An Accidental Military Marriage

Lu Cheng couldn’t resist reaching out and ruffling his wife’s hair a couple of times. "What’s going on in that little head of yours all day?"

"Thinking about you, of course."

The corners of Lu Cheng’s mouth curled up so wide you couldn’t suppress it with an AK-47, but he just pinched her cheek dotingly. "Let’s eat. I have to go back to the barracks after this. The soldiers have a one-hour study session at noon these days, and I can’t keep skipping it."

His explanatory tone was tinged with an almost imperceptible guilt.

Heaven knew how much he wanted to stay with his wife forever, like a king who forsakes his morning court for his beloved.

Hearing he had important matters to attend to, Jiang Moli stopped joking around.

She opened the lunchbox lid and was a little surprised by the food. "Stir-fried cured meat with mushrooms? We’re eating this well today?"

Lu Cheng didn’t explain further. "See how it tastes."

Jiang Moli ate a piece of matsutake.

The mushroom was crisp, tender, and sweet, with a fresh, woody aroma.

"Not bad."

Seeing her eating happily, Lu Cheng also picked up his lunchbox and started eating.

’The cured meat my wife brought, and the mushrooms my wife picked... it just tastes better.’

’Delicious.’

...

After dinner that evening, the couple had a rare occasion to go out together.

In the few days since she had arrived, aside from going out to the Zhong Family’s for a welcome dinner on the first evening, Jiang Moli had spent most of her time at the guest house.

Lu Cheng was out from dawn till dusk for drills, training, and official duties. He also had to bring her three meals a day, making him seem even busier than before.

It was nearly 7 PM, and the sun had already sunk below the horizon.

The sky was a gradient of color, shifting from crimson to orange to pale gray, as beautiful as an oil painting.

A cool evening breeze brushed against their cheeks, and the blades of grass swayed, rustling softly.

Looking at the man walking shoulder-to-shoulder with her, Jiang Moli stuck out a finger and playfully hooked it in his palm.

"So, where are you taking me to get wild?"

Lu Cheng gave her hand a squeeze, then quickly let go.

In this era, Lu Cheng squeezing her hand was already considered crossing a line.

Other married couples would have to walk two paces apart when out in public.

"It’s just up ahead. We’re almost there."

Following his words, Jiang Moli looked toward the woods about fifty meters ahead. "To the mountain? Are we planning to get *that* wild tonight?"

Lu Cheng cupped the top of her head and turned her face toward the family dependents’ area. "This way."

Jiang Moli blinked. "To someone else’s house? That’s pretty exciting too."

Lu Cheng: "..."

Looking at her mischievous expression, Lu Cheng felt helpless, yet inexplicably found her cute right down to his core.

...

In the center of the family dependents’ area was a square, elevated platform that the villagers used to use for assemblies and sacrificial rites.

When Jiang Moli and Lu Cheng arrived, many family members had already gathered around the platform. It looked like a meeting was about to start.

Lu Cheng pulled Jiang Moli to a quieter, less crowded spot and explained, "The school is finished. We’ve gathered the family members tonight to talk about the start of the school year."

Jiang Moli asked, "Then why did you ask me to come?"

She wasn’t an official military dependent, nor did she have children to send to school.

"You’ll find out in a bit."

’I don’t know what this guy is up to, but since I’m already here, I might as well see what happens.’

’So many people. It’s so noisy.’

’The sweet potatoes from dinner are making me a little gassy.’

POOT. POOT.

She couldn’t hold it in and let out two loud farts. A woman next to her turned her head, her face full of disgust. "If you’re going to fart, at least have the decency to walk away! Honestly!"

Jiang Moli looked at the woman. "I’m letting you smell it for free, no charge. You should be secretly celebrating."

The woman’s face darkened as she covered her nose and mouth. "I don’t know what you ate, but it stinks to high heaven!"

Jiang Moli retorted, "Don’t be so greedy. You already got a free smell, why are you asking for the recipe too?"

"..."

[Disdain Value +1, 10,000 Yuan credited to account.]

