An Accidental Military Marriage

When she first learned Lu Cheng had gotten married, Qiao Wenjing was heartbroken for quite some time.

What unmarried woman wouldn’t be smitten by a bachelor as tall, handsome, and capable as Lu Cheng?

Not to mention, Lu Cheng had saved her life. The only way she could think to repay him was by pledging herself to him.

But in the end, her deep infatuation failed to warm Lu Cheng’s heart. He married someone else.

Eventually, she came to terms with it.

’Lu Cheng is my benefactor. Since he has someone he loves, I should wish him well.’

’It’s a shame we can’t be husband and wife, but we can still be comrades-in-arms, be friends.’

But deep down, she couldn’t help but speculate about this "rival" she had never met.

’To tame a proud, wolf-like man like Lu Cheng, she must be an exceptionally outstanding and charismatic woman.’

However, she never would have dreamed that her rival was actually a vicious woman—cunning, lazy, gluttonous, and sycophantic, not to mention vain and a constant troublemaker.

To think she had lost to a rival like *that*.

She even suspected that Jiang Moli must have used some despicable means to force Lu Cheng to marry her.

It wasn’t uncommon to see shameless women with no moral compass who would stop at nothing to marry up.

[Disdain Value +1. 10,000 yuan credited.]

...

At dusk, the setting sun cast long shadows.

Lu Cheng and two of his subordinates left the barracks, carrying large enamel bowls. They were laughing and chatting on their way to the mess hall for dinner.

"Camp Commander Lu."

Seeing Qiao Wenjing, the two subordinates took the hint and went on ahead. They thoughtfully took Lu Cheng’s bowl, planning to get his food for him once they reached the mess hall.

Qiao Wenjing held out an aluminum lunch box to Lu Cheng. "My aunt made these steamed buns. They’re filled with wild matsutake mushrooms. You should try some."

Lu Cheng’s brow furrowed, his tone thick with displeasure. "Comrade Qiao, didn’t I make myself clear last time? I’m already married. Don’t come looking for me again. It creates a bad impression."

Qiao Wenjing’s eyes turned red as a sense of grievance washed over her.

She hadn’t even gotten to eat these buns herself, having only taken a tiny bite to taste them.

But that wasn’t the only reason she felt wronged today; after all, it wasn’t the first time Lu Cheng had rejected her.

She just couldn’t stomach the fact that Lu Cheng would reject her for a woman like *that*.

She sniffled and called out to his retreating back, "Camp Commander Lu, I’ve heard some things about your wife!"

Lu Cheng turned around. "What things?"

「Ten minutes later.」

Lu Cheng entered the mess hall with a cold expression and started to eat.

Zhao Hongbing and Li Lijun were used to this, assuming he was just annoyed by Qiao Wenjing’s persistence.

"That Comrade Qiao sure is persistent, huh? She knows you’re married and still brings you food."

Zhao Hongbing had intended to make a lighthearted comment to ease the tension, but one glare from Lu Cheng was enough to make him shut up and eat quietly.

After wolfing down his meal, Lu Cheng tossed his empty bowl in front of his subordinate, grunted, "Take this back for me," wiped his mouth, and left.

Zhao Hongbing and Li Lijun looked at each other in dismay.

"Well, looks like we’ve got extra drills tomorrow."

"Sigh. Better get to bed early tonight so we have enough energy for tomorrow."

Lu Cheng had a habit: whenever he got angry, he’d put people through the wringer. It wasn’t just his own men, either; he wouldn’t even spare himself, joining the soldiers in their drills.

His favorite saying was: "As long as you can still breathe, you’ll crawl to the finish line if you have to!"

...

Just as Lu Cheng walked out of the mess hall, he ran into Zhang Jia Ming, who was on his way in to eat.

"Camp Commander Lu, you’ve eaten already?"

"Yeah."

He wasn’t in the mood to talk to Zhang Jia Ming, so he just nodded and was about to leave.

Zhang Jia Ming stopped him. "I received a letter from Xiao Qing back home yesterday. She mentioned some things about Comrade Jiang."

Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow. "What did she say about Moli?"

Zhang Jia Ming pulled the letter from his pocket and offered it to him. "Camp Commander Lu, you should read it yourself."

