News that Su Rou had run out of Qin Zhan’s house in tears spread throughout the entire military family compound in less than ten minutes.
In an era with very little entertainment, it was explosive gossip.
“Have you heard? That new country bride made Su Rou from the art troupe cry!”
“Really? Su Rou has such a gentle temperament. She actually got bullied into tears?”
“Of course it’s true! Someone saw her covering her face as she ran out. She was crying so hard it was heartbreaking.”
“Tsk, tsk. That newcomer is such a shrew. She can’t even tolerate her husband’s comrades.”
“Commander Qin really has rotten luck, marrying such a tigress.”
The rumors spread through the morning like wildfire—around the vegetable washing area, the communal water room, and the apartment hallways.
By the time Lin Wan came downstairs with Tangtang, linking arms with Qin Zhan as they prepared to shop for furniture, she could already sense the strange atmosphere.
The older women whispered and pointed at her, their eyes filled with disdain and curiosity.
Several young military wives who had been chatting together immediately fell silent the moment Lin Wan approached, exchanging meaningful glances.
[Wow, this spread even faster than the village loudspeaker.]
Lin Wan understood exactly what had happened.
[That little green-tea Su Rou must’ve gone out playing the victim.]
[Fine. A battle of public opinion, huh? If I were scared of that, all those years of following internet drama would’ve been for nothing.]
Instead of lowering her head, she straightened her back.
The smile on her face grew even brighter.
She even deliberately hugged Qin Zhan’s arm tighter, practically hanging off him.
Qin Zhan stiffened for a moment but didn’t pull away.
He, too, had noticed the hostile stares around them.
As a regimental commander who had risen through the ranks as a reconnaissance soldier, he was especially sensitive to hostility.
“Ignore them.”
He lowered his voice and spoke to Lin Wan.
“People will say whatever they want.”
Lin Wan raised an eyebrow.
“That won’t do.”
She smiled sweetly.
“In times like these, gossip can kill. If I don’t stamp out this bad trend now, how are we supposed to live peacefully in this compound?”
Just then, several fashionably dressed women approached.
Leading them was none other than Su Rou.
She had already wiped away her tears, though her eyes were still red. Two close friends flanked her, clearly ready to stand up for her.
“Oh, isn’t this Comrade Su?”
Lin Wan called out first, her clear, cheerful voice carrying across the entire courtyard.
“Why were you in such a hurry earlier? You even forgot your basket!”
Like a magician pulling off a trick, she produced the bamboo basket from behind her back and waved it in the air.
“Oh, and although the dumplings were a little salty and the meat was a bit tough, our Old Qin said to thank you for your thoughtfulness.”
“But next time, don’t trouble yourself. Old Qin is a bit of a germaphobe and doesn’t like eating food from outside. You heard him yourself—he said it wasn’t sanitary. I couldn’t talk him out of it.”
The surrounding onlookers, who had all been eavesdropping, froze.
What?
The dumplings were too salty?
The meat was tough?
Commander Qin thought they weren’t sanitary?
So it wasn’t Lin Wan who had made Su Rou cry.
It was Su Rou whose gift had been rejected.
Su Rou’s face instantly turned the color of pig’s liver.
She hadn’t expected Lin Wan to expose everything so openly in front of everyone.
“Y-You’re lying! Brother Qin never said they weren’t sanitary!”
The two women beside Su Rou quickly chimed in.
“That’s right! What would a country woman like you know? We’ve all eaten Su Rou’s dumplings. They’re delicious!”
“You’re just jealous because Su Rou is prettier than you, so you’re slandering her in front of Commander Qin!”
Lin Wan let out a cold laugh.
[Jealous?]
[You’ve really got some nerve.]
She released Qin Zhan’s arm and stepped forward, her presence becoming overwhelming.
“Jealous? What exactly would I be jealous of?”
“Jealous that she skipped rehearsal early in the morning to visit a married man’s home?”
“Jealous that she knowingly came while a husband and wife were together, then acted weak and pitiful for sympathy?”
“Or jealous that she somehow managed to wrap a green-tea attitude into every dumpling she made?”
With every sentence, Lin Wan took another step forward.
Her imposing aura forced the three women from the art troupe to retreat instinctively.
“All you sisters-in-law and aunties are here.”
She turned toward the crowd.
“Please judge for yourselves.”
“Yes, I came from the countryside.”
“But I still know what propriety and decency are.”
“If this were the old days, what would you call an unmarried woman bringing food into a man’s house?”
“That would be considered an improper private exchange.”
“We’re military families. We should be even more careful about appearances.”
“I spared her feelings just now and didn’t expose her on the spot.”
“But instead, she ran outside crying, making it look like I bullied her.”
“What? Did you really want me to say it out loud—that you were trying to seduce my husband?”
The courtyard erupted.
In those days, being accused of trying to seduce another woman’s husband was an extremely serious allegation.
The older women’s expressions changed instantly.
Their contempt for Lin Wan vanished.
Now they were looking at Su Rou with suspicion.
After all, every family had husbands.
Who wanted an unsettling woman like that wandering around the compound?
Su Rou finally broke.
Covering her face, she let out a shrill cry before turning and running away.
This time, she truly had no face left to show anyone.
Qin Zhan had stood silently behind Lin Wan the entire time, watching her turn the entire situation around in just a few sentences, like a fiercely protective mother hen guarding her chicks.
The surprise in his eyes gradually gave way to an almost imperceptible smile.
This woman really was remarkable.
Not only wasn’t she foolish…
She was incredibly clever.
“Let’s go, Commander Qin.”
Having thoroughly vented, Lin Wan felt refreshed. She turned around and linked arms with Qin Zhan once more.
“Let’s go buy a sofa.”
“The softest one.”
“The biggest one they have.”
[Hmph. You think you can bully me? Don’t you know I’m a certified queen of verbal smackdowns?]
[Though… was I a little too fierce just now? Did I scare Tangtang?]
She looked down at Tangtang, who had been quietly clutching the corner of her clothes.
The little girl looked up at her with sparkling eyes full of admiration.
“Big Sister is amazing!”
“When I grow up, I want to be just like you!”
“I want to scold people without using a single bad word!”
Lin Wan: “…”
[Uh… I think her education is heading in the wrong direction.]
Qin Zhan picked Tangtang up and settled her onto his shoulders.
“Let’s go.”
His deep voice was calm and steady.
“We’re buying a sofa.”
For the first time, he felt that in this compound filled with schemes and gossip…
Having a fiery, fiercely protective wife…
Wasn’t such a bad thing after all.
At the very least…
She never let anyone take advantage of them.
The three of them left the compound and headed straight for the supply and marketing cooperative.
Along the way, Qin Zhan walked with his back perfectly straight.
Because he could hear Lin Wan muttering to herself.
[This man did pretty well today. He didn’t undermine me.]
[Maybe tonight I’ll reward him by making braised pork.]
[But we absolutely have to buy a good sofa. That wooden bed nearly broke my back last night.]
[If I can somehow trick him into sleeping on the bed tonight… hehe…]
Qin Zhan stumbled.
Trick him into the bed?
What was this woman plotting now?
Still…
If it meant sleeping on the bed…
Qin Zhan glanced at the dark-red spring sofa displayed in the furniture store beside them, then looked at the hopeful expression in Lin Wan’s eyes.
Silently, he made a decision.
The sofa would be bought.
And he’d sleep on the bed too.
As for how they’d end up sleeping there…
Well, that would depend on his abilities.