An Accidental Military Marriage

Seeing that Jiang Peng wasn’t going to argue with her, Lu Tingting let out a sigh of relief and obediently went back to lying still.

She kept her eyes closed, desperately trying to convince herself she wasn’t hungry and had no desire to eat.

But the aroma of the roast chicken relentlessly wafted into her nostrils.

The sounds of the siblings chewing, combined with the smell, made her so hungry her stomach started to rumble.

’Why won’t they give me any?’

’When we get there, I’m definitely calling Grandpa and Grandma to tattle on them!’

Just as she was stewing in her misery, her bunk was kicked twice.

She leaned over, annoyed, and glared down at the lower bunk. "What are you kicking for?"

"Tch, tch, tch. Come on down and eat some meat."

’Tch, tch, tch?’

’Is he treating me like a dog?’

But seeing the glistening, tempting roast chicken on the little table, her appetite ultimately won. Swallowing her anger, she climbed down from her bunk and sat with the siblings to eat.

’This roast chicken is amazing. So delicious.’

As she was enjoying her meal, Jiang Moli suddenly thrust something into her hand.

"What the hell is this?"

"A chicken heart. Eat it and maybe you’ll use your head more. Stop being so clueless all day; you’re the type to get sold and still help count the money."

Lu Tingting actually quite liked chicken hearts.

But she couldn’t resist provoking Jiang Moli. "You’re no saint yourself. Who knows if you’ve poisoned it!"

Jiang Moli wasn’t about to coddle her. She held out her hand. "If you’re not going to eat it, give it back. I’ll go feed it to a dog."

Lu Tingting tossed the chicken heart back to her.

Jiang Moli caught it and, in one smooth motion, popped it into Jiang Peng’s mouth.

Jiang Peng froze for a split second, then chewed up the chicken heart and swallowed it down.

After finishing, he grinned at Jiang Moli. "Sis, that was delicious!"

Lu Tingting was dumbfounded. "..."

She couldn’t stop herself from snapping at Jiang Peng, "Are you a dog?"

Jiang Peng played along, letting out two "WOOF"s and baring his teeth. "Don’t mess with me, or I’ll bite you!"

"Are you nuts?"

"Yeah, I am. Why don’t you cure me?"

Lu Tingting was stunned speechless by his shamelessness. She glared at the siblings and snapped, "No wonder you’re siblings. You’re both equally shameless."

Jiang Moli said serenely, "Good people have sharp tongues, while bad people have silver tongues. Poisonous weeds sprout captivating flowers, and those who mean you harm always tell you what you want to hear."

"You think everyone is as conniving as you? You’re the one with the worst intentions here!"

Seeing that Lu Tingting didn’t appreciate the advice, Jiang Moli couldn’t be bothered to say anything more.

She wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs. She only deigned to offer a few words of guidance because Lu Tingting had helped her earn a nice chunk of Disdain Value.

’The prejudices in people’s hearts are like great mountains.’

Had anyone else said those words, Lu Tingting might have actually listened.

...

Her belly full, Lu Tingting climbed back onto her bunk to resume playing dead.

Jiang Moli, on the other hand, didn’t go back to sleep. Worried that a nap now would keep her up at night, she pulled out a book to pass the time.

「In the evening, they arrived at Yibin Station.」

Yibin was a major station, with a 20-minute stop. Many passengers disembarked to get some fresh air or buy food and drinks.

Lu Tingting put on her shoes, eager to get off the train and see something new.

Jiang Moli had Jiang Peng go with her, while she stayed behind to watch their luggage.

...

"Hey, dearie! Dearie! Young Comrade Lu!"

Lu Tingting turned and recognized Aunt Shi calling her. Confused, she asked, "Can I help you?"

Aunt Shi beamed. "A chance meeting like this is fate. You should give me your contact information. When we’re back in Rongcheng, I’ll bring some gifts and pay you a visit."

"Why would you visit me?"

Jiang Peng chimed in mischievously, "She’s taken a fancy to you. She wants you for a daughter-in-law. Next thing you know, she’ll show up at your family’s door with a pile of gifts to propose marriage on her son’s behalf. Your reputation will be mud—you won’t be able to wash it clean even if you jump in the Yellow River."

It was like a lightning bolt of realization struck Lu Tingting, clearing her head instantly.

