A lonely, unlucky military officer with a stubborn fate insisted on marrying me.

When Lin Yinyin squeezed onto the bus with her new bag and gifts, the bus was already packed. Luckily, the old lady from earlier had pulled her up and helped her squeeze to the window.

"Thank you, Auntie!"

"Don't mention it! We're all military families, it's only right that we look after each other!"

"You're so kind, ma'am. What's your surname, ma'am? Surely the people we're looking for aren't from the same place?"

"That must be it, there's only one military region this vehicle passes through! My surname is Zhuang, and my wife is the head cook in the first battalion of the first regiment."

Aunt Zhuang moved aside to make room for the pregnant woman who had just squeezed in. "Who are you looking for? I recognize most of the people in the group."

"I'm looking for Battalion Commander Li Jianjun of the First Regiment; he's my brother-in-law."

"Li Jianjun?"

"That's him!"

"I know, he's honest, he trains like a madman, but he has a lot of family troubles..."

Halfway through her sentence, she noticed the bag of apples Lin Yinyin was carrying and changed the subject, "Isn't your sister very gentle? She even has two dimples when she smiles?"

"Yes, my sister's name is Lin Huizhi."

"That's right. I remember her. She's a good person, honest, and reliable. She's just a bit too soft-hearted and always tries to be patient when things happen."

Lin Yinyin's heart sank when she heard this; there was clearly a story behind Aunt Zhuang's words.

Just as she was about to ask more about her sister, the bus suddenly slowed down, and with the driver honking his horn, two military green jeeps overtook it from behind.

The jeep's window was half-rolled down. A man in the passenger seat caught sight of Lin Yinyin by the bus window, his mouth agape in surprise, and he almost dropped his military cap.

"Look at that jeep, it's definitely heading to the military compound!"

Two girls carrying cloth bags nearby whispered among themselves, their eyes full of envy, "Only officers of battalion rank or above get this kind of treatment. We ordinary people who take the bus can't compare!"

Lin Yinyin understood that no matter where you are, you can't escape the principle of "watching others carry the load makes you feel less tired."

The officers may seem glamorous, but what they have achieved is all earned with blood and sweat. Take Li Jinye, for example; the gunshot wound on his arm is... wait, why is she thinking of him?

Lin Yinyin shook her head. She was already in Hebei Province, hundreds of miles away, so they probably wouldn't see each other again.

"We've arrived at the Hebei Provincial Military Region! Those who need to get off, please move towards the entrance!"

Lin Yinyin got off the bus with the crowd and looked up to see the solemn and imposing gate of the military region, with the sentry soldiers standing at the top of their lungs.

She straightened her clothes, walked quickly to the guardhouse, and politely said, "Comrade, hello! I'd like to see Battalion Commander Li Jianjun of the First Regiment. I'm his sister-in-law, and I'm here from my hometown to visit relatives."

"Comrade, wait a moment, I'll have someone go and confirm."

"etc!"

Suddenly, a sharp, sarcastic female voice came from behind: "Li Jianjun doesn't have a sister-in-law!"

Lin Yinyin turned around and saw a girl in a floral blouse standing there with her hands on her hips. She had a round face with small eyes, high cheekbones, and a look full of disdain.

Li Jianying had just returned from the hospital when she saw Lin Yinyin standing at the door from afar. Looking at the other woman, who was dressed neatly and had a pretty face, wearing coarse cloth shoes, she curled her lips into a mocking smile.

So what if someone is good-looking? They still look poor and shabby!

"Hey country bumpkin, what are you looking at? We don't have any relatives like you. Don't try to take advantage of us by pretending to be visiting relatives!"

Lin Yinyin frowned. It seemed this was her sister's sister-in-law.

He has a sharp and mean appearance, and you can tell at a glance that he doesn't look like him.

However, she wasn't afraid.

"Whether I'm related or not, we can find out by asking Battalion Commander Li."

Lin Yinyin said to the young soldier, "Could you please inform him that I'm looking for Li Jianjun?"

"Notify me? Why should I notify you?"

