Su Ling clapped her hands with a "snap" and said, "Alright, the woman is against you, and the man is against your lover. I think theyāre conspiring to mess with you. You should be careful."
Lin Wan furrowed her brows deeply. Su Ling was right; it must be those two causing trouble these days.
"Comrade, still following?" The coachman was panting heavily.
"Yes, letās see where theyāre going."
"Alright then."
The coachman carefully followed the two as they walked into the corner of an alley, hiding as if they were doing something bad.
Lin Wan and the other two watched cautiously as the couple entered a courtyard.
Only then did they breathe a sigh of relief.
"Xiao Wan, doesnāt that soldier look quite old?"
Yin Peibaiās remark enlightened Lin Wan.
Mei Langchi must be two years younger than Han Yi, so he should be around twenty-four or twenty-five now. He should be married at this age.
"Yes, not young anymore, but I donāt know if heās married."
"If heās married and heās being this intimate with another woman outside, if the unit finds out, could he be discharged from the army and stripped of rank?" Su Ling, although she had no relatives in the army, had heard people talk.
Lin Wan nodded, "Iāll ask Han Yi when we get back. If heās really married, thatād be easy to handle." People are bound to make mistakes. Back then, Mei Shuping made a mistake, got booted out, ruining a womanās life.
If given the chance, his son should also learn the lesson. Though this woman isnāt one to easily discard.
"I told you, Ye Qing isnāt a good person. Sheās involved with this one and that one. Truly..." Yin Peibai just couldnāt understand the mindset of such women.
"Itās not us, so why bother? Now we know where theyāre staying, we can relax and think about what to do when we get back." Su Ling had been bored recently, and finally stumbled upon something interesting, perfect for some activity.
"Ah... Su Ling, youāve already been troubled today, I can handle the rest myself. You should focus on taking care of your pregnancy." Lin Wan didnāt want Su Ling to have any mishaps because of her.
"Xiao Wan, saying that makes it seem like weāre not friends. Iāve always considered you and Peibai my best friends."
"Yes, Xiao Wan, as the saying goes, if weāre friends, we should share the burdens and blessings together, right? Donāt leave the two of us out."
"Right, right, three humble men together make a wise man. Letās come up with ideas together."
"Mm-hmm, alright, letās think together," Lin Wan nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Meanwhile, the coachman standing nearby rolled his eyes multiple times; as a grown man, he just couldnāt fathom what these women were thinking about.
He wondered how their men taught their wives. Spending so much money to follow two people on a cold day.
All this money was earned by their men through hard work, yet these women spent it so swiftly.
He felt sorry for their men; he sympathized the most with those men. If he ever met those womenās husbands, heād definitely have some words with them.
Unfortunately, he visited three households in a row, but didnāt meet a single man.
When Lin Wan got home, she immediately called Han Yi, but he didnāt answer.
The soldier in the duty room said he would notify Han Yi. Lin Wan could only wait anxiously, pondering what Mei Langchi and Ye Qing were up to.
...
"Thank you today, Mr. Mei." Ye Qing didnāt expect that she casually mentioned this morning how items at the department store were inexpensive, asking if he needed anything. Yet in the afternoon, he took her there and bought her so many things.
"Itās nothing. Thanks to you for helping out these days." Mei Langchi was never stingy with superficial things. On the contrary, these things could make someone follow his orders, which is what he wanted to see.
Itās that you eat someoneās food and canāt speak up, take their things and have short hands.
"Iāve grown up, but itās the first time someone sends me so many gifts with such care."
Ye Qingās words were ambiguous, emphasizing the care and gifts.
After speaking, Ye Qing kept her eyes on Mei Langchi, with a loving expression, carefully observing Mei Langchiās reaction. Mei Langchi stared back at her for a long time with an unreadable look, then turned it into a faint smile.
"Mr. Ye, weāve walked around for a long time today, you must be tired. You should go home and rest."
