A month after marrying Lu Zhanting, Su Wanqing’s life had undergone a complete transformation.
She had moved from the small village of Hongqi Commune into the strictly managed military district compound.
The family quarters assigned to her weren’t large— just one bedroom and a living room— but they were tidy and clean.
Outside the window stood rows of tall poplar trees; when the wind blew, the leaves rustled softly, much quieter than the cocks crowing and dogs barking back in the village.
Lu Zhanting was a man of action and a very busy one at that.
As the commander of the Fierce Tiger Battalion, he spent most of his time at the training grounds, leaving early and returning late.
Although they lived under the same roof, the time they actually spent together was limited.
Their marriage started out like a transaction, but gradually, in the daily humdrum of life, a bit of warmth began to grow.
For example, Lu Zhanting unfailingly woke at 5:30 in the morning but moved very quietly, afraid of waking her still asleep.
He would leave a warm steamed bun and a glass of water on the table, weighted down by a brass bullet casing holding a note.
On the note, two elaborate characters were written: “Eat it.”
Also, when Su Wanqing first came to the military district, she was completely lost facing the square barracks buildings.
The first time she went to the cafeteria, she walked around the training ground twice without finding it, and it was only thanks to a kind young soldier that she was led there.
Somehow, Lu Zhanting found out about this.
From that day on, whenever he was home and went to the cafeteria, he would silently walk ahead, using his tall figure to guide her.
Su Wanqing gradually got used to having such a man in her life.
She put her medical knowledge from her previous life to use, using herbs and medical books in her space to organize simple prescriptions and first aid knowledge.
Lu Zhanting noticed but said nothing; silently, he moved a sturdy old desk back to her and had someone get a working desk lamp from the scrap station.
That afternoon, the weather was clear.
Lu Zhanting led his team on a field training exercise in the mountains, scheduled to return in two days.
Su Wanqing put away her organized medical notes and checked the medicinal herbs she had secretly planted in her space, realizing a few commonly used ones were missing.
She planned to go to the town’s supply and marketing cooperative to try her luck and also send some money and bills home.
She changed into a clean floral blouse, her two black braided pigtails hanging over her chest, making her look even more fresh and pretty.
Before leaving, she looked in the mirror, recalling Lu Zhanting’s stern face and his occasional nagging:
“It’s windy outside, wear more clothes.”
A smile involuntarily curved her lips, and she turned to take a thin jacket hanging behind the door.
The military district compound was not far from town, about a twenty-minute walk.
As she walked, Su Wanqing mentally made a list of things to buy.
Just as she reached the main road leading to town, a familiar yet unfamiliar figure suddenly flashed out from behind a tree and blocked her way.
“Wanqing!”
Her steps halted sharply. She looked up, and the smile on her face instantly froze.
The one blocking her was none other than Zhao Jianhe.
More than a month apart, he seemed like a completely different person.
The once confident, fair-skinned, and refined educated youth now looked haggard, with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
The once proud white shirt was now wrinkled and stained with an unknown mark on the collar.
His gaze was mixed with shock, regret, jealousy, and a pathological obsession.
“How are you here?” Su Wanqing’s voice grew cold as she instinctively took a step back, keeping her distance.
“I… I came to find you!” Zhao Jianhe stepped forward urgently, hurt in his heart by her avoidance. “Wanqing, listen to me! Things with Li Juan fell apart! Her family despises me as a backgroundless educated youth; they never planned to help me get back to the city. They… they were just using me!”
Su Wanqing looked at him coldly, feeling only irony.
He had used this excuse to abandon her before, and now he was being abandoned the same way.
“What does that have to do with me?” she asked coldly.
“Everything!” Zhao Jianhe grew agitated. “Wanqing, I know you married that soldier just to spite me! You were forced! That man is rough, old, and fierce — how could you possibly love him? Come back with me, let’s start over, okay?”
He rambled on, his logic absurd and laughable.
He thought Su Wanqing’s marriage to Lu Zhanting was a temporary measure to get back at him.
He even found out Lu Zhanting was just a low-ranking soldier, far less promising than him, the “cultured man.”
“Zhao Jianhe.”
Su Wanqing interrupted, her eyes full of pity and disgust.
“Are you out of your mind? First, who I marry is my freedom and none of your business. Second, show some respect — Lu Zhanting is my husband. You have no right to judge him. Third, we have no connection anymore. Please stop harassing me.”
Her words struck like an icy hammer, shattering all of Zhao Jianhe’s illusions.
“No! Impossible!” he couldn’t accept reality, his face turning ugly. “You’re lying! You must still have feelings for me! Otherwise, why would you marry such a brute? What can he give you? Can he recite poetry? Does he understand you? Wanqing, don’t be stupid. Only I truly understand you. We are the perfect match!”
As he spoke, he suddenly reached out to grab her wrist.
“Come with me! I’ll take you away from here!”
Su Wanqing’s expression changed sharply, and she quickly dodged to the side.
She hadn’t expected Zhao Jianhe to become so paranoid and crazy.
This was the military district entrance, busy with people coming and going; she didn’t want to cause a scene.
“Let go!” she shouted fiercely, her other hand secretly slipping into her pocket to grasp the scissors she used for self-defense.
“I won’t! Wanqing, give me one more chance!”
Zhao Jianhe, as if clutching at a last straw, lunged again and grabbed her arm tightly.
His strength was great; Su Wanqing felt pain and was momentarily unable to break free.
In the midst of the struggle, a cold voice filled with thunderous rage exploded behind them.
“Let her go!”
The voice wasn’t loud but heavy enough to pierce bones.
