The slightly heavy breathing beside her was like an annoying fly in summer, making it impossible for Su Wantang to fall asleep.
Su Wantang was genuinely hot now.
Lu Huaian, lying on the floor, also couldn’t fall asleep immediately. A faint, elegant fragrance drifted into his nostrils, making him feel somewhat restless.
Lu Huaian was 25 this year, right at the prime of his vigor, so it was inevitable that he felt some stirring.
“Lu Huaian, I didn’t mean to enter your room.”
Lu Huaian was startled.
So that was why she had acted that way earlier… she had been shy.
His heart seemed to skip a beat.
“I know.”
“Lu Huaian, although this is a marriage by agreement, I hope that after we’re married, we can respect each other and discuss things together.”
“Mm.”
“And don’t worry, after a year I definitely won’t hold you back. I’ll divorce you right away.”
Lu Huaian didn’t say anything, and Su Wantang took that as his tacit agreement.
“Lu Huaian…”
Amidst the rules they were setting, Su Wantang’s nervousness about sharing a room with a strange man gradually faded. Sleepiness crept in, and she closed her eyes.
Little did she know, in the darkness, a pair of dark eyes watched her for a long time.
At six in the morning, Lu Huaian woke up right on time.
The steady breathing beside him made him unconsciously lighten his movements as he got up.
He neatly folded the bedding into a perfect square, like a block of tofu, and tucked it into the wardrobe.
As Lu Huaian turned around, he caught sight of a pair of snow-white long legs.
His breath hitched, and he quickly left the room.
He asked Aunt Wang for a new set of toiletries, went to the guest room to wash up, and then came out.
Lu Zhentian, who had gotten up around the same time, watched Lu Huaian emerge from the guest room and snorted with disdain: “No backbone.”
No wonder his legs had gone numb from squatting by the door all night without hearing a sound.
All that good environment he’d created, wasted.
Thinking of last night, Lu Huaian said, “Grandpa…”
“Not listening, not listening. A turtle reciting scriptures.”
Lu Zhentian strode off with vigorous steps and returned to his room.
Bang.
The door blocked the view and swallowed the words that had risen to Lu Huaian’s throat.
Thinking of Lu Zhentian’s health, Lu Huaian pressed his lips together and ultimately didn’t knock on the door.
But he was already hatching another plan in his mind.
Lu Huaian left the courtyard to go for his morning exercise.
Half-asleep, Su Wantang heard some commotion and barely pried her eyes open.
6:10!!
Her past life experience told Su Wantang that as a qualified military doctor, one needed not only excellent medical skills but also strong physical fitness.
She quickly sat up, scanned the room, and didn’t see Lu Huaian. He must have gone out early.
After washing up, Su Wantang began practicing her boxing.
This was a health-preserving boxing routine from the Spatial Dimension.
Her foundation was weak right now, so she planned to practice this routine for a while before moving on to high-intensity training.
Gu Nanqiao, who had spent the entire night with her ears pressed to the wall listening for sounds from the neighboring courtyard, had been so exhausted she fell asleep without hearing anything.
That shouldn’t be!
She had heard yesterday that Grandpa Lu was going to have Huaian gege marry some capitalist’s daughter, so she had immediately come to visit.
Huaian dage belonged to her sister. No one was going to take him away!
“Grandpa Lu, I know you value loyalty and honor, but nowadays everyone advocates for freedom in love. And Huaian gege is such a rough man—what if he can’t take good care of Wantang meimei, who’s been pampered since childhood?”
“Besides, the Lu family’s third generation isn’t the only one with Huaian gege still single. What if Wantang meimei takes a liking to someone else?”
“I have my own plans for this matter.”
“Second girl of the Gu family, this old man is tired and needs to rest.”
That was clearly a dismissal. Even with Gu Nanqiao’s thick skin, she couldn’t bear to stay any longer.
She had thought Grandpa Lu hadn’t taken it to heart, but not long after she left, she saw a police car drive over. Only after asking Aunt Wang did she learn that Grandpa Lu had been so angry after a phone call that he’d fainted.
Gu Nanqiao was secretly delighted.
