For a moment, both of them froze.
The room instantly fell silent, as though it had been filled with rosy bubbles of romance.
Soft! Slender!
That was what Lu Changzheng felt the instant he caught Ji Wanning by the waist.
Against his tall stature and broad frame, Ji Wanning seemed especially petite.
So petite that, in that moment, Lu Changzheng found himself thinking that he could easily pull her completely into his embrace.
Comrade Ji was truly beautiful.
Her delicate brows framed a pair of clear, light brown almond-shaped eyes, which reflected only his figure.
As though she could see no one but him.
Her fair skin was smooth and flawless, so delicate that he could almost make out the fine, downy hairs upon it.
Her long eyelashes fluttered gently, casting a faint shadow beneath the corners of her eyes.
Then there were her rosy, full lips, naturally red without the need for any cosmetics.
The instant he took it all in, Lu Changzheng felt his entire body grow unbearably hot.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as though revealing emotions he himself could barely contain.
It felt as though he had suddenly been transported into the sweltering heat of southern China in June.
He was so hot that he wanted to strip off every layer of clothing and pour a bucket of cold water over himself from head to toe.
Ji Wanning was equally stunned.
The last time, at the auditorium, they had stood close to one another, but there had still been some distance between them.
Now…
They were so close that only the width of a single outstretched hand separated them.
She could sense turbulent emotions churning within the man’s eyes, emotions she couldn’t quite decipher.
They were simply too close.
So close that she could clearly feel his hurried, scorching breaths brushing against her neck.
Her own skin instantly grew hot.
Even the large hands wrapped around her waist became increasingly warm.
Without realizing it, a faint mist gradually clouded Ji Wanning’s eyes, though she herself was completely unaware of it.
“Sister Ji! Sister Ji! Are you home?”
At that moment, Niudan’s voice suddenly rang out from outside, accompanied by hurried footsteps drawing nearer.
Startled, Ji Wanning quickly pushed Lu Changzheng away.
Afraid she might lose her balance again, Lu Changzheng first made sure to gently set her back on the floor before letting go.
His ears burned bright red.
At a complete loss, his eyes darted everywhere except toward Ji Wanning.
“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was just afraid you’d fall.”
Ji Wanning’s racing heartbeat had yet to settle.
“It’s alright. I know it was my own fault. If you hadn’t caught me in time, I definitely would have fallen.”
Neither of them dared look directly at the other.
The moment Ji Wanning stepped away, Lu Changzheng felt an inexplicable emptiness settle in his chest.
His fingertips unconsciously rubbed together, as though the lingering warmth of her waist still remained beneath them.
Just then, Niudan finally arrived outside Room 103.
His arrival allowed Ji Wanning to breathe a sigh of relief.
Niudan hadn’t expected to see another person inside Sister Ji’s room.
And not just anyone, but a male army officer.
Curiously, he was about to ask when Ji Wanning spoke first.
“Niudan, did you come to see me for something?”
Only then did Niudan remember why he had come.
“Sister Ji, my mom asked me to invite you over for dinner.”
Ji Wanning smiled in understanding.
So that was it.
They had probably noticed she was alone and wanted to invite her over out of kindness.
“Thank you, Niudan, but no need. Go tell your mother that I’ve already gotten food from the cafeteria. I’ll come to your house another time.”
Niudan had actually hoped Sister Ji would come.
When he realized she couldn’t, his little head drooped in disappointment.
Still, he obediently said, “Alright, Sister Ji. I’ll tell my mom. But you have to come another time.”
“I will, I promise.”
After Niudan left, Ji Wanning turned back toward Lu Changzheng.
The awkwardness from earlier had mostly disappeared.
“Do you think it was wrong for me to lie just now?”
Lu Changzheng shook his head.
“You must have had your reasons.”
Ji Wanning let out a quiet sigh of relief.
“Niudan and Ludan’s father is a deputy battalion commander. He’s often away on assignments. I heard that back in his hometown, one of his parents broke a leg some time ago and can’t work anymore, while the other is constantly ill and needs medicine.”
