Encountering Captain Lu returning from the Commune, they exchanged a glance.
Wu Jiahui hurriedly avoided him.
As someone passed by, Captain Lu promptly called out to her loudly, “Educated Youth Wu! It’s getting late, what are you standing here for?”
“I… I came out for some fresh air.” Wu Jiahui kept her head lowered, not daring to look at anyone.
Zhao Juhua and Old Lady Tian, who were passing by, had just returned from gathering wild mugwort on the ridge.
It was April—the perfect time for foraging wild vegetables. Every few days, new batches of edible greens would sprout along the fields.
The two women walked past, exchanging meaningful looks.
“Hey, they’re acting strange.”
“If Educated Youth Wu wants to return to the city, she’ll have to go through the Brigade Leader. There are many complicated procedures involved!”
“What? Are you saying…”
“I didn’t say anything, and you don’t know anything. Haven’t we had enough messy affairs in our village? Just take Lu Lao Er and Wang Fang for example…”
“Oh heavens! Stop right there—this could get someone killed. Come on, let’s go home and prepare dinner.”
Night deepened. A fog had risen tonight, making the air damp and cold.
Villagers conserved lamp oil by going to bed as soon as darkness fell, and even the dogs had returned to their kennels.
In the predawn hours, a pitch-black crow perched on the crooked old willow tree at the village entrance, its buds just beginning to sprout.
“Caw! Caw!” Its cries sent chills down one’s spine.
Under the hazy moonlight, the fog gradually thickened, soon enveloping the entire village in a gloomy shroud.
From the dense mist emerged a tall, broad-shouldered figure carrying an enormous backpack, blending seamlessly into the darkness.
The shadowy figure entered the village. Passing a neighbor’s courtyard gate, the guard dog heard the movement and alertly rose, about to bark, but suddenly cowered, tucking its tail before lying back down.
The dark figure finally stopped outside the Lu family’s courtyard gate. Instead of knocking, he circled along the compound wall until he reached Jiang Yue’s rear window.
He examined the footprints beneath the windowsill, then felt along the window bars for a moment before removing three wooden slats and prying open the latch.
Placing one hand on the windowsill, his seemingly large and imposing frame moved with surprising lightness as he slipped through the window, landing with barely a sound.
Accustomed to darkness, he took in every detail of the room the moment his feet touched the floor.
He crept softly to the bedside and met a pair of eyes dark as ink.
Little Bean Sprout had woken at some point—neither crying nor asking to be fed—simply watching him quietly.
As father and daughter locked gazes, Lu Jingzhou’s usually detached composure finally cracked.
His eyes swelled, his nose tingled, and his heart trembled.
Slowly extending his index finger, Little Bean Sprout suddenly grabbed it to play.
Still an infant under one month old, she had woken before her father’s return. After playing briefly, she grew restless, twisting her head and beginning to fuss.
Just as Lu Jingzhou reached to pick her up, the woman sleeping on the outer side of the bed stirred.
“Little one, hungry again, are you? Mama’s here!” Without opening her eyes, she reached out and drew Little Bean Sprout into her arms, lifting her shirt to offer nourishment.
Lu Jingzhou froze by the bedside, still slightly bent forward. From his angle, he could see nearly everything.
Only then did he truly notice Jiang Yue.
She seemed different, yet somehow unchanged.
The thought was contradictory, but it reflected exactly what he felt.
The previous Jiang Yue always had the demeanor of a timid young wife, never daring to lift her head when speaking to him, as if he were some man-eating beast.
He hadn’t spent much time at home and initially thought it was due to unfamiliarity. Later, he reflected that perhaps this was just Jiang Yue’s nature.
It wasn’t particularly bad, but it wasn’t particularly good either.
Don’t most people just muddle through life with their eyes closed?
But now, he suddenly sensed something different in her expression.
Perhaps it was the relaxed brow, the slight upturn of her lips as if she were smiling—a gentle, maternal smile that felt warm, so warm it made one instinctively want to draw closer.
Little Bean Sprout fell asleep shortly after feeding.
Lu Jingzhou waited until both mother and child were sound asleep before carefully picking up Little Bean Sprout and, in the process, gently covering Jiang Yue with the quilt.
Jiang Yue had weighed Little Bean Sprout a few days ago—after several days of care, she was only five and a half pounds. At birth, she likely weighed just five pounds. According to Lu Er Sao, Jiang Yue had gone into labor prematurely, before the baby had engaged, which led to a difficult delivery.
The five-and-a-half-pound little one nestled in Lu Jingzhou’s broad arms looked like a tiny figurine.
Suddenly having a continuation of his own bloodline felt indescribably wondrous.
Jiang Yue slept very well that night. For several days, she hadn’t had a full night’s sleep, but last night, she didn’t seem to hear the baby cry or change any diapers.
Wait, no!
“Baby! Baby!” She bolted upright in panic, frantically searching for her daughter.
“Here.” Lu Jingzhou promptly handed Little Bean Sprout over.
“Thank you!” Jiang Yue took her naturally, but the next second, she jolted fully awake. Lifting her head, she met a pair of large, pitch-black eyes, just like Little Bean Sprout’s.
“You… you…”
“Sorry, I arrived home late last night and didn’t want to disturb you, so I climbed in through the window,” Lu Jingzhou explained calmly, though only he knew if he was truly calm inside.
Jiang Yue turned to look at the window, then back at him. “Then you… that…” Forgive her fluster—waking up to find a burly man in the room, with his imposing build and stern aura, even if restrained, was unsettling and frankly quite frightening.
“She seems hungry. You should feed her first.” Lu Jingzhou’s tanned face flushed with a suspicious redness.
“Oh! Okay.” Jiang Yue lowered her head, inexplicably blushing as well—why, she herself didn’t know.
“You… you go out first!” Although they were husband and wife, to her, he was practically a stranger now.
“Then I’ll make breakfast for you. What would you like to eat in the morning?”
Jiang Yue almost thought she was hearing things. “You’re going to cook?” She had never seen a man from the Lu family step into the kitchen.
Right! She was going to divorce this man. She had grievances with the Lu family. There was no need for her to be pleasant to him.
Unaware of her inner thoughts, Lu Jingzhou unlatched the door and opened it. Mother Lu was in the yard feeding the chickens. Hearing the door, she was about to make a sarcastic remark, but when she turned and saw Lu Jingzhou standing there like a doorpost, she was so startled she dropped the chicken feed basin.
“Third Son? You… when did you get back? Why didn’t you make a sound? You scared me to death.” Mother Lu’s voice was shrill, an octave higher than usual.
Lu Jingzhou frowned, displeased. “I came back late last night. Mother, lower your voice. My daughter is timid.”
“A mere girl…”
“Mother, what did you say? I didn’t quite catch that.” Not a trace of a smile remained on Lu Jingzhou’s face.
At that moment, Mother Lu’s mind raced through countless possibilities. She quickly picked up the chicken feed basin and let out an awkward laugh, “It’s nothing, nothing. This is just a habit of mine. Third Son! You came back late last night, you must be hungry now. Mother will make you breakfast.”
“I’m not hungry. Jiang Yue is hungry. I’m going to make breakfast for her.”
“What? You’re going to make breakfast for her?” Mother Lu’s voice involuntarily sharpened again.