After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

Wang Cuifen felt a tightness in her chest from Ye Zhen's words, "My man, I can take responsibility for him." She couldn't utter a word, her mouth, adorned with cheap lipstick, opening and closing repeatedly.

She watched helplessly as the tall, imposing officer, with an air of unquestionable authority, put his arm around Ye Zhen's shoulder and walked away without looking back. The occasional glint of the two shabby silver rings on their hands under the lamplight felt like needles pricking her eyes.

"Pah! What is that!" Wang Cuifen finally recovered and spat.

How dare this stray dog, kicked out of the Lin family, act so arrogantly in front of her? He married a poor soldier, and now he thinks he's someone important? The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She wouldn't be able to sleep tonight if she didn't vent her anger.

Just as she turned to chase after him, she heard light footsteps behind her.

"Sister, please wait."

The saleswoman behind the counter appeared out of nowhere, her face plastered with a fawning smile.

Wang Cuifen, already in a bad mood, vented her anger on her: "What are you doing? I'm not buying it!"

"Oh dear, you've misunderstood." The saleswoman didn't seem to care about her attitude. Instead, she leaned closer and lowered her voice, "Ma'am, I think you and that girl from earlier are related, right? Let me just say something to you in secret, but please don't tell anyone."

Upon hearing some gossip, Wang Cuifen's ears immediately perked up: "What is it?"

The sales clerk looked around to make sure no one was watching before leaning close to Wang Cuifen's ear and whispering, "That leader from earlier lives in Building Number One."

"Building No. 1?" Wang Cuifen didn't react. "Which Building No. 1? Our factory dormitory also has a Building No. 1, it's so dilapidated it's about to collapse."

Seeing her expression, the saleswoman's eyes flashed with disdain, but her smile grew even more enthusiastic. She pointed solemnly northwards, her voice tinged with reverence: "Which one could it be? The one in the military compound, Building Number One!"

Seeing that Wang Cuifen still looked completely bewildered, the saleswoman simply spoke frankly, her voice barely audible, but when it reached Wang Cuifen's ears, it made her mind go blank.

"Where the commanders live!"

After saying that, the sales clerk gave her a meaningful look, turned around, and walked back to the counter with light steps.

Wang Cuifen stood frozen in place.

Military compound... Building No. 1... Commander...

These words exploded in her mind, and she frantically recalled the scene from just now: the glaring two bars and one star on the man's shoulder, the icy, heartless look in his eyes when he looked at her, and her own sarcastic words—"poor soldier," "a swindler with a broken silver ring"...

Wang Cuifen's face drained of all color in an instant, turning deathly pale. A chill ran from her tailbone straight to the back of her head; her legs went weak, her knees trembled violently, and she would have collapsed had she not managed to grab onto a nearby pillar in time.

It’s over.

She messed with someone she could never afford to mess with in her lifetime.

……

Meanwhile, Ye Zhen and Gu Zheng had already walked out of the department store.

The afternoon sun was warm and pleasant, dispelling the stuffy smell of face cream and new fabrics in the department store. Gu Zheng held her hand tightly as they walked slowly along the sidewalk.

He kept his eyes down, not looking at the road, his entire focus on their clasped hands. His fingertips, calloused from years of holding a gun, were rough as he gently stroked the cool silver ring on her finger, then covered it with his own, enveloping the small ring and the base of her finger in his palm.

He didn't speak, but just grinned silently, his shoulders swaying with the suppressed laughter.

Ye Zhen felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and her palms began to burn. She wanted to pull her hand back: "It's just a ring, what's so interesting about it?"

Gu Zheng gripped her hand even tighter. He stopped under a sycamore tree, turned around, and looked at her with utmost seriousness.

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on his handsome face. He suppressed his roguish and nonchalant demeanor, his deep eyes fixed on her, filled with an emotion Ye Zhen couldn't understand, yet which made her heart flutter.

"Ye Zhen," he said, his voice much lower and hoarse than usual, "thank you for what you did just now."

Ye Zhen knew he was referring to the moment when she defended him in front of that woman.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she quickly turned her face away to avoid his overly intense gaze, but her ears involuntarily burned.

She stubbornly insisted, "I just don't like other people touching my things."

She emphasized the word "things" with extra force, as if to emphasize ownership, or perhaps to hide her panic.

Upon hearing this, Gu Zheng was not angry at all; instead, he chuckled softly. The laughter came from his chest, carrying a deep, resonant vibration.

He suddenly reached out his other arm and pulled her into his arms without saying a word.

Caught off guard, Ye Zhen's nose slammed into his hard chest. The clean scent of soap and sunshine from his military uniform instantly enveloped her.

She heard him whisper in her ear, in a hoarse voice filled with boundless satisfaction and pleasure:

"Yes, it's mine. It's stamped, nobody can touch it."