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 had an exceptionally comfortable sleep 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 her name.

Most of the other passengers had already deplaned.

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

Eight yuan.

That was a month’s worth of food expenses 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. 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, requiring multiple layers of approval from above. Both family background and driving skills were essential. Many retired military drivers went on to become taxi drivers.

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

Wen Ci nodded in agreement.

-

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 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 stand in front of 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 small, sarcastic laugh and a helpless shrug. "Since when did you have two daughters?"

Her single sentence left Su Guilan speechless.

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

But back then, Jiang Ye was just a baby in swaddling clothes. She knew nothing about being switched; 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 and asked in a self-reproaching 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."

Her comment was a classic example of feigned innocence, designed to paint her as the reasonable one.

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

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

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

"Heh!"

At first, the Jiang Family only thought Huo Jingyuan was some grunt soldier in the Northwest. Although he had a connection to Old Commander Huo, connections to a dead man weren’t worth much.

It was Wen Ci who had to admit she was satisfied.

That was just her good luck.

Wen Ci took a long, deep breath, slowly exhaling the bitterness in her heart. She said bluntly, "Since we’re laying it all out, I want to cut ties with the Jiang Family. Let’s act like we don’t know each other. There’s no need to greet each other when we meet."

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

"Ah Ci, you..."

Wen Ci felt she had to get it off her chest and continued, "Do you have any idea what my life was like at five? At five years old, there was no one to cook for me. I had to climb onto the stove myself to find food. The neighbor auntie took pity on me and would help me out sometimes."

"And another thing."

The rims of Wen Ci’s eyes reddened as her mind flooded with memories of her childhood. Life had been truly bitter back then; she had even considered ending it all by jumping into a river.

"She knew she was the wrong baby by the time she was in middle school, but she kept it a secret, using money every month to support her biological parents.

They would take that money and go out to 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 got money, they would take Wen Yaozu out to eat.

She survived by growing snake gourds.

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

Wen Ci spent her entire adolescence eating snake gourds. The only one in the family who cared for her was young Wen Yaozu, who would secretly hide bits of meat from their parents to give to her as a treat.

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

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

Jiang Ye’s expression grew panicked. She had just returned to the Jiang Family and had only enjoyed two days of being the young miss. Her eyes reddened, and she shook her head, at a 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 your identity as the fake young miss?"

"No..."

Jiang Ye’s mind was a chaotic mess. She was worried she’d misspeak in her panic and never be able to return to the Jiang Family. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the surrounding crowd of onlookers.

As Minister Jiang of the military region, Mr. Jiang was constantly under scrutiny. Whenever a crowd gathered, Mrs. Jiang would get flustered and leave.

Listening to her daughter’s grievances, Su Guilan’s tears fell instantly. She pounded her chest in regret. She knew her daughter had suffered a lot in the countryside.

But she never knew she had suffered this much.

The Wen Family had deliberately neglected her and withheld food.

"Ah Ci..."

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

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

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

-

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

She had said her piece 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 body, he was already disoriented after just a couple of kicks.

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

Wen Yaozu ran to the doorway. Seeing his sister was alone, he asked, puzzled, "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, rubbing his hands together. "Where’s my brother-in-law? Didn’t he come back with you?"

"He didn’t. I told him to stay in Hangzhou for a couple more days to spend time with his elders."

"Oh." Wen Yaozu wasn’t disappointed. His gaze suddenly fell on the single bag his sister was carrying, and his eyes widened. "Sis, does that mean you didn’t bring back the computer?"

"Nope."

"I already told all my buddies 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.

Wait a minute.

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

Wen Yaozu was an elementary school student; normally, he wouldn’t be allowed to ride the bus back to the county by himself. She had just been in touch with Wen Yaozu yesterday.

"By phone."

"Your school has a landline?"

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