First Night with the Army: The Stoic Big Shot Is Done Pretending

"Call me when you get home."

Wen Ci reached out and hugged him. "I know."

-

Wen Ci slept exceptionally well on the plane. Huo Jingyuan had prepared an eye mask for her. After boarding, she leaned against the window and didn’t wake up until a flight attendant called out to her.

The plane was already almost empty.

Wen Ci left the airport and hailed a cab. The fare to the Beijing Military District Family Courtyard was eight yuan. She clicked her tongue. ’In the past, I would never have been willing to spend this much.’

Eight yuan.

That was a month’s worth of food for a single-income family.

The driver asked, "Is your husband a soldier?"

Wen Ci nodded amicably. "Yes."

"In that case, I’ll only charge you seven yuan for this trip. Soldiers protect our country, so you, as a military family member, should enjoy some benefits."

"Huh?"

Wen Ci blinked.

’Military families already get to enjoy benefits at a time like this?!’

"Is this a company-wide policy?"

In the 1980s, the screening process for taxi drivers was extremely strict. It required multiple levels of approval from higher-ups, and both family background and driving skills were essential. Many retired military drivers ended up driving taxis.

"No." The driver shook his head and explained, "My son is also a soldier, stationed up in the Northeast. Being a soldier is a tough and tiring life."

Wen Ci nodded.

-

「Two hours later」

The taxi arrived at the Beijing Military Region.

Just as Wen Ci got out of the car, she ran into Su Guilan and Jiang Ye. The two were walking arm in arm, talking and laughing, looking just like a real mother and daughter.

Jiang Ye had sharp eyes and was the first to greet her, "Sister."

Wen Ci acted as if she hadn’t heard a thing.

Jiang Ye pulled Su Guilan over to Wen Ci, a wide smile on her face. "Sister, where did you just get back from?"

Wen Ci remained silent.

She didn’t even spare Jiang Ye a glance.

Su Guilan frowned. "Your sister is asking you a question."

At that, Wen Ci’s gaze shifted to Su Guilan. She gave a soft laugh and a speechless shrug. "Since when did you have two daughters?"

Her single sentence left Su Guilan speechless.

She knew Wen Ci resented that she still acknowledged Jiang Ye.

But back then, Jiang Ye had been just a baby in swaddling clothes. She knew nothing about the switch; she was an innocent victim too.

Wen Ci’s tone was distant and cold. "Is there anything else?"

"Come home for dinner tonight."

"I don’t want to."

Jiang Ye slowly lowered her head, asking in a self-reproachful tone, "Sister, is it because of me that you don’t want to come home for dinner? I can go stay at my brother’s house."

With those few manipulative words, she carefully crafted an image of herself as being considerate and understanding.

"Ah Ci, can you please not be like this..."

"Like what?" Wen Ci’s eyes lowered slightly as she spoke, word by word. "Weren’t you the one who made me marry in her place? I’m clearly your biological daughter, but what about you?"

Jiang Ye cut in, "Aren’t you very satisfied with Huo Jingyuan?"

"Heh!"

At first, the Jiang Family had only thought Huo Jingyuan was some grunt soldier in the Northwest. Although he had a connection to Old Commander Huo, relationships from before someone’s death didn’t hold much sway.

It was Wen Ci who had admitted she was satisfied.

That was just her good luck.

Wen Ci took a deep breath, slowly exhaling the unhappiness in her heart. She said bluntly, "Since we’re putting it all on the table, I want to cut ties with the Jiang Family. Let’s act like we don’t know each other. No need to greet one another if we happen to meet."

Before Su Guilan could react, Jiang Ye covered her mouth, feigning concern while actually fanning the flames. "Sister... how could you be so cruel as to say something like that?"

"Ah Ci, you..."

Wen Ci, feeling she had to get it all out, continued, "Do you have any idea what my life was like when I was five? At five years old, no one cooked for me. I had to climb onto the stove myself just to get by. The neighbor auntie took pity on me and would help me out sometimes."

