Huo Jingchuan had just swallowed the last bite of the bun.
He hadn’t even had time to wipe the grease from the corner of his mouth when the weathered wooden gate at the courtyard entrance was pounded with loud bang bang sounds.
It didn’t sound like someone knocking—it sounded like someone urging death along.
“Commander Huo? Are you home? I’m Sister-in‑law Liu from next door. We heard your new wife moved in, so a few of us military spouses came to take a look!”
The voice was shrill, sharp with an unpleasant cleverness and a barely concealed thrill at watching drama unfold.
Huo Jingchuan’s already decent mood instantly sank. The killing aura around him grew even heavier than before.
He frowned in disgust, clearly loathing being treated like a zoo exhibit.
He glanced at Jiang Mian, who was staring mournfully at his now‑empty hands, and said coldly, “Go deal with them. Say I’m asleep.”
Jiang Mian curled her lips.
【Tch. Full already and you pretend you don’t know me. Why weren’t you asleep when you were snatching my buns earlier?】
That said, she didn’t want this group barging in to disturb her peace either.
She walked to the door but didn’t open it right away.
Using the reflection in the glass pane, she loosened her neatly braided pigtails, pulling them slightly apart so a few messy strands fell around her ears.
Then she rubbed her eyes hard until they turned red, tugged one button of her collar crooked, and wrinkled her old cotton jacket until it looked pitifully disheveled.
After finishing all this, she took a deep breath, slumped her shoulders—
And in an instant, switched from woman who wants to stab someone to tragically abused little white flower.
Creak—
The door opened.
Three middle‑aged women stood outside.
The one in front wore a blue floral cotton jacket, had high cheekbones, slanted eyes, and lips as thin as knife blades.
She craned her neck, peering inside.
This was Liu Guifen—Sister‑in‑law Liu—the compound’s famous loudspeaker.
The moment she saw Jiang Mian’s “disheveled and haggard” appearance, Liu Guifen’s eyes lit up like a shark catching the scent of blood.
“Oh my! You must be Little Jiang, right?”
Without the slightest sense of boundaries, Liu Guifen squeezed past Jiang Mian and stepped into the courtyard, her eyes sweeping Jiang Mian up and down as her mouth clicked nonstop.
“Tsk tsk tsk, look at that pale little face—your eyes are swollen from crying, aren’t they?”
She lowered her voice and leaned in, pretending to be discreet, but her tone dripped with schadenfreude.
“We all heard it last night. The noise in Commander Huo’s place was something else—things smashing, shouting and roaring… He didn’t hit you, did he?”
The two women behind her chimed in, “Yeah, Little Jiang. Ever since Commander Huo became dis—uh, injured, his temper’s been strange. You’ll just have to endure it.”
Jiang Mian lowered her head, twisting the hem of her clothes tightly in her hands until her knuckles turned white. She even cooperatively shivered a little.
She sniffed, her voice tiny as a mosquito’s buzz, so timid it seemed a breeze could knock her over.
“N‑no… sisters, you’ve misunderstood. Brother Jingchuan didn’t hit me… he—he treats me quite well…”
When she said “quite well,” she deliberately paused, her eyes darting away as if she’d been threatened into silence.
Seeing this, Liu Guifen became even more convinced: She definitely got beaten! As expected, Huo Jingchuan really was a freak!
Just as Liu Guifen was about to put on a show of fake comfort, a vicious inner rant pierced straight through the walls and clearly reached Huo Jingchuan’s ears inside the house—
【Good my ass! He’s a bandit who only knows how to steal a woman’s dowry meat buns!】
【Ate everything clean and then denied it, and still had the nerve to send me out to take bullets for him! Men like that deserve to be hung on the city wall and left to dry!】
Inside the room, Huo Jingchuan’s mouth twitched.
This woman held grudges. Deep ones.
Outside, Liu Guifen was still oblivious to the true nature of this “little white flower” and kept rambling on:
“Little Jiang, don’t be afraid. Even though Commander Huo won’t be able to stand up again—and that… area might not work either—life will be hard. But at least you’re a city resident now, right? If you really can’t go on…”
As she spoke, she eyed Jiang Mian the way one appraises defective merchandise, her gaze full of disdain and mockery.
Jiang Mian kept her head down, looking obedient and meek.
But inside, her mental barrage was already blasting Liu Guifen into shreds:
【Peh! You’re the one who doesn’t work! Your whole family doesn’t work!】
【This Sister‑in‑law Liu looks like a sharp‑mouthed monkey gourd—classic gossip hag! Those nostrils are so big you could stick two scallions in them!】
【What are you staring at? Keep looking like that and I’ll gouge your eyeballs out and use them as marbles to stomp on!】
【And that mouth—blah blah blah nonstop. I really want to sew it shut and embroider the words ‘SHUT UP’ on it!】
Inside the house.
Huo Jingchuan’s originally dark expression strangely cleared up after hearing phrases like monkey gourd, two scallions, and gouge your eyeballs.
Not only did he not find it noisy—he actually thought…
The insults were pretty accurate.
This Jiang Mian looked like a soft bun on the outside—but cut her open and it was all black sesame filling inside.
Outside, seeing that Jiang Mian didn’t talk back, Liu Guifen assumed she was an easy target.
Growing bolder, she reached out to shove Jiang Mian’s shoulder.
“Hey, I’m talking to you—why are you acting like a mute? Commander Huo’s inside, right? We’ll go in and take a look. We’re neighbors, after all…”
As she spoke, she tried to push her way inside.
She just wanted to see the once high‑and‑mighty Commander Huo now sprawled helplessly in bed—perfect material for gossip back in the compound.
Jiang Mian sneered inwardly.
【Trying to barge in? Did you ask me first?】
【You dare disturb my walking ATM’s rest—one trip and I’ll send you flying!】