Qin Lan saw this scene in the courtyard and covered her mouth as she laughed. Tugging on Lu Yongjie’s arm, she whispered, “Look at your son. He’s completely hopeless. His eyes are practically glued to Wenwen.”
Lu Yongjie snorted proudly. “That’s inherited. He takes after me.”
Qin Lan rolled her eyes at him, then walked over and deliberately raised her voice toward Ruan Wen. “Wenwen, don’t pay attention to that blockhead. Later, Mom will take you to the cooperative store. I heard they just got a new batch of Dacron fabric in beautiful colors. We’ll buy a few yards and make you a couple of new outfits.”
“Okay,” Ruan Wen replied with a smile.
The moment Lu Jingheng heard that, he hurried over. “Mom, I’m coming too. I can carry your things.”
“Shoo, shoo. You’re a grown man. What are you doing following us women around a fabric store? Go back to your unit.” Qin Lan mercilessly chased him away.
Lu Jingheng was rebuffed and could only watch pitifully as his mother and wife linked arms and left together.
At the cooperative store, Qin Lan enthusiastically helped Ruan Wen pick fabrics, completely forgetting how much she had once looked down on this daughter-in-law from a capitalist family.
“Wenwen, look at this light blue one. It’ll make your skin look even fairer.”
“This pink one is nice too. It’d make a beautiful blouse.”
Just as they were choosing, a sarcastic voice sounded nearby.
“Well, well, isn’t this Battalion Commander Lu’s wife? What a lucky woman. You’ve only just gotten married, and your mother-in-law is already buying fabric to make you new clothes. Unlike us hardworking women—we have to save every cloth coupon for our children.”
The speaker was Wang Li, the mother of the child whose bleeding Ruan Wen had stopped last time.
Several military wives stood beside her with folded arms, clearly eager to watch the drama unfold.
Qin Lan’s face darkened immediately. As a head nurse for many years, she cared deeply about her reputation and could not tolerate being mocked to her face.
Just as she was about to speak, Ruan Wen gently tugged on her sleeve. Then she turned to Wang Li with a smile that was polite but cool.
“Sister Wang, you’re joking. These cloth coupons were saved up by Jingheng. Auntie simply feels sorry for me and wants to buy me some fabric for a new outfit. That’s not unreasonable, is it?”
She paused and let her gaze sweep over Wang Li’s face.
“On the other hand, I heard your child needed three stitches after hitting his head last time, and the medical expenses were borrowed from Liu Qiang’s family. Instead of worrying about my family’s cloth coupons, perhaps you should think about paying back that debt first, so people won’t gossip behind your back.”
Wang Li’s face turned pale instantly.
The military compound wasn’t large. Nothing that happened in one family remained secret for long.
Everyone knew her family was struggling financially and had borrowed money, but no one had ever exposed it publicly.
Now that Ruan Wen had brought it up so bluntly, Wang Li felt her face burn with embarrassment and could not say a single word.
The other military wives awkwardly looked away and dared not join in.
Watching such a clean and decisive counterattack, Qin Lan felt immensely satisfied. The way she looked at Ruan Wen was practically the way one would look at a treasure.
Straightening her back, she cleared her throat and grandly waved at the sales clerk.
“This one, and this one too. Wrap them both up for me!”
On the way home, Qin Lan was still basking in the satisfaction of having come out on top. Holding Ruan Wen’s hand, she praised her nonstop.
“Wenwen, you really made Auntie proud just now! That’s exactly how you deal with those gossiping women! Your words were like a surgeon’s scalpel—fast and precise!”
Ruan Wen merely smiled.
She wasn’t someone who liked conflict, but she would never allow herself to be pushed around.
In this life, anyone who made her unhappy would end up even more unhappy themselves.
When they reached the front gate, they happened to see Gu Qingyu coming out of the neighboring courtyard.
The moment Gu Qingyu saw them, her eyes flickered. She tried to pretend she hadn’t noticed them and walk away, but Qin Lan called out to her.
“Qingyu.”
Qin Lan’s voice was neither loud nor soft as she deliberately brought up the previous incident.
“I heard those foreign gadgets you brought last time were obtained through a friend at Peking Union Medical College Hospital. They must have cost quite a bit, right?”
Gu Qingyu stopped and nodded in confusion.
“Our Wenwen said they’re all good things and shouldn’t be wasted.” Qin Lan pulled several ten-yuan bills from her pocket and stuffed them into Gu Qingyu’s hand. “This is payment for those items. Take it. And in the future, there’s no need for you to worry about our family’s affairs anymore. Now that we have Wenwen, our family lacks nothing.”
Without waiting for a response, she pulled Ruan Wen along and marched proudly back into the courtyard.
Holding the money that had been forced into her hand, Gu Qingyu’s face alternated between pale and flushed. She could only watch as the Lu family’s gate slammed shut with a bang, separating her from the warmth and liveliness inside as though they belonged to two different worlds.
Inside the courtyard, Qin Lan was still immersed in the joy of victory. Holding Ruan Wen’s hand, she felt completely refreshed.
“Wenwen, did you see her face? Like an eggplant struck by frost. So satisfying! If anyone dares give you trouble again, Auntie will be the first to stand up for you!”
The protectiveness in her words was genuine.
Ruan Wen smiled but said nothing.
She knew that protection had not appeared out of thin air. She had earned it step by step.
In the living room, Lu Jingheng had been restlessly waiting. His eyes were like radar, fixed firmly on the doorway.
The moment the two women returned, he sprang to his feet and hurried over, but his gaze landed only on Ruan Wen, carrying both concern and nervous anticipation.
Qin Lan, being who she was, immediately saw through her son’s little thoughts. She deliberately coughed and pulled Ruan Wen toward the dining room.
“Come, Wenwen. Ignore him. Auntie made you some hot malted milk. Drink it while it’s warm.”
Completely ignored by his own mother, Lu Jingheng wasn’t upset in the slightest. He simply followed after them like a loyal little tail.
That evening, Lu Yongjie and Qin Lan tacitly retired to their room early, leaving the young couple some privacy.
As usual, Ruan Wen sat at her desk reading, while Lu Jingheng paced around her room like a tiger trapped in a cage. After seven or eight laps, he finally stopped behind her and spoke in a muffled voice.
“So… have you thought about it?”
Ruan Wen paused, her finger resting between the pages. Looking up, she feigned confusion.
“Thought about what?”
“That… that thing.” Lu Jingheng’s ears turned red under her gaze, and he stumbled over his words. “About becoming a real husband and wife!”
“Oh, that.” Ruan Wen closed her book and leaned back in her chair, calmly looking at him. “Battalion Commander Lu, marriage isn’t a slogan. It’s not something where you suddenly figure things out today and everything changes tomorrow.”
Her cool, measured response extinguished the little flame of hope that had just begun burning inside him.
“So… you’re unwilling?” There was a hint of grievance in his voice.
Looking at his expression, Ruan Wen suddenly found it somewhat amusing. She stood up and walked over to him.
Then she asked very seriously:
“Lu Jingheng, what do you think a real husband and wife are?”