The bed was covered with a brand-new red mattress, and the pillows were embroidered with a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water.
Against the wall stood a large red wooden cabinet. A brass lock hung on the cabinet door, with a strip of red silk tied to it.
On top of the cabinet sat an enamel washbasin printed with peony patterns. Beside it were two matching enamel cups, the words “Joy of Newlyweds” gleaming on their sides.
Lin Tianxin suddenly realized she had been reborn!
In her previous life, she disliked Lu Ye’s rough nature and refused to marry him. Her father forced her into the marriage, pressing her until she had no choice but to wed him. She disliked Lu Ye and was also afraid of him.
He was simply too big!
On their wedding night, Lu Ye, a vigorous young man full of blood and vitality, had no sense of restraint. Because of the size difference, she pushed him off the bed.
Unexpectedly, Lu Ye didn’t get angry he laughed instead. There was something wolfish hidden in that smile as he immediately pounced on her.
From that moment on, she developed a deep fear of Lu Ye. The next day she went straight back to her parents’ home to continue studying.
For two years she never saw Lu Ye. During that time he came to look for her several times, but she always avoided him and refused to meet him.
What she never expected was that just after she started working, the Lin family was framed and sent down for reeducation.
Her parents and her two older brothers were all sent away. Because she had already married Lu Ye, she escaped that disaster.
She ran to question Lu Ye about why he didn’t help the Lin family. It was the first time they had met since separating after their marriage, and the moment they met she confronted him.
She couldn’t remember what expression Lu Ye had at the time. He only said,
“Lin Tianxin, is the Lin family the only thing in your heart?”
At the time she didn’t know that the Lu family had also been implicated. Later the Lu family was also sent away. In order not to drag her down with them, Lu Ye used his connections to protect her and divorced her, then went into exile with the rest of the Lu family.
She had graduated from medical university and had been working as a doctor in a hospital.
Many years later she finally learned that after Lu Ye was sent away, he had been secretly assigned to carry out a mission. By the time she received the news, Lu Ye had already died in the line of duty.
He used his own death to earn the chance for both the Lin and Lu families to be cleared of charges and return to the city.
But he himself died in that winter of heavy snowfall.
Lin Tianxin owed Lu Ye an apology one she could never repay.
She herself was later murdered. Without Lu Ye’s protection, anyone could bully her. The Lin family refused to acknowledge her, and after their vindication and return to the city, her mother died of cancer.
Her father was heartbroken and cursed her as an unfilial daughter, saying that if not for her, the Lin and Lu families would never have been sent away.
Looking at the familiar bridal chamber, Lin Tianxin realized she had been reborn on her wedding night.
The door creaked open, bringing in the chill from outside and a faint smell of alcohol.
Lu Ye’s tall figure blocked the doorway. His army-green uniform jacket was casually draped over his arm. The white shirt underneath had two buttons undone, revealing sharply defined collarbones. His wheat-colored skin glowed with healthy warmth under the dim yellow light.
He had just finished seeing off the last group of guests, and there was still a hint of drunken heaviness between his brows. When he saw Lin Tianxin sitting on the edge of the bed, twisting the corner of her clothes with her fingers, that heaviness faded, leaving only a soldier’s straightforwardness and a trace of barely noticeable awkwardness.
He strode inside with long steps. His military boots made dull sounds against the floor, each step pounding like a drum in Lin Tianxin’s heart.
He was truly too tall. Standing beside the bed, the shadow he cast almost completely covered her. The pressure brought by his 190-centimeter height felt even stronger than she remembered.
Lin Tianxin subconsciously shrank back a little. That subtle movement didn’t escape Lu Ye’s eyes.
A flash of something complicated passed through his gaze, but he said nothing. He simply tossed his jacket onto the nearby chair, revealing the bulging muscles of his arms—solid muscles built from years of training, hard like iron.
“Hungry?”
His tone wasn’t gentle, even carrying his usual rough edge.
Lin Tianxin raised her head and blinked.
Lu Ye raised an eyebrow slightly, the corner of his mouth curling into a roguish smile.
“What does blinking mean? Hungry?”
He had been busy all day and had secretly come to check on her several times, but she had stayed in the bridal room the entire time. She hadn’t eaten any of the food people had brought.
She really was stubborn!
“Wait here!”
Lu Ye turned around and had just taken a few big steps toward the door when a soft, aggrieved voice came from behind him.
“Lu Ye…”
Before he could turn around, the woman behind him rushed forward and hugged him from behind.
Lu Ye’s whole body stiffened, as if someone had cast a freezing spell on him.
The person behind him was light, but her arms held him tightly. Her cheek pressed against his back with a faint trembling warmth, and her breath brushed lightly against the fabric of his shirt, sending a fine tingling sensation across his skin.
He had spent his whole life training on the field, crawling through mud and charging through gunfire. What kind of hard battles hadn’t he seen? Yet at this moment, with just this gentle embrace, he felt more tense than when running five kilometers carrying thirty pounds of equipment.
“What’s wrong?” His voice was hoarser than before, deliberately restrained.
Did she dislike marrying him so much that she started crying on their wedding night to soften his heart?
Lin Tianxin buried her face deeper. The tip of her nose brushed the faint scent of soap on his shirt mixed with the cold air from outside a smell that belonged only to him.
In her previous life she had always disliked that scent, thinking it was “rough.” Now it made her feel so safe she wanted to cry.
“Don’t… don’t go,” she murmured into the fabric, her voice slightly nasal. “I’m not hungry.”
Lu Ye was silent for a few seconds before slowly turning around.
Lin Tianxin was still holding him. When he turned, she collided directly into his chest. She instinctively grabbed the front of his shirt. When she looked up, her nose nearly touched his chin.
At such close distance, she could see how tightly his jawline was clenched, the surprise churning in his dark eyes, and the unmistakable awkwardness of someone caught off guard.
“Not hungry?” he asked, looking down at her. His long eyelashes cast faint shadows under his eyes. “You didn’t touch the snacks that were brought at noon.”
He even knew that.
Lin Tianxin’s eyes immediately reddened. Large tears fell helplessly, landing on the back of his hand scalding hot.
She had been blind and foolish. Rejecting such a good man like Lu Ye had caused the tragedy.
In this life, she would not let the tragedy repeat itself. She would not leave or avoid him again, and she would not let the Lin and Lu families fall into despair.
Lu Ye was thrown into a fluster by her sudden tears. He had never seen her look so delicate and tearful.
Clumsily he raised his hand, wanting to wipe away her tears. His fingers paused in midair before he finally switched to a rough, awkward attempt at comforting her.
“Why are you crying? I didn’t even say anything to you…”
“I’m hungry,” she sniffed, her voice hoarse after crying but now a little livelier.
Lu Ye froze for a moment, then a smile appeared in his eyes, that roguish expression creeping back to his brows.
“You should’ve said that earlier. Crying like a little kitten who are you putting on a show for? Didn’t you just say you weren’t hungry? How come you’re hungry now?”
Though his words sounded teasing, his actions were swift. He turned and strode out the door, his military boots thumping loudly against the floor with energetic determination.
“Wait here. I’ll cook you a bowl of egg noodles eat as much as you want.”