Ye Qing thought that being so direct, it would stir something in Mei Langchiās heart. Unexpectedly, he acted like he hadnāt seen it and suggested she go home for a rest.
"Mr. Mei... you... these past days, weāve been together day and night. Mr. Mei, you..."
"Ye Qing, do you know Iām already married?" Mei Langchi didnāt let Ye Qing finish her sentence and interrupted directly.
"I know, but what Mr. Mei doesnāt know is that a personās heart isnāt easy to control." Ye Qingās bright eyes instantly grew misty, weak like a delicate dinner, exuding a pitiful aura that evoked sympathy.
Ye Qing was naturally attractive with fair skin, her eyes squinting into a line when she smiled, looking sweet and gentle, not like someone from a rural area. She had seen a lot since coming to S City for a while and had suffered various bullying, hence she learned to conceal her desires behind a facade of innocence.
Mei Langchi was planning to use Ye Qing, or rather, they were using each other.
During those days, he got to know Ye Qing a bit. She seemed innocent, but in fact, was quite calculating.
How could he not know what Ye Qing wanted? Even as a soldier, even if he wasnāt a soldier, he wouldnāt marry someone with a heart like a snake and scorpion, let alone the fact that heās already married.
Though heās not very satisfied with the marriage, he wonāt jeopardize his future by messing around with relationships.
"How could anyone fail to control their own heart? You should go home."
Ye Qingās face, gradually forming an expression of grievance, no longer had a hint of smile, ran out with an aggrieved expression.
Mei Langchi wasnāt moved by this at all, keeping an expressionless look like nothing happened.
Ye Qing ran out of Mei Langchiās courtyard, with an increasingly cold expression instead of grievance.
She had confessed her love for him, lowering herself, yet he rejected her so heartlessly.
It appears she overestimated herself, making herself look ridiculous.
Mei Langchi probably despised her, thinking she was frivolous.
But was she wrong? She was merely a humble woman, wanting to find a reliable man. Why is it so difficult?
....
Lin Wan received Han Yiās call the next day.
"Why suddenly asking about Mei Langchi? Did something happen?" Lin Wan knew Han Yi would be suspicious, played it casually and said, "Nothing, just saw him in the city a few days ago, thought he was connecting with people secretly to cause trouble for you." "His wifeās family is in the Capital City, no relatives here."
"Oh... well... I miss you."
Afraid that Han Yi would continue to ask, Lin Wan quickly changed the topic.
As expected, Han Yi chuckled, "Silly, itās only been a short time, and you miss me? Arenāt you on vacation? When the snow melts in a few days, Iāll come back to see you."
"Okay." Lin Wan felt sweet inside, all her worries and tension from the past days vanished because of Han Yiās words, her heart filled with joy.
A few days ago, she couldnāt deliver goods to the department store due to being hospitalized. Today, she specially asked her brother to accompany her to the storefront, overseeing things while her brother went to the store.
"Xiao Wan, are you alright that day?" Yang Erni saw Lin Wan come over, after bustling around, took her to her own store to warm up.
"Nothing serious, much better now."
"Thatās good. Folks on our street were worried sick, seeing you absent for so many days, feared something happened, is the child alright?"
Getting such concern from a few people, Lin Wan felt grateful and in turn inquired about her recent business.
"Hey, the market here was established, more people coming now. Didnāt expect the department store to do a welfare promotion recently, making business here slow down a lot."
Lin Wan nodded, seeing signs of decline, agreeing, "Itās temporary, you took plenty of goods last time, made a lot too."
Unexpectedly, Yang Erni laughed twice, "Haha, not really. I took a lot of goods, but wasnāt sold by me alone, helped a tenant get them. She works in a government office, gets off early, in the evenings she sets up a stall selling knick-nacks, earning some pocket money. Recently, that girl got lucky, met a soldier, looks like an officer. Sheās quite skilled, within half a month, that soldier bought her my courtyard, tsk tsk." Yang Erni said this, couldnāt help but admire and clicked her tongue.