Chapter 8 – Talking Behind My Wife’s Back

Lin Shuqiao brought in the clothes she had just finished washing and returned to her room, planning to get a bit more sleep.

Thankfully, it was summer, so the clothes dried quickly. Otherwise, she’d have had to wear Lu Zheng’s clothes all day.

It was only around 6 a.m. now—the army’s morning drill time.

Lin Shuqiao had no intention of joining in; all she wanted was to catch up on sleep. Only after resting properly would she be in good shape to do things.

As for Liu Jie? Lin Shuqiao didn’t bother with her.

There was nothing valuable in the house anyway—nothing worth stealing.

Liu Jie, embarrassed and angry, kicked over a broom near the door, her face briefly flashing with calculation.

It was morning drill time for the unit. Lu Zheng came home every day after drills to bring breakfast to Lu Ziqi. Today should be no different—he couldn’t possibly expect Lin Shuqiao to cook, right?

Liu Jie grabbed the broom and began sweeping the yard.

As the sun gradually rose, Liu Jie was soon drenched in sweat.

Just as she was wondering why Lu Zheng hadn’t returned yet, his figure finally appeared in the distance.

Liu Jie immediately went to greet him.

“Colonel Lu, you’re back!”

Her eyes sparkled, her cheeks faintly red—like a young girl in love.

Lu Zheng simply gave her a cold glance and responded with a distant “Mm,” then headed straight into the house.

Liu Jie bit her lip and followed closely behind. “Colonel Lu, are you hungry? I brought some flatbread for Ziqi. Want to try some?”

As she spoke, she uncovered the cloth covering the basket and offered him a piece.

Lu Zheng looked indifferent. “I’m not hungry.”

Not seeing Lin Shuqiao anywhere, he frowned slightly. “Are you here to see Shuqiao?”

Liu Jie’s face fell as she was brushed off. “I just felt bad for Ziqi, so I brought something for him to eat.”

“You know what kind of person Lin Shuqiao is—when has she ever taken care of Ziqi?”

“Look at how filthy this courtyard was. I couldn’t stand it, so I cleaned it up a little. Lin Shuqiao clearly isn’t someone who cares about hygiene. Do you think she’s fit to raise a child like Ziqi?”

“Just look at the condition of this place, and then look at poor Ziqi, so small and skinny. I’m worried he’ll get sick under her care.”

“And can you believe it? Just because she wanted to eat at my house once and my mother said no, she’s ignored me ever since. I cleaned this whole courtyard, and she didn’t even offer me a glass of water.”

“Not that I’m begging for her water—it’s just that Lin Shuqiao is lazy and greedy, and she’s been messing around with Jiang He too. She’s clearly not a good woman. Colonel Lu, I think you should just divorce her already.”

Even though Lu Zheng’s expression hadn’t changed, Liu Jie still felt indignant. “Colonel Lu, I didn’t even have breakfast before coming here. I was just afraid Ziqi would go hungry. Can’t you even spare a few words for me?”

Lu Zheng picked up the broom and swept the trash Liu Jie had gathered into the bin. Then he turned around and said,

“I’m already married. It’s inappropriate to chat too much with a female comrade. And Liu Comrade, isn’t it a bit improper for you to speak ill of my wife in front of me?”

He was actually defending Lin Shuqiao?

Liu Jie gritted her teeth. “Aren’t you about to divorce her anyway?”

She was practically confessing her feelings for him at this point.

Lu Zheng’s eyes narrowed, cold and sharp. “Says who?”

Until the divorce paperwork was officially approved, he and Lin Shuqiao were still married.

Even if he wanted it, Lu Zheng didn’t want the matter to become gossip fodder.

How many people in this compound were hoping for him and Lin Shuqiao to split up?

Liu Jie froze, eyes darting. “I just… heard about it.”

Lu Zheng’s expression turned steely, his presence oppressive.

“I don’t want to hear about this kind of gossip again.”

At that moment, a lazy female voice called from behind, “You’re back?”

Lu Zheng instinctively stepped to the side to put more distance between himself and Liu Jie.

Then he looked at Lin Shuqiao and, seeing she was wearing her own clothes, felt a bit of relief.

“Mm.”

