CHAPTER 265: CHAPTER 225

Lan Tian wasn’t dead, after all. In her past life, she had had her share of men. Their conjugal life may not have been frequent, but it did exist. Later on, when she wandered outside, she saw much, heard much, and witnessed even more. She instantly recognized Mo Junhua’s restrained panting as that of a hooligan’s. Without a change in expression, she shifted away and secretly swore that if Mo Junhua dared to make a wrong move, she would knock him unconscious and give him a beating.

Moving aside was useless; it couldn’t separate their body heat. Her nose was still filled with the girl’s cool body fragrance, an effect no less potent than if they were lying close to each other, perhaps even more so.

Mo Junhua’s body temperature was frighteningly high, as if he might burst into flames any second, increasing the warmth of the quilt incrementally.

"Girl," Mo Junhua called out for help from the person beside him, his voice hoarse and trembling with repression.

Lan Tian had really fallen into a deep sleep, lying there without a single reaction. In her mind, she contemplated starting tomorrow off by making Mo Junhua sleep on the floor since the weather was so hot; sleeping on the floor would be good for reducing his body heat.

Mo Junhua knew Lan Tian wasn’t asleep. He called out a few more times, but seeing that there was no response from Lan Tian, he threw off the quilt and dashed out of the room, plunging into the bathhouse. The ’whooshing’ sound of running water covered everything else.

Lan Tian slept fitfully. Mo Junhua had only just returned to the room, gently climbed onto the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling. After an unknown period, he began tossing and turning again, then rolled over, turned his head to look at Lan Tian who was lying with her eyes closed. After a while, when Mo Junhua was still looking at her, Lan Tian grew inexplicably angry and twisted her head to look at him, "Are you going to sleep or not?"

"I can’t sleep," Mo Junhua said.

So you can’t sleep and you wake me up, Lan Tian gritted her teeth and spoke harshly, "Shut up, even if you can’t sleep, you better pretend to. If you wake me up again, you’ll have it coming."

Mo Junhua made an ’oh’ sound and obediently closed his eyes, slowly stretching an arm out, crawling to Lan Tian’s neck. Lan Tian turned her head to look at Mo Junhua and compromised by lifting her neck so that his arm could pass beneath her head; Mo Junhua’s other arm draped over Lan Tian’s waist in the darkness.

This was her own doing, Lan Tian thought.

In the morning, Chunhua saw the dark circles under Mo Junhua’s eyes and asked with concern, "Third brother, did you not sleep well last night?"

Mo Junhua stiffened, "No."

He had held Lan Tian all night, his mind filled with R-rated images of doing this and that to the girl, flipping her over like a pancake. It was no wonder he hadn’t slept well.

Lan Tian had still made porridge. The three of them sat at the table to eat when Su Qing came to fetch Mo Junhua.

"Sister-in-law, Comrade Chunhua is here too," Su Qing greeted Lan Tian with surprise, not expecting Chunhua to be at the military base.

"Have you had breakfast? If not, come eat something," Lan Tian, who had a rather good impression of Su Qing, beckoned him over.

"I’ve eaten already, sister-in-law," Su Qing said. His gaze became meaningful, giving Lan Tian a strange look before running off to whisper in Mo Junhua’s ear. Lan Tian’s teasing eyes swept over the two men, and Mo Junhua calmly pushed Su Qing’s face away.

"Speak clearly," he said. It looked ridiculous for two grown men to be leaning so close together.

Su Qing looked troubled at Lan Tian, but since it was not military secrets, "Battalion commander, the regiment headquarters calls for you. She’s loosened her lips and says she will only speak if she sees you."

What Su Qing didn’t say was that the woman also requested to see the Camp Commander’s Wife. Everyone in the camp knew they were at odds, like fire and water. Nurse Zhou was never one to save energy, always targeting the Camp Commander’s Wife. Su Qing and the others dared not allow Lan Tian to go in case something happened—how could they explain it to the battalion commander?

Lan Tian slowly sipped her porridge with a pensive look. The person Su Qing referred to must be Zhou Yuwei. Who else but her, besides a criminal, would want to see Mo Junhua—it’s not as if it’s a suicide attempt due to old age.

Zhou Yuwei...

Lan Tian had no idea how Su Qing and Mo Junhua communicated that. After breakfast, Mo Junhua called Lan Tian to go to the regiment headquarters together. Lan Tian looked at him confusedly, "Why should I go to the regiment headquarters?"

"The suspect has requested to see you, and she will only speak then," Mo Junhua explained in the car, rubbing Lan Tian’s head. "Whether you see her or not is entirely up to you."

That was insincere if she ever heard it. The devil would know that was a lie, and she’d been taken to the car before having a say. Lan Tian rolled her eyes. As it happened, she wanted to see Zhou Yuwei herself without having to scheme. Zhou Yuwei had sought her out.

The military base had been in turmoil these days, with one thing after another. First, there was Li Hong’s treason, and then the disciplinary issues of three soldiers. Commander Qian also had a headache because those causing trouble were all from his regiment. It was as if they had been cursed for generations.

Zhou Yuwei had been brought in a few days ago, refusing to eat or talk. The isolation room offered no comfort. Her hair was a mess, her clothes wrinkled, her complexion pale, her lips chapped, and her eyes empty, as if she had aged several years overnight, resembling a daughter-in-law from the countryside. The lovely and refreshing image of the past was now completely gone.

That’s what Lan Tian saw when she entered, hardly recognizing her.