“Deputy Battalion Commander Gu sends two thirds of his salary back home every month. Aunt Gu agreed to it, but after sending that much money away, she and the children only have the remaining one third to live on.”
“Their life is very difficult.”
So although Ji Wanning knew Aunt Gu had invited her because she had just moved into the temporary family quarters and wanted to help her out of kindness, she couldn’t bring herself to accept.
Lu Changzheng’s expression grew solemn.
He felt they really needed to move into their new family housing as soon as possible.
Comrade Ji was simply too gentle and too kind.
She never thought about herself first, making it easy for others to take advantage of or hurt her.
Those people were truly despicable.
Speaking of meals, Lu Changzheng suddenly remembered something.
“Comrade Ji, have you eaten lunch yet?”
At the question, Ji Wanning bit her lip, obviously worried that he might see through her.
Under his searching gaze, however, she finally admitted in a small voice,
“No.”
Lu Changzheng was exceptionally good at reading subtle expressions.
He watched her quietly for a long moment before sighing helplessly.
“Don’t tell me you skipped breakfast too.”
Although it sounded like a question, his tone made it obvious he was already certain of the answer.
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw the guilty look in Ji Wanning’s eyes.
“N… No.”
Lu Changzheng frowned.
“You need to take better care of yourself.”
“How about this? I haven’t had lunch either. Why don’t you go to the cafeteria and bring back some food?”
Ji Wanning nodded repeatedly.
“Alright.”
Lu Changzheng had already worked so hard helping her clean.
Going to get lunch was the least she could do.
With that, Ji Wanning turned and headed straight for the cafeteria.
After she left, Lu Changzheng busied himself once more.
Occasionally, someone passing by noticed the man cleaning the room and looked at him curiously, but since it was lunchtime, they only glanced over before hurrying away.
The room had already been mopped once, but Lu Changzheng still felt it wasn’t clean enough.
So he mopped it two more times before finally feeling satisfied.
To help the room dry faster, he lit the coal stove.
There were still a few honeycomb coal briquettes left from before, though not many.
He would need to prepare more for Comrade Ji.
Once the stove was burning, the room finally became noticeably warmer.
When Ji Wanning returned from the cafeteria, she saw Lu Changzheng walking toward her carrying several large bundles on his back.
There were so many things that they looked heavy enough to bend someone’s waist.
Yet on Lu Changzheng, they seemed almost weightless.
“Hurry and put those down. What are you carrying?”
Lu Changzheng found a clean, dry spot on the floor, spread several sheets of newspaper over it, and only then set everything down.
Afterward, he opened each bundle one by one.
“I exchanged these for you. These are new bedsheets, a thicker quilt, also brand new, and a pillow…”
He introduced every item one at a time.
Practically everything Ji Wanning needed but didn’t yet have, he had brought for her.
“…The temperature difference between day and night is pretty big. With these, you’ll stay much warmer.”
“Tell me how much all of this costs, including the ration coupons. I’ll pay you back.”
As she spoke, Ji Wanning turned to retrieve her canvas bag.
But Lu Changzheng stopped her.
His expression was completely serious.
“Comrade Ji Wanning, we’re husband and wife. Do we really have to keep our accounts so separate?”
“You have to remember, I’m your husband. You can rely on me sometimes.”
He knew that before this, Comrade Ji had always been alone.
She had only ever been able to depend on herself.
That was why, even now, she still insisted on handling everything alone, drawing such clear boundaries because she didn’t want to owe anyone anything.
But they are married now.
They were husband and wife.
They were one family.
Lu Changzheng’s words made Ji Wanning’s heart tremble.
Watching him clean the room for her, seeing him worry that she would be cold at night and go out of his way to exchange for a thicker quilt…
Hadn’t he done all of this simply because she was now his wife?
That was right.
They were husband and wife now.
She finally had someone she could lean on.
“Mm… I understand. Then… if I come to you for help in the future, you’ll have to help me a lot.”
Her words finally eased the tension in Lu Changzheng’s furrowed brows.
He smiled. He wanted to tell Ji Wanning that now that they were married, every promise he had made to her would be kept, and he would spend the rest of his life fulfilling them.