Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

At 5:30 in the morning, the sky was just beginning to lighten, and the air was filled with a damp and cold mist.

The communal washroom on the west side of the compound was already bustling with activity. The sounds of washing clothes, splashing water, and women's high-pitched voices mingled with the smell of cheap soap and bleach.

This is the compound's intelligence center. Everyone knows who got a promotion, who had a fight last night, or even how many eggs someone ate for breakfast. All of this can be spread around these rows of cement pools.

Lin Wanrou stood at the entrance of the washroom, holding the slightly chipped wooden basin, and took a deep breath.

She looked down at the bed sheet in the basin. It was the one she had changed out of in the single dormitory yesterday. It had several patches on it, and although it had been washed and faded, it looked particularly shabby among those colorful polyester and cotton shirts.

"call--"

Lin Wanrou cheered herself up, stepped over the threshold, and found an empty faucet in a corner.

The conversation in the washroom abruptly stopped the moment she entered, as if it had been abruptly cut off.

A dozen pairs of eyes swept over. In those gazes were inquisitiveness, disdain, and mostly, a sense of novelty as if watching monkeys in a circus.

Lin Wanrou's back stiffened, and she didn't dare to look up as she turned on the tap.

The icy well water stung her hands, chilling her to the bone. She picked up the rock-hard bar of soap and rubbed it onto the sheets.

"Hey, this tastes a bit weird?"

A woman wearing a floral shirt and with big, wavy hair fanned herself exaggeratedly in front of her nose. She occupied the best central position, with a brand-new four-pocket military uniform soaking in a basin.

"I smell it too," a tall, thin woman chimed in, her voice shrill. "It smells like a pigsty. This is a military compound, how come they let just anyone in?"

Lin Wanrou paused for a moment while rubbing the clothes.

She could tell they were talking about her.

Yesterday in the courtyard, Qian Mei was acting all sarcastic and strange.

Lin Wanrou bit her lower lip and remained silent. Ya Ya had said to straighten her back. But she didn't want to cause trouble and wanted to finish washing up quickly and leave.

"Hey, have you heard? This is the one Chief Gu brought back from the countryside..." The curly-haired woman deliberately lowered her voice, but the volume was just enough for everyone in the washroom to hear. "I heard she's a clingy one. She's got half a broken jade pendant and is shamelessly insisting that Chief Gu take responsibility."

"Really? A heroic figure like Commander Gu would be interested in this country bumpkin?"

"Of course. Look at those sheets, patched upon patched, aren't you afraid they were taken from a dead person?"

A burst of laughter erupted.

Lin Wanrou's fingers gripped the edge of the pool tightly, and mud and sand seeped into her fingernails.

She accepts it if you say she's poor. She also accepts it if you say she's unsophisticated.

But she couldn't stand being called shameless or having her things unclean. Those were sewn by her for Gu Changfeng, stitch by stitch, perfectly clean.

"The sheets are clean."

Lin Wanrou raised her head, her voice not loud, even slightly trembling, but she said it very clearly, "This is where my husband, Lao Gu, sleeps. It's not dirty."

There was a moment of silence in the washroom.

The curly-haired woman seemed surprised that this seemingly weak and submissive woman dared to talk back. She slammed the soap she was holding onto the counter and walked over with a stern look on her face.

"Oh ho, you dare to talk back? Clean? Did you even wash the grime from under your fingernails before you started washing clothes?"

The woman looked Lin Wanrou up and down, noticing her faded blue cotton jacket, with even the cuffs worn and frayed.

"Everyone come and see, this is what you call... 'the poor are always causing trouble'! Our water room is shared, what if you bring in all that poverty and disease and infect our kids?"

"Exactly! Officer Zhao said that people from the countryside have poor hygiene habits and might even be carrying fleas!"

"Stay away from her, don't bring bad luck on yourself."

Several women, trying to curry favor with the woman with curly hair, started making a fuss, some even exaggeratedly moving the basin further away as if avoiding a plague.

Lin Wanrou's face flushed red, a mixture of shame and indignation, and even more so, grievance.

