The night market had once again returned to its usual lively bustle.
Voices filled the air, and smoke curled upward.
But tonight, at the very center—the most eye-catching spot in the entire night market—the “Lin’s Snacks” stall that always had a long line was completely empty.
The rain-proof tarp was pulled down tightly, showing no sign of opening for business.
Many customers who had come specifically for it were met with disappointment and began to whisper among themselves.
“What’s going on? Why isn’t Boss Lin selling today?”
“No idea. Wasn’t everything fine yesterday?”
“Could it be… she got scared by what happened the other day and doesn’t dare to come?”
Among the crowd, a patrol team in crisp military uniforms was walking by.
Leading them was Lu Tingchuan.
He seemed unusually silent today—his face was even colder than usual. Wherever he passed, the noisy chatter automatically dropped several notches.
Behind him, Company Commander Zhang could keenly sense that the regiment commander was in a bad mood.
Because he noticed that the commander had already glanced toward the empty stall for the N-th time, unable to control himself.
“Cough…” Zhang cleared his throat, gathered his courage, and quietly reported, “Commander, the market is orderly today. No signs of illegal business.”
Lu Tingchuan responded with a faint “Mm,” but his steps stopped right in front of Lin Nian’s stall.
He stared at the tightly covered rain tarp, and his brows unconsciously furrowed into the shape of the character “川.”
He was silent for a few seconds, then finally couldn’t help himself. In a tone that sounded casual but wasn’t, he asked:
“This place… why didn’t she come today?”
Commander Zhang paused for a moment before realizing who the commander was asking about.
Scratching his head, he answered honestly, “Reporting, sir… I’m not sure. She didn’t show up this morning.”
Lu Tingchuan’s brows furrowed even deeper.
Inside, a wave of inexplicable irritation and unease slowly rose.
Given that woman’s personality, she had just gained the upper hand yesterday. There was no way she would skip her stall without reason.
Unless… something happened.
The moment that possibility crossed his mind, his heart tightened sharply, as if someone had squeezed it hard.
Was it Zhao Hong? Or did Lu Tingting and the others refuse to give up and did something again?
He didn’t dare think further.
For the rest of the inspection, he was even more distracted.
In his mind, the same image kept appearing over and over—Lin Nian’s stubborn but pale face.
When the patrol ended, he did not return to the regiment headquarters like usual.
Instead, he stood at the entrance of the night market for a long time, and finally, as if making a decision, turned and walked in the opposite direction of his headquarters.
He gave himself a high-sounding justification: the area around the night market housed many families and outsiders, which posed certain safety risks. As a discipline officer, he needed to conduct on-site visits and inspections.
But only he knew how uncontrollable his steps were, pulled irresistibly toward that small courtyard.
The sky was completely dark by now.
Relying on memory, he found the familiar narrow alley.
At the end of the alley, the low courtyard door was slightly ajar, and a faint, warm yellow light leaked from the gap.
His footsteps stopped at the doorway.
His heartbeat sped up uncontrollably.
He was… actually nervous.
He took a deep breath, lifted his hand, and was about to knock—
When a suppressed, faint sound of water came from inside the courtyard.
Almost instinctively, he didn’t knock. Instead, he slowly pushed open the half-closed door.
The sight inside made his pupils contract sharply.
Under the dim yellow light, Lin Nian was squatting in the middle of the courtyard.
In front of her was a huge iron pot and several basins filled with cleaned but foul-smelling bones and broth.
She wasn’t crying, nor complaining—just silently rinsing the greasy cookware with ice-cold well water, one stroke at a time.
On a late-autumn night, the well water was freezing.
Her hands were red and slightly swollen from soaking in the cold water.
She was wearing a thin, old sweater. Her back, hunched over as she squatted there, looked so thin, so fragile—yet carried a stubbornness that refused to bow to anyone.
Not far away, Lu An and Lu Ning were sitting on small stools, obediently accompanying her.
They didn’t make a fuss. They sat quietly by their mother’s side. Ningning even held a little towel in her hand, wanting to stand up every now and then to wipe her mother’s hands.
The scene hit Lu Tingchuan’s heart like a heavy hammer.
The pain—dense, overwhelming—mixed with bitterness and guilt, drowning him instantly.
He knew something must have happened.
And this incident was, without a doubt, tied to his family.
He stood in the shadow of the doorway for a long, long time—so long that Lin Nian’s wrists had begun to tremble, her movements turning sluggish.
He finally couldn’t watch anymore.
He strode forward, silent, entering the courtyard.
Lin Nian was fully focused on scrubbing the pot when a tall shadow suddenly fell over her, enveloping her entirely.
Startled, she snapped her head up.
The moment she saw that it was Lu Tingchuan, all her guard, dislike, and hostility rushed up.
What was he doing here?
To laugh at her misery?
She clenched her jaw, said nothing, and lowered her head again, determined to continue working as if he were nothing but air.
But the next second—
The heavy iron basin in her hands was forcibly taken away by a strong hand.
Lin Nian looked up in shock, meeting Lu Tingchuan’s deep, ocean-dark eyes.
He didn’t say a word. He simply took the basins from her hands, walked to the well, rolled up the sleeves of his clean white shirt, revealing his firm and muscular forearms.
Then, under Lin Nian’s utterly stunned gaze—
This legendary, battle-hardened, intimidating regiment commander actually crouched down and began clumsily washing the greasy iron basin with his calloused, gun-worn hands.
His movements were awkward, even a little ridiculous.
Cold well water splashed onto his pant legs and sleeves, but he didn’t react at all.
He just worked silently, focused, doing the task in front of him.
Lin Nian was completely dumbfounded.
She stared at the man crouching on the ground washing her pots and pans, her mind blank.
What… what was happening?
Was he insulting her? Telling her she couldn’t even handle such simple chores?
“You…” Lin Nian snapped out of her daze and reached out instinctively, trying to grab the basins back.
But the moment she moved, Lu Tingchuan stopped her with a single look.
It wasn’t a commanding look.
In his eyes was something she couldn’t decipher—something complicated, but more than anything, firm and unquestionable.
As if saying:
Don’t move. Let me do it.
Their eyes met.
Under the dim light, one stood, one crouched.
Awkwardness, tension, confusion… all these emotions tangled and fermented in the cramped courtyard, forming a silent yet surging undercurrent.