RMM -Chapter 284 Rumors and Gossip

“Yuechen, you…”

Zhou Yunzhen clutched her wrist, disbelief and heartache warring within her. She had never expected Xi Yuechen to actually make a move.

“Show some respect.”

Xi Yuechen had no mood to waste words. He cut her off coldly and then turned to glare at the small groups of onlookers lurking around.

“This is a military restricted area. Do you think this is a marketplace? Get out!”

His sharp command startled the onlookers; their faces immediately changed. None of them had ever seen Commander Xi this angry before.

Even when he usually showed his emotions openly, they were timid enough not to approach. Now that he was truly angry, the intimidating, cutting aura he emitted was enough to make anyone’s heart race.

Although Xi Yuechen shouted, who would dare reply? Moreover, the person who had let Zhou Yunzhen in wasn’t present. Once she was escorted to the reception hall, he had returned to guard the main gate.

Still, the commander’s orders must be executed. Didn’t he just say to have this woman removed?

Before the onlookers could react, a young soldier ran forward. Upon closer inspection, it was the same soldier who had spoken earlier.

He ran up to Zhou Yunzhen, still wary, sneaked a glance at Xi Yuechen, and when he saw him turn away, he relaxed slightly.

With a crooked smile that was almost a smirk, he said, “Miss, please—”

Zhou Yunzhen trembled with anger. Her face flushed red and pale in turns. She glared at Xi Yuechen’s back with a mix of shame, annoyance, sadness, and rage. Her emotions were so tangled that she even forgot the pain in her wrist.

“You… I…”

This humiliation was unbearable. Yet with so many people watching, she could not bring herself to speak up. Xi Yuechen’s disdain was evident; if she resisted, she would only humiliate herself further. And yet—how could she swallow this insult?

“Our commander said: military restricted area, no unauthorized personnel.”

The young soldier, seeing Zhou Yunzhen’s angry expression and apparent unwillingness to comply, added slowly, emphasizing the words “unauthorized personnel.”

Zhou Yunzhen’s hand clenched and unclenched so hard it trembled. She knew she could not struggle any longer, or she would truly be “escorted out.”

As a general’s daughter, if this incident got out, both she and her father would be laughed at endlessly.

Suppressing the surging anger and humiliation in her heart, she glared in the direction Xi Yuechen had left, her expression dark and venomous. Then she turned and strode toward the exit.

“Wow, still putting on airs after getting slapped in the face.”

Watching Zhou Yunzhen storm off, the young soldier clicked his tongue and laughed, full of mockery.

Zhou Yunzhen heard him, her heart hurting, face paling, but she did not stop.

The young soldier’s remark seemed to open a floodgate; the others began whispering and pointing at her, voices loud and varied.

Finally, Zhou Yunzhen bellowed, “Enough!”

The pointing and whispering had almost driven her to madness, making her feel as if she were stripped bare before everyone, humiliated in the most degrading way.

She swore she would never set foot here again.

Her roar stunned the crowd for a moment, but they quickly recovered, laughing even more. “Anger from humiliation, classic!” they muttered.

Love rejected, only to be humiliated in return—phrases like this passed from soldier to soldier, replacing the previous cautious curiosity.

Could it be some chaotic woman trying to ruin the commander and his wife’s marriage?

With this thought, their eyes grew even more disdainful toward Zhou Yunzhen.

She had felt nothing entering the room, but now the path seemed endless, almost never-ending.

When she finally reached the exit, the soldier who had registered her earlier instinctively called out before observing her expression.

“Sister-in-law, didn’t find Commander Xi?”

Zhou Yunzhen stiffened. Before she could respond, a voice drifted over.

“Little Zhao, open your eyes—this isn’t your sister-in-law. You think this is a shelter where you let all sorts of monsters in?”

Laughter followed. Based on Xi Yuechen’s blunt reaction earlier, everyone assumed Zhou Yunzhen was a minor player, and their remarks became even less courteous.

“This…”

The soldier who had registered her froze. Not the sister-in-law? Then who was she?

Zhou Yunzhen had to muster all her strength not to collapse. The mocking words felt like giant stones smashing into her chest, leaving her flesh and heart aching.

She saw Zhou Yunzhen stride to her car, slam the door, and leave. The laughter of the onlookers grew wilder.

“What… what’s going on?”

The registering soldier was confused. What had just happened?

“You fool! Let anyone in and even call her sister-in-law? Do you like living comfortably too much?” a soldier nearby mocked.

