Xiaoxiao was speechlessly incredulous. Why hadn’t Dong ihua ntioned their strained relationship before? Xiaoxiao had no desire to comply with Dong ihua’s wishes, but with both service mbers and military wives present, everyone displaying warmth and friendliness, Xiaoxiao couldn’t spoil the atmosphere at that mont.
As soon as the eting dispersed, Xiaoxiao left with her children. Dong ihua caught up with her and asked, "Xiaoxiao, do you know Mr. Yu’s wife, Comrade Xue Baozhu?"
"I don’t," Xiaoxiao replied indifferently, shaking her head.
"She asked to bring you so things. Here you go," Dong ihua said, handing over a bag.
Xiaoxiao was taken aback and asked Dong ihua, "I don’t even know Mr. Yu’s wife. Why would she give these?"
"You’d know if you ask Gao Jiaxing. He has even visited Mr. Yu’s ho," Dong ihua replied, then walked towards He Xuexiang.
Xiaoxiao furrowed her brows, her gaze following Gao Jiaxing, who was still talking with Liu Yuanchao and two other platoon leaders, Lin Jianfeng and Yu Shijie. It was impractical to ask Gao Jiaxing now, so she decided to head ho instead.
Upon arriving ho, Xiaoxiao opened the bag. Inside were two sets of boys’ clothing, two pairs of n’s socks, and two scarves.
Xiaoxiao was puzzled. What did this an?
After bathing the two children, Xiaoxiao waited for Gao Jiaxing to return. He ca ho only after it had gotten dark.
"Why aren’t you asleep yet?" Gao Jiaxing asked.
"How can I sleep?" Xiaoxiao pointed at the bag.
"What’s this?" Gao Jiaxing inquired.
"Look for yourself. Dong ihua said it was sent by Mr. Yu’s wife," Xiaoxiao responded.
Gao Jiaxing opened the bag and was also startled, frowning, "Why would she send these? It’s pretty strange."
"I was just about to ask you. What happened when you visited Mr. Yu’s ho? Why is the Yu Family so friendly with you?" Had it been for Mu Xingzhi as well, it might be understandable. But it wasn’t; it was just for her, or rather her family.
"We didn’t talk about much, just Mr. Xue’s matters," Gao Jiaxing replied, puzzled.
"That still doesn’t make sense. It shouldn’t be like this just because of Grandpa Xue’s matters," Xiaoxiao remarked skeptically.
Gao Jiaxing didn’t know what Xue Baozhu ant either, simply saying, "Maybe it’s their way of showing gratitude."
"Still too weird," Xiaoxiao felt none of the reasons sufficed.
"Why think so much about it? We’ll know eventually. It’s not possible to figure it out now," Gao Jiaxing said.
Xiaoxiao nodded, "Then I’ll just put these away for now. I don’t know their intention, and I don’t an to think ill of others, but this whole situation being so inexplicable and unsaid doesn’t sit well with ."
Gao Jiaxing nodded, "You decide. I’ll go shower first."
After a while, Gao Jiaxing returned from his shower and, seeing Xiaoxiao seeming troubled, said, "What’s on your mind? You look all furrowed."
Xiaoxiao replied, "I’m thinking about Dong ihua. You know about my relationship with her. Now that everyone is getting along, if I start having conflicts with her, others might bla . Moreover, her trying to be both friendly with and curry favor with , I really don’t like it."
"Why worry so much? Just be wary of her, but you don’t need to bother about anything else. It wasn’t easy for her to accompany the troops; she won’t really stir up trouble. Perhaps she is just trying to make ands," Gao Jiaxing advised.
"If we hadn’t fallen out, it might be different, but now I can’t feel close to her," Xiaoxiao currently felt no affection for Dong ihua.
"You don’t need to be close with her. But since everyone is a military wife, unity and mutual aid matter. Now that we are all part of one group, it would look bad if you show disharmony with her. We are also part of the sa production team; we shouldn’t form cliques or exclude others. That’s not right. If she isn’t harboring ill intentions, there’s no need to mind her."
Gao Jiaxing himself didn’t know how to handle the intricacies between won, especially now that Dong ihua wasn’t doing anything and others were friendly. If they responded coldly to such individuals, it would certainly be inappropriate.
"I understand," Xiaoxiao stated, all too knowingly, which was why she felt frustrated.
However, if Dong ihua had no malicious intentions, Xiaoxiao couldn’t really do anything to her. If she did harbor bad intentions, Xiaoxiao definitely wouldn’t just let it go.
Early the next day, Dong ihua started following Xiaoxiao around. Xiaoxiao wasn’t quite fond of Dong ihua getting so close, but since Dong ihua was trying to please her and hadn’t done anything wrong—always acting as if everything depended on her—and everyone could see it, Xiaoxiao felt compelled not to outright dismiss her.
"Dong ihua, what do you an by this?" Xiaoxiao confronted her when they were alone.
"Xiaoxiao, I just want to reconcile with you. That’s all," Dong ihua said.
Reconcile? "I don’t think we can go back to how we were," Xiaoxiao felt she couldn’t possibly be as close with Dong ihua as before.
If Dong ihua were like any regular military wife—rely exchanging smiles and hellos—that would have been fine. But Dong ihua was overbearing in her affection, which Xiaoxiao disliked.
"I know I was wrong before. I apologize. But now I’m also a military wife, part of this group. I genuinely want to be integrated here. I like the environnt and atmosphere. Please accept ," Dong ihua pleaded.
What could Xiaoxiao say to that? She replied to Dong ihua, "It’s up to you. I don’t have anything I need to accept or reject. The military isn’t mine to control. I don’t have any hostility towards you and welco you to join our collective. But please keep your distance. The way we interacted in the production team is enough. There’s no need to get too close."
Having said this, Xiaoxiao left. Dong ihua felt frustrated inside, thinking Xiaoxiao was now acting high and mighty.
Dong ihua truly wanted to ingratiate herself with Xiaoxiao. After all, Xiaoxiao had beco different now, and their company commander happened to be Xiaoxiao’s distant cousin. It was definitely better to have a good relationship with Xiaoxiao than to oppose her.
But Dong ihua forgot that she and Xiaoxiao had fallen out earlier, and it was impossible to return to their previous friendship. The more she tried to get close to Xiaoxiao, the more Xiaoxiao pushed her away.
After Xiaoxiao’s words, Dong ihua stopped trying to get close and maintained distance, but she seed timid, wanting to approach Xiaoxiao yet not daring to. To the unknowing, it might seem like Xiaoxiao had mistreated her.
Watching Dong ihua behave this way, Xiaoxiao felt even more annoyed—this form of interaction was even more irkso than before.
"Xiaoxiao, what’s going on between you and Comrade ihua?" Even Mu Xingzhi asked Xiaoxiao.
Xiaoxiao was exasperated and asked Mu Xingzhi, "Sister-in-law, what do you think is going on between us?"
Mu Xingzhi appeared conflicted, "She seems afraid to co close like before. You two were so close before, part of the sa production team of educated youth, and even shared a dorm..."
"Sister-in-law, it’s not what you think," Xiaoxiao felt the need to explain clearly to Mu Xingzhi. If even she thought so, what about the other military wives?
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