RMM -Chapter 311 The Camp Stays, the Soldiers Come and Go

Since she was on her own—and had Xi Zi to look after—Su Ruo decided not to make anything too elaborate. After weighing it over, she prepared just a few simple, home-style dishes.

Halfway through, He Wen called to say that two more people—Feng Weijia and Lu Yue—had decided to come along at the last minute, so if Su Ruo was planning to feed everyone, she should make a bit extra.

When Su Ruo heard those two names, she raised an eyebrow and smiled. What were those two joining in the fun for? Traveling all this way just to see her? Tch—there wasn’t much credibility in that. If you said their real interest lay elsewhere, she’d believe that much more readily.

Still, a gentleman delights in helping others succeed. She might not be a gentleman, but she wasn’t about to “beat apart a pair of lovebirds” either and stop them from chasing after their future wives. Let them come—at most it was just a couple more pairs of chopsticks. More people meant more liveliness.

There was a small shop in the family housing compound, selling most everyday necessities, and of course fresh vegetables and ingredients as well.

After deciding what to cook, Su Ruo glanced at Xi Zi. Seeing that he was still asleep, she went downstairs to buy the ingredients. She moved quickly, afraid that Xi Zi might wake up while she was gone.

Fortunately, Xi Zi was a well-behaved baby. Even if he woke up, as long as his diaper was dry and his stomach full, he wouldn’t cry or fuss at all—extremely easy to take care of. That way, Su Ruo could stay busy in the kitchen without feeling flustered.

Just as things were nearly ready, He Wen called again to say that they were already at the gate and needed her to come out and get them; otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to get in.

Su Ruo quickly untied her apron, changed into another top, and picked up Xi Zi before heading out. There was no way she’d leave Xi Zi at home alone and walk that far.

At this hour, the family compound was usually very quiet. Most households had already eaten; some people were resting, others busy with their own things, but hardly anyone went out. So when Su Ruo led He Wen and the others inside, they didn’t disturb anyone else.

But accidents always happened.

Just as Su Ruo opened her door, the door across the hall opened as well.

The moment she heard the sound, Su Ruo’s face darkened.

“Well, well—Su Ruo, dear. You’ve got guests?”

Lian Yunfen had come out to take out the trash. She hadn’t expected to see so many people the instant she opened her door and was clearly surprised.

“Yes. My friends. They came to see me,” Su Ruo replied, suppressing her displeasure and forcing a polite smile. Then she introduced them to He Wen and Duan Wei. “This is my neighbor. Her surname is Lian.”

Hearing that Lian Yunfen was Su Ruo’s neighbor, He Wen instinctively put on a bright smile and greeted her warmly.
“Hello, hello. I’m Ruo-Ruo’s friend—my name’s He Wen.”

He Wen didn’t think much of it. Since this woman was Su Ruo’s neighbor, they were bound to have frequent contact. And judging by her age, she seemed a bit older than Su Ruo—if anything urgent ever happened, neighbors were the ones most likely to help. As the saying went, distant relatives weren’t as good as close neighbors. So being friendly to Su Ruo’s neighbor couldn’t hurt.

“Oh—hello, hello,” Lian Yunfen replied quickly with a smile.

The others followed suit and greeted her as well. After all the pleasantries, quite some time had passed. Unwilling to waste any more time standing there, Su Ruo said, “Sister Fen, you go on with your business. My friends haven’t eaten yet—they’re probably starving.”

But instead of letting it go, Lian Yunfen became even more enthusiastic.
“Oh my, look at me—so busy talking that I forgot everything else. Come sit at my place! I just finished cooking; it hasn’t even left the pot yet.”

Su Ruo’s eye twitched. This woman really has no sense of boundaries, she thought. What does she have to do with my guests, inviting them so warmly? And ‘just finished cooking’—does she even know what time it is?

Every time Lian Yunfen wanted to take advantage of something or had some ulterior motive, she’d act like this—overly warm, as if they were one big family and no formalities were needed.

“Sister Fen, you should carry on. I’ve already finished cooking at my place, so my guests won’t trouble you. It’s midday—go get some rest,” Su Ruo said curtly.

She refused outright, and as soon as she finished speaking, she pushed He Wen through the door. Seeing that his wife had already gone in, Feng Weijia didn’t hesitate either—he turned and followed them inside.

“Oh come on, why be so polite? We’re neighbors—we’re all family. Your friends are my friends. What’s wrong with me hosting them?” Lian Yunfen said unhappily.

In her heart, she had her own calculations. She might lack tact, but she wasn’t blind. Just one look at He Wen, Duan Wei, and the others was enough to tell they were either wealthy or powerful. That kind of bearing wasn’t something ordinary people had.

Who would have thought that even Su Ruo’s friends were all people of such status? Of course she wanted to seize the chance to build a relationship with them—who knew when it might come in handy?

Friends were never too many, especially friends with power and influence.

Lian Yunfen wasn’t as foolish as she seemed—at least, she believed herself to be quite clever. Why would she give up an opportunity to get close to influential people?

And yet, some people loved to outsmart themselves—convinced they were brilliantly clever, while in reality they gave up a watermelon to pick up a sesame seed, only to end up with nothing at all.

That was exactly Lian Yunfen. She seemed clever, but really wasn’t. If she wanted to curry favor with people of influence, why make things so complicated?

