Chapter 48

Xue Miaoyun twirled in place with a bright smile, watching as her husband stared at her in a daze.

“Well? Do I look good?”

“Beautiful.”

Of all the beauties in the world, none compare to the one who pleases the eye.

For a brief moment, Cang Ling’s mind went completely blank. If not for his years of military discipline—

Wait, this was his wife.

The next second, Xue Miaoyun felt an arm tighten around her waist and was pulled into a firm embrace.

“You—” Xue Miaoyun braced her hands against his chest and looked up, just about to tell him to stop messing around, but instead, “Mmph!”

By the time the two of them were finally ready to head out, there were hardly any people left on the road.

Xue Miaoyun reached out and pinched him hard at the waist.

“Hiss—wife…” Cang Ling winced as pain shot through his side. The strength she had really was no joke…

“This is all your fault. We’re going to be late. Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“It’s fine, I’ve been keeping track of the time. They’ll all be waiting at the hall. We’ll arrive just in time.”

“Do you think I believe you?” Xue Miaoyun gave him a pointed look, her hand caught in his and held tightly.

When they arrived at the hall, they found that it hadn’t started yet, though most of the seats were already taken. Fortunately, their seats had been reserved.

“Why are you only here now?” Yan Minghu looked at Cang Ling, somewhat puzzled. So many leaders had arrived today, and Cang Ling had the nerve to show up so late.

“Ahem, something at home delayed me,” Cang Ling’s explanation was somewhat flimsy, but he didn’t mind. People without a wife wouldn’t understand.

“Ah Yun, sit here.”

Yan Minghu watched as Cang Ling, who had been so indifferent to him, turned his attention entirely to his wife, showering her with care and concern. His expression twisted slightly. When did Cang Ling become so good at forgetting friends for the sake of a woman?

Hmph, he’s taking advantage of the fact that I don’t have a wife, Yan Minghu thought, recalling the matchmaking candidates his mother had introduced to him.

Xue Miaoyun and Cang Ling arrived just in time; the music on stage started not long after they sat down.

This was Xue Miaoyun’s first time appreciating a stage performance from this era. Although she had watched the Spring Festival Gala for many years, which was far grander and more extravagant, the performances on this stage were still very enjoyable.

Backstage, the performers were busy, and the leader of the troupe was frantically directing them.

“…Hurry up, change your clothes! Why are you so slow?”

“…This makeup isn’t right, change it.”

“Zhou Qingqing, what are you doing? Where’s your outfit? What’s going on?”

“…Yang Mei, what’s going on? You’re up next, where’s your outfit? Where are your shoes? Are you planning to go on stage like this?” The troupe leader completely lost his temper when he saw that Yang Mei was unprepared.

“Do you know you’re the lead dancer? Do you not want to do this anymore?!”

“Captain, my clothes and shoes are missing. I didn’t do it on purpose…” Yang Mei was sweating profusely. She knew someone was deliberately messing with her. Who was it? Was it Zhou Qingqing or someone else?

Now, everyone around her felt like an enemy.

“Captain, it must be someone deliberately…,” Yang Mei hurried forward to explain.

“Alright, if you can’t even keep track of your own things, how can I expect anything from you? Zhou Qingqing, come here. You’ll be the lead dancer today. Are you confident?”

The captain turned to look at the others nearby, who were just watching the drama unfold.

Zhou Qingqing hadn’t expected such an opportunity to fall into her lap, so she immediately responded, “Yes.”

“Good, everyone, get ready quickly. There are so many leaders out there watching. We absolutely cannot afford any mistakes with this performance.” Without paying any attention to Yang Mei, who looked incredulous, the captain left.

“Heh, the retribution came really fast, huh?”

“Yeah, she used to bully Xiao Mei, causing her to leave the military. Now, it’s karma catching up with her.”

“Tsk, did you all see Commander Cang’s wife? I sneaked a look earlier, and she’s really beautiful. Her temperament is also amazing. She doesn’t look like someone from a rural area at all.”

“Some people just think they’re the most beautiful in the world, not realizing there’s always someone better out there…”

“Alright, alright, go get ready. The captain will come to hurry us up again soon.”

“…Such bad luck.”

Yang Mei’s face turned pale, and her entire body was trembling. She knew it was over for her. She thought of all those she had framed to leave the army, of her poor hometown, of her biased parents…

“Are you Yang Mei? Do you want revenge?”

Yang Mei was startled by the sudden voice and turned to see a woman of similar age to her. “Who are you, and what do you want?”

Zhao Meihua smiled, “I just saw you being bullied and thought maybe you’d want to get back at the culprit.”

“The culprit? Who are you talking about?” Yang Mei wasn’t stupid; she could tell this woman wasn’t someone good.

“It’s the one who made sure you couldn’t get close to Cang Ling, the one who took away your support,” Zhao Meihua said, implying something.

Yang Mei squinted and scrutinized the newcomer. “Heh, do you think I’m stupid enough to let you use me as a pawn?”

Although Yang Mei hadn’t received much formal education, she had managed to escape from a terrible family background, found someone to rely on, and had enjoyed several comfortable years in the troupe. This showed that she wasn’t foolish. It was just that this past year had been too easy, and she had become a little complacent. That was why she had been brought back to reality so harshly.

When she heard Zhao Meihua’s suggestion, for a moment, she was tempted, but she quickly came to her senses. She knew she couldn’t afford to offend Cang Ling. If she acted against Cang Ling’s wife, her fate would be even worse.

“Tsk, turns out you’re from a lowly background. You think you’ll get away with nothing? My uncle is a regiment commander. If you listen to me, even if you can’t stay here, I can help you find somewhere else good… think it over.”

…

“How is it?” Cang Ling’s attention was mostly on his wife, as the performances on stage were nothing new to him after all these years.

Xue Miaoyun nodded, “I like it, it’s very beautiful.”

It truly has a distinct sense of the times.

Seeing his wife enjoying the performance, Cang Ling thought to himself that maybe he should have the troupe stay a little longer.

After all, this was probably their last stop.

“…Next, please welcome the military wives representative, Comrade Xue Miaoyun, to the stage for a performance.”

Hmm, did she just hear something familiar?

Xue Miaoyun suddenly looked up, gazing at the stage, where a strange female host was looking at her with a provocative gaze.

Was she looking at me?

Everyone in the audience started turning their attention to Xue Miaoyun, those who knew her name looking directly at her.

At the back, An Xiaoxiao looked anxious. “What’s going on? Why is there a military wife performance? Why didn’t I know about this?”

“It used to happen, but it stopped a few years ago. We can’t compare to the women from the troupe. It would embarrass our husbands, so no one wanted to…” An older military wife next to her spoke with a dissatisfied tone.