They shifted awkwardly back and forth.
From cleaning his wounds and changing the medicine to helping him into clean trousers—
The heat on Jiang Nuan’s face never faded.
Lu Lin wasn’t much better off.
The shirt he had just changed into was already soaked through at the back with sweat.
In his heart, he silently recited military rules and discipline over a hundred times.
At last, Jiang Nuan replaced the bedding with clean sheets and covered him with a brand-new quilt.
“All done. I’ll tidy up a bit, and then we can eat.”
She cast a hurried glance at the flushed man, then bent down to gather the dirty quilt and clothes from the floor and carry them out.
She had gotten dirty as well, so she quickly washed up and changed into clean clothes before heading to the kitchen.
Nearly an hour had passed.
Luckily, the weather wasn’t too cold, and the dishes hadn’t completely cooled—but she reheated everything anyway so he could eat comfortably.
Lying in the soft quilt, Lu Lin felt more comfortable than he had in a long time. Every pore in his body seemed relaxed.
Yet thinking that they would soon go register their marriage still felt unreal—like a dream.
“Time to eat.”
Jiang Nuan entered with the fragrant dishes, set them down, then helped him sit up against the headboard, stuffing pillows behind his back.
“Is this okay?” she asked, adjusting them carefully.
When he nodded, she fixed the pillows in place and smiled. “Wait a moment. I’ll go bring the kang table from my room.”
In the north, heated brick beds were usually paired with a low kang table. In winter, eating on it while the kang was warm felt especially cozy.
Old Madam Lu had never intended for Lu Lin to survive.
She had made him sleep on a bed that was practically falling apart, lying to the comrades who brought him home that the new kang built for him hadn’t dried yet.
As Jiang Nuan went back to her room, she made up her mind—after they registered, Lu Lin would move into her room.
It had originally been the bridal chamber. To put on a convincing act of being a loving husband, Lu Daqiang had made sure everything in it was the best.
In her previous life, after she miscarried from being drugged, Old Madam Lu had called her unlucky and driven her out, letting Lu Rou move in instead.
This time, Jiang Nuan would keep all the good things in her own hands.
Only Lu Lin could share them.
“I’m back.”
She carried the kang table in, set it on the bed, and arranged the dishes on top.
With just a stretch of his arm, Lu Lin could reach everything without effort.
“Hurry and eat while it’s hot.” She handed him the chopsticks and placed an egg pancake in his hand.
Lu Lin looked at the abundant meal, then at the woman sitting by the bed, smiling brightly at him.
He wouldn’t have dared to dream of such a day.
“Why are you staring at me? Is there something on my face?” Jiang Nuan asked when she noticed his gaze. Thinking of her round, oversized face, her smile stiffened.
Lu Lin shook his head. “No.”
Sensing her mood dip, he gathered his courage and, blushing slightly, added sincerely:
“You… look very beautiful.”
Beautiful?
Jiang Nuan thought she must have hallucinated.
She weighed at least two hundred pounds now.
Her face was swollen and round like a pig’s. Even she disliked her appearance.
Saying she was beautiful—wasn’t that less convincing than calling a sow in the pigsty pretty?
She knew he was partly being polite.
Yet she couldn’t stop the happiness rising in her chest.
Suppressing her secret delight, she put a piece of meat into his bowl. “You’re very good-looking too.”
She was telling the truth.
Lu Lin was acknowledged throughout the village as the most handsome man.
Back when he was in the army, matchmakers frequently asked Old Madam Lu when he would return home on leave—they wanted to introduce him to someone.
Many village girls had secretly admired him.
Including… her.
But the moment that feeling sprouted, she had strangled it.
He was so outstanding—how could she dare to dream of him?
She had even heard that he rejected the commander’s daughter. How could he possibly look at her—a “fat pig,” as she once thought of herself?
Those girlish feelings had been like a gentle breeze, stirring only her own heart before being scattered by the trivialities of life.
Snapping back to the present, Jiang Nuan looked at the striking man before her.
She knew clearly: if Lu Lin hadn’t fallen into hardship, the chance to register marriage with him would never have been hers.
Staring at the fragrant dishes, she suddenly lost her appetite.
Just then, a pair of chopsticks holding a piece of meat appeared before her.
She looked up and met his dark eyes.
He placed the meat into her bowl.
Lu Lin had never been one to smile much. After joining the army, he had become even more stern—famously known as having a “coffin face.”
But remembering his future wife’s words, he forced the corners of his mouth upward, trying to smile as naturally as possible.
“Don’t just sit there. Eat.”
As his lips curved, the warmth in his eyes was like sunlight breaking through heavy winter snow—melting ice in an instant.