The sound was almost a shout, so loud that Lin Yuqiu lost her grip on the chopsticks, which clattered against the rim of the enamel bowl.
She looked up and saw a young girl standing at the door who bore a resemblance to Zhou Runqing. She had a long, shiny black braid, her almond-shaped eyes wide open. Her gaze lingered on her for a moment before turning to glare at Zhou Runqing, and she appeared to be trembling with anger.
“Brother, you actually dared to bring her to the cafeteria! Aren’t you afraid someone you know will recognize her?”
“Mom and Sister Shiyun are both here, let’s see how you handle this!”
Before he finished speaking, the beautiful female doctor walked in arm in arm with a woman in military uniform.
The woman had a graceful figure, and her eyes and brows exuded an elegant and noble air. Her fair and even-looking features made it impossible to guess her age.
His eyes, however, were sharp as if they had been tempered with ice. He only glanced at her briefly before giving her another look.
Even with a restrained gaze, one can still detect a hint of contempt and disdain.
She then turned to the man beside her with a serious expression, her face as somber as if she were looking at a disgraceful son. Her voice was firm and authoritative, carrying the authority of a mother: “Come out!”
Lin Yuqiu instantly realized that she was Zhou Runqing’s mother.
The man beside her remained calm, simply turning slightly to the side, his warm breath brushing against her ear, his voice low and soothing: “Don’t be afraid, it’s alright. You eat first, I’ll go out for a bit.”
Zhou Runqing stood up and walked to Zhou Wanyi’s side. His gaze swept over his younger sister, and his eyes carried an undeniable warning: “Don’t cause me any trouble.”
As soon as the person stepped out of that door, Zhou Wanyi rushed up to Lin Yuqiu, chin held high in a defiant manner, looking her up and down with disdain in her tone: “You’re the person on my brother’s marriage application? Who exactly are you? How many people are in your family? What do your parents do? What’s your purpose in marrying my brother?”
“Wanyi, you’re going too far. Are you checking someone’s household registration?” Guard Xiao Liu couldn’t stand it anymore and tried to smooth things over. “How can you interrogate people like that? It’s like you’re interrogating a criminal. If you go too far, the regimental commander will definitely punish you.”
“You have no right to speak here.” Zhou Wanyi glanced at Xiao Liu, then looked at the woman in front of her with a hostile expression.
She was indeed born with a delicate and pitiful appearance, with fair skin and a beautiful face. Even wearing coarse, old clothes couldn’t hide her endearing charm.
Especially her pair of eyebrows, which seemed to be frowning but not quite, giving the impression that someone had bullied her.
She couldn’t understand how her wise and intelligent brother could like such a pitiful and delicate girl, and even do such unconventional things for her.
It was her brother who told her that marriage should be based on social standing and family background.
She was forbidden from associating with unruly people since childhood, but how come she became so blinded by greed, even disregarding her childhood sweetheart?
“Answer my question. You’re so timid and pitiful. How could my brother have fallen for you? I really don’t understand.”
Li Shiyun walked in, glanced at Lin Yuqiu with a complicated look, and then frowned and said, “Wanyi, this is going too far.”
Zhou Wanyi sighed and said, “Sister Shiyun, you are too kind. This woman has already been brought to the compound by my brother and is about to move in. You are still speaking up for her.”
After saying that, he looked at Lin Yuqiu with a half-smile, “Our Zhou family has a high threshold; not just anyone can step in.”
“Tell me quickly, why did my brother marry you? I’ve never heard of him having a marriage partner like you before.”
Lin Yuqiu said expressionlessly, “You should ask your brother why he married me, not me.”
Zhou Wanyi was furious at her attitude. “Don’t be so smug.”
“My parents will never agree to you marrying into the family. In my mother’s eyes, the daughter-in-law is Sister Shiwen, and in my eyes, the sister-in-law is also Sister Shiwen. Just give up on that idea.”
“You’re not trying to threaten my brother, are you? Does he like you? I’ve never heard of you before.”
“Over the years, my brother has only been close to one woman besides me, his own sister, and that is Sister Shiyun.”
Lin Yuqiu didn’t know where this sudden surge of bitterness came from, and insisted, “I don’t know.”
Zhou Wanyi persisted, saying, “You must have threatened my brother. Explain yourself.”
Just as the standoff was reaching its conclusion, a sharp shout suddenly came from the doorway: “Zhou Wanyi!”
Zhou Runqing walked in with a stern face, giving Zhou Wanyi a sharp, piercing look.
Zhou Wanyi was most afraid of her brother showing this kind of look. She had never seen her older brother so fierce before, and she immediately pouted, feeling wronged.
But her brother acted as if he hadn’t seen her. Not only did he not comfort her, but before she could calm down, he turned his head toward the guard behind him and asked in a cold voice, “Xiao Liu, what kind of soldiers are being recruited for this batch of female soldiers? When is the deadline for registration?”
