Feeling that Zhou Kuangye seemed genuinely angry, she took small, duck-like steps to his side and hugged his arm. “A-Ye, don’t be mad~~”
“Lu Pingshu offered to give me the pork, but I didn’t take it. Shouldn’t you praise me?”
Thankfully Wen Zi was there; otherwise, her resolve wouldn’t have been so firm.
Thinking about it this way, she hadn’t really done anything wrong. As long as she shifted all the blame onto Lu Pingshu, she wouldn’t be punished.
Immediately putting on a spoiled tone, she said, “It was Lu Pingshu who came looking for me. He was the one trying to seduce me, but my heart only belongs to you. I wouldn’t fall for it.”
“You go scold him. After scolding him, you can’t scold me anymore, okay~”
Zhou Kuangye looked at her empty hands, and his mood improved slightly.
Her thinking was absolutely correct. With a man like him, she definitely wouldn’t be interested in anyone else. If she actually were, then she must be blind and deserve to have her bottom spanked.
As a reward, he ruffled her hair affectionately. Turning around, his aura immediately became sharp and imposing. “Lu Pingshu, what do you have to say for yourself?”
“You’ve repeatedly tried to seduce my woman. Do you think I’m dead or something?”
Lu Pingshu looked at Su Ying with a sorrowful, betrayed gaze, unable to understand why she had shifted all the blame onto him.
However, he was always a man of grace and couldn’t bring himself to expose her. With a somewhat dejected expression, he turned away. “I understand. I won’t come again.”
His retreating figure was lonely and resolute, as if he had truly lost all hope.
Su Ying watched him go. Though she felt a twinge of guilt inside, what she felt more was relief—relief that she had escaped this ordeal.
Zhou Kuangye tightly held Su Ying’s hand as they walked home, admonishing her along the way. “From now on, you’re not allowed to meet him in private again. Otherwise, I’ll spank your bottom until it’s sore!”
Su Ying instinctively touched her bottom and murmured, “I know~”
Wen Zi watched as Zhou Kuangye completely ignored her throughout the whole ordeal. She felt both helpless and relieved. This man only had eyes for Su Ying.
He was absolutely smitten!!
Lu An, standing at the entrance of the alley, overheard their entire argument. He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly: The regiment leader had actually learned to be jealous. This was truly eye-opening.
It wasn’t until he saw the girl up close—the one with jet-black hair, fair skin, rosy lips, and peach-blossom cheeks, being led by the regiment leader—that he gasped in amazement. How could there be such a stunningly beautiful girl in the countryside? She looked like a celestial being. No wonder the regiment leader was willing to settle down.
So his standards were this high!
Not a single female soldier in the cultural troupe could compare to her beauty.
If he brought her back to the family quarters, it would definitely cause a sensation.
No wonder someone was trying to steal her away.
But that man was truly arrogant, daring to challenge the regiment leader like that.
The regiment leader could beat him as easily as swatting a chick, without breaking a sweat.
Lu An straightened his white shirt, waiting for the regiment leader to introduce him. To his surprise, the regiment leader completely ignored him and took his wife straight into the house.
Lu An: …He wasn’t invisible either.
When Wen Zi came out, she saw a sunny, handsome man standing at the door, looking utterly bewildered.
She casually glanced at him, and the man immediately stepped forward, saluting her. “Hello, comrade. My name is Lu An, a friend of Zhou Kuangye.”
Wen Zi remembered—he was the one who came to notify Zhou Kuangye about his rehabilitation and return to the city. She smiled and nodded at him. “Then go on in. What are you standing out here for?”
This female comrade wore a large braid hanging down her back, her wheat-colored skin looking healthy, and her appearance gentle and graceful. Lu An’s face flushed slightly as he politely stepped aside. “Comrade, you go first.”
They didn’t notice that from around the corner, a resentful gaze had been fixed on them all along. Watching Su Ying being pursued by two men, the jealousy in Wu Yan’s heart grew heavier and heavier.
Seeing them all enter, she slowly emerged from the shadows.
Wu Yan had brought pork, originally intending to give it to Zhou Kuangye, but now it seemed unnecessary.
