Chapter 21: Ge Hongying Bullies His Wife Like This!

Xiao Zheng put down his chopsticks, his face dark and cold. “Sister-in-law, I didn’t expect you to ‘look after’ my wife like this.”

Yesterday, An Huan had said that Ge Hongying didn’t like her. Xiao Zheng had thought it was just Ge Hongying’s strict temperament and a tendency to speak harshly. Who would’ve thought she would bully his wife like this behind his back?

Xiao Zheng’s fists clenched, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

Ge Hongying was incredibly embarrassed. “Xiao Zheng, it’s a misunderstanding, truly a misunderstanding. I only meant for Young An to casually whip up a dish for fun. Even a simple smashed cucumber would’ve been fine.”

Zhou Meihua added faintly, “That’s not what you said in the kitchen. You said smashed cucumber doesn’t show any culinary skill.”

Shi Weiguang nudged Zhou Meihua’s arm and whispered, “Don’t add fuel to the fire.”

Zhou Meihua replied, “Tsk, I’m not fanning the flames—I’m just telling the truth.”

Shi Weiguang: “…” Telling the truth is fanning the flames!

Zhang Zhaodi quickly raised her hand. “Those words weren’t from Sister-in-law Ge, I said them.”

Zhou Meihua glanced at her. “You’re close to her. What you said is what she wanted to say.”

Shi Weiguang nudged her even harder, shooting her looks repeatedly—Don’t get involved! Don’t take sides!

Among men, conflicts often brewed in private, but on the surface, they all got along. Why was it that once women got involved, things flared up so fiercely? Shi Weiguang simply couldn’t understand.

Xiao Zheng stood up, pulling An Huan along, his face severe as he addressed Ge Hongying. “Sister-in-law, you said you wanted to throw a welcome meal for my wife. I was happy and grateful, but I didn’t expect this kind of welcome. I’m afraid we’re not blessed enough to enjoy it—we’ll take our leave.”

Was it really escalating to this? Everyone looked at one another.

After all, Yu Baoshan was the Political Commissar—was Xiao Zheng really going to fall out with him like this?

But then again, Ge Hongying had gone too far today. Publicly humiliating An Huan was no different from disgracing Xiao Zheng. They were a couple, after all.

Yu Baoshan quickly stood up to smooth things over. “Xiao, you know how your sister-in-law is—she’s a bit thoughtless and doesn’t really think things through. Don’t take it to heart.”

Under Yu Baoshan’s signal, Ge Hongying forced a smile. “Young Xiao, Young An, it was Sister-in-law who spoke out of turn. I apologize to you both.”

No one else dared to chime in, except Chen Gang who said, “Xiao Zheng, sit down and eat. We can talk after the meal.”

“Forget it. After what happened today, I don’t have the appetite.” Xiao Zheng’s face remained stony.

Chen Gang sucked his teeth in frustration.

Xiao Zheng was known for his bad temper. Sometimes when he got really worked up, he’d even argue head-on with Chen Gang, his superior.

Even Yu Baoshan was getting annoyed. Ge Hongying had already apologized—why wouldn’t Xiao Zheng let it go?

An Huan gently withdrew her arm from Xiao Zheng’s grip, then held his hand instead and gave it a soft squeeze. “It’s fine. Let’s sit and eat.”

Xiao Zheng looked at her, heart aching. She had only been with the army for a few days, and she had already suffered so much… It was his fault—for not protecting her well enough.

Seeing that he didn’t budge, An Huan scratched his palm and looked at him softly. “I’m hungry.”

In that moment, Xiao Zheng’s heart melted. He let her lead him back to his seat.

An Huan politely said to everyone, “Sorry about earlier. My Old Xiao is a bit hot-tempered—we disrupted everyone’s meal.”

Everyone hurried to say it was fine, secretly marveling at how just a few words from An Huan had calmed Xiao Zheng.

Even when the commander spoke up earlier, Xiao Zheng was still as stubborn as a mule. Yet his seemingly delicate wife managed to get that giant of a man to sit back down…

Wasn’t Xiao Zheng rumored to be the type who even hit his wife? How was he this obedient?

Then again, maybe Xiao Zheng didn’t really want to fall out with Yu Baoshan and used his wife’s words as an excuse to save face.

Either way, the atmosphere gradually returned to normal.

Wen Xueman leaned close to An Huan’s ear and whispered, “You should’ve just left with Xiao Zheng. Why give Ge Hongying face?”

An Huan simply smiled.

She wasn’t giving face to Ge Hongying.

She had already thought it through—if she left with Xiao Zheng today and embarrassed Ge Hongying, it would only bring short-term satisfaction. But then what?

Yu Baoshan was a political officer. If they fell out, and he started making Xiao Zheng’s work difficult later, wouldn’t that just be adding trouble to her husband’s career?

By showing herself to be reasonable today, the contrast only made Ge Hongying look more petty. It humiliated her even more, while Yu Baoshan couldn’t hold any grudges—and would even have to act grateful.

Sure enough, though everyone tried not to show it, the way they looked at Ge Hongying was subtly different.

Ge Hongying used to be the model woman of the family Courtyard—capable and fair. But after today, her reputation would surely take a hit.

Her plan to showcase Ge Hongxia also failed. Now that everyone knew what she had done, even those who wanted to politely praise Ge Hongxia’s cooking didn’t dare speak up in front of Xiao Zheng’s dark expression.

The meal was far from enjoyable and ended early.

Back home, Xiao Zheng played with their child for a while, then helped bathe him and put him to bed.

An Huan was exhausted. After washing up, she lay down on her side with her eyes closed to rest.

Just as she was about to drift off, she felt a shadow fall over her.

Opening her eyes, she saw Xiao Zheng lying down behind her.

A strong arm reached around and held her tightly.

An Huan scooted back slightly, pressing herself closer to him. Xiao Zheng stiffened but didn’t pull away.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Xiao Zheng said quietly, referring to what had happened today.

An Huan’s eyes flickered.

She had chosen to expose Ge Hongying’s scheming in front of everyone partly to test Xiao Zheng’s stance.

After all, he seemed to have a good personal relationship with Yu Baoshan’s family, and it was obvious Ge Hongying didn’t like her.

If Xiao Zheng had told her to swallow her pride and appease Ge Hongying for the sake of his connections, she wouldn’t have been able to live peacefully in the future.

But he hadn’t. On the contrary, he stood by her and cared about her feelings.

The more she got to know him, the more she realized—this man was really not bad.

“As long as you protect me, I won’t feel wronged.” An Huan tilted her head and kissed his chin.

The stubble pricked her lips, making them tingle—along with her heart.

She wiggled backward again.

Xiao Zheng had meant to comfort her a bit more, but after only a few words, she started teasing him again.

“Don’t mess around,” he growled hoarsely, though he didn’t move.

“I’ve been here for days and you haven’t even touched me. Did you get sick or something? Having trouble at your age already?” An Huan suddenly asked provocatively.

Xiao Zheng froze, then his face turned pitch black.

He gritted his teeth. “There’s nothing wrong with me! I’m perfectly fine!”

An Huan gave him a sultry look. “Then what are you holding back for? Saving up for the winter?”

Even Xiao Zheng couldn’t handle her subtle seductions, let alone this blatant teasing.

With a swift movement, he rolled over and pinned her beneath him, his eyes burning red.

Just as he was about to lower his head—

The door opened.

Dongdong stumbled in, still groggy with sleep. He climbed onto the bed and naturally curled up beside his mother, mumbling, “Mommy, I dreamed a big gray wolf bit my butt…”