Chapter 52.1

For breakfast, Jiang Suihan didn’t make anything too complicated. She simply boiled some noodles, adding a few slices of cured meat, a fried egg, and some green vegetables. The steaming noodles smelled wonderful.

The sky was still not fully bright. She could see the moon and stars when she looked up.

Jiang Suihan sat beside him, resting her right hand on her chin as she watched him eat, “Is it good?”

She was usually a late riser, and getting up early to cook for him made Xu Zhao feel a bit touched, “It’s very good.”

With meat and vegetables, and just plain noodles, the taste is bound to be good no matter how it’s prepared.

The effort was not in vain. Jiang Suihan was very pleased and wasn’t too tired, so she sat by his side, keeping him company.

Xu Zhao crushed the egg with chopsticks and held it up to her mouth. Jiang Suihan glanced at him and opened her mouth to take a bite.

“How is it?”

No matter what, she had to say it was good since she made it herself, and besides, it did taste quite nice.

“It’s good. You eat quickly and don’t worry about me. I’ll eat when I get hungry,” Jiang Suihan said, then asked, “Do you want me to prepare some food for you to take with you?”

She had asked him about this last night, but he said it wasn’t necessary. Now she asked again.

Xu Zhao placed a few more noodles on her plate. “Don’t worry. It’s just a mission, I won’t go hungry.”

So, he ate the noodles while she occasionally fed him a bite. They finished a big bowl of noodles together, with most of it going into Xu Zhao’s stomach.

Jiang Suihan accompanied him to the door. She had already given him her instructions last night: “Be careful, and come back safely.”

Xu Zhao glanced at her and responded with a soft “Hmm.”

After he was out of sight, Jiang Suihan turned and went back inside. It was still early, so she could catch a little more sleep.

When she woke up again, she checked the watch on the bedside table and saw that it was already past ten. Jiang Suihan lazed in bed for a while before getting up slowly.

Jiang Leyun was not home. He probably went out to play with Zhao Xiaojun.

Setting up a stool, Jiang Suihan used her free time to prepare her lesson plan, as this was her first time teaching. She wanted to avoid stumbling during class.

After half an hour of writing, she started feeling a bit bored and her concentration waned. Suddenly, she thought of Wang Lijuan.

This girl had been showing up quite frequently in her life lately. Last night, she had forgotten to ask Xu Zhao if the incident was related to him. Last time Wang Liying came to pick a fight, he found an excuse to beat up Captain Li. It is impossible for him to just let it go for as long as he protects his own people.

She had a strong premonition that even if it wasn’t Xu Zhao directly involved, it was certainly related to him.

Wang Lijuan was also in a difficult position. She couldn’t understand why the military wanted her gone. She didn’t think she had made a mistake. There were plenty of people in their commune who reported and were reported.

There had to be something wrong. She couldn’t leave the military. Otherwise, everything would be in vain.

With a sudden bang, the door was pushed open.

Wang Liying’s expression was a mix of shock, disappointment, confusion, and finally, calmness. “You should go back to our hometown.”

Wang Lijuan noticed her sister holding a brown notebook, which looked familiar. She suddenly realized something and turned to check the cloth bag on the bed. Her notebook was missing.

At that moment, she understood everything, both shocked and scared. “Sister, give me back my notebook!”

She kept praying in her mind that her sister hadn’t looked inside the notebook or seen its contents. The notebook contained all her secrets. She had bought it specifically to jot down the details of the book she dreamed about, fearing she would forget important plot points.

Unfortunately, her prayers were not answered.

Wang Liying held up the notebook with a sharp gaze. “Is what’s written here all from your imagination?”

Wang Lijuan avoided her sister’s gaze and lunged to grab the notebook, but Wang Liying was prepared and stepped back to avoid her.

“Is what’s written in the notebook something you made up yourself, or did someone tell you?” she asked again.

Wang Liying knew her younger sister had a cherished notebook, often seen writing in it and occasionally taking it out to review, always putting it back in her small bag without letting anyone see.

With all the recent events, Wang Liying’s memory of her sister had changed. She wanted to understand what had happened to her sister, so she took the opportunity to secretly look through the notebook while her sister was out.

When she opened it, she was extremely shocked. The contents were simply unbelievable.

Wang Liying looked at her sister in disbelief. “Do you know what you’re doing? It seems like you’re out of your mind. You can’t stay here anymore, you must go home.”

She didn’t believe the notebook’s contents were real, convinced that her sister had imagined them. Her sister was too infatuated with Xu Zhao, and the more she couldn’t have him, the more her mind seemed to unravel, showing signs of delusion.

At this point, there was no turning back. She was the chosen heroine, and no one could stand in the way of her good fate.

Wang Lijuan’s eyes flashed with a glimmer. Suppressing her anger, she pleaded, “Sister, please give me back my notebook. It’s very important to me.”

Wang Liying saw that her younger sister was not giving up and knew she couldn’t let her continue being willful. Otherwise, it would only lead to bigger trouble.

