Gu Qingyu’s eyes were red as she stood at the doorway, looking utterly pitiful.
“Ruan Wen,” she said softly, “I… I came to apologize.”
Ruan Wen paused while sorting the herbs in her hands and looked up at her.
“Apologize for what?”
Gu Qingyu bit her lip.
“For everything before. I was jealous of you. I said things I shouldn’t have said and did things I shouldn’t have done.”
Her voice trembled slightly.
“I grew up with Brother Jingheng. Everyone in the compound always said we’d end up together one day. When I suddenly heard he’d married someone else, I couldn’t accept it.”
As she spoke, tears began sliding down her cheeks.
“I know I was wrong.”
The movement in the courtyard gradually slowed.
Several nearby military wives glanced over curiously.
Ruan Wen set down the herbs and dusted off her hands.
“Then you’ve already said what you came to say.”
Gu Qingyu froze.
That wasn’t the response she had expected.
Normally, after a heartfelt apology, the other person was supposed to forgive her graciously.
Instead, Ruan Wen simply accepted the apology and left it at that.
“Ruan Wen…” Gu Qingyu hesitated. “Aren’t you going to say anything else?”
Ruan Wen looked at her calmly.
“What would you like me to say?”
“I…”
Gu Qingyu suddenly found herself at a loss for words.
Ruan Wen’s gaze remained clear and steady.
“Since you know what you did was wrong, then don’t do it again.”
“That’s enough.”
There was neither anger nor sarcasm in her tone.
Yet somehow, that made Gu Qingyu feel even more uncomfortable.
It was as if all her emotions, schemes, and grievances amounted to nothing in Ruan Wen’s eyes.
At that moment, the gate opened.
Lu Jingheng walked in carrying a toolbox.
The moment he saw Gu Qingyu standing in the courtyard, his expression cooled noticeably.
“Why are you here?”
The coldness in his voice made Gu Qingyu’s face pale.
“I came to apologize.”
Lu Jingheng glanced at Ruan Wen.
“Did she give you trouble?”
“No.”
Ruan Wen shook her head.
“She came to apologize.”
Only then did Lu Jingheng relax slightly.
“Then it’s done.”
His attitude was obvious.
Apologize and leave.
Nothing more.
Gu Qingyu’s eyes reddened again.
She looked at the two of them standing together.
Ruan Wen remained calm and composed.
Lu Jingheng’s attention, meanwhile, was focused entirely on his wife.
For the first time, Gu Qingyu truly understood.
The man she had chased for years was no longer looking at her.
Not even a little.
Suppressing the bitterness in her heart, she forced a smile.
“Then… I’ll go.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and left.
Her figure looked unusually lonely.
After she was gone, Lu Jingheng set down the toolbox.
“What was that about?”
“She apologized.”
“And you forgave her?”
Ruan Wen lowered her head and continued sorting the herbs.
“Forgiveness isn’t important.”
Lu Jingheng frowned.
“What do you mean?”
“It means whether I forgive her or not doesn’t really matter.”
Ruan Wen spoke casually.
“As long as she stops causing trouble, that’s enough.”
Lu Jingheng stared at her for a moment.
Then he suddenly laughed.
“You really are different from everyone else.”
Ruan Wen looked up.
“How so?”
“Most people would either refuse to forgive her or pretend to be generous.”
“But you don’t seem to care at all.”
Ruan Wen smiled faintly.
“Because she’s never been my problem.”
For a brief moment, Lu Jingheng was stunned.
Then he realized she was right.
From beginning to end, Gu Qingyu had been the one obsessed with competing.
Ruan Wen had never treated her as an opponent.
The difference in perspective made all the hostility seem childish.
That evening, as the sun set over the compound, Ruan Wen sat beneath the eaves drying medicinal herbs.
Lu Jingheng sat beside her.
For once, neither spoke.
The courtyard was quiet.
A gentle breeze carried the fragrance of herbs through the air.
After a long silence, Lu Jingheng suddenly said,
“Ruan Wen.”
“Mm?”
“If one day…”
He paused.
Then, pretending to sound casual, continued,
“If one day that third rule becomes unnecessary, what then?”
Ruan Wen’s hands paused briefly.
She knew exactly which rule he meant.
The one about divorce whenever the timing was right.
For the first time in a long while, she turned and looked at him carefully.
The evening sunlight painted his sharp features with warm gold.
His expression appeared calm.
Only the slight tension in his jaw betrayed him.
After a few seconds, Ruan Wen looked away.
“That won’t happen.”
Lu Jingheng’s heart sank.
“Why?”
“Because agreements exist for a reason.”
Her voice was quiet.
“And I don’t like changing agreements halfway through.”
The answer sounded rational.
Reasonable.
Completely consistent with the person she had always been.
Yet for some reason, Lu Jingheng felt even more frustrated than before.
He looked at the woman sitting beside him.
The woman who could heal illnesses, shoot with near-perfect accuracy, cook better than professional chefs, and remain calm no matter what happened.
The woman who seemed capable of everything—
Except letting anyone get close to her heart.
And for the first time in his life, Battalion Commander Lu discovered that conquering a difficult military objective was far easier than winning over a single woman.