She glared past Aunt Shi at Lü Mingguo, who was smiling in an awkward, sleazy way. She flew into a rage. "If you don’t have a mirror, you can piss in a puddle! Take a good look at your own damn self! How dare you even think about a lady like me!?"

Aunt Shi never expected someone who looked so dainty like Lu Tingting to have such a temper.

"How dare you curse at people! A spoiled brat like you who can’t cook or do laundry... If you weren’t a college student, I wouldn’t have even bothered looking your way."

"Pah! Who the hell do you think you are? Forget you ’liking’ me, I feel filthy just from you looking at me!"

Still not satisfied, Lu Tingting spotted a nearby fruit stall, snatched two oranges, and brandished them. "Get lost! Or I’ll smash your brains in, you old crone!"

Frightened by her frenzied outburst, Aunt Shi hastily dragged her son away.

As they hurried off, she muttered to her son, "I had no idea that little wench was such a termagant. We can’t have someone like her. If we brought her into the family, she’d do nothing but stir up trouble."

Still shaken, Lü Mingguo nodded emphatically. He would rather stay single forever than marry a harpy like that.

...

When Lu Tingting came storming back, Jiang Moli glanced at her watch. Only two minutes had passed.

"Back so soon?"

Lu Tingting shot her a glare, kicked off her shoes in a huff, and climbed back onto her bunk.

Jiang Moli raised an eyebrow at Jiang Peng, who had come back at the same time. "What’s her problem?"

With a mischievous grin, Jiang Peng recounted the incident with Aunt Shi on the platform.

Jiang Moli chuckled to herself. ’After this,’ she thought, ’Lu Tingting probably won’t be so quick to chat up strangers anymore.’

...

「The rest of the journey was relatively peaceful.」

With the cautionary tale of Aunt Shi serving as a warning, no one else dared to approach their little group.

...

"Dear passengers, we will be arriving at our final destination, Kun City, in thirty minutes. Please prepare for disembarkation..."

Jiang Moli was woken by the carriage announcement at the crack of dawn.

She opened her eyes to a sky shifting in a beautiful gradient of gray, white, and pink, like an oil painting.

After admiring the view for a moment with her chin in her hand, Jiang Moli stretched, stood up, and roused Jiang Peng and Lu Tingting to get their things packed.

After disembarking, the three of them dragged their luggage to the military’s reception point to check in.

"Ma Dazhi!"

"Here."

"Jiang Peng!"

"Here."

A squad leader called out the new recruits’ names from a roster while Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting waited to one side.

Lu Tingting glanced around, and upon confirming that Lu Cheng hadn’t come to meet Jiang Moli, she couldn’t help but gloat.

"Third Uncle didn’t even come to get you. Looks like he doesn’t think much of his new bride."

Jiang Moli replied casually, "Did you grow up drinking vinegar or something? You just love making snide remarks. You’d better save your breath. Once you’re at the base, you’ll have classes all day. You’ll have more than enough talking to do then."

Unable to win the war of words, Lu Tingting angrily turned her head away.

After finishing the roll call, the new recruit squad leader walked over to Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting.

After confirming their identities, he had them join the group of new recruits headed to Menghai to catch their transport.

Of the 500 new recruits, the Menghai unit received the largest contingent—a full 200 people!

The remaining recruits were split into groups of thirty or fifty and hauled away by military trucks from their respective units.

Seven military trucks had been sent from Menghai to transport the greenhorns.

Since Jiang Moli and Lu Tingting were women, the convoy command made special arrangements for them, giving them the passenger seats in two of the trucks.

The driver in Jiang Moli’s truck was a young man.

He was quite young, likely just over eighteen, and sharing the cab with her made him incredibly nervous. His ears stayed bright red the whole time.

"How old are you, soldier?"

The driver kept his eyes fixed on the road. "My apologies. Military regulations forbid idle chatter while on duty."

"...Right. Well, keep up the good work. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you."

’The road’s too bumpy to read. I might as well sleep.’

...

「After nearly six hours on the jarring road, they finally reached Menghai Town.」

The base was stationed on a mountain 5 kilometers from Menghai Town. They just had to pass through the town and drive another twenty minutes or so up a mountain road to get there.

The new recruits in the back of the trucks were jubilant, and even Jiang Moli felt a wave of relief.

’What a grueling journey, to a place not even on a map... and I actually made it!’