Chapter 91 Rumors
The afterglow of the setting sun slanted across the courtyard, giving the entire yard a warm orange hue, but also adding a bit of melancholy to the impending separation.
Happy times always pass by like a flash, so short that they catch people off guard. After a heartwarming meal, Lu Tingxiao had no choice but to pack his bags and prepare to return to the military academy.
Jiang Ruoxi was busy putting four cans of mushroom minced meat sauce that Aunt Chen had carefully made, two packs of perfectly dried meat, and four cans of hot sauce into Lu Tingxiao's backpack.
The meat sauce has an attractive color, and every bite is full of the taste of home; the jerky has a clear texture and exudes a rich aroma; the hot sauce is bright red and oily, making people salivate just by looking at it.
"Tingxiao, I'm worried that you won't eat well over there. With these sauces, even if the food doesn't suit your taste, you can dip the steamed buns in them and eat more. Eat the dried meat when you're hungry after training to supplement your protein!" Jiang Ruoxi kept nagging while pretending.
Lu Tingxiao looked at Jiang Ruoxi's busy figure, his heart filled with attachment and reluctance. He walked forward, gently hugged Jiang Ruoxi from behind, rested his chin on her shoulder, and took a deep breath, as if he wanted to imprint the warmth of this moment and her breath deeply in his heart.
The children also sensed the atmosphere of parting, and gathered around silently, holding their father's clothes with their little hands, their eyes full of reluctance.
"Tingxiao, besides eating these yourself, give them to your comrades to try and build a good relationship with them!" Jiang Ruoxi turned around and looked at Lu Tingxiao, her eyes full of concern.
"Got it, my dear. I'll come back when I'm free, and I'll call you often when I'm not!" Lu Tingxiao responded gently, raising his hand to gently stroke the hair by Jiang Ruoxi's ear.
"Well, be careful. If you don't have enough food, call me and I'll send you more!" Jiang Ruoxi's eyes were slightly red and her voice was a little choked.
The sadness of separation spread between the two of them for a long time. Lu Tingxiao hugged the children again, kissed them reluctantly on their faces one by one, then picked up his backpack and walked out of the house.
Jiang Ruoxi and the children stood at the door, watching his back gradually go away. It was not until Lu Tingxiao disappeared around the corner of the street that Jiang Ruoxi turned around and took the children back into the house.
When he returned home, everything seemed to still retain the scent of Lu Tingxiao. Jiang Ruoxi began to clean up the dishes that Lu Tingxiao had used. She looked at the seat where he had sat, her thoughts drifting away.
She thought of the time they spent together, all the laughter and sweetness, which have now turned into deep longing. The children sat quietly by the side, as if they had not yet recovered from the loss of their father leaving. Jiang Ruoxi forced herself to cheer herself up and told the children about Lu Tingxiao's interesting experiences in the military academy, trying to dispel the sadness that enveloped the family.
At night, Jiang Ruoxi lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep. She looked at the bright moon outside the window and silently prayed that Lu Tingxiao was doing well in the military academy.
At this moment, Lu Tingxiao was sitting in the car on his way back to the military academy, watching the night passing by outside the car window, with Jiang Ruoxi and the children's faces filling his mind. He secretly told himself that he must study hard and live up to his family's expectations.
Since Lu Tingxiao left, Jiang Ruoxi's life has returned to its normal track. Every day, she either shuttles between the teaching buildings on campus or takes good care of her children at home. Her life is plain but stable.
It was a sunny day, and Jiang Ruoxi was walking briskly on the way to the classroom, holding her books as usual. But as she walked, she became keenly aware of the strange looks from those around her. From time to time, someone was pointing and whispering behind her.
Jiang Ruoxi was full of doubts and her pace slowed down unconsciously. She wondered to herself: What is going on? I haven't done anything special recently. Confused, she quickened her pace, planning to ask her roommate for clarification as soon as she arrived in the classroom.
As soon as she stepped into the classroom, before Jiang Ruoxi could open her mouth to ask, Yang Mina and the others surrounded her like a pot of boiling water. Yang Mina's face was full of anxiety. She was about to speak, but suddenly stopped and hesitated.
"Mina, what happened to you?" Jiang Ruoxi couldn't help but ask.
