Chapter 24

Although Fu Qingshan had only recently been transferred to this unit, Political Commissar Xu and Chief of Staff Dong had known him for a while. After all, this was the annual military competition champion, a young officer who had already earned numerous medals for merit—a rare case of someone so young holding the rank of Captain.

He enlisted right after high school, and due to his outstanding performance, was recommended by the military to attend the military academy. After graduating, he returned to his original unit for two years. Then, following fierce competition—both overt and covert—among leaders from various military regions, their unit finally managed to secure him.

Because he was such a rare talent, Commissar Xu and Chief Dong paid special attention to anything related to Fu Qingshan.

“This is Qiao Xinyi, and this is Qiao Baihe—my friend,” Fu Qingshan introduced them. “This is Commissar Xu, and this is Chief of Staff Dong.”

So when Qiao Xinyi had earlier greeted them with a cheerful “Good afternoon, leaders!” she hadn’t gotten it wrong—but her overly enthusiastic tone had made it particularly amusing.

“Commissar Xu, Chief Dong, Comrade Fu Qingshan is just being too modest,” Qiao Xinyi said as she rummaged through her bag. “Actually, Comrade Fu Qingshan is my savior. If not for him, I’d be dead right now.”

As she spoke, she pulled out a thick letter from her bag and respectfully handed it with both hands to the two leaders. “This is a handwritten letter of thanks. I didn’t expect to run into the two of you in the canteen—it’s the perfect opportunity to hand it over.”

Before Commissar Xu even had a chance to open and read the letter, Qiao Xinyi was already pulling something else from her large canvas bag—a red velvet fabric roll.

Commissar Xu’s eyebrows twitched. *Could this be what I think it is?*

Sure enough, with a flick of her wrist, Qiao Xinyi unfurled the roll to reveal a bright red silk banner. Large yellow characters read:

**“Deep Affection Between Army and People, Lifesaving Grace Never Forgotten.”**

Below were two smaller lines: one with Fu Qingshan’s name and the name of his unit, the other with the date and Qiao Xinyi’s name.

The dramatic reveal left everyone nearby stunned. Even Fu Qingshan was taken aback—he never imagined Qiao Xinyi had all this hidden in her bag.

“This…?” Commissar Xu was just as shocked. He turned to Fu Qingshan and asked, “You weren’t going to tell us about this?”

“Commissar Xu, Comrade Fu Qingshan is too humble—he’s too embarrassed to say anything. So let me tell you,” Qiao Xinyi jumped in.

She then recounted the entire story: how she was nearly buried alive in a ghost marriage in Gazi Village by the Chen family, and also mentioned the earlier incident where the same family had swapped babies in a provincial hospital.

By the time she finished, Qiao Xinyi’s eyes were brimming with tears. She held Commissar Xu’s hand excitedly and said, “The military has trained such an outstanding comrade like Fu Qingshan. As an ordinary citizen, I feel both proud and reassured to know our country has soldiers like him. I even wrote a piece for the Provincial Daily. I want to spread this good deed far and wide—let everyone know the kind of exemplary soldier your unit has cultivated! We must carry forward Comrade Fu Qingshan’s heroic spirit!”

Her sincere and passionate words stirred the hearts of everyone present.

Commissar Xu laughed heartily and gave Fu Qingshan a firm pat on the shoulder. “You rascal, quietly accomplishing something so major—excellent! Excellent! You’ve brought great honor to our unit!”

Fu Qingshan, ever modest, gave his usual line about how it was simply his duty. But the look he gave Qiao Xinyi now clearly carried a trace of amused helplessness.

*This girl really knows how to make an impression.*

Most military family members avoided these two high-ranking officers like the plague—their presence was intimidating, and no one wanted to get too close. But not only was Qiao Xinyi unafraid, she spoke freely and with confidence—*and she could really talk*.

“Commissar Xu, Chief Dong, I actually have one more thing I need your help with,” she added, pulling a deeply embarrassed Qiao Baihe closer.

