Shen Ruanruan stood up, put down the clothes in her hands, ran over to him, and hugged his arm.
“Oh? I wonder who it was that once said—” she deliberately lowered her voice and imitated his fierce tone, “‘Shen Ruanruan, we’re not even married yet and you’re already thinking about sleeping in separate rooms after marriage? I’m telling you, even if I couldn’t—there’s no way I would ever…’”
She tried her best to sound intimidating, but instead came off adorable.
Meanwhile, Lu Mingye was so embarrassed his ears turned red. He quickly covered her mouth, but after only a brief touch, immediately let go again.
“Softie Young Miss Ruanruan, I know I was wrong. Please be magnanimous and spare this humble servant?”
“Oh? Now you know shame?”
Shen Ruanruan raised a brow. “Now you understand how speechless I was back then, right?”
Lu Mingye: “…”
Even if he encountered the same situation again, he’d probably still say the same thing. But that didn’t stop him from realizing now how ridiculous he’d sounded.
“I’m going to move my clothes over.”
He carefully set the marriage certificates on the table like precious treasures, then practically fled into the west room, where the sounds of frantic packing immediately followed.
Truthfully, there wasn’t much to organize. Mostly clothes—and he didn’t even have many of those. Most were military uniforms. In no time at all, he came running back.
Shen Ruanruan symbolically cleared out half the wardrobe for him.
Now that they were husband and wife, she obviously couldn’t keep stuffing the entire wardrobe with only her own clothes like before.
Lu Mingye neatly hung up all his clothes. During their last trip to the supply store, they’d bought plenty of hangers, and he’d even had the village carpenter make more—mainly because Shen Ruanruan had far too many clothes.
Once his clothes were all hung up, Shen Ruanruan—who was currently sitting amid a bed piled high with unpacked dresses—couldn’t hold back her laughter anymore.
“Lu Mingye, do you usually treat yourself this poorly?”
Her wardrobe was enormous, specially made bigger than normal because she had so many clothes. Once everything was hung up, it was practically overflowing with colorful dresses and blouses—not even counting the pants.
Meanwhile, Lu Mingye’s military uniforms and monochrome black, white, and gray shirts had been squeezed into one tiny corner.
They looked pitifully outnumbered.
Very much like his future status in the household.
If he’d lived in modern times, Lu Mingye probably would’ve silently added in his heart:
“Yep. That’s exactly my family position.”
“Forget it. I’ll just buy clothes for you later.”
Lu Mingye honestly didn’t care much about clothes, but hearing her say that instantly made him beam inside. Just imagining himself wearing clothes bought by his wife and strolling proudly in front of his comrades—
They’d definitely die of jealousy.
After they finished organizing everything, the heated brick bed had finally dried enough to sleep on. They spread fresh bedding over it, while the tiny broken bed beside it got hauled out by Lu Mingye.
Of course, he couldn’t throw it away. He still had to return it to the army later.
…
Once things quieted down, the two of them would occasionally meet each other’s eyes—then awkwardly look away again.
Shen Ruanruan’s heartbeat sped up.
She’d already been married once before, so why did she feel like a nervous bride on her wedding night all over again?
“U-um…”
Lu Mingye was nervous too. Especially when he thought about tonight…
“Ah! Lu Mingye, your nose is bleeding!”
Shen Ruanruan jumped in alarm and hurried to grab tissues.
Lu Mingye touched his nose.
It actually was bleeding.
He immediately got up and went to the washroom to rinse off, while Shen Ruanruan followed behind him.
“Don’t wash it like that! Use cold water on your forehead—ugh, forget it, I’ll do it.”
She made him crouch down in front of the faucet, wet her hands, and began lightly patting his forehead over and over.
Lu Mingye felt dazed.
He couldn’t believe he was this hopeless. He hadn’t even done anything yet. Just imagining sleeping beside Shen Ruanruan tonight had been enough to make him…
But seeing her worry over him so much, gently touching his forehead—
He thought maybe being hopeless wasn’t so bad after all.
