“You know, don’t you think Cheng Mengzhi might actually be just like what Jingyun said—falling for his looks and deliberately seducing him just to save her job? Jingyun must have gone soft-hearted and decided to cover for her. Besides, Cheng Mengzhi is a beauty, and a young, hot-blooded guy like Jingyun was bound to fall for it,” He Shubai reasoned.
Zhou Zhaoning shook her head emphatically. “Impossible. She couldn’t seduce him unless Jingyun actually liked her to begin with.” After a brief pause, she added, “No! Jingyun is a man of strong principles. Even if the person he loved stripped naked right in front of him, he wouldn’t do anything before tying the knot.”
Scratching his head in confusion, He Shubai asked, “Then why else?”
“I don’t know,” Zhou Zhaoning replied.
“Could it be that to stay in the military, Cheng Mengzhi drugged Jingyun, and because she was terrified of the consequences getting out, Jingyun is covering for her?” He Shubai offered another analysis.
Zhou Zhaoning initially thought this theory made sense, only to immediately shoot it down. “What nonsense are you spouting? Cheng Mengzhi is an educated woman, and she looks so gentle. If she were going to drug anyone—since Lin Shuyan was the one she supposedly loved—why wouldn’t she drug Lin Shuyan instead of going after Jingyun?!” Unconditionally defending the girl, Zhou Zhaoning shot He Shubai a glare. “You’re a leader; don’t harbor such malicious thoughts about others. Every single word and action of yours carries weight.”
“Understood, my wife is always right,” He Shubai chuckled, nodding along.
On the walk back, Cheng Mengzhi had learned her lesson and kept her mouth completely shut about their situation, terrified of being overheard by someone again.
“I’m sorry, I dragged you into this!” Cheng Mengzhi finally decided that an apology was warranted.
Hearing the apology, Xu Jingyun glanced down at the woman walking beside him and replied, “I accept your apology. But I’m at fault too; you showed up in my room so late, I should have been much more vigilant. I crossed a major boundary.”
“If you wanted to stay in the military by getting married, plenty of men like you, so you had other options. Since you didn’t do the things you were reported for, you shouldn’t have been afraid. Trying to escape by sacrificing your physical well-being and reputation was a mistake. What you did wasn’t right, and you should face things bravely instead.”
Cheng Mengzhi knew he made sense, but he was certainly long-winded.
“I get it, stop lecturing me. Any more of this and I won’t have any face left,” Cheng Mengzhi pouted, acting aggrieved.
Xu Jingyun figured he would have plenty of time to educate her properly after they got married.
“Come on, let me carry you back. I’ll hold you,” Xu Jingyun said, bending down to scoop her up.
Wrapping her arms tightly around his neck, Cheng Mengzhi nervously scanned their surroundings. “What are you doing? Put me down, I can walk myself.”
“We’re getting married anyway, and you’re in pain—you don’t need to care what other people say. Besides, didn’t you just say you sprained your ankle? Just answer honestly if anyone asks,” Xu Jingyun argued.
“You can still walk with a sprained ankle, and the chief explicitly said no scandals before the wedding!” Cheng Mengzhi’s face flushed hot. It wasn’t as if they were even that familiar with each other yet.
“Just keep quiet and don’t let the chief find out, then,” Xu Jingyun retorted, using her own logic to block her arguments while noting how light she felt in his arms.
Left completely speechless by his counter-arguments, she gave up.
Along the way, whenever anyone stared at their intimate posture, Xu Jingyun smoothly explained, “Her waist and ankle are sprained; we’re coming back from the clinic.”
By the time they reached the dormitory building, Cheng Mengzhi was too embarrassed to keep talking to him and scurried upstairs with small, halting steps.
When she stepped into the room, her three roommates had all finished showering.
“Back so late? Are you feeling better?” Wen Qi asked with genuine concern, looking her up and down before spotting the medicine packet in her hand.
“Is it serious?” Wen Qi pressed further.
“No, not very. Just a bad sprain and some discomfort,” Cheng Mengzhi lied, dying of awkwardness inside.
Lu Mina was reading a book at her desk, but she glanced up when she heard Cheng Mengzhi enter.
“I heard you’re in a relationship with Staff Officer Xu?” Chen Donghua asked with curious interest.
Wen Qi turned her gaze toward her as well, waiting expectantly for a response.
Recalling what she had casually blurted out at the cafeteria entrance earlier to shake off Wang大海 and Battalion Commander Liang, she realized that after everything that had just transpired, she really was going to marry Xu Jingyun.
“Yeah, we’re planning to get married. We’re submitting our marriage application tomorrow.”
A flicker of disappointment crossed Wen Qi’s eyes, though she quickly masked it and returned to her normal expression.
Remembering that Wen Qi had a crush on Xu Jingyun, Cheng Mengzhi caught that brief flash of emotion in her eyes.
“You’re moving this fast? Did he… did he bully you?” Wen Qi asked with a worried frown.
Cheng Mengzhi shook her head. “Of course not.”