Lan Tian came in with two other soldiers, accompanying him to interrogate Zhou Yuwei. The three sat opposite Zhou Yuwei. One of the soldiers knocked on the table, the ’thud thud thud’ sound a reminder to her, "Mr. Zhou, we have met your demands. Can you confess to your issue now?"

Zhou Yuwei turned toward Lan Tian, her vacant gaze falling upon Lan Tian’s face, "You’ve come."

Lan Tian nodded, "I heard you wanted to see me, so I came. What do you need from me?" His eyes swept over Zhou Yuwei’s cracked lips, and he turned to instruct a soldier beside him, "Get her a glass of water, and one for me as well, thank you."

The soldier blinked, turned to look at another soldier, and upon receiving a nod, went to the door and called out to bring in two cups of tea. Someone quickly delivered two cups of tea to him, and he returned with them in hand.

"Your lips are too dry, have some water to moisten them." Lan Tian took one of the cups and pushed it toward her, his lips pursing into a light smile, then lifted the other cup from the table and drank.

Zhou Yuwei’s gaze swept over the teacup in front of her, then settled on the cup in Lan Tian’s hand. She pressed her cracked lips together, silently observing for a few seconds. After Lan Tian took a sip, she suddenly said, "I want the cup in your hand."

Zhou Yuwei had heard Chu Yang mention the strange incident that happened to Li Hong. The event was sudden and bizarre. In secret, they had interrogated Li Hong about everything, but never found the cause for his abrupt change - the most suspicious thing was the cup of water he once drank.

Putting herself in others’ shoes, knowing she was a ruthless and unscrupulous person, Zhou Yuwei viewed the people around her the same way. Fearing to become like Li Hong, she didn’t touch any food or water since she came in. The military told her no one would hurt her, but Zhou Yuwei did not believe a single word. The military was helpless to do anything about it and couldn’t force her to eat.

Lan Tian drinking from the cup implied that there was no problem with the water.

Lan Tian flicked his eyelids, glanced at the teacup in front of her, and said, "You have one in front of you."

Zhou Yuwei ignored Lan Tian, turned her head and looked at the soldier beside her, "I want the cup in her hand. If she doesn’t give it to me, I won’t talk."

The two soldiers were so angered they felt liver pains, glaring at Zhou Yuwei with intense frustration. Could she stop causing trouble? Before they said as long as the person was brought in, she would talk about the issue. Now that the person was brought, she’s stirring up trouble again. It’s not like there’s no water; the tea in her cup was even more than in Lan Tian’s. They have never seen such an unreasonable person.

Zhou Yuwei kept silent, simply staring at them obstinately.

Lan Tian remained indifferent, as if Zhou Yuwei and the two soldiers’ discussion had nothing to do with her.

The two soldiers looked at Zhou Yuwei with a headache, then turned to Lan Tian, and, considering the cup in Lan Tian’s hand, awkwardly sought her opinion, "Comrade Lan Tian, what do you think, could you give her the cup in your hand?"

Lan Tian glanced at Zhou Yuwei, who returned the look with an arrogant gaze and a cold sneer, showing that even in her current state, she could make Lan Tian obediently comply.

Lan Tian bowed her head and shielded the sarcasm in her eyes, silently handing over the cup. Zhou Yuwei took the cup and drained the water inside in one gulp.

The two soldiers’ attention was focused on Zhou Yuwei, while Lan Tian’s hand placed beneath the table subtly moved, the air in the room fluctuated slightly and then returned to calm.

"It was you who did it, wasn’t it!"

Zhou Yuwei suddenly threw the empty cup at Lan Tian, her malicious gaze firmly fixed on Lan Tian, as if she could perforate Lan Tian with her look alone, making her as full of holes as a sieve.

There were only a few of them in the room at the time, and she had calculated the timing right; reporters were about to arrive, and this vile woman along with Chunhua were both trailing behind, impossible to have run here so quickly. Her current state must be related to this vile woman.

Lan Tian turned her head as the cup whizzed past her nose, crashing against the wall of the room with a ’bang’, then falling to the floor, rolling a few times before stopping not far away.

Lan Tian laughed boastfully, her sarcastic gaze falling on Zhou Yuwei as she boldly admitted, "Yes, it was me, what can you do about it?"

Zhou Yuwei was infuriated, her chest heaving. She thought Lan Tian wouldn’t admit to her acts, but contrary to expectation, Lan Tian did admit, and did so in the presence of the two soldiers. Was she not afraid of being apprehended by them?

"Not afraid." Lan Tian seemed to hear Zhou Yuwei’s inner voice and responded to her.

Zhou Yuwei, aggrieved by Lan Tian’s brazen confidence, pointed at Lan Tian and shouted crazily at the two soldiers, "Did you hear that? Did you hear that? She admitted it, she admitted it. I have been wronged, it’s she who framed me, she’s the cause of all this. Soldiers, comrades, quickly arrest her."

Lan Tian looked at Zhou Yuwei as if looking at an idiot, propped her chin with one hand, slowly shook her head, her smile a mix of mockery and contempt, "It’s no use. They are my people. No one will care even if you scream your throat out, don’t waste your strength, a glass of water won’t last long."

After Zhou Yuwei screamed for what felt like an eternity, the two soldiers sat without moving, showing no intention of arresting Lan Tian. Instead, they turned to look at Lan Tian, who gave a wave of her hand, prompting the two soldiers to stand up and leave, closing the door behind them as they went.

Seeing the two soldiers leave without hesitation, Zhou Yuwei felt a surge of fear. It was clear to anyone with eyes that the military was colluding with Lan Tian, complicit in her schemes, in cahoots, and utterly shameless.