Lu Beiting let out a slight sigh and then briefly introduced to Su Yating, “Yating, this is Xia Zhi, my fiancée.”  

“What?! Isn’t your fiancée Hao Liping? How could…” Su Yating exclaimed in shock.  

What on earth was going on?  

“I’ll explain things to Dr. Shen later. You should head back first,” Lu Beiting said, effectively dismissing her.  

Su Yating stood frozen, glancing between the two people in the room. Though she had no idea what had happened, all she could think was: Why wasn’t it her?  

They had grown up together, after all.  

Biting her lower lip in frustration, Su Yating forced a gentle smile and said to Lu Beiting, “Then, Beiting, I’ll come see you another time.”  

After casting a glance at Xia Zhi, she turned and left.  

Xia Zhi watched Su Yating’s retreating figure before shifting her gaze back to Lu Beiting.  

“Do you like her?”  

Lu Beiting looked momentarily confused before frowning. “Why would I like her? Besides, if I did, I wouldn’t have agreed to your conditions.”  

Did she take him for someone like Gu Yunshen, that worthless fool?  

The thought made his expression darken. He then looked at her solemnly and said, “Rest assured, I’m not like Gu Yunshen. Moreover, as a soldier, I would never do such things.”  

“Okay, okay, don’t get worked up. I was just asking casually—no hidden meaning,” Xia Zhi quickly replied. She was merely curious, nothing more.  

Lu Beiting choked on his words. Worked up? Since when?  

“I’ll have Zhang Yi accompany you. The mountains are dangerous, and you can’t go to the southern hills.”  

He lowered his eyes to his legs, frustrated that he was confined to bed.  

“Ah, no need! It’s no big deal. I’ll be careful, don’t worry,” Xia Zhi said, grabbing a small basket and heading out.  

Lu Beiting watched her leave, his brow furrowed. Just what kind of person was Xia Zhi?  

At the guard post, Xia Zhi greeted the sentry, “Hello, brother! I’m Lu Beiting’s family member. I need to go out for a bit.”  

Xu Rufeng looked up at the sound of her voice. It was the girl who had followed Lu Beiting and the chief yesterday.  

She was petite but radiated energy.  

Xu Rufeng averted his gaze. “Alright, come back soon.”  

“Got it! Thanks, brother!” Xia Zhi flashed him a bright smile before heading out with her basket.  

Xu Rufeng couldn’t help but pause. Was she the battalion commander’s relative? She seemed… kinda cute.  

Xia Zhi surveyed the surrounding mountains and chose the nearest one. She wasn’t going to gather herbs but to inspect the medicinal plants from her traditional Chinese medicine repository.  

Lu Beiting was a soldier, after all—highly observant. She had to be careful.  

“Well, if it isn’t Xia Zhi! What’s the matter? Kicked out? Serves you right!”  

No sooner had Xia Zhi stepped out than she ran into people from the compound, including Hao Liping.  

Hao Liping looked at Xia Zhi, barely containing her glee. She had known it all along.  

Someone like Lu Beiting, when sick, was like a madman—prone to outbursts.  

Xia Zhi must have done something to provoke him and gotten kicked out.  

Xia Zhi was baffled. Why did they assume she’d been kicked out?  

“I wasn’t kicked out. I just…”  

Before she could finish, she was interrupted.  

“Kicked out is kicked out. No need to hide it. Everyone knows the military has strict rules—no one’s allowed out without reason.”

Hao Liping crossed her arms, looking at her with smug satisfaction, then stepped forward and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:  

“Xia Zhi, I told you—you could never compare to me.”  

Xia Zhi finally understood—so this was why. But she really did have things to do outside.  

Seeing Xia Zhi remain silent, Hao Liping assumed she had guessed correctly and continued mocking her.  

“Xia Zhi, take a good look in the mirror. Who would ever want someone like you?”  

Xia Zhi frowned and gave her a once-over.  

Hao Liping felt uncomfortable under her blatant stare. “W-what are you looking at?”  

Xia Zhi suddenly let out an exaggerated “Oh!” and said, “I just wanted to see what someone like you looks like. Turns out… not much, huh.”  

Hao Liping flushed at her sarcastic tone but quickly regained her haughty demeanor.  

“Xia Zhi, you don’t know this yet, but I’ve already had my parents start farming the plot of land in the backyard.”  

“Mm-hmm, and?” Xia Zhi replied dismissively. So what? What did that have to do with her?  

Hao Liping was taken aback. “That means you won’t be able to sell vegetables anymore. You’ll lose your income. Shouldn’t you be worried?”  

Xia Zhi smirked, looking at her like she was an idiot.  

“Hao Liping, guess what? Lu Beiting gave me all his allowance—several hundred yuan. Ah, it feels so good.”  

As expected, Hao Liping’s face darkened. Satisfied, Xia Zhi raised an eyebrow and deliberately bumped into her as she walked past.  

No one knew better than Hao Liping just how much Lu Beiting’s allowance was.  

Not just a few hundred—it was over a thousand!  

What infuriated her even more was that, even before marriage, Lu Beiting had already handed his money to Xia Zhi to manage.  

In her past life, he had only given her his allowance after they had been married for some time.  

How dare Xia Zhi take what was rightfully hers!  

“Liping, what’s wrong?” Gu Yunshen, who had just come out carrying a load of manure, saw Hao Liping fuming alone.  

The moment Hao Liping saw Gu Yunshen, her expression instantly softened into a sweet smile.  

“Oh, it’s nothing, Brother Yunshen. I just ran into my sister and said hello. Sigh… she’s so pitiful. She must have been kicked out by Lu Beiting.”  

She moved to loop her arm through his but was immediately hit by the pungent stench of manure, forcing her to stop mid-action.  

“Xia Zhi? Hmph, serves her right.” Gu Yunshen sneered. It wasn’t like he hadn’t given her a chance—she was the one who refused it.  

“Brother Yunshen, we’ll definitely have a good life. Once we earn enough from selling vegetables and you get into university, we’ll open a shop in the city!”  

Hao Liping spoke dreamily, recounting the path to wealth that Xia Zhi had taken in her previous life.  

Gu Yunshen frowned, not entirely convinced.  

“But Liping, if we do that, I won’t have time to study.”  

Between farming and selling vegetables, how would he find time to read?  

“Oh, Brother Yunshen, you’re already so smart. You could get into a top university even without studying.” Hao Liping said confidently.  

“Besides, we should earn money first so we don’t have to worry about your tuition later. Brother Yunshen, I’m only thinking of your future.”  

Gu Yunshen thought about it and realized she had a point. College would be expensive, and he had already studied for so many years—a short break wouldn’t hurt.  

“Alright! Let’s farm, sell vegetables, open a shop in the city, and earn big money!”  

Meanwhile, as soon as Xia Zhi entered the mountains, someone sharp-eyed spotted her.