The whistle was piercingly sharp, like a cold blade that instantly sliced through the intimate, ambiguous atmosphere in the room.
One long blast, followed by two short ones.
That was the signal for the entire regiment to enter first-level combat readiness!
Lu Zhan froze mid-motion.
The blazing desire in his eyes was forcibly suppressed by reason and a soldier’s instinct within a single second.
Although his body was still taut as a rock, and the veins on his forehead were still throbbing, he didn’t hesitate for even a moment.
“Fuck!”
Lu Zhan cursed under his breath, his voice filled with the frustration of having his desires abruptly interrupted.
He swiftly rolled off Su Man, his movement so fast that it stirred up a gust of wind.
The husband who had just been lost in the pleasures of tenderness vanished in an instant, replaced by the decisive and formidable regiment commander, Lu Zhan.
“What happened? What’s going on?”
Su Man was startled by the whistle as well. She sat up with her clothes disheveled, staring at him in confusion.
“Emergency mission.”
As he spoke, Lu Zhan quickly fastened the buttons of his uniform, grabbed the utility belt from the table, and buckled it around his waist with a sharp click.
He turned, yanked his combat pack out of the cabinet, and slung it over his shoulder.
The entire process took less than thirty seconds.
That was what it meant to be a soldier.
No matter what they were doing, no matter how reluctant they were to leave, when the whistle sounded, it was an order. And orders came before everything else.
Watching his swift, fluid movements, Su Man hadn’t even had time to feel disappointed before worry took its place.
“Is it really that urgent? Is something happening at the border…”
“Don’t ask.”
Lu Zhan cut her off, put on his military cap, and pulled the brim low, hiding the emotions in his eyes.
He strode to the bedside and looked at Su Man, who was still curled up in the corner of the bed.
Her hair was disheveled, her lips swollen and flushed, and the collar of her shirt was still open, revealing a patch of snowy-white skin.
That sight was practically a test of his self-control.
Lu Zhan took a deep breath and forced himself to look away.
He reached out and ran his rough thumb firmly across Su Man’s lips. His touch was somewhat forceful, carrying a hint of punishment.
“Lock the door.”
“Don’t open it for anyone who knocks. Except me.”
“Take good care of Da Bao and Er Bao.”
Each instruction was brief and firm, yet they revealed just how worried he was about her.
Su Man nodded and reached out to catch the hem of his uniform.
“What about you? When will you be back?”
Lu Zhan was silent for a second.
Then he suddenly bent down and, with his cap still on, bit down hard on Su Man’s lips.
He really bit her.
Su Man winced in pain and let out a soft cry.
“Ow…”
“Remember this.”
Lu Zhan released her, his gaze fierce, like a wolf staring down its prey.
“I’ll leave this debt outstanding for now.”
“When I get back, I’ll collect it—with interest. You won’t be getting out of bed for three days and three nights.”
With that, he didn’t linger any longer.
He turned, pulled open the door, and disappeared into the night.
“Bang!”
The door slammed shut, making even the paper on the windows tremble.
Su Man touched her sore lips and listened to the roar of the jeep fading into the distance. Her heart felt strangely empty.
This man…
He really was a dog.
Yet for some reason, those threatening words made her feel incredibly reassured.
As long as he said he would come back, he definitely would.
The room fell silent once more.
Su Man sighed and straightened the clothes Lu Zhan had just messed up.
The basin of water for washing her feet was still on the floor, already growing cold.
She got out of bed, poured the water away, and tidied everything up.
It was late at night. Aside from the commotion that had just occurred, the compound had once again fallen into silence.
Su Man lay back down, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.
The lingering romantic thoughts from earlier had completely disappeared. Her mind was filled with the look in Lu Zhan’s eyes before he left, along with everything that had happened recently.
Then she suddenly remembered something.
She got up and walked barefoot to the wardrobe.
Opening the bottom drawer, she took out the redwood box.
The box containing the secret of her birth.
She lifted the lid.
Inside lay the black-and-white photograph.
Su Man picked it up and, under the faint glow of the kerosene lamp, carefully examined the plaque in the background.
“Lu Residence.”
The two words were blurry, yet under the lamplight, they seemed especially glaring.
Lu Zhan’s reaction when he saw this photograph on the way home that day had been far too strange.
Shock. Disbelief. And even a trace of… fear?
He had asked who her mother was.
But according to Su Man’s memories, her mother had simply been an ordinary rural woman. Apart from being rather beautiful and knowing how to embroider, there had been nothing particularly unusual about her.
If her mother really had some connection to the Lu family in the capital, then why had she ended up in that impoverished mountain village?
And Lu Zhan had said that this was the Lu family’s old residence.
Didn’t that mean…
She and Lu Zhan might somehow be related?
The thought sent a chill through Su Man.
No. That couldn’t be right.
If they were blood relatives, Lu Zhan would have said so directly that day instead of acting so hesitant and evasive.
Besides, judging from the way Lu Zhan treated her, that possessiveness was definitely not the kind one had toward a relative.
There had to be another secret hidden beneath all this.
Su Man’s fingers unconsciously brushed against the red cord around her neck.
The copper key was pressed against her chest, warmed by her body heat.
Lu Zhan had stared at this key for a long time that day at the medical unit as well.
What exactly could it unlock?
A treasure belonging to the Lu family?
Or perhaps some secret, classified documents that were never meant to see the light of day?
Just as Su Man was lost in thought—
“Click.”
An extremely faint sound suddenly came from outside the window.
It sounded like someone had stepped on and snapped a dead branch.
Every hair on Su Man’s body instantly stood on end.
She hurriedly blew out the kerosene lamp.
The room plunged into absolute darkness.
Holding her breath, Su Man silently slid off the bed. Keeping close to the wall, she slowly made her way toward the window.
She carefully lifted the edge of the curtain and peered outside through the gap.
There was no moon tonight, and the courtyard was pitch-black.
She couldn’t see a thing.
Had she imagined it?
Was it just the wind?
Or a stray cat?
Just as Su Man was beginning to think she had been overly nervous and was about to let go of the curtain—
A dark shadow suddenly flashed across the top of the courtyard wall.
It moved incredibly fast, agile and sure-footed. This was definitely no ordinary thief, let alone someone like Zhao Guihua, the foul-mouthed shrew.
That person knew martial arts!
And the spot where the shadow landed was none other than—
The kitchen!
Su Man’s heart began pounding wildly.
What was in the kitchen?
Nothing but rice, flour, oil, and salt…
And then—
A flash of inspiration struck her.
The hole beneath the floorboards that she had pried open!
She had taken the box, but the hole was still there!
Could this person have come for that box?
Su Man’s hand reached beneath her pillow.
Hidden there was a pair of scissors. Lu Zhan had specifically told her to keep them there for self-defense before he left.
She tightened her grip around the scissors, her eyes becoming as sharp as blades in the darkness.
Lu Zhan wasn’t home.
She had to protect this home herself.
Whoever was outside, if they dared touch her things, they had better be prepared to pay for it!
Su Man took a deep breath.
Without making the slightest sound, she moved barefoot toward the door, as silent as a ghost…