girls who usually admired He Chengxiao didn’t seem to match that description at all. The young soldier’s eyes lit up as if he had discovered something incredible.
After days of exhaustion and travel, and feeling filthy from the train journey, Wen Xi needed a proper wash.
She entered her space.
The five wooden houses were arranged as a two-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, one-bathroom layout. One room was a bedroom, the other a study.
The study had several bookshelves neatly filled with books covering many fields.
She first took a bath, pouring more than half a bucket of spirit spring water into the tub before sitting in it.
The warm water soaked into her body, as if every pore was shouting for relief and cleansing.
A loofah scrubbed across her skin without pain—only streaks of grayish residue, like caterpillars, rolled off her body.
After cleaning herself, she found her skin had become slightly fairer. Though not yet like flawless jade, it was much better than before.
With more soaks in the spirit spring, she would eventually become a truly beautiful woman like white jade.
After bathing, she felt refreshed and went out to check her black soil field.
The seeds taken from the Song household had already been planted. After three days, wheat, sweet potatoes, corn, and rice were fully mature.
There were also vegetables—cabbage, radish, cucumber, beans, eggplant, spinach, and potatoes—lush and fresh thanks to the spirit spring water.
The space had a constant temperature, allowing crops to grow regardless of season, and they matured ten times faster than outside.
Wen Xi planned to raise chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, pigs, fish, and shrimp inside the space.
Self-sufficiency through her space was her greatest source of confidence. Even if she did nothing, she would never starve.
After harvesting the crops and vegetables, she didn’t rest and began her weight-loss plan.
To lose weight, one must control diet and exercise—balanced nutrition plus training was the only way.
She started running around the mountain in her space. Her heavy footsteps thudded against the ground, making the earth seem to tremble.
If this were outside, people might even mistake it for an earthquake.
She only ran about 200 meters before she was completely out of breath, hands on her waist, panting heavily. But thinking about beautiful fashionable clothes, she gritted her teeth and kept going.
After five laps, she finally stopped, collapsing backward onto the grass, drenched in sweat as if she had just climbed out of a river.
Unlike Wen Xi’s exhaustion, Song Mingyuan returned home with a bruised face and heavy steps.