"Am I some straw boat for you to shoot arrows at? What gives you the right to target me? Whether I live here or not, what does that have to do with you? You're from Dunhuang, aren't you? Don't they have plenty of murals there for you to stare at?"
"From the way you talk, I can tell your brain is directly connected to your intestines—you can't stop spewing filth. Why do you even care about my man? You're like a bat covered in chicken feathers, flapping around in the dark. Who do you think you are?"
"And another thing—it doesn't matter whether my husband holds a high position or not. What matters is that you've openly slandered soldiers without knowing the facts. You've tarnished their reputation with your reckless mouth. A great man once said that without investigation, you have no right to speak. You don't even know who my husband is, yet you dare to smear him!"
"And another great man also said—you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. My skin is dark and my frame thin because of years of hard work. That's the glorious mark of labor, and you dare mock it? By ridiculing my looks, you're showing contempt for working people themselves."
"All working folks are tanned and lean like me. But you? You're deliberately creating class antagonism. For a military family, that's a serious ideological problem."
"You said those words just now—I'll report them to the leadership. Let's see what punishment you and your brother face."
In the eyes of outsiders, she and Han Yao were still a couple. Even if people only insulted one of them, the slight landed on both.
Han Yao was a soldier who shed blood, sweat, and tears, a man who would even give his life for his country and his people. Lin Ruo couldn't just sit back while others insulted him.
No matter how deep the conflicts between them as husband and wife, even if they divorced tomorrow, she would still stand united with him in public—sharing honor, sharing disgrace.
Lin Ruo stepped forward again, voice sharp:
"Fine. Let's go straight to the leadership and let them judge this matter!"
The onlookers gasped. Wow!
Though her appearance was plain, her words were razor sharp and eloquent. She hadn't uttered a single vulgar word, yet every phrase she delivered cut deep. Her accusations struck one after another, leaving no room to breathe.
The most terrifying part? She was completely right.
People around smacked their lips—clearly, Han Yao's wife was not someone to be trifled with.
Niu Lanhua and her mother, after being scolded, looked like corpses left unburied for three days—pale, trembling, utterly shaken.
Niu Lanhua's eyelids twitched like a spiderweb caught in a violent storm. She staggered back, nearly collapsing.
"You… you…" she pointed at Lin Ruo, but quickly snatched her hand back, remembering how Lin Ruo had dislocated her arm on the train. A cold sweat broke across her forehead, smugness crumbling into terror.
She stumbled backward, knocking into a wooden frame with a loud clang, startling the sparrows from the trees. The flurry of wings only heightened her panic.
-
"It's not what we said! We didn't mean that!" Niu Lanhua shrieked, suddenly shrinking into self-defense. "I was just spouting nonsense—I wasn't thinking straight, I don't even know what I said!"
If Lin Ruo reported this to the military leadership, Niu Lanhua's brother's future would be destroyed—and she herself would probably be beaten when she got home.
In truth, Niu Lanhua had only come here with her mother so her brother could introduce her to a military officer. It was her second day at the compound, and she hadn't even met anyone yet.
But already, she hated Lin Ruo so much she wanted to tear her apart.
Mrs. Niu, sensing the danger, forced a smile and softened her voice. "She's just being hysterical, talking nonsense. She didn't mean it. A misunderstanding, that's all. Everyone, disperse. Lanhua, come inside with me."
Mrs. Niu tugged her daughter away, trying to save face before the crowd of onlookers.
Lin Ruo snorted coldly.
"Hmph. From now on, let's stay out of each other's way. We don't know each other—you go your way, I'll go mine."
Some people were simply not worth befriending.
Han Yao, who had been standing behind a tree not far away, heard everything Lin Ruo said.
The way she defended him, fluently calling him "my man", made it difficult to believe she was the same person urging him to hurry with the divorce just yesterday.
Han Yao was in such a good mood that it seemed even a passing cloud could carry him to the sky, and the smile tugging at his lips was so wide you could hang an oil bottle from it.
As Mrs. Niu turned to leave with her daughter, another steady voice rang out behind her:
"My wife is right. From now on, it's best if our families don't have any contact. I will personally report today's incident to Deputy Battalion Commander Niu."
The voice was unmistakably familiar.
Niu Lanhua spun around and saw the man she had fallen for at first sight—the same man she had secretly obsessed over. Her steps faltered, her eyes lit with stars, and she gazed at Han Yao with raw surprise and infatuation.
Lin Ruo, of course, caught the look in her eyes and sneered inwardly. So she dares to covet him? Dream on—she won't even stand a chance, not now, not ever.
Mrs. Niu immediately recognized Han Yao, and when she heard the soldiers nearby address him as Captain Han, she could hardly believe her ears.
"You… you two are a couple?" Mrs. Niu's gaze darted between Lin Ruo and Han Yao, her face twisted in disbelief, as though she had just seen her long-dead husband crawl out of his coffin to say: 'Old woman, I've come to take you down with me.'
Han Yao's voice was firm:
"Yes, we're a real couple. And let me make this clear—my position outranks Deputy Battalion Commander Niu's. I'm more capable than him, taller than him, more handsome than him, and I've got sharper eyes than him too."
Word for word, he echoed back everything Niu Lanhua had previously mocked Lin Ruo with—only now, the words were a blade turned back on her.
Han Yao then softened, turning to Lin Ruo with a smile, holding out the breakfast he had prepared.
"Wife, come eat. After breakfast, I'll take you into the city."
In front of all the onlookers, Lin Ruo didn't argue. She simply accepted his gesture and followed him inside.
With the couple gone, the crowd quickly dispersed.
But Niu Lanhua's earlier delight soured into bitter disappointment. The man she adored was not only already married, but married to Lin Ruo—the woman she had once scorned for her plain looks.
Her heart ached, her face burned with humiliation, and her chest seethed with resentment.
Mrs. Niu, too, was fuming as she glared at the neighboring courtyard, recalling both fresh grievances and old ones.
How could someone as ordinary as Lin Ruo have won such an extraordinary man?
Mrs. Niu quickly pulled her daughter inside. She knew exactly what Niu Lanhua was thinking.
"Lanhua," she said bitterly, "ask your brother to introduce you to someone better than that pretty boy."
But Niu Lanhua's heart was already set. "Mom, I like Brother Han. How can you let that ugly woman lord over us? You must help me come up with a plan."
Mrs. Niu's expression hardened. "Don't worry. We'll find a way. Living this close, opportunities will come. I'll think of something."
Meanwhile, inside the house, Lin Ruo was calmly eating breakfast as she asked Han Yao about their divorce papers.
Han Yao sheepishly produced the rejected application. "The boss didn't approve it. He said neither of us was at fault, so the grounds for divorce were invalid. And…"
He trailed off, clearly embarrassed.
"What else?" Lin Ruo pressed, still chewing her bun.
Han Yao rubbed the back of his neck. "It's just… right now is a critical period for my promotion. If I get divorced, it'll affect my record. Personal conduct is also part of the evaluation."
Lin Ruo glanced at the rejected application and sighed inwardly. She had assumed the army would deliberate for a few days, but the verdict had come back almost instantly—and the outcome was utterly unsatisfactory.
Turning her frustration into appetite, she took a big bite of her bun, her cheeks puffing up adorably like a squirrel clutching its prize.
Han Yao's eyes softened as he watched her.
"Since we can't get divorced," he said carefully, "why don't we try to live together peacefully for now?"