Tang Jiayun felt it the most deeply among all of them. As time passed, Tang Jiayun thought that the man who had never made an appearance was a lie that was cooked up by Qiao Nan. Or perhaps, they used to date but had broken up.

  When Tang Jiayun saw their three children, she was given a tight slap for thinking that they had broken up.

  Qiao Nan did not break up with her boyfriend. Instead, she was married to him and they had three children. “Hey, do you have some knowledge about this? What is the shoulder mark on the man’s shoulder?” Tang Jiayun was clueless about the army. But from Zhai Sheng’s demeanor, he did not seem to be an average soldier.

  “Shhh……” Yu Xiaoxiao sucked in a breath. “The man gave Qiao Nan a medal as a present? He must have a major meritorious performance to be awarded a medal.” The next step would be a promotion?

  It was common to be a soldier. But it was a different story to be able to rise through the ranks.

  Everyone was full of admiration that the box opened to reveal a medal instead of expensive jewelry. No one laughed at Zhai Sheng for being miserly.

  Everyone knew that the medal was hard to come by, so they were full of admiration for Qiao Nan. Qiao Nan seemed to be married to a competent man who loved her and treated her well.

  As a soldier, it was his utmost honor to be awarded a medal. The man was willing to share the honor with Qiao Nan. It proved that he had a deep affection for Qiao Nan.

  Back then, there were rumors that Qiao Nan was a kept woman, and she lied that she had a fiancé, but she was, in fact, covering it up.

  \r \r \r

  All these rumors seemed like a joke. Qiao Nan and her husband might not display their affection for each other openly, but this was not because they did not really love each other. On the contrary, it was because they were fiercely loyal and true to each other.

  Lü Yan could not help but shiver. “Could this be considered as a military marriage? Is Qiao Nan a military wife?” If she knew that Qiao Nan’s fiancé—or rather, husband, was a soldier and he carried a gun, she would not have done stupid and foolish things.

  She was reminded of how she smeared Qiao Nan’s reputation. It was June. Lü Yan could not help but shiver under the hot sun.

  If the rumors that she spread affected Qiao Nan and their marriage hit the rocks, she would be guilty of destroying the military marriage. If so, she would be sent to jail!

  Lü Yan finally understood at this moment the reason why the talented student from the journalism faculty transferred to another school and the entire family ended up leaving the capital to stay in another place.

  Yu Xiaoxiao forced a smile on her face. “Now, you know the truth? It has been a year since the incident. You didn’t provoke Qiao Nan in the past one year and Qiao Nan did not target you either. What are you afraid of? Like I have said, you may have time on your hand and insist on provoking Qiao Nan, but she could not be bothered with you.” Qiao Nan and the rest of them did not belong in the same world. “Lü Yan, it has been so long. Don’t you watch the news on the state-owned television channel?”

  “What do you mean?” Lü Yan was relieved that Qiao Nan was serious about not getting back at her. She was glad that Qiao Nan was magnanimous. Other people might have already sent her out of the capital.

  Although Lü Yan used to detest Qiao Nan, thinking that she was being pretentious, right now, she only had utmost respect and gratitude toward her. “You should know my situation. I have not been working hard in my first and second years. If I did not buck up in the last two years, I would not be able to graduate today.” The exams would not cover the content about the news on the state-owned television channel. The school would not fail her if she did not watch the news.

  Since that was the case, she would rather devote her time to her studies. She had no time for other stuff.

  Yu Xiaoxiao had a bitter smile on her face. “It’s alright that you don’t understand what I am saying. But one day you will. By then, you would rather you don’t get it as well.” If possible, she had no wish to know the hard truth that she was worlds apart from Qiao Nan.

  Many years later, He Yi’s passed the position to her. To everyone, she had the second-top position in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but in fact, she was the person in charge of the ministry. She represented the country to deal with foreign diplomats and to fight for the country’s interests. In order to get the best deal for her country, she would engage in verbal banters. She was so good in her job that the foreign diplomats could not help but turn green in defeat. Yu Xiaoxiao cried when she saw this.

  Her child would ask her what was wrong.

  Yu Xiaoxiao wiped her tears, saying that it was too windy and the sand had gotten into her eyes.

  The child was baffled. They were watching television at home. Although it was windy outside, it was not windy at home. How could the sand get into his mother’s eyes?

  Although he could not understand, he was full of admiration for the woman on the television, making Yu Xiaoxiao felt even gloomier. “Mom, the diplomat is very capable. She is very beautiful and she does not seem to pose any threats. One could not help but turn softhearted toward her. But all of us know that when engaged in verbal banter with her, she is not to be trifled with. She is brilliant!”

  Yu Xiaoxiao smiled. She could not tell her son that the diplomat that he idolized was her former classmate and she used to be her roommate. Many unhappy things happened between them and she was too ashamed to mention her even after all these years. She could not bring it to herself to say that she had a history with the famous diplomat.

  And right now, the man was handsome and the woman was beautiful. They were a perfect match.

  Although Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng were not the prince and the princess in the fairytale, one was gentle and the other strong, one was tall and the other petite, and one was cold and indifferent while the other was as warm as the sun in the winter. The two of them made a perfect match. They complemented each other more so than the prince and the princess. The prince and the princess were a fairytale, while they were a real-life example of simple happiness.

  “Being promoted?” This was not the first time that Qiao Nan saw the medal. In her four years in college, she had received four such medals. She received the first and fourth medals from her husband, the second medal from her best friend, Shi Qing, and the third medal from Zhu Baoguo.

  Other people might not have a single medal in their entire life, but Qiao Nan was able to have four medals in four years.

  Zhai Sheng smiled. He pinned the medal on Qiao Nan’s clothes. “Yes, I have been promoted.” It had been four years. He would be embarrassed if he did not get a promotion.

  “Congratulations.” Qiao Nan congratulated Zhai Sheng.

  “Congratulations.” Zhai Sheng congratulated Qiao Nan as well.

  San Bao smiled happily. “Congratulations to all!”

  Er Bao touched his tummy. “Papa, Mama, I am hungry. I want to eat.”