By the time Meng Qingqing and Liu Lina went in, the confidence that had painted the faces of Wu Yuan and the other two women vanished in an instant, and they turned their gazes towards Luo Shu with a hint of worry in their eyes.
"Luo Shu, can we win this time?"
Luo Shu smiled and shook her head, "I don’t know either." Although she was very confident in her fashion show performance, it still depended on the soldiers’ preferences, as the final result would be determined by them.
Upon hearing this, the expressions on the faces of Wu Yuan and the other two women collapsed simultaneously.
"Even you lack confidence!"
"Then we don’t stand a chance this time!"
"If I had known, I should have held back just now. Why was I so impulsive?"
"The three of you don’t have to worry; it’s not certain that we will lose," Luo Shu consoled them.
Yet the spirits of Wu Yuan and the other two weren’t high.
The other Guard’s Wives, hearing the conversation of Luo Shu and her group, sighed internally. It seemed like they were going to embarrass themselves this time!
Liu Lina and Meng Qingqing approached Jiang Xiaoxu and Song Youyou, "Squadron Leader! Deputy Squadron Leader! We have some news to tell you, and we guarantee you’ll find it amusing."
Jiang Xiaoxu was discussing some details of the performance with Song Youyou. Hearing Liu Lina’s words, he looked up at the two women.
"What happened?" Jiang Xiaoxu inquired.
"Just now, I heard some Guard’s Wives making a ruckus, so I went out, and it turned out that they were arguing over whose program was more spectacular, ours or theirs. So, I asked them where they got the confidence to compete with our performance team. They were not convinced and even said they wanted to compete with us to see whose program is more popular." Meng Qingqing recounted the incident.
"So we made a bet with them that come the performance day, we would let those soldiers judge which performance they like more," Liu Lina added.
Jiang Xiaoxu and Song Youyou raised their brows in surprise, "Really?" If that was the case, those Guard’s Wives were indeed a bit too presumptuous.
"Absolutely! Squadron Leader, don’t you think those Guard’s Wives are overestimating themselves?"
"Our performance team could easily put on a show that would beat them. There’s simply no comparison."
Jiang Xiaoxu and Song Youyou exchanged glance and shook their heads simultaneously. Since those Guard’s Wives were so confident in themselves, then let the competition happen. Could their performance team really lose?
The news about the Guard’s Wives wanting to compete with the performance team quickly spread throughout the entire Guard District.
"Have you heard? The Guard’s Wives are challenging the performance team."
"The performance team is professional, and those Guard’s Wives have only had a few short weeks of practice. How can they compete with the performance team?"
"Being too confident is arrogance. It looks like the Guard’s Wives are set for a fall this time."
"Those Sister-in-Laws are really asking for it, stirring up trouble out of nowhere!"
Song Jiefang was reading the newspaper when he heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" he said.
The door was pushed open, and Lu Hanmo stepped in, saluting Song Jiefang respectfully, "Commander!"
Song Jiefang put down the newspaper in his hands and pointed at the chair beside him, his face full of playful curiosity as he looked at Lu Hanmo, "You’ve heard about it, haven’t you?"
"Yeah!" Lu Hanmo replied indifferently.
"What are you planning to do?" Song Jiefang raised his eyebrows and asked. Lu Hanmo cared so much about his wife that he wouldn’t let her be embarrassed in front of everyone. But if he ordered those soldiers to vote for his wife, it would surely incur the dissatisfaction of the performance team. Moreover, his daughter was also on the performance team, and he would definitely be firm in standing on his daughter’s side.
"Let nature take its course!" Lu Hanmo said lightly.
"Aren’t you afraid that your wife will lose?" Song Jiefang was somewhat surprised. Wasn’t Lu Hanmo a wife-doting fiend? Doing nothing seemed somewhat unlike him.
"I have confidence in her," Lu Hanmo said with a slight smile curling his lips. He always believed in Shushu, no matter the circumstance. If he truly resorted to tricks to ensure Shushu’s victory, she definitely wouldn’t be happy about it.
Zhang Xiaoling returned home, utterly exhausted. She pushed open the door and saw Yang Le had already prepared dinner. A happy smile spread across her face, and she walked over and hugged him, "You are so good!" Today had really taken its toll on her—she’d gone to the Town Official Residence in the morning to retrieve the earth allocation approval, back to the factory to arrange work, and had practiced her catwalk. But she was happy despite the exhaustion.
Yang Le smiled and patted Zhang Xiaoling’s back, "Go wash your hands and have dinner. I made your favorite curry potatoes." Seeing her so tired made his heart ache.
"Mhm!" Zhang Xiaoling replied with a smile, nodding her head as she walked over to the sink and washed her hands under the faucet.
Sitting down at the dining table, she took the bowl from Yang Le’s hands, picked up a piece of curry potato, and tasted it, "Delicious."
"Xiao Ling, do you feel confident about the catwalk in your performance this time?" Yang Le asked, swallowing a mouthful of food.
"Yes, why?" Zhang Xiaoling asked, somewhat surprised, not understanding why he suddenly took an interest in this.
"Luo Shu has agreed to compete with the performance team," Yang Le said.
"Compete with the performance team?" Zhang Xiaoling’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Yang Le nodded, "It’s been settled. The soldiers will decide which is better, your show or the performance team’s."
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xiaoling laughed, "I am very confident in our catwalk. Yang Le, you will definitely be amazed." Since Luo Shu had decided this way, she must have a lot of confidence in their show. If Luo Shu was confident, so was she!
As time passed, the whole Guard District was buzzing about this event, with discussions becoming increasingly heated and even dividing into two camps. One camp supported the Guard’s Wives, praising their spirit to face difficulties. The other sided with the performance team, unanimously believing the Guard’s Wives were overestimating themselves.
Luo Shu, on the other hand, behaved as if this had nothing to do with her, spending her days reading books, eating, making phone calls, chatting, and taking evening strolls with Lu Hanmo, living a life of leisure and comfort.
After showering, Bai Moyao sat on the sofa watching TV. Glancing at the bedroom, he pondered for a moment before he picked up a cushion from the sofa and walked towards the room.
Qin Yue was leaning against the bed, eating an apple, when she saw Bai Moyao, clad in shorts and carrying a pillow, walk in. She frowned, "What are you up to?"
"I’ve been sleeping on the sofa for several days already. It’s so cold I’m nearly freezing to death," Bai Moyao said pitifully, hoping Qin Yue would soften her stance.
"I think my stomach hurts again," Qin Yue said, pressing one hand against her abdomen, her face twisted in pain.
"I’ll go sleep on the sofa," Bai Moyao said, resignedly clutching the pillow as he headed back to the living room. He knew that Qin Yue was faking, but he dared not make her angry. His nth attempt was declared a failure!