Under Wen Qi’s piercing stare, she guiltily averted her gaze and walked over to her own bed to sit down.
Lu Mina sneered, “Don’t tell me you’re only doing this to spite Lin Shuyan?”
The other two roommates immediately turned curious eyes back onto Cheng Mengzhi.
“That total scumbag Lin Shuyan? I got over him ages ago. I think Comrade Xu is wonderful, and I’m not getting any younger—it’s high time I got married,” Cheng Mengzhi replied smoothly without blinking an eye.
Hearing this, Wen Qi looked at her with a complex, unreadable gaze.
“Cheng Mengzhi, we don’t really know what kind of person Staff Officer Xu is. As your roommates and colleagues, you need to think this through carefully. Marriage is a lifelong commitment; don’t ruin your entire life just out of spite,” Lu Mina urged, turning back to her book for a second before adding, “Marrying someone you don’t love just to prove a point is unfair to both you and Staff Officer Xu. You two will have a very difficult life ahead.”
Chen Donghua nodded vigorously. “Yeah, Mina is right.”
Cheng Mengzhi listened earnestly—only Wen Qi remained completely silent.
“I’ve thought it through very carefully. This isn’t out of spite; I’m choosing a solid option. If it turns out we’re incompatible down the road, we can always get a divorce. I won’t wrong myself,” Cheng Mengzhi reasoned, figuring she’d marry Xu Jingyun first to stabilize her situation, and once he got promoted, she could simply bring up a divorce.
Every single time she tried to back out of the marriage, Lu Mina popped up, then the nurse, and then the military commander. Cheng Mengzhi was starting to suspect the plot was stubbornly railroading her into marrying Xu Jingyun whether she liked it or not.
She even began to wonder if the contraceptive pills Xu Fengsheng’s sister gave her were actually real. [Should I go buy more contraceptives tomorrow just to be safe?!] [Whatever, the book said the original host couldn’t keep the baby anyway—even if I got pregnant it would miscarry. Forget it.]
As Cheng Mengzhi fell into silence, Wen Qi looked at her with a mix of heartache and profound complication. She had loved Lin Shuyan so deeply; there was no way she could have gotten over him this easily. Plus, Cheng Mengzhi was so gorgeous—could it be she went to ask Xu Jingyun for help, and he forced her into a compromise as a trade-off? No, that’s impossible. Xu Jingyun isn’t that kind of person. If not that, then how on earth did those hickeys on Cheng Mengzhi’s neck get there?
No matter how hard she racked her brain, Wen Qi couldn’t make sense of it. Whatever, if I can’t figure it out, I’ll stop thinking about it. Since the person she liked was planning to get married, Wen Qi could only silently turn away, crawl into her bunk, and pull the blanket over her head to sleep.
Glancing at Wen Qi’s back, a heavy wave of guilt washed over Cheng Mengzhi, leaving her speechless. Among everyone in the dorm, Wen Qi was the cleanest, kindest soul. Back when Wen Qi and the other girls tried to advise her to give up on Lin Shuyan, telling her he wasn’t a good man, the original host had cursed them out mercilessly.
After taking a quick wash, Cheng Mengzhi lay down, suddenly remembering she still hadn’t applied her ointment. But with so many people in the room, it was impossible. [Whatever, a couple of days of rest and it’ll heal on its own.] She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep shortly after.
Over the next two days, Cheng Mengzhi’s daily routine consisted entirely of eating and sleeping.
Word came that the investigation had concluded, and she was summoned to the leadership’s office.
The moment she stepped inside, she spotted Xu Jingyun alongside their regiment commander, with Lin Shuyan and Qin Junyao standing nearby. Members of the investigation team were also present.
“Comrade Cheng is here!” the head of the investigation team greeted her with a warm smile.
Guilt washed over Lin Shuyan, making him too cowardly to meet Cheng Mengzhi’s eyes.
It looked like the results were finally in.
“I’m here. Is there something specific? Did the investigation wrap up?” A triumphant smile was barely suppressed on Cheng Mengzhi’s face.
Qin Junyao’s complexion waxed paler and paler.
“The investigation results are out. All the accusations made in the report against you are entirely unfounded. We’re informing you today to officially express our apologies and notify your department head—you can return to work starting tomorrow,” the team leader announced before standing up to take his leave.
Cheng Mengzhi smiled, watching the leaders escort the investigators out.
Inside the office, Xu Jingyun kept his gaze fixed on Cheng Mengzhi before shifting his eyes toward Qin Junyao and Lin Shuyan.
“I want to know what kind of price the person who filed these false reports against me is going to pay,” Cheng Mengzhi declared, locking her eyes directly onto Lin Shuyan.
Knowing he was in the wrong, Lin Shuyan maintained his habitual arrogance and stubbornly retorted, “Even if the report wasn’t true, I still wouldn’t marry you.”
“Is that really how you conduct yourself as a man?” Xu Jingyun interrogated him with a stern, icy tone.