"I don't have fleas! I'm not sick!" Lin Wanrou cried out, "I'm Gu Changfeng's wife, I live in courtyard number six, and I have the right to wash my clothes here!"

"Lover? Bah!" The curly-haired woman exclaimed as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"Getting a marriage certificate doesn't make you lovers! That's because the commander is kind-hearted and pities you and your daughter for not having enough to eat! Take a good look at yourself in the mirror. You're just an illiterate village woman. What makes you worthy of Commander Gu?"

As she spoke, she scooped a large ladleful of dirty water from her basin.

"Splash!"

A ladle of dirty water mixed with soap suds and stains was poured directly into the basin that Lin Wanrou had just filled with clean water.

The bed sheets, which were just about to be washed, suddenly developed a layer of grayish-black foam.

"Oops, my hand slipped." The curly-haired woman exclaimed insincerely, but her face was full of smug smiles. "But it's okay, your sheets were dirty anyway, this is called fighting poison with poison."

"you!"

Lin Wanrou's eyes instantly reddened as she looked at the basin of dirty water.

She spent half a day scrubbing this after getting up early, and she collected the water bucket by bucket.

"You're bullying me!" Lin Wanrou put down the washboard and took a step forward.

"What? Want to fight?" The curly-haired woman, relying on her strong build, thrust her chest forward, almost spitting on Lin Wanrou's face.

"Let me tell you, my man is a battalion commander! You, a pathetic loser who climbed the ranks by playing the victim, dare to lay a finger on me?"

Several women gathered around, forming a semi-circle that cornered the frail Lin Wanrou in the pool.

"Don't you even know where you are? Running wild in the courtyard."

"Get out of here, you look disgusting."

Lin Wanrou was forced to press her back against the cold cement platform. A chill ran up her spine.

She wanted to cry, she wanted to run away.

But then I remembered the image of Ya Ya standing on the wall yesterday, scaring away those naughty boys. I also remembered my daughter cupping her face and saying, "Mom, you need to straighten your back."

You can't run.

If they run away, Ya Ya will be looked down upon by others. If they run away, it will confirm that they are easy to bully.

Lin Wanrou gritted her teeth, refusing to let her tears fall. She reached out and picked up the wooden basin filled with dirty water.

The basin of water, weighing dozens of kilograms, made her wrists ache.

"What...what do you want to do?" The curly-haired woman felt a little uneasy when she saw Lin Wanrou's fierce eyes and took a half step back.

"Apologize."

Lin Wanrou's voice was hoarse, each word seemingly squeezed out from between her teeth, "Apologize to me. Otherwise, I'll throw this water back at you."

That's the kind of attitude a rabbit will take when cornered.

The curly-haired woman was stunned for a moment, then became furious. She'd actually been intimidated by a village woman?

"You've gone too far!" the curly-haired woman shrieked, reaching out to push the basin from Lin Wanrou's hand. "Everyone, help! Get this crazy woman out of here! I refuse to believe that so many of us can't handle her!"

Two or three women reached out and grabbed Lin Wanrou's arm to try and lift the wooden basin.

Water splashed everywhere.

Lin Wanrou desperately protected the basin, leaving several red scratches on her body and her hair disheveled.

Just as the basin of dirty water was about to be spilled and drenched Lin Wanrou.

"Bang!"

The heavy wooden door to the water room was kicked open from the outside.

The door slammed heavily against the wall with a loud bang, causing dust to fall from the ceiling.

Everyone froze in their tracks.

Morning light streamed in through the doorway.

A small figure stands against the light.

Meng Yaya was wearing an ill-fitting floral-patterned blouse and dragging a mop handle that was taller than her and had been taken from somewhere.

She tilted her head, looking at Lin Wanrou, who was huddled in a corner looking disheveled. Her large, clear eyes revealed a chilling aura that sent shivers down one's spine.

"Who just said," Meng Yaya slammed the mop handle on the ground, making a dull thud on the concrete, "that they wanted to kick my mom out?"