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Su Wenyen’s words made everyone at the dining table pause.
Everyone knew that Li Xia had been married for years without relocating to live with her husband on base. People had talked about it before. But now that she was finally here, who would still bring it up? And to ask her directly, right to her face—wasn’t that just being tactless?
Su Wenbin glanced at Su Wenyen, his brows furrowing.
He had thought that after everything their family had been through, his younger sister had matured. Yet here she was, asking Li Xia such a question in front of so many people.
There had already been plenty of rumors about this in the army. No one really knew what had happened, but they didn’t dare to ask carelessly.
Now that Li Xia had come for Military Family Relocation, as long as she and her husband lived well together, that was all that mattered.
But what if the rumors were true? What if there had indeed been some conflict between the couple in the past? If Su Wenyen brought it up like this and ended up stirring trouble between them, what then?
Before Su Wenbin could speak, Gu Weicheng’s face already turned cold. He said, “Commander Su’s sister seems quite interested in other people’s family matters.”
Su Wenyen shrank back slightly, biting her lip in discomfort as she murmured, “I’m sorry. It’s just that I see how affectionate Commander Gu and Sister Li are, nothing like the rumors I’ve heard. So, I was just curious. Sister Li, you won’t be upset with me, will you? I didn’t mean any harm.”
Su Wenbin quickly added, “Wenyen is still young. She just got here and heard people talking, so she got curious and asked too many questions.
“Xiao Gu, sister-in-law, please don’t take it to heart. Today is a happy occasion—let me offer you both a toast.”
As he spoke, he raised his glass.
Gu Weicheng’s expression did not soften, nor did he respond.
Seeing this, Su Wenbin stood up and offered a toast directly to Gu Weicheng. After all, they had been comrades for years. Seeing Su Wenbin’s gesture, Gu Weicheng finally raised his glass and clinked it with his.
Su Wenyen’s sudden question made Li Xia understand—the female lead still wasn’t giving up so easily.
She valued deep emotions, and in her previous life, she had lived past forty. Li Xia didn’t believe that someone who had lived for over forty years wouldn’t know which questions should and shouldn’t be asked.
There was only one possibility—she had done it on purpose.
Su Wenyen knew exactly why the original her had not come to live with the military before. She had deliberately asked this question to put her in a difficult position.
Of course, Li Xia wasn’t foolish enough to tell everyone the truth—that her marriage to Gu Weicheng wasn’t based on love, but rather an accident that had forced them to get married. That she hadn’t followed him to the military base because there was no real relationship between them.
Instead, she smiled and said, “Commander Su, you must be joking. How could Weicheng and I be upset over something like this? I know that many people have been curious about why I never joined him all these years. Since we’re all gathered here today, it’s a good opportunity to clear things up and prevent any further misunderstandings.”
“The reason I didn’t come to live with the military these past few years was that my health wasn’t in good condition after giving birth. Traveling long distances was inconvenient, so I waited until I had fully recovered before bringing our child here,” Li Xia explained with a calm smile.
“As for why Weicheng never took family visit leave to return home and see me and the child all these years, that was my decision—I asked him not to.”
She paused, then continued, “I don’t mind sharing the truth with everyone. My parents passed away early, and I was raised by my uncle and aunt. Their personalities… well, as their junior, it’s not my place to criticize them, but let’s just say that if Weicheng had gone back, they would’ve definitely pestered him to arrange jobs for one person and provide financial support for another. I didn’t want to put him in a difficult position, so I simply told him not to return. I figured that once I was in good health, I could come to the army base instead, and our family would be reunited.”
She glanced around the table before adding, “I know there has been plenty of speculations over the years about why I never joined him, and some even said that Weicheng and I had a strained relationship. But none of that is true. Weicheng and I are doing very well.”
After finishing her words, Li Xia turned to look at Gu Weicheng.
Gu Weicheng gazed at her with gentle eyes.
Her explanation was flawless—airtight, with perfect logic—leaving no room for anyone to find fault.
This was exactly the response Li Xia had prepared in advance, just in case someone tried to stir up trouble.
Since Su Wenyen wanted to embarrass her, Li Xia seized the opportunity to clear up all the rumors once and for all.
