Since she was already married to Li Yanfeng, this was something she had to face eventually.
But when it came to that, she really wasn’t ready yet.
The lights came on, instantly brightening the room.
Li Yanfeng noticed that the moment they returned home, the little woman had become distracted.
She was staring blankly at the bedroom.
As someone who had been a reconnaissance soldier, Li Yanfeng immediately guessed what was troubling her. But he didn’t expose her thoughts.
He had just borrowed a bundle of firewood from Sister Xu’s house.
“I’ll go heat some water for you. Do you want to wash your feet or take a bath?” he asked.
“I’ll just wash my face and feet. I’ll take a bath tomorrow.”
She had already showered at the guesthouse earlier, and bathing here wasn’t very convenient anyway. She would take the opportunity to bathe in her space later.
“Okay. Wait for me a moment.”
“I’ll come with you. I might as well learn how to start the fire.”
“Sure.”
The kitchen was right next to the main house, but there were no lights under the eaves, so it was still inconvenient for her to walk over alone.
The kitchen also had an electric light and a large pot specifically for boiling water. They had bought everything together over the past two days.
Li Yanfeng had already filled the water tank and buckets. A dipper hung beside the water tank.
“Take the stool and sit down,” Li Yanfeng said.
He scooped water from the tank into the large pot and carried it over to the earthen stove. Then he began starting the fire. There was also a pair of fire tongs nearby.
“Usually, you use this bark to start a fire. The bark contains oil, so it catches fire more easily.” Li Yanfeng held a match and picked up a piece of bark, patiently explaining it to her.
“Mm, I understand.”
Lu Xinran listened carefully and memorized everything.
“I’ll get a cardboard box later and keep the bark in it.”
“Start the fire with these thinner twigs first.”
Lu Xinran rested her chin on one hand and watched him as he spoke. She was paying such close attention that her beautiful eyes made Colonel Li feel strangely awkward.
“Okay.”
Before long, the fire in the stove was burning brightly. The branches crackled as they burned.
“It’s pretty easy,” Lu Xinran said as she stood up.
The water pot wasn’t very thick, and after about twenty minutes, the water began making the sounds of nearing a boil.
“You don’t need boiling water for soaking your feet. But we should boil some drinking water too. Once it boils, we’ll fill the kettle first,” Li Yanfeng explained.
They couldn’t afford to have no drinking water in the house.
“Okay.”
Lu Xinran was still in the learning stage, so she took everything very seriously.
Once the water had boiled, Li Yanfeng brought over a plastic basin, filled it with hot water, and carried it over for her to soak her feet.
“Wash up, then go to bed early.”
“Okay.”
After washing her face and feet, they were ready to return to the bedroom.
Lu Xinran’s suitcase was still untouched. She planned to wait until Li Yanfeng went to work before unpacking it.
That way, she could take a few things out of her space.
She lay on the bed, feeling somewhat nervous.
Although she and Li Yanfeng were husband and wife now, at the end of the day, they had only known each other for a few days. They were still practically strangers.
Neither the original owner nor Lu Xinran herself could accept doing that kind of thing with a stranger.
Neither her mind nor her body was ready.
But she didn’t know what Li Yanfeng thought about it.
Li Yanfeng took a cold shower. When he walked into the room, his body was still radiating a chill. He was wearing a white undershirt, revealing broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and well-defined muscles.
Lu Xinran glanced at him.
There was no denying that his physique was impressive. He definitely had a well-defined six-pack too.
She quickly looked away, her face growing warm and her heart becoming a little nervous. She closed her eyes, not daring to look at him again.
Li Yanfeng walked in and caught every one of her little movements.
He sat down beside the bed.
“If you’re tired, go to sleep.”
“Mm.”
It was only a little past nine, which was actually still quite early for Lu Xinran.
Li Yanfeng slept on the outside of the bed. Although he appeared calm on the surface, his emotions were also unsettled.
It was his first time sharing a bed with a woman, too.
Late at night, with everything quiet, they could even hear the insects chirping outside.
Then the sound of an argument came from somewhere nearby.
They couldn’t hear it very clearly, but the quarrel sounded quite heated.
Just lying there like this was rather awkward, so Lu Xinran asked, “Is someone arguing? It sounds pretty intense…”
“Probably the vice division commander’s family up ahead.”
“Huh? How do you know?”
She remembered that he had only just moved here too.
“Sister Xu mentioned it when we were having dinner at her house earlier. She said they argue all the time. Everyone is already used to it and doesn’t think much of it anymore.”
“If they argue every day, how can they still live together?”
“How would I know? Maybe every family has its own way of living.”
Li Yanfeng’s tone was indifferent. Clearly, he had no interest in other people’s affairs.
“That’s true.”
Lu Xinran thought to herself that if she wanted to know the gossip around here, she would have to talk to the military wives.
Now that she was living here, she definitely needed to learn more about her surroundings.
“Go to sleep.”
“Okay.”
Lu Xinran agreed and closed her eyes, but her breathing was still uneven. Li Yanfeng knew she was still nervous.
He felt that he needed to say something. Otherwise, she would never be able to fall asleep.
“Comrade Lu Xinran,” he called softly, afraid of startling her.
“Hmm?”
Her eyelashes trembled slightly.
“I know you still have some concerns, and you don’t know me very well yet. Don’t worry. I won’t force you to do that.”
“Once we get to know each other better, everything will happen naturally.”
“So you can sleep peacefully.”
It wasn’t just Lu Xinran. He couldn’t bring himself to do that with a woman he barely knew either.
Lu Xinran stared at him in shock.
“What? You don’t trust my character?” Seeing her expression, a faint, bitter smile appeared at the corner of Li Yanfeng’s lips—one even he didn’t realize was there.
“Of course I do!” Lu Xinran quickly explained.
“Then go to sleep.”
“Okay.”
“I’m turning off the light,” Li Yanfeng said.
The light switch cord was right beside the bed. All he had to do was reach out and pull it.
“Okay.”
Click—
The brightly lit room instantly plunged into darkness.
It was still very cold in the northwestern nights of March, and the quilts they had bought were brand new.
After a while, Lu Xinran’s voice sounded again.
“Li Yanfeng.”
“Hmm?”
“Thank you.”
Lu Xinran spoke sincerely.
Thankfully, the person she had met was him.
If it had been someone else, they might not have been able to treat her this way.
“Go to sleep.”
“Okay.”
This time, she finally closed her eyes.
Whether it was her from the future or the original owner, both were accustomed to sleeping alone in large beds. When they slept, they were always rather free and easy, and neither was good at lying properly in one position all night.
Lu Xinran could only hope that once she fell asleep, she wouldn’t completely let herself go.
She really had done a lot these past few days, traveling all over the place. She was genuinely exhausted.
Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep.
Li Yanfeng finally heard her breathing become slow and even. He turned onto his side.
Once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, he could make out Lu Xinran’s silhouette.
She had finally fallen asleep.
Even in the darkness, he could tell how fair her face was.
She must have washed her hair at the guesthouse earlier. When he leaned a little closer, he could catch the faint fragrance of her hair.
What kind of shampoo did she use?
They usually just washed with soap.
Hers was definitely different.
Li Yanfeng watched her for a while before finally closing his eyes as well.
It wasn’t until the latter half of the night that Li Yanfeng finally realized what his trouble was—