"Yuyu, over here!" Ning Songyun stood up and waved at Zhao Yu.
Zhao Yu walked over, but as soon as she sat down, she noticed the dishes on the table weren't right. "Why are there steamed eggs and boiled shrimp so early in the morning?"
"Ye Heng was just here," Ning Songyun replied, busy shelling a shrimp for herself.
"No wonder I saw him outside just now," Zhao Yu said softly.
"What was that, Yuyu?" Ning Songyun popped a shrimp into her mouth. "Why aren't you eating?"
"That was meant specifically for you; I can't be that oblivious to the situation," Zhao Yu teased.
"Oh, what does that matter?"
Ning Songyun blushed for a brief second, then reached out, peeled a shrimp, and stuffed it directly into Zhao Yu’s mouth. "I don't care who sent it; I want to share it with you!"
With her mouth stuffed full of shrimp, Zhao Yu couldn't speak and could only chew vigorously, her cheeks puffed out.
After breakfast, Zhao Yu and Ning Songyun spent the entire day in the practice room. By the time they returned to their dormitory in the evening, they were too exhausted to even eat, longing only to collapse onto their beds and fall asleep.
However, for some reason, there was a constant sound of hurried footsteps outside. Irritated by the noise, Ning Songyun sprang from her bed, stomped to the door, and flung it open.
"Are you two still in your room?"
Before Ning Songyun could even vent her anger, the person outside spoke up in surprise.
"What is going on out there?"
"There are two country folk, don't know where they came from, causing a scene at the troupe leader’s office."
"But my mother hasn't returned yet, and her office is locked. Who could be making a scene?"
"I don't know, but I heard they’re still at the troupe leader’s office. Do you want to go take a look?"
Ning Songyun glanced back into the room and saw that Zhao Yu had already grabbed her coat. "Let’s go, let's see what’s happening."
They hurried to the administration building. Before they even reached He Fang’s office, they heard wailing and shouting.
"Heaven has no eyes! The leaders are leading the charge to steal other people's daughters-in-law and grandchildren! Jianguo, open your eyes and look at this!"
Since Ning Songyun was He Fang’s daughter, the crowd gathered to watch the commotion instinctively parted to let them through.
The old woman sitting on the floor, slapping her thighs and wailing, saw them, wiped her nose with her hand, and scrambled up. Without even wiping her hands, she lunged toward Ning Songyun.
"Tell me! Are you the leader in charge here?"
Zhao Yu was quick; she pulled Ning Songyun out of the old woman's reach. "What do you think you’re doing!"
When the old woman missed Ning Songyun and was shouted at by Zhao Yu, she froze for two seconds before attempting to strike at Zhao Yu. "You cheap little wench! Who gave you the right to talk back to me?"
Zhao Yu didn't indulge her and shoved the old woman away. She had seen plenty of these rural old women before and had been bullied by their kind enough in the past. She wasn't going to let herself be taken advantage of again!
"You must be Wang Jianguo’s mother, right? What kind of madness is this?"
Yes, Zhao Yu had recognized her. In her past life, she had taken in Lin Shu’s daughter, and this old woman had come to cause trouble more than once. She had even beaten Zhao Yu until she was bloodied while trying to snatch the child, forcing her to stay in the hospital for a full month.
"You know who I am?"
Hearing her son's name made the old woman stop her raving. She sniffled and glared at Zhao Yu. "Then you must know my son and that little slut... Where is that woman with the surname Lin? Where is she!"
"So she’s here for Lin Shu."
Zhao Yu realized that the old woman must have heard from somewhere that Lin Shu was pregnant or about to get married, and had rushed over in a panic.
The onlookers, hearing Lin Shu’s name, began whispering to each other.
"Isn't Lin Shu getting married to that... what was his name? How did she suddenly become this old woman’s daughter-in-law?"
"Don't you know? They say Lin Shu was expelled because she held a wedding ceremony in the countryside without filing a marriage report."
"But they didn't even get a marriage certificate, so how could she be this woman’s daughter-in-law? Why bring it to the military district?"
"You *do* know that little hussy! Tell me, where is she? How dare she remarry while carrying Jianguo’s child? I’ll kill her!"
The old woman’s roar dropped a bombshell on the crowd. Many of the young women stood there with their mouths agape.
"Why are you coming to the troupe leader's office to look for Lin Shu?" Zhao Yu had no patience for the woman and spoke sharply. "She was expelled from military service long ago. Whoever she’s marrying is with the Third Regiment; if you want to cause a scene, go to the Third Regiment."
"I don't know anything about your art troupe or your regiments! I just know you're all in league together! If you don't give my daughter-in-law back to me, I'm not leaving!" The old woman clawed at the door of He Fang’s office, screaming at the top of her lungs, "There's no justice! A bunch of leaders and their underlings are robbing a widow's house!"
"What is all this! What is the meaning of this!" Jianguo, who had been summoned by the patrol guards, saw the scene and felt his head spin. "Who is robbing you? Stop this nonsense!"
"It’s you lot!" The old woman saw Jianguo and, sensing he was a man of some authority, rushed up and pointed at his nose. "You bastards! My son died in your service, and now you’re helping my pregnant daughter-in-law remarry! If that’s not robbing a widow, what is? You old bastard leading a pack of young bastards to bully commoners!"
As Jianguo arrived, the crowd of onlookers grew larger. The more people there were, the more the old woman performed. When Jianguo suggested they go to his office to discuss it, she shrieked that he was trying to silence her. When he tried to have the guards remove her, she bit anyone who got close and screamed about indecency. A group of soldiers was left completely helpless by a rural old woman; it was a true case of "the scholar meets the soldier, yet the truth cannot be told."
"Mother! What are you doing here?"
Lin Shu arrived with several leaders, and upon seeing the woman throwing a tantrum, her face turned sheet-white.
"You little slut! I’ll kill you!" The old woman raised her hand and lunged at Lin Shu.
Lin Shu didn't even flinch, only touched her stomach. "Go ahead, hit me!"
The old woman’s hand froze in mid-air.
Jianguo finally let out a sigh of relief. "Move! Everyone to my office!" He looked around at the crowd and called to his patrol guards. "Take a headcount. Everyone who was watching this scene, tomorrow you are to each submit a 10,000-word self-criticism report to your respective regiment leaders. Anyone caught trying to sneak away will write 20,000 words!"
Those who had been planning to slip away instantly stiffened, not daring to move a muscle.
Jianguo then looked at Zhao Yu and the others. "You in the art troupe can wait until your leader returns to submit yours."