Morning sunlight filtered through the window lattice, scattering dappled patches of light across the concrete floor.
Inside the military compound, a new day began amid the piercing call of the bugle and the synchronized sounds of morning drills.
Lu Zhanting returned from morning training wearing only a white undershirt soaked through with sweat. His bronze-toned skin gleamed with a healthy sheen under the early light.
He walked over to the well in the courtyard, hauled up a bucket of icy water, and poured it over his head. White steam instantly rose into the air.
Su Wanqing came out of the house carrying a clean towel and a cup of water that had been left to cool to a warm temperature.
This had already become an unspoken understanding between them.
“Wipe off. Don’t catch a chill,” she said, handing him the towel.
“Mm.” Lu Zhanting took it and casually wiped the water from his body.
But when he lifted his arm to rub the back of his neck, his right shoulder stiffened almost imperceptibly, and his brows knit for a brief moment.
That tiny detail didn’t escape Su Wanqing’s eyes.
“What’s wrong with your shoulder?” She immediately stepped closer, her voice tense. “Did your old injury flare up again?”
She remembered the vicious old scar on his right shoulder, nearly cutting across the entire shoulder blade.
It was proof of his merits—and also a hidden danger buried in his body.
“Just the usual problem. It’s nothing,” Lu Zhanting said lightly as he set the towel aside.
“No.”
Su Wanqing’s tone was unusually firm, her gaze carrying an unmistakable command.
“You have to go to the hospital. After breakfast, I’m going with you.”
This man was always so careless with himself.
Seeing the worry on her face—mixed with a hint of restrained anger—softened the hardest part of Lu Zhanting’s heart.
Not only did he not find her fussing excessive, he actually enjoyed it.
The feeling of being cared about, of being worried over—it was unfamiliar, yet burning hot.
“Alright. I’ll listen to you,” he said, nodding, indulgence creeping into his voice without him realizing it.
After breakfast, the two of them walked side by side toward the military hospital.
Su Wanqing naturally walked on Lu Zhanting’s left, keeping his injured right shoulder farther from the roadside.
“Slow down. Don’t pull the wound.”
“When the doctor checks you, don’t tough it out. Say whatever needs to be said.”
“And skip exercises like pull-ups during morning training for now.”
She walked beside him, chattering nonstop like an overly conscientious housekeeper.
Listening to her clear voice, filled with concern and reminders, Lu Zhanting felt his heart completely full.
He turned his head and looked at his petite wife, who barely reached his chest.
She was looking up at him seriously, her bright eyes filled with worry.
Sunlight shone on her smooth forehead, making even the fine downy hairs visible.
He suddenly thought that even if his shoulder hurt ten times more, it would be worth it if it meant seeing her like this.
His steps unconsciously slowed to match hers.
The tall, upright figure and the small, delicate one walked side by side along the sunlit, tree-lined path, forming an incomparably harmonious picture.
Inside the outpatient building of the military hospital, the air carried a faint smell of disinfectant.
Su Wanqing accompanied Lu Zhanting to register at the surgery department, then sat with him on a long bench in the corridor to wait.
Just then, a sharp yet ingratiating male voice rang out not far away.
“Mengyao, don’t move—let me take a look. Ouch, it’s bleeding. Does it hurt? That doorframe is really blind!”
That voice…
Su Wanqing’s back stiffened abruptly.
She instinctively lifted her gaze.
At the corner of the corridor, a young man wearing a white Dacron shirt was carefully holding a woman’s hand, blowing on it with a look of deep concern.
That man was her former fiancé—Zhao Wenxuan.
And the woman whose hand he was cradling was Li Mengyao, the daughter of Deputy Director Li from the logistics department, notorious in the compound for being spoiled and domineering.
Li Mengyao clearly enjoyed Zhao Wenxuan’s attention. She pulled her hand back and pouted coquettishly. “Alright, it’s just a scratch. You’re making a big deal out of nothing. Go get me a bandage. My fingers are delicate—I can’t leave a scar.”
