Su Huaijin’s appearance once again caused a commotion, just as expected.
She had changed clothes.
Although she was still wearing a dress, she had deliberately chosen a cream-colored shirt dress to appear more “modest.” But the cinched waist design only emphasized her slender waist, long legs, and full chest even more.
Walking among a crowd of men dressed in gray-blue-green military uniforms, she attracted two hundred percent attention.
“Look! That’s Commander Cheng’s wife?”
“My goodness, she’s way too pretty, like someone out of a magazine.”
“What’s the use of being pretty? I heard she’s incredibly delicate. Last night she thought the bed was too hard and kicked the commander out to sleep elsewhere!”
“Seriously? And the commander tolerated that?”
The whispers buzzed around like flies.
Holding her tray, Su Huaijin listened to the gossip, her face flushing bright red.
Who kicked him out? He was the one who went outside to saw wood!
And besides… this food was terrible.
On her tray sat a steamed bun bigger than her fist, yellowish in color and hard as a rock. There was also a bowl of watery millet porridge thin enough to reflect a person’s face, plus a spoonful of black pickled vegetables.
Su Huaijin tried tearing off a piece of the bun and putting it into her mouth.
Dry. Rough. It scraped painfully down her throat.
“Cough, cough, cough…”
She covered her mouth and coughed violently, eyes watering.
Across from her came a loud clunk.
Cheng Beitang tossed a peeled boiled egg into her bowl.
“Even eating is difficult for you.”
With a dark expression, he pushed his thicker bowl of porridge toward her and took her watery one instead.
“Drink this.”
Su Huaijin froze for a moment, staring at the round white egg in her bowl.
In this era, eggs were considered precious.
“Aren’t you eating it?” she asked quietly.
“I don’t like eggs.”
Cheng Beitang swallowed the hard steamed bun in just a few bites without even touching the pickles, chewing as though he were eating foam plastic.
Su Huaijin took a small bite of the egg. The soft texture made her nose sting.
This man… didn’t actually seem that bad.
“Cheng Beitang,” she swallowed the egg and gathered her courage, “after breakfast, can you take me to the train station? I really can’t stay in this place. Look at my face—it’s practically cracking from the wind.”
Cheng Beitang paused mid-motion.
He lifted his eyes and looked at Su Huaijin’s face. Though exhausted, she was still breathtakingly beautiful. His gaze darkened slightly.
“There won’t be any trains for the next three days.”
For reasons even he himself couldn’t explain, he lied.
“Huh? Why?” Su Huaijin stared blankly.
“There was heavy rain two days ago. Part of the railway collapsed and they’re repairing it,” Cheng Beitang lied with a perfectly straight face. “The earliest trains will run again is next week.”
“N-next week?”
The chopsticks slipped from Su Huaijin’s hand.
“Doesn’t that mean I have to stay here another seven days?”
“You don’t have to stay.” Cheng Beitang pointed toward the endless Gobi Desert outside. “You can walk home. If you’re lucky, you’ll reach the capital in three months. If you’re unlucky, you’ll end up sleeping inside a wolf’s stomach tonight.”
Su Huaijin: “…”
She collapsed onto the table in despair like a deflated balloon.
…
After breakfast, Cheng Beitang went to a meeting at headquarters.
Before leaving, he dumped Su Huaijin back at the family quarters and left her with a warning:
“Stay put and don’t wander around. This isn’t the capital compound. Turn left outside and there’s a minefield. Turn right and there’s a wolf den. If you get lost, I’m not looking for you.”
Su Huaijin was so angry she wanted to smack him with her shoe.
But she truly didn’t dare wander off.
The day was agonizingly long for her.
She tried cleaning the room, but no matter how much she swept, the dust never seemed to end. She tried going to the bathroom, but the moment she reached the communal outhouse, the overwhelming stench made her gag and run back. She held it in all day and didn’t dare drink water.
Worst of all were the mosquitoes.
By evening, as soon as the sun set, swarms of black mosquitoes emerged like bomber planes.
Even with the doors and windows tightly shut, Su Huaijin still couldn’t defend herself against them.
When Cheng Beitang returned that night, the first thing he saw was Su Huaijin wrapped tightly in a blanket with only her eyes exposed, trembling violently.
“Cheng Beitang! There are vampires! Bloodsucking monsters!”
The moment she saw him, she cried out tearfully.
Cheng Beitang set the packed dinner on the table and frowned as he walked over.
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
He yanked the blanket away in one motion.
His pupils instantly shrank.
Her once-fair neck, arms, and even her face were now covered in huge patches of red rashes and swollen mosquito bites. Some had already been scratched open, streaked with blood.
Combined with the bruises from before, she looked absolutely miserable, as though someone had abused her.
“Stop scratching!”
Seeing her about to claw at her neck again, Cheng Beitang grabbed her wrist immediately.
“It itches… it itches so much…”
Tears streamed down Su Huaijin’s face as she struggled desperately.
“Cheng Beitang, let go! I’m going to itch to death!”
Her wrist was tiny and soft; Cheng Beitang felt like he could snap it with the slightest pressure.
The skin beneath his palm was burning hot from the allergic reaction.
