Chapter 48.2

To be honest, she envies Xiao Jiang a bit. Xiao Jiang married such a good man, Xu Zhao, who helps with housework and doesn’t mind being seen doing so. Xiao Jiang can wake up whenever she wants and has passed the exam to become a teacher at the military primary school. She’ll soon have a formal job with a regular salary.

Some people are just born to be envied.

Jiang Suihan returned the favor: “By the way, sister-in-law, we bought a sewing machine for the house. Once we get the fabric, you should come over and try it out. It’s very convenient. Making a piece of clothing is much faster than doing it by hand, which saves a lot of time.”

Yesterday, Wang Dahe drove the car right up to the door, and since it was late and everyone was busy making dinner, not many people knew about the sewing machine purchase at the Xu household.

“It’s great that you bought a sewing machine,” Wu Guihua said with surprise, her tone showing some envy. “Alright, I won’t be polite. Once we buy the fabric tomorrow, I’ll give it a try and see if the machine makes the clothes faster and better.”

The village head’s family also has a sewing machine—it was a dowry gift from his eldest daughter-in-law. They treasure it so much that they don’t let anyone touch it and are very careful with it, afraid of breaking it.

Wu Guihua sighed silently, reflecting on how people can be so enviable. Just look at Xiao Jiang’s current life. Who knows how many people in the family compound are green with envy. Who would have thought that Xu Zhao would be so devoted to his wife after marriage?

As the two were talking, hurried footsteps approached.

Jiang Suihan looked up to see the Wang sisters storming in angrily.

She remained calm and composed on her stool. “Is something wrong?”

Wang Lijuan glared at Jiang Suihan, feeling furious about what had just happened.

Her name was not on the notice. She didn’t pass, but Jiang Suihan did, placed prominently at the top, which was like a stab to her eyes.

Unable to suppress her frustration, she nearly caused a scene, but fortunately, her elder sister stopped her in time. Back at home, she grew more and more agitated, convinced that Principal Cai and Jiang Suihan must know each other and that Principal Cai had leaked the exam questions to her.

She had always performed well in school. Teachers said she was smart, but she didn’t focus on her studies. She had studied obsessively for this exam, but still failed.

How could this be!?

Wang Lijuan couldn’t believe she failed despite her abilities. In her mind, she should have passed. This wasn’t right.

She wasn’t going to swallow this grievance quietly and convinced her second sister to go with her to demand an explanation from Principal Cai.

When Principal Cai heard their intent, her face darkened immediately. “The admission list posted is approved by the organization. I don’t have that kind of power. Strictly speaking, you are not a military family member but a family member of a military family. This time, the military made an exception for you to take the exam due to the shortage of primary school teachers and the low educational level of most military families.”

She glanced at the aggrieved Wang Lijuan and continued, “I don’t know where you heard such rumors, but Comrade Jiang and I met for the first time on the day of the exam. If you have evidence that I helped her cheat, you can file a complaint with the military. As for why you’re not on the list, you should know better than anyone.”

A person of integrity has nothing to fear from her own shadow, and she is not afraid of things she has not done.

She had no patience for Wang Lijuan, who seemed to be full of schemes and lacked integrity, and she felt that such people often thought others were the same way.

The talk of behind-the-scenes manipulation is nonsense in itself. I don’t understand why Wang Lijuan would make such a fuss.

She quickly considered that Wang Lijuan might think that by causing a scene, she might give her a chance to settle things.

Wang Lijuan’s expression changed. She wanted to argue loudly but suddenly remembered that Principal Cai was Chief of Staff’s wife and someone she couldn’t afford to offend. It was better to avoid conflict.

She forced a smile and said, “Principal Cai, you misunderstood. That wasn’t my intention. My academic performance has always been good, and I’ve never failed an exam. I thought this was a sure thing, but I didn’t expect an unexpected turn. I came to ask you so I can understand where I went wrong and avoid similar situations in the future. Don’t you agree?”

This was a clever move.

The girl was quick-witted, not foolish, but why had she always done such incomprehensible things before?

Principal Cai couldn’t figure it out.

She decided to be direct with Wang Lijuan: “You and the third-place candidate had the same score, but we had to choose between the two of you. Her qualifications were more suitable.”

Wang Lijuan was not convinced: “Why can’t I be chosen? Where did I fall short?”

With the argument reaching this point, she continued to be unreasonable. Principal Cai’s patience was running thin. She said sternly, “Recently, there have been many rumors about you in the family compound. The primary school is a place for educating children, and we need people who meet all moral and professional standards.”

The implication was that her character was not up to par, which led to her rejection.

Wang Lijuan’s face twisted for a moment. Since she couldn’t get anywhere with Principal Cai, she had to think of another approach.

