"Keep your voice down. Didn't I tell you? It was an accident."

Bai Chen pretended to cover his mouth, but seeing that the door was still open, she peeked out and then anxiously closed it.

Turning around and seeing Shen Ying's leisurely demeanor, she resisted the urge to punch him. She had already said not to mention it, so why did he bring it up again? Besides, his trip to the women's bathhouse was entirely due to being tricked; it was understandable.

Back then, when the army was renovating its buildings, they even renovated the bathhouse.

Back then, the army was selecting outstanding recruits to compete in the provincial competition, a process that took a full month. Shen Ying didn't want to go, so she gave the spot to him. When they returned, the army had undergone a complete transformation.

In the sweltering summer heat, he went to the public bathhouse and was tricked by Wang Wei into going to the women's bathhouse. Although it was all steam and he couldn't see what was going on inside, some sharp-eyed female soldiers spotted him and started screaming, scaring him so much that he scrambled and ran for three miles.

Later, rumors spread that there was a peeping tom in the women's bathhouse, causing widespread panic. If Shen Ying were to reveal this, the regimental commander would definitely not let him off the hook.

"Three thousand."

Shen Ying crossed his legs and waved three fingers in front of him. He knew Bai Chen had more money than that; lending him some wouldn't be a big deal. Judging by his stingy attitude, it wasn't like he was refusing to give it to him.

"Here's what I'll do: I'll lend you a thousand. If you need it urgently, you can take it and don't need to pay me back for now."

Bai Chen gritted his teeth, as if he had made up his mind. Even if he used the money for drinking, gambling, and whoring, this thousand yuan would be enough.

"Three thousand."

Shen Ying stubbornly refused to negotiate the price, which made him scratch his head in frustration.

"Why don't you just sell me and see if I'm worth three thousand yuan?"

"Commander Zhang, we've found the person who was spying on the women's bathhouse."

Shen Ying shouted as he got up to open the door, and worried that everyone wouldn't hear him, he also opened the window. Bai Chen held on to him tightly, using all her strength, but she still couldn't budge him.

He gave in when the man was about to shout it a second time.

"Okay, three thousand it is. Take the money and leave quickly."

After reaching an agreement, Shen Ying sat back down in his previous spot, making sure to close the door and windows. Bai Chen went to the bedroom, took out the savings book, which contained a full four thousand yuan. He made Shen Ying promise repeatedly that he would repay the money by the end of the year.

Still feeling uneasy, I grabbed some paper and pen and had him write a statement. I also made him write down that he would never use the incident of going to the wrong bathhouse to threaten me again.

Shen Ying found it troublesome and threw the pen aside. Bai Chen, seeing this, put on a mournful face.

"Even if you don't write an IOU, you have to write that you'll never use this to threaten me again, otherwise you won't get a single penny today."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade her otherwise, Shen Ying had no choice but to write it down word by word, and at the end, he didn't forget to press his fingerprint on his name. Suddenly, the sound of a woman crying loudly and the sound of family members arguing came from outside.

“If you don’t arrange a job for him, I won’t come back. I’ll just die out there, and nobody will care.”

Bai Na tearfully complained that her family didn't care about the person she loved most, clearly showing they didn't love her.

"Do you think we don't want to deal with this? He's been having affairs and causing trouble outside, even alarming the town mayor and the mayor. If we make such a big fuss and then have to deal with it in the eye of the storm, are you planning to ruin your whole family's future for him?"

You could tell that Bai Na's mother was very helpless. She explained the pros and cons to her in an almost pleading tone, but her daughter clearly wouldn't listen at all.

"Then you should go find someone to resolve this. Can't you clear me of any involvement? Why can't you help him as well?"

They argued like this for almost ten minutes. Bai Chen shrugged, seemingly used to it all.

Shen Ying wasn't interested in this kind of thing, but the woman's words were becoming increasingly unbearable. She was risking her family's future to protect a man who didn't even like her; she didn't know what he was after.

Noticing his unusual behavior, Bai Chen spoke up:

"My cousin, Bai Na, worked as an educated youth in the countryside for seven or eight years. She's been making a scene for a while now, acting like she's going to die over a scumbag."

According to him, this cousin was pampered from a young age, spoiled by everyone in the family, which fostered her arrogant and domineering personality. A couple of days ago, she got into a fight with her so-called 'love rival' and almost gave him a concussion.

Her parents were worried that staying there would lead to trouble, so they went to great lengths to get her transferred back. They were planning to arrange a job for her in the next couple of days and cut ties with that man. But she insisted on doing the opposite.

With no other option, her family locked her up. Bai Na went from making a small fuss every day to causing a big scene every two days, until it became common knowledge.

"Chenchen, come quickly and help."

Bai Chen had barely finished speaking when he heard his uncle calling him from outside. The family's attempts to stop Bai Na seemed like an act, as if they were afraid of hurting her. But Bai Chen was different; he was genuinely going to use force!

"They're here."

Bai Chen reluctantly went downstairs, with Shen Ying following closely behind, to see if there was anything he could do to help.

Downstairs, Bai Na pointed at him aggressively:

"Bai Chen, let me tell you, my affairs are none of your business. Please go somewhere cool and stay there."

In her mind, if he hadn't stopped her these past few times, she would already be living happily ever after with Lu Yi. She was acting like a raging lion, reaching out to strangle him. But she stopped when she saw the man behind her.

The man was tall and handsome, with a cool demeanor that was truly captivating. Compared to Lu Yi, he was simply not in the same league.

When she was a child, she had thought that she would marry a man like him, but she almost ruined her life after meeting Lu Yi.

Seeing that her daughter had stopped making a fuss and was focusing all her attention on the man, Bai Na's mother understood and spoke first:

"Chenchen, is this your friend? We happen to have some fruit and melon seeds at home, why don't you come and play for a while?"

They hadn't met Lu Yi in person, but they had seen the photos Cui Jin had brought back. He looked shifty and suspicious, clearly not a respectable person. On the other hand, this man was tall and handsome, and a soldier. If he married their daughter and continued to live in the military compound, they could have someone to look after them in the future.

"No need, Auntie, he has something urgent to attend to and needs to go back."

Bai Chen knew how 'enthusiastic' this family was. Once Shen Ying entered their house, he probably wouldn't be able to leave until they talked about what his great-grandfather did.

Shen Ying nodded, said goodbye to Bai Chen, and before leaving, reminded him to send the money to him as soon as the bank opened.

"Brother, is that your comrade-in-arms?"

After seeing Shen Ying off, Bai Chen saw that she was still there. He wanted to turn around and leave, but Bai Na blocked his way first.

It would be so great to be with this man. Judging from the fact that he doesn't live here, he must be single.