"I stared for ages but couldn’t place you—never thought I’d run into you here."
Facing the outstretched hand and the face before her, Jiang Si quickly combed through her memories.
The woman looked vaguely familiar, but her heavy makeup was clearly inappropriate for her age.
Jiang Si couldn’t immediately recall who she was.
Politely, she asked, "You are…?"
Seeing Jiang Si’s reaction, the woman’s expression flickered with embarrassment.
Then, as if remembering something, she brightened with a smile. "It’s me, Xu Fangmin! We went to the same school—you were in the elite class, I was in Class Two. Don’t you remember?"
Xu Fangmin?
The name did ring a faint bell.
The reason it stuck was because, during their school days, their names were often mentioned together for comparison.
But Jiang Si had been in the elite class.
The elite class was akin to what later generations would call an international program in public high schools, with only a dozen or so students.
While regular classes cost just four yuan per semester, the elite class charged over a hundred.
Add meals and extracurricular activities, and a semester easily ran into hundreds.
So, though they were in the same school and graduated the same year, their paths had never crossed.
Out of courtesy, Jiang Si shook her hand.
Xu Fangmin forced a smile, but beneath the surface, her mind churned with thoughts.
She and Jiang Si were the same age, attended the same school, and shared similar interests—by all logic, they should’ve been close friends.
Yet their relationship had always been distant, even subtly strained.
The Jiangs were renowned capitalists in Hu City, while Xu Fangmin came from an ordinary cadre family.
Jiang Si was radiantly beautiful, the school’s undisputed belle, while Xu Fangmin was merely plain at best.
Academically, no matter how late she burned the midnight oil, Jiang Si always outshone her.
What baffled Xu Fangmin most was how Jiang Si, notorious for her sharp tongue, still had boys from the neighboring school swarming like flies at the gates every afternoon.
Even the boy she’d secretly liked for years had only approached her to ask about Jiang Si.
The one consolation was that Jiang Si was already betrothed.
Rumor had it, to some taciturn bodyguard eight years her senior!
Xu Fangmin had never met the man, but she could easily picture him.
What decent family would raise a child to be a bodyguard?
Probably some brawny, brainless brute who relied on his fists!
His background couldn’t be anything respectable either.
Otherwise, why would Jiang Si have kept the engagement under wraps?
And who knew—maybe they’d already been carrying on in secret.
Or worse, perhaps the man had forced himself on her.
Driven by a twisted impulse, Xu Fangmin had wasted no time spreading the news: Jiang Si had a child groom and was doomed to marry a lowly thug.
What happened after, Xu Fangmin didn’t know.
Soon after, her father was transferred for work, and the family moved to Capital City.
After graduating high school, she’d married under her family’s arrangements—to a promising young officer from a well-connected family.
Within a year, she’d given birth to a healthy son, cementing her status as the envy of all.
Though she’d heard nothing of Jiang Si in years, she figured: when the nest is overturned, no egg stays whole.
Capitalist purges were rampant in Capital City.
Surely the pampered heiress wasn’t faring well.
Xu Fangmin had finally felt she’d surpassed the girl who’d always overshadowed her—until today, when she ran into Jiang Si on a train back to Capital City.
Lost in thought, Xu Fangmin’s eyes swept over Jiang Si again.
When people indulge in assumptions, they selectively overlook details.
Like now.
Seeing Jiang Si’s understated outfit and bare face, Xu Fangmin instinctively assumed she was struggling.
A thread of smugness curled in her chest.
Just then, the man who’d gone to order food returned.
Xu Fangmin stepped forward, looping her arm through his, and turned to Jiang Si.
"Oh, old classmate, let me introduce you—this is my husband, Shen Chao."
"He’s in the military, promoted last year. Now a battalion-level officer."
At the sight of Jiang Si, the man visibly faltered before recovering.
"Uh—hello."
Jiang Si replied evenly, "Hello."
Xu Fangmin cursed her husband inwardly but kept her smile intact.
"And this is my son, Mingming. Almost three, and already a handful!"
"Mingming, say hello to Auntie."
"No! No! Want food now!"
The boy squirmed, too hungry to cooperate.
"Oh, you little rascal," Xu Fangmin chided half-heartedly before shifting her gaze back to Jiang Si.
"So, Jiang Si, how have you been? It’s been, what, four or five years?"
"By the way—are you married now?"
The relationship between the two women had never been particularly close—they weren’t even familiar with each other.
Jiang Si had no intention of elaborating, so she merely nodded in response.
Xu Fangmin, however, was clearly unsatisfied with this answer and pressed further, "Where’s your husband? Didn’t he come with you?"
Before Jiang Si could reply, Xu Fangmin leaned in with a gossipy expression.
"Did you end up marrying that childhood fiancé of yours?"
The moment the term "childhood fiancé" left her lips, Jiang Si’s face darkened.
She had never been one to open up easily, and the other woman’s prying expression only fueled her irritation.
Just as she parted her lips to speak, Huo Tingzhou’s voice sounded from behind her. "Sweetheart."
In a few strides, he was by her side, tall and poised.
The train’s heating was strong, and Huo Tingzhou wore only a military-green shirt. His sharp, penetrating gaze softened instantly the moment it landed on Jiang Si.
But when Jiang Si noticed the two little ones in his arms, a headache flared.
"Why did you bring them here?"
Huo Tingzhou explained, "They woke up the moment I got back."
At this, Jiang Si couldn’t help but sigh.
If the babies woke up and didn’t see her or their father, it was manageable. But once they caught sight of either of them, they’d cling relentlessly—no one else would do.
As their eyes met, Zhaozhao stretched out her tiny hands.
Resigned, Jiang Si took the child into her arms and tapped her button nose. "You little troublemaker, you’ve barely slept two hours today. What are you up to now?"
Zhaozhao didn’t answer. Instead, her chubby little hands reached straight for the food on the table.
Thankfully, Jiang Si caught her just in time.
But children this age were unpredictable. Foiled in her attempt to grab the fragrant meal, Zhaozhao turned her attention to her mother—after all, Mommy’s lips smelled delicious too.
Without warning, she opened her mouth and took a nibble.
Jiang Si was too slow to react.
By the time she realized what had happened, Zhaozhao was already smacking her lips with relish.
Jiang Si couldn’t help but laugh. "You greedy little thing."
Huo Tingzhou nodded in agreement. "Looks like we’ll need to start introducing some solid foods once we’re back."
Then he took Zhaozhao back. "Sweetheart, eat first."
"Mm." Jiang Si agreed softly.
To them, this effortless dynamic was just another ordinary moment.
But to Xu Fangmin, it was nothing short of a thunderbolt.
She couldn’t help but steal another glance at the pair.
The man was strikingly handsome, exuding an air of nobility.
Though Jiang Si dressed simply and wore no makeup, her delicate beauty still stood out.
Together, they radiated an undeniable harmony, a perfect match.
And then there were the twins—likely a boy and a girl.
Even if Xu Fangmin disliked Jiang Si, she had to admit: those children were exceptionally well-raised.
Plump and rosy-cheeked, they were even more adorable than the babies painted on New Year’s posters.
Compared to them, her own children paled in comparison.
The realization churned in Xu Fangmin’s chest like a spilled bottle of mixed emotions—bitter and sour.
Her husband, Shen Chao, remained oblivious to her thoughts.
At the moment, he was studying Huo Tingzhou with curiosity.
A soldier’s instinct told him this man likely outranked him.
Moreover, there was something familiar about him, as if they’d crossed paths before.
But before he could piece it together, Xu Fangmin could no longer hold back.