Li Jianying took a step forward and deliberately bumped into the gift bag in Lin Yinyin's hand, causing an apple to roll out.

"My brother isn't home, I don't know you, get out of here, don't get in my way!"

Li Jianying's spittle landed on Lin Yinyin's hand, her tone full of disgust.

Lin Yinyin bent down to pick up the apple, patted off the dust. Luckily, she had put the peach shortbread and canned food in her spatial storage, otherwise she would have been heartbroken if they had broken.

Lin Yinyin straightened up, the heat in her eyes completely gone: "I'll say it again, I'm Lin Huizhi's sister. I want to see Li Jianjun."

Are you Li Jianjun? If not, don't spout nonsense here!

"You dare to insult me!" Li Jianying was furious after hearing this.

"I knew it. That old hen that doesn't lay eggs would eventually leech off my family and suck my blood."

"I'm telling you, everyone in the old hen's family is dead. We don't know you, so get out of here!"

She turned to Zhang, the sentry, and shouted, "Comrade Zhang, you gatekeepers have to do your job! How dare you let someone with no status in? What if a spy infiltrated?"

The phrases "a hen that doesn't lay eggs" and "everyone in her family is dead" burned fiercely into Lin Yinyin's heart.

She tightened her grip on the apple. Was this the happy life her sister had been talking about?

Is this what my sister meant by a harmonious family life?

"Heh!" Lin Yinyin sneered and turned to look at Xiao Zhang, who was on duty.

"Comrade, let me ask you, fighting inside the military barracks is a violation of discipline, but this is outside the gate, isn't that part of the military's territory?"

Taken aback by the sudden question, Xiao Zhang instinctively slammed the butt of his rifle on the ground: "This is outside the camp, but it's under our jurisdiction..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Yinyin suddenly turned around, grabbed Li Jianying by the collar with her left hand, and slapped her across the face with her right.

"Snapped!"

Aunt Zhuang behind him swallowed hard. Good heavens, this girl had been speaking softly and gently the whole way, why is she so fierce now!

And this round-faced woman—she recognized her voice; she was the little girl's sister-in-law. She didn't seem like a good person.

"Slap!" Another slap rang out, and Li Jianying finally realized what was happening.

"You hit me! You dare hit me! I'll fight you to the death!" he said, reaching out to grab Lin Yinyin's face.

Lin Yinyin was prepared and dodged her claws by turning to the side. She then used her knee to push into Li Jianying's knee, and while Li Jianying bent over in pain, she raised her hand and slapped her twice more.

"Dare to insult my sister? *Slap!*"

"Cursing my family? Slap! Slap!"

Li Jianying was stunned by the beating.

The sentries, Xiao Zhang and Xiao Zhao, were also stunned.

However, the two quickly realized what was happening and separated the two women from the left and right.

Li Jianying, her hair disheveled and her lip cut, pointed at Lin Yinyin and wailed, "Arrest her! She assaulted someone! She violated discipline by assaulting someone in the military region!"

Lin Yinyin straightened the rumpled corner of her clothes and said dismissively, "I just asked, this is outside the military region, it's not under the jurisdiction of your camp's discipline."

Therefore, this can only be a friendly exchange between two ordinary people speaking their minds without restraint.

Friendly exchange? Aunt Zhuang's lips twitched.

Li Jianying was so taken aback by Lin Yinyin's phrase "friendly exchange" that she almost choked on her own breath.

She forgot to cry and stared with her round little eyes, "You, you call this friendly communication?"

You've slapped my face so hard it's swollen! I'm going to sue you! Sue you for intentionally harming a military family member!

Upon hearing this, several family members who were watching started discussing it.

"What's wrong with military family members? We're military family members too, and we can't just insult people for no reason. I heard what you just said, it was so awful."

Those around him chimed in, "Exactly! What do you mean, 'everyone in the family is dead'? That's incredibly venomous. And this Comrade Lin looks so refined; he only acted when he was pushed to the limit."

Aunt Zhuang pulled one of her companions aside and asked, "I haven't been away from the compound for long, how come I didn't know there was such a jerk in our compound?"