She thought things would develop as she’d predicted—that Uncle Lu and Aunt Lu would be forced to yield to Grandpa Lu’s authority. But who would have thought that yesterday she waited at the door until it was completely dark without seeing Uncle Lu or Aunt Lu return.
After a whole night, Gu Nanqiao was itching with curiosity, but she was afraid Lu Huaian would find out she was connected to Lu Zhentian being angered into the hospital yesterday, so she didn’t dare go to the Lu house.
She endured and endured, but in the end couldn’t hold back. Gu Nanqiao found a ladder, climbed up to the top of the wall, and prepared to see what was going on.
Who would have thought—with one glance, she saw that bad element, that capitalist’s daughter, practicing boxing in the courtyard. Her movements were soft and weak, but damn it, she was good-looking.
Most importantly, this bad element was even more eye-catching than her sister Gu Nanzhi.
Men all liked pretty faces.
Although Gu Nanqiao felt Lu Huaian wasn’t that kind of man, what if?
The thought that Huaian gege might come out soon and be attracted by this vixen made Gu Nanqiao’s anger surge uncontrollably.
Huaian gege belonged to her sister. No one was going to take him away!
Sensing the gaze, Su Wantang stopped her movements and swept her eyes over, colliding with a pair of eyes filled with venom and resentment.
It was a pretty girl with two braids, wearing a green military uniform.
Perhaps she was a female soldier in the army, as her brows carried a hint of heroic spirit. But now that spirit was ruined by her twisted expression, losing its original crisp charm.
She was jealous of her.
Next door, from a family of equal standing, childhood sweethearts, yet hostile toward her…
White Moonlight?
Lu Huaian’s remarks at the train station yesterday truly weren’t aimed at her—he genuinely didn’t place much stock in a woman’s appearance. It was just his taste in women… hard to put into words.
“You’re looking down on me?”
Reading that meaning from Su Wantang’s eyes, Gu Nanqiao felt utterly offended.
How dare a bad element from a capitalist family nitpick at her, a literary soldier with a Pure Red Background?
“No.”
Even if there were, there wasn’t—otherwise, wouldn’t that just offend people?
Gu Nanqiao rolled her eyes at Su Wantang’s obviously insincere words.
She sneered, “You seductive vixen of a capitalist. Thinking you can marry into the Lu family by cashing in on a favor? Don’t dream about it. The Lu family will never take you in.”
Su Wantang’s eyes darted around. She stood up and snapped, “Impossible.”
She spoke firmly, but if you listened closely, her voice trembled.
As if pleased by the panic on Su Wantang’s face, Gu Nanqiao grew even more smug.
“You’re not naive enough to think the Lu family is just Grandpa Lu, Uncle Lu, and Brother Huai’an, are you? Grandpa Lu has another son and another daughter, and their children—all of them are boys.”
So it was much as she’d guessed yesterday. Su Wantang continued to fish for information.
“You’re trying to say they don’t welcome me? Well, you’re wrong. Grandpa said they can’t get away.”
“Hahaha.” Gu Nanqiao laughed unrestrainedly. “You’re truly stupid.”
“They’re not busy—they’re scared! They heard Grandpa Lu on the phone saying, ‘Come back, take your pick,’ and got frightened. After all, with you being a bad element from a capitalist family, whoever gets close to you ends up tainted.”
“So, you’re the one who urged Grandpa Lu to do that? And you’re the one who made Grandpa Lu so angry he fell ill and ended up in the hospital?!”
Gu Nanqiao’s eyes widened in shock.
“How did you—” Realizing she’d slipped up, she quickly changed her tune. “Nonsense!”
“It’s clearly you, you jinx! The moment you came to the Lu family, you brought bad luck and put Grandpa Lu in the hospital!”
“Oh… is that so?” Su Wantang dragged out her tone, slowly twisting the knife into Gu Nanqiao’s heart. “Then you’re really going to be disappointed. After Brother Huai’an and I finish breakfast, we’re going to get our marriage certificate.”
“What? Impossible!”
“Brother Huai’an clearly likes my sister, Gu Nanzhi.”
