Jiang Li stared at the tattered red wedding dress in Huo Yan’s hand, then heard him ask about her stepmother and that old man.
The string in her mind labeled “fear” snapped with a sharp bang.
She thought Huo Yan was asking for their names and address so he could send her back.
After all, this was the army—a place governed by discipline.
A runaway bride of unknown origin like her was nothing but trouble if she stayed.
“I don’t want to go back… please…”
Tears flooded Jiang Li’s eyes instantly, spilling down like broken pearls.
She forgot all sense of shame, clutching the blanket as she shrank into the corner of the bed, shaking her head desperately.
“Don’t send me back… I won’t go back…”
“I’ll be beaten to death if I go back… I really will…”
She cried until she could barely breathe, her peach-blossom eyes swollen like walnuts, pitiful beyond words.
Huo Yan hadn’t slept all night; his temples were already throbbing.
Now, with her crying like this, his irritation flared even more.
“Shut up.”
He barked sharply, his brows drawn tight.
Jiang Li hiccupped in fright, tears trembling in her eyes, afraid to fall, staring at him in terror.
Seeing her look like a startled quail, the nameless anger in Huo Yan’s chest was forcibly suppressed.
What replaced it was a helpless, exasperated frustration—like iron that refused to harden.
He sighed and reached out with his rough hand.
Jiang Li instinctively tried to dodge, but he caught her chin in one swift motion.
The grip wasn’t heavy, yet it brooked no resistance.
With fingers calloused from years of training, Huo Yan awkwardly wiped the tears from her cheeks.
His movements were clumsy, even a little abrasive.
“What are you crying for?” he snapped.“When did I ever say I was sending you back?”
His voice was still cold and hard, but beneath it lurked an unmistakable, awkward gentleness.
Jiang Li froze, lashes trembling with tears.
“N… not sending me back?”
“Sending you back for what? So you can be sold again?”
Huo Yan sneered, a flash of viciousness crossing his eyes.
“Since you stepped into my door, even if you were just a stray cat, there’s no way I’d let someone drag you back for a ghost marriage.”
He had listened to her delirious muttering all night—those broken sobs had already allowed him to piece together most of the story.
Wang Guifen.Three thousand yuan in bride price.A bald factory director.
Those keywords alone were enough for Huo Yan to dig up the graves of those scum.
He had a foul temper, sure—but he was fiercely protective of his own.
Since this girl had barged into his territory on a stormy night and clutched his hand all the way until morning—
She was his.
Even if only temporarily, no outsider had the right to bully her.
Knock knock knock.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Commander, morning drills are over. The mess hall is asking what you want for breakfast.”
It was Zhao Gang, the guard.
Jiang Li stiffened like a frightened rabbit and immediately tried to burrow back under the covers.
Huo Yan released her chin, stood up, and smoothed out the wrinkles in his training uniform.
He glanced at the mess in the room, then at the disheveled woman on the bed.
“Go wait in the bathroom.”
He pointed at the frosted-glass door.“Don’t come out unless I call you.”
As if granted a pardon, Jiang Li grabbed the hem of the oversized shirt and darted barefoot into the bathroom.
Click.She locked the door.
Only then did Huo Yan open the door to the room.
Zhao Gang stood outside holding two aluminum lunch boxes.
“Commander, you didn’t sleep well last night, huh? Those dark circles—”
Before he could finish, he sensed the pressure in the room drop.
His commander was sitting there with a dark expression, lighting a cigarette.
“Zhao Gang.”
Huo Yan exhaled a smoke ring, his voice low and heavy with authority.
“Yes, sir!” Zhao Gang snapped to attention.
“Go investigate someone.”
Huo Yan flicked ash from his cigarette, his tone casual—but every word cut like a blade.
“There’s a woman named Wang Guifen in the village under Huai North Mountain. Check whether she recently accepted three thousand yuan in bride price and plans to sell her stepdaughter to the factory director in the neighboring village.”
Zhao Gang froze.“Ah? Commander… isn’t this a local civil matter? Is it appropriate for us to step in?”
Huo Yan lifted his eyes and gave him a cold glance.
“Human trafficking. Forcing a woman against her will. That’s illegal.”
He paused, the corner of his mouth curving into a cruel smile.
“If her hands aren’t clean, handle it as trafficking. Tell the local police this is a case the military district is watching—let them deal with it properly.”
“And that factory director.”
Huo Yan narrowed his eyes, killing intent surging.
“Dig into his background. If he’s got dirt under him, send him straight in. Don’t let him out to harm people again.”
Zhao Gang felt his scalp tingle.
The commander was getting serious.
Whatever Wang Guifen had done to provoke this living Yama, Zhao Gang knew one thing—
Those two were finished.
“Yes, sir! Understood! Mission guaranteed!”
Zhao Gang saluted, set down the lunch boxes, and hurried off.
Inside the bathroom.
Jiang Li pressed her back to the door, hearing every word outside.
Her heart was pounding violently.
Not from fear.
But from a massive sense of safety she had never known before.
Growing up in a family that favored sons over daughters, she had always been like a weed.
No one loved her.No one protected her.
Every grievance had to be swallowed whole.
And now—
This man she had only met once, fierce and terrifying at first glance—
Was standing up for her.
Not gently, not with compromise—
But with thunderous force, ready to crush the people who had hurt her.
Jiang Li covered her mouth as tears fell again.
This time, they were tears of joy.
And gratitude.
The room outside fell quiet.
Then came Huo Yan’s steady footsteps.
Knock. Knock.
“Come out.”
His voice was still cool, but the terrifying edge was gone.
Jiang Li wiped her tears, unlocked the door, and cautiously peeked out.
Huo Yan stood there holding a lunch box, pointing with his other hand at a large iron basin on the floor.
Inside were yesterday’s dirty clothes—and the bedsheet she had stained.
“Since you’re staying, you don’t get free meals.”
He looked down at her, trying—and failing—to hide his awkward pride.
“Wash the clothes.”
“That’s the rule.”
He didn’t really need anyone to do laundry.
With a single word, the service soldiers could wash even his underwear until it sparkled.
But he could tell—this girl was uneasy.
If he didn’t give her something to do, something to prove her worth, she’d scare herself to death in this room.
This was his way of comforting her.
Jiang Li looked at the iron basin and, instead of feeling wronged, nodded vigorously.
“Mm! I’ll wash them! I wash very clean!”
She lifted her head, eyes still red, but shining with gratitude.
As long as she could stay.
As long as she wasn’t sent back.
Even if he told her to carry sandbags, she’d do it.
Huo Yan watched her obedient expression, his Adam’s apple rolling.
This girl…
The more he looked, the more endearing she became.
“Eat first.”
He shoved the lunch box into her hands, gruffly adding,
“You need strength to work. Don’t faint again after washing two shirts—I’m not collecting your corpse.”
With that, he turned and sat at the desk, picking up a document to block his face—
And the faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his mouth.