Chapter 85: Military Officer’s ID

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: Military Officer’s ID

Su Wan glanced at him but didn’t pry. She just rolled the window down a crack. To be honest, the smell of blood wasn’t pleasant.

’But He Rong is a special forces captain. He often has to do some...’

Just as they arrived at Songshan Road and got out of the car, Su Wan ran into Qin Yao.

"Wanwan."

Qin Yao was in her uniform, handling a dispute on Songshan Road. When she saw her, she nodded, signaling they would talk in a bit.

Su Wan nodded in acknowledgment, then turned and waved to Lu Zhengchuan. "Come on, let’s go shopping first."

Lu Zhengchuan followed her, watching as Su Wan picked out goods at the various stalls. She diligently compared prices and always managed to find the best deals.

"...Wanwan, you seem very good at this," Lu Zhengchuan remarked as he watched, his curiosity piqued.

"Yeah. Back in the village, my third brother and I often wandered around the county town, finding lots of good, cheap things. You know how my family’s situation was. All the spending money we had, we had to figure out how to earn ourselves."

"My third brother is much better at it than I am. I spent most of my time studying, and the pocket money I made was from tutoring others."

Trailing closely behind her, Lu Zhengchuan couldn’t help but say, "If I had gone to school with you, we could have been classmates. Maybe we would have met much sooner."

Lu Zhengchuan was three years older than Su Wan, so they would have never been in school at the same time.

The unknown always sparks curiosity and anticipation.

Su Wan found herself explaining, "I was actually pretty ordinary back in school. I just studied by the book. My only advantage was having slightly better grades, but since you couldn’t take the university entrance exams back then, people didn’t really value education that much."

"Besides, didn’t you go to a military academy? We were destined to attend different kinds of schools anyway."

Su Wan finished haggling for some dried tofu skins at a stall and gestured for Lu Zhengchuan to take them.

Lu Zhengchuan was already conspicuous in his military uniform, to say nothing of how he was now obediently following her instructions and carrying out his task so earnestly.

In the distance, Zheng Zhizhi had ducked out of sight the moment Su Wan appeared.

Seeing Lu Zhengchuan’s doting manner, her eyes filled with jealousy. She dug her fingers into the wall, her knuckles turning white.

’She just knew Lu Zhengchuan was a good man. Why couldn’t he marry *her*?’

’She wasn’t asking for much—just to have money to spend without needing to work. She would surely be more sensible than Su Wan, a better wife.’

Suddenly.

Lu Zhengchuan, who had just picked up the tofu skins, abruptly looked over in her direction.

Zheng Zhizhi jumped in fright and quickly crouched down, trying to use the person in front of her as cover.

Lu Zhengchuan frowned, his voice cold. "Zheng Zhizhi."

"Hm?" Hearing the name, Su Wan stood up curiously and followed his line of sight.

"I don’t see her."

Lu Zhengchuan handed the tofu skins to Xiao Li, then took Su Wan’s hand. Adopting a protective stance, he guided her over to the stall where Zheng Zhizhi was.

"Zheng Zhizhi, it really is you. You still haven’t gone back to the village." Su Wan’s eyes landed on Zheng Zhizhi’s awkward face before shifting to the stall, where she immediately noticed the pottery bowls on display.

’The style of the bowls looked incredibly familiar. Weren’t they just copies of the patterned bowls she had sold in the residential compound?’

"These things you’re selling..."

Before Su Wan could finish, Zheng Zhizhi shot to her feet like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. Glaring, she snapped, "You’re not going to say I’m copying your products, are you?"

"What else would I call it?" Su Wan raised an eyebrow.

"Hmph. It’s not like you’re the only one who knows how to make pottery. The patterns on these are completely different from yours."

"So what if they’re similar? They’re not identical. You can’t exactly call the police on me, can you?" Zheng Zhizhi’s words were utterly shameless.

Su Wan laughed in exasperation.

’Then again, copying was something a lot of people did back in those days.’

’She didn’t believe someone who relied on copying could make a sustainable profit.’

"Oh? Then you must have made a lot of money, right?" Su Wan asked with a smile.

That one question was enough to make Zheng Zhizhi’s composure crumble.

She had been out here for half the day and had only sold a dozen sets or so—a far cry from Su Wan, who had sold nearly two hundred sets in just two hours the day before.

"That’s my business! It has nothing to do with you!"

Zheng Zhizhi shot back, her face full of resentment.

"Oh, I’m just happy that you *haven’t* made any money," Su Wan said, the cutting words flowing effortlessly.

Zheng Zhizhi’s face went pale with rage. After all, money was what she cared about most. Her eyes darted over to Lu Zhengchuan as she complained angrily, "Brother Lu, look at Su Wan! She’s being so sarcastic and mean right in front of you! She’s not a good person at all."

"I think Wanwan is absolutely right," Lu Zhengchuan said, shutting her down with a single sentence.

Zheng Zhizhi’s expression instantly fell. "..."

"Wanwan, let’s go. We still have more shopping to do." Lu Zhengchuan took Su Wan’s hand to lead her away.

Su Wan had enjoyed the show. Seeing that Zheng Zhizhi was now preoccupied with her business, she figured she wouldn’t have time to stir up any more trouble.

"Okay, let’s go."

Su Wan turned and left.

Even as they walked away, Zheng Zhizhi could still hear Lu Zhengchuan’s gentle, concerned voice speaking to Su Wan.

She stomped her foot in frustration.

"How much for the pottery bowls?" a customer in front of her asked.

Zheng Zhizhi forced herself to focus, replying with a sullen face, "Sixty cents a set, plus a coupon."

"So expensive!"

"That other person was selling them for much less yesterday, and without coupons! Your bowls aren’t even that nice. Comrade, you’re not being very scrupulous, are you?"

With a dark expression, Zheng Zhizhi snapped, "This is the price now. It’s not my problem if you missed out on yesterday’s cheap ones."

"Hey, what kind of attitude is that...!" The woman reached out and started grappling with Zheng Zhizhi.

Zheng Zhizhi’s predicament didn’t affect Su Wan in the slightest, who continued her shopping smoothly.

Having finished her shopping and grown tired of walking, Su Wan and the others turned back toward the military vehicle parked at the intersection.

"Who are you? And why do you smell like blood?" ℴ

He Rong, woken by the noise, frowned, his handsome face taking on an arrogant cast.

Qin Yao froze mid-knock and immediately drew her weapon from her hip.

She was wary but not flustered. "Comrade, are you in the military? Do you have an officer’s identification card?"

He Rong glanced out the car window. His eyes fell upon a woman with long, straight black hair that seemed to have a cooler, more aloof quality than even Su Wan’s.

She had large eyes, an oval face, and red lips that stood out against her snow-white skin. Dressed in a sharp police uniform, she exuded a cool, captivating aura.

He couldn’t resist a slight arch of his brow. "Officer, you see the uniform I’m wearing, and you see this classic buzz cut. Can you really not figure out who I am?"

"My apologies, Comrade. I’m just following procedure. I hope you’ll understand and cooperate," Qin Yao stated, pressing her request.

Although she felt He Rong’s gaze on her was a little strange, she forced herself to ignore it, pretending she hadn’t noticed a thing.

"Tsk." Seeing her unyielding nature, He Rong clicked his tongue and began to fish in his pocket for his officer’s ID.

Qin Yao waited patiently beside the car.

But after nearly a minute, He Rong still hadn’t produced his ID. A flicker of suspicion instantly appeared in her eyes.

He Rong let out an exasperated laugh at her expression. "You don’t actually think I’m lying to you, do you?"