“So that’s how it is,” Sister-in-law Tao said, nodding in understanding. “Little Li, you did the right thing. But it must have been hard on you all these years, raising a child alone. You must have suffered a lot.”
“No wonder you and Xiao Gu have such a strong relationship. The two of you are so loving toward each other,” she added with a smile. “Before, there were people in the military camp gossiping, saying that if you hadn’t come to live with the military for so many years, it must mean either that you and Commander Gu didn’t have a good relationship, or that you looked…”
“Sigh, looking as beautiful as you do, the only explanation left would have been a lack of affection,” Sister-in-law Tao chuckled. “But even then, I found it strange. You two don’t seem like a couple lacking in love at all! In fact, I’ve never seen a more affectionate pair than you. Now everything finally makes sense!”
That’s not true at all!
Su Wenyen screamed internally. What Li Xia just said was completely different from what she had learned in her past life!
In her previous life, Li Xia had never come to live with the military because she and Gu Weicheng had no real feelings for each other. Not only that, but she had even been unfaithful—her lover was none other than Zhou Qingshan!
But she couldn’t say that out loud.
No matter how foolish she was, Su Wenyen understood the consequences of saying such things.
But where was Zhou Qingshan? Hadn’t he promised to handle this matter flawlessly?
Yet from the looks of it, Gu Weicheng seemed completely unaware of Li Xia’s supposed affair.
The more Su Wenyen thought about how Gu Weicheng was utterly in the dark, deceived by Li Xia, the more her heart ached for him.
She had to find a way to make Gu Weicheng see what kind of person Li Xia truly was!
Hu Songlin glanced at Su Wenyen and suddenly lost interest.
He had once found this beautiful female comrade somewhat attractive, but after witnessing her blatant lack of boundaries while questioning Li Xia, that feeling vanished in an instant.
When looking for a partner, he valued character above all else. In the past, during matchmaking sessions with the Cultural Troupe, he had met a few women he found appealing, but if their character was lacking, he had always walked away.
He was cautious about relationships and even more so about marriage. Otherwise, given his qualifications, he wouldn’t still be single at this age.
Now that even the slightest bit of admiration had disappeared, he had no intention of pursuing this any further.
By the time the meal was finished, all the dishes Li Xia had prepared were gone, while a significant portion of Su Wenyen’s dish remained untouched.
Everyone politely said it was because it looked too exquisite to eat, but deep down, they all knew the real reason.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, everyone was full and gradually dispersed.
Li Xia set aside some food in a lunchbox, which she had prepared in advance, and handed it to Gu Weicheng.
“Weicheng, I saved this specifically for Xiao Li. While you were away on your mission, he took good care of us. Take this to him so he can have a taste.”
“You’re always so considerate,” Gu Weicheng praised.
Seeing the mess on the table, he added, “I’ll take this over to Xiao Li first. You’ve worked hard cooking today—get some rest. Leave everything here, I’ll clean up later.”
Li Xia wasn’t fond of washing dishes, and since Gu Weicheng took the initiative to do it, she had no objections.
…
Lying on the bed, she thought about Su Wenyen and sighed. It seemed the female lead wasn’t going to give up so easily.
If that was the case, so be it.
She had no interest in competing with another woman, but if Su Wenyen insisted on causing trouble, she wouldn’t just sit back and take it.
Gu Weicheng returned shortly after. Seeing Li Xia sighing on the bed, he asked, “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Do you want me to give you a massage?”
Li Xia turned over and looked at him. After a moment of hesitation, she asked, “What do you think of Su Wenyen?”
She didn’t want to admit it, but recalling the events of the original storyline, she couldn’t help but feel a bit sour in her heart.
Gu Weicheng couldn’t quite tell what was on Li Xia’s mind and was momentarily stunned by the question. “What do you mean?”
Li Xia asked, “I mean, do you think she’s good-looking?”
Gu Weicheng thought for a moment before replying, “I haven’t really looked at her closely, but I think she doesn’t seem very smart.”
“She couldn’t even recognize a human trafficker on the train and nearly got kidnapped just because she ate something from a stranger. Even An An was more cautious than that. And today, asking you that kind of question in front of so many people—what business does she have poking into other people’s marriages? Good thing you handled it well. If she were my younger sister, I’d definitely give her a proper talking-to.”
“Why do you suddenly ask me this?”