Jiang Mengning complained and struggled, but Huo Jinyan paid her no mind.
He firmly grabbed her ankle, lifting her leg so he could examine the sole of her foot.
On her arch was a small, blood-red mole, quiet and undisturbed, exactly the same as before—both in position and size.
His heart sank. He pressed and rubbed it.
Perfectly intact.
No doubt about it: this mole wasn’t fake.
So Jiang Mengning couldn’t possibly be a disguised enemy spy.
She really was the same lazy, indulgent Jiang Mengning from before.
Huo Jinyan was momentarily stunned. If this Jiang Mengning was truly herself, then he had no idea how she could have changed so much in just one day. Something was definitely off.
Jiang Mengning lay on the bed, one leg raised, in a position that was nothing short of embarrassing.
And she was wearing a skirt, a skirt!
She knew he was suspicious. Let him be suspicious.
She wouldn’t explain anything, nor would she bother to imitate the original Jiang Mengning’s habits—it was pointless and unnecessary.
“Hey, what color underwear am I wearing today?” she suddenly asked.
Huo Jinyan, still slightly dazed, reflexively glanced toward her thigh.
His pupils jolted violently.
Panicked, he immediately released her leg. His mind had been fully focused on verifying her identity, so he hadn’t noticed her underwear at all. When he realized it, her skirt had slid up to her waist while he held her leg—revealing everything.
Damn it, why was he so clumsy today? Words of apology didn’t come easily; after all, he’d just seen everything.
It was a little hard to recover from.
“This is the army,” he said seriously. “I cannot allow anyone to impersonate family under my watch. Today, your behavior is abnormal. I suspected you were an enemy spy, so I needed to verify your identity.”
Since Jiang Mengning really was herself, he had no need to hide anything.
Her sudden changes might have been a whim—or maybe she feared he wouldn’t agree to divorce.
Whatever the case, they only had one month together.
This month, they would try to coexist peacefully.
Jiang Mengning snorted.
“Since you’ve already seen the red mole on my foot, that proves I’m not a spy. You’ve falsely accused me, and I feel very wronged.” She puffed her cheeks and pouted, feigning indignation. Of course, she wasn’t actually upset—she was still the impostor inside, just in a different body. Huo Jinyan couldn’t find any flaws.
His attitude softened a bit.
“So, what do you want?” he asked.
Her eyes darted playfully, full of mischievous energy.
She swung herself off the bed in one smooth motion and knelt at the edge.
“Let me feel your abs. I didn’t get to touch them before,” she said shamelessly.
In this era, with no entertainment to speak of, she had to take some liberties with a man. Jiang Mengning didn’t care about her own lecherous tendencies—she gave him no chance to react and immediately placed her hands on his abdomen. Huo Jinyan was startled, caught off guard as she lifted his shirt. Her fingertips grazed his stomach, and a tingling electric sensation ran through him. His lower abdomen tightened involuntarily, leaving him momentarily bewildered.
“Jiang Mengning, you—” His voice cut off as his eyes landed on the skirt’s hem. Beneath it lay a pair of men’s underwear! On her bed! His heart chilled, and all rational thought returned in an instant. He took a deep breath and shoved her away.
“Jiang Mengning, don’t go too far.”
She noticed the underwear on the bed. Oh… she had pulled it out to play with before going to sleep and forgot to put it away.
“If you can’t wait for the divorce, I can report tomorrow,” he said flatly.
“What nonsense are you talking about?” Jiang Mengning got a little annoyed.
Did he really think she had brought some man home to fool around? She wasn’t that kind of person. Sure, she was a bit flirtatious, but she had her limits.
She pouted, pointing at his pants. Using a commanding tone:
“Hurry up and take off your pants.”
Huo Jinyan: “…What on earth are you doing?”
She giggled softly, her expression gentle.
“Don’t you want to try it on? Even though it’s the largest size, I feel like it might be a little small on you.” She waved the underwear, her eyes unconsciously glancing downward.
Huo Jinyan’s face flushed. He didn’t understand what Jiang Mengning was saying. What did she want this time?
“Jiang Mengning, can you control yourself?” he tried to say sternly—but his voice lacked conviction.
“All right, all right, I’m not teasing anymore. Today, when Niannian and I went shopping, I bought you three pairs of underwear. Try them! I want to see if they fit. The seller said you could exchange them if they don’t.” She didn’t waste time and started to undress him herself—a bona fide little rogue.
“Jiang Mengning!” Huo Jinyan ground his teeth and glared at her. He really had no way to handle her. If they stayed here any longer, he’d be utterly humiliated. He turned and walked out.
Jiang Mengning called after him:
“Hey, aren’t you going to try the underwear? Really not going to?”
No response. But the sound of the door closing echoed. He probably went to the dorm.
Having successfully teased him, Jiang Mengning laughed heartily—then realized she might have gone too far. The snake… it probably wouldn’t come back, right?
She called out again:
“Hey, Huo Jinyan, did the snake go away? It won’t come back, right? I’m really scared of snakes!”
No response. Fine, she thought. She had teased enough. With the doors and windows secured, it probably wouldn’t return.
Exhausted, her eyelids drooped. She flopped onto the bed and fell asleep.