Fei Jin cleared his throat softly.
He then said to Song Qingya, "Don't take it to heart. That's just Captain Xing's personality—he's very blunt."
"I don't mind," Song Qingya replied calmly.
She naturally hooked her arm through Fei Jin's, intentionally pressing her body a little closer, so close she could almost feel his body temperature shift.
Just as she expected, she could feel Fei Jin's body go rigid at her touch.
She had made a point of asking about Fei Jin beforehand.
She learned that he had joined the army ten years ago.
Before getting married, he had lived a militarized, communal life, with few opportunities to leave the barracks gates.
Therefore, his opportunities to interact with the opposite sex were few and far between.
After he finally married, his wife wasn't willing to be close to him.
Instead, she constantly demanded a divorce, so Fei Jin's opportunities to interact with women were practically zero.
You could say that when it came to dealing with the opposite sex, he was a complete blank slate.
So, to tease Fei Jin further, Song Qingya gently rested her head on his shoulder.
She was pleased to notice that Fei Jin had frozen like a statue.
Seeing his reaction, Song Qingya found it even more amusing.
"Let's listen to Captain Xing. We've been married for a long time, why are you still so reserved with me? Come on, show me around your workplace."
"That's not really appropriate, is it?"
Fei Jin's refusal was almost instinctive.
However, before he could finish, Captain Xing, who had been unable to contain his curiosity, immediately chimed in.
"Come on, village chief, what's inappropriate about it? It's your wife's first time here! You should introduce her to everyone, otherwise people will keep gossiping..."
As he spoke, Captain Xing realized he had accidentally let something slip, so he immediately stopped, not daring to say another word.
But Song Qingya wasn't about to let it go.
Her bright eyes were fixed on Captain Xing, her tone laced with a hint of pleading.
"Captain Xing, please tell me, what is everyone saying about us? I often hear my Fei Jin say what a great person you are. You wouldn't keep it from me, would you?"
Flustered by the praise, Captain Xing felt a bit awkward and looked to Fei Jin for help.
Seeming to notice Captain Xing's hesitation, she tugged on Fei Jin's arm again and said coquettishly, "Just let him say it. I want to hear."
Fei Jin looked at the two of them, and finally, unable to refuse Song Qingya's request, sighed in agreement.
"Alright, just tell her. It's better than her letting her imagination run wild."
Bracing himself, Captain Xing said awkwardly, "It's nothing serious, really. It's just that everyone's saying... well, that you never come to visit the village chief. And there are some rumors that you two are in the middle of a divorce."
After Captain Xing finished speaking,
he expected Song Qingya to lose her temper on the spot, her expression turning ugly.
To his surprise, however, she listened to all the nasty things about herself with a smile on her face and simply said dismissively, "I thought it was something serious. Is that all?"
Captain Xing let out a surprised "Huh?" and asked, puzzled, "You're... not angry about that?"
Song Qingya deliberately held up her fingertip, which she had burned while making the fire, and said pitifully, "Look, I even hurt my hand making a meal for your village chief. It's about to blister."
Her fingertip was indeed a little red and swollen.
Fei Jin lowered his head to carefully examine the finger she'd burned in the fire, noticing the red, swollen tip.
He never would have thought that she would personally cook a meal for him.
Fei Jin said, "I have some ointment for burns in my office. I'll help you treat it properly in a moment."
"Okay!"
"But you have to be gentle when you put it on. I'm scared of pain!"
She said this with a deliberately coquettish pout.
Fei Jin nodded in response. "Mm."
Meanwhile, Captain Xing was staring at Song Qingya's finger with wide eyes.
But he couldn't make out anything wrong with it no matter how hard he looked.
'Song Qingya's finger was just a little red, it's not like she had a huge blister! Was she being that dramatic?!'
'Who on earth is spreading these rumors about the village chief and Song Qingya having a bad relationship?'
'Because from where I'm standing, they look like the most loving couple in the world!'
'When his wife held up her finger for the Regiment Commander to see, she even had to stand on her tiptoes because of their height difference.'
'And the Regiment Commander's hand was protectively at her waist the whole time, afraid she might lose her balance and fall.'
'How could he be so thoughtful and considerate if there weren't real feelings between them?'
'His wife is so frail, yet she still made a special trip just to bring the Regiment Commander a meal.'
Thinking about this, Captain Xing felt even more strongly that those baseless rumors were despicable.
So he secretly made up his mind that he had to step up and set the record straight for them.
'If these groundless speculations were to actually affect their relationship, wouldn't that be a terrible injustice?'
Not far away on the training ground, a few soldiers also seemed to have their attention captured by the scene, stopping what they were doing to glance over curiously.
Captain Xing took a deep breath and then shouted.
"Stop looking! Do you all want extra training drills?"
Captain Xing's stern voice rang out across the training ground.
All eyes instantly snapped away, and everyone quickly looked elsewhere.
Someone muttered under their breath.
"But Captain, aren't you watching too?"
The voice was quiet, but Captain Xing still heard it, and an embarrassed look immediately crossed his face.
Captain Xing then realized that he was being a massive third wheel to the couple.
He immediately snapped to attention, saluted, and put on a serious expression.
"Oh, Regiment Commander, I just remembered there's something in the regiment that needs my attention. I'll be going now."
Captain Xing quickly found an excuse to slip away, hastily leaving the training ground and a crowd of dumbfounded soldiers in his wake.
Watching his hasty retreat, Fei Jin said helplessly, "He was the one staring, and yet he's the one who had to find an excuse to leave."
"You can let go now. He's gone."
Fei Jin turned his head, looked at Song Qingya beside him, and said with a slight smile.
"Let go of what?"
Song Qingya feigned ignorance with an innocent look on her face, then tightened her grip on Fei Jin's arm and said softly, "Let's go to your office."
It was about a kilometer from here to his office.
The whole way there, Song Qingya held tightly to Fei Jin's arm, determined to make him slowly get used to her touch.
This method was clearly very effective.
At first, Fei Jin thought she was only doing it in public to help him save face.
But after realizing that Song Qingya didn't have to put on an act and was still holding onto him, Fei Jin gradually relaxed.
The initial nervousness in his eyes was replaced by a kind of warmth.
As for the stares from those around them, Song Qingya didn't mind at all. In fact, she was completely at ease.