Returning from the military hospital, the sky was already darkening.
The orange-red sunset blazed across the western sky, bathing the entire military compound in a warm glow.
The two walked side by side, silent all the way.
But this silence was different from before.
Lu Zhanting’s steps were long and steady, while Su Wanqing almost had to jog to keep up.
Yet the hand holding her wrist—hot, dry, and covered with thick calluses—never once loosened its grip.
That burning warmth traveled along her skin, reaching deep into the core of her heart.
Back home, the courtyard gate creaked shut, completely isolating them from the dusk and the outside noise.
The room was very quiet, filled only with the soft mingling of their breaths.
In Su Wanqing’s mind, the image that kept flashing was Lu Zhanting’s back as he shielded her in the hospital corridor.
Broad, solid—a wall impossible to cross.
And his firm, resonant words of defense:
“If you hadn’t been blind, mistaking pearls for fish eyes, such a good wife wouldn’t have ended up with me, Lu Zhanting.”
The pride and cherishing behind those words struck Su Wanqing’s heart like a bullet.
This man, in the most direct and domineering way, crushed all the grievances and bitterness she had carried for two lifetimes.
She watched the man in front of her taking off his military jacket. His profile was resolute and stern, and as he moved his shoulder—the injured one—his brow barely twitched in pain.
This was the man who gave her a home, stability, and all the dignity a wife should have.
She had found shelter and respect in him, yet she was hiding her greatest secret.
Once that thought surfaced, it grew wildly like vines, impossible to suppress.
Su Wanqing’s heart pounded heavily in her chest.
That secret was both her trump card and her fear.
He was a steadfast soldier, a thorough materialist.
What would his reaction be if he saw something beyond reason?
Would he treat her like a monster? Would he distance himself out of fear?
But thinking back to how fiercely protective and angry he was in the hospital—as if his territory had been invaded—Su Wanqing felt that her suspicion was itself an insult to him.
If she couldn’t trust this man who was willing to protect her life and future, who else in the world could she trust?
Su Wanqing clenched the hem of her clothes and made a decision.
Dinner was plain rice porridge with side dishes; the atmosphere remained quiet.
Yet Su Wanqing could feel Lu Zhanting’s gaze inadvertently resting on her, filled with curiosity and a depth she didn’t understand.
After eating, Lu Zhanting took the initiative to clear the dishes and went into the kitchen.
The sound of running water came from there as Su Wanqing sat in the living room chair, her palms sweaty.
When Lu Zhanting emerged from the kitchen, damp with water vapor, Su Wanqing suddenly stood up.
“Lu Zhanting.”
Her voice was tight, trembling with an emotion even she hadn’t noticed.
“Hm?” Lu Zhanting stopped and turned to look at her.
Under the dim light, her face was pale, and the eyes that were usually calm now swirled with complex emotions, like a lake disturbed by a heavy stone.
“I… have something I want to show you.” She spoke each word with great effort.
Lu Zhanting’s brow twitched slightly but said nothing, only signaling her with his eyes to continue.
“Come with me.”
Su Wanqing led him into her study and then closed the door behind them.
The small space immediately grew heavy with tension.
She turned and faced him.
“Before you look, I want to ask you a question.” Her voice was soft but extremely clear.
“Lu Zhanting, will you always believe me? No matter… what you see that’s beyond understanding?”
Lu Zhanting looked at her.
In the girl’s eyes were written nervousness, unease, and a resolute determination.
Without hesitation, he answered in his usual low, steady voice:
“I will.”
One word, heavy as a thousand pounds.
Su Wanqing’s eyes instantly filled with tears.
“Good.” She nodded, reaching out her hand.
“Give me the hand that’s injured.”
Lu Zhanting complied and extended his right arm.
Su Wanqing didn’t touch him yet; she only asked him to keep his hand steady, then closed her eyes.
Her mind sank into that mysterious space.
The next moment, Lu Zhanting’s pupils suddenly contracted!
A clear water orb, faintly swirling with white mist, hovered above Su Wanqing’s palm.
It defied all physical laws, emitting the fresh scent of grass and a bone-chilling coolness.
His body’s instincts, honed for years on the brink of life and death, instantly tensed every muscle, adopting a defensive posture.
It was the kind of reaction ingrained in his bones when facing the unknown and dangerous!
“Don’t be afraid.” Su Wanqing opened her eyes, her voice gentle.
She controlled the water orb, slowly moving it over Lu Zhanting’s shoulder.
With a slight movement of her will, the orb transformed into a gentle stream, softly covering the jagged scar.
An indescribable soothing sensation instantly dispelled the deep, bone-piercing ache.
Lu Zhanting froze completely.
He could clearly feel his skin and muscles greedily absorbing the coolness, a warm vitality rapidly repairing his damaged tissues.
What… was this?!
“This is only… the tip of my secret iceberg.” Su Wanqing watched his shocked expression, her heart rising to her throat.
She knew the crucial moment had come.
She reached out her hand again, palm up:
“Lu Zhanting, give me your hand.”
His gaze moved from his shoulder to her delicate, pale hand, then slowly to her face filled with nervousness.
He was silent for a few seconds.
Then, as if making a major decision, he placed his large palm over hers.
“Close your eyes. Don’t resist. Trust me.”