“No, this thing is a curse. I can’t give it to you.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she forcefully tore the notebook in half, then shredded it, again and again.

Wang Lijuan was horrified and shouted, rushing forward to stop her. “Sister, what are you doing! Stop it! This is mine, you can’t tear it up.”

But the notebook was in Wang Liying’s hands, and she wasn’t as strong as her sister. In the end, the notebook was torn into pieces, scattered all over the floor.

Wang Lijuan fell to the ground, glaring angrily at Wang Liying. “Give me back my notebook!”

It was all destroyed. What was she going to do now!?

She desperately tried to recall the content from the book but found it increasingly blurry. Fear and helplessness surged within her.

Wang Lijuan knelt on the floor, trying to pick up the scraps of paper, muttering, “I’ll piece it together. I want to be the commander’s wife. The commander’s wife is mine.”

Wang Liying was stunned. Was she crazy!?

She tried to pull her up but was pushed away by Wang Lijuan. “Don’t bother me!”

As she walked out and closed the door, Wang Liying still heard her younger sister’s frantic muttering echoing in her ears. Leaning against the wall, she couldn’t help but cover her face, feeling helpless and distressed. She really wanted to consult Li Hongjun about what to do.

However, she knew very well that she couldn’t let Li Hongjun know that there was a lunatic in the family. She had to keep it a secret.

She had heard of a condition called mental illness before, and her sister’s current state seemed quite similar. The only solution was to get her back to their hometown as soon as possible.

For now, the only option was to keep her locked up at home, watch her, and make sure she didn’t go looking for Xu Zhao and Jiang Suihan.

Jiang Suihan was completely unaware of this. When Xu Zhao wasn’t around at night, she felt a bit uncomfortable and tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

She got up early, had breakfast, and took Jiang Leyun to school. It was the first day of school, and families with children flocked to the school to register them.

Jiang Leyun didn’t want to go to the first grade. He felt that he had already been to the first grade, although only for half a semester, but there was no need to waste time and money to go again.

In the little one’s view, first grade was for little kids, and he was a big kid who should be in second grade.

Jiang Suihan was thoroughly annoyed by his incessant complaints. The kid’s constant chatter was exhausting to listen to.

“Stop. I can agree to it, but you have to agree to one thing too, or it’s off the table.”

His sister finally relented, and his constant nagging had almost worn her down.

When Jiang Leyun heard that a deal could be reached, he quickly nodded and said without hesitation, “Okay, no problem.”

Without even hearing what the condition was, he agreed impulsively. Jiang Suihan was suddenly worried about her brother’s intelligence.

“Let me be clear. You can move up to second grade, but there’s a condition. If you fall behind in your coursework or your exam scores are below 80, you’ll have to go back and repeat first grade. Can you agree to that?”

Jiang Leyun was taken aback by the challenge. He felt that his sister was underestimating him and, with confidence, said, “Just wait and see. I won’t disappoint you.”

Jiang Suihan raised her hand: “It’s a deal then.”

Jiang Leyun felt respected: “It’s a deal.”

They high-fived, both satisfied.

Jiang Suihan smiled, thinking that her little trick had worked on him.

At the school, many parents were already there with their children for registration. The scene was noisy, and Principal Cai had set up a table at the front to collect fees and handle registrations.

Seeing Jiang Suihan, Principal Cai said, “You’re here. Help me maintain some order.”

Jiang Suihan had to ask Jiang Leyun to wait on the side and quickly got to work. Fortunately, everyone was relatively cooperative and followed instructions to line up.

Zhao Xiaojun ran over excitedly, “I spotted you right away! Let’s go play over there.”

He had arrived earlier than Jiang Leyun and, being a curious child, was eager to explore the new school and show his new friend around.

Jiang Suihan took a moment to remind him, “Don’t wander too far. Remember to come back later.”

Jiang Leyun ran off without looking back, “Got it.”

After the initial rush, the crowd had thinned out a bit, allowing Jiang Suihan to take a break and drink some water. The constant noise had made her ears ring, and she was parched from answering parents’ questions.

Principal Cai came over to ask, “How’s it going? Any issues?”

She had gone to handle some tasks in the back earlier and had left the registration work to Jiang Suihan, thinking the young girl might struggle with it due to lack of experience and shyness. However, seeing how things were going now, it seemed fine.

Jiang Suihan turned the registration book towards Principal Cai and said, “Everything’s fine. The names are all here. There was one parent who complained that their family couldn’t afford the tuition.”

Principal Cai raised an eyebrow, “What did you tell them?”

Jiang Suihan looked innocent and kind, “I told her that if she couldn’t afford it, she could borrow the money. I asked for her son’s name, which group he was in, and who the leader was. If her family was truly in hardship, I’d make an effort to help by personally asking her son’s leader for a loan. No matter how hard it is, we can’t let children go without education. After that, she changed her mind and paid the tuition.”