Liu Nuannuan is as her name suggests; she is gentle and lovely, and always speaks in a soft voice.
She was already recognized as the "most beautiful woman" in the compound, and after marrying Zhou Jianjun, the promising deputy regimental commander, she became even more arrogant.
She felt that she was uniquely distinguished among the women in the military dependents' home.
"What's wrong with me? I'm so angry!"
Liu Lihua plopped down in a chair, picked up Liu Nuannuan's enamel mug, and took a big gulp of water. Then she began to embellish her story with exaggerated words.
"That vixen surnamed Ye, that's Chu Yan's wife, she's here with her mother-in-law and three little brats! Good heavens, what a show of it, what a striking appearance!"
"I was just trying to be kind and remind her to be mindful of her image in the army and not to dress so extravagantly. And what happened? Her mother-in-law, Chi Xinyao, and Zhang Cuihua pointed their fingers at me and started yelling!"
“Even her three little brats insulted me! They said I look like a big gourd! Nuannuan, how can your aunt swallow this insult?”
"Chu Yan"...
This name is a thorn in Liu Nuannuan's heart; it hurts whenever it's touched.
Back then, she had just been transferred to the 74th Division through her aunt's connections, and she was riding high.
She was young and beautiful, and also quite capable. She was recognized as the "most beautiful woman" in the compound, and the line of outstanding military officers pursuing her stretched from the medical center to the division headquarters.
But she couldn't stand anyone else, except for Chu Yan, who was as aloof and ethereal as a flower on a high mountain, whom she fell in love with at first sight.
She thought that with her qualifications, winning over Chu Yan was a sure thing.
So she mustered up her courage and asked her aunt, Liu Lihua, to act as matchmaker.
And the result?!
Chu Yan didn't even meet him, only sending someone back with a message—"I have no intention of doing this."
These humiliating words were like a resounding slap across Liu Nuannuan's face!
She became the laughingstock of the entire military dependents' compound!
She was furious and vowed that one day she would make Chu Yan regret it!
Thinking of this, she unconsciously clenched her fist and snapped the cotton swab in her hand in two.
"It's them again! The Chu family is like a persistent ghost!"
Besides the grudge against Chu Yan, it was also because of her man, Zhou Jianjun!
Zhou Jianjun is young and promising, and the position of regimental commander is within his grasp. She, the wife of the deputy regimental commander, is about to be promoted to the wife of the full regimental commander!
But who could have imagined that Chu Yan would suddenly appear out of nowhere! This man, who should have been dismissed and demoted, never to rise again, stole the position that should have belonged to her as her husband!
Before she knew that the Chu family had been exonerated, Liu Nuannuan thought that Zhou Jianjun's promotion was a foregone conclusion and boasted about it a lot.
Now look what's happened! The cooked duck has flown away, and all the boasts they made have been slapped in the face.
From then on, she could feel people pointing and whispering behind her back wherever she went.
Those pitying, amused looks felt like needles pricking her skin!
She went from being a high-and-mighty darling of heaven to becoming a laughing stock in an instant!
And all of this is thanks to Chu Yan! Thanks to the Chu family!
"Auntie, don't be angry."
Liu Nuannuan took a deep breath, suppressed the hatred in her heart, and put on a gentle smile again.
However, the smile didn't reach his eyes; instead, it carried a hint of coldness.
"It's not worth getting angry over someone like that. Isn't she just arrogant because her man is powerful? We can't touch Chu Yan, but we can certainly touch a vixen, right?"
She leaned close to Liu Lihua's ear, lowered her voice, and a malicious glint flashed in her eyes.
"I went up the mountain to collect herbs a couple of days ago and found a plant called 'heartbreak grass'. That thing has a highly poisonous sap."
"If someone touches it, within half a day, their face and body will be covered with big, red, itchy bumps. It's painful and unsightly. If you scratch it, it will ooze pus and leave scars. It won't heal for at least ten days to half a month!"
Liu Lihua's eyes lit up instantly: "You mean..."
"Isn't Ye Nian'an regarded as a lucky charm and a harbinger of good fortune by the entire school? Doesn't she have a seductive, foxy face?"
Liu Nuannuan sneered, her expression twisted with jealousy.
"I'm going to ruin her face! I'm going to turn her from an enviable commander's wife into an ugly monster that everyone fears!"
"I want to show everyone in the 74th Division what a miserable state their so-called 'lucky star' will be in after being tainted by bad luck!"
"Then let's see how she'll still have the nerve to swagger around in the military dependents' compound! Let's see how Chu Yan will still be able to love her after seeing her face covered in pustules every day!"
"Oh my! My sweet little darling! You're so clever!"
Upon hearing this insidious plan, Liu Lihua was overjoyed, and all the anger she had just suffered vanished instantly.
"But how can we make Ye Nian'an fall into our trap?"
"Auntie, there's a way..."
After hearing what Liu Nuannuan said, Liu Lihua's eyes lit up.
"That's the plan! Auntie will go back and prepare right away, find the most beautiful flower! I guarantee that vixen will love it!"
The aunt and niece exchanged a smile, a malicious smile that seemed to foreshadow Ye Nian'an's tragic fate after being disfigured.
Night falls.
After settling the three little ones who had fallen into a deep sleep, Ye Nian'an sat by the window, stroking a cup of warm malted milk powder in her hand, but her thoughts had already drifted far away.
Political Commissar Wang...
"What are you thinking about?"
A deep voice sounded from behind.
Immediately afterwards, a warm embrace enveloped her completely.
It's Chu Yan who's back.
He still carried the chill of outdoor training and a faint smell of gunpowder.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Niannian."
Ye Nian'an leaned against his firm chest, feeling his strong heartbeat.
The suppressed anger and heartache from the daytime could no longer be contained, turning into reddened eyes.
"Brother Yan, I... know everything today."
Chu Yan's body stiffened slightly.
He knew what she meant.
I didn't want her to know about these sordid things, and I didn't want her to worry about me.
He paused for a moment, tightened his arms, gently rested his chin on the top of her head, and spoke in an extremely soft voice, as if soothing a frightened kitten.
“It’s all in the past, Niannian. Look, I’m perfectly fine now, aren’t I? Those clowns couldn’t hurt me in the slightest.”
His tone was nonchalant, as if he were talking about a trivial matter that had nothing to do with him.
But the more this happened, the more Ye Nian'an's heart ached, as if it were being pricked by countless tiny needles.
Ye Nian'an suddenly turned around, wrapped her arms tightly around Chu Yan's waist, buried her face deeply in his chest, and said in a muffled voice with a heavy nasal tone, "But it hurts my heart."
"I feel sorry for you here, having to face so many open and hidden attacks."
“I feel sorry for you, you suffered so much injustice but didn’t tell us anything and just endured it all by yourself.”
Her tears, still uncontrollably, soaked his military uniform, burning hot, and seared into his heart.
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