Zhou Wanyi’s heart skipped a beat.
Then, the guard, Xiao Liu, coughed lightly and said, “Reporting to the regimental commander, we are recruiting female soldiers for logistics and communications! Registration started half a month ago, and there are still ten days left until the deadline.”
Then, he embellished the story, saying, “Training on the island is incredibly tough! Anyone who goes there will be skinned alive! Especially those delicate girls who never lift a finger. Once they get to the island, the sun is so scorching it can peel off three layers of skin, and the sea breeze is like a knife, chapping their fair and tender faces. Even the prettiest girls will turn into black coal balls.
It’s pitiful that no matter how tough and tiring it is, they still have to patrol with guns during the day, and they also have to work with the male soldiers on construction projects and carry supplies. I’m afraid they’ll be crying and going home not long after they arrive!”
Zhou Wanyi was so frightened that her eyes didn’t even blink, when she heard her older brother’s eerie voice drift over: “Register her.”
The bodyguard, Xiao Liu, winked at Zhou Wanyi and nodded in agreement: “Yes.”
Zhou Wanyi was terrified. Her face turned deathly pale, and her previous arrogance vanished instantly. Her voice was trembling with tears as she hurriedly stamped her feet and begged for mercy: “I won’t go! Big brother, please, I don’t want to go to the island! Is that hellhole even fit for a human? It’s so windy and sunny, I’m not going to suffer there.”
Zhou’s mother also came in, her gaze falling on Lin Yuqiu. It wasn’t exactly friendly, but she no longer showed that contemptuous look.
When Zhou Wanyi saw her mother, she acted like she had found a savior and said coquettishly, “Mom, please stop my brother, I don’t want to go to the island.”
Zhou’s mother was at a loss. “Your brother always keeps his word. Who told you to provoke him?”
Zhou Wanyi was even angrier: “I’m going to tell Dad. Dad will definitely not let me suffer. Brother, you can’t be so domineering!”
Zhou Runqing ignored her cries and walked straight to Lin Yuqiu. His cold aura completely disappeared, and his gaze fell on her bulging belly, which was even full while sitting. His voice even softened a bit, “Are you full? I’ll take you home first.”
Lin Yuqiu seemed to be startled as well, and obediently hummed in response, followed by a burp, before quickly covering her mouth.
She didn’t see the man’s lips curling into a smile, and how he was eager to leave this chaotic scene. But this moment was keenly observed by someone else in the corner, leaving them only with a sense of sadness.
Lin Yuqiu got up and went to the door. As she passed by Zhou’s mother, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Zhou Runqing stopped and said softly, “Mom, I’ll take her there first.”
Surprisingly, Zhou’s mother did not object and nodded slightly.
Lin Yuqiu was full of questions and still found it unbelievable even after getting into the car.
The Lin family is undoubtedly a capitalist family, and even if the whole family is implicated, in this special circumstance, no one would agree to their son marrying her.
Moreover, being born in the compound, the political center, is a place where most people are eager to pursue power and official careers.
The car was dimly lit. Zhou Runqing did not sit in the passenger seat as usual, but sat next to her in the back.
Despite the space not being particularly cramped, the moment he sat down, it felt as if most of the surrounding air had been sucked away.
She subconsciously moved towards the window, her shoulder resting against it, but their knees inevitably touched.
His leg muscles were hard, and the feel of his clothes against her skin was delicate and clear, spreading from her legs along the veins to her heart, making her even breathe more easily.
Silence spread silently through the carriage, while streetlights flashed by outside the window, casting blurry halos of light.
As she stood there in a daze, she suddenly heard a deep male voice beside her: “What are you thinking about?”
Lin Yuqiu felt uneasy, then suddenly asked in a low voice, “Did you really sign your sister up to be a female soldier guarding the island?”
Perhaps to hear her clearly, Zhou Runqing turned slightly to her side, and her legs, which were already touching, seemed to feel a tingling sensation crawling over them.
She had nowhere to hide, but the man’s voice was devoid of any emotion: “She’s too spoiled and needs to be tempered, otherwise she’ll never understand the principle that trouble comes from the mouth.”
Lin Yuqiu bit her lip, hesitated for a long time, and then whispered, “If we get married, will we go to such a faraway place?”
The man seemed to sense the unease in her tone and turned to look at her. “What’s wrong? Were you scared by what Xiao Liu said?”
“I don’t really want to.” Her eyelashes were lowered, and her voice was barely audible. “I want to stay here and take care of my mother.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the carriage became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
In the darkness, she waited for his response.
Before the man could speak, her hand, which was placed in front of her, was suddenly and tightly gripped by his warm palm, with such force that she couldn’t break free at all.
The sensation of their fingers touching was more intimate than ever before, like vines wrapping around branches, tightening thread by thread, giving her the inexplicable feeling that her heart was also being entangled.