Yang Mina and the other four looked at each other, their eyes conveying complicated emotions. Finally, Su Qingqing stood up, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Ruoxi, someone said that they saw you flirting with a man outside of school, and said that the man even had a child. They also said that it was no wonder that you rushed home after school every day. There must be something shameful going on!"
"What?" Jiang Ruoxi was both angry and amused. Her brows knitted together and she asked, "Who saw me hooking up with a guy outside of school? When did they see me?"
"It was Huang Ying. She said she saw you talking and laughing with a man in the park yesterday. It was so ambiguous!" Su Qingqing added.
"In the park yesterday?" Jiang Ruoxi muttered to herself, and her mind quickly recalled the scene of her and Lu Tingxiao taking the children to the park yesterday. Suddenly she realized something and couldn't help but laugh or cry.
"Yes, she described it so vividly that everyone believed it and said you were a fickle woman!" Yang Mina curled her lips with disdain.
"Then is there a possibility that that is my man?" Jiang Ruoxi smiled helplessly and spread her hands and said.
Everyone was stunned at first, then they slapped their foreheads and suddenly realized, "Oh, how could we forget that you were married! It's all because you look too young, like you are only 17 or 18 years old. We all forgot that you are married and have children!" Several people talked to each other, and they all felt amused at their own negligence.
Just as everyone was discussing the topic, Professor Yang walked into the classroom with a lesson plan. Jiang Ruoxi looked at Professor Yang on the podium, then looked at her classmates, and decided to put the rumors aside for the time being. After all, studies were more important. She took a deep breath, adjusted her state, and listened carefully to Professor Yang's lecture.
However, after class, this incident followed us like a shadow and was not forgotten because of the class. As soon as Jiang Ruoxi walked out of the classroom, she heard some classmates whispering behind her back, and some even gave her strange looks.
She was very upset and felt that she could not let the rumor continue to spread. She had to find Huang Ying and explain things clearly, otherwise there would be an even more outrageous version of this rumor that was fabricated out of nothing. So Jiang Ruoxi asked around for Huang Ying's whereabouts and found out that she was studying in the library. Jiang Ruoxi went straight to the library and found Huang Ying in the corner.
"Student Huang Ying, I want to talk to you." Jiang Ruoxi tried her best to keep her tone calm.
Huang Ying raised her head and saw that it was Jiang Ruoxi. A trace of panic flashed across her eyes, but she quickly pretended to be calm. "What are you, a flirtatious woman, talking to me about?"
Jiang Ruoxi stared at Huang Ying straightly, her eyes full of anger and questioning, and her voice unconsciously raised a few notes: "Student Huang, please tell me, how did I become so fickle and flirt with other women? How can you speak so irresponsibly without any evidence?"
Huang Ying was shocked by Jiang Ruoxi's momentum for a moment, but she still stiffened her neck and replied unwillingly: "How do you know I don't have evidence? Since you can do such a thing, why can't I say it?" She looked so righteous, as if she was the victim.
Jiang Ruoxi was so angry that she was shaking all over. She took a step forward and stared at Huang Ying: "Then tell me, what evidence do you have? You said that I was fickle and flirting with other women. If you can't give us a clear explanation today, we will not be done with this!"
The students around noticed that the atmosphere here was not right, and they all cast curious glances and talked in low voices.
"Why don't I have any evidence? I saw it with my own eyes!" Huang Ying raised her voice, trying to give herself courage, but her eyes flickered unconsciously.
"What did you see with your own eyes? Tell me clearly today, did you see me flirting with other men?" Jiang Ruoxi crossed her arms across her chest and did not back down.
Huang Ying's face turned pale and red, and she hesitated for a long time before finally uttering, "I... I saw you and a man talking and laughing in the park, with a child in tow. You looked so intimate, what else could it be but flirting?"
"Oh, that's my husband. We were just hanging out in the park, enjoying the family fun. How could you twist that into an affair?" Jiang Ruoxi sneered, her eyes full of mockery. "Huang Ying, when you were making up stories about others behind their backs, did you ever think this day would come?"
Huang Ying's face turned pale in an instant. She bit her lips, lowered her head, and dared not look directly into Jiang Ruoxi's eyes. After hearing the conversation between the two, the students around them also started pointing fingers at Huang Ying, and the discussions became louder and louder.