A wave of battlefield blood and rust smell instantly stifled the air around them.
Zhao Jianhe froze.
He slowly turned his head and met a pair of eyes burning with anger.
Those eyes held no excess emotion, only the focused coldness of a wolf locking onto its prey.
Lu Zhanting appeared there without anyone noticing.
His team’s field training had been so efficient it ended early, and he rushed home without even drinking water.
Unexpectedly, upon arriving at the military district gate, he saw a scene that made his blood reverse.
His wife—the girl who wouldn’t even change a lightbulb without waiting for him to come back—was now being tightly grabbed and harassed by a man.
A fierce murderous rage exploded deep in Lu Zhanting’s heart.
Step by step, he approached. Each step his military boots pressed onto the gravel road sounded like a heavy hammer pounding on Zhao Jianhe’s heart.
He didn’t look at Su Wanqing; his terrifying eyes locked tightly onto the hand of Zhao Jianhe that was gripping her arm.
“I’ll say it again.”
Lu Zhanting’s voice was extremely low, each word squeezed out through clenched teeth.
“Take your filthy hands off her.”
Zhao Jianhe, terrified by that dreadful aura, trembled and instinctively loosened his grip.
Lu Zhanting didn’t even glance at him and walked straight to Su Wanqing’s side, pulling her behind him to protect her.
His movements were somewhat rough, but Su Wanqing could feel the warmth of his palm and the unbreachable sense of security brought by his tall figure.
“Are you alright?” he asked without turning his head, his voice still tense.
Su Wanqing shook her head slightly and whispered, “I’m fine.”
Only after hearing her answer did Lu Zhanting finally turn his gaze to Zhao Jianhe, whose face had turned ashen.
Looking down on the man who was more than half a head shorter than him, his eyes were cold as if staring at a lifeless object.
“Who are you?”
“I… I’m Zhao Jianhe. I was… Wanqing’s before…” Zhao Jianhe stammered under Lu Zhanting’s pressing gaze.
Suddenly, Lu Zhanting raised his hand.
Frightened, Zhao Jianhe shuddered and closed his eyes, preparing to cover his head.
But Lu Zhanting’s hand gently brushed aside the hair on Su Wanqing’s forehead that had been messed up by the wind.
His fingertips were rough, but the motion was unbelievably gentle.
After this, he looked back at Zhao Jianhe, his thin lips parting to utter words Zhao Jianhe would never forget:
“My woman. You dare touch her?”
There was no threat or roar in that voice—only an absolute, factual declaration.
Zhao Jianhe’s legs went weak, and he collapsed onto the ground, his pants quickly wet in the crotch.
Only then did he truly realize what kind of man he had provoked.
The aura emanating from this man, which commanded respect without anger, was a hundred times more terrifying than the highest official in the county he had ever seen.
“I… I didn’t mean it… I just wanted to say a few words to Wanqing…” he babbled in defense.
“Get lost.”
Lu Zhanting spat out just one word.
Then, ignoring the man lying sprawled on the ground, reeking of filth, he grabbed Su Wanqing’s hand and turned to leave.
His palms were broad and rough, covered in thick calluses, yet when holding her hand, there was a clumsy carefulness.
Su Wanqing was pulled along behind him, watching his broad back, feeling her heart burn.
From her disgust when Zhao Jianhe appeared, to her calmness during the struggle, and now this new feeling—called “peace of mind”—completely enveloped her.
This man, with the most direct and domineering way, fulfilled his original promise.
— I will protect you for life.
The two walked home in silence.
Only after entering the house and closing the door, isolating themselves from the outside world, did Lu Zhanting release her hand and turn around to carefully examine her.
His brows were still tightly furrowed; his eyes held lingering anger and lingering fear.
He reached out and gently touched the wrist that Zhao Jianhe had grabbed and reddened, his voice hoarse as he asked, “Does it hurt?”
Su Wanqing shook her head.
But Lu Zhanting seemed not to hear and turned to rummage through a wooden box, finding a small bottle of medicinal wine. He poured some into his palm and warmed it by rubbing.
Without saying a word, he took her wrist and began to gently rub it.
His movements were clumsy and stiff, like handling a precious porcelain, afraid to break it with any force.
Su Wanqing looked at his lowered eyes, the long eyelashes casting shadows beneath the lids, and the normally stern, iron-hard face now full of awkward concern.
A warm current surged from her heart, dispelling all the earlier unpleasantness.
“Lu Zhanting,” she whispered softly, “Weren’t you out training? How come you came back early?”
Lu Zhanting paused, looked up at her, and said gruffly, “The mission finished early, so I came back. If I didn’t, who knows if my wife would be bullied out there.”
His words carried a clear bitterness and anger.
Seeing his “jealous” expression, Su Wanqing suddenly found it a little funny, and all the shadows in her heart vanished completely.
She covered his large hand rubbing her wrist with her uninjured one and softly said, “He didn’t bully me. And even if you weren’t here, I could handle it.”
Lu Zhanting’s brow furrowed tighter.
“Next time you go out, wait at home. I’ll come back and accompany you.”
This was the sign his “spoiling husband nagging” mode was turning on.
Su Wanqing didn’t argue, just nodded obediently and said, “Mm.”
That obedient response seemed to please the tough iron-blooded man.
His tense expression softened a little, and the pressure of his hand became gentler.
Sunlight streamed through the window, casting two intertwined shadows on the floor.
The room was very quiet, only the faint scent of medicinal wine lingering in the air.
Su Wanqing looked at his serious, focused profile and suddenly felt that this unexpected military marriage might truly be the best decision she had made in two lifetimes combined.