“My sister is the most outstanding woman in the compound! If it weren’t for her being sent away for training two years ago, Brother Huai’an would be my brother-in-law by now. Even so, these past two years, Brother Huai’an has turned down countless matchmaking arrangements from family and superiors, all for my sister’s sake.”
“You’re lying!”
So she was the White Moonlight’s sister.
And the real White Moonlight had gone abroad…
Perfect. A year from now, she’d rescue her father, divorce Lu Huaian, and Lu Huaian would marry his White Moonlight. Everyone would be happy.
And she wouldn’t need to hold back anything.
“Don’t believe me?”
“With your family background, checking a marriage registration report shouldn’t be hard.”
“Oh, and since you’re standing up there so high, it might be hard for you to get down. Let me hand you a stool.”
With that, Su Wantang suddenly raised the stool high and shoved it right in Gu Nanqiao’s face.
You keep calling me ‘bad element’ and ‘vixen,’ do you?
Go on and fall!
Startled by the stool leg jabbing toward her eyes, Gu Nanqiao let out a short shriek—”Ah!”
She leaned back, flailing her hands wildly at the air, but this time, she wasn’t so lucky. After struggling for a few seconds, she crashed heavily to the ground.
“Oh, how’d you fall?”
“I saw you were in danger and wanted to bring you a stool to get down. Aren’t you a soldier? Why are you so timid?”
Gu Nanqiao, feeling like every bone in her body was broken, heard Su Wantang’s taunting words from the other side of the wall. She clenched her fists and pounded the ground.
“Ahhh!”
What a pleasant sound.
Suddenly, Su Wantang felt an intense gaze on her.
She turned and locked eyes with Lu Huaian, who was standing at the doorway—she had no idea when he’d arrived.
The arm holding the stool high slowly lowered.
Well, well. Getting caught red-handed doing something bad was pretty awkward.
Especially when the person was the sister of Lu Huaian’s White Moonlight—his future sister-in-law…
Su Wantang cleared her throat, about to say something.
But before she could speak, a small whirlwind swept past, and her arm was grabbed by Lu Zhentian.
“Wantang, girl, Grandpa saw that set of boxing moves you just did—not bad at all. How about teaching Grandpa?”
Hearing this, Su Wantang was certain that Lu Zhentian had also witnessed what just happened, yet he chose to stand by her side.
Su Wantang smiled and agreed to Lu Zhentian’s offer to help her out of the situation.
“Sure.”
Though she’d agreed casually, Su Wantang didn’t teach half-heartedly. She broke down each move and explained them one by one.
After explaining, she demonstrated the whole sequence herself, then led Lu Zhentian through it.
Lu Zhentian had originally just wanted to go through the motions, but seeing how seriously Su Wantang taught, he couldn’t help but straighten up and learn with genuine focus.
Some things you only appreciate once you’ve experienced them yourself.
The boxing set looked soft and powerless, but after running through it once, Lu Zhentian felt his whole body had become much more relaxed.
“Wantang, girl, does this boxing set have health-nourishing benefits?”
“Yes, Grandpa. You can practice it often when you have time.”
Lu Zhentian’s eyes darted around, and he said, “You rascal, don’t just stand there. Come over and join in.”
“Grandfather.” Lu Huaian called out, clearly reluctant.
“Cut the nonsense! Acting all soft and whiny—are you a man or not? If you’re a man, don’t be a coward.”
It wasn’t a matter of cowardice; it was simply unnecessary.
He was in perfect health.
Besides, this fist technique felt like punching cotton—utterly boring.
But mindful of Lu Zhentian’s health, Lu Huaian said nothing more and walked over.
Teaching Lu Zhentian posed no burden for Su Wantang, but when it came to Lu Huaian, she found herself in a bind.
“You don’t need to worry about me. I just watched and understood it.” Lu Huaian spoke up on his own.
Su Wantang breathed a sigh of relief.
But Lu Zhentian shot Lu Huaian a glare and couldn’t resist kicking him.
A worthless brat.
After running through the fist technique once, Lu Huaian also realized its brilliance, his dark eyes fixed on Su Wantang, gleaming brightly.
He said excitedly, “Comrade Su—”