A flash of jealousy and hatred immediately crossed He Jiaojiao’s eyes. Her fingers tightened around the lunch tin in her hands, trembling slightly.
Damn it.
Why had no one ever told her that Brother Huo was already married?!
All her efforts—sending gifts, pulling strings to join the performance troupe traveling to this godforsaken place—had been for nothing.
If it weren’t for Huo Guangji, why would she have voluntarily applied to come perform in such a remote mountain camp?
And most importantly—
Her stomach couldn’t wait any longer.
If she missed this chance with Huo Guangji, then by the time the month-long performance tour ended, her pregnancy would start to show.
At that point, not only would she lose her job, but her reputation would be ruined too.
He Jiaojiao bit her teeth viciously and silently made up her mind.
No matter what, she had to pin this responsibility onto Huo Guangji.
Quietly, she squeezed her way toward the front of the line. Then she heard Huo Guangji lower his voice toward the woman inside the serving window.
“Give me a little meat to try. Not too much.”
The gentleness in that tone was so unlike anything she’d ever heard from Huo Guangji that He Jiaojiao couldn’t help clenching her fingers tightly.
If she hadn’t seen this with her own eyes, she would’ve thought Huo Guangji was naturally cold and indifferent toward everyone.
She raised her eyes toward the woman standing behind the serving window.
Her first impression was simple—
This woman was too skinny.
She wasn’t ugly exactly, but she was thin to the point of frailty. Her skin was rather dark, and her clothes looked rustic and plain.
No matter how she looked at her, she didn’t resemble a beauty at all.
At best, she was simply not ugly.
So how could a woman like this make Brother Huo devoted to her?
And what right did she have to cling to him and refuse to let go?
Just as she was thinking this, Qin Yu’e coldly scooped out half a ladle of chilled shredded meat and dumped it into Huo Guangji’s lunch tin.
Even Aunt Liu standing nearby could sense the resentment radiating off her.
The previously noisy crowd fell strangely silent for a moment.
Huo Guangji, however, didn’t show any special reaction. He merely lowered his voice and said softly to Qin Yu’e:
“When I finish up over there at noon, I’ll come to your place. Don’t lock the door again tonight.”
After saying that, he turned and left, immediately giving up his place at the serving window.
Qin Yu’e ignored him with a cold face.
So after finishing his little reunion date with He Jiaojiao, he still planned to come see her?
Scumbag.
At noon, she’d just stay in the cafeteria helping out with the children and refuse to go back.
She’d like to see where this man planned to find her then!
“Sister—”
While she was thinking this, a bright and lively face suddenly appeared through the serving window.
The young girl before her had wide almond-shaped eyes filled with sparkle and spirit. Her jet-black hair was braided into two thick plaits hanging over her chest. When she smiled, her eyes curved sweetly as she leaned against the serving window and looked at Qin Yu’e.
“Sister, my name is He Jiaojiao! I want to try the fried dough sticks. Are there any left?”
Qin Yu’e froze for a moment.
Although the original novel had used countless words describing He Jiaojiao’s beauty, seeing her in person was still completely different.
Now that she had met the genuine female lead, Qin Yu’e felt as though her eyes had been struck head-on and her brain had briefly short-circuited.
Sure enough, this was the kind of beauty only an author’s favorite child could be written into existence.
In terms of appearance, she could probably rank first in the entire camp.
“Fried dough sticks, right? Anything else? Our cold shredded meat dish is pretty good too—it’s made from yesterday’s bear meat. Want to try some?”
Qin Yu’e remained quite friendly.
After all, this was the female lead.
Getting along well with the female lead probably couldn’t hurt, right?
And in the original novel, He Jiaojiao had actually been considered a fairly decent person. Especially toward Qin Yu’e’s two children—although she hadn’t cared deeply for them, she’d still treated them better than their own father, Huo Guangji.
Qin Yu’e personally had no prejudice against He Jiaojiao, so she showed no hostility either.
But the next sentence out of He Jiaojiao’s mouth instantly chilled Qin Yu’e’s heart.
“Then give me a little meat too, Sister.”
He Jiaojiao blinked her big eyes, her face still carrying a warm smile as she stood outside the serving window.
“Sister, I heard you’re Captain Huo’s wife? You only arrived at the army with the children a few days ago? Did you come to keep an eye on Brother Huo?”
Qin Yu’e’s serving hand paused.
Instinctively, she looked up at He Jiaojiao.
The other woman’s face still wore that innocent, harmless smile.
But the smile never reached her eyes.
If one looked carefully, there was obvious coldness hidden there… and even jealousy.
Why would she be jealous of her?
Qin Yu’e couldn’t quite process it.
She was nothing more than a cannon-fodder original wife. She didn’t seem to have blocked the path between He Jiaojiao and Huo Guangji at all.
Ever since He Jiaojiao had appeared yesterday, Qin Yu’e had deliberately avoided Huo Guangji altogether.
But then she suddenly understood.
In the original novel, this cannon-fodder wife—herself—was supposed to be dead.
But now things were different.
The woman who should have died was still standing here alive and well.
Not only alive, but still occupying the position of Huo Guangji’s wife.
How could that not count as an obstacle?
So merely by existing, she had become the obstacle between the male and female leads.
Qin Yu’e suddenly remembered one of He Jiaojiao’s most famous lines from the original novel.
The rough meaning had been: How could Huo Guangji pursue her after already having children with another woman?
Back when Qin Yu’e had first read it, she’d strongly agreed and thought the female lead’s attitude was very realistic.
But now that she herself had become the “other woman” who had supposedly tainted the male lead…
Qin Yu’e suddenly felt unspeakably bitter.
Who would’ve thought she was the one who had “stained” the male lead?
Still, Qin Yu’e had one good quality—
She would never bow her head to reality.
Surely they couldn’t expect her to die just for the male and female leads’ romance to proceed smoothly?!
At that thought, Qin Yu’e’s expression instantly cooled.
She shoved the lunch tin back toward He Jiaojiao.
“Your food is ready. Please step aside, Comrade. Next person, move forward and hand me your lunch tin.”
She had no intention of engaging with He Jiaojiao.
Qin Yu’e had said it before—
The romance between the male and female leads had nothing to do with her, and she didn’t want to get involved.
All she wanted was to feed herself and her children.
He Jiaojiao took back her lunch tin, already sneering inwardly.
Even though Qin Yu’e had ignored her, she felt this sort of woman would actually be easy to deal with.
Not a problem at all.
She’d approached so openly, yet the other woman only chose avoidance.
Clearly, she was just some ignorant rural housewife.
How could a wife like that possibly compare to an educated, graceful performance troupe actress like herself?
As long as Huo Guangji wasn’t stupid, there was no way he’d devote all his feelings to a woman like this.
With a cold laugh, she casually tossed out one last sentence:
“Sister, I heard we’ll be staying together. Once you finish work, I’ll come find you. You seem very friendly, and I’d like to chat with you.”
Then she turned and left.
Watching He Jiaojiao’s retreating figure, Qin Yu’e rolled her eyes dramatically.
One after another, everyone wanted to “chat” with her.
What was there to talk about?!