After eating and bathing, Jiang Yao felt only two words in her heart: so comfortable!
She went back to the room, planning to lie down and rest for a while, but saw a straight-backed figure sitting by the bed, as if waiting for her.
“…Aren’t you going to the unit?”
Jiang Yao walked around to her side of the bed.
Qin Mu’s lips pressed into a straight line. He waited until she finished drying her hair before speaking. “Where did you go hunting today?”
The atmosphere suddenly became a bit tense. Jiang Yao recited the excuse she had prepared. “Just in the nearby mountains. I wandered around and happened to run into some wild chickens and a rabbit.”
Qin Mu: “You didn’t go to the back mountain of Qianjin Production Team?”
“What Qianjin Production Team? I don’t even know where that is.”
Xiao Hei: 【Sister Yao, he suspects you!】
【Let him suspect. Today I was a bearded man, not a young girl. If he can trace it back to me, I’d be impressed. Besides, I even helped—if not for me, those people would’ve escaped.】
Xiao Hei: 【Then when are you planning to deliver those boxes to the military?】
【No rush. I’ll deal with Qin Mu first—that man doesn’t even know how to be gentle with women.】
Qin Mu frowned. What boxes?
What was inside them?
He wanted to know immediately, but he couldn’t reveal that he could hear Jiang Yao’s thoughts.
In a moment of urgency, Qin Mu suddenly remembered what his grandmother had told him. He coughed lightly and softened his tone.
“Today’s mission was in Qianjin Production Team. I was worried you might have gone there and been seen. If something came up during an investigation and I didn’t know, it could lead to misunderstandings. Sorry—my tone earlier wasn’t good.”
The irritation in Jiang Yao’s heart eased a little, though not completely. His habit of keeping a cold face still needed fixing.
“Oh~ so that’s how it is. I thought your family treated wives like criminals under interrogation.”
After all, the first time they met, he had interrogated her.
Now, most of her romantic thoughts had faded. She said coolly, “I said I didn’t go, so I didn’t go. If you don’t believe me, go investigate yourself. Why bother asking me?”
【Jerk!】
Qin Mu couldn’t understand it—he had already softened his tone, so how did he get upgraded from “jerk” to “bastard”?
“I believe you.”
Jiang Yao lay down under the blanket. “Whatever. Whether you believe me or not, you know in your heart. Words can be fake.”
If someone’s words didn’t match their thoughts, no amount of explanation would help.
Qin Mu wanted to say something more, but suddenly a young soldier came to call him from outside.
The conversation ended abruptly.
After he left, Xiao Hei said: 【Sister Yao, you’ve really grown—you weren’t even afraid to talk back just now.】
Jiang Yao snorted. 【Outside, I play the weaker side so Grandma can back me up. Inside the house, if I’m in the right, I’ll stand up for myself.】
To her, even twisted logic counted as logic.
…
Qin Mu didn’t return until evening.
After dinner, Jiang Yao sat on the bed humming while applying lotion. When Xiao Hei exchanged items, it had gotten several boxes of lotion from other systems—enough for her to use for years.
After applying it, the room was filled with a faint fragrance. Jiang Yao looked at the hangnail by her finger, curled her fingers, and couldn’t resist pulling it.
“Hiss—”
She wasn’t gentle and tore off a small piece of skin, making her wince.
Xiao Hei: 【So clumsy!】
Jiang Yao: 【Say one more sarcastic thing and see if I don’t cancel your year-end bonus.】
Xiao Hei: 【You—】
Jiang Yao: 【What about me? That’s called hitting the snake at its weak point.】
Seeing Xiao Hei sulk and ignore her, she didn’t bother coaxing it. The little guy would calm down on its own soon enough.
She quickly applied some ointment to her hand. The hangnails were caused by the original owner’s dry, peeling skin. Although she had been taking care of it, it would take time to improve.
Creak—
The door opened. Qin Mu entered, still carrying the dampness of a recent wash.
She casually asked, “Have you eaten? Grandma left some food for you in the pot.”
“I’ve already eaten.”
Qin Mu walked to the bed and quickly stripped down to just a tank top and shorts.
As soon as he lay down, he smelled a faint fragrance.
His nose twitched slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn’t.
…
Early the next morning, when Qin Mu went to the unit, Wen Zhongcheng ran into him. Before saying anything, he leaned in to sniff.
“Well, look at you—smelling pretty good. My wife Yuzhi said your little wife looks nice, just a bit thin. Seems like you two are getting along well.”
Wen Zhongcheng was the only one in the unit who knew the inside story of Qin Mu and Jiang Yao’s marriage.
Qin Mu lowered his head and sniffed his clothes—the same scent he had noticed last night.
“I just bought her some skincare cream.”
Wen Zhongcheng said, “More than that. The wives in the compound say you bought her quite a lot. You really dote on her.”
He hadn’t seen it himself, but his son had described it vividly—who knew how exaggerated it was.
Qin Mu lowered his gaze slightly. Thinking about what he had done yesterday, he said quietly, “I didn’t arrange things properly before. Treating her well is only right.”
It was his duty as a husband.
“I heard you caught spies while clearing mines yesterday?”
“Mm.”
After following the map to the location, he had scouted alone. Learning that supplies were delivered every two days, he arranged for an ambush.
They had only caught the people above ground, not those below.
Fortunately, the interrogation was timely, and they managed to dismantle the operation. The two locations were now under guard.
Wen Zhongcheng clicked his tongue and put his hands behind his head. “You really have luck chasing after you.”
Qin Mu was younger than him but had more military achievements. Sometimes he even earned merit during field training—let alone this time. After staying underground for so long, there might really be something valuable down there.
At the military district meeting room, Wen Zhongcheng dropped his casual demeanor and attended the meeting with Qin Mu.
“The capital has already sent a team of geologists and researchers. For now, the soldiers from our two regiments will take turns standing guard,” Lin Yuanchao announced seriously.
Qin Mu frowned slightly. After Lin Yuanchao finished, he proposed temporarily taking control of Qianjin Production Team.
“Commander Lin, Qianjin Production Team is very close to the exit point. I think it’s necessary to control the flow of people entering and leaving. Also, the entire area between the entrance and exit should be monitored so any unusual activity can be detected.”
Even though the operation had been dismantled, no one knew if there were still people underground.
What if the other side chose to fight to the death?
Lin Yuanchao considered it. He personally thought Qin Mu’s idea was feasible, but—
“The area is too large. Qin Mu, to completely seal off three mountains would require a lot of manpower.”
Whether they could rotate shifts would be an issue.
“Commander Lin, we can set up two sentries every 500 meters. The rest can be divided into five groups as mobile patrols, rotating every two hours.”
This method minimized manpower usage and wouldn’t exhaust the soldiers.
Lin Yuanchao and Wen Zhongcheng both widened their eyes, as if wondering what exactly was inside Qin Mu’s head.