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

"Call me when you get home, okay?"

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.

Most of the other passengers had already deplaned.

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

Eight yuan.

That was a whole month’s food budget for a single-income family.

The driver asked, "Is your husband in the military?"

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 benefits at a time like this?!’

"Is this a company-wide policy?"

Getting a taxi license in the eighties was extremely strict. You had to go through layers of approval from the higher-ups. Both family background and driving skills were essential. Many soldiers who drove in the military became taxi drivers after retiring.

"No," the driver said, shaking his head. He explained, "My son is also a soldier. He’s stationed up in the Northeast. Being a soldier is tiring and tough."

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 for all the world 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 grin 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."

Hearing this, Wen Ci’s gaze shifted to Su Guilan. She gave a faint smile and a helpless shrug. "Since when did you have two daughters?"

Those words left Su Guilan speechless.

She knew Wen Ci resented her for still acknowledging Jiang Ye.

But back then, Jiang Ye was just an infant 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 over 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 place."

With those manipulative words, she perfectly crafted an image of herself as someone thoughtful and understanding.

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

"Like what?" Wen Ci’s eyelids 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 you? What did you do?"

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

"Heh!"

At first, the Jiang Family just thought Huo Jingyuan was a common grunt in the Northwest. Even with the connection to Old Commander Huo, relationships with a deceased person didn’t carry much weight.

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 bitterness in her heart. She said bluntly, "Since we’re already laying everything out on the table, I want to cut all ties with the Jiang Family. Let’s act like we don’t know each other. No need to even greet each other when we meet."

Before Su Guilan could react, Jiang Ye covered her mouth, feigning concern but 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 auntie next door took pity on me and would help me out sometimes."

"And another thing."

Wen Ci’s eyes reddened as her mind filled with memories of her childhood. Life back then was truly hard. She had even thought about jumping into the river to end it all.

"She clearly knew she was the wrong baby back in junior high, but she kept it a secret, using her allowance every month to support her biological parents.

They took that money to go eat at restaurants in the county town, while I was at home gnawing on tree bark!"

In the sixties and seventies, you needed ration tickets to buy anything. Whenever the Wen Family parents had money, they’d take Wen Yaozu out to eat.

She survived by growing and eating snake gourds.

Snake gourds grow fast, but they have little flavor or nutritional value.

Wen Ci spent her entire adolescence living on snake gourds. The only person in the family who cared about her was young Wen Yaozu. He would sneak her some meat behind the Wen Family parents’ backs so she could have a taste of something good.

Jiang Ye retorted, "No, I didn’t! I didn’t know!"

"Your biological parents have a ledger! It clearly records the amounts you gave them, and even the money they managed to save!"

Jiang Ye’s expression turned to panic. She had only just returned to the Jiang Family and enjoyed a couple of days as the young lady of the house. Her eyes grew red as she shook her head, at a complete loss.

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

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

"No..."

Jiang Ye’s mind was a complete mess. She was terrified that in her panic, she’d let something slip and would never be able to return to the Jiang Family. She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the surrounding onlookers.

As a minister in the military region, Mr. Jiang was constantly being watched. If a crowd gathered, Mrs. Jiang would get flustered and leave.

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

But she never knew she had suffered *this* much.

’The Wen Family deliberately neglected her, refusing to even feed her.’

"Ah Ci..."

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

Huo Jingyuan’s childhood friend’s nephew still relied on Minister Jiang.

’Cutting ties is one thing, but I still have to remember the favors owed.’

-

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

The harsh words had been spoken, and she didn’t care how Mrs. Jiang felt. All in all, her own well-being was what mattered most.

In the courtyard, Wen Yaozu was practicing kicking a shuttlecock. With his chubby body, he was already losing his balance after just a couple of kicks.

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

Wen Yaozu ran to the gate, but seeing his sister was 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 winked at her and rubbed his hands together. "So where’s my brother-in-law? Didn’t he come back with you?"

"He’s not back. I told him to stay in Hangzhou for a couple more days to be with his elders."

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

"Nope."

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

Wen Ci was speechless.

Wen Ci tilted her head, a confused look on her face. "Wait a minute. How did you talk to your friends from school?"

Wen Yaozu was an elementary school student; he normally wasn’t allowed to take the bus back to the county by himself. And she had just been in touch with Wen Yaozu yesterday.

"On the phone."

"Your school has a landline?"

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