Lin Shuqiao guessed Lu Zheng must have stayed in the dorm last night—it must’ve been tiring to run back and forth. “I’ll go make noodles now.”

The two of them interacted naturally, with no tension at all.

Liu Jie stared in disbelief. Weren’t they supposed to be on the verge of divorce?

Where was the supposed marital discord?

Lin Shuqiao suddenly looked at Liu Jie as if she’d just noticed her.
“Oh! Comrade Liu, you’re still here?”

She glanced around the now spotless courtyard, then went into the kitchen, came back with two eggs, and handed them to Liu Jie with a bright smile.

“Comrade Liu, here—these eggs are for you. Thanks for helping me clean the courtyard. I really am lazy, greedy, and unhygienic, so I won’t keep you for a meal.”

Liu Jie stared at the two eggs in her hands, dumbfounded. “I worked all morning, and this is all you’re giving me?”

She turned to Lu Zheng, hoping for support. Surely he would be disgusted by Lin Shuqiao’s stinginess.

But Lu Zheng simply walked into the kitchen without sparing her a glance.

Liu Jie’s gaze filled with resentment.

Lin Shuqiao couldn’t be bothered with her. She knew exactly what Liu Jie was up to, and since Lu Zheng wasn’t taking action, neither would she waste her energy.

Just as she was about to cook, Lin Shuqiao noticed Lu Ziqi’s Chinese homework notebook left on the table.

Though he was only four, he was smart—Lu Zheng had already enrolled him in first grade.

The homework had a phonetic-to-character section, with several mistakes.

Smiling, she picked up a pencil and gently marked the wrong ones with an X, writing the correct characters beside them.

Lu Ziqi had just woken up and, seeing her touching his homework, rushed over and shoved her, snatching the notebook back.

Bad woman!

She must be trying to mess up his homework so he’d get scolded at school!

But he was too little to push her effectively, and she didn’t even budge. Lin Shuqiao didn’t get mad—she calmly explained, “You got a few characters wrong. I just corrected them for you.”

Lu Ziqi looked at her suspiciously.

But then, looking down at the notebook, he froze.

She really was just helping him correct his mistakes?

Liu Jie leaned in for a look, stretching her neck to examine Lin Shuqiao’s handwriting—and was instantly shocked.

Wasn’t it said that Lin Shuqiao didn’t even know how to write?

And this handwriting…

As a member of the performance troupe, she’d seen a lot of writing, and this bold, slightly messy style clearly didn’t look like a woman’s. It had the hallmarks of a man’s writing.

Could it be… Jiang He taught her?

From the look of it, writing like this couldn’t be achieved overnight.

So she really was spending every day glued to Jiang He?

Liu Jie’s expression turned more and more disdainful.

Lu Zheng came out after washing his hands, his gaze turning heavy.

When had Lin Shuqiao ever shown this kind of patience with Lu Ziqi?

He vaguely sensed that she had changed. Watching her speak softly to the boy, he suppressed the emotions in his eyes.

As long as Lin Shuqiao didn’t cause trouble, he didn’t care. They were about to divorce anyway.

Once it was finalized, whatever she did would have nothing to do with him.

After handing the pencil back to Lu Ziqi, Lin Shuqiao cooked a few bowls of noodles, cracking several eggs into the soup and mixing in some greens.

She had bought the eggs from her secret stash. Once scrambled, it was hard to tell how many she’d used.

Carrying the noodles out, she noticed Liu Jie was still loitering around and looked genuinely surprised.

“Comrade Liu, you’re still here? Don’t tell me you’re trying to mooch a meal?”

At this time, families could barely feed themselves—mooching food was considered extremely shameless.

…And yes, she had been the shameless one in the past.

“Who’s trying to mooch your food?”

Liu Jie sneered, “You think everyone’s as shameless as you, always leeching off others?”

Lin Shuqiao didn’t even blink. “Then what are you still standing here for?”

—I was watching your handwriting!

Liu Jie swallowed her words, glanced at Lu Zheng, and muttered, “I’m leaving now.”

She said it, but didn’t move. Lin Shuqiao just stared at her.

Seeing that Lu Zheng still didn’t even glance her way, Liu Jie finally left, full of reluctance.