Chapter 355

Chapter 355

Hard to Shake Off

"Alright, let's go home!" Lu Hang said yes to Lin Nannan, but he couldn't bear to see his wife wronged, nor did he want Jian Lingzhi always finding excuses to be near him. So, he turned around and went straight to Political Commissar Chen to complain.

Sitting on a stool in Political Commissar Chen’s home, Lu Hang said helplessly, "I saved someone, and now it’s backfired on me. Who’d want to play the hero after this?"

Saving someone could cost him his family—who would willingly accept that?

Political Commissar Chen massaged his temples, fed up. "What a mess... I’ll have someone talk to her. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have the Jian family transfer her away."

But Lu Hang doubted it would work.

Jian Lingzhi had pulled all these strings to come here—why would she leave? If the Jian family had any control over her, they wouldn’t have let her come to the military camp in the first place.

"I don’t want my life disrupted, especially when she says those absurd things to Nan Nan, trying to drive a wedge between us." Lu Hang’s expression turned serious. "If she really upsets my wife, I don’t know what I might do."

Political Commissar Chen glared at him angrily. "What’s gotten into you? Are you seriously thinking of hitting her?"

Lu Hang replied bluntly, "Wouldn’t rule it out."

I don’t hit women—unless they give me a reason.

But Jian Lingzhi had repeatedly tried to manipulate his wife—she shouldn’t blame him for being ruthless.

Fuming, Political Commissar Chen jabbed a finger at him. "Honestly, you—! Fine, tomorrow you’ll take the team out for training. I’ll have my wife talk to Jian Lingzhi and give her a warning."

Lu Hang agreed—it was the best he’d get.

...

When Hu Zhaoxia heard about Jian Lingzhi’s actions, she didn't know whether to laugh or scream.

She couldn’t believe the nerve of Jian Lingzhi, daring to speak to Lin Nannan like that.

"Nan Nan has such patience. If it were me, I’d have yanked her hair out by now," she said through gritted teeth.

Political Commissar Chen sighed, half-amused, half-exasperated. "Alright, I asked you to talk sense into her, not fan the flames."

Though reluctant, Hu Zhaoxia went to speak with Jian Lingzhi at Political Commissar Chen’s request. She emphasized how deeply in love Lu Hang and Lin Nannan were and advised her not to waste her time on a lost cause.

Jian Lingzhi was furious that Lin Nannan had gone to complain behind her back, but she suppressed her anger and put on a pitiful expression. "I just thought it was a bit much that she made Commander Lu serve her during meals. I really didn’t mean anything else."

Hu Zhaoxia wasn’t stupid—she saw right through Jian Lingzhi’s act. Humoring her, she said, "Well, maybe they misunderstood. But honestly, they’re rock-solid. Once you spend more time around them, you’ll see. Commander Lu may seem cold, but he dotes on his wife like crazy. We’re all envious."

Every word was a knife to Jian Lingzhi’s heart.

She believed Lin Nannan wasn’t worthy.

"I heard Lin Nannan doesn’t even know how to cook or do laundry. Isn’t that just adding to Commander Lu’s burdens?" she needled.

Hu Zhaoxia’s eyes flashed with contempt. She found Jian Lingzhi utterly two-faced.

Mocking Lin Nannan for not knowing household chores—as if *she* was any better.

"Ha! Oh, please. Not only does Commander Lu not see her as a burden, but the entire Lu family adores her. I heard from him that his wife never lifts a finger at home—the whole family, from the elders to the kids, spoils her. They even give her the best cuts of meat, while Lu Hang and the others get scraps." Hu Zhaoxia recalled how she had felt when she first heard the story—Lin Nannan had it made.

"Why?" Jian Lingzhi couldn't understand, thinking the Lu family must be out of their minds.

What did Lin Nannan have going for her that they would do all that?

Hu Zhaoxia gave her a meaningful look and said earnestly, "Back when Commander Lu was paralyzed, his original fiancée ditched him. Nan Nan was the only one who stood by him—she married him, took care of him, and even when everyone thought Commander Lu had no hope left, she sought out doctors for his treatment, foraged for herbs herself, and prepared medicines for him. She never gave up, and that’s how Commander Lu recovered. So, in his heart, nothing is more important than Lin Nannan."

She said this hoping Jian Lingzhi would back off, making her realize that even if she pined for Lu Hang, it was useless—Lu Hang only had eyes for Lin Nannan.

But she didn’t know Jian Lingzhi’s thought process was different from others.

Most people hearing this would simply think Lin Nannan and Lu Hang had a strong bond, but Jian Lingzhi believed Lu Hang was being trapped by a debt of gratitude to Lin Nannan. Otherwise, how could someone as outstanding as Lu Hang possibly stay with someone as incompetent as Lin Nannan, who couldn’t do anything?

If her guess was right, Lin Nannan grew up in the countryside and was probably illiterate. How could someone like that deserve to stand beside someone as brilliant as Lu Hang?

"Whether she’s good or not isn’t for us to decide!" Jian Lingzhi finally blurted out after a long pause, making Hu Zhaoxia see red.

What kind of person was this? She just didn’t get it.

Hu Zhaoxia marched home fuming, complaining to Political Commissar Chen that Jian Lingzhi was a hopeless case.

"You’d better find a way to make her leave. Otherwise, who knows what she might do." She was convinced Jian Lingzhi was bad news.

