Lu Huaichuan had just finished training. A sheen of sweat covered his strikingly handsome face, and his tall frame radiated a cold, commanding aura. His deep eyes were shadowed with exhaustion.
There were dark circles beneath them—he hadn’t been sleeping well lately.
For years, he had always been able to control those kinds of desires. In fact, he used to think the young soldiers under his command were ridiculous, constantly talking about women and bedroom matters. It all seemed crude and uninteresting to him.
But after dreaming about that soft, curvy girl several times in a row, things changed.
The overwhelming pleasure in those dreams was so intense that every time he woke up, no matter what he did to calm himself down, he still felt restless and unsatisfied.
Regret.
He regretted it deeply.
He regretted not chasing after her that day and saying a few more words, not properly introducing himself.
The more he thought about it, the worse he felt.
He had even begun making plans in his mind.
But a sudden commotion interrupted his thoughts.
“Commander Lu! Battalion Commander Xie is fighting someone!”
Lu Huaichuan immediately headed downstairs.
On the training ground below, Xie Qingquan was locked in a fierce fight with another man.
The other man was a battalion commander from a different unit, and Lu Huaichuan happened to be the superior officer of both men.
“Both of you stop right now! What do you think you’re doing?!”
His voice rang out sharply.
Xie Qingquan and Gu Xiangdong immediately stopped fighting, but neither looked convinced.
Lu Huaichuan felt a headache coming on.
This wasn’t the first time they had fought.
Both of them liked He Wanyu, the granddaughter of Commander Meng. They often came to blows over her.
The problem was that He Wanyu hadn’t chosen either of them.
Honestly, according to Lu Huaichuan’s values, He Wanyu wasn’t necessarily such a wonderful woman anyway.
What irritated him most was seeing two highly capable military officers reduced to fighting over a woman.
Pointing at them, he started scolding.
“What the hell is wrong with you two?! Fighting at every opportunity! Aren’t you embarrassed? Do you have any shame at all?!”
Already in a bad mood, he lectured them for nearly twenty minutes before finally ordering them away.
“Go write self-criticisms! And both of you are running ten kilometers with full gear!”
Gu Xiangdong sneered and immediately left to serve his punishment.
But Xie Qingquan still looked dissatisfied.
“Reporting, Commander! Today’s fight wasn’t about that!”
Lu Huaichuan frowned.
“Then what was it about?”
Scratching his head, Xie Qingquan looked equally frustrated.
“My dad told you, right? About picking up my… stepmother.”
“I’m supposed to go with you.”
“Lately everyone in the army has been spreading rumors, saying my father is marrying some fat country woman and bringing along an extremely overweight stepdaughter.”
“My dad may have lost his mind, but Gu Xiangdong said right in front of me that my future stepmother would definitely abuse her stepchildren and told me to give up pursuing Comrade He Wanyu.”
“What gives him the right?!”
Lu Huaichuan frowned harder.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
“Commander Xie specifically asked me to pick them up. I haven’t heard these rumors, but don’t you know your father’s character?”
“If he values someone this much, there must be a reason.”
“Besides, what’s wrong with being a little overweight?”
“Being a little chubby is nice…”
His mind immediately drifted back to that plump girl and how soft she had felt in his arms.
Taking a deep breath, he said firmly:
“Go take your punishment. Tomorrow you’re coming with me to pick them up.”
Xie Qingquan was miserable.
He didn’t understand why he was so obsessed with He Wanyu.
She was always gentle with him in private, and it made him want to protect her.
She hadn’t even agreed to be with him yet, which already made him uneasy.
Now his father suddenly wanted to bring home a stepmother.
Surely He Wanyu would want even less to do with him after that.
The thought drove him crazy.
He decided that as soon as he got home, he would move into the military dormitories and stay far away from the new stepmother and her daughter.
The moment he arrived home, he noticed a red scratch on his younger sister Xie Qingle’s face.
It looked as though she had been crying.
“What happened?”
Xie Qingle pouted.
“We were dancing together, and Meng Qingqing shoved me from behind.”
“I fell.”
“He Wanyu scolded Meng Qingqing for me, so I couldn’t really keep blaming her.”
“But after practice, I overheard Meng Qingqing and He Wanyu talking about our family.”
“They were saying Dad is going to marry some country bumpkin who’s fat and ugly and bring home a fat stepdaughter too.”
She looked up at him.
“Brother… has Dad gone crazy?”
