Huo Qingshan turned around and cast a cold glance at Feng Shunhua. His injury during the mission was classified and had not been made public.

How did Feng Shunhua know? Did Political Commissar Yan Jianzhang talk about everything at home?

Feng Shunhua met Huo Qingshan’s gaze and panicked. She had forgotten that the matter was still confidential.

It had happened in her past life. After Xu Suining died, she visited her sister’s home, and her sister mentioned that Huo Qingshan’s wife had been outrageous—she ran off while he was on a mission. Even though he was seriously injured, he had gone out to look for her.

She had just calculated the timeline and realized it must be now. Upset that Huo Qingshan treated Xu Suining so well, she blurted it out.

She had forgotten that this matter was still classified. Even her sister Feng Chunhua didn’t know about it.

Feng Shunhua fumbled for an explanation, but before she could say anything, Huo Qingshan turned his head away.

Xu Suining, however, picked up on something in that brief moment. She remembered reading this novel back in college. At the time, she’d only skimmed through it because the deceased first wife shared her name, and she’d forgotten many of the details.

She remembered that the Special Operations Regiment Huo Qingshan belonged to was tasked with classified missions. Any mission that required the personal involvement of the regimental commander was a highly sensitive one.

That meant his injury was still under wraps.

It seemed the reborn Feng Shunhua wasn’t very smart. Didn’t she realize that speaking like this could get her arrested as a spy?

Thanks to Feng Shunhua’s comment, no one said another word during the ride back.

As the car drove farther, the surroundings became more desolate. On either side of the road lay untouched land.

There were few signs of life, just wild grass spreading across the fields.

After crossing a ridge, they finally saw scattered households in the distance.

The troops were stationed a few miles from the village, nestled at the foot of a mountain.

The military base was large, housing an entire division. Since the army hadn’t yet been downsized, this was equivalent to the strength of three or four divisions in later years.

Huo Qingshan’s Special Operations Regiment was based in the northwest corner of the compound, set apart from the rest.

The regiment’s family quarters were located just outside the base, tucked into a corner. A few rows of single-story houses stood there, with two rooms per household. Each home had a small yard of about four or five square meters, fenced off with wooden pickets, and a makeshift kitchen built alongside.

In warm weather, everyone cooked outside.

As they arrived at the entrance of the family quarters, several women were already waiting.

The moment Huo Qingshan got out of the car, they rushed over.

“Commander Huo, did you find Xiao Xu?”

“Don’t be mad. Maybe she just went out for a walk.”

None of them even glanced inside the car.

Xu Suining stepped out amid their chatter.

When the women saw her, their tone cooled considerably.

“Oh, you found her? That’s good. As long as she’s safe.”

They were much more enthusiastic toward Feng Shunhua.

“You went to town too, Shunhua? We should’ve asked you to bring a few things back.”

“That’s right. You can’t even buy sugar in town these days, and we can’t use our ration coupons anywhere.”

Feng Shunhua smiled sweetly and responded to each person with patience, calling them “sister-in-law.”

Xu Suining stood quietly to the side, observing. She recognized all these people. The original host had known their names too but had always looked down on them and never socialized.

The one talking to Huo Qingshan was Feng Shunhua’s older sister, Feng Chunhua. In her thirties, she had a neat ear-length haircut and looked capable and efficient.

Perhaps because of her role as the original female lead, Feng Chunhua had ordinary features and dark skin. Her younger sister, Feng Shunhua, had grown up in the countryside doing manual labor from a young age. Despite that, her skin was fair with a rosy glow, and she had delicate eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes.

Feng Chunhua asked Huo Qingshan a few more questions before finally turning to Xu Suining.

She smiled and said, “Xiao Xu, you’re back? Next time, don’t be so reckless. What if something happens? What about the baby you’re carrying?”

Xu Suining easily picked up on the hidden disdain in her tone but responded with a polite smile.

“Thank you for your concern, sister-in-law. I’ll be more careful next time.”

Her respectful and courteous reply caught Feng Chunhua off guard. She hadn’t expected Xu Suining to speak to her kindly.

Feng Chunhua had always disapproved of Huo Qingshan’s choice of wife. In her eyes, Xu Suining was delicate and pretentious, always acting like some tragic heroine. She couldn’t understand what Huo Qingshan saw in her.

Because he was present, Feng Chunhua didn’t say anything further. She turned to him with a smile.

“My husband said you were coming back today, so I made some food. Why don’t you come to our place for dinner?”

Huo Qingshan had been planning to talk to Yan Jianzhang anyway. A seasoned political officer shouldn’t have made such a serious mistake by revealing confidential information at home.

He nodded. “Thank you. We’ll take you up on that.”

Feng Chunhua beamed. “It’s no trouble at all.”

She looked at Xu Suining. “You should come too, Xiao Xu.”

Xu Suining knew full well the invitation wasn’t sincere. When the original host first arrived, Feng Chunhua had tried to be friendly and brought food over twice. The original host had thanked her coldly and then dumped the food straight into the trash—white noodles, no less. Food was precious in those days, and even Feng Chunhua rarely ate white flour herself. After that, she never approached the original host again.

The original host had never cared. She had looked down on everyone in the compound equally.

Xu Suining sighed inwardly. She definitely couldn’t go to that dinner.

“I’m not feeling well. I’ll stay home and rest.”

Feng Chunhua was more than happy to hear that and didn’t bother to be polite.

“Pregnancy is tough. Get some rest. I’ll have Shunhua bring you something later.”

Xu Suining gave her a small smile. “Thank you, sister-in-law.”

Huo Qingshan glanced at Xu Suining. Although her attitude had improved a lot, she still didn’t like these country folks and clearly wasn’t planning to go to Feng Chunhua’s house for dinner.

He silently turned and went to the trunk to get the luggage.

The soldier driving the car quickly stepped forward and grabbed the bedding.

“Commander Huo, I’ll take this inside for you.”

Feng Shunhua also walked over enthusiastically to help. But as she passed Xu Suining, she suddenly twisted her ankle and stumbled toward her.

In the confusion, she yanked off the scarf around Xu Suining’s neck.

Xu Suining had instinctively stepped back, thinking Feng Shunhua was about to fall and might try to drag her down. She hadn’t expected the real target to be the scarf.

She sneered inwardly. So Feng Shunhua was quite crafty after all.

Feng Shunhua quickly steadied herself, clutching the scarf with an apologetic look.

“Sister-in-law, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

But her eyes were filled with spite. She had seen the shameless marks on Xu Suining’s neck at the hospital. 

Now, with so many people around in the compound, if she exposed Xu Suining for eloping and fooling around with another man, she’d lose all face here.

Xu Suining could guess exactly what Feng Shunhua was trying to do. She looked at her calmly.

“It’s fine.”

Feng Shunhua smiled and was about to speak again when her eyes locked onto Xu Suining’s neck. She cried out in shock.

“Sister-in-law, your neck… what happened to your neck? Why are there so many red marks?”