The green military jeep bumped along the uneven dirt road, kicking up clouds of yellow dust.
Inside the vehicle, Lu Jingheng’s grip on the steering wheel was still tight, his knuckles slightly pale from the force. It was clear his anger hadn’t subsided.
From the rearview mirror, he glanced at the person beside him. Ruan Wen sat quietly, watching the poplar trees rapidly receding outside the window. Her profile was calm, without a trace of anger.
“Aren’t you angry at all?” Lu Jingheng finally couldn’t hold it in, his voice muffled.
“What’s there to be angry about?” Ruan Wen turned back to him, her gaze clear. “Getting angry at them only flatters them.”
Lu Jingheng was momentarily choked by her words, then oddly felt she was right.
Getting worked up over someone like Huo Guoan really was beneath him.
The fire in his chest slowly eased, leaving only a bit of frustration.
“Then isn’t it a bit too easy on them, going to their door like this?”
“No.” A faint curve appeared at the corner of Ruan Wen’s lips. “We’re going to deliver warmth.”
The jeep turned several corners and entered a district of low-rise red-brick apartment buildings.
This place was completely different from the independent houses in the military compound. The corridors were filled with stacked coal briquettes and miscellaneous clutter. Laundry lines crisscrossed like spiderwebs. The air carried a mix of cooking smells, coal smoke, and a damp, indescribable odor.
A jeep was a rare sight here, and it immediately drew everyone’s attention.
People washing vegetables by the water tap, holding children, or chatting in groups all turned to stare, pointing and whispering.
Lu Jingheng parked in front of the building where Huo Guoan lived and carried the heavy net bag as he followed Ruan Wen upstairs.
The stairwell was narrow and dim.
Ruan Wen raised her hand and knocked on the weathered green-painted door.
With a creak, the door opened. Sun Lanlan stood there wearing a floral dacron blouse. When she saw the people outside, her expression shifted like a palette—first shock, then suspicion, then a forced smile.
“Cousin? Captain Lu? What brings you here?”
“We heard cousin-in-law was sick, so we came to see her,” Ruan Wen said gently, though her tone carried no warmth at all.
She stepped aside. Lu Jingheng walked in expressionlessly, carrying the heavy net bag. With a dull thud, he placed it heavily on the small dining table inside.
The sound made Sun Lanlan’s heart jump.
The room was small—so small you could see everything at a glance. A bed, a table, two chairs already took up most of the space. In the corner were basins of unwashed clothes, completely out of place with the fashionable blouse Sun Lanlan was wearing.
Huo Guoan was sitting on the bed reading a newspaper. Hearing the commotion, he looked up. When he saw Lu Jingheng, a flash of calculation quickly crossed his eyes before he immediately switched to a flattered, surprised expression and stood up.
“Oh! Captain Lu! What wind blew you here? Please, sit, sit!” He enthusiastically moved to fetch a chair.
“No need,” Ruan Wen said lightly.
She walked to the table and began taking items out of the net bag one by one.
“I heard cousin-in-law got promoted, but life is still tight. Even when my cousin got sick, you couldn’t afford anything decent for her. Jingheng felt bad after hearing that, so he insisted I bring something over.”
She placed the two tins of malted milk in the most visible spot, then pointed at the heavy cloth bag.
“There are ten jin of rice and ten jin of flour here. Nothing fancy. Please don’t mind it. Family should help each other after all. We can’t just stand by and watch you go hungry.”
The words sounded considerate and proper, but every sentence stabbed straight into the hearts of Huo Guoan and Sun Lanlan.
What did she mean, “couldn’t afford decent things”?
What did she mean, “watch you go hungry”?
This wasn’t delivering gifts—it was a public slap in the face, treating them like beggars.
The neighbors outside had already been drawn by the noise. Heads crowded doorways and windows, stretching to look inside. When they saw the malted milk and the large bag of grain, envious murmurs immediately broke out.
“My goodness, Captain Lu’s family is really generous!”
“Exactly! That must have cost a lot. The Huo family really climbed high this time.”
These comments made Huo Guoan’s face burn even hotter. Forcing a smile, he tried to push the items back.
“How could we accept this! Captain Lu, this is too much! Lanlan just has a minor illness, nothing serious.”
“Take it,” Lu Jingheng finally spoke, his voice cold and firm. “My wife said your wife is sick and needs nourishment. Don’t act so hesitant—you’re a grown man.”
Accepting it meant admitting poverty and begging. Refusing it meant disrespecting Captain Lu.
Huo Guoan’s face turned green and white, veins popping on his forehead.
Sun Lanlan, meanwhile, was shaking with anger. Her eyes were red as she pointed at Ruan Wen and shouted sharply, “We don’t want your things! We don’t care!”
“What are you saying, cousin?” Ruan Wen looked at her innocently, a hint of pity in her eyes. “We’re just trying to help. If you refuse it, it makes our Lu family look stingy.”
She paused, then glanced at the shabby table in the room as if suddenly remembering something.
“Oh right. The pastries your husband sent us were quite nice. A bit too expensive though. If life is tight, you really shouldn’t spend money like that anymore. If you’re in difficulty, you can just tell us.”
“You!” Sun Lanlan’s vision went dark from rage and she nearly fainted.
“Alright,” Ruan Wen said calmly as if she hadn’t noticed, tugging at Lu Jingheng’s sleeve. “We’ve delivered everything. Let’s go back.”
“Mm.” Lu Jingheng nodded. Before leaving, he glanced at Huo Guoan coldly and fixed him with a look—no words, but full of warning and contempt.
The two turned and left.
They left behind Huo Guoan and Sun Lanlan, along with the glaring “warmth” filling the room, under the probing eyes of all the neighbors. The atmosphere inside the room turned suffocatingly tense.
Huo Guoan stared at the tins of malted milk, his hands clenched tightly, veins bulging, his eyes swirling with humiliation and malice.
The trap he had set had been casually dismantled by that woman.
No—it hadn’t just been broken. She had turned it around and struck him back.
The jeep drove away from the oppressive apartment block and returned to the wide road, but the atmosphere inside the cabin had turned subtly strange.
Lu Jingheng drove forward, eyes on the road, while his gaze kept drifting involuntarily toward Ruan Wen beside him.