Chu Yan's heart felt as if it were being gripped tightly by a large hand.

The overwhelming tenderness and love almost overwhelmed him.

He cupped her tear-streaked face in his hands and gently wiped away her tears with his rough fingertips.

His eyes were as deep as the sea, churning with intense emotions.

"fool."

He lowered his head and kissed away the last tear from the corner of her eye.

“I just…don’t want you to have to worry about me. I want you and the children to be happy and carefree every day.”

"Not to mention, Dad is here, along with his familiar comrades."

"Seeing you worry about me makes me unhappy too."

Ye Nian'an raised her tear-filled eyes and looked at him stubbornly.

When their eyes meet and their emotions run deep, no amount of words seems to come together.

Then, she stood on tiptoe and kissed him deeply.

Only this one kiss can express the deep, intense feelings and heartache in my heart.

Chu Yan could no longer restrain himself and swept her up in his arms.

With the most primal and direct actions, he proved to her that she was, to him, a poison that had seeped into his very bones, and also the only antidote.

That night, the room was filled with the warmth of spring.

...

Meanwhile, at Political Commissar Wang's home, the atmosphere was completely different.

Liu Lihua lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Looking at her husband, Wang Jianguo, who was engrossed in reading a document, her anger surged again.

She began her "pillow talk" technique.

"Hey, Jianguo, you know, the Chu family is really something. They finally got exonerated, and instead of staying in the division and contributing more to the country, they're always thinking about being transferred to Haicheng."

"I heard someone say today that Chu Yan's wife acted all high and mighty as soon as she arrived, as if our little place was too much of a disservice to her."

"I think they have no country in their hearts, only their own little families! They have no spirit of dedication whatsoever!"

Wang Jianguo didn't even look up, flipping through a page of the document in a daze, and said perfunctorily, "Alright, stop talking. They were transferred based on their combat merits, which is reasonable and compliant with regulations. Stop gossiping behind their backs."

"I wasn't gossiping!"

Liu Lihua was displeased, and her voice rose a few decibels: "I feel sorry for you! Think about it, if Chu Yan hadn't come back, Jianjun would be the regimental commander now! Nuannuan would be the regimental commander's wife! Our family is in the military dependents' compound, how powerful we are!"

"Now look what's happened! The Chu family has ruined everything! Our Nuannuan has suffered so much!"

"A woman's view!"

Wang Jianguo finally lost his temper and slammed the documents on the bedside table, giving her a sinister glare.

"What do you know! All you do all day is compare yourself to those gossipy women in the yard! Long hair, short brains!"

His mind is filled with thoughts of his former colleagues who were arrested, and he's filled with anxiety, fearing that he might be implicated one day.

The return of the Chu family this time was like a sharp sword hanging over his head, making him restless and unable to eat or sleep.

He had no interest in listening to his stupid wife gossiping about these trivial matters!

We'd love for the Chu family to leave!

Go as far as you can!

"You...you yelled at me?"

Liu Lihua was taken aback by his sudden outburst of anger, and then she felt so wronged that tears almost fell from her eyes.

"Wang Jianguo! You have no conscience! I've worked so hard for this family and for Jianjun's future, and you still curse me!"

Seeing her like that only made Wang Jianguo more annoyed, so he simply pulled the blanket over his head to avoid seeing her.

"sleep!"

Liu Lihua was so angry that she pounded the bed, but there was nothing she could do.

Hmph! Men can't be relied on; you have to rely on yourself!

She secretly hardened her resolve—

Tomorrow! Tomorrow I'll definitely teach that vixen surnamed Ye a lesson!

The next day.

The public activity area of ​​the military dependents' compound was bathed in sunlight.

Many military wives brought out small stools and chatted while doing needlework.

Groups of children chased and played nearby, creating a peaceful scene.

Liu Lihua and her niece Liu Nuannuan happened to be there, chatting with several familiar military wives.

They would glance at the Chu family's courtyard every now and then, their eyes filled with a subtle hint of calculation and anticipation.

They certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to deliver the items themselves; that would be too easy to give anyone leverage against them.

In such cases, it's natural to use someone else to do the dirty work, doing it discreetly and without anyone noticing.

Sure enough, not long after, a military wife named Wang Guihua came over, pushing her five-year-old son Xiaobao in a wheelchair.

Wang Guihua's husband worked under Political Commissar Wang. She was always the one who fawned over Liu Lihua and was Liu Lihua's number one "follower".

"Go, Xiao Bao, hurry up!"

Wang Guihua lowered her voice and urged her son on.

Xiao Bao held a bunch of wildflowers simply wrapped in kraft paper in his hands. The flowers were picked from the back mountain, and they were colorful and quite beautiful.

However, no one knew that the roots and leaves of that brightly colored bouquet had already been coated with colorless and odorless Gelsemium elegans juice.

With his mother's shoving, Xiao Bao, holding flowers, walked towards Ye Nian'an, who was sitting with the children in the sun at the gate of the courtyard, looking back every few steps.

"Auntie... my mom said this is for you, to welcome you to the military dependents' home."

Xiao Bao said in a childish voice, holding the bouquet in front of Ye Nian'an.

The military wives around them smiled kindly at the sight.

Liu Lihua and Liu Nuannuan exchanged a glance, their smiles growing even more smug.

Their plan was flawless!

Ye Nian'an couldn't refuse to send flowers to an innocent child in public; otherwise, she would be disrespecting the child and appear petty.

The moment she reached out to take the bouquet, the poisonous sap would get on her hands.

If she develops rashes on her face and body and her appearance is ruined, she can only blame it on her bad luck and allergy to wildflowers! No one can blame them!

When Ye Nian'an saw the flowers the child handed her, a gentle smile immediately appeared on her face.

But the moment the bouquet approached, her sense of smell, enhanced by the spiritual spring water and far exceeding that of ordinary people, detected a very subtle yet incredibly familiar spicy and fishy smell in the rich floral fragrance!

As a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine, she knows this all too well.

Heartbreak grass!

It can save lives, but it can also harm them!

Her heart sank instantly, and a cold glint flashed in her eyes.

What a brilliant scheme to use someone else to do the dirty work! What a clever calculation!

Even after discovering it, Ye Nian'an still had a warm smile on her face. She didn't immediately touch the bouquet of flowers, but instead patted Xiao Bao's head first.

"Thank you, Xiaobao. These flowers are so beautiful. Auntie really likes them."

She turned to Chi Xinyao, who was in the yard, and called out, "Mom, quickly bring me a basin of water from inside the house. These flowers are so beautiful, we have to take good care of them."