“Okay, okay, I’ll go right away,” Zhao Wenxuan said obsequiously.
As he turned around, his eyes swept the area casually—and landed squarely on Su Wanqing sitting on the bench.
The smile on his face froze instantly.
Then his gaze fell on Lu Zhanting beside her.
The man wore a crisp military uniform, the two bars and one star on his shoulder boards gleaming sharply under the lights.
He sat there quietly, yet radiated an overwhelming, oppressive presence.
Zhao Wenxuan’s expression became extremely complicated in an instant.
Shock. Astonishment. Disbelief… and finally, an uncontrollable surge of jealousy and resentment clenched his heart, spreading like poison.
Why was Su Wanqing here? And who was the man beside her?
He saw that Su Wanqing was dressed simply in a blue cotton outfit, yet her complexion was rosy, her brows and eyes carrying a calm, settled confidence he had never seen before.
It was the kind of radiance that came only from a life well-nurtured, from being cherished by a man.
That glow stabbed painfully into his eyes.
He had thought that after he broke off their engagement, Su Wanqing would slink back to the countryside in disgrace, marry some random farmer, and spend her whole life clawing food out of the dirt.
But the scene before him was completely different from what he had imagined.
Not only had she not fallen into hardship—she looked even more vibrant and beautiful.
And the man beside her, whether in rank or bearing, made Zhao Wenxuan himself look like a pitiful clown by comparison.
Why?
Why did a country girl he had cast aside get to live better than him? Why did she get to find a man even stronger than him?
The intense humiliation shattered Zhao Wenxuan’s reason. He lifted his foot and walked over without thinking.
“Wenxuan, what are you dawdling for?” Li Mengyao called impatiently from behind.
Zhao Wenxuan ignored her and walked straight up to Su Wanqing, forcing an ugly smile. “Wanqing? What a coincidence. You’re at the hospital too?”
His gaze, however, slid maliciously over Lu Zhanting’s uniform.
“And this gentleman is…?”
Su Wanqing’s expression turned icy in an instant.
She looked at Zhao Wenxuan’s hypocritical face with undisguised disgust and instinctively moved closer to Lu Zhanting.
“This is my husband, Lu Zhanting,” she said clearly, enunciating every word.
The word “husband” pierced Zhao Wenxuan’s heart like a needle.
His face twitched, and his tone turned sharp and caustic.
“Oh? So you broke off our engagement just to cling to this… battalion commander?”
He sneered. “Su Wanqing, I really underestimated you. Quite the trick—switching to a rich catch without making a sound. I thought you had some backbone!”
His words drew the attention of the people waiting nearby, who all turned to look.
Li Mengyao clicked over in her leather shoes, casting Su Wanqing a contemptuous once-over before turning to Zhao Wenxuan.
“So this is the country fiancée you told me about—the one who shamelessly clung to you and insisted on marrying you?” she sneered. “She doesn’t look like much. So rustic and vulgar. All she knows is how to use cheap, fox-like tricks to seduce men.”
“I didn’t!”Su Wanqing trembled with anger at the brazen distortion of the truth, her cheeks flushing red.
She was just about to retort when a broad, powerful hand gently came to rest on her shoulder.
Lu Zhanting had risen to his feet at some point.
He didn’t say a word.
He simply took one step forward, his tall frame completely shielding her behind him, cutting off every hostile gaze and malicious remark.
Only after doing so did he slowly lift his eyes.
Those eyes—ones that could strike fear into enemies on the battlefield—were now utterly cold as they fixed unblinkingly on Zhao Wenxuan.
“You’re the so-called educated youth with no taste, who voluntarily broke off his engagement with my wife?”
His voice wasn’t loud, calm and even, yet it carried an immense pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Zhao Wenxuan’s heart wavered under his gaze. Instinctively, he wanted to step back, but he forced himself to hold his ground and stiffened his neck.
“So what if I am? What happens between Su Wanqing and me isn’t something an outsider like you gets to meddle in!”
