Since they were already here, he wanted to show her around and help her get familiar with the area.
Otherwise, if he left her here alone, she might start overthinking things.
Before Lu Xinran could answer, he added, “If you’re tired and don’t want to walk anymore, forget it. You can stay home and rest. Just wait for me to come back.”
Only then did he remember that she had walked quite a lot with him today. After all, she was such a delicate young woman—
But unexpectedly, Lu Xinran answered decisively, “It’s fine. I’m not tired. I want to take a look too. I can also walk around the family compound while I’m at it.”
“Okay. Then let’s go now.”
“Okay.”
Li Yanfeng then took Lu Xinran to the family compound cafeteria.
Actually, he didn’t live here and didn’t come over very often, so he wasn’t particularly familiar with the family compound.
But he still knew where the cafeteria was.
They walked side by side. By now, Li Yanfeng was already taking good care of Lu Xinran and deliberately walking very slowly.
Along the way, they encountered several military wives who were heading back to work.
Without exception, they all looked at the two of them and whispered among themselves.
Although Li Yanfeng didn’t live in the family compound, which military wife hadn’t heard all about his “famous exploits”?
Everyone knew that Colonel Li had scared away his blind-date candidates. Throughout the military district, everyone also knew that Colonel Li had never been particularly close to any of the other commanders.
Yet there was actually a woman bold enough to walk so closely beside him?
It was practically a miracle.
Lu Xinran also looked around curiously. Seeing the reactions of the military wives, she was genuinely puzzled.
Even if she hadn’t come this time, he was still engaged to Lu Manling. So why would he go on blind dates with other girls?
He didn’t seem like that kind of person.
Li Yanfeng was also quietly observing her. Seeing that she seemed to be deep in thought, he spoke in a low voice after a moment.
“If you have any questions, you can ask me.”
Lu Xinran’s footsteps paused.
She was actually rather surprised. Sure enough, nothing could escape his sharp eyes.
Since she had doubts and he had taken the initiative to ask, there was no need for her to hide them and make wild guesses on her own.
“Today I heard the sisters-in-law say that you’ve scared away quite a few women your family tried to match you with. Did you go on blind dates before?”
She tilted her head slightly and looked up at Li Yanfeng. His eyes held a trace of scrutiny.
Li Yanfeng frowned, and his expression turned somewhat cold.
He stopped walking as well and looked at her seriously.
“I’ve never gone on a blind date. They were the ones who had people come to ask me about it, and I refused.”
“Later, some of them secretly came to look at me. They got scared and ran away, but that had nothing to do with me.”
Lu Xinran caught the faint hint of innocence in his eyes.
She suppressed the corners of her lips that were threatening to curl upward.
A big, intimidating man looking wronged—it was such a huge contrast.
“Don’t listen to their nonsense. I’m not that kind of person,” he reiterated.
Lu Xinran nodded.
“I know. Rumors really are powerful. If three people say the same thing, everyone starts believing it.”
“As long as you tell me it’s not true, I’ll believe you.”
Lu Xinran looked directly into his eyes, her voice firm and unwavering.
Beneath Li Yanfeng’s calm exterior, his heart was still touched.
Her voice was gentle, yet somehow carried an extraordinary strength.
“Mm.”
He nodded.
He wasn’t good at saying sweet or pretty things. He preferred to prove everything through his actions.
“Let’s go.”
Lu Xinran felt that after she said those words, he seemed to walk with his head held even higher.
His posture had already been straight and upright, like a pine tree. But now, she could almost see a hint of pride in him.
After walking for about fifteen minutes, they finally arrived at the family compound cafeteria.
It was already one in the afternoon, well past mealtime.
Li Yanfeng led Lu Xinran to sit in a corner while he went to the serving window to see what was left.
Lu Xinran didn’t insist on doing anything herself. As long as she followed Li Yanfeng’s arrangements here, that was enough.
When Li Yanfeng reached the serving window, he found that there were basically no dishes left. If he were eating alone, he wouldn’t have cared and would have eaten whatever was available.
But now, he specifically asked the cook to prepare two meat dishes.
After paying with money and ration coupons, he even urged him, “Chef, please hurry. My wife is hungry.”
The military wife responsible for serving food nearby stretched her neck to look outside.
She knew this notorious “living King of Hell.” He was famously fierce-looking, and whenever the wives chatted among themselves, they often talked about him.
Hearing him say that, she blurted out without thinking, “You have a wife already? What girl would dare marry you?”
The disbelief in her voice was so obvious that the air around them seemed to freeze.
There were still several people in the cafeteria, mostly officers who were on leave, along with a few military wives.
They all knew Li Yanfeng.
Feeling his sharp gaze fall on her, the serving lady immediately gave an awkward laugh and tried to explain.
“Hehe, that’s not what I meant. I mean, uh—”
Just then, a gentle voice came from behind.
“Yanfeng, what’s wrong? Is there still any food?”
Li Yanfeng turned around.
At some point, Lu Xinran had already walked over. There was a gentle, elegant smile on her face.
She didn’t just ask him. She also slipped her arm through his.
That single gesture clearly announced her identity and was the best possible rebuttal.
Forget being afraid of him—she was clearly very close to him.
Li Yanfeng was so startled by her action that he momentarily forgot to speak.
In this era, even married couples and lovers generally weren’t openly affectionate in public. There was hardly any physical contact between them while walking outside.
Now that Lu Xinran had linked her arm through his, it looked particularly bold to everyone else.
Fortunately, Li Yanfeng quickly recovered and said, “There is. I asked the cook to prepare two dishes. They’ll be ready soon. Let’s wait a little.”
“Okay. Are you waiting here? Shall we go sit down together?”
Lu Xinran always spoke softly and gently.
“Okay.”
They returned to their seats together.
The serving lady looked extremely embarrassed.
As soon as they sat down, before Li Yanfeng could say anything, someone came over to greet them.
“Colonel Li, is this your wife?”
The man who approached them was an officer, probably a battalion commander or higher.
“Yes, she’s my wife.”
“Battalion Commander Sun, are you on leave today?” Li Yanfeng casually asked.
“Yes. I just started my home leave. I’ll be heading back to my hometown tonight.”
“Sounds good.”
Li Yanfeng responded indifferently.
“When are you registering your marriage? I’ll be waiting for your wedding sweets.”
“In a couple of days. Sure, come over to the house then and have a meal.”
After a few brief pleasantries, the man left. They weren’t particularly close, after all.
By then, the people in the cafeteria gradually began leaving.
The military wives working in the cafeteria also came out to clean.
Li Yanfeng and Lu Xinran sat facing each other.
After a moment, he said quietly, “Xinran, thank you for just now—”
“Thank me for what? I didn’t do anything.”
Lu Xinran looked genuinely confused.
It was as if what she had just done was nothing more than the most ordinary thing in the world.
The corners of Li Yanfeng’s lips twitched, but he didn’t say anything.
He knew that her gesture just now had been her way of standing up for him, preventing others from making fun of him.
Since she didn’t want to talk about it, he wouldn’t spell it out so bluntly either.
After a moment, he said, “Xinran, shall we register our marriage on Monday?”