’He... his wife was fed up with him!’

BOOHOO—

’A real man wants to cry, but he’s too embarrassed to actually let the tears out!’

Yue Yihan went downstairs, looking dejected. The moment he stepped out of the guest house, he keenly sensed someone staring at the building. He narrowed his eyes and moved off to the side.

Seeing that the person hadn’t realized they’d been spotted, Yue Yihan took the long way around to approach them.

Yu Huo was hiding in a corner, staring at Yue Yihan.

As she watched Yue Yihan leave, a chill expression came over her face.

She hadn’t been able to find Yue Yihan’s wife yesterday, but she refused to give up. She had decided to follow Yue Yihan instead, and to her surprise, she’d actually found the guest house where his wife was staying.

Tonight, she would go and meet this "dear sister-in-law."

Just as Yu Huo was preparing to make her move that night, she felt a tap on her shoulder. She frowned and turned. "Who—? Brother Yi Han?"

Seeing Yue Yihan’s face, the icy expression on Yu Huo’s instantly gave way to one of pure innocence.

She looked at Yue Yihan in surprise. "Brother Yi Han, what are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing. What are *you* doing here?" Yue Yihan frowned, scrutinizing Yu Huo.

The military hadn’t revealed their suspicions about Yu Huo, so he couldn’t let on that he knew anything. He had to act as if he had no idea who had drugged him.

"I... I was hiding from a suitor. You know, some of my admirers like to follow me around."

Yu Huo said it with an air of pure innocence.

This was the same excuse she’d often used as a child to trick Yue Yihan into walking her to and from school.

Yue Yihan might have believed her when they were kids, but now, he didn’t believe a single word.

"Come on, I’ll take you home."

"Okay..."

Still reluctant, Yu Huo glanced back toward where Xie Changning was staying. Just a moment ago, she had seen a beautiful, pregnant woman walk into the guest house.

’That has to be her!’

After leaving with Yue Yihan, Yu Huo was constantly looking for a chance to slip away to the guest house. But since Yue Yihan was taking her to Liu Changyou’s home, she would need a good excuse to leave.

Liu Changyou knew Yue Yihan’s character. He wouldn’t have brought Yu Huo to her home if he hadn’t found her near the guest house.

Liu Changyou treated Yu Huo with her usual hospitality.

As for He Jiao, she pretended to be asleep, feigning ignorance about what was going on outside.

She couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t let something slip, so she did her best to avoid any contact with Yu Huo.

"Why is Jiaojiao sleeping in the middle of the day?" Yu Huo glanced into the room at He Jiao, who was asleep and sprawled over her covers, and frowned slightly.

"She was up all night for an exam, so she didn’t get any sleep. She’s just catching up now."

That’s when Yu Huo remembered.

He Jiao was graduating this semester.

But—

"Has she decided what she’ll do? I remember when Jiaojiao was little, she was always talking about joining the army."

The national college entrance exams hadn’t been reinstated yet, so people had to find a career path right after middle school, or else be sent down to the countryside.

He Liuzhang and Liu Changyou planned to respect He Jiao’s decision.

"If she wants to join the army, we’ll let her. If she passes the assessment, she can go," Liu Changyou said.

She and her husband were both in the military, so it was only normal for their daughter to want to join. If her daughter wanted to go, she, as her mother, would support her.

At her words, a flicker of envy crossed Yu Huo’s face.

"I wanted to join the army back then, too, but—my parents beat me too severely. My body is covered in scars." An intense hatred flashed in her eyes as she spoke.

She hated her parents.

Liu Changyou frowned. She didn’t try to correct her thinking, but simply sighed and, as she often did, reached out to pat her on the head. "You poor thing."

It wasn’t long before Yu Huo got up to leave.

Liu Changyou tried to get her to stay. "You’re not staying for dinner tonight?"

"No, I can’t. I still have some work to finish. Once I’m done, I’ll come back and have dinner with you and Godfather!" After saying her piece, Yu Huo turned and left Liu Changyou’s house.

As she left the family compound, Yu Huo saw many familiar faces.

She put on a sweet smile and greeted everyone.

Only after Yu Huo had left did they stop and exchange glances.

"That girl’s smile is as fake as ever."

"Sigh! What can you do? Old He’s family dotes on her!"

"I don’t know what Old He is thinking. Then again, maybe he’s been fooled..."

The group of them shook their heads and walked off together.

Everyone could see there was something wrong with Yu Huo; only He Liuzhang’s family couldn’t. It wasn’t as if they could just march up to their door and announce, "Hey! Old He! There’s something wrong with your goddaughter! She’s always so fake whenever she sees us!"

If they said that, He Liuzhang would just think they were crazy.

After all, they had no proof.

Yu Huo left the military base and headed straight for the guest house.

It was already late when she left the base, and by the time she got to the guest house, the staff member on duty was already wary of her.

"What is your relationship to the comrade you wish to see?"

"I’m her husband’s sister."

The guest house staff member looked at Yu Huo, sizing her up for a long moment before shaking her head. "I’m sorry, but her status is a bit special. I can’t let you disturb her this late at night."

There was one more thing she didn’t say.

’If she were really Commander Yue’s sister, why would she come to bother her sister-in-law so late at night?’

’Isn’t she worried about disturbing her rest?’

From Yu Huo’s perspective, the staff member was just being a busybody. She gritted her teeth, shot the woman a harsh glare, and turned to leave.

After Yu Huo left, Xie Changning happened to come downstairs to get some water.

"Comrade, someone just came by claiming to be your husband’s sister. She wanted to see you, but I turned her away."

The staff member’s words made Xie Changning pause. She thanked the woman gratefully, "Thank you so much. My husband doesn’t have a sister."

’At least, not at the moment.’

’If he did have one, they wouldn’t know until he was reunited with his birth family.’

’But with all the chaos of the war back then, it would be incredibly difficult for Yue Yihan to find his parents. After all, they might not even be alive anymore.’

"I knew it! She seemed strange!" People really do have a sixth sense.

Her sixth sense had told the staff member that something was off about Yu Huo, so she hadn’t allowed her to see Xie Changning.

She was very happy, especially when Xie Changning pulled two White Rabbit candies from the pocket of her maternity dress and handed them to her. "I’ve been getting low blood sugar since I got pregnant, so I don’t have anything else in my pockets, just these. I hope you don’t mind."

Xie Changning handed the candy to the staff member.

"Oh, I couldn’t possibly. Please, take them back. I..."

"Please, take them. It’s nothing valuable. If your superior has an issue with it, just have them come to me. I’ll handle it."

"Thank you."

The staff member accepted the White Rabbit milk candies, and her desire to look out for Xie Changning became very clear.

She resolved not to let anyone get near Xie Changning.

Unless Xie Changning herself told her otherwise!

「The next day.」

It was already late morning by the time Xie Changning finally crawled out of bed.

"This is so nice..." ’A day off from chores feels amazing!’ 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Just as Xie Changning was sighing in contentment, Yue Yihan’s forlorn voice piped up. "Honey, do you have any idea what time it is?" ’I’ve been here for over half an hour, and the food’s already gotten cold!’