Political Commissar Chen sighed. "There aren’t many military doctors to begin with, and her medical skills are solid. She made a strong impression right away—it won’t be easy to make her leave."

Hu Zhaoxia fell silent at that.

"Besides, if we really confront her, she could just say she paid extra attention to Lu Hang out of gratitude for his past kindness, with no ulterior motives. She might claim she didn’t realize how strong their marital bond was and was just speaking out of a sense of fairness. What could we even say then?" Political Commissar Chen analyzed.

"That’s downright infuriating!" Hu Zhaoxia was exasperated, realizing for the first time that someone like Jin Guizhi, who cussed people out, was actually the best.

At least she wore her heart on her sleeve.

"Go talk to Nan Nan and tell her to avoid Jian Lingzhi when possible. Once she starts working, she won’t have time to wander around. Besides, our doctors here are quite busy," Political Commissar Chen said with clear implication.

Hu Zhaoxia scoffed. "That makes it sound like Nan Nan’s afraid of her. If Nan Nan really gets mad, one punch from her would knock Jian Lingzhi into next week."

"Don’t add fuel to the fire!" Political Commissar Chen warned, afraid his hot-headed wife might take things too far.

"I’m not stupid!" Hu Zhaoxia shot back before storming off to her room.

Political Commissar Chen felt like the most innocent party in all this—it had nothing to do with him, yet his wife was still angry.

What a mess.

……

Lin Nannan and Lu Hang couldn’t be bothered with Jian Lingzhi—as long as she didn’t provoke them, they were fine.

But when someone was hell-bent on being a nuisance, they’d go to any lengths, especially someone like Jian Lingzhi, who was relentless yet somehow managed to keep you from blowing up.

In the end, Lin Nannan simply avoided her, taking Xiao Pei out to gather herbs to get away from the nuisance.

Once they were in the mountains, Xiao Pei was the first to vent. "She’s so persistent! She knows you don’t like her, yet she keeps popping up to annoy you, even criticizing you for not knowing how to cook—as if she’s some gourmet chef whipping up feasts!"

Lin Nannan remained calm. "Let her make a fool of herself. As long as Lu Hang and I ignore her, she won’t get anywhere. Besides, if she goes too far and tarnishes her own image, it’ll only backfire on her. I don’t believe she’d go that far for Lu Hang."

"Why wouldn’t she?" Xiao Pei asked, confused.

To them, Jian Lingzhi’s obsession seemed like an extreme love for Lu Hang, making her act recklessly. So Lin Nannan’s doubt was puzzling.

"Because that's not what she wants." Lin Nannan crouched down to gather herbs and explained, "If Lu Hang weren't young or a rising-star commander, but just an ordinary man, do you think she would lower herself just to repay a life debt?"

"No way!" Xiao Pei shot back instantly.

Lin Nannan chuckled lightly. "See? You answered without even thinking. It shows her actions are crystal clear."

"If that's the case, why is she so hung up on Commander Lu?"

Lin Nannan sighed helplessly. "Well, Lu Hang is good-looking, young, accomplished, and has an immeasurable future..."

"Jesus, is she nuts? Just for Commander Lu's future potential, she wants to come between you two? How delusional can she be?" Xiao Pei fumed, gritting her teeth.

"Alright, don’t get worked up. Let her stir up drama. I'm out at dawn and back at dusk, and Lu Hang isn’t home either. Even if she has intentions, what can she do? It’s not like she can just camp outside our house 24/7!" Lin Nannan scoffed.

Xiao Pei joined in gathering herbs, still seething. "She’s really way out of line. If someone pestered my family after being saved, I wouldn’t stay as calm as you two."

Lin Nannan smirked. "People like her are rare, and even if they exist, they wouldn’t be as obsessive as Jian Lingzhi!"

Her kind of behavior is something most people wouldn’t stoop to.

"But avoiding her by being out at dawn and back at dusk every day isn’t a solution either!"

Lin Nannan shrugged. "What else can we do? She deliberately keeps things ambiguous without spelling it out. If she were straightforward and Lu Hang rejected her, that’d be one thing. But she won’t—she just hangs around just to get under your skin. What can you do?"

If possible, they’d confront her and make things clear, but Jian Lingzhi seems to know this too—she refuses to clarify, just loitering just to bug them.

"She thinks she’s slick, but plenty of people in our compound dislike her," Xiao Pei said with disgust.

This surprised Lin Nannan.

"Who dislikes her?" Lin Nannan had been too preoccupied with Jian Lingzhi’s antics to notice others, but now she was curious.

"The military wives in the compound," Xiao Pei said bluntly. "No one’s stupid—they all see through her intentions. Especially knowing she’s fixated on Commander Lu because he saved her, they empathize, imagining their own husbands being harassed and their families torn apart. Who wouldn’t resent that? So she’s not welcome among the military wives."

Lin Nannan smiled faintly. "I didn’t realize they were so eagle-eyed!"

"Their eagle eyes are nothing compared to Commander Lu’s loyalty—he has your back no matter what!" Xiao Pei said admiringly. "Even my husband might not stick it out as stubbornly."

"He values what he’s earned through his own efforts, so Jian Lingzhi’s presumptuousness rubs him the wrong way... She was wrong from the start," Lin Nannan mused.