Chapter 22: Did Captain Rong Bring Home His Ugly Wife?

The car had been driving for over an hour. Although it was already dark, faint streetlights were still visible through the window. The surroundings grew increasingly remote—there wasn’t a single house in sight for quite some time.

It wasn’t until shadows of buildings began to reappear that Ye Muqi figured they were close, so she started gathering her things.

Lin Zihua drove the car straight into the military family compound. Curious, Ye Muqi peered out the window.

She immediately spotted a large iron gate, and next to it was a small pavilion with lights on—someone was inside, on duty.

Seeing the car approach, the person on duty quickly grabbed the keys and came over to open the gate, allowing them to enter.

Ye Muqi then noticed a smaller door near the pavilion—likely the usual entrance for people. The large gate must only be opened when vehicles come through.

Beyond the gate was a spacious courtyard. A section had been set aside for a grassy area, with flowers planted—nicely maintained and quite pleasant.

Further in stood several dormitory buildings, each five stories high. Unlike the small apartment blocks in Ye’s hometown, these buildings had staircases on either end. From one glance, you could see rows of doors lined up along long corridors.

Lights had been installed in the corridors—dim but still sufficient to see the unit numbers on the doors.

Despite the late hour, some residents were still sitting in the yard cooling off. When they saw a military vehicle pull in, they all looked over.

This was the family compound of the military district, and not everyone could use military vehicles. Though they were occasionally seen, everyone was obviously more curious about who was riding in this one.

Lin Zihua parked the car in front of one of the dorm buildings. Ye Muqi had already organized the few bags she’d brought onto the car.

They had eaten most of the fruit she’d brought, and with only a little left, Ye Muqi simply packed it into one bag. She used another bag to collect the trash.

Once she had all her belongings, Ye Muqi followed Rong Jingchen out of the car. Lin Zihua also turned off the engine and got out.

“Captain, let me help carry your things.” Lin Zihua headed straight to the trunk, preparing to grab the massive suitcase that Rong Jingchen was reaching for.

“No need,” Rong Jingchen said, lifting the large suitcase in one hand and grabbing his black backpack in the other.

Did he look so weak that he couldn’t carry a suitcase?

Besides, why should another man help carry his wife’s luggage?

“Uh…” Lin Zihua scratched his head. “I just thought you must be tired after that long train ride.”

“It’s just a few steps.”

Alright then!

The Captain was as cold and aloof as ever.

Rong Jingchen carried the luggage and headed upstairs.

“Thanks for picking us up today. Sorry for the trouble,” Ye Muqi said, stepping up to thank Lin Zihua, who looked a bit awkward as he came around from the back of the car.

The remaining fruit didn’t seem appropriate to give away, so she instead handed him a bag of sunflower seeds she’d taken from her space earlier to kill time on the journey—but she’d fallen asleep and hadn’t eaten them.

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“…” That title sounded a little strange. “Well, it’s late already. You two should head back and get some rest.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Wow—

The Captain’s wife is so friendly!

Ye Muqi waved at them and then hurried to catch up with Rong Jingchen, who had already reached the stairwell.

As soon as she entered the stairwell, she saw Rong Jingchen standing inside, clearly waiting for her.

The people who had been lounging downstairs had now clearly seen who got out of the car—Rong Jingchen. His back, his build—no mistake about it. But the woman with him… well, they could only tell she was a woman.

“She went upstairs with Captain Rong,” a few of them whispered, gossiping among themselves.

“Didn’t he get married? Could that be his ugly wife?” Seeing only that Ye Muqi was female, they speculated.

“Must be. He didn’t even talk to her—just carried the luggage and went straight up.”

They murmured on, and by tomorrow, word would likely spread through the entire compound that Captain Rong had brought back his “ugly wife.”

…

“Our Captain’s wife is so nice—not only is she pretty, she’s generous too.” Lin Zihua handed the sunflower seeds Ye Muqi had given him to Yin Daquan in the passenger seat and got ready to drive off.

Yin Daquan nodded and stored the seeds, planning to share them with the other guys later.

“I need to tell everyone that the Captain’s wife is a little fairy—not some hideous hag like they say!”

Who could bear to call such a delicate little beauty a monster?

Ye Muqi followed Rong Jingchen to the fourth floor. He opened a door and carried the luggage inside.

The house wasn’t decorated—plain and simple, with only the most basic furniture. It was clear that this place wasn’t lived in often, but it was clean and tidy.

The layout was small: one living room, one kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bathroom.

The living room had only a table and chairs—no TV or coffee table. It looked more like a dining area. It was easy to tell Rong Jingchen didn’t spend much time here.

That gave Ye Muqi some peace of mind. If Rong Jingchen wasn’t home much during the day, she’d have more freedom to start building her path to wealth!

“No spare slippers,” Rong Jingchen said, looking around for shoes for her, but clearly not finding any.

Not only was the place rarely used, it seemed he’d never had guests here either.

“I’ve got some in my suitcase—my mom packed them for me,” Ye Muqi said as she kicked off her shoes and walked barefoot inside, heading toward her luggage.

She used to think her mom, Xia Ying, packed too much, but now she was kind of thankful.

Moms always know best!

“Huh? Where’s my suitcase?” she asked, puzzled.

She’d seen Rong Jingchen carry it in, so where did it go while she was just glancing around the house?

It was a huge suitcase—hard to miss.

“At the master bedroom door,” Rong Jingchen said, eyes fixed on her bare feet. He pointed in that direction.

Then, he took off his own slippers and placed them in front of her. “The floor’s cold. You wear mine first.”

Rong Jingchen thought, since they were already legally married and had agreed to live properly as husband and wife, it was only natural to put her suitcase in the master bedroom.

“It’s fine, you wear them. It’s just a few steps.” Ye Muqi didn’t take his slippers and casually walked over to her suitcase by the master bedroom door.

Thankfully, the floor was wooden, not tiled, or it would’ve been freezing.

She looked between the two bedrooms—one clearly filled with Rong Jingchen’s belongings, the other completely empty.

She figured it wouldn’t be right to take over the master bedroom on her first night and kick him into the smaller room. So, she dragged her suitcase over to the guest room.

Once inside, she opened the suitcase and pulled out her new slippers to put on.