I was reborn after my cousin stole my life.

Chapter 11: Jiang Zhou plays straight ball

Yuan Juan was "escorted" back to the guesthouse by Sister Chunmei and several other enthusiastic military wives.

Yuan Xiu also needed to stay at a guesthouse. Jiang Zhou took the luggage from the young soldier and led her slowly along the road without saying a word.

Yuan Xiu didn't know what to say. She had lived two lives and had very few opportunities to come into contact with men.

Having lived for decades, she had never had a proper relationship. In her previous life, she had been on many blind dates, but they would all end without a trace after only one or two meetings for one reason or another.

As an older single woman living in the countryside, she was bound to be the subject of gossip. If she chatted with a man on the street today, the whole village would know about it tomorrow. Every time, her parents would pull her aside and ask her why. Over time, she became even more reluctant to talk to men her own age.

"Comrade Yuan Xiu, what are your thoughts on our marriage?"

Yuan Xiu was taken aback, not expecting Jiang Zhou to ask so directly.

Jiang Zhou stopped in his tracks. "I sent a reply, and I think you should understand what I mean. If you are willing to come to the army, it means that you also agree to this marriage. However, something went wrong. You are here now, but for other reasons. Before this, you had not seen my photo, so I cannot be sure whether you are satisfied with me. If you are satisfied, I will go and file for marriage tomorrow."

Yuan Xiu opened her mouth, the answer was right there on the tip of her tongue, but for a moment she hesitated.

"You can think about it and give me an answer tomorrow."

After saying that, Jiang Zhou picked up his luggage and strode forward.

He was tall and strong; one step of his body was two steps for Yuan Xiu. If Yuan Xiu was momentarily stunned, he would be three zhang away from her.

She quickly caught up with him. "Comrade Jiangzhou! I can give you an answer right now."

Jiang Zhou paused, then turned to look at her.

His gaze was so intense that Yuan Xiu felt pressured under his stare and instinctively took a step back. "I...I'm satisfied."

What is there to hesitate about? She is an orphan. At this time, besides marrying Jiang Zhou and staying here, she only has one path to take: to return to her hometown.

Between two paths, she chose the one she had never taken before.

Jiang Zhou's lips curled up almost imperceptibly. "Okay, then I'll go and file for marriage tomorrow."

The military guesthouse was not far from the main gate. When Jiang Zhou and Yuan Xiu arrived, the military dependents who had escorted Yuan Juan back to the guesthouse had not yet left. They were telling the front desk staff about Yuan Juan's true identity and asking them not to let Yuan Juan leave the guesthouse.

The staff readily agreed; the story was simply too fascinating! She felt she could talk about it for half her life!

When she learned that Yuan Xiu was her real fiancée, she even booked her a room furthest away from Yuan Juan to avoid disturbing her.

"Battalion Commander Jiang, these are the clothes, photos, and money we got from that woman. They're all here."

Chunmei handed the things to Jiangzhou.

Seeing that Jiang Zhou was carrying luggage, she turned a corner and handed it to Yuan Xiu.

"This is how things should be returned to their rightful owner."

Yuan Xiu smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Chunmei, and thank you everyone."

"Oh, this is nothing, don't thank me so much. If this were back home, I would fight for you, but not in the army. If a fight broke out, the men in your family would be punished." The one who spoke was the tall military family member who had been the first to call Yuan Juan a fake.

Jiang Zhou introduced her: "This is Instructor Liu's wife..."

"My name is Wang Guiying, you can just call me Sister-in-law Guiying." Sister-in-law Guiying's personality is just like her appearance, exuding a cheerful and straightforward air.

"This is Battalion Commander Sun's wife."

Battalion Commander Sun's wife, Sister Xiulan, had a silver tongue. "As the old saying goes, good things take time, and that's exactly what you and Battalion Commander Jiang are like. Your future is sure to be smooth sailing. I'm just waiting to eat your wedding candy now. Don't keep us waiting too long."

Jiang Zhou nodded: "Soon."

"..."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Xiu's cheeks flushed slightly.

"That's great, we'll wait and see."

"Don't say any more, or Xiao Yuan's face will turn as red as a monkey's bottom."

The sisters-in-law made a couple of jokes and then left.

The guesthouse has two floors of guest rooms. Yuan Juan stayed on the second floor, while Yuan Xiu was arranged to stay on the first floor.

After putting his luggage in the room, Jiang Zhou's gaze fell on the set of clothes that Yuan Juan had worn, which Yuan Xiu had just placed on the bed.

"If you feel uncomfortable with it, just throw it away."

"Why would I throw it away? Why would I throw away such a nice dress? The dress is fine." Yuan Xiu felt uncomfortable, but she wasn't so extravagant as to throw away the dress just because Yuan Juan had worn it. But she felt uncomfortable just having to wear it, as if she had picked it up from Yuan Juan.

She plans to see if anyone has a sewing machine after she settles down so she can alter the clothes.

"Whatever you want. Before we get married, I'll take you to the city to buy another place." Jiang Zhou raised his hand to check the time. "I'll take you to the cafeteria for lunch."

After sitting in the guesthouse for less than five minutes, Yuan Xiu followed Jiang Zhou to the canteen in the family quarters.

The canteen in the family quarters is generally used by married officers and their families. If someone doesn't cook, they can bring money and tickets to the canteen to eat, or take the food home. Jiang Zhou rarely comes; he is unmarried and lives in a single dormitory, so he usually eats with the soldiers in the camp canteen.

When Jiang Zhou brought a young woman to the cafeteria, people who knew him all looked over.

"Who is that girl?"

"Didn't they say that Battalion Commander Jiang's girlfriend came to visit? I guess it's her boyfriend."

"That's not right. I met his girlfriend yesterday. Battalion Commander Li's wife even introduced her to me. She does look somewhat like her, but it's not her."

"You mean Battalion Commander Jiang is two-timing?"

"I didn't say that."

Jiang Zhou led Yuan Xiu to the window and taught her how to get food like a child, "This is the ticket, this is the money, and there's a price list on this. If you want something, just give the ticket and money to the lady serving the food..."

Yuan Xiu: "..."

Doesn't she look silly?

The woman serving the food was also a military dependent. Seeing how detailed Jiang Zhou was explaining, she smiled and said, "You're quite thoughtful, comrade. Is this your girlfriend?"

Jiang Zhou nodded. "She just arrived. Please take care of her when she comes to get food in the future."

The older woman laughed and said, "Don't worry, everyone's unfamiliar with each other at first, but you'll get to know each other gradually. When I first came here, I was too scared to even go into the cafeteria by myself."

Judging from the girl's attire, she's clearly just come from the countryside and probably doesn't know anything. No wonder the man is explaining things in such detail.

There are quite a few stories of wives who were sent to the countryside and made a fool of themselves when they first came to the army.

"What do you want to eat? You're lucky, they have braised pork today, would you like a serving?"

Jiang Zhou nodded: "Yes, thank you for your trouble, sister-in-law. Also, one more dish of stir-fried potatoes, green peppers, and eggplant, stir-fried pork with eggs, and a pound of rice."

Yuan Xiu was worried that he would eat too much, so she said, "I'll only eat two ounces."

Jiang Zhou: "The remaining eight taels are mine."

Yuan Xiu: ...Being able to eat is a blessing.