A few minutes later, Shen Siyuan came out again, this time holding an envelope in his hand.
He walked over to the sofa and handed it to He Ruchu.
“Take this.”
He Ruchu was startled and instinctively accepted the envelope.
“What is it?”
The man remained expressionless and said nothing.
Pouting slightly, she opened the envelope herself. When she pulled out its contents, she discovered it was money and ration coupons.
Surprised, she looked up at him.
“What’s this for?”
Shen Siyuan lowered his eyes to meet hers and replied calmly,
“Use it whenever you need to buy something. If it runs out, tell me.”
He Ruchu was even more surprised.
Was this man actually giving her housekeeping money?
Thinking of money reminded her of the red envelopes that Old Madam Shen, Father Shen, and Mother Shen had given her that morning.
“Shen Siyuan, wait a moment. I have something for you too.”
Putting the envelope down, she hurried back to the bedroom.
Not long afterward, she returned carrying three red envelopes. She had also brought the priceless bracelet, which she had not forgotten.
She had not opened the red envelopes, but judging from their thickness, each probably contained at least a hundred yuan.
As for the bracelet, she had taken it off and stored it away as soon as she left the Shen residence that morning, afraid she might accidentally damage it.
She handed everything including the envelope he had just given her back to him.
“I can’t accept these.”
The man was clearly stunned.
It was as though he had never expected her to do such a thing.
He stared at her intently, seemingly evaluating her while deep in thought.
Shen Siyuan truly hadn’t anticipated this reaction.
Although he didn’t know her well, he had heard plenty of stories about her from others.
Based on everything he had heard, this woman should never have refused benefits that had already fallen into her hands.
Or was this simply another one of her new tricks?
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Unable to bear his gaze any longer, He Ruchu finally spoke up.
Shen Siyuan looked away.
After a moment of silence, he accepted the bracelet.
No matter what, that bracelet was extremely important to his grandmother. He couldn’t risk it being damaged.
As for everything else…
His eyes swept over the envelopes.
“Keep the money and coupons.”
With that, he turned and went back to his room.
He Ruchu looked at his retreating figure, then at the red envelopes and envelope still in her hands.
Helpless, she could only put them away for now.
Forget it.
She simply wouldn’t use them. When the time came for her to leave, she would return everything exactly as it was.
Her parents and the entire He family were her support and confidence.
That was why she could refuse these things without hesitation.
After storing them away in her room, she returned to the sofa and sprawled out again.
Before long, the man emerged from the bedroom once more.
Hearing the door open, she looked up.
To her surprise, he was standing there staring at her again.
Of course, she wasn’t narcissistic enough to think he had any romantic feelings for her.
Still, the way he kept looking at her made her uncomfortable.
“You could sit down and rest for a while too,” she suggested.
“No need.”
Shen Siyuan refused.
“I have to go out again.”
There was a mission that night, and he still had plenty of work to do.
Originally, he hadn’t planned on coming home at all.
But this woman had been acting strangely today, so he came back to check on her, just in case she caused trouble.
“Oh.”
He Ruchu nodded casually.
“Will you be back later?”
The moment the words left her mouth, his answer came immediately.
“No!”
His voice was noticeably louder than before.
She looked up in surprise.
The wariness she had seen when they first met had returned to his eyes.
After a pause, she nodded.
“Okay, I understand. Go take care of your work.”
She couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
She had only asked because she wanted to know whether she should prepare dinner for him.
She wasn’t trying to investigate his schedule or do anything else.
But clearly, he had misunderstood again.
How was she supposed to overcome this negative level of trust?
Neither of them spoke after that.
The spacious living room fell into silence.
After resting for a while, He Ruchu began to feel sticky and uncomfortable all over.
Remembering how much she had sweated during the day, she could no longer tolerate it.
“Um, I’m going to take a shower first.”
With that, she stood and headed toward the bathroom.
When Shen Siyuan heard her words, something seemed to occur to him.
His brows instantly knitted together.
Before she could take another step, he moved even faster and headed straight for the door.
Watching him leave without looking back, He Ruchu felt like crying out to the heavens.
Just what had the original owner done to make him avoid her so thoroughly?
The novel hadn’t described much of the relationship between this supporting female character and the male lead.
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she continued toward the bathroom.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
Stopping in her tracks, she quickly turned and called out:
“Shen Siyuan, wait!”
Hearing her, he frowned and looked back at her questioningly.
“Um, I wanted to ask can the kitchen actually be used for cooking?”
There were two reasons she asked.
First, she genuinely wasn’t sure whether the kitchen, which looked as though it had never been used, was functional.
Second, she wanted to indirectly tell him that he didn’t need to have food delivered to her anymore.
Shen Siyuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Yes, it can.”
With that answer, he turned and left.
After watching his figure disappear from sight, He Ruchu finally went to take her shower.
Just after leaving the family housing compound, one of Shen Siyuan’s subordinates ran over and informed him that someone was looking for him.
Following the soldier to the reception room, he discovered that the visitor was Zhou Chenyu.
Shen Siyuan only knew Zhou Chenyu by name and wasn’t familiar with him personally.
However, he had often heard his adopted younger sister mention both Zhou Chenyu and He Ruchu together.
According to her, the relationship between those two was anything but ordinary.
Because of that, Shen Siyuan already had a good idea why Zhou Chenyu had come.
Sure enough, the first thing he heard was:
“Where’s Chuchu?”
Zhou Chenyu stood up and blocked his path, his dark eyes filled with anger and coldness.
Earlier that morning, he had intended to visit the He family.
Unfortunately, something urgent had come up and delayed him.
By the time he finally arrived, he learned that Chuchu had already registered her marriage.
At that moment, Zhou Chenyu felt as though the sky had collapsed.
Chuchu…
His Chuchu.
How could she register a marriage with someone else?
How could she marry someone else?
He had stood there in shock for who knew how long before finally snapping back to reality and rushing straight to the Beijing Military District.
Throughout the journey, overwhelming panic consumed him.
The terror of losing the person he loved most left him unable to calm down.
His fists clenched tightly at his sides as he struggled to suppress their trembling.
“Shen Siyuan, what gives you the right to make the decision and register a marriage with her on your own?
You acted first and informed everyone afterward. Don’t think that means Chuchu has no choice but to marry you!”
So what if they had registered their marriage?
They could still get divorced.
His Chuchu deserved the right to make her own choice, not to be treated so carelessly.
Listening to him, Shen Siyuan found the accusation ridiculous.
Made the decision on his own?
Acted first and informed everyone afterward?
Who exactly had forced him into doing things this way?
Too lazy to waste words, he coldly glanced at Zhou Chenyu and instructed the soldier behind him:
“Take him to the family compound to find her.”
The moment those words were spoken, not only Zhou Chenyu but even the young soldier froze.
By now, practically everyone in the military district knew about Commander Shen’s wife, He Ruchu.
The man standing before them clearly had hostile intentions and was even calling her “Chuchu” so intimately.
How could the commander be comfortable sending such a person to see his wife?
The soldier felt extremely uneasy, but he couldn’t disobey orders.
He glared fiercely at Zhou Chenyu.
“Comrade, come with me.”
Recovering from his surprise, Zhou Chenyu glanced at Shen Siyuan.
At least the man knew what was good for him.
But even so, this matter was far from over.