Ever since Lu Xinran arrived at the family compound yesterday carrying her suitcase to look for Li Yanfeng, the whole compound had been buzzing with excitement.
Today, the moment Li Yanfeng and Lu Xinran appeared at the entrance of the family compound, they attracted a huge amount of attention.
The military wives coming and going all cast curious glances their way.
Li Yanfeng had previously lived in the dormitories at the military camp rather than in the family compound, so many of the military wives and family members had never seen him.
But they had heard plenty about the rumors that he was extremely fierce and had scared away every girl he had been introduced to.
Now that they finally saw him in person, they realized the rumors really hadn’t exaggerated anything.
Colonel Li really did look terrifying!
What shocked them even more was that a man this fierce had actually found a woman willing to spend her life with him.
They heard she had even come all the way from Shanghai by herself.
“Here they come! That’s Colonel Li!”
“Oh my, he really does look fierce! I’d better not let my Da Mao see him, or he’ll definitely be scared to tears!”
“Forget Da Mao. Even I’m scared!”
Because Li Yanfeng looked so intimidating and had such a powerful presence, they didn’t dare openly stare at him. They could only sneak glances at him from the corner of their eyes.
They didn’t even dare approach him. One look from him would be enough to frighten them pale.
So they could only watch from a distance and whisper among themselves.
Li Yanfeng kept his eyes straight ahead, seemingly unconcerned with their gazes.
Although Lu Xinran thought she had dressed low-key enough, with her hair styled in a simple single braid, and had even left behind the butterfly hair ribbon she had worn yesterday, she still looked different in the eyes of the military wives.
Many of them had already seen Lu Xinran yesterday.
Some of the wives had firmly refused to believe that Colonel Li could actually have a wife.
What kind of girl would be bold enough to marry him?
“Oh my, that girl is really beautiful! She’s even prettier than the girls from the art troupe.”
“She’s tall, and her skin is so fair. You can tell at a glance that she’s from the city.”
“Of course. I heard Shanghai is a big city!”
“Oh my, she looks so delicate and pampered. Who would’ve thought she’d be so brave?”
“Could it be that Colonel Li forced her into it? I just hope he doesn’t hit that girl!”
“That can’t be. He’s an officer, after all. He couldn’t do something like that.”
“Who knows? Anyway, we should keep an eye on things. He really does look like the kind of man who would hit someone!”
Lu Xinran could feel everyone’s intense gazes. Their voices weren’t particularly quiet either, and she could vaguely hear what they were saying.
She bit her lower lip and thought to herself that it seemed Li Yanfeng didn’t have a particularly good reputation among the wives in the family compound.
It was all because of that intimidating face of his!
She also imitated Li Yanfeng and kept her eyes straight ahead, concentrating on walking.
Fortunately, it was a workday, and it was currently the time when everyone was heading off to work. Once they passed the road near the entrance, there were hardly any people around.
Lu Xinran quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Having so many people stare at her and gossip about her was indeed a little overwhelming.
Knowing that she walked slowly, Li Yanfeng deliberately slowed his pace today while carrying her suitcase, walking alongside her.
Anyone who knew him understood how difficult this was for Colonel Li.
He normally walked like the wind, with his long legs taking big strides.
Lu Xinran quietly observed the family compound as they walked.
After walking for quite a while, she only saw two apartment buildings, both not far from the entrance.
Beyond that, most of the homes were tile-roofed houses with small courtyards. The houses closer to the outside had probably been built earlier.
The farther they went in, the newer the houses became, but she didn’t see any more apartment buildings.
Li Yanfeng had applied for housing rather late.
The small courtyard he had been assigned was in the innermost area, near the perimeter wall. Only the two small courtyards to the east and west had people living in them.
There was roughly twenty meters between the houses.
The house was very new and looked as though it had only been built recently.
“Was this house just built?” Lu Xinran finally took the initiative to ask.
She was about to live here, so learning more about the place could only be beneficial.
Besides, she would soon be living with Li Yanfeng. Staying silent all the time wouldn’t make much sense.
“Yes. It was completed only a year ago, so there aren’t many neighbors nearby.”
“This is the kind of small courtyard available now. If you’re used to living in an apartment—”
Before he could finish, Lu Xinran immediately said, “I like living in a courtyard like this. I don’t like apartments.”
A courtyard like this was spacious and bright, with each household having its own separate space. She could grow vegetables and raise chickens in the yard.
It was practically an idyllic rural lifestyle.
Only then did Li Yanfeng quietly relax beneath his calm exterior.
“As long as you like it.”
Lu Xinran continued looking around the courtyard.
Apart from these two neighboring houses, she would have to walk another five or six minutes before reaching an area with more occupied courtyards.
That area was roughly in the middle of the family compound and was already fairly densely populated.
Li Yanfeng took a brass key from his pocket and unlocked the courtyard gate.
When the small gate opened, Lu Xinran looked inside, and the scene of the courtyard came into view.
Lu Xinran felt that the courtyard resembled the traditional siheyuan courtyards of later generations. It was almost square, with a flat dirt floor.
Once inside, the main house stood directly opposite the entrance.
There was a kitchen on the left.
In the northwest corner of the courtyard, diagonally opposite the kitchen, was the toilet.
Lu Xinran bit her lip.
She thought to herself that if she needed to use the toilet at night, she would have to leave the house and walk all the way over there. It would be pitch-black outside—
Fortunately, she had her space.
So this wasn’t really a problem for her.
The courtyard was spacious and enclosed by walls. Perhaps because no one had lived there for a long time after it was built, weeds had grown thickly along the walls.
After looking around the courtyard, Lu Xinran was very satisfied.
With such a spacious place, she could grow vegetables.
Otherwise, buying vegetables would mean traveling quite far, which was inconvenient and would also cost money.
After inspecting the courtyard, they went inside the house.
Unlike the dirt floor outside, the interior had concrete flooring.
Apart from the living room, there were three bedrooms.
All three bedrooms were quite spacious, with bright glass windows and concrete floors.
However, there was currently no furniture at all. The rooms were completely empty, waiting for furniture to be brought in.
Just as she was planning what furniture they would need, Li Yanfeng’s deep voice sounded beside her.
“We can go to the logistics department later and get some furniture.”
“If you don’t want the furniture they issue, we can go into town and buy some.”
Li Yanfeng had been quietly observing her the entire time.
Seeing such a simple and crude house, she really hadn’t shown any sign of disgust.
“Is the furniture from the logistics department new, or…?”
“Some of it has been used.”
“Then let’s buy new ones. I brought money with me too—”
“You don’t need to use yours. I have money.”
As he spoke, Li Yanfeng took a passbook from his pocket and handed it to her.
“Take this.”
His movements were somewhat stiff and awkward.
“Huh? What’s this?” Lu Xinran didn’t quite know how to react for a moment.
“This is my passbook. It contains my salary and bonuses, as well as some allowances.”
“Other than sending some money to my family every month, I don’t really have anywhere to spend it. From now on, use this money for our household expenses. That includes buying furniture later.”
Lu Xinran stared blankly as she accepted it.
She opened the passbook, and when she saw the number written inside, her eyes widened in shock—