Volume One Chapter Three: To the Barracks—Am I Just an Afterthought?

The slightly mocking voice struck Fu Zhilin’s heart. Perhaps realizing his own earlier high-handedness, his face flushed and paled by turns, and despite his rugged features, a trace of apology appeared. “Sorry, Xia Xia. I didn’t know that’s how things were.”

He was about to say something more when Su Tingxue stepped in front of him, her eyes curving into a smile, long lashes still glistening with tears. “Zhilin, did you come back to take me to the military camp for some fun?”

Fu Zhilin’s tall figure stiffened. Instinctively, he glanced at Su Ningxia, lips pressing into a thin line.

“Xia Xia, didn’t you always want to visit the camp too? Today’s the open day—let’s all go together.”

Su Ningxia’s gaze chilled for a moment.

In her previous life, for fear of admitting his own change of heart, Fu Zhilin had offered her a place too, to cover up his intentions. But once there, Su Tingxue falsely accused her of barging into the men’s bathhouse.

Everyone accused Su Ningxia of indecency.

Her protests were drowned by dozens of voices; she could only swallow the injustice in silence.

Not only was her reputation ruined, but after that, even Fu Zhilin grew entirely averse to her.

It wasn’t long before he broke off the engagement.

But this life…

Perhaps it was time for Su Tingxue to taste what it meant to be falsely accused.

A slow smile curved Su Ningxia’s lips.

“All right, let’s go together.”

…

At the military camp, Su Tingxue looked around with bright curiosity, clinging to Fu Zhilin and begging him to introduce the various facilities—playing the part of his fiancée to perfection.

Su Ningxia was left forgotten at the end of the group, following silently.

Just then, a middle-aged man in an officer’s uniform walked toward them. At the sight, Fu Zhilin’s smile vanished, replaced by formality. He snapped a crisp salute. “Commander!”

The commander nodded, his gaze falling on those behind Fu Zhilin.

Quickly, Fu Zhilin began to introduce, “Commander, this is my sist—”

“Miss Ningxia,” Ma Guoqiang interrupted. His gaze landed on Su Ningxia, and the sharpness in his eyes softened. “Never thought I’d run into you here.”

He walked over, beaming. “I’m truly grateful for what you did the other day. I’ve been meaning to thank you in person, but never found the right time.”

He paused, as if realizing something, then teased, “No wonder your name sounded so familiar, Ningxia—you’re Zhilin’s fiancée.”

“But…” Ma Guoqiang’s eyes lingered on Su Tingxue, who was still holding onto Fu Zhilin, his look meaningful. “How interesting.”

Su Ningxia smiled calmly. “It was nothing, Commander. No need to mention it.”

As the two exchanged words, Fu Zhilin stood stunned, unable for a long moment to process what he saw.

So the officer Ningxia saved days ago was their own commander?

Recalling Ma Guoqiang’s words, he abruptly snapped out of his daze and put some distance between himself and Su Tingxue.

Nearby, Su Tingxue bit down so hard she nearly cracked her molars.

Su Ningxia knew the commander? How could this happen? Why hadn’t such luck fallen to her?

Seeing Fu Zhilin’s eyes now filled with admiration for Su Ningxia, a venomous glint flashed in Su Tingxue’s gaze.

So you want to be in the limelight? Fine. I’ll let you have your moment.

After bidding farewell to the commander, Su Ningxia’s eyes fell on Su Tingxue, the corners of her mouth tinged with frost.

“Sister.”

As they passed the bathhouse, Su Tingxue suddenly turned back. “I need to use the restroom. Could you come with me? There are too many people around, and I’d feel embarrassed on my own.”

“Of course,” Su Ningxia arched a brow, following her toward the toilets.

The restroom and bathhouse were just a few meters apart. Su Tingxue stopped between the two doors.

“Sister, I don’t have any tissue. Should we go to the bathhouse and borrow some?”

“But…” Su Ningxia pretended to hesitate.

“Oh, I really can’t hold it! Please, let’s just go,” Su Tingxue pushed her along, not taking no for an answer.

Steam enveloped them as they entered. Su Tingxue went to the women’s bathhouse door, saw a roll of tissue in a bag, and forced a nervous smile. “There’s nothing here, could you check over there?”

“Of course,” Su Ningxia showed none of her previous embarrassment, walking straight to the men’s bathhouse locker as Su Tingxue suggested.

Just then, Su Tingxue crept up behind her.

As Su Ningxia was about to turn, Su Tingxue lunged forward.

But unexpectedly, Su Ningxia suddenly sidestepped, dodging her shove.

Su Tingxue’s pupils contracted in shock, and before she could react, a cold, mocking laugh sounded at her ear.

“So, my dear sister, if you were so eager to peek at the men’s bath, why didn’t you just say so?”

With that, Su Ningxia gave her a hard push.

With a loud bang, the men’s bathhouse door burst open.

Inside, the laughter fell instantly into chaos the moment they saw Su Tingxue.

“Oh my, Tingxue! I told you not to peek at them—see, the door was ajar and now you’ve stumbled right in!” Su Ningxia deliberately raised her voice.

Passersby stopped to look, voices of gossip flooding in.

“Whose daughter is that? Shameless!”

“Sneaking into the men’s bathhouse at the camp—she must be a deviant!”

“Yeah, I saw her, wasn’t she brought in by Fu Zhilin?”

…

Su Tingxue stood rigid at the threshold, breath caught in her throat.

The men inside shouted in outrage.

“Get out!”

“Are you crazy?!”

“It wasn’t me! I didn’t mean to go in!” Su Tingxue shook her head in panic. “It was Su Ningxia—she pushed me!”

Just then, Fu Zhilin and the third Su brother hurried over.

Seeing Su Tingxue at the door of the men’s bathhouse, thunder seemed to strike overhead.

“Xue, what are you doing?!”

“Zhilin, Third Brother, I wasn’t peeking! You have to believe me—it was my sister who pushed me in.”

“Nonsense.” Su Ningxia sneered. “The restroom is so far from the bathhouse. If you didn’t want to come, I couldn’t have dragged you here.”

“I just needed tissue!”

“Wasn’t there a huge roll at the women’s bathhouse?” Su Ningxia pointed at the door. “Why insist on coming here? Clearly, you saw the men’s bathhouse door wasn’t fully closed and wanted to sneak a look.”

Fu Zhilin and Third Brother Su were in complete shock, glancing between the two women, utterly confused.

“You! You’re lying!” Su Tingxue fumed, biting her lip hard. The accusing voices around her rained down like burning slaps.

“Fine! If I must suffer such slander, I’ll prove my innocence with my life!”

With a scream, she turned and dashed straight toward the wall.