Wang Liying tugged at her younger sister’s sleeve, signaling her to calm down. They were here to make amends, not to cause trouble.

“Xiao Jiang, I haven’t had the chance to apologize properly with so many family matters lately. I acted impulsively last time and caused you a lot of trouble. I’ve reflected on it and my husband has scolded me severely. I’ll definitely work on changing my impulsive and reckless nature.”

Jiang Suihan replied calmly, “Sister-in-law, you’re too polite.”

Clearly, their visit was not just about apologizing. If they really wanted to apologize, they would have come earlier, not waited until now.

Seeing that Jiang Suihan remained unmoved, Wang Liying glanced at Wang Lijuan. For the sake of her younger sister’s job, she had no choice but to grit her teeth, lower her head, and speak in a gentle tone, swallowing her pride.

She forced a strained and somewhat awkward smile, “Are you unwilling to forgive me?”

Jiang Suihan looked at Wang Liying with a half-smile, “Sister-in-law, you’re overthinking it. As long as the apology is sincere, I will accept it.”

Her words clearly implied that the apology might not be genuine and seemed to be just for show.

Wang Liying’s expression stiffened for a moment. She inwardly cursed Jiang Suihan, feeling that the young woman was petty and spoke with an underlying tone. It seemed that Jiang Suihan’s attractiveness was the only thing that mattered to Xu Zhao, who was blind to her true nature. Wang Liying felt pity for her younger sister, who had lost a good match and was now in danger of losing her job as well. The Wang family and the Xu family were just incompatible.

She secretly wished that one day Jiang Suihan would be abandoned, her beauty fading with age, and that would be her downfall.

Wang Lijuan’s brow furrowed slightly as she looked at Jiang Suihan with a tearful expression, “Comrade Jiang, are you still concerned about the rumors about me and Deputy Commander Xu? Please believe me, there is nothing between us. I only wanted to apologize for my nephew. I may have spoken in haste, causing misunderstandings. You know Deputy Commander Xu; he is not that kind of person.”

Jiang Suihan frowned, sensing something off about these words. Wang Lijuan seemed to know Xu Zhao quite well?

Xu Zhao is not that kind of person, so what about her?

A young unmarried woman knowing so much about a married man and persistently urging her not to be angry with him—it felt like a direct challenge.

Jiang Suihan was now certain that Wang Lijuan harbored ill feelings towards her and had some romantic intentions towards Xu Zhao.

She inwardly complained about Xu Zhao’s irresistible charm—how could a girl who had only just arrived at the base become infatuated with him? Though this kind of infatuation wasn’t a direct threat, it was still bothersome.

“Oh, it’s no problem. Being admired is a sign of excellence. I knew this when I married Xu Zhao. You’ve apologized, and if there’s nothing else, please leave; I need to prepare lunch.”

It was still early to be making lunch, and she couldn’t find a better excuse to dismiss them.

Wang Lijuan’s expression changed slightly. Jiang Suihan was unresponsive and not accepting her excuses. The more she tried to argue, the more Jiang Suihan remained indifferent, subtly mocking her and leaving her without any solid ground to argue.

She couldn’t help but become anxious and tearfully pleaded, “Comrade Jiang, please wait a moment. You must help me. If you don’t, I really won’t be able to go on.”

Jiang Suihan looked at Wang Lijuan with a blank expression, not saying a word.

In truth, she wanted to say that whether Wang Lijuan could continue or not was none of her concern. She couldn’t handle having all these problems dumped on her.

Wang Lijuan’s eyes flashed with a glint of resentment. Despite her pleas, Jiang Suihan remained unmoved. Wang Lijuan felt cold as stone; how could someone so cold and unfeeling be a match for Xu Zhao?

Desperate to secure Jiang Suihan’s help, she needed to keep her job as a primary school teacher. Otherwise, her elder sister would definitely arrange a marriage for her. Only with a job could she justify staying at the base, and her brother-in-law wouldn’t object.

Wang Lijuan forced down her anger and put on a flattering smile, “Principal Cai was misled by the rumors and misunderstood me and Deputy Commander Xu. I was forced to cancel my exam results. Comrade Jiang, you must help me. I really need this job. Otherwise, I’ll have to return home and be forced to marry by my parents.”

Wang Liying’s eyes flickered. Her younger sister was the youngest child in the family and very pampered. While other girls in the village were getting engaged or married at seventeen or eighteen, her younger sister was almost twenty and still not married. Although their parents were anxious, they allowed her to make her own choice.

Wang Liying didn’t know why her sister said this, but it must have been for her own reasons.

Jiang Suihan pulled her hands free from Wang Lijuan’s grip, glanced at her wrists which were already red but fortunately not broken, and felt a bit of pain.

Asking for help while being so scheming was truly hopeless.

Jiang Suihan remained calm, “How do you want me to help?”