“But… she didn’t say she wasn’t sister-in-law!” the young soldier protested, feeling wronged.

“Hmph, that’s over now. Don’t dwell on it. Next time, keep your eyes open, don’t let anyone random in, got it?”

“Okay, got it,” came the weak, dejected reply.

Who was this woman? Unclear and unannounced, yet he bore the brunt of misfortune.

The young soldier secretly cursed Zhou Yunzhen in his heart. Posing as a sister-in-law—shameless!

Once Zhou Yunzhen drove some distance, she could no longer hold back. She buried her face in the steering wheel and wept bitterly. The stifled sobs filled the air.

She had almost never cried in her life; even the previous humiliation orchestrated by He Wen hadn’t brought a tear. Yet today, she could not restrain herself.

The humiliation came not from anyone else but from the one she had secretly cherished—the person whose coldness cut her heart like a knife.

After an unknown length of time, she stopped crying but remained bent over the wheel, half-staring blankly, her eyes still red. The delicate makeup she had carefully applied was ruined, leaving her disheveled and pitiful.

“Heh.”

After a long pause, a faint, cold laugh echoed through the air. Then she started the car and drove off.

Meanwhile, at Xi Yuechen’s side, the scene seemed to have exploded; the place was abuzz.

After Xi Yuechen left, he acted as if nothing had happened, resuming his routine with no trace of emotion.

This left the soldiers on the training ground curious. Isn’t sister-in-law here? Why did the commander leave so quickly?

Curiosity aside, no one dared make a sound, keeping focused on their exercises.

Forget it—who is the commander’s private life to them? Better to train properly. Perhaps he rushed back because his wife was still around.

“Tsk, tsk, our commander is diligent indeed. Still training us even now, instead of getting cozy with his wife!”

Having been on the training ground all along, the soldiers didn’t know what had happened. They were still wondering if they could catch a glimpse of the “sister-in-law.”

But during lunch break, the events in the reception hall spread throughout the unit. Everyone knew.

And naturally, everyone was dumbfounded.

Was the world ending? How could such a melodrama happen? And to the commander no less!

A graceful, noble, beautiful woman secretly adores a cold, high-ranking officer and pursues him, only to be rejected.

By now, the rumor had grown to this version, even reaching higher-ups.

Almost everyone hearing it found it unbelievable, absurd.

Just as Xi Yuechen stepped out, he ran into Li Lizhen, who had “coincidentally” come by. He had been waiting a long time.

“Ah, Yuechen, what a coincidence!”

Li Lizhen’s overly cheerful face met Xi Yuechen, who merely gave a flat acknowledgment and walked on.

Having worked with Li Lizhen for so long, Xi Yuechen recognized the obvious intention behind his forced cheerfulness.

He barely needed to think—he knew why Li Lizhen rushed over. He hadn’t forgotten what had happened that morning.

He certainly wasn’t about to waste time on such trivial matters, so he ignored Li Lizhen’s gossiping eyes.

“Hey, wait, I have something to ask you! Just a minute!”

Seeing no intention to stop, Li Lizhen panicked—he hadn’t gotten any info yet!

“What?” Xi Yuechen replied, impatient.

“Uh…” Li Lizhen felt embarrassed. A grown man gossiping—how humiliating. “This morning’s incident spread like wildfire. I heard the person who came wasn’t your sister-in-law?”

“No,” Xi Yuechen answered flatly.

“Then… who was she?” Li Lizhen raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

“Don’t know her.”

Xi Yuechen said impatiently and continued walking. He had no interest in chatting about meaningless people.

“Don’t know her? Then how did she find you? Did she… fancy you?” Li Lizhen, losing composure, asked urgently.

Xi Yuechen paused briefly, his expression hardening. “I repeat: I don’t know her. She has nothing to do with me. Don’t joke about this again.”

The displeasure and annoyance on Xi Yuechen’s face frightened Li Lizhen. Before he could react, Xi Yuechen had already walked away.

Watching that cold, straight figure disappear, Li Lizhen found his next words stuck in his throat, frozen.

So cold…

He shivered. He had never seen Xi Yuechen express such emotion. Too terrifying.

Recalling the sharpness in Xi Yuechen’s eyes, Li Lizhen knew that if he asked another question, Xi Yuechen would see through his calm exterior.

It felt like touching his reverse scales. Li Lizhen shook his head helplessly. Best not to mention it again; judging by Xi Yuechen, he wouldn’t dare provoke him.