Qin Lie felt utterly unsettled by Jiang Wu’s sudden kiss and that sugary, cloying “sweet talk.”
His face uncontrollably heated up again.
He still had a bellyful of questions in his heart.
But looking into her watery, smiling eyes, all his words got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t ask a single one.
“Glib tongue.”
In the end, he could only force out this utterly powerless reprimand through gritted teeth.
Then he turned and practically fled into the house as if escaping.
Jiang Wu watched his stiff, almost clumsy retreating back, the curve of her smile growing wider and wider.
This man was getting cuter by the day.
…
Early the next morning.
Before dawn, the bugle call once again shattered the island’s tranquility.
As usual, Qin Lie’s eyes snapped open reflexively.
The moment he moved, the woman sleeping soundly in his arms let out a dissatisfied whimper.
Then, like an octopus, she clung even tighter.
Qin Lie looked down at her defenseless sleeping face, his heart softening.
He didn’t roughly push her away like the previous days. Instead, he carefully extracted his arm from beneath her neck.
Then leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Only then did he quietly get out of bed.
When he dressed, his movements were much lighter, afraid of waking the little ancestor still dreaming.
Just as he finished washing up and was about to leave, Jiang Wu rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed.
She was still wearing his oversized old tank top, her jet-black long hair a messy bird’s nest, her face wearing the grogginess and laziness of just waking up.
“Husband, are you leaving?”
Her voice was hoarse and soft.
“Mhm.”
Qin Lie responded, walking to the bedside.
“I’ll make breakfast.”
She started to get out of bed.
“No need.”
Qin Lie pressed her shoulder down.
“Keep sleeping. I’ll just eat at the canteen.”
After last night’s “braised pork incident” that practically alerted the whole regiment, he just wanted to keep a low profile now.
“That won’t do.”
Jiang Wu shook her head, stubbornly pushing his hand aside and getting out of bed.
“Your stomach isn’t good. The canteen food is oily and heavy; it’ll make you uncomfortable.”
“Let me make you a bowl of noodles. It’ll be quick.”
She said, shuffling in her slippers into the kitchen.
Qin Lie watched her slender, busy back, feeling that warm current bubbling up inside him again.
He found himself growing more and more accustomed to—and enjoying—this feeling of being kept in someone’s heart, cared for constantly.
Soon, a steaming bowl of egg noodles was placed before him.
The noodles were chewy hand-pulled noodles, topped with a golden, soft-centered fried egg and sprinkled with vibrant green scallions.
Simple and light, yet so fragrant it made one’s appetite stir.
Qin Lie sat at the table and, in a few slurps, finished the entire bowl of noodles, drinking even the last drop of broth.
After breakfast, he stood up, ready to head to the military base.
But Jiang Wu stopped him.
“Husband, wait a moment.”
She took out a military-green aluminum lunchbox from the kitchen and handed it to him.
“What’s this?”
Qin Lie took it, feeling its weight.
“I packed you lunch.”
Jiang Wu straightened his slightly wrinkled collar for him.
“There’s some leftover braised pork from yesterday.”
“This morning, I also stir-fried some tomatoes and eggs for you.”
“Don’t eat at the canteen at noon; eat what I made for you.”
Her tone was as natural as an ordinary wife seeing her husband off.
Qin Lie looked at the lunchbox in his hand, then at her. Something seemed to clog his throat.
It took several tries before he managed to utter a “Okay.”
He walked out of the yard carrying the lunchbox filled with her care, his steps lighter than usual.
Arriving at the base, Qin Lie’s mood remained unusually good all morning.
During training, a faint smile lingered on his face, leaving his soldiers exchanging bewildered looks.
“Battalion Commander, the Regiment Commander today… did he find money?” a young soldier whispered, sidling up to Zhang Dashan.
“What the hell do you know!”
Zhang Dashan shot him a glare, revealing a mysterious smile.
“This is what they call ‘spirits lifted by happy events’!”
“You just wait and watch the show!”
At noon, the call for mealtime sounded.
Qin Lie, Zhang Dashan, and a few familiar officers sat as usual at a corner table in the canteen.
The canteen’s mass-produced meals were the same as always. Cabbage stewed with tofu, potatoes braised with glass noodles, the staple being dark, unappealing sorghum rice.
It looked utterly unappetizing.
The officers each wore bitter expressions, picking at their food half-heartedly.
Only Qin Lie unhurriedly placed the military-green lunchbox he’d brought on the table.
With a click.
He opened the lunchbox clasp.
A rich meaty aroma mixed with the sweet-sour scent of tomatoes and eggs instantly wafted out.
The officers nearby smelled it and stopped moving.
They turned in unison to look at Qin Lie’s lunchbox.
Inside, the box was divided into two compartments.
One held glistening, reddish-brown braised pork.
The other held bright yellow-and-white stir-fried tomatoes and eggs.
Beneath was fluffy, separate grains of white rice.
The presentation, that aroma… instantly rendered the dark sorghum rice and bland cabbage tofu in their hands worthless.
Gulp.
Zhang Dashan’s throat bobbed heavily.
He stared at the meat in Qin Lie’s lunchbox, eyes glued.
“C-Commander…”
He leaned over, his face plastered with an ingratiating smile.
“Is… is this Sister-in-law’s lovingly made lunch for you?”
“Mhm.”
Qin Lie grunted from his nose.
He picked up his chopsticks, clamped the largest piece of braised pork, put it in his mouth, then narrowed his eyes with an expression of pure enjoyment.
He looked positively punchable.
“Commander, um… let me have a taste?”
Zhang Dashan was practically drooling.
“Just one bite, I just want to taste it!”
“Get lost.”
Qin Lie didn’t even lift his eyelids, coldly uttering a single word.
“This was made by my wife, just for me.”
As he spoke, he scooped a large portion of stir-fried tomatoes and eggs onto his rice.
The way he guarded his food was like a dragon protecting its treasure.
The other officers found it both amusing and enviable.
“Alright, Old Zhang, don’t even think about it. Can’t you see how precious it is to the Commander?”
“Yeah, we just don’t have that kind of luck. We didn’t marry wives as good as Sister-in-law.”
“Ah, comparing people just makes you angry! I’m going home and telling my woman to learn properly from Sister-in-law!”
Amidst the envious, jealous banter, they listlessly ate their own bland meals.
They felt today’s canteen food tasted even worse than usual.
Listening to the flattery and envy around him, Qin Lie’s little bit of vanity was greatly satisfied.
He ate even more heartily.
Just then, a discordant voice rang out.
“Well, Commander Qin, living the good life, huh?”
It was Second Battalion Commander Zhao Gao.
He and Qin Lie had never gotten along well.
They’d been competing since they were both privates.
Zhao Gao walked over with his meal tray.
He glanced at Qin Lie’s absurdly sumptuous lunchbox, then at Qin Lie’s smug expression, a flicker of disdain and jealousy in his eyes.
“What, eating the soft food your wife makes, have you forgotten your own name?”
His words were cutting.
“A grown man, not thinking about achieving merits in the army, just spinning around his wife and kids all day.”
“Qin Lie, oh Qin Lie, I used to think you were somebody. Turns out you’re nothing special.”
“Heroes stumble over beauty. Looks like your time as regiment commander is almost up.”
Zhao Gao’s words were like a thorn, jabbing hard into Qin Lie’s heart.
The previously lively atmosphere in the canteen instantly cooled.
All eyes were on Qin Lie.
The hint of triumph on Qin Lie’s face vanished without a trace, replaced by a terrifying gloom.