It wasn’t until the second pot that Lu An managed to taste a couple.
As soon as the third pot was ready, Su Ying obediently stood by the door, bowl in hand, eagerly waiting.
This time, Zhou Kuangye didn’t serve her and even took her little bowl away. “You can’t eat any more. If you keep eating, you’ll get indigestion.”
She was like a little baby who didn’t know when she was full—if she wanted to eat, she’d eat until her stomach hurt.
She had overeaten before and ended up needing two shots at the clinic to recover.
Su Ying glared at him pitifully but didn’t make a fuss in front of outsiders.
She decided to sneak some food when he wasn’t looking.
Watching their sweet and natural interaction, Lu An was genuinely happy for the regiment commander.
When the regiment commander first enlisted, he was only eighteen or nineteen—tall, upright, with handsome, defiant eyes, yet he exuded an aura that kept everyone at a distance.
While the rest of them, still fresh to military life, would gather to chat, joke, and share stories in their free time, he was always alone.
Even when others approached him, he showed no extra emotion, like an unyielding block of ice.
All he did was train. Even when everyone else was resting, he would push himself relentlessly, like a machine, which made people wary.
It wasn’t until he consistently excelled in missions and gradually rose to the position of regiment commander that he began to develop some camaraderie with his old comrades, who had served alongside him for seven or eight years.
Only then did Lu An realize that he wasn’t born without emotions—it was as if something had frozen his heart.
But once you became his friend, he would protect you with his life.
At first, Lu An worried that someone like the regiment commander would never find a partner and would grow old alone. But now, things were better.
After just two years in the countryside, he had found someone, and it seemed he really liked her. He had even started acting like a normal person.
Lu An no longer had to worry about him growing old with no one by his side.
Stoking the fire in the stove, he asked, “Regiment Commander, when are you and Sister-in-Law getting married?”
“No rush. We’ll talk about it after I return to the army.”
Zhou Kuangye wanted to marry Su Ying, and he was eager to do so, but he couldn’t let her suffer or face scorn because of him.
He would wait until he was reinstated to his position and then marry her with all the glory she deserved.
Lu An calculated that it would take at least a few more months.
Worried that Sister-in-Law might run off by then, he whispered, “Regiment Commander, do you know how to handle a relationship?”
Zhou Kuangye looked down at him disdainfully, as if to say, “If I didn’t know, would I have a partner?”
Lu An slapped his forehead. It went without saying—the regiment commander, a straightforward man, definitely didn’t know how to handle a relationship.
He leaned in cautiously and whispered, “Regiment Commander, you can’t always be so stern. You need to be softer sometimes so Sister-in-Law will care for you more.”
“And even though you’re naturally handsome, you still need to dress up a bit to completely captivate her.”
“…”
“Get lost.” Zhou Kuangye cut him off and shooed him away.
“I’m a proper man. You want me to act pitiful and rely on my looks to attract someone? Are you out of your mind?”
Those were tricks women used. He’d rather die than resort to them.
Lu An looked at him with a mix of frustration and disappointment. Even if it sounded bad, it really worked.
The regiment commander didn’t understand at all. Before he could continue persuading him, he was sent off to tend the fire.
He sighed inwardly, thinking the regiment commander would eventually understand his good intentions.
Su Ying was indeed stuffed but didn’t dare tell Zhou Kuangye. Holding her slightly bulging stomach, she went out for a stroll with Wen Zi.
Just as they were about to head back, someone called out to them.
“Comrade Su Ying, I have something to say to you.”
Su Ying turned her head and was surprised to see Wu Yan. Instinctively, she raised her chin and said haughtily, “Spit it out if you have something to say.”
Wu Yan scoffed lightly. As a woman, to speak so crudely right off the bat—she really didn’t know what Zhou Kuangye saw in her.
She glanced at Wen Zi. “I’ll only speak to you alone.”
Wen Zi immediately grew alert and grabbed Su Ying’s arm. “That won’t do. Su Ying is my good sister. What if you try to bully her? I have to come along.”
This part wasn’t in the original book at all. What if Wu Yan tried something underhanded? She couldn’t let them be alone together.
Since Wen Zi didn’t know anyway, Wu Yan relaxed her guard. “Fine, let’s talk over there.”
The three of them walked over to a large tree. Wu Yan’s tone softened considerably, adopting a concerned expression as if she had Su Ying’s best interests at heart.
“Comrade Su, I actually came to you because I couldn’t stand seeing you being deceived.”
“I actually wanted to be friends with you too. All the hostility I showed before was entirely for your own good.”
“The reason I tried to break you and Comrade Zhou apart is because he’s not a good person.”
Su Ying frowned. What was she talking about? How could she possibly want to be friends? She was definitely lying.
Wu Yan pressed on despite the pressure. “Do you know that Zhou Kuangye is actually a madman?”
“I heard that when he was at home, he showed no regard for family ties—he even broke his own sister’s leg.”
“That was his own sister, and he could still bring himself to do it. You can imagine he’s a heartless monster.”
“I tried to keep you apart because I didn’t want you to get hurt too.”
“When his madness flares up, he doesn’t even care about his own family, let alone someone like you, who shares no blood ties and is just a pillow companion.”
“Think about it carefully—doesn’t that make sense?”
Wu Yan watched as Su Ying’s eyes widened more and more, eventually turning fearful. A faint glint of satisfaction flashed in her own eyes.
But this didn’t escape Wen Zi’s notice.
From this story, she was certain Wu Yan was a reincarnator—otherwise, she couldn’t possibly have known.
Zhou Kuangye had indeed beaten his own sister, but there was a reason behind it.
His father was a famous painter, and his mother was the director of a textile factory. Their family was well-off.
After five years of marriage, they had two daughters, whom they doted on. A few years later, Zhou Kuangye was born.
Originally, the family’s life was getting better and better.
But Zhou Kuangye’s second sister, influenced by others’ instigations, always believed that their parents favored sons over daughters and that Zhou Kuangye had taken everything that should have been hers.
When he was six years old, the three siblings went out to play. A child trafficker grabbed Zhou Kuangye, shoved him into a van, and drove off.
The two sisters witnessed their brother being kidnapped and should have immediately sought help from their parents.
But they didn’t. The second sister persuaded the eldest not to say anything. They didn’t return home until after dark, lying that Zhou Kuangye had wandered off due to mischief, missing the best time for rescue.