Su Wanqing’s voice trembled as she gripped his hand tightly.
A whirl of dizziness overwhelmed them.
When Lu Zhanting opened his eyes again, he found the world had changed.
It was no longer the cramped, dim study.
Before him unfolded an endless expanse of rich black soil.
On the land, tomatoes, cucumbers, Chinese cabbage, radishes… all kinds of crops, some familiar, some not, grew wildly and vigorously in a way that completely defied seasonal logic.
Not far away stood a simple wooden cabin, beside which a spring bubbled, emitting a misty vapor.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth and plants, and breathing it in brought a comforting sensation throughout his body.
The sky was a constant soft white light—no sun, yet every corner was illuminated.
Where… was this place?
Even a man with iron will like Lu Zhanting found his mind utterly blank at this moment.
He released Su Wanqing’s hand and, like a sleepwalker, took a few steps forward.
He squatted down and pinched a handful of the black soil; the moist, fertile texture felt terrifyingly real.
He walked over to a tomato plant, where several large, plump, shining red fruits hung.
This was not an illusion.
“What is… this place?” he finally found his voice, dry and hoarse.
Su Wanqing kept staring at his back, and seeing no fear or disgust on his face, her anxious heart finally eased a little.
“I call it ‘Space’,” she said softly. “I don’t know where it came from. It’s like… it’s grown inside my body.”
Half-jokingly, she explained it was an ancestral jade pendant that had merged into her body when she was critically ill with a high fever.
She told him that time here flows differently than outside.
Any crops can be planted and grow extremely fast.
There’s a sacred spring that heals wounds and illnesses.
And a warehouse that is never full.
Like a child confessing a mistake, she laid her greatest secret bare before him without reservation.
“The vegetables, rice, and meat we eat after we married… all come from here.”
“The vegetables in the yard were transplanted from here, that’s why they grow so fast.”
“And today… the water that healed your wound was from that sacred spring.”
After finishing, she quietly awaited his judgment.
Time seemed to stand still.
Lu Zhanting, with his back to her, stood tall and still like a silent stone statue.
Su Wanqing couldn’t see his expression clearly; her heart sank little by little.
Was he frightened?
Did he think she was a monster?
Just as she was about to be crushed by this silence, Lu Zhanting finally moved.
He slowly turned around.
There was none of the expressions she had feared—no fear, no disgust, no greed.
In those bottomless eyes surged shock and realization, but more than anything, an overwhelming… tenderness.
He stepped forward and, to Su Wanqing’s stunned eyes, suddenly reached out and pulled her tightly into his embrace!
The hug was so strong it felt like it might crush her bones.
“Fool.”
His rough, hoarse voice sounded above her head, with a barely perceptible tremble.
Su Wanqing stiffened, her mind blank.
“Why… didn’t you tell me sooner?” He buried his face in her hair, his hot breath brushing her ear. “Carrying such a big secret alone… were you afraid?”
Afraid?
The simple three words struck like a heavy hammer, breaking open the long-sealed gates in Su Wanqing’s heart.
Two lifetimes of fear, loneliness, unease, and pretense burst forth all at once.
Tears flowed uncontrollably and silently, soaking through the hard fabric of his military uniform on his chest.
She did not cry out loud; instead, she buried her face deeply in his broad chest, her body trembling violently, using all her strength to hold onto him tightly.
Feeling the intense trembling and hot tears of the woman in his arms, Lu Zhanting’s heart was gripped tightly as if by a hand, pain nearly making it hard to breathe.
He finally understood.
Understood her untimely fresh ingredients, her calm composure in the face of difficulties, and the faint caution and distance always lurking deep in her calm eyes.
This foolish girl.
She carried such a world-shaking secret all alone—how exhausted and afraid she must have been.
“Don’t be afraid,” he repeated clumsily over and over, his palms soothing her trembling back one stroke at a time.
“From now on, you have me.”
“Wanqing, from now on you have me.”
After a long time, Su Wanqing’s emotions gradually settled.
Lu Zhanting released her, cupped her tear-streaked face with his rough fingertips, and gently wiped away her tears.
The gesture held unprecedented tenderness.
“Thank you, Wanqing,” he said, looking seriously into her eyes. “Thank you… for trusting me.”
Su Wanqing, her eyes red, shook her head with a choked voice: “You’re worth it.”
Those three words struck Lu Zhanting’s heart hard.
He stared at her, his gaze burning as he solemnly made the heaviest promise a soldier could give.
“This secret, from today on, is ours.”
“I will guard it with you.”
“Whoever tries to touch it, whoever tries to hurt you, will have to step over my dead body first.”
There was no false romance, only the weight of blood and fire, deeply engraved into Su Wanqing’s soul.
She knew that from this moment on, she was no longer alone.
This man, with his life, accepted all her differences.
The last barrier between them was completely broken.
Lu Zhanting took her hand, intertwining their fingers tightly.
“Come, show me our home,” he said hoarsely.
Su Wanqing smiled through tears and nodded firmly.
“Okay.”
She led him across the fertile black soil, past the thriving vegetable garden, to the sacred spring that had changed her life.
The constant gentle light in the space softly shone on their joined hands.
A whole new world, belonging only to the two of them, slowly began its curtain call at this moment.