B5SB -Chapter 124 Lan Cao’s Thoughts

When Lu Huailin rode his bike back to the military housing compound, the sky had already darkened.

He was carrying a lot of packages, which made him quite conspicuous.

The military wives in the compound craned their necks to watch him.

There were baskets attached both to the front and back of his bicycle, all packed to the brim.

Sister Li pursed her lips and said, “Is he trying to live like this every day?”

“No matter how much money they have, you can’t keep up with them like this,” someone muttered.

Lan Cao looked at all the full bags with envy, her eyes reddening.

Today, Deputy Battalion Commander Wang had taken her to a state-owned restaurant, and she had expected to have a plate of braised pork.

But in the end, she only got a bowl of egg noodles. Initially, Lan Cao had felt satisfied—eggs were also scarce.

Yet seeing all the stuff Lu Huailin had bought on his bike, she couldn’t help but compare herself.

A glint of determination flashed in her eyes. “How could we ever compare to them?”

“Even normally, they have meat at home all the time, never missing a meal,” another whispered.

“Not to mention now, the commander’s wife is pregnant—they must be treating her like a treasure.”

The military wives whispered among themselves: “Pregnant? She’s carrying a golden nugget! The commander treats her so well.”

Sister Li chimed in: “Back in our day, when we were pregnant, we were still working while carrying a child.”

An older military wife sighed: “You can’t compare it to our times. Back then, the day after giving birth, we were already back to work in the fields.”

Just as Lu Huailin arrived at the small courtyard gate, he ran into Deputy Battalion Commander Wang.

Wang’s eyes were filled with a sympathetic look as he looked at him.

Lu Huailin didn’t say anything, though he found it curious—someone sympathizing with him?

Wang couldn’t hold back and patted Lu Huailin on the shoulder: “You can’t spoil your wife like this.”

Lu Huailin’s expression darkened immediately. Coldly, he said, “What’s it to you?”

Wang wore an expression of concern: “In your household, there’s always chicken, fish, meat, eggs, never a shortage, and your wife buys clothes every month. As the saying goes, ‘One can’t starve on food or clothes… but if you can’t calculate, you’ll suffer…’”

Lu Huailin, not wanting to hear more nonsense, interrupted sharply: “Stop! Don’t say another word.”

He looked at Wang and sneered: “My wife is different from the ordinary military wives here. She was like this even before we got married—shouldn’t she live as well now?”

Lu Huailin sized up Wang, sarcasm dripping from his words: “People like you—my wife, with her background, would never marry someone like you. It’s like a toad wanting to eat swan meat—can’t get it for himself, so he hopes no one else can either.”

With that, he pushed open the courtyard gate and slammed it shut with a “bang,” taking himself seriously indeed.

Gu Yihan heard the noise and ran out, relieved to see that Lu Huailin had returned.

She began bringing things into the house, muttering, “Why did he buy so much stuff?”

Glancing at the items, there were several jars of canned goods, multiple tins of malted milk, and some small snacks.

Lu Huailin organized the things into their proper places, then returned to the living room and saw the dumplings on the table.

His heart warmed, and he picked up the dumplings to eat. They were chive and egg-filled. “Wife, your dumplings are really delicious.”

Gu Yihan shot him a sideways glance, thinking, Could they taste bad? All the chickens at home drink water from the space, so the eggs taste even better.

Since Gu Yihan became pregnant, Lu Huailin had taken over all the housework. Feeling happy, time passed quickly.

Unknowingly, it was already Sunday, and the house was just Gu Yihan alone—Lu Huailin had left on a mission early that morning.

Before leaving, worried she would be alone at home, he had also brought Maomao back.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!”

Maomao circled around Gu Yihan, barking now and then, tugging at her pants, eager to go outside and play.

“All right, let’s go out now.”

Leading Maomao out for a walk, Gu Yihan had just closed the courtyard gate.

Next door, Aunt Chen, carrying sheets and a duvet cover, smiled and asked, “Going for a walk?”

Gu Yihan shook her head with a smile: “Not sure yet where to walk Maomao.”

Aunt Chen glanced at Maomao spinning around and called: “Maomao, come, let’s go to the river—you can even catch some fish!”

Gu Yihan knew Aunt Chen was going to the river to wash clothes, so she didn’t reply.

Maomao was clever—it understood, running back and forth between Aunt Chen and Gu Yihan.

And so, the two women and the dog headed to the river. Before Gu Yihan could call Maomao back, it leaped straight into the water.

Soon, more and more people arrived by the river to wash clothes.

Lan Cao, somehow, had moved beside Gu Yihan and sneered: “Well, well, look at that—the commander’s wife actually came out?”

Gu Yihan ignored Lan Cao—the woman was crazy, and she was pregnant, so she didn’t want to argue.

Gu Yihan glanced around, suddenly noticing Maomao wasn’t in the river—her heart skipped a beat, and she hurried to the riverbank.

She saw it still frolicking in the water and relaxed.

Aunt Chen was washing sheets and, noticing Gu Yihan’s movement, chuckled: “Xiaoyan, Maomao can swim, that’s basic at the military dog base.”

“Auntie Chen, why haven’t I seen your little grandson these past few days?” Lan Cao’s voice rang from behind Gu Yihan.

Gu Yihan watched Lan Cao’s every move cautiously—she had a bad feeling about her.

Seeing Lan Cao very close to Gu Yihan, Aunt Chen didn’t think much: “My son-in-law came and had them rent a place outside.”

Although Lan Cao was talking to Aunt Chen, her gaze kept flicking to Gu Yihan, malice flashing in her eyes.

“Oh!” Lan Cao pretended to lose her balance and lunged straight at Gu Yihan.

Everyone around froze in shock—only Gu Yihan reacted, quickly dodging as Lan Cao’s hands almost touched her.

“Splash!” Lan Cao fell into the water, sending up a spray.

She thrashed around as if she couldn’t swim.

The crowd panicked, shouting: “Someone fell in! Does anyone know how to swim?”

People shouted in the crowd: “No one can swim!”

A woman called out: “I’ll go get help,” and ran off.

Maomao, noticing someone in the water, immediately swam over, biting Lan Cao’s clothes and heading toward the shore.

Gu Yihan watched Maomao’s every move—she knew her dog was much stronger than others.

Suddenly, she shouted loudly: “Maomao!”

The people around focused on the dog and the woman in the water.

Lan Cao was pressing Maomao’s head under the water, refusing to let it surface.

Aunt Chen gasped, uncertain: “Lan Cao… that wasn’t on purpose, right?”

The surrounding military wives dared not speak—so many eyes were watching.

Ignoring everyone, Gu Yihan worried for Maomao: “Maomao, let go!”

Maomao, in the water, was distressed. Its paws were being held down by the wicked woman, pushing it underwater.

Seeing no movement from Maomao and only Lan Cao thrashing for a while without shouting for help, Gu Yihan realized Lan Cao was pretending.

She tried to pull Maomao into the space remotely.

In the water, Lan Cao thought: Since Gu Yihan didn’t fall in, she would make Maomao drown.

Pressing down on Maomao, she found that it had vanished into thin air.

A chill ran down her spine. No longer pretending she couldn’t swim, she quickly swam to the shore, screaming that there was a ghost in the water: “Ah… there’s a ghost!”