Pei Songbai had a falling out with Shang Zhijie, and many people knew about it. He was even reprimanded by his teachers.

Pei Songbai didn't say anything more. No matter who asked, he only had one answer: he and Shang Zhijie loathed each other.

Anyway, they're not in the same group, and they won't be together on missions, so there's no rule that they have to be close.

Even after Shang Zhijie apologized for his inappropriate words, Pei Songbai didn't back down. Instead, whenever people asked, he would say that he couldn't get along with Shang Zhijie, and their relationship gradually faded.

Pei Songbai had mentioned this to Xia Wenhua, but Xia Wenhua hadn't taken it to heart.

After all, she hadn't run into Shang Qiu since the last time she treated him to a meal.

When they occasionally met on the street, Shang Qiu would avoid them from a distance, and there was no further entanglement between them.

Shang Qiu's behavior made Xia Wenhua think that Shang Qiu's initial clinginess to her might just be a slight influence from the original plot, so she didn't think much of it.

Unexpectedly, more than a month later, rumors about her started circulating again.

Xia Wenhua was curious when she overheard people gossiping about her at the intersection.

From the moment she arrived with the military, she saw Li Gang and his family off in an orderly fashion. As a result, there were far fewer people gossiping in the entire family compound. She was even praised by Sister Huang for half a month because of this.

It's only been two months, and people have already forgotten about Li Gang's demobilization?

With the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching, it was market time, and Xia Wenhua happened to be going to the market with Sister Ye to buy some things.

Halfway there, seeing the group of people ahead chatting enthusiastically and walking slower and slower, Xia Wenhua couldn't wait any longer and told them to hurry up.

She never expected that these two steps would lead her to the gossiping group, and coincidentally she overheard them talking badly about her.

The scene from the past resurfaced, and Sister Ye subconsciously glanced at Xia Wenhua's face.

Xia Wenhua didn't seem angry. Instead, she frowned and listened patiently to the gossip of the people in front of her.

Sister-in-law Ye had known Xia Wenhua for quite some time and knew she wasn't a good person. Hearing the others getting increasingly agitated, she immediately tried to intervene, but Xia Wenhua grabbed her arm.

Xia Wenhua gestured forcefully to Sister Ye not to speak, and even though she didn't understand what Xia Wenhua meant, Sister Ye obediently remained silent.

The two stood by the roadside until everyone in front of them had gone far away, then Sister Ye hurriedly asked, "Xia, why are you pulling me? Those ignorant kids seem to have forgotten the lesson from Li Gang's family. I'll give them a good scolding and make sure they don't dare to talk nonsense again!"

"Sister-in-law, have you heard what they were saying before?" Xia Wenhua frowned, feeling that what she had just heard was a bit strange, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Xia, I've occasionally heard them talking about what this man or that man does, but I've never heard them mention you before, otherwise I would have told you already."

Sister-in-law Ye also looked troubled. Thinking of Xia Wenhua's great achievements last time, she didn't know what to do now.

People of all ages and genders tend to gossip when they get together, and this is something that can't be completely stopped.

Xia Wenhua was able to successfully file a complaint last time because Li Gang's family was obviously spreading rumors without any basis.

But just now these people were saying that Pei Songbai and Shang Zhijie were not on good terms, expressing their opinions, saying that Pei Songbai spoiled Xia Wenhua too much, etc., without saying anything too outrageous.

Sister-in-law Ye is in a dilemma. On one hand, she is angry at those people who can't sit still and talk nonsense, and on the other hand, she is afraid that Xia Wenhua will not be able to stand it and will have to complain again.

Some things only need to be done once to deter others. If Xia Wenhua goes to her superiors for help every time something happens, it won't be good for either her or Pei Songbai.

Xia Wenhua was unaware of what Sister-in-law Ye was thinking; the words she had just heard kept replaying in her mind.

Xia Wenhua had met the women who had accompanied the troops before. Those who could come to accompany the troops were at least family members of battalion commanders or above. In principle, these people are usually very aware of confidentiality.

However, what was said just now was not just idle talk. In addition to saying that Pei Songbai and Shang Zhijie had quarreled, some people also said that their husbands had not come home recently and had appeared somewhere on some day.

The battalion commander's whereabouts weren't necessarily something that couldn't be known, but the fact that a few people could describe in detail all the places a person had been in a single day was terrifying to think about.

Xia Wenhua had never lived in the family compound before, so she didn't really know the atmosphere there. She just subconsciously felt that it was inappropriate to speak like that.

One person's plan is short-sighted, but two people's plans are long-sighted. Xia Wenhua explained her idea to Sister-in-law Ye.

"How can you say where the man went? You can't say things like that in public. They... sigh, I hadn't even noticed until you mentioned it, these old women are getting more and more outrageous!"

Normally, when people hear others gossiping, their reaction is either to join in or to stop it. But Sister Ye never really thought about whether what others were saying was inappropriate.

Now that Xia Wenhua has pointed it out, she feels something is wrong no matter what she does.

Military wives are all aware of confidentiality regulations. She has been with Lao Li in the military for almost twenty years and has been stationed in several different locations. She has never heard of a family member revealing her husband's whereabouts.

They don't understand things in the military, they don't know what's important and what's not, so how can they just say whatever they want?

Sister-in-law Ye was quite angry, but she still remembered to remind Xia Wenhua: "Xia, I will tell my husband about this when I get back. You can also tell Commander Pei. It's not good for us to keep going to the division commander."

Ultimately, she was still afraid that Xia Wenhua would go directly to the teacher for a decision, regardless of whether Xia Wenhua was in the right or not; it was simply that leadership shouldn't be used in this way.

Xia Wenhua, after all, is a modern woman who rose from nothing to become a powerful CEO, so she has that much sensitivity.

She smiled at Sister Ye and said, "Don't worry, Sister Ye. They went too far last time. I wanted to give them a warning. I know what to do."

Seeing that Xia Wenhua's expression was natural and without any resentment, Sister-in-law Ye couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The two finally made it to the market and even bought some things for others. Now they continued walking towards the market as planned.

There weren't many people at the market today. Xia Wenhua walked around and bought some things, but she still felt like she was missing something.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is just around the corner, and she has plenty of money. Pei Songbai has also saved up some tickets recently, which she plans to use.

Since she couldn't find it at the market, she decided to go to the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Sister-in-law Ye, I'm a little short on candy or something. I'm planning to go to the supply and marketing cooperative. Would you like to come with me?"