“Do you think the new stepmother and her daughter will drive us out of the house?”
There were countless stories about evil stepmothers.
Xie Qingquan thought for a moment.
“What exactly did Wanyu say?”
After hesitating, Xie Qingle answered:
“She said she was worried about us too.”
Xie Qingquan immediately brightened.
“I knew it! She really cares about me!”
“Qingle, stay home. I need to go find Wanyu.”
Watching him leave, Xie Qingle sighed in disappointment.
Everyone kept saying stepmothers and stepsisters never got along.
Yet strangely enough, she found herself looking forward to meeting this new sister.
After all, her brother disappointed her constantly.
His entire world revolved around He Wanyu.
Anyone with eyes could see that He Wanyu didn’t actually like him very much.
Qingle pulled out the medicine kit and treated the wound on her face herself.
The sting made her wince.
Her irritation toward Meng Qingqing only grew.
Truthfully, although He Wanyu had spoken up for her, she still felt uncomfortable.
Looking at the deep scrape, she worried it might leave a scar.
The thought made her even sadder.
She had grown up without a mother.
Her father was always busy with work.
Her brother was usually away training.
Whenever conflicts arose between girls, she simply endured them alone.
If the new stepmother and stepsister bullied her too…
Flopping onto her bed, Xie Qingle felt as though life itself was crushing her.
Several hundred kilometers away, the train continued rattling down the tracks.
Ning Lu felt as though her backside was about to split apart from the long journey.
She and Yan Bingqin had deliberately dressed plainly and dirtied themselves to avoid attracting attention, so the trip had been uneventful.
After three days and three nights on the train, surviving mostly on dry food and water, they had actually lost a few more pounds.
Day turned into night, and night into day.
Finally, excited voices erupted throughout the train.
“We’re here!”
“We’ve arrived!”
The train let out a long whistle and slowly pulled into the station.
Yan Bingqin was nervous.
Ning Lu squeezed her hand.
“Mom, I’ll always protect you.”
Yan Bingqin looked at her daughter and smiled softly.
Together they picked up their luggage and joined the line to disembark.
At the station exit, Lu Huaichuan and Xie Qingquan waited.
Their tall builds and military uniforms made them impossible to miss.
The moment Ning Lu stepped out, she spotted Lu Huaichuan.
Standing among the crowd, his expression was calm.
Yet he remained dazzlingly handsome, like a brilliant star.
All the fatigue from the journey instantly disappeared.
It felt as though she had won the lottery.
Only then did she realize she had developed feelings for him.
Perhaps this was what people called love at first sight.
Beside him, Xie Qingquan looked anxious.
“My dad couldn’t even send me a photo.”
“How are we supposed to find them?”
“I still have to buy something for Wanyu later. I’m running out of time.”
Lu Huaichuan pointed casually.
“The station isn’t that crowded.”
“They’re mother and daughter, and they’re both supposedly on the heavier side.”
“Shouldn’t be hard.”
“Over there.”
Xie Qingquan looked in the direction indicated.
Immediately, he spotted a graceful, gentle-looking mother and daughter carrying a large amount of luggage and looking around uncertainly.
His eyes widened.
Neither of them looked anywhere near as overweight as the rumors claimed.
At most, they were slightly plump.
His future stepmother looked beautiful and kind.
She seemed like a genuinely good person.
Then his gaze shifted to Ning Lu.
After wrapping a scarf around her face for the entire trip, she was practically suffocating.
Now she untied it.
The wind lifted her messy hair.
Though her face was dusty from travel, it remained small and exquisitely delicate.
Her bright eyes sparkled with life.
Her nose was elegant and refined.
Her lips were plump and red, like ripe cherries.
Every glance she cast was breathtaking.
There was a soft, seductive charm about her that left people dazed.
Even Lu Huaichuan swallowed hard.
He hadn’t expected the girl from his dreams to appear before him.
And she had become so much slimmer.
Before his brain fully registered what was happening, his feet had already carried him to her side.
“Hello.”
“You’re Ning Lu, right?”
“I’m Lu Huaichuan.”
“Commander Xie asked me to come pick up you and your mother.”
His eyes lingered on her almost uncontrollably.
Ning Lu’s cheeks instantly flushed.
“Yes… hello.”
“I’m Ning Lu.”
Xie Qingquan hurried over, scratching his head awkwardly.
“Uh… hello, Auntie!”
“I’m Xie Qingquan, Commander Xie’s son.”
“Here, let me carry the bags!”