“Outsider?”
A deeply mocking curve appeared at the corner of Lu Zhanting’s mouth.
“She’s my wife now. Her name is on my household registration. You tell me—am I an outsider?”
He paused, his eyes sweeping over Zhao Wenxuan’s face, twisted with jealousy.
“Come to think of it, I should really thank you.”
“If you hadn’t been blind—mistaking pearls for gravel—such a good wife wouldn’t have ended up with me, Lu Zhanting.”
His words fell with decisive weight.
That phrase—such a good wife—was filled with undisguised pride and cherishing.
Sheltered behind his broad back, Su Wanqing’s heart gave a heavy thump at those words. Heat rushed to her eyes.
From the onlookers around them came a ripple of suppressed laughter.
The looks people cast at Zhao Wenxuan now carried unmistakable contempt.
Zhao Wenxuan’s face flushed a dark, liver-like red. He felt as though he’d been stripped naked in public—humiliated beyond measure.
Lu Zhanting’s gaze shifted to Li Mengyao, who stood there with an arrogant expression. He flicked a glance at the lightly scraped finger she was holding, the disdain in his eyes deepening.
Then he looked back at Zhao Wenxuan, his tone dripping with lofty scorn.
“A man who doesn’t think about building a career through his own ability, but instead fixates on climbing up by kissing women’s boots.”
“Not only shameless, but proud of it.”
“Someone like you isn’t even worthy of carrying my wife’s shoes.”
Every word struck like a resounding slap, landing hard on Zhao Wenxuan’s face.
“You—”Zhao Wenxuan shook with humiliation, pointing at Lu Zhanting, yet not a single word of rebuttal came out.
Because everything Lu Zhanting said was true.
Beside him, Li Mengyao turned pale with rage and shrieked, “Who do you think you are, talking to my boyfriend like that?! Do you know who my father is?”
Lu Zhanting couldn’t even be bothered to spare her a glance.
A mere clown.
Just then, the examination room door opened and a nurse called out, “Next—Lu Zhanting!”
“Let’s go. Time to see the doctor.”
Lu Zhanting lowered his head, slipped an arm around Su Wanqing’s shoulders, his voice instantly soft—as if the imposing man from moments ago had never existed.
“Mhm.”Su Wanqing nodded and followed him obediently.
As she stepped into the examination room, she glanced back once more.
Zhao Wenxuan and Li Mengya were still standing there—one with a livid expression, the other seething with fury—both enduring the scornful and curious gazes of the surrounding crowd.
One was a spineless man who abandoned his fiancée for his future and climbed upward by relying on women.
The other was a steel-blooded officer who firmly shielded his wife behind him and forcefully declared his claim.
The difference was obvious at a glance.
At that moment, Su Wanqing’s heart became crystal clear.
When Lu Zhanting stood in front of her, protecting her—when she heard every word he said—it was as if heavy hammers struck her heart, smashing completely the last remnants of resentment and unwillingness she had toward Zhao Wenxuan.
In their place surged overwhelming emotion—gratitude, pride, and an incomparable sense of safety.
She finally understood just how wise her decision to break off that engagement had been.
And how incredibly fortunate she was to have married Lu Zhanting by chance.
Inside the examination room, the doctor was checking Lu Zhanting’s injury.
Su Wanqing stood to the side, her gaze fixed unblinking on the man’s resolute profile.
Sensing her stare, he turned his head slightly, questioning her silently with his eyes: What is it?
Su Wanqing said nothing.
She only curved her eyes and gave him a smile brighter than sunlight.
Lu Zhanting was momentarily dazed by her sudden smile.
Then, quietly, the tips of his ears turned red.
Seeing his rare moment of awkwardness, the smile on Su Wanqing’s face deepened.
She knew that after weathering this confrontation together, their relationship was no longer merely one of “comrades” or “family.”
Something called love had already broken through the soil, taking root clearly and vigorously in her heart.