"And another thing."

Wen Ci’s eyes grew red, her mind flooded with childhood memories. Her early life had been truly bitter. She had even thought about jumping into a river to end it all.

"She knew the truth about being switched at birth when she was in junior high, but she kept it a secret, using money to support her biological parents every month.

They would take that money and go eat at restaurants in the county, while I was at home chewing on tree bark!"

In the sixties and seventies, you needed ration tickets to buy anything. When the Wen family parents got money, they would take Wen Yaozu out to restaurants.

She survived by growing snake gourds.

Snake gourds grew quickly, but they had little flavor or nutrition.

Wen Ci spent her entire adolescence growing up on snake gourds. In the whole family, only the young Wen Yaozu felt sorry for her, secretly hiding bits of meat from the Wen family parents to give her a taste of something better.

Jiang Ye retorted, "No, I didn’t, I don’t know."

"Your biological parents have a ledger that clearly records the amounts you gave them, and even the money they saved up!"

Jiang Ye’s expression turned frantic. She had only just returned to the Jiang Family to enjoy a couple of days as the young miss. Her eyes reddened as she shook her head, at a complete loss.

"No, that’s not it. I was threatened, too."

"Threatened?" Wen Ci sneered, her gaze as cold and sharp as ice. "Threatened that if you didn’t give them money, they’d expose your identity as the fake young miss?"

"No..."

Jiang Ye’s mind was a mess. She worried that in her panic, she would slip up and say something that would make it impossible for her to ever return to the Jiang Family. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the gathering crowd of onlookers.

As a military region minister, Mr. Jiang was constantly being watched by many people. As soon as a crowd formed, Mrs. Jiang would get stage fright and leave.

Hearing her daughter’s grievances, Su Guilan instantly burst into tears. She pounded her own chest in remorse. She knew her daughter had suffered a great deal in the countryside.

But she hadn’t known she had suffered *this* much.

The Wen family had deliberately neglected her, refusing to feed her.

"Ah Ci..."

Wen Ci felt nothing looking at the tears on her face. Noticing the crowd of onlookers growing larger, she said indifferently, "I’m leaving. Don’t let this affect your husband’s military position."

The nephew of one of Huo Jingyuan’s childhood friends still relied on Minister Jiang.

Cutting ties was one thing, but she still had to remember her obligations.

-

On the way home, Wen Ci’s mood lightened considerably.

She had said her harsh words and didn’t care how Mrs. Jiang felt. All that mattered was her own well-being.

In the courtyard, Wen Yaozu was practicing kicking a shuttlecock. With his chubby frame, he would lose his bearings after just a couple of kicks.

Just as Wen Ci reached the doorway, Wen Yaozu’s voice rang out. "Sis, you’re finally back! I missed you guys."

Wen Yaozu ran to the door. Seeing his sister had returned alone, he asked in confusion, "Sis, how come you’re back by yourself? Where’s my brother-in-law?"

Wen Ci looked at the shuttlecock in his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Training my Spiritual Power."

Wen Yaozu blinked at her, rubbing his hands together. "So where’s my brother-in-law? Didn’t he come back with you?"

"He’s not back yet. I told him to stay in Hangzhou for a couple more days to accompany the elders."

"Oh." Wen Yaozu wasn’t disappointed. Then he suddenly noticed his sister was only carrying a bag and his eyes widened. "Then, Sis, you didn’t bring the computer back?"

"I didn’t."

"I already told all my friends at school that I was going to learn how to use a computer and become the first elementary school student in our county to ever touch one."

Wen Ci was speechless.

’Wait a minute.’

Wen Ci tilted her head, her face full of confusion. "How did you contact your school friends?"

Wen Yaozu was an elementary school student, and he normally wasn’t allowed to take the bus back to the county. She had just contacted Wen Yaozu yesterday.

"On the phone."

"Your school has a landline?"

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