Half an hour later, at the Military Region General Hospital.
Afraid that Su Ci might change her mind, Liu Guilan hurriedly issued a referral letter and practically escorted her all the way to the hospital entrance. Then, using the excuse that “there’s something to deal with at home,” she slipped away as fast as she could.
Su Ci didn’t mind at all. She straightened her collar and stepped into the building, which carried a heavy sense of age.
The VIP ward was at the end of the corridor. It was oppressively quiet, filled only with the strong smell of disinfectant.
Before she even reached the door, an enraged roar burst out from inside, followed by the loud crash of an enamel mug smashing against the wall.
“Get out! All of you, get out! Who allowed you to come in?!”
“I’m not eating it! Take it away!”
The ward door was suddenly flung open. A young nurse with reddened eyes ran out in embarrassment, carrying a food tray with half the meal spilled. She almost crashed into Su Ci.
“How is he even a leader? Commander Jian is just a mad dog…” the nurse sobbed quietly. When she noticed Su Ci, she froze. “Comrade, who are you looking for? The patient in there is extremely dangerous—don’t go in.”
Su Ci raised an eyebrow and peeked through the half-open door.
The room inside was a complete mess. Broken porcelain shards and spilled soup were scattered all over the floor.
The curtains were tightly drawn, blocking out the midday sunlight. The room felt dark and gloomy.
A man sat in a wheelchair with his back to the door.
He wore a dark green military uniform. Even from behind, his broad shoulders and straight back looked like a steel blade that would rather snap than bend.
Hearing the movement at the door, he suddenly spun his wheelchair around. A terrifying aura of hostility rushed forward like a physical force.
Su Ci stopped breathing for a moment.
The book had said Lu Si was handsome—but that description had been far too modest.
This was a face that was both extraordinarily handsome and fiercely aggressive.
High brow bones, deep-set eyes, and a nose bridge as straight and imposing as a mountain.
But right now, those narrow phoenix eyes were bloodshot. Dark circles shadowed his eyes, his cheeks were hollow, and the whole man looked like a wounded lone wolf trapped in a cage—ready to rip the throat out of any intruder.
A thin blanket covered his legs. The motionless pant legs hinted at a cruel reality.
“I already said I don’t need a caregiver, and I don’t need anyone’s pity.” Lu Si’s voice was hoarse and rough, like sandpaper scorched by smoke. “Get out.”
The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he slammed his fist against his unfeeling thigh.
Those legs clearly belonged to him, yet they felt like two dead logs—heavy, cold, completely beyond his control.
That suffocating feeling of being trapped inside his own body drove him crazier than pain ever could.
He didn’t need anyone reminding him that he was now a useless cripple—especially not with those probing, pitying looks.
To him, those gazes were like someone peeling his skin off alive.
His eyes were dark and violent. If it were an ordinary young woman from the 1970s, she would have already burst into tears from fear.
But as Su Ci looked at him, a different calculation was crackling through her mind:
Wow, so this is the legendary disabled bigshot?
Broad shoulders, narrow waist… Sure, his legs don’t work anymore, but that face alone makes a meal more appetizing.
With limited mobility, he definitely won’t have time to control how I spend money—or when I wake up!
This guy is the perfect roommate! No marital obligations, and I still get double income!
Not only did Su Ci not leave—she took a deep breath, stepped over the mess on the floor, and walked in.
“Commander Lu, don’t be so angry.”
She bent down, picked up the dented enamel mug from the floor, wiped the dust off with the corner of her shirt, and smiled brightly—like a reckless little fox wandering straight into a wolf’s den.
“Getting too angry is bad for your health. If you ruin your liver from anger, who’s going to earn my allowance? Who’s going to get me meat coupons?”
Lu Si froze.
Ever since his injury, he had seen every kind of look.
Fear. Disgust. Fake sympathy. Careful caution, like he was a fragile piece of glass.
But he had never seen a gaze like this one.
Direct. Lively. And… blatantly greedy for money?
She was talking about money the moment she met him?
Lu Si narrowed his eyes. The oppressive atmosphere around him grew heavier as his fingers gripped the wheelchair armrest so tightly his knuckles turned white.
