At the military's group wedding, my best friend and I swapped husbands.

To get from the family compound to the entrance of the barracks, you have to pass through a family area.

It was evening, and many families were cooking, with wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys and the aroma of food filling the air.

They encountered several older women on the road, who greeted them with smiles: "Oh, where are you two girls headed?"

"Let's go to the state-run restaurant to buy food," Lin Weiwei said generously.

"Buy food? Don't you cook at home?"

"We're repairing the toilets today. Everyone worked hard, so let's treat ourselves to a better meal," Su Wanwan explained softly.

"Oh my, they really know how to take care of people!" the aunties laughed. "Commander Bai and Technician Bai are so lucky!"

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the two continued walking.

When I got to the middle row of houses in the residential area, I saw a group of women gathered at the entrance of the alley ahead. They were talking in low voices, but their expressions were very excited, as if they were talking about some great gossip.

Lin Weiwei's eyes lit up, and she pulled Su Wanwan to slow down.

"Listen to what they're saying," she whispered.

Su Wanwan was a little embarrassed: "Isn't that inappropriate, eavesdropping on people's conversations..."

"This isn't eavesdropping, it's openly listening," Lin Weiwei said confidently. "They were talking in a public place, we were just passing by and overheard them, how can you blame us?"

Su Wanwan was speechless at her twisted logic and had no choice but to slowly follow her closer.

The women were engrossed in their conversation and didn't notice them.

"...Really? You took turns sleeping with them?"

"It's absolutely true! My husband heard it at the regimental headquarters; they said they slept in the wrong room on their wedding night!"

"My God... this is too much..."

"That's why they say city people are open-minded. Look at those two girls, dressed so flamboyantly, they're obviously not the quiet type..."

Lin Weiwei initially listened with great interest, but the more she listened, the more she felt something was wrong.

Did you sleep in the wrong place?

On their wedding night?

A city girl?

Her heart skipped a beat, and she nudged Su Wanwan's arm.

Su Wanwan also realized what was happening, and her face gradually turned pale.

The women continued speaking:

"If you ask me, this isn't about sleeping in the wrong place; it's clearly intentional! Think about it, Commander Bai isn't good in that area, and Technician Bai has leg problems. They definitely wouldn't be happy, so they wanted to switch..."

"Tsk tsk, the Bai brothers treated them so well, fixing toilets and buying them dresses, and they ended up marrying two like this..."

"Exactly! I heard they're still living together! Two girls in one room, and the Bai brothers in another—what kind of nonsense is that?"

"Isn't this just messing around with women? Even though the paperwork is done correctly now, what happened before, how awful it would sound if word got out..."

Lin Weiwei clenched her fists.

Su Wanwan's face completely lost its color.

They never imagined that the misunderstanding from that night would be spread like this.

Moreover, the rumors became increasingly outrageous, including claims of "intentional misconduct," "promiscuous relationships," and "not a virtuous person"...

Lin Weiwei couldn't hold back any longer and grabbed Su Wanwan as they rushed over.

"What are you saying!"

Her voice was loud and forceful, startling the women.

When they turned around and saw it was them, the women's faces changed. Some were embarrassed, some felt guilty, and some tried to pretend to be calm.

"Oh, it's you guys..." a round-faced auntie chuckled awkwardly, "We...we were just chatting..."

"Casual chat?" Lin Weiwei's eyes widened. "Just because you chatted doesn't mean you can spread rumors? What do you know to spout such nonsense?"

"We...we didn't say anything..." another tall, thin woman muttered softly.

"Didn't you say anything?" Lin Weiwei's face turned red with anger. "What do you mean by 'sleeping with the wrong person,' 'on purpose,' 'messing around with men and women'? Didn't you say those things?"

The women looked at each other and remained silent.

Su Wanwan took a deep breath and stepped forward.

Her face was still pale, but her voice was steady: "Aunties, what happened that night was a misunderstanding. The photo was sent to the wrong address, the name was written backwards, and we mistook the person for someone else, which caused this misunderstanding. Commander Bai and Technician Bai have already reported this to the organization, and the formalities have been redone. We are a legally married couple, and there is nothing shameful about us."

She paused, looking at the women: "But you, spreading such false rumors in the military family compound, slandering military families, and undermining unity—do you even know what kind of behavior this is?"

These words were spoken calmly, yet each one carried weight.

The women's faces changed.

They were just bored and gossiping together, never expecting to be overheard by the person in question, and even less expecting to be labeled with such a serious accusation.

"We...we were just saying..." the round-faced auntie quickly explained, "We didn't mean anything by it..."

"Just saying it casually?" Lin Weiwei sneered. "You think you can just throw dirt on someone like that? Do you know how much this will affect us, and the Bai brothers, if it gets back to the higher-ups and they investigate, can you handle the responsibility?"

The tall, thin woman panicked: "No... don't let this get up there... we were just gossiping and making things up..."

"Now you're scared?" Lin Weiwei glared at her. "Weren't you quite enthusiastic when you were saying that?"

Su Wanwan tugged at Lin Weiwei's sleeve, signaling her to stop.

She looked at the women, her tone softening slightly: "Aunties, we're new here and don't know much, so we need your help. But some things shouldn't be said carelessly. Let's let this matter go today, and please be mindful of your words in the future. If you really have any questions, you can come and ask us directly, or ask Commander Bai, Technician Bai, or even the organization. But please don't spread these false rumors in private anymore, okay?"

She spoke politely, but her meaning was very clear.

If there's a next time, I won't be so polite.

The women nodded repeatedly: "Okay, okay, we understand, we won't say anything like that again..."

"We were wrong about what happened today, and we apologize to you..."

"I'm so sorry, girls, please don't take it to heart..."

After apologizing, the women ran away.

They dared not provoke these two young ladies any further.

Lin Weiwei was a little puzzled. Their affair with the wrong husband should be a private matter, so how come it's been spread everywhere?

Su Wanwan thought for a moment and said, "Weiwei, we got our marriage certificate, divorce certificate, and then got our marriage certificate again. During this time, it went through countless people's hands. This is the Legion, everyone knows each other, so it's perfectly normal for people to find out about this."

Lin Weiwei thought Wanwan made a good point. "Yes, this is quite a strange thing. It spread like wildfire, and naturally, all sorts of unpleasant things started to come out."

"Let's see if we can get the political commissar to issue a statement, so these people won't spread rumors."

The news has spread.

The best solution is to come out and explain clearly, so as to avoid misunderstandings.

The two sisters walked along, trying to come up with a solution.

The state-run restaurant was not far from the barracks, only a ten-minute walk away.

It was dinner time, and the restaurant was quite crowded, mostly with people in military uniforms, but some were in civilian clothes.

As soon as Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan entered, they attracted a lot of attention.

Both girls were beautiful, with fair skin and good temperament, making them stand out in the crowd.

"Oh, you two ladies are here?" she greeted with a smile. "Restaurant or takeout?"

"Let's pack it up," Lin Weiwei said. "Let's order a few dishes to take away."

"Okay, take a look at the menu." The plump woman handed over the mimeographed menu.

Lin Weiwei and Su Wanwan huddled together to watch.

There were quite a few dishes on the menu, but some had been crossed out, indicating that they were not available today.

"Do you still have braised pork noodles?" Su Wanwan asked.

"have!"

"Four servings, please," Lin Weiwei said. "Also, a big plate of chicken, a braised pork belly, a scrambled egg, and a cabbage and tofu soup. Ten steamed buns, please."

The plump woman laughed as she wrote down the order, "Ordering so much? Will we be able to finish it all?"