Ji Wanning nodded and looked at him with her clear, limpid eyes.
“Comrade Lu, if we get married, we can apply for family housing, right?”
“That’s right. If that’s what you want, I’ll submit the marriage application and apply for housing at the same time. We should be able to get a two bedroom apartment with a living room, and it can be approved in as little as ten days.”
Ten days was pretty fast.
Ji Wanning wanted to move out of the Lin family home as soon as possible.
Still, for some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Comrade Lu sounded rather eager and expectant.
Just then, a man’s voice suddenly rang out from behind Lu Changzheng.
“Huh? Wasn’t I supposed to be sitting at the last table in the front row? Where did my table and chair go?”
Both Lu Changzheng and Ji Wanning turned around.
Ji Wanning looked at the man searching for his table and chair. He wasn’t bad looking, but compared to the Comrade Lu in front of her, he was shorter and much more ordinary.
Only then did she suddenly realize…
She had mistaken the wrong man for her blind date!
Lowering her head, Ji Wanning pressed a hand lightly against her forehead and bit her lip, hardly daring to look at Lu Changzheng.
What was she supposed to do now?
Lu Changzheng looked at the bespectacled man behind him. The man had a refined, scholarly appearance, and from the way he was dressed, he was probably a teacher.
So this was the man Comrade Ji had originally come to meet?
For some reason, at that very moment, Lu Changzheng felt as though his heart had shattered.
Summoning her courage, Ji Wanning looked up. Her fair face had flushed crimson with embarrassment, making her already soft voice sound even gentler.
“I… I’m sorry. I think I got the wrong person. I’ll leave right away.”
She felt she had to leave immediately. Otherwise, what would happen when Lu Changzheng’s real blind date arrived?
Besides…
This was just too embarrassing.
They had practically reached the point of discussing marriage.
As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Wanning stood up to leave.
Lu Changzheng raised his hand halfway, wanting to tell her that if she’d mistaken him, then she’d mistaken him. He really didn’t mind.
Soon afterward, Wu Zhong carried the missing table and chairs back.
As Ji Wanning walked past Lu Changzheng, she sat down at the chair behind him.
As she passed, a faint, delicate fragrance drifted by.
“Hello, Comrade. I’m your blind date, Ji Wanning. I currently work as a childcare worker at an elementary school in the military district…”
The familiar introduction and gentle voice sounded from directly behind him.
Lu Changzheng pressed his thin lips together.
He had only come today to go through the motions. By all rights, he should have left by now.
Yet for reasons even he couldn’t explain…
He stayed.
Meanwhile, Wu Zhong continued rambling on about his requirements for marriage, while Ji Wanning sat across from him, distracted.
She knew that she and Comrade Lu were now sitting back to back with some distance between them.
Yet somehow…
She could almost feel the warmth radiating from him.
She couldn’t help wondering what Comrade Lu was thinking at that moment.
And what kind of woman his blind date might be.
What Ji Wanning didn’t know was that Lu Changzheng’s face had already darkened, and both of his fists were clenched tightly.
In the auditorium, soldiers who knew Lu Changzheng’s reputation happened to pass by and caught sight of his expression. Once again, they sighed inwardly.
As expected of the military district’s living King of Hell.
Looking like that, what girl would dare go on a blind date with him?
She’d probably burst into tears from fright.
“…Those are all my requirements for now. There are still a few I haven’t thought of yet, so I’ll mention them later. Comrade Ji, do you have any requirements?”
Ji Wanning finally came back to herself. A trace of mockery curled at the corners of her lips.
“Comrade Wu, may I ask you something? Is your face made out of city walls?”
“W… What?”
Wu Zhong clearly hadn’t processed what she’d just said.
“Otherwise, how could your skin be so thick? At least city walls know how to hide shame. You don’t.”
“Does your family have a throne to inherit? Is that why you need so many sons? The Qing Dynasty has been gone for ages. This is the new era now. Your outdated thinking, and your mother’s too, simply won’t do. If word of it gets out, you might not even get to keep your teaching job. Five or six children? What do you think I am, a sow having piglets?”
“You say your mother worked hard to raise you? She raised you, not me.”
“You think a woman should stay home and serve her husband and raise the children? Women hold up half the sky too. Before we’re even married, you’re already eyeing my job, and you even make it sound so righteous. This is the first time I’ve ever met someone like you.”
“As for this blind date, I’d say it was a complete failure. Comrade Wu, I don’t think our personalities or our values are compatible. Let’s forget about marriage.”
Her voice was soft and sweet, the kind that should have sounded gentle and obedient.
Instead, every word she spoke landed like a slap.
Sure enough, Wu Zhong flew into a rage, pointing a trembling finger at her.
“Y… You…”
Ji Wanning had already stood up. Without sparing him another glance, she turned and walked away.
As she passed Lu Changzheng, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye, but couldn’t make out the expression on his face.
She thought that perhaps he had assumed she was a gentle woman.
But now…
She had revealed another side of herself, sharp edged and unwilling to back down.
Still, Ji Wanning didn’t think she had done anything wrong.
If she hadn’t been like this, then after her father died, she never would have managed to get her mother to hand over the half of her father’s compensation money that rightfully belonged to her.
Leaving the noisy auditorium behind, she stepped into the quiet hallway.
For some reason, an empty feeling settled in her heart.
Then she heard the firm, rapid footsteps of military boots striking the floor behind her.
“Comrade Ji, wait.”
Recognizing Lu Changzheng’s voice, Ji Wanning stiffened slightly before turning around.
Moments later, he stopped in front of her.
“Comrade Ji, I still haven’t answered your question from earlier.”
Her question?
Ji Wanning remembered.
She had asked what he thought of her.
She had developed a favorable impression of this army officer. She felt that marrying him wouldn’t be a bad idea at all.
She just didn’t know how he felt about her.
Lu Changzheng looked at her with blazing eyes.
“I think Comrade Ji would make an excellent wife. After we’re married, whether you want to continue working or not will be entirely up to you. I’ll hand over every cent of my salary to you. As for children, whether we have daughters, sons, or even no children at all, I’m fine with any of it. I believe that when two people build a life together, the two of us are what matter most. I also won’t expect you to be dutiful to my parents. Just do whatever makes you comfortable.”
“Comrade Ji, if you think I’m acceptable, then let’s get married.”
The moment the words let’s get married left his mouth, Lu Changzheng felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest.
Ji Wanning lifted her eyes and met his gaze steadily, her fingers tightening slightly.
“But… you heard everything I said to Comrade Wu just now, didn’t you? Don’t you think a woman like me… isn’t very good?”
Lu Changzheng shook his head.
“Rather than seeing you get bullied, I’d much rather see you protect yourself. But if we get married, I’ll protect you too. I’ll stand up for you. You won’t have to struggle through everything alone anymore.”
As her husband, that was simply what he should do.
He felt that everything Comrade Ji had said in response was completely justified.
In fact, he thought that was exactly how any normal person should think.
Ji Wanning’s fingertips trembled, and her eyes gradually reddened.
Ever since her father passed away, whenever she was bullied, there had been no one left to stand up for her.
She had been forced to become like a hedgehog, protecting herself with sharp spines.
Lu Changzheng was the first person to tell her that he would protect her, that he would stand up for her.
Even though they had only known each other for a single day and there were no deep feelings between them yet.
Suppressing the bitterness welling up inside her, Ji Wanning looked into his eyes and spoke with quiet certainty.
“All right. Then let’s go register our marriage.”
Her soft yet resolute voice somehow made Lu Changzheng feel as though countless fireworks were exploding inside his heart.