Chapter 135: Testing Zhuang Lili

"Yes, the signature at the end of the letter is hers. I recall you mentioning that name before."

Lin You handed the letter from his pocket to Xia Yan. She opened it and, to say the least, the content was quite bold. Between the lines, it expressed such deep admiration and love for Lin You that it even made her feel a bit embarrassed to read.

Still, it was well-written—she certainly hadn't held back.

"She was my high school classmate. We were barely more than strangers; I don't think I ever said more than a few words to her."

Xia Yan tucked the letter away, planning to confront Zhuang Lili about what she meant by it whenever they crossed paths. "What do you intend to do about this?"

"Me? As long as you don't misunderstand, I couldn't care less."

Lin You picked up his toothbrush again. He hadn't eaten a thing since coming down from the mountain the night before, and the thought of the large steamed buns Xia Yan made had his stomach growling.

Halfway through brushing, he looked at Xia Yan, who was standing there, and asked in a muffled voice, "Wife, what are you thinking? Do you not trust me?"

"If I didn't trust you, do you think I'd be serving you porridge? I know what kind of man my husband is."

Lin You chuckled at this.

Xia Yan rolled her eyes at him and tossed a dishcloth at him. "What are you laughing at? Even if you don't have feelings for her, you’re still the one out there attracting trouble."

"How am I attracting trouble?" Lin You protested, feeling wronged.

"Who told you to be so handsome?"

With that parting shot, Xia Yan ran off to the dining table to continue her breakfast.

Lin You touched his face. *Handsome...* Was his wife just complimenting him?

After freshening up, Lin You walked to the table in high spirits to start his breakfast. With his wife and children by his side, the meal tasted especially good.

After breakfast, Lin You stayed home to look after Nuannuan, while Xia Yan tidied up and headed to school with their two sons.

Before she had even reached the school gate, a figure in a red scarf with two braids came walking toward her. It was none other than Zhuang Lili.

"Morning, Xia Yan!"

Seeing Xia Yan, Zhuang Lili ran over to greet her naturally.

"Morning."

Xia Yan stared at her as she spoke, wondering if this woman was truly so thick-skinned. She had written a love letter to her husband, yet here she was, greeting her so casually.

Noticing the strange look on Xia Yan's face, Zhuang Lili instinctively touched her own cheek. "Is there something on my face?"

"No, I was just thinking about something. What brings you here today?"

Xia Yan suddenly remembered what Principal Li had told her yesterday. "Are you here to be the art teacher?"

Zhuang Lili was surprised that Xia Yan already knew. "Yes, I agreed with Principal Li yesterday. I'm here to try teaching for a bit. You'll have to guide me, okay?"

"I've only been here a short while myself..."

Before Xia Yan could finish, Zhuang Lili had already linked her arm through hers. From a distance, they looked like the best of friends.

Seeing Xia Yan standing still, Zhuang Lili urged her on: "Come on, Xia Yan, class is about to start."

In the teachers' lounge, when Zhuang Lili introduced herself, she made a point of mentioning that she was Xia Yan’s classmate. The other teachers, out of affection for Xia Yan, treated Zhuang Lili with great warmth.

By noon, the other teachers had gone home to eat. Because the ranch was quite far away, Zhuang Lili stayed in the office.

"Why aren't you eating at the canteen?"

Xia Yan held an aluminum lunch box. She had specifically gone to the canteen to buy a few extra dishes, intending to have a talk with Zhuang Lili.

Zhuang Lili picked up her dry rations. "I brought my own food."

"That stuff doesn't have much nutrition. I bought plenty of food; let's eat together."

"Are you sure?" Zhuang Lili was somewhat disbelieving; the Xia Yan she remembered had been very cold and aloof.

"Of course. Aren't we classmates? And it’s such a coincidence that we ended up in the same place and are now teachers at the same school. It must be fate."

"Yes, you're absolutely right. Then I won't stand on ceremony."

After all, dry rations could never compare to a warm, hot meal.

Seeing her eat with such relish, Xia Yan took the envelope out of her pocket and placed it in front of her.

Zhuang Lili glanced at it curiously. "What's this?"

"Take a look."

Xia Yan took a bite of her vegetables and chewed slowly, her eyes fixed on Zhuang Lili.

"Huh?"

Zhuang Lili glanced at Xia Yan, set down her chopsticks, and began to read the letter. At first, her face turned bright red, but when she reached the signature at the bottom, her expression changed instantly.

She set the letter down. "Xia Yan, this... this isn't what I wrote. I swear!"

"You don't believe me? Look, this is my handwriting. Now look at the writing on this letter."

Zhuang Lili scrambled to pull a small diary from her bag, pointing at the writing inside and comparing it to the letter.

Xia Yan took a look. While the handwriting was similar, there were clear differences in certain strokes.

Zhuang Lili couldn't understand why her name was on the letter. She did like Lin You and had indeed written love letters to him in the past, but that was before he was married to Xia Yan, and she had never had the courage to give them to him.

"Xia Yan, you have to believe me."

Seeing that Xia Yan remained silent, Zhuang Lili grabbed her hand.

"I believe you."

Xia Yan didn't think she was faking it. "Lili, who do you think wrote this?"

As she spoke, Xia Yan inadvertently noticed the name "Lin You" written in Zhuang Lili’s diary. It seemed the letter wasn't written by Zhuang Lili, but the content appeared to be true—Zhuang Lili did indeed have feelings for Lin You.

"This..."

Perhaps she was too nervous, but Zhuang Lili didn't notice Xia Yan looking at her diary.

"It must be someone from the ranch! Since I arrived here, I’ve been at the ranch almost the entire time, only going to town occasionally. So the only people who know me are..."

As she said this, Zhuang Lili suddenly recalled a conversation she had with Huang Qiang yesterday. If anyone knew she liked Lin You, it was only him. "Xia Yan, I know who wrote it."

"Who?"

"Huang Qiang!"

"Him?"

"Yes, it must be him. He’s the only one who knows..."

Zhuang Lili immediately covered her mouth, nearly blurting out that she liked Lin You.

"He’s the only one who knows what?" Xia Yan smiled and pressed further.

"N-nothing! Xia Yan, I’ll go ask him today. This person is truly too much. If others find out, wouldn't Battalion Commander Lin's reputation be..."

Zhuang Lili tilted her head slightly, glancing at Xia Yan from the corner of her eye.

Xia Yan remained nonchalant, continuing to pick at her food. "Don't you worry about that, because the entire garrison already knows that a female educated youth at the ranch wrote a letter to Lin You!"