Cheng Beitang’s expression darkened terribly.
He knew city people could be delicate, but he had never seen anyone this delicate. Just a few mosquito bites and she’d ended up like this?
“Sit still! Move again and I’ll tie you up!”
His stern voice carried such authority that Su Huaijin instinctively froze.
Cheng Beitang released her hand and turned to rummage through drawers until he found a green military first-aid kit.
From it, he took out a bottle of medicated cooling balm and a cotton swab.
“Come here.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he patted his thigh.
Su Huaijin sniffled and looked at him warily.
“What for?”
“To apply medicine.”
Impatiently, Cheng Beitang pulled her over.
The distance between them instantly vanished.
Forced to sit between his legs, Su Huaijin found the position unbearably intimate.
She could smell the strong masculine scent coming from him—a mixture of tobacco and soapberries—an aggressive male presence that overwhelmed her senses.
Cheng Beitang unscrewed the balm, dipped the cotton swab into it, and applied it to the largest mosquito bite on her neck.
“Hiss—”
The cooling sting made Su Huaijin gasp sharply and instinctively shrink backward.
“Don’t move.”
Cheng Beitang’s large hand cupped the back of her head, forcing her chin up.
Though his movements looked rough, the pressure he used against her swollen skin was surprisingly gentle.
This was the first time those hands of his had ever done such delicate work.
Right before his eyes was the graceful, fragile line of her neck and the slight rise and fall of her collarbone as she breathed unevenly.
That damned rose fragrance invaded his nose again.
Cheng Beitang suddenly felt his throat go dry.
The fingers applying the medicine stiffened slightly, and his fingertips accidentally brushed the skin behind her ear.
Smooth. Warm.
It felt as though electricity shot from his fingertips straight down his spine.
“Ch-Cheng Beitang…”
Su Huaijin’s voice trembled softly. She too sensed that the atmosphere had become strange.
The man’s breathing was heavy, hot against her collarbone, making her entire body weak.
“Are you done yet?” she urged quietly.
Cheng Beitang abruptly snapped back to his senses.
As though burned, he immediately withdrew his hand and tossed the cotton swab into the trash.
“Done.”
He stood up and stepped backward hurriedly, widening the distance between them.
“This medicine’s strong. Endure it. Don’t shower tonight or it might get infected.”
With that, he grabbed the cigarette pack from the table and stormed out without looking back.
“I’m going out for a smoke.”
Su Huaijin touched the cool ointment on her neck and blinked while staring at the tall figure practically fleeing in panic.
Huh?
That fearless cold-faced demon king…
Were his ears red just now?
…
Outside.
The northwest wind howled fiercely.
Standing beneath the wall, Cheng Beitang took a savage drag from his cigarette. The sharp nicotine exploded in his lungs but still couldn’t suppress the heat rising inside him.
He lowered his head and looked at his right hand.
It felt as though the delicate softness of her skin still lingered on his fingertips.
“Damn it.”
He cursed under his breath and slammed a fist against the rough red-brick wall.
This wasn’t like marrying a wife.
It was more like bringing home a deadly temptress to worship.
At that moment, the loud voice of the cafeteria auntie drifted over from next door:
“I told you that spoiled city girl couldn’t handle this place! Heard she didn’t leave the house all day—not even to use the toilet. What, is she planning to become a fairy inside that room?”
“Exactly! And the commander has to serve her too. This isn’t marrying a wife—it’s bringing home an ancestor!”
Listening to the gossip, Cheng Beitang’s expression darkened.
He threw away the cigarette butt and crushed it beneath his boot.
Then he turned and pushed open the door.
Su Huaijin was sitting on the bed blankly staring into space. She jumped in surprise when she saw him come back.
“What’s wrong?”
With a dark face, Cheng Beitang walked to the pile of luggage, pulled out one of Su Huaijin’s coats, and tossed it to her.
“Put this on.”
“Huh? Why?” Su Huaijin looked confused.
“I’m taking you to the toilet.”
His tone was filled with impatience.
“If you hold it in until you get sick, I’ll have to take you to the hospital too. What a hassle.”
Su Huaijin’s face instantly turned scarlet.
“Wh-who said I need to go?!”
“You don’t?” Cheng Beitang raised a brow. “Then keep holding it. Don’t cry tomorrow when your stomach explodes.”
Five minutes later.
In the pitch-black night, two figures walked one after another.
Cheng Beitang held a flashlight in front, shielding her from the wind. Wrapped in her coat, Su Huaijin followed behind him like a little wife.
When they reached the restroom entrance, Cheng Beitang stopped and turned his back toward her, standing where the wind hit hardest.
“Go in. I’ll stand guard outside. No one will come near.”
Su Huaijin stared at his broad back.
Like a mountain, he blocked out all the darkness and fear.
In this unfamiliar, icy northwest wasteland…
The man she desperately wanted to divorce had somehow become her only source of security.
She bit her lip and softly said:
“Cheng Beitang… thank you.”
The wind scattered her light words into the night.
Cheng Beitang’s stiff back froze slightly.
After a long moment, a faint smile curled at his lips in the darkness as he muttered quietly:
“So dramatic.”