The room was quiet, so quiet that only the howling sea wind could be heard.
The candlelight flickered, casting a warm yellow glow on Lu Yancheng’s sharply defined face, making his cold, hard features appear even more pronounced.
His eyes were lowered, a faint shadow lingering between his brows. An aura of icy detachment surrounded him, yet his handsomeness carried an overwhelming intensity.
What a waste of such a fine appearance—he was like a block of ice.
A flicker of pity and disdain passed through Fang Muyu’s eyes.
Seeing Fang Muyu remain silent for so long, Lu Yancheng’s stern expression grew even frostier.
Suddenly, he stood up. “I have things to attend to. I’ll take my leave.”
“Wait.”
Fang Muyu instinctively grabbed Lu Yancheng’s wrist.
His wrist, as hard as steel, was held by her soft, delicate hand. Lu Yancheng felt as though that patch of skin was about to burn.
“What is it?”
“I’m hungry.”
Fang Muyu looked at Lu Yancheng with an air of righteous entitlement.
“There’s food left in the lunchbox.”
As soon as Lu Yancheng finished speaking, the small hand on his wrist immediately let go, leaving him with a sudden sense of loss.
“Then eat. I’ll take my leave.”
Only the silence of the air responded to him.
The coldness in Lu Yancheng’s expression grew even more pronounced. He yanked the door open forcefully, paused for a second, then slammed it shut with equal force.
Bang!
Fang Muyu blinked in confusion.
Did this block of ice swallow gunpowder? Why is he so angry?
Fang Muyu had no mind to dwell on Lu Yancheng—she was starving.
Lu Yancheng had placed the lunchbox in a basin of hot water to keep it warm, and it was still hot.
Opening it, she saw one side filled with mixed-grain rice, the other with braised pork slices and radish, and a fried egg on top.
Not bad.
Fang Muyu picked up her chopsticks and began eating slowly.
The pork slices blended with the radish’s subtle sweetness, and the sauce soaked into the rice grains. It was edible, but not as good as what Lu Yancheng cooked.
Halfway through, Fang Muyu couldn’t eat any more.
Tomorrow, she’d have to ask Lu Yancheng to make her something to eat.
After washing up, Fang Muyu lay back down on the bed.
Within minutes, she was fast asleep.
She slept soundly, but poor Lu Yancheng tossed and turned in his dormitory all night, unable to fall asleep.
…
The next day, before the morning bell even rang, Lu Yancheng was already running on the training ground.
“Old Lu, isn’t your wife here? Why are you up so early?” Wu Weiguo was the company commander of the second company and usually got along well with Lu Yancheng.
Lu Yancheng kept his gaze straight ahead. “Daily training. Rain or shine, it can’t be skipped.”
Pretend, keep pretending.
Wu Weiguo wore a teasing expression. “I heard you slept in the dormitory last night. Don’t tell me your wife kicked you out?”
Lu Yancheng’s steps faltered for a moment before he quickly regained his rhythm. “She’s a light sleeper. I was afraid waking up would disturb her.”
“Oh!” Wu Weiguo’s face was full of disbelief.
…
Fang Muyu also woke up early today.
She planned to take a look around the family quarters.
Coincidentally, some snacks she had bought before coming to the island could serve as her breakfast.
The single-story houses in the family quarters were lined up in rows, each with a small plot of land fenced off in front by sparse bamboo fences, serving as their vegetable gardens.
Just as Fang Muyu reached the front of the house, before she could even enter, she heard faint rustling sounds from next door.
Fang Muyu walked to the entrance of the courtyard.
A woman in her thirties was squatting by the bamboo fence between the two houses, pulling the fence stakes outward one by one.
The fence had already been shifted several inches, and a small portion of the land that originally belonged to their doorstep had been forcibly taken over by her.
Behind the woman, two rows of soil had been turned over in the vegetable plot, planted with scallions and garlic sprouts.
Miao Guifen saw Fang Muyu but showed no guilt, her eyes sweeping up and down as she sized her up.
Her gaze lingered on Fang Muyu’s Dacron blouse and polished leather shoes before curling her lips in disdain.
“You’re the new company commander Lu’s wife?”
Fang Muyu didn’t respond to that. “What’s going on with this fence?”
“What do you mean, what’s going on?” Miao Guifen played dumb. “I’m just planting vegetables, aren’t I?”
Fang Muyu didn’t get angry or flustered.
“Sister-in-law,” her tone was as calm as a windless sea, “this house was assigned to me by the organization, and so was this plot of land. You moved the fence and planted vegetables without consulting me—do you know what that’s called?”
Miao Guifen was taken aback, not expecting such a question.
Fang Muyu’s expression remained indifferent. “It’s called encroachment.”
Two words, neither light nor heavy, yet they struck the ground like nails.
Miao Guifen’s face changed, and her voice rose. “Why do you have to put it so harshly? What encroachment? I just planted two rows of vegetables, and you’re making a federal case out of it.”
“Harsh?” Fang Muyu smiled, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes.
“Then let me put it nicely—please, sister-in-law, right now, immediately, at once, remove your scallions and garlic and move the fence back to its original position.”
After a pause, Fang Muyu added another sentence.
“If it’s inconvenient for you to do it yourself, I’ll go ask the logistics department for help. They’re professionals at moving things and will make sure your vegetables are returned intact.”
“You… you…” Miao Guifen’s lips trembled twice, but she couldn’t squeeze out a complete sentence.
Fang Muyu very kindly added another remark,
“By the way, sister-in-law, if the fence isn’t moved back before dark, I’ll go ask the logistics department to help you.”
Hearing this, Miao Guifen refused to back down and immediately sat on the ground, slapping her thighs.
“Oh, everyone, come and see! The new one is bullying us honest folks just because her husband is a company commander!”
“I was just kindly planting two rows of scallions and garlic for her to make life easier, and not only is she ungrateful, she even accused me of encroaching!”
“Did I do something wrong by helping her plant vegetables? So what if I took a tiny patch of her land? And she even said she’d get the logistics department to deal with me! Is there no justice anymore?”
Many military wives were drawn by Miao Guifen’s wailing and began pointing fingers at Fang Muyu.
“So it’s her? I know her, she’s loaded!”
“With all that money, why fuss over this little plot of land?”
“Who knows? Maybe she just can’t stand the sight of us!”
Fang Muyu’s temple twitched faintly.
These people, can’t they tell right from wrong?
Well then, don’t blame her for going all out.
Hands on her hips, Fang Muyu began to take on the crowd of wives.
@#￥%&&
…
Cafeteria.
Lu Yancheng was buying breakfast for Fang Muyu.
A young soldier hurried over to Lu Yancheng and whispered a few words to him.
Lu Yancheng’s expression changed abruptly. Without another word, he tossed the lunchbox aside and sprinted toward the family quarters.
“What’s going on?” Wu Weiguo looked on curiously.
“No idea!” Song Hao was equally curious.
…
The family quarters were on the east side of the camp, just a short walk down a sycamore-lined path.
Normally, it took twelve or thirteen minutes to walk there, but today Lu Yancheng turned into the alley in less than eight minutes.
Before he even reached the scene, he heard a chorus of wailing and crying.
“Oh, this is too much! Life is unbearable like this!”
Lu Yancheng halted his steps, his brow furrowing even tighter.
Turning the corner, he immediately spotted Fang Muyu standing stiffly in the open space in front of his house.
A group of military wives surrounded her, chattering incessantly.
Something suddenly wrenched at Lu Yancheng’s heart.
“Step aside, all of you.”
…