First Night with the Army: The Stoic Big Shot Is Done Pretending

Wen Ci was utterly confused.

There was less than a month until the college entrance exams. Why would Jiang Ye come all the way to the Northwest Military Region? Wen Ci frowned deeply. "What is she doing coming to the Northwest Military Region?"

"To... to serve the Northwest, of course."

Jiang Chen sounded extremely guilty. He knew full well that his sister’s real purpose in coming to the Northwest was to drive a wedge between Wen Ci and Huo Jingyuan while their relationship was still new.

Wen Ci scoffed. "Serve the Northwest?"

She didn’t believe a word Jiang Chen said. Back then, Jiang Ye had revealed the news about them being switched at birth precisely to avoid coming to a poor place like the Northwest.

And now she was willing to come to the Northwest Military Region.

"Jiang Ye is arriving at Sea City Railway Station in the early hours of tonight. I was hoping to trouble my brother-in-law to pick her up. My sister doesn’t know anyone or anything in the Northwest Region."

"She’s your sister, not mine. Pick her up yourself."

With that, Wen Ci slammed the phone down.

Setting aside Jiang Ye’s reason for coming to the Northwest, the military region was a six-hour drive from Sea City. There was no way she was letting Huo Jingyuan go pick her up.

Wen Ci looked up at Huo Jingyuan. She blinked her alluring peach blossom eyes at him, her hand reaching out to hook a finger through his belt. She asked:

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"I’ll have Xue Li drive over."

Wen Ci: "..."

She let go of his belt and shot him a huge eye-roll. "It’s not about you picking someone up! She’s the evil woman who stole my identity!"

Seeing the pout on Wen Ci’s face, Huo Jingyuan’s lips curved into a smile. He had thought she was just being stubborn but was actually soft-hearted, wanting to ask him to go to Sea City Railway Station to get the girl.

"Then what is it?"

"Help me ask around. What is she coming to the Northwest Military Region to do?"

’If Jiang Chen insists that Jiang Ye is coming to serve the Northwest, then she must have found a job here. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be qualified to stay in the Northwest Military Region.’

"Simple enough."

Huo Jingyuan made a call from the landline. It only took two minutes for him to find out that Beijing had arranged a position for her as an elementary school teacher, and she would be living in the family compound.

The schools and hospitals in the Northwest Military Region were different.

Ninety percent of the teachers and staff at the schools were from the family compound. In contrast, most of the military doctors at the hospital were hired from outside the Northwest.

The food and lodging were top-notch.

"A teacher?"

Wen Ci’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

’Traveling thousands of miles to the Northwest to be a teacher? Does this mean she even dumped her boyfriend, the promising Qingbei student?’

’Could she have transmigrated too?’

Just as she was thinking this, her vision went dark. A large hand covered her eyes, and she felt her furrowed brow being smoothed out.

"Stop frowning."

Huo Jingyuan’s voice filled her ears, and a smile spread across her face.

’So what if Jiang Ye transmigrated too? I’m the one who married Huo Jingyuan. And I came to the Northwest with the intention of cutting ties with the Jiang Family anyway.’

Suddenly, the kerosene lamp in the living room went out. The man was about to turn on the electric light when his hand was grasped by a pair of small ones. In the darkness, Huo Jingyuan couldn’t see a thing.

"Fix it tomorrow. For tonight, let’s just..."

She trailed off, her gaze locking onto Huo Jingyuan’s tactical cargo pants. She had been meaning to say something about them.

’Those cargo pants don’t suit him at all!’

Suddenly, the extinguished kerosene lamp flared back to life. Huo Jingyuan saw Wen Ci sitting on the sofa, staring intently at him.

The corners of his lips couldn’t help but lift. He looked at Wen Ci with a hot, meaningful gaze, took off his shirt, and said in a low voice:

"Ah Ci, I’ve heard that it’s easier to have children if the woman takes the initiative."

As a thirty-year-old man whose comrades-in-arms of the same age all had children, they had been eagerly passing on their "experience" ever since they heard he got married.

Wen Ci: "..."

She froze on the spot, pointed at herself, and said in disbelief, "You want *me* to take the initiative?"

Huo Jingyuan’s eyes were deep and dark. "Mhm."

"Fine by me." Wen Ci’s lips curled up. She slowly rose from the sofa, her seductive eyes as soft as silk as she looked at him, a misty glint in them that seemed to be a hint.

In the bedroom, the bright moonlight streamed through the window, casting the tightly entwined silhouettes of two people onto the wall, long hair flowing.

"Still like it when I take the initiative?"

Huo Jingyuan lay on the bed, his eyes half-open and filled with undisguised desire. His Adam’s apple bobbed. "I love it when my wife treats me like this."

「The next day.」

When Wen Ci woke up, she saw Huo Jingyuan putting on his training uniform. She turned on her side to watch him and teased, "The bugle has already sounded. How come Mr. Huo isn’t at morning training yet?"

She was the one who had expended all the energy last night, yet Huo Jingyuan was the one who was late.

Huo Jingyuan’s voice was hoarse. "You little temptress."

Then, it occurred to him that since he was already late, he might as well take Wen Ci to the hospital this morning. His movements as he dressed gradually slowed.

Wen Ci asked, "You’re not in a hurry anymore?"

"No hurry." The man’s gaze fell on Wen Ci. His lips curved as he said in a low, steady voice, "In a bit, I’ll take you to the hospital for work."

Wen Ci: "?!"

Her eyes suddenly widened.

Wen Ci sat up in bed and quickly said, "No."

With Huo Jingyuan’s devastatingly handsome looks, he was definitely one of the most well-known men in the Northwest Military Region. If he drove her to the hospital today...

...by tomorrow, she’d be the star of all the gossip.

"Hm?"

The man’s voice lilted up at the end, a note of confusion in it.

Wen Ci met Huo Jingyuan’s gaze, her expression extremely serious as she spoke slowly, "Huo Jingyuan, I want to set three rules with you."

"Three rules?" Huo Jingyuan frowned slightly.

"Yes. Once we’re outside, we act like we don’t know each other."

"Why?"

"You’re too handsome. If people find out about our relationship, I’ll become the center of a vortex."

At her words, Huo Jingyuan’s frown smoothed out. Any man would be pleased to hear such a compliment from his wife.

"As you wish."

-

Wen Ci ran into Doctor Yu at the hospital entrance. She walked over to greet her, her smile as warm as a spring breeze. "Good morning, Doctor Yu."

Yu Qing yawned, her expression listless. "Not so good."

"What’s wrong?"

The words had barely left her mouth when Wen Ci overheard other passing doctors complaining, "What was wrong with Doctor Su last night? She was crying the entire night."

"I’m a light sleeper to begin with, and she kept the whole building from getting a good night’s rest."

"It was bad enough for us, but Doctor Yu had it the worst. She shares a room with Doctor Su."

The hospital accommodations were two people to a room. Yu Qing was a doctor newly hired to the Northwest Military Region this year. She originally had the room to herself, but after Su Wanqing arrived, they were assigned to share.

Just after they finished complaining, the two doctors saw Yu Qing. They nodded a greeting to her and asked, "Doctor Yu, do you know what happened with Doctor Su last night?"

"I don’t know." Yu Qing’s expression was cold.

She had barely slept at all last night. After taking a phone call, Su Wanqing had cried on and off until four or five in the morning.

Just as she would be about to fall asleep, the sound of sobbing would wake her up again.

Wen Ci drew in a sharp breath. "Doctor Yu, if you didn’t rest well, why don’t you take a day off and go back to get some proper sleep?"