Shen Ruanruan thought for a moment before realizing what he meant. She smiled awkwardly and explained:
“I took the train for a long time, and my pants are dirty. It wouldn’t be good to dirty your bedsheets.”
Besides, her upbringing told her that coming all this way to marry a man was already quite out of line. If she then went and sat on his bed, she would feel even more embarrassed.
“I’m not looking down on you.”
The man’s expression didn’t improve much.
Shen Ruanruan looked at his dark face, then at his bed. When you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to lower your head.
So she obediently hugged her small bag and sat on his bed.
Only then did Lu Mingye’s expression soften slightly. He took a set of clean clothes from the wardrobe, preparing to go to the communal bathroom in the hallway to shower. Before leaving the dorm, he reminded her:
“Lock the door.”
After he left, Shen Ruanruan locked it and finally dared to look around his dorm.
The room was a two-person dorm of about 15 square meters. In the center was a rectangular table, and on both sides were two single wooden beds placed against the walls, clearly separated.
At the foot of the beds, near the window, there was a wardrobe and a metal rack used for washing basins and toiletries.
Towels were hung on the rack, and enamel cups were neatly arranged.
This was roughly what it looked like.
Both sides were similar in layout, and the overall color tone was military green with almost no other colors. It was a standard bachelor’s room, but it was extremely clean—even the cement floor was polished to a shine.
Her gaze fell onto the bed. The bedding was neatly arranged, the blanket folded into perfect “tofu blocks.”
This made Shen Ruanruan think of her own soft, messy blanket every time she tried to fold it. She felt a bit embarrassed. Her room was always cluttered because she had too many things.
She also liked colorful, floral-patterned items. Their lifestyles were so different.
After they got married and lived together, would they argue every day?
While thinking this, her gaze suddenly stopped near the man’s pillow. A half-hidden yellow object caught her attention. What was that? It didn’t seem like something that cold, stern man would own.
She really wanted to take a look, but it was rude to touch other people’s things without permission.
In her mind, two little voices started arguing: one said no, it was impolite; the other said they were going to be married anyway, so what couldn’t she see?
In the end, curiosity won. Her face slightly red, she reached out.
Huh? A hair tie?
It was a sunflower hair tie. It looked slightly expensive and seemed quite old.
So… did he have someone he liked?
Shen Ruanruan was certain she would never use something so childish. So the man from her previous life must have lied to her, right?
Suddenly, the door handle was pushed twice, followed by a knock.
Shen Ruanruan jumped in shock.
She hurriedly put the hair tie back and smoothed the pillow as if nothing had happened.
She quickly went to open the door.
“What are you doing in there? Didn’t I say I was coming to pick—”
Before he could finish, the door opened, and the person outside froze when he saw Shen Ruanruan inside.
He took a step back, checked the room number—203, correct.
Then he seemed to realize something.
No way… did that guy actually bring a woman back to the dorm?
He cleared his throat and asked cautiously, “Comrade Shen? Deputy Battalion Commander Lu’s fiancée?”
Shen Ruanruan, still flustered from being “caught in the act,” had not yet calmed down. She froze for a moment.
It was him.
The man who, in her previous life, had taken her to Lu Mingye’s grave and told her that Lu Mingye loved her.
But in this life, she didn’t know him yet. She suppressed the emotion in her eyes and replied politely:
“Hello, I’m Shen Ruanruan. May I ask who you are?”
“So it really is you,” the man murmured. Then he pointed toward the room.
“Comrade Shen, hello. I’m Wen Yan, Lu Mingye’s good brother. I also live here.”
Shen Ruanruan quickly stepped aside.
“Sorry, you can go in. I’ll wait outside for him to come back.”
“No need, no need. I’ll just head out for a bit,” Wen Yan said, then hesitated and came back. “Comrade Shen, how about we talk for a bit? With the door open—you don’t have to worry.”
…
Shen Ruanruan also wanted to hear what he had to say.
They sat at the long table, the door left open, seated on opposite sides like a dividing line.
Now that he was sitting, Wen Yan suddenly didn’t know how to start.
The girl in front of him was very different from what he had imagined—soft and delicate, like a piece of sponge cake. Even speaking too harshly might make her cry.
“Comrade Wen, may I ask you something?” Shen Ruanruan spoke first.
“Go ahead.”
“When I arrived, I noticed the sentry at the gate seemed to recognize me, and you also seemed familiar with my name. Do you all know me?”
Actually, she had wanted to ask Lu Mingye earlier on the way here, but he seemed too hard to approach.
This question happened to align with what Wen Yan had wanted to say. He smiled meaningfully.
“Of course we don’t know you.”
Shen Ruanruan let out a small sigh of relief.
Then she heard him continue:
“It’s just that Lu Mingye made too much of a fuss—no, not exactly. He’s not the type to show off. But you know his face; it’s so fierce people get scared just looking at him. When he first enlisted, he was a real troublemaker, always fighting, never obeying anyone—like everyone owed him money.”
That description made Shen Ruanruan picture a fierce teenage boy and couldn’t help but laugh a little. He didn’t seem so scary anymore.
Wen Yan also smiled after glancing at her.
“He was stronger in fights too. Everyone wanted to teach him a lesson, but no one could beat him.”
“Just like that, he became more and more unstoppable. Now he’s a young deputy battalion commander. And an unmarried officer at that—of course he was a hot target. Many people tried to introduce him to women back then, but they all ran away because of his face.”
“Over time, his marriage became the biggest topic in the whole unit. When people heard he submitted a marriage application a few days ago, everyone was shocked. They all wondered which girl managed to win over this ‘living Yama.’”
“So now, anyone in the whole military district who knows him also knows your name, Shen Ruanruan.”
“But the sentry recognizing you wasn’t only because of that. After he knew you were coming, he went to the train station every day after training to wait for you. If I remember correctly, you only told him five days ago after the engagement—so he waited five days? That’s probably why he said you were ‘too slow’ on the way here.”
Wen Yan sighed inwardly. Before she arrived, he never realized Lu Mingye could actually be so thoughtful.
Shen Ruanruan froze.
He went to the train station every day after training just to wait for her…
If she remembered correctly, she only told him after their engagement five days ago. So he had been waiting for her for five days?
That explained why he said she was “so slow” on the way here.
That man really… has such a good face but no mouth to match it.
Ordinary person: My wife is worried about dirtying my bed, she cares about me so much~
Lu Mingye: My wife doesn’t sit on my bed = she dislikes me = she treats me like an outsider = she doesn’t love me!