"If Dr. Qiao didn't deliberately investigate me, how would he know all this? Was it all just conjecture? Or just speculation?"
Jiang Wanqing tilted her head to look at her, quietly waiting for her answer.
"I...I was afraid that Battalion Commander Cheng would be deceived by you!"
"That means they investigated."
"I...you..."
Qiao Xuemei was speechless, unsure how to answer, and turned her gaze to Cheng Ran with an anxious expression.
"Battalion Commander Cheng, you mustn't believe her! She's definitely not as naive as she seems!"
"Enough! Get out!"
Cheng Ran completely ignored her. Qiao Xuemei was furious. She glared at Jiang Wanqing and left angrily.
The door slammed shut with a bang. After leaving, Qiao Xuemei felt increasingly uneasy. Since telling Cheng Ran was useless, she wouldn't hesitate to escalate the matter...
The ward fell silent again. Jiang Wanqing's fingers twitched. She didn't know how much of what Qiao Xuemei had said had been taken by Cheng Ran. She wanted to say that she hadn't done those things, but that would put her in the trap of proving herself, since those kinds of things are the hardest to prove.
"Cheng Ran, actually I..."
"come over."
He looked at her, his tone neither angry nor resentful, just as usual.
She should have known that his previous "ambiguous" relationship with Yuan Zhong in the village would be exposed. Although he hadn't actually done anything, it was inevitable that people would use it against him.
He gestured with his eyes to the nourishing soup on the bedside table.
"Open it."
She thought he wanted to drink, so she opened the bottle. A rich aroma of meat wafted out, and she opened her eyes and ladled out a bowl for him.
Just as I was about to feed him, he shook his head slightly.
"This is for you. Thank you for taking care of me these past few days."
She hadn't expected it to be prepared for her. After all, getting meat in this era wasn't easy, and he was injured and needed the soup more than she did.
She shook her head: "I don't need it, you drink it."
"If you're not going to drink it, then it'll be poured out."
Well……
Compared to what Qiao Xuemei had said earlier, it seemed that her not drinking the soup made him even angrier, which confused Jiang Wanqing, but she still drank it as he wished.
I must say, although it doesn't have as many varieties of soups as in the 21st century, the taste is still quite good, rich but not greasy, with just the right amount of oil.
She drank half of it and fed the other half to Cheng Ran, deliberately cutting him off before he could refuse.
"Battalion Commander Cheng, are you not drinking because you think I've already had some?"
"Of course not..."
"Then drink it!"
After spending so many days together, Jiang Wanqing had figured out his personality. She could be firm on issues that weren't matters of principle, but his bottom line couldn't be crossed, which was why she dared to "yell" at him.
This was the first time Cheng Ran had been ordered around like this by someone other than his boss, and that person was his newlywed wife. He felt a little strange, not uncomfortable, but... he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
His ears burned, and he swallowed the soup Jiang Wanqing fed him, his wheat-colored skin turning redder and redder with each sip.
Jiang Wanqing asked in surprise, "Is this soup very hot? The temperature is just right for me. Why is your face red?"
As she spoke, she reached out and touched it; it was indeed hot. The doctor had said that his wound was at risk of infection and inflammation, so she was a little worried.
"I'll go get the doctor..."
Before she could get up, Cheng Ran pressed down on her hand.
"I'm fine, you can sit down."
She still looked worried, so he changed the subject.
"I didn't take Qiao Xuemei's words to heart, so you don't need to worry."
Her eyes flickered. He had been so honest in expressing his thoughts; shouldn't she be more open about them too?
Jiang Wanqing pursed her lips and sat up straight again.
"I can assure you that I didn't do what Qiao Xuemei said, but before you, I did have a brief crush on someone else."
"Who?" he immediately asked.
Her lips twitched. She had just said she didn't care, but now that she had started speaking, she couldn't just stop halfway through, so she had to finish what she was saying.
"You saw it, the department store last time..."
"That good-for-nothing?"
Although the description is quite apt, the way he said it makes it seem like there's something else going on.
"It's him."
"Your taste doesn't seem like you'd like him."
Jiang Wanqing seemed to hear a sneer from Cheng Ran's breath. Was it sneer at her? Or at Yuan Zhong?
Everyone has to pay the price for their past ignorance. Even Cheng Ran saw through Yuan Zhong's true nature the first time she met him. Before her rebirth, she was still devoted to him. Now that she thinks about it, it's really unforgivable!
She bit her lower lip: "Everyone has moments when they are blind."
"It won't happen again?"
"Um?"
Cheng Ran remained silent, turning his head to look at the other things on the table.
“These are all for you. You’re too thin. You need to take good care of yourself. Otherwise, when I go back to meet my parents with you, they’ll think I’ve neglected you.”
She couldn't help but chuckle: "No, not at all. My parents have a very good opinion of you."
His eyes lit up with surprise: "Really?"
How did we end up talking about this? Jiang Wanqing avoided his intense gaze, nodded and hummed in agreement, and continued feeding him and the soup.
"You'll see when you see it for yourself."
Cheng Ran raised an eyebrow. He was also looking forward to this day. After meeting her parents, it would be time to introduce her to his own...
She didn't know what he was thinking. She only knew that his fate in this life had been changed, and now she just had to wait for him to recover so that she could return to her own path.
With the college entrance examination about to be reinstated, she had to put in all her effort to study. Although she had no doubt about her learning ability, she did not want to slack off in the slightest.
Cheng Ran had been hospitalized for a long time, and Jiang Wanqing rarely returned to the family compound. On this day, she went back to get Cheng Ran a change of clothes, but she was met with strange looks from others along the way.
When she turned around to find out what was going on, the women she had only met a few times avoided her like the plague.
She vaguely heard a few words of discussion about herself...
"See that? That's Battalion Commander Cheng's wife. She's from the countryside and looks quite innocent, but I heard it's all an act."
“I’ve heard about it too. She was used up by men in the village. Dr. Qiao said he would give her an examination, but she kept putting it off. She must be hiding something.”
"I really don't know what Battalion Commander Cheng saw in her. It's a shame that a good man like him is being entangled with such a scumbag."
"Dr. Qiao is so kind..."
...
When there's a lot of discussion, the person involved can't help but want to hear it. Jiang Wanqing frowned; she knew without a doubt who had spread these rumors.
She's been at the hospital these past few days, so the rumors must have spread quite a bit by now. Qiao Xuemei really hasn't given up on her evil intentions!
When they ran into Qiao Hongmei, who was walking towards them with her arms crossed, she didn't act like a mouse seeing a cat as before. This time, her face was full of sarcasm and contempt.
"Jiang Wanqing, how dare you come here? You won't be able to live in the family compound any longer. I advise you to move out as soon as possible!"
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