Lu Cheng glanced at the letter. "It’s a personal letter between you two. As an outsider, I shouldn’t read it. Just give me the gist."

So, Zhang Jia Ming recounted, in great detail, all the trouble Jiang Moli had caused recently, just as Jiang Qing had written in her letter.

From getting drunk and causing a scene on their wedding day, injuring An Hui’s back, to breaking a bowl at Director Chen’s house the next day, arguing with An Hui on the day of her homecoming visit, and tricking relatives into repaying money with false promises of a job...

Seeing the atmosphere around Lu Cheng grow colder and colder, Zhang Jia Ming hesitated, not daring to continue. "Camp Commander Lu, maybe... maybe you should just call home and ask yourself..."

"It’s fine. Keep talking. I’m listening."

Zhang Jia Ming continued, speaking for nearly ten minutes before he finished.

When he finally fell silent, Lu Cheng spoke, his voice deep and gravelly. "Zhang Jia Ming."

"Sir!"

"What was your intention in running to me with all this? Do you think I’m too busy with military affairs to pay attention to my family? Or are you just bored after dinner and decided to kill time by gossiping about my private life?"

Zhang Jia Ming quickly explained, "Camp Commander Lu, I just thought you needed to know these things."

"Are you implying your information network is better than mine? That I don’t know what’s happening in my own home and have to rely on an outsider like you to keep me informed?"

That was, in fact, exactly what Zhang Jia Ming thought. He was certain Lu Cheng didn’t know about Jiang Moli’s "good deeds."

But under Lu Cheng’s intensely pressuring gaze, he didn’t dare voice his true thoughts.

"Zhang Jia Ming, you’re standing here today because you are a soldier. The army trained you to protect our country and maintain peace, not to spread rumors like a common gossip. Seeing as this is your first offense, I’m sentencing you to clean the entire camp’s bathhouse for half a month. If there’s a next time, the punishment will be severe!"

Cold sweat dripped down Zhang Jia Ming’s back as he stood ramrod straight. "Camp Commander Lu, your criticism is correct! I will reform myself!"

"Now scram and get your dinner."

"Yes, sir."

Zhang Jia Ming didn’t dare to take a deep breath until Lu Cheng was more than fifty meters away.

Although he had been reprimanded and punished, he didn’t feel dejected. On the contrary, he was secretly a little pleased.

’It would be strange if Lu Cheng *wasn’t* furious after Jiang Moli caused so much trouble.’

’It also served as indirect proof that breaking an engagement with Jiang Moli to marry Jiang Qing would have been the correct choice.’

’Whoever marries a woman like Jiang Moli—gluttonous, lazy, and a troublemaker—is bound to have bad luck.’

’Lu Cheng may be exceptionally capable, but he’s still human. Even he can make a mistake in judging someone.’

’He’s probably starting to regret it right now.’

...

RING RING RING.

Lu Deyao was sitting on the sofa waiting for dinner. Hearing the phone ring, he picked it up casually. "Hello? Who is this?"

"It’s me. Where’s Moli?"

Lu Deyao huffed. "All you think about is your wife. Were you born from a rock or something? Not a single thought for how your old man is doing..."

Lu Cheng cut him off. "You talk too much nonsense. I don’t want to talk to you. Put Moli on."

"..."

Annoyed as he was, Lu Deyao could still tell from his son’s tone that something was wrong. He sounded like he was about to explode.

Although he wanted to ask, he knew his son’s personality. If Lu Cheng didn’t want to tell him something, he wouldn’t say a word.

He got up and went to call for Jiang Moli, who was in the yard picking vegetables.

"Xiao Jiang, phone for you! It’s a call from the third son."

Hearing it was a call from Lu Cheng, Jiang Moli’s mood was, how to put it... not bad.

"Hello. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"What are you doing?"

"Picking eggplants."

"And what else? What have you been up to lately?"

Jiang Moli’s voice, which had been a bit languid, turned cold at this question.

"Not much."

"But what I’ve been hearing is different from what you’re telling me."

A smirk played on Jiang Moli’s lips. "So, did you call back just to interrogate me?"

On the other end of the line, Lu Cheng was silent for two seconds. "I’m sorry. My tone was too harsh just now."