“Who are you?”
“I’m Su Ci.”
She walked forward casually, pulled a crumpled referral letter from her pocket, and slapped it onto the bedside cabinet in front of him.
“The eldest daughter of the Su family. Your fiancée.”
Leaning forward with her hands on her knees, she brought her smiling face closer to his stormy expression.
“I’m here to marry you. State-arranged marriage. No returns accepted.”
The air in the ward seemed to freeze.
Only the faint chirping of cicadas outside the window broke the deadly silence.
Lu Si looked at the woman in front of him.
She wore an ill-fitting synthetic shirt, with two braids hanging over her chest.
Her face was unusually clean and delicate, her porcelain-white skin smooth, and her bright almond-shaped eyes sparkled.
There was not a trace of fear in them.
Instead… there was excitement, as if she wanted to pack him up and carry him home.
“Someone from the Su family?” Lu Si sneered, his eyes full of mockery and coldness. “What, after hearing I’m crippled, the Su family couldn’t bear to send their spoiled little daughter, so they pushed you out—the unwanted one—to take the blame?”
“You can’t put it like that.” Su Ci wasn’t offended at all. She dragged the only chair nearby over and sat down, casually pouring herself a cup of water from the thermos that Lu Si hadn’t smashed.
“My little sister is delicate—she can’t handle hardship. If she saw your legs, she’d probably faint. I’m different. I’m a very straightforward person.”
“Straightforward?” Lu Si glanced at her soft hands without a single callus and sneered. “The Su family raised you well. You’ve never done a day of work. Did you marry me expecting this cripple to serve you?”
“Commander Lu, that’s a bit insulting, isn’t it?”
Su Ci put down her cup and began counting on her fingers seriously.
“Do I like you as a person? Not entirely. What I like is Commander Lu’s allowance, house, and the special supply of braised pork cans.”
Lu Si: “…”
He had seen vain people before, but never someone vain in such a bold and refreshing way.
Su Ci continued enthusiastically.
“Think about it. Sure, your legs don’t work well, but your rank is high! If I marry you, as long as you hand over your salary on time every month, even if you’re completely bedridden, I’ll keep you clean and polished and treat you like an honored ancestor!”
“I don’t need a maid, and I certainly don’t need to be worshipped like an ancestor,” Lu Si said coldly, his voice like shards of ice. He slammed his hand on the wheelchair armrest. “Before I lose my temper, take your referral letter and get out. This marriage is canceled.”
“No way!”
Su Ci instantly switched expressions like an actress. The cheerful smile vanished, replaced with a pitiful look as she clutched her chest dramatically.
“Commander Lu, that’s irresponsible of you. I already fell out with my stepmother just to marry you. Now the entire compound knows I’m your wife. If I get sent back, I’ll be treated like discarded trash and sent to dig dirt in the Northwest!”
She leaned closer and lowered her voice mysteriously.
“Besides, Commander Lu, if you chase me away, the organization will definitely assign you another wife. What if the next one has a bad heart? What if she pinches your thigh while you sleep? Or secretly eats your braised pork?”
The veins on Lu Si’s temple throbbed.
What exactly was going on inside this woman’s brain?
“Look at me.” Su Ci pointed proudly at her youthful face. “Pretty enough to bring out in public. Good personality—I only need food to survive. Most importantly, I don’t dislike you! If we team up and live together, it’s a win-win!”
Lu Si stared at her face just inches away.
There was a faint scent of soap on her—much softer than the hospital’s harsh disinfectant.
There was no suffocating pity in her eyes.
Only a simple longing for a better life in the future.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
His head ached terribly, but strangely, after all her nonsense, the destructive rage inside him had faded a little.
Since she insisted on jumping into the fire pit, then so be it.
Once she couldn’t stand his temper or the burden of taking care of a cripple, she would eventually cry and beg to leave.
“Suit yourself,” Lu Si said, turning his head away from her. “As long as you can handle it.”
“Great!”
Su Ci’s pitiful expression vanished instantly—her face changing faster than a Sichuan opera mask.
“Then let’s go handle the paperwork right now. We’ll go home today! I’m going to let the whole compound know that I’m Commander Lu’s legal family member!”