Chapter 24

The soft and smooth sensation from his palm made Cheng Jingmo’s entire arm feel tingly and numb. He wanted to pull his hand back, but Yu Xiangnian only held on tighter.

“Hold on tight!” She interlocked her fingers with his, their hands now tightly clasped together.

Cheng Jingmo had never held anyone’s hand before. The unfamiliar feeling of Yu Xiangnian’s grip made his whole body tense up. Even more, Yu Xiangnian started swinging their joined hands back and forth, like two children happily going to buy candy. Cheng Jingmo’s ears turned red with embarrassment, and he barely dared to breathe.

Yu Xiangnian, oblivious to Cheng Jingmo’s discomfort, only wanted to assert her claim in front of Wu Xiaomin.

Cheng Jingmo was her husband now, and Wu Xiaomin had the audacity to secretly ask to meet him. It was outrageous!

As they approached, they indeed saw Wu Xiaomin standing in a corner by the gate.

“Deputy Commander Cheng!” Wu Xiaomin’s face lit up when she saw Cheng Jingmo. But then she noticed Yu Xiangnian beside him, and her smile froze. “Comrade Yu.”

The two walked over, and Cheng Jingmo, in his usual unchanging tone, asked, “Comrade Wu, what do you need?”

Wu Xiaomin’s eyes lingered on their clasped hands. After a moment, she said, “I’m here to tell you that I heard from my uncle that your case will be reported to the higher-ups for a decision.”

She had specifically gone to her uncle Su Mingliang’s house to find out and had rushed over to tell Cheng Jingmo as soon as she got the news.

However, Cheng Jingmo didn’t seem as pleased as she had hoped.

This was actually within Cheng Jingmo’s expectations. He nodded politely and said, “Thank you, Comrade Wu.”

Knowing that Cheng Jingmo was not one to easily show his emotions, Wu Xiaomin continued, “I’ll keep asking my uncle about it. If there’s any new information, I’ll let you know immediately.”

Just as Cheng Jingmo was about to say there was no need, Yu Xiangnian couldn’t hold back any longer. “Comrade Wu, thank you, but that won’t be necessary!”

Wu Xiaomin’s expression fell, her tone now carrying a hint of grievance. “Comrade Yu, don’t misunderstand. I mean no harm. Deputy Commander Cheng and I are just ordinary friends. As a friend, I don’t want him to have any trouble.”

Ha! Yu Xiangnian had seen plenty of women acting innocent, but now someone was actually performing in front of her!

Maybe she really was that type of woman!

Regardless of whether she was genuine or not, Yu Xiangnian would deal with her the same way. She curved her lips into a smile, “Comrade Wu, what do you hope I’ll misunderstand? Or are you the one misunderstanding?”

Wu Xiaomin looked confused. “What did I misunderstand?”

Yu Xiangnian’s tone turned firm. “You misunderstood your position! Cheng Jingmo is my husband. Whether he has trouble or not, it’s not your place to meddle! To put it bluntly, understand your role—you have no right to concern yourself with Cheng Jingmo!”

Wu Xiaomin was stunned. She hadn’t expected Yu Xiangnian to speak so sharply today. The previous times, she had been all fake politeness.

“And stop meeting him privately! You may not care about your reputation, but Cheng Jingmo is a soldier—his conduct must remain beyond reproach!”

With that, she pulled Cheng Jingmo by the hand. “Let’s go home!”

Wu Xiaomin watched their retreating figures, fuming with rage.

Why wasn’t this going as she had planned?

In her memory, hadn’t Yu Xiangnian divorced Cheng Jingmo because she had cheated? And Cheng Jingmo didn’t receive any punishment for this incident, did he?

Where did things go wrong?

But regardless of what unexpected turns occurred, she was determined to secure Cheng Jingmo in this lifetime.

Having been given a second chance, she would never again live the way she did before. She was going to be the wife of the Commander-in-Chief, admired by everyone.

Cheng Jingmo, pulled along by Yu Xiangnian, was dazed.

They walked quite a distance before Yu Xiangnian finally let go of his hand, shaking off the sweat with a look of disgust. “Why is your hand so sweaty?”

Cheng Jingmo felt a cool sensation in his palm, and the stiffness in his arm slowly subsided, bringing him back to his senses.

“Comrade Yu Xiangnian, your words just now were a bit too much. Comrade Wu was just being kind.”

Kind, my foot! More like selfish! She just wants to rekindle things with Cheng Jingmo!

Besides, what good would her supposed kindness do? It can’t change the military’s decision.

Yu Xiangnian detested people who could only put on a show of kindness without being able to actually help.

She knew that Cheng Jingmo, the straightforward guy that he was, fell for that kind of fake innocence and felt sorry for women like Wu Xiaomin.

However, considering that Cheng Jingmo hadn’t contradicted her in front of Wu Xiaomin and had held her hand obediently, Yu Xiangnian decided to be direct.

“Cheng Jingmo, if you want to care for her, do it after we get divorced. But until then, if she comes to you again, I’ll deal with her again! So, if you want to protect her, keep your distance from her!”

Cheng Jingmo lowered his gaze and didn’t say anything.

When they got home, Yu Xiangnian took a shower and then applied Cheng Jingmo’s medication again.

Both of them felt uncomfortable after what had happened, so they didn’t talk. After finishing with the medication, they went to their separate rooms.

The next morning, they had breakfast separately and then went to work.

Yu Xiangnian spent most of the morning in her office, enjoying a rare quiet day without interruptions from Ding Yunfei and Bai Mei.

At the military hospital.

Ding Yunfei lay on the hospital bed, his face pale, an IV in his hand. He had just dozed off when Bai Mei burst in, full of anxiety.

“Ding Yunfei, are you feeling better?”

Ding Yunfei, who had been up all night, was already irritable. Being woken up just as he was falling asleep made his temper flare. “Bai Mei, why the hell didn’t you just poison me?”

He had been having diarrhea since last night, over twenty times in total, until he was dehydrated and couldn’t get up from the toilet. It was only this morning that his comrades found him and took him to the hospital.

The doctor said he had eaten something wrong, but his diet had been normal the previous day. It immediately occurred to him that the sugar water was the problem.

Bai Mei stood at the bedside, both aggrieved and scared. “That sugar water was meant for Yu Xiangnian. How was I supposed to know you’d drink it?”

Ding Yunfei’s anger flared even more. “I’m starting to realize just how malicious you are! Yu Xiangnian always looks out for you, and you repay her by trying to harm her! This is what they mean by good people getting good karma—fate is protecting her!”

He, a robust man, was brought to this state. He couldn’t imagine what would have happened if Yu Xiangnian had drunk that water. She would have been in even worse shape!

Bai Mei, filled with resentment, said, “She made me have diarrhea for a whole day, and she’s the reason we always argue. You promised me you’d marry me, but you’re getting nicer to her every day. It makes me uncomfortable!”

Ding Yunfei took a deep breath, his patience wearing thin. “Bai Mei, did all those things I told you before mean nothing? Why do you think I said them? For what? And what if someone else had drunk that water? Do you realize the consequences if it were investigated?”

Bai Mei, feeling both guilty and scared, said, “Then you better not be nice to her anymore! Or I’ll tell my uncle you’re stringing both of us along!”

Ding Yunfei closed his eyes, dismissing her with, “Got it, got it. Let me sleep for a bit.”