’When fortune comes knocking, you can’t stop it. Earning ten thousand yuan just for farting... no one would believe it if I told them.’

"Is your stomach upset?"

Seeing the concern on the man’s face, even Jiang Moli, whose skin was thicker than a city wall, couldn’t help but blush. "Hey, you should stand a little further away. I don’t want the smell to get to you."

"It doesn’t stink."

Jiang Moli was amused. "If it doesn’t stink, are you saying it smells sweet?"

Lu Cheng nodded. "Other people’s are stinky. Yours is fragrant."

"..."

’What a sweet-talking liar.’

...

The content of the meeting was simple. It was mainly about how grades would be divided and how classes would be run.

There were many children in the family dependents’ area, but their ages and educational levels varied. With a limited number of teachers, it wasn’t possible to open classes for all grades from one to six. Therefore, for the time being, they would only hold first, third, and fifth-grade classes.

Tuition and textbook fees were completely waived, but students had to buy their own pencils, notebooks, and other stationery. Blah, blah, blah.

Jiang Moli listened, bored to tears. She couldn’t figure out why the man had insisted on bringing her. It had nothing to do with her, there were tons of mosquitoes, and she already had several large bites on the top of her feet.

Just as she couldn’t stand it anymore and was about to leave, Jiang Qing walked onto the stage.

"I am Jiang Qing. Today, in front of everyone, there is something I must clarify. Jiang Moli did not force me to marry in her place. She only got together with Comrade Lu Cheng after the Zhang Family actively broke off the engagement. It was I who had ill intentions, who maliciously spread rumors to slander and discredit her. Here, I sincerely apologize to Jiang Moli. I’m sorry..."

On stage, Jiang Qing was sobbing, tears streaming down her face. Below the stage, the family members exploded into an uproar.

"Is that for real? She’s the one who started the rumors about the substitute marriage and the stolen groom?"

"She just admitted it herself, how could it be fake?"

"She always seemed so honest and simple-minded. I never thought she was this kind of person, to have such a wicked heart! If she becomes a teacher, wouldn’t she be a bad influence on the children?"

Lu Cheng looked down and asked her, "Feeling better now?"

Jiang Moli turned her head to look at him. "You’re the one who made Jiang Qing give a public self-criticism?"

"Even the soldiers from the First Battalion know to defend you, their sister-in-law. If I, as your husband, did nothing when I knew someone was bullying my own wife, how would that make me any different from a useless piece of trash?"

A thread of sweetness spread through her heart.

Although she didn’t care whether her reputation was good or bad, the feeling of having someone back her up was truly wonderful.

She reached out and gently took hold of the man’s calloused pinky finger.

Lu Cheng turned his hand and enveloped her small hand in his palm.

The light was dim in the evening, and the crowd was large, so no one noticed the couple’s intimate moment.

For Jiang Qing on the stage, this self-criticism session was undoubtedly a public execution.

It was as if she’d been stripped naked and forced to stand under the sun, scorned and cursed by the world.

The good reputation she had worked so hard to build, her dignity, and her pride were all trampled and shattered.

Tears blurred her vision and her will.

She didn’t understand why heaven had given her a second chance at life.

If she had known it would end like this, she would have rather died unknown in a foreign land. At least then she wouldn’t have to suffer this humiliation.

The commotion ended, and the family members began to disperse in small groups.

Seeing Jiang Qing still standing on stage, head down and sobbing, Lu Tingting ran up to mock her to her face. "What the hell are you crying for? Acting like someone bullied you, when it’s all your own damn fault. If I were you, I’d just hang myself with a noodle to save everyone the embarrassment."

Jiang Qing raised her red, swollen, tear-filled eyes. "It was your Third Uncle who didn’t investigate properly, what does that have to do with me? What right did you have to burn my review materials?"

What Lu Tingting had burned was not just her review materials, but her hope.

She originally had a chance to go to university.

But with her materials and textbooks all burned, her dream was shattered.

"When I was taking the blame for you, you were secretly overjoyed, weren’t you? It’s too late to play dumb and act innocent now. We’ll settle our score slowly!"