Right in front of her stood Su Ruo.

If she wanted to gain anything, she should have been flattering Su Ruo instead. After all, Su Ruo was her neighbor—close at hand—and she’d already gotten plenty of small benefits from her. And if it came to it, Su Ruo’s husband seemed even more capable of bringing advantages to her husband.

But instead of valuing Su Ruo, Lian Yunfen often acted as if there were barbs hidden beneath her polite words. At times her attitude was downright unpleasant. Now she was offending Su Ruo just to fawn over her friends—wasn’t that laughable? Did she really think Su Ruo’s friends would fall for that?

They might be children of the powerful, yes—but what benefit could they possibly bring her? Which one of them would go out of their way to do her favors?

If there was any benefit to be had, it could only come through Su Ruo. Unfortunately, Lian Yunfen couldn’t see that simple truth.

Toward Su Ruo, what she felt most was resentment. Why did all the good things in the world seem to fall on Su Ruo alone?

That was why, at times, she didn’t mind offending Su Ruo outright—just like now. An urge rose in her chest to argue with Su Ruo head-on.

Looking at Su Ruo—young, beautiful, well-dressed, with a powerful and wealthy husband, and surrounded by outstanding friends—Lian Yunfen felt both envy and jealousy. When those two intense emotions collided, sparks of reckless impulse were bound to fly.

Su Ruo couldn’t be bothered to waste time on someone who loved taking petty advantages yet couldn’t stand seeing others do better than her. She didn’t even want to guess what went on in Lian Yunfen’s head. Did she really think every household revolved around her, that everyone had to cater to her whims?

Ever since the first time Lian Yunfen carried three potted plants out of Su Ruo’s home, she’d visited several more times. Every visit ended with her taking something away. She’d come in praising one thing as beautiful, another as rare, then openly asking Su Ruo for it.

Once or twice, Su Ruo tolerated it. But over and over again—what was that supposed to mean? Was she treating her house like a free supermarket? In a few days, would she start asking to eat meals there too?

So later on, Su Ruo’s attitude cooled noticeably. She brushed Lian Yunfen off and refused to give her anything more. When Lian Yunfen said, “Oh my, this is so pretty—if only I had something like this,” Su Ruo pretended not to understand and went about her own business.

When Lian Yunfen persisted—“Su Ruo, do you have another one? I really like it. Could you give me one?”—Su Ruo would smile apologetically.

“Oh, I’m really sorry, Sister Fen. I only have that one at home. It’s quite expensive—I couldn’t bear to buy more.”

After that happened a few times, Lian Yunfen finally understood Su Ruo’s stance and grew irritated. So what if you’ve got a bit of money? What’s so great about that? Is it really necessary to look down on people like this?

From then on, she stopped visiting Su Ruo much. When they did run into each other, sometimes she’d exchange a few perfunctory words, sometimes she’d simply pretend not to see her. Su Ruo, for her part, was perfectly happy to ignore her. It was even better if she didn’t come—otherwise her house really would’ve been emptied out.

By now, Su Ruo was truly fed up. She no longer cared about neighborhood harmony. Think whatever you want—I wasn’t going to cater to you anymore. It would be best if they never interacted again. After all, the camp remained, but the soldiers came and went. Who knew when the commanding officer might be transferred? They weren’t going to be neighbors for life.

So hearing Lian Yunfen’s words now, Su Ruo couldn’t help but smile.

“I know you’re easygoing by nature, Sister Fen, but my friends won’t trouble you. I can host them myself. Their tempers aren’t very good—if they offended you, that wouldn’t be nice. Let’s all just go about our own business.”

Without waiting for a response, she pushed Duan Wei and Lu Yue inside as well, then carried Xi Zi in herself.

“Sister Fen, you go on. See you around.”

With that, Su Ruo shut the door firmly behind her, without the slightest hesitation.

Lian Yunfen stared wide-eyed at the closed door, her face dark with anger. That Su Ruo was clearly looking down on her for not having money or influence. So what if you’ve got a bit of money—what are you being so arrogant for?

She rolled her eyes at Su Ruo’s door and spat.
“Pah! As if I even care about you.”

“Tsk, tsk—Ruo-Ruo, you’ve made your home so… feminine. Didn’t your commander say anything about it?” He Wen teased as she looked around curiously after entering.

“What could he say?” Su Ruo replied smugly. “With such a clever, skillful, and thoughtful wife like me, he’s thrilled. Look at this place—what’s missing? I did all of it myself.”

She said it without the slightest embarrassment, speaking freely in front of them all.

Though, to be fair, while all the ideas had indeed come from her, the actual work she’d done was minimal. Whenever something needed to be bought, she’d make a phone call to Zhang Huaqing or Shen Liang. The next day, someone would deliver everything, carry it upstairs, and place it wherever she directed.

As for labor—changing light fixtures, moving furniture—that usually fell to Xi Yuechen. Everything relied on his effort.

Su Ruo’s life was simply too comfortable and leisurely, which made her indulge in little bourgeois whims—like transforming a cold, plain apartment into a warm, elegant nest. Xi Yuechen indulged her completely. Whatever she wanted, he agreed to without a single question, letting her direct him as she pleased.

Day by day, the home truly changed—full of flowers and vitality, warm and lively, brimming with a distinctly feminine charm.