Xie Changning glanced at Yue Yihan and saw he didn’t look too happy. He was glaring daggers at the soldiers beside them, which made her curious.

’Everyone else is acting like they’ve made a great discovery, so why is he so unhappy?’

This continued until the two of them reached the Brigade Commander’s office building, at which point everyone finally reined it in a bit.

Seeing the two of them go to meet the Brigade Commander, everyone started speculating.

"Is the pretty sister-in-law moving into our military family quarters?"

"Probably not, right? I heard it’s completely full right now."

"I heard our Regiment Commander’s application to move into the family housing was rejected by the Brigade Commander last time. Maybe he’s seeing them about something else?"

Yue Yihan and Xie Changning walked upstairs and stopped in front of the Brigade Commander’s office. Just as Xie Changning was about to raise her hand to knock, Yue Yihan puffed out his chest, straightened his uniform, and announced in a booming voice, "Reporting! Yue Yihan and his wife, Xie Changning, are here to see the Brigade Commander!"

His voice was so loud it could be heard from far away.

A look of confusion appeared on Xie Changning’s face. ’(O_O)? What is he doing?’

Seeing everyone stepping out of their offices to stare at them, Xie Changning quickly put some distance between herself and Yue Yihan, as if trying to sever their connection.

It was as if this would spare her from sharing in his embarrassment.

"Come in!" The Brigade Commander’s voice called out just as Xie Changning was wishing the ground would swallow her whole.

Yue Yihan pushed the door open.

Xie Changning gritted her teeth. Annoyed by all the stares, she raised her hand to slap him without a second thought.

As fate would have it, the slap landed squarely on Yue Yihan’s firm butt.

The sound was surprisingly loud, causing the surrounding chatter to die down for a moment.

Yue Yihan froze mid-step, clutching his butt in surprise. He gave Xie Changning a confused look, as if to say, ’Honey, this really isn’t the best time to be taking advantage of me.’

A blush crept up Xie Changning’s face. She gritted her teeth, shoved him through the doorway, and then quickly followed him into the Brigade Commander’s office.

’Seriously...’

’Aaaah, I wasn’t trying to hit Yue Yihan’s butt!’

’So many people saw it. Nothing I say will ever clear this up...’

After entering, Xie Changning saw the Brigade Commander’s gaze land on her hand. She unconsciously curled her fingers and began to brainwash herself: ’It’s fine. It’s fine, Changning. Yue Yihan is your husband, so what’s the big deal about one little slap? It’s not like you slapped someone else’s husband!’

’Don’t be scared! As long as you aren’t embarrassed, they’re the ones who should be!’

And so, Xie Changning lifted her chin slightly, trying to appear a little more composed.

What kind of scene hadn’t the Brigade Commander witnessed before?

He could tell just by looking at her that she hadn’t intended to slap Yue Yihan’s butt at all. She was probably aiming for somewhere above the waist, but due to their height difference, she had miscalculated and hit his butt instead.

The Brigade Commander thought for a moment, then looked at Yue Yihan again.

He figured that after Yue Yihan’s little performance just now, he probably would have wanted to slap him too.

The man’s voice was so ridiculously loud; it was perfectly normal for the young woman to be embarrassed.

With that thought, the Brigade Commander spoke and gestured for the two of them to sit in the chairs opposite his desk.

"Have a seat."

Yue Yihan turned and helped Xie Changning to a chair. Once she was seated, he went to the side to pour her a glass of water.

His service was impeccable.

The Brigade Commander watched Yue Yihan spin around like a top and raised a hand to stop him. "Hey, hey, hey, what are you doing? I told you to sit down."

’The water’s already poured, what’s he still bustling about for?’

’Yue Yihan might not be dizzy, but I’m about to be!’

"Oh." Yue Yihan was actually looking to see if the Brigade Commander had any fruit or anything in his office.

Just as he was about to sit down, he spotted some bananas and apples in his Brigade Commander’s cabinet. He immediately said to the commander, "Let me borrow your bananas and apples!"

"I’ll pay you back on payday!"

And just like that, the bananas and apples appeared in front of Xie Changning.

The Brigade Commander started to say something, but Yue Yihan didn’t even spare him a glance, completely absorbed in wiping an apple and peeling a banana for Xie Changning.

The Brigade Commander was speechless. ’...’ ’Truly, once you get a wife, you forget your mother!’

’No matter how you sliced it, he was still Yue Yihan’s adoptive father, wasn’t he!?’

’Is this any way to treat his adoptive father?! Huh?’

At this thought, the Brigade Commander’s gaze on Xie Changning softened considerably. This was especially true when his eyes swept over her belly; his expression became unbelievably gentle.

’Well, I’ll be. That boy didn’t waste any time. I’m going to be a grandfather!’

’A grandfather before even turning 45! Hahaha!’

The speechless expression on the Brigade Commander’s face—brought on by Yue Yihan’s complete disregard for others—instantly vanished. He beamed at Xie Changning and asked, "How many months along are you?"

"A little over five months."

"Good, good, good. You’re getting bigger every day, so you must be careful and take care of yourself. If things get difficult, just come and stay at our house. There are more people there who can look after you."

The Brigade Commander’s words set off Yue Yihan’s rejection radar.

He hadn’t forgotten about that ticking time bomb, Yu Huo! He refused without a second thought. "Brigade Commander, she’s doing just fine where she is. Her neighbors are all families from the factory, and they take good care of her."

"When it’s time for her to give birth, I’ll request a fifteen-day leave specifically to be with her."

’I have to start saving up my leave days. That way, I won’t miss my wife giving birth.’

’People say that childbirth is like a trip through the gates of hell. I have to be by my wife’s side. I can’t let her go through it alone!’

The Brigade Commander shot him a glance but didn’t press the issue.

"Aren’t you two curious why I called you over?"

"Not curious."

Xie Changning had wanted to say that she *was* curious, but Yue Yihan was giving the Brigade Commander absolutely no face, shutting him down directly.

She nudged Yue Yihan, silently telling him not to get carried away.

The Brigade Commander seemed accustomed to Yue Yihan’s lack of deference. In fact, if Yue Yihan ever *did* show him some respect, *that’s* when he’d feel something was off!

"It’s fine. This kid only acts nice to me when he wants something. Otherwise, he’s always contradicting me!" the Brigade Commander grumbled.

Even if Yue Yihan wasn’t curious, the Brigade Commander still had to say his piece.

"You two are aware of the circumstances of your first meeting, correct?"

At the mention of their first meeting, Yue Yihan’s expression grew serious, and he turned to face the Brigade Commander.

Xie Changning only knew that she had gotten drunk and slept with him. As for Yue Yihan... she felt that something might have been off with him that day, too, but she had never pressed for details.

Now that the Brigade Commander was bringing it up, she listened quietly.

’I’ll finally find out what was going on with Yue Yihan that day.’

"Have you figured out what happened? Or has *she* been brought to justice?" Yue Yihan’s tone was harsh, filled with undisguised disgust.

The Brigade Commander sighed and looked at Yue Yihan. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"She hasn’t been brought to justice. I called you here to tell you both to be careful. Yu Huo is back in Chuncheng." Although she was supposed to be under the military’s watch, a single oversight on his part had given Yu Huo the opportunity to make a move on Xie Changning.

The Brigade Commander’s words made Xie Changning realize that someone was trying to harm her.

She turned to Yue Yihan, her face full of curiosity. "Who is Yu Huo? An admirer of yours?" ’A crazed fan?’