The nosebleed eventually stopped, though the front of his hair was damp now. Luckily it was a crew cut, so it didn’t matter much. But the droplets of water sliding down his face somehow made him look… rather attractive.
“You should dry your hair,” Shen Ruanruan poked his arm.
What was wrong with this man? He’d looked dazed when they got their marriage certificate too. Was it because he hadn’t slept last night?
In a sense… she’d hit the truth exactly.
Lu Mingye took the towel, then for some reason handed it to her instead. Lowering his head in front of her, he asked:
“Will you help me dry it?”
“Lu Mingye, don’t push your luck! I only helped because you’re always cooking, washing dishes, and doing housework. Don’t start taking it for granted…”
Even while complaining, she still wrapped the towel around his head.
The man who was usually fierce and intimidating instantly became much cuter.
Like a giant wolfdog that barked ferociously at everyone else, only to turn around and beg for affection in front of her, his gaze soft and gentle.
Honestly, she felt this behavior was basically just another form of acting spoiled.
“Okay.”
The man stared at her soft red lips moving as she spoke. He’d wanted to taste them for a long time now. Finally legal husband and wife, he really couldn’t hold back anymore.
One hand wrapped around her slim waist, while the other cradled the back of her neck as he leaned down and kissed her.
Lu Mingye had never kissed anyone before and had no idea what he was doing. He could only awkwardly rub his lips against hers.
At the same time, he kept his eyes open, watching her reaction nervously, afraid she might dislike it.
Unexpectedly, Shen Ruanruan froze for a moment before recovering. Her hand paused mid-motion while drying his hair, then slowly slid down to wrap around his neck. Her lips curved slightly upward, just as she was about to turn the tables—
“Old Lu! Sister-in-law! Something happened!”
Wen Yan’s anxious voice rang out from outside.
…
While Shen Ruanruan and Lu Mingye had been “treating the nosebleed,” a scream had erupted from Sister Cao’s house nearby.
It was afternoon, and everyone had either returned from work or training. As soon as Chen Jianshe came home, he saw his wife running out in panic while clutching their daughter.
He quickly stopped her and learned that their little girl, Duoduo, had gotten a peanut lodged in her throat.
She couldn’t cough it out. Her tiny face had already turned purple-blue.
Chen Jianshe’s heart nearly stopped. He scooped up his daughter and was about to sprint toward the hospital when others noticed the commotion. After hearing what happened, one of the military wives suddenly remembered something.
“Commander Chen, stop! Running like that could block her airway completely! She could die!”
The woman had seen something similar happen in her village before. A five-year-old child had choked on food, and the father panicked and carried the child all the way to the clinic.
The child died before they arrived.
Later, the doctor explained that the running caused the peanut to lodge deeper into the airway, and the child suffocated to death.
The parents had practically gone insane from grief.
Chen Jianshe immediately stopped, but now he was trapped.
He couldn’t run, but standing still wasn’t helping either. Watching his daughter’s face grow more purple as she struggled to breathe, he felt like he was losing his mind.
Then someone spotted Tang Ruoqi nearby.
“Doctor Tang! Come take a look! Commander Chen’s daughter choked on a peanut!”
Tang Ruoqi hurried over. One glance at the little girl in Chen Jianshe’s arms made her palms break into a cold sweat.
The child’s face was bluish-purple. Her consciousness was already fading.
In this condition…
Tang Ruoqi’s heart sank.
“She already missed the best rescue window. Even if you rushed her to the hospital now… she probably wouldn’t make it there.”
—Mini Theater—
Ruanruan: “A’Ye, forget writing letters. Just let your comrade tell them we’re safe. If someone finds out, it could drag him into trouble.”
Lu Mingye: “Even now she’s still thinking about other people. Our Ruanruan is truly beautiful and kind-hearted… My heart aches for her even more.”
The Comrade: “…You lunatic! You absolute menace!”