“Qiao Baihe is the girl who was raised by my biological parents. It’s quite the coincidence, really—her biological father is He Shengli, from your unit,” Qiao Xinyi began. 

Before Fu Qingshan or the others had time to react, Qiao Xinyi launched into a full account of the outrageous things He Shengli and his wife Zhou Yun had done—holding nothing back. She even recounted the manipulative words Zhou Yun had used to try to persuade Qiao Baihe.

She ended with a sharply worded accusation: 

“Commissar Xu, Chief of Staff Dong, tell me—isn’t what Captain He and his wife did essentially marriage fraud? They hid the fact that He Rou is the biological daughter of a criminal, and then went ahead and arranged for their real daughter to marry someone else. Is that something decent people would do?”

**Marriage fraud.** That was a serious accusation.

After speaking, Qiao Xinyi didn’t even bother to mention how poorly the He family had treated Qiao Baihe—instead, she stood firmly on the moral high ground, condemning the He for their lack of integrity.

“Comrade Qiao Xinyi is absolutely right to raise these concerns,” Commissar Xu responded. “We will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly, and if it proves true, there will be serious consequences.”

Then he looked toward Qiao Baihe, who had remained silent the entire time, and gently reassured her: 

“You’ve been wronged, child.”

Qiao Baihe quickly shook her head and waved her hands, trying to deflect the sympathy.

Qiao Xinyi then pulled a one-cent coin from her bag. 

“Commissar Xu, my Qiao Baihe said she only had a few sips of water during the half-day she stayed with the He family. This is her water fee. The Qiao family can afford to raise its daughter. We don’t take advantage of a single penny from the He family. Please help us pass this along to Aunt Zhou.”

**It wasn’t a knife—but every word hit like a blade.**

Qiao Xinyi smiled sweetly and placed the coin in Commissar Xu’s palm. 

“Thank you both. With leaders like you in the army, we common folk really feel confident in our country. And of course, I believe the whole army is full of good comrades like Comrade Fu Qingshan.”

Qiao Xinyi had done all the talking herself. Commissar Xu and Chief Dong exchanged a glance, then told Fu Qingshan to take good care of the two female comrades before leaving—with the thank-you letter and the banner in hand.

Qiao Xinyi watched them walk away, then muttered quietly to Fu Qingshan, 

“I understand why they took the letter, but why did they take the banner I made for you too? Your name’s even on it!”

“Don’t worry. They’ll give it to me,” Fu Qingshan said, half amused and half exasperated. “You really do think of everything.”

**She was full of surprises.**

He Shengli and Zhou Yun would never have imagined in their wildest dreams that Qiao Xinyi would go straight to Commissar Xu and Chief of Staff Dong to report them.

Qiao Xinyi returned to her seat. She’d originally planned to give Fu Qingshan the letter and banner halfway to the canteen, but then she figured she might run into one of his leaders there—so she waited. Who would’ve thought they’d run into *both* the commissar and the chief of staff? So naturally, she decided to go big and put on the full show.

“Qiao Baihe,” she said, narrowing her eyes, “you’re not going to blame me for ruining your biological parents’ plans, are you?”

Qiao Baihe quickly shook her head. “I know you were standing up for me and trying to help me get justice. I’m not an ungrateful person.”

Qiao Xinyi smiled. She was in an incredibly good mood now—and with the handsome Fu Qingshan sitting across from her, her appetite surged. Even the cold dishes tasted delicious.

After the meal, Fu Qingshan escorted both women out of the base. They first dropped Qiao Baihe off at the Qiao household. But with the old woman Chen Ju still at home, returning directly would only mean hearing nasty words from that sharp tongue.

So instead, Qiao Xinyi took Qiao Baihe straight to Chen Yubing’s workplace. She handed Qiao Baihe over and also explained everything she’d suffered while staying with the He family.

Qiao Baihe was the kind of person who wouldn’t even know how to complain if you gave her a microphone. Qiao Xinyi, on the other hand, **couldn’t tolerate injustice at all.** If there was no one to complain to, she’d bear it—but if there *was* someone to report to, she’d blow even a small grievance up tenfold.