Logically, Zhou Kuangye should have been angry this time, but now everything was completely different.
It seemed her rebirth had altered the events of her previous life. She could no longer sit idly by; she had to take the initiative.
As she pondered what to do, a vague memory suddenly surfaced in her mind.
Someone had said that before joining the army, Zhou Kuangye was actually a madman.
He had disowned his own family and even broken his own sister’s leg, as brutal as a devil from hell.
Although she didn’t know whether it was true or not, Su Ying was extremely timid. She refused to believe Su Ying wouldn’t be frightened upon learning this.
When the time came, she wouldn’t even need to drive her away—Su Ying would leave on her own.
Standing in the courtyard, Zhou Kuangye had calmed down considerably and changed his mind, deciding not to reveal for now that he was about to be rehabilitated, return to the city, and resume his official position.
He would tell the young woman once she had proven herself sufficiently.
When Lu An entered the courtyard, Zhou Kuangye finally remembered him and briefly introduced him as a distant relative who had come to deliver money.
Upon hearing the word “money,” Su Ying’s attitude toward him improved slightly.
Lu An, looking at such a beautiful sister-in-law, didn’t know where to rest his eyes.
Wen Zi gave all the pork she had been allotted to Su Ying, successfully securing an invitation to stay for dinner.
Su Ying took her under the big tree to cool off, sharing whispers between sisters.
Meanwhile, Zhou Kuangye took Lu An to the kitchen to fry meatballs.
With practiced ease, he chopped the meat and seasoned it, handling everything himself. Lu An couldn’t find a way to help and could only tend to the fire.
Teasingly, he remarked, “Regimental Commander, with skills like these, you could work in the mess hall.”
Frying meatballs required a lot of oil, and Zhou Kuangye generously poured it into the wok. “I’ve practiced until I got good at it. You could do it too if you practiced.”
Once the oil was hot, he began shaping the meatballs, dropping one after another into the wok. The sizzling oil bubbled and splattered, making them look irresistibly delicious.
When they turned golden brown, he fished them out. Listening to the crisp, crackling sound of the meatballs, Lu An’s mouth watered.
Zhou Kuangye deliberately placed the freshly fried meatballs heavily into the bowl, but after waiting a while, he still didn’t see the “thieving cat” appear. He glanced toward the courtyard.
She and Wen Zi were sitting side by side, arms touching, whispering about something. Unconsciously, a pang of jealousy stirred in his heart.
Didn’t Su Ying hate Wen Zi the most? When had they become so close?
So close that she couldn’t even see him anymore.
His lips pressed tightly together. “Anzi, try the meatballs and see if they’re good.”
As he spoke, he took one himself and, the moment it entered his mouth, exclaimed loudly, “So delicious! Anzi, eat as much as you want—these are all yours!”
The regimental commander’s exaggerated tone gave Lu An goosebumps. Although the commander was speaking to him, his eyes kept darting outside. Lu An didn’t even know whether he should eat or not.
Hearing Zhou Kuangye favoring an outsider, Su Ying shot up from her chair in an instant, startling Wen Zi.
Seeing her, who usually couldn’t be bothered to walk, dart into the kitchen in a second, Wen Zi found it utterly amusing.
The golden meatballs were spread in a thin layer across a large basin. Su Ying couldn’t wait to reach out and grab one, stuffing it straight into her mouth. Even when it burned her, she refused to spit it out.
Huffing and puffing, she blew on it while chewing.
Zhou Kuangye pinched her chubby cheek. “Who told you to come here? Weren’t you enjoying chatting with Wen Zhiqing? Go on, keep chatting.”
Su Ying finally managed to swallow the meatball and glared at him resentfully. “You’re mean! You didn’t even call me when the meatballs were ready.”
And he was giving them to others—that was what really deserved a scolding.
Zhou Kuangye stopped teasing her and directly filled a small bowl to the brim for her to eat. “Go eat outside. It’s too smoky in here.”
Only then was Su Ying satisfied, happily carrying the bowl away.
Meanwhile, Lu An looked at the empty basin and sat back down to tend the fire.
The team leader had really changed—he’d become so stingy. Lu An hadn’t gotten a single meatball to eat, and it was driving him crazy with craving.