Huang Ying opened her eyes wide, her face full of disbelief, and retorted sharply: "Impossible, how old are you, how can you get married?" The tone of her voice seemed to be defending a truth that she firmly believed in.
Jiang Ruoxi looked calm, but her eyes revealed an unquestionable determination. She responded slowly, "I would like to ask Mr. Huang, why can't I get married? Is there a necessary restriction on marriage and age?"
She raised her chin slightly and looked directly at Huang Ying with a frank gaze, emitting an aura that could not be ignored.
Huang Ying was choked by Jiang Ruoxi's question, but she still didn't give up and stammered, "You look only about 17 or 18 years old. How could you possibly get married?"
Her eyes were full of confusion and questioning, as if Jiang Ruoxi in front of her was a puzzle that she could not understand at all.
"Thank you for praising me for my young age!" Jiang Ruoxi smiled faintly, and then said seriously, "I am already 21 years old this year. Is there anything abnormal about getting married and having children at this age? Many people have started family life at this age. I am just one of them!"
Her voice was steady and powerful, and every word seemed to be declaring the truth to Huang Ying.
Huang Ying seemed to have grasped the last straw and still refused to give in: "Okay, even if you are married, even if you have children, do you think you can give birth to three children at your age? This is ridiculous!"
She folded her hands across her chest, with a hint of self-righteous pride on her face, as if this question could completely stump Jiang Ruoxi.
Jiang Ruoxi looked at Huang Ying's expression, feeling both angry and amused. She said with a hint of ridicule, "Then is there a possibility that I gave birth to triplets?"
As soon as these words came out, the students who were watching quietly around suddenly let out a low exclamation, and everyone began to discuss in a low voice, looking at Jiang Ruoxi with a bit more curiosity and surprise in their eyes.
"How is this possible? How is this possible?" Huang Ying stood there in a daze, as if she was under a spell, muttering to herself in disbelief. Her face was full of shock, as if Jiang Ruoxi's answer had completely overturned her understanding.
"Classmate Huang, what's impossible?" Jiang Ruoxi put away her smile, her expression became serious, she took a step forward, stared into Huang Ying's eyes, and said word by word, "Also, I will not let this matter go. I solemnly tell you, I am in a military marriage, and what you are doing is called spreading rumors about military families. Do you know what the consequences of spreading rumors about military families will be?" Her voice was low and cold, and there seemed to be a hint of chill in the air.
Huang Ying's face turned as pale as paper in an instant, her lips trembled slightly, but she couldn't utter a word. Her eyes were filled with fear and regret, realizing that she had really gotten into big trouble this time. The stares from her classmates around her made her feel uneasy. She subconsciously lowered her head, wishing she could find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
"According to relevant laws, spreading rumors about military families is not only detrimental to personal reputation, but also a serious harm to the military family, and the perpetrator must bear legal responsibility!" Jiang Ruoxi continued, her voice clear and powerful, allowing everyone present to hear it clearly, "I didn't want to make a big deal out of this, but your behavior is really too much. I must seek justice for myself and my family!"
Huang Ying fell to her knees with a thud, her legs weak, her eyes filled with tears, and her voice was sobbing: "Jiang Ruoxi, I was wrong, I was really wrong, I was just confused at that time, please forgive me this time, I really didn't know it would be so serious!" She clasped her hands together and kept begging, completely losing her arrogant look just now.
Jiang Ruoxi looked at Huang Ying kneeling on the ground. She felt no joy at all, only deep helplessness. She was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I can consider not pursuing your legal responsibility, but you must publicly clarify this matter in front of all the teachers and students in the school, and apologize to me and my family!"
Huang Ying nodded quickly, as fast as pounding garlic: "I will do it, I will do it, thank you, thank you for forgiving me!" Her voice trembled a little with excitement.
Jiang Ruoxi turned around, looked at the classmates around her, and said loudly: "I hope everyone can remember what happened today. Don't believe and spread unfounded rumors at will. Everyone must be responsible for their own words and deeds!" After that, she left with firm steps under the gaze of everyone.
Huang Ying was left slumped on the ground, immersed in deep self-blame and regret under the complicated gazes of her classmates.
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