Chapter 24.2

So, they didn’t dare confront the Yan family directly, but they had no problem coming after her instead.

Typical—bullies always picked on the easy targets.

Judging by her tone, who knew how much gossip she had already spread? In a group of women, there was never a shortage of those who thrived on backbiting.

The other military wives murmured softly, “Who’s she talking about?”

Wen Xin smiled and replied, “Probably about her daughter, Wang Jiajia.”

With just that one sentence, Wen Xin successfully shut up the wife of Staff Officer Wang. Her eyes widened in disbelief at Wen Xin.

Wen Xin stared right back at her. Who’s afraid of who? If you dare badmouth me, then I’ll talk about your daughter. My reputation might not matter, but if your daughter becomes the laughingstock of the compound, that would be quite unfortunate.

You still have to live in this courtyard, and your family’s dignity is at stake. So you’d better watch what you say.

The wife of Staff Officer Wang stood there with an ugly expression for a moment before quickly walking away.

Wen Xin stayed under the tree for a while, exchanging casual conversation, when she suddenly heard Li Weihong, who had just returned from buying groceries, call out loudly, “Wen Xin, someone’s at the gate looking for you.”

“Looking for me? Who is it?”

“I don’t know her. It’s a woman,” Li Weihong said, carrying her vegetable basket.

Wen Xin was puzzled. Could it be the original Wen Xin’s mother? “Is she older?”

“No, she looks quite young.”

Could it be the original Wen Xin’s younger sister?

Confused, she headed toward the gate to see who it was.

When she got there, she saw a young woman wearing a sky-blue shirt, gray cotton overalls, and black cloth shoes, talking to the sentry at the entrance.

“Song Qian!”

Wen Xin recognized her immediately. The woman at the gate was none other than her best friend, Song Qian—the original Wen Xin’s best friend in this world as well.

Ha! Just last night, she had been cursing her in her dreams, and today she actually showed up. New grudges and old resentments flooded her mind all at once. With a stiff expression, Wen Xin strode over.

“Wen Xin!” Song Qian’s eyes lit up as soon as she saw her, waving excitedly with a face full of joy.

Wen Xin spoke to the sentry—today, it was Sun Xiaobing on duty. She had a decent rapport within the compound, often escorting Yan Miaomiao and occasionally bringing the sentries some snacks and drinks. Naturally, this made coming and going easier for her.

“What are you doing here?” Wen Xin asked, her tone full of distaste. She’d rather look at the sky than at Song Qian’s fake smile.

“I came to see you! Ever since you replied to my last letter, I haven’t heard from you again. I was really worried. Since school’s on break, I went to your house to find you, but your mom told me you were working as a maid in the military compound. How could she do that? It’s bad enough she didn’t let you finish high school, but now she’s making you work as a maid—”

“That’s right, you got into university, and I ended up like this. Of course, you should come visit me,” Wen Xin said with a double meaning.

Song Qian always spoke so sweetly, but Wen Xin had completely seen through her true nature. The original Wen Xin had been just as naive—when she was struggling to survive, she still selflessly sent food, supplies, and ration tickets to her so-called best friend, who had been sent to the countryside as an educated youth. She had literally starved herself to help her.

And how did Song Qian repay her?

Completely oblivious to Wen Xin’s sarcasm, Song Qian continued earnestly, “By the way, in your last letter, you mentioned that your mother wanted you to… go meet the son of a high-ranking officer here. What happened with that?”

Hearing this, Wen Xin snapped back to attention.

Wait a minute—was this the plot unfolding?

According to the book’s storyline, this was when Song Qian and the male lead would meet. But this time, Wen Xin hadn’t written to her at all. She hadn’t told her anything about her life now, and yet Song Qian had still managed to find out where she was and come looking for her.

Then she heard Song Qian speaking as if she were reciting lines from a script:

“Wen Xin, we are the new generation. We must have the courage to pursue our own happiness! You absolutely must not listen to your mother. You need to understand—true love comes from the heart…”

There it was—the book’s plot.

In the original story, when Song Qian found out the female supporting character was being forced to seduce the high-ranking officer’s son, she had brainwashed her into resisting and pursuing her own happiness. Later, she changed her tune and encouraged her to give it a try since she already had feelings for him. The naive supporting character, overwhelmed and confused, had followed Song Qian’s advice…

And that was how she had ended up being caught red-handed, which ultimately led to her decades of misfortune.

Though the book never outright stated it, the whole thing was far too coincidental. Wen Xin refused to believe Song Qian had no part in it.

After all, Song Qian had pushed the original Wen Xin to reject the male lead—only to end up taking her place herself! Her intentions were obviously not pure.

Yet despite everything, fate still seemed to be pushing the plot forward.

The two of them had barely spoken when a jeep suddenly drove into the compound.

The driver was none other than Yan the Devil.

As he drove in, the sentry stood at attention and saluted. When he passed the entrance, the vehicle slowed down, then stopped. His gaze swept over Wen Xin and the woman standing beside her.

His eyes lingered on Wen Xin for a moment before shifting to the unfamiliar face next to her. Then, he looked back at Wen Xin before finally driving forward into the compound.

Wen Xin was momentarily stunned. It was only noon—why was he back already?

“Wen Xin, who is that?”

She turned around to see Song Qian staring at the jeep, clutching her chest as she murmured to herself, “Is this love at first sight?” She immediately grabbed Wen Xin’s hand. “Wen Xin, what do I do? I think I just found true love! Do you know him? Who is he? Tell me, please?”

This wasn’t in the book.

In the original story, the male lead had never returned at this time, and Song Qian had never said anything like this to the original Wen Xin. She hadn’t even known her so-called best friend had feelings for him.

Wen Xin felt incredibly irritated. She yanked her hand away and sneered, “You want to know? Ha! Keep dreaming. Don’t ever come looking for me again! Even if you do, I won’t take you inside.” With that, she turned and stormed off.

Seething, she marched straight into the Yan household.

As soon as she entered, she noticed several white porcelain mugs on the table. They were spotless, printed with red characters—likely from a restaurant.

She paused.

Each mug was filled with food, releasing a rich, fragrant aroma. There were braised pork ribs, red-braised pork, egg and potato stew, and a clear soup sprinkled with green onions—four dishes in total, and all smelled delicious.

She had never known takeout food existed in this era.

After setting everything down, Yan Zeyang straightened his military uniform, cleared his throat, and glanced at Wen Xin before beckoning her over.

“Come eat. Don’t bother cooking dinner tonight—I brought food back.”