The Stunningly Beautiful and Delicate Darling in the 1980s Military Compound - Chapter 44

Outside the door, Jiang Manman listened to the sounds coming from inside. She wasn’t a naive teenager anymore; she knew exactly what was happening. She should have walked away, but her feet felt as heavy as lead, rooted to the spot. Her face was deathly pale, devoid of a single drop of blood.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Song Mingyue opened the door. She had changed into a nightgown, her collar slightly open, revealing faint red marks on her porcelain skin. How those marks got there was painfully obvious.

Noticing the girl’s terrible complexion, Mingyue’s expression grew serious. “Are you feeling unwell?”

Jiang Manman had originally intended to ask to sleep in Mingyue’s bed to disrupt them, but after witnessing that scene, the room now felt thick with their shared intimacy. She couldn’t bring herself to step inside.

“I just felt a wave of nausea. I’m better now,” Jiang Manman lied instinctively.

“Are you not used to the bed? It is a bit small. If you’re uncomfortable, do you want to sleep in the big bed with me?” Mingyue offered.

To her surprise, Jiang Manman rejected the offer without a second thought. “No need. I’m going to sleep,” she said, hurrying away.

Truly strange, Mingyue thought as she watched her leave. Jiang Manman’s behavior was beyond odd. Mingyue was now certain the girl had run into some sort of trouble before deciding to seek refuge with Chen Che. But they weren’t close; if Chen Che didn’t care to ask, and Jiang Manman didn’t volunteer the information, Mingyue wasn’t going to pry.

Returning to the bedroom, Mingyue felt uneasy. “You should find time to talk to your cousin. I get the feeling something is wrong.”

Chen Che’s heart was still racing from their earlier moments. Hearing her mention Jiang Manman again, and remembering there was a third person in their home, he tried to calm his breathing. “I’m not close to her,” he said dismissively. “From the time my aunt got married until now, I’ve only seen her a handful of times.”

Mingyue paused. “Wait. Isn’t she your aunt’s daughter? Why do you say ‘since your aunt got married’?”

Chen Che still didn’t realize the gravity of the situation. “She’s not my aunt’s biological daughter. She’s the daughter of my uncle-in-law and his first wife.”

Song Mingyue: “…”

“Chen Che, are you crazy? Why are you just telling me this now?”

Being a cousin by blood and being a “cousin” by marriage with zero biological relation were two worlds apart. In an instant, Mingyue realized why Jiang Manman had traveled thousands of miles to find him. Everything made sense now—the despondent looks, the strange behavior. The girl had feelings for him.

Chen Che didn’t understand why she was so angry. He hadn’t intended to hide it; he just hadn’t found the right moment to bring it up. They rarely argued, but Chen Che failed to see his mistake. “Mingyue, are you really that angry?”

“Yes, I am.”

If she had known they weren’t blood-related, Mingyue would never have “invited the wolf into the house” by bringing her home. She would have let her stay at the guest house!

But on second thought, she calmed down. Regarding relationships, Mingyue had one principle: a man who could be stolen away wasn’t worth having. However, she was still going to be angry. She had noticed this about Chen Che—he still didn’t quite grasp the concept of being a partnership; he tended to keep things to himself instead of discussing them with her.

And when you argue, you have to bring up the old accounts.

Chen Che was baffled. Mingyue usually had a temper, but she was also incredibly reasonable and empathetic. He didn’t understand why a person as “insignificant” as Jiang Manman was affecting their relationship so much.

He tried to reach for her. “Mingyue, let’s not be angry over someone unimportant, okay?”

“Chen Che, do you think I’m angry because of her? You still don’t see the real problem. A marriage needs trust. Trust! Do you understand?”

Mingyue pulled a mat out of the closet and threw a quilt onto the floor. “Tonight, you’re not sleeping on the bed. Sleep there.”

“This isn’t just about Jiang Manman. First there was Wang Qianqian, then Li Yuanyuan… I didn’t realize you had so many ‘peach blossoms,’ and you seem to love hiding them from me. You’ve never told me about any of them voluntarily.”

But to Chen Che, those women had never meant a thing. Because they were irrelevant to him, he didn’t think they were worth mentioning. He hadn’t expected her to mind so much. Seeing her unhappy, however, he obediently lay down on the floor. “Mingyue, I really didn’t hide it on purpose. I’m sorry.”

Mingyue: “…”

His apology reminded her of the stereotypical man who says “I’m sorry” during a fight but has no idea why he’s wrong. She decided her man wasn’t going to fall into that habit; she had to correct him now.

“Chen Che, don’t just say ‘I’m sorry.’ I don’t like hearing that. If you really know you’re wrong, tell me why you’re wrong and where you went wrong. Don’t rush to answer. Lie there and think about it.”

The tenderness of thirty minutes ago felt like a dream. Chen Che lay on the floor and reflected deeply. As he replayed everything in his mind, he began to understand her perspective. He was used to being a loner; he didn’t know how to share things, and that was causing her distress. He made a mental note: Don’t keep things from her in the future.

Mingyue stayed awake for half the night. The more she analyzed Jiang Manman, the more she was convinced the girl’s presence was a direct challenge. It was a bold move—in this era, social ties were everything, and officially, they were still cousins.

She looked down at Chen Che on the floor and sighed inwardly. He really has no situational awareness. This is the part where you’re supposed to coax your wife! If he had just tried a little harder to soothe her, her anger probably would have vanished. But he didn’t even try to seize the opportunity.

The next morning, Mingyue was jolted awake by Chen Che. “Mingyue, wake up! Jiang Manman fainted.”

“What happened?” Mingyue asked, instantly alert.

Chen Che had gone into the other room to get a notebook. He had knocked, but there was no answer. Finding the door unlocked, he pushed it open a crack and saw Jiang Manman lying on the concrete floor, her face ashen. In the past, he might have just taken her to the clinic himself. But after his reflection last night, he knew he couldn’t do things behind Mingyue’s back, so he called her first.

Mingyue checked the girl’s forehead—she was burning up. It was a high fever.

“Carry her to the door,” Mingyue instructed. “I’ll go to Jingjing’s house to borrow a wooden cart to take her to the clinic.”

At a time like this, proprietary didn’t matter; saving a life came first. Zhang Jingjing and her husband dropped everything to help pull the cart. In the military compound, “helping your own” was the first rule.

At the clinic, the doctors took Jiang Manman in for an examination.

“How is she so sick?” Jingjing asked, still shaken. “She didn’t even react when we called her name.”

Mingyue remained silent. She couldn’t understand making oneself this miserable over a man. Fortunately, it was just a severe fever. Once the doctor confirmed she wasn’t in immediate danger, Chen Che and Jingjing’s husband left for work.

Only Mingyue and Jingjing remained.

“Chen Che’s cousin is quite pretty,” Jingjing chatted. “Is she easy to get along with?”

“She’s alright,” Mingyue replied absent-mindedly. Without the “Chen Che factor,” she thought she and Jiang Manman might have actually had things to talk about. But now, things were complicated.

A short while later, Jiang Manman woke up. As she stared at the ceiling, she realized she had survived yet again.

She had already faced death twice and held the “script” of a reborn soul in her hands. What is there to fear? she thought. Her mood began to lift. If the heavens gave her this second chance, she wasn’t going to waste it.