Chapter 24

“I don’t know. I heard it was arranged by the family.”

A few days after Aunt Xu said this, Zheng Rongrong came to the family compound to choose a new house. She ended up picking the one right next to Gu Nian’s.

Everyone thought she did it on purpose. There were so many vacant houses in the compound, yet she insisted on choosing the one next to Gu Nian’s.

She came with her fiancé, whom she met through a matchmaking arrangement.

“Rongrong, this house is nice. Let’s take this one.”

“Mm, let’s pick it and leave.”

But Zheng Rongrong didn’t care about the house itself—she just wanted to move next door to irritate Gu Nian.

Zheng Rongrong’s wedding was grand, and everyone in the compound attended to show respect to Commander Zheng.

It was only at the wedding that people found out her husband was actually a live-in son-in-law who would be staying in the military district permanently.

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, three months had gone by. Gu Nian’s pregnancy was starting to show.

Meanwhile, Jiangsu Su and Zhou Zheng were also preparing to get married. Since Su Su was the only daughter of the Jiang family, Jiang Huaijing deeply cherished his younger sister.

After discussing with Jiang Huaijing, Zhou Zheng decided to hold the wedding in the military district. He also wanted to bring his parents and Jiang Dashan’s family over for the ceremony.

Jiang Huaijing agreed and immediately sent a telegram to inform them.

A few days later, Xia Hehua arrived in a hurry. When she saw Gu Nian’s belly, she couldn’t stop smiling.

“This is great! Finally, I get to hold my grandchild.”

“Mom, didn’t Dad come?”

“Oh, don’t even mention it. The village is in the middle of the autumn harvest, and your father couldn’t leave, so he sent me alone.”

“Hmph, my dad won’t even come to my wedding. I guess I don’t matter much to him.”

Jiangsu Su pretended to be angry, but Jiang Dashan truly loved his daughter. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have let her bring so many things along.

“He sent me with plenty of things, didn’t he? It’s the same if I come instead.”

Jiangsu Su let it go and took her mother to tour the new house, while Gu Nian stayed behind.

She originally planned to cook for her mother-in-law, but Jiang Huaijing insisted she shouldn’t tire herself out, so he went to the cafeteria to get takeout.

When Gu Nian tasted the food, she immediately knew it was made by Aunt Xu—her cooking was always excellent.

Xia Hehua and Jiangsu Su also praised the meal. After eating, Jiangsu Su took her mother to rest.

Meanwhile, Gu Nian grabbed some money and told Jiang Huaijing she needed to go into town. Since Su Su was about to get married, she wanted to buy a wedding gift.

“I’ll go with you.”

“No need. I already planned this with Aunt Xu and Pandi. It’s inconvenient for a man to tag along with three women.”

“Just be careful, then.”

“I know.”

With Jiang Huaijing’s endless nagging, Gu Nian finally left. Seeing how he personally sent her off, Aunt Xu and Li Pandi couldn’t help but tease.

“Gu Nian, we’re so envious. Your husband treats you so well.”

“He better.”

Gu Nian said proudly, and the other two women, knowing her personality, laughed along.

When they arrived in the city, Aunt Xu had to drop off some things for a relative of the cafeteria chef, so she arranged to meet them at the state-run restaurant at 3 PM.

Gu Nian and Li Pandi went to the department store. Gu Nian planned to buy a wristwatch as an official gift while getting the rest from her system’s shop.

She had no hesitation in spending money and bought a matching set of watches for 300 yuan.

Seeing how generous Gu Nian was to her sister-in-law, Li Pandi couldn’t help but feel envious of Jiang Huaijing’s sister. Out loud, she expressed her thoughts.

“Gu Nian, your sister-in-law is so lucky to have you.”

“She deserves it.”

Hearing this, Li Pandi sighed. Gu Nian noticed and asked,

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking about Chuanzhi’s family. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister, all unmarried. His parents are getting old, so he sends most of his salary back home every month. I just feel bad for him.”

Gu Nian was surprised that despite this, they still chose to adopt two children. Their kindness was truly admirable.

“Oh, right! I need to buy fabric to make clothes for them.”

Li Pandi only bought fabric for Chuanzhi and the two kids, but Gu Nian insisted she should buy for the whole family.

After some persuasion, Li Pandi also bought some for herself. They also picked up a few household necessities.

Just then, Li Pandi noticed something.

“Gu Nian, isn’t that Luo Dazhu from Aunt Xu’s family?”

Following her gaze, Gu Nian saw Luo Dazhu—with another woman.

They were in a women’s clothing store, picking out outfits together. They looked intimate, like a married couple.

“It’s him.”

“Who is that woman? Gu Nian, do you think Luo Dazhu is cheating on Aunt Xu?”

Li Pandi was furious. Aunt Xu was her friend, and she couldn’t just ignore this.

Gu Nian also found it suspicious. She had met Luo Dazhu before, and he always seemed like an honest man.

“Pandi, let’s find Aunt Xu and ask her first. Even if we confront him now, he might just deny it. We need proof.”

“Right! Let’s go quickly.”

When they arrived at the state-run restaurant, the food was already on the table, but Aunt Xu was late.

“Why aren’t you eating?”

Aunt Xu found it strange. She had been running errands all day and was starving, but the other two hadn’t even touched their food.

“Sister Xu, what has Dazhu been up to lately? I haven’t seen him in a while.”

“Oh, he’s been busy at the military district. He’s been staying there.”

Hearing how easily Aunt Xu believed him, Li Pandi couldn’t hold back anymore and told her what they saw.

“That’s impossible! I know my husband. He wouldn’t do that.”

But Gu Nian could tell from Aunt Xu’s forced smile—Luo Dazhu was most likely cheating.

“Sister Xu, if he’s betraying you, you need to act first. It’s best to report him to the military district. At least that way, you can get some compensation. Otherwise, what about your three daughters?”

Aunt Xu was deeply grateful. Gu Nian and Li Pandi truly cared for her. She nodded.

“Yes, I understand. Now, let’s eat.”

After their meal, they returned home. But Aunt Xu couldn’t sit still—she immediately ran to the military district to find Luo Dazhu.

The officers didn’t stop her when they heard she was Luo Dazhu’s wife.

“He took leave, said he had family matters. Why? Is something wrong?”

“Oh… nothing. You’re busy. I’ll be going now.”

Walking back to the family compound, Aunt Xu had taken this path thousands of times. But this time, it felt unbearably long, as if she would never reach home.

That night, Luo Dazhu returned.

Aunt Xu asked, “Still busy at the military district?”