A single plate of “Nine-Turn Pig Intestines” completely overturned Lu Huaizhou’s understanding of the world he had lived in for over twenty years.
He looked at the empty plate, then at Su Hongxia across the table—who was wiping her mouth with her sleeve, looking completely satisfied. Inside him, waves of shock surged like a stormy sea.
Once a seed of suspicion is planted, it grows wildly.
Was she really stupid?
Would a fool know to rub pig intestines with wood ash and salt to remove the odor?
Would a fool be able to control heat and seasoning so precisely, creating a famous Shandong dish that even chefs in state-run restaurants could hardly match?
Would a fool bend iron bars on a train with one hand?Would a fool instantly recognize the root of his leg injury?
Countless questions circled in his mind, and the way he looked at Su Hongxia became deeper and more complicated.
Su Hongxia felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but her face still perfectly maintained the “foolish girl” persona.
She let out a delicate burp, patted her stomach, and said vaguely,
“Brother… I’m full. Sleep.”
After speaking, she casually gathered the bowls and chopsticks and carried them to the kitchen to wash them.
Her swift, efficient movements sharply contrasted with the silly expression on her face.
Lu Huaizhou silently watched her back without saying a word.
He decided not to expose her for the time being.He wanted to see what exactly this woman was trying to do.
Night gradually deepened.
The bugle signaling lights-out sounded in the military compound, and the surrounding neighbors became quiet.
After washing up, Su Hongxia walked into the east room wearing her faded old clothes.
Then a problem appeared.
There was only one bed in the room.
A wooden bed about 1.5 meters wide.
Lu Huaizhou was already lying on the inner side of the bed, covered with a military-green blanket, leaving only a small space on the outside.
His eyes were closed as if he were asleep, but the tension in his body revealed that his mind was far from calm.
Su Hongxia stood beside the bed and blinked.
In her previous modern life, she had owned a luxurious apartment, and the bed in her bedroom was twice the size of this one.
After transmigrating, she had slept on the cold, hard earthen kang at the Su family house.
Now there was an actual wooden bed. Even if it was small, it was still better than that kang.
As for sleeping with a man…
She glanced at Lu Huaizhou.
A man with an injured leg who was still wary of her—what threat could he possibly pose?
Besides, they were legally married now. Sleeping on the same bed was perfectly normal.
She didn’t have the modest hesitation typical of women in this era.
After a long day, all she wanted was a good night’s sleep.
So, while Lu Huaizhou pretended to breathe steadily, Su Hongxia climbed onto the bed without hesitation.
The wooden boards creaked softly.
Lu Huaizhou kept his eyes closed, but his body instantly stiffened like a stone.
He could clearly smell a faint scent of soapberry mixed with a girl’s natural fragrance drifting into his nose.
He could even feel the light breeze from when she lay down beside him brushing against his face.
This woman… she actually got onto the bed?
Did she not understand the difference between men and women?
Ah, right. She was a “fool.”
Lu Huaizhou mocked himself silently.Why was he, a grown man, worrying about such things with a fool?
He shifted further inward, practically pressing himself against the wall, leaving a wide gap between them like the Chu–Han boundary line.
But Su Hongxia didn’t think about any of that.
She was exhausted.
Since transmigrating, she hadn’t had a proper sleep.
Today she had taken a train, cleaned the house, and cooked.
Her body was already drained.
The bed was hard, but still more comfortable than the Su family’s kang.
She adjusted to a comfortable position, rested her head on her arm—there wasn’t even a pillow—and fell asleep almost instantly.
Soon, the quiet room filled with her slow, even breathing.
But Lu Huaizhou couldn’t sleep.
For the first time in his life, he was sharing a bed with a woman.
The warm, living presence beside him made him completely uncomfortable.
He could hear her breathing and feel the heat from her body.
He could even imagine what she looked like sleeping beside him.
He tried to focus on other things—training drills, recent military exercise reports…
But it was useless.
All his senses were uncontrollably drawn to the woman beside him.
Just as he tossed and turned restlessly, the person beside him suddenly moved.
A hand—warm to the touch—unexpectedly rested on his lower abdomen.
Lu Huaizhou felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The blood in his body rushed to his head with a roar.
He looked down.
Moonlight from the window illuminated the hand resting on him.
It was a thin hand, with a slender wrist and long fingers. Years of labor had left a thin layer of calluses on the fingertips.
This same hand had been handling foul-smelling pig intestines earlier that afternoon.
But now it felt warm and soft, carrying a strange magic that seemed to ignite flames wherever it touched.
Lu Huaizhou froze completely, not daring to move.
He wanted to remove her hand but feared waking her.
A soldier who had undergone strict training now found even his breathing out of rhythm.
Meanwhile, the culprit slept peacefully.
Su Hongxia seemed to think he was warmer. Not only did she not move her hand away, she even shifted closer.
Her head leaned toward him unconsciously, and her warm breath brushed against his neck.
Now it wasn’t just his abdomen—Lu Huaizhou felt as if his whole body was burning.
In over twenty years of life, he had never experienced such a strong physical reaction.
The unfamiliar, surging sensation filled him with panic—yet also an indescribable flutter.
He closed his eyes, clenched his teeth, and began silently reciting discipline regulations in his mind.
“One… two… three… four…”
For Su Hongxia, it was a rare night of deep, comfortable sleep.
For Lu Huaizhou, it was the longest and most torturous night of his life.
..
Early the next morning, before the sky was fully bright, Lu Huaizhou’s internal clock made him open his eyes.
He had barely slept all night, and his eyes were filled with red veins.
He stiffly turned his head.
The woman beside him was still sleeping. Her long eyelashes cast soft shadows in the morning light.
Her sleeping face looked peaceful—without the foolish expression she wore during the day, she appeared gentle and quiet.
That restless hand was still resting on his abdominal muscles.
Lu Huaizhou felt his throat grow dry.
Carefully, like defusing a bomb, he removed her hand from his body and quietly sat up.
But the moment he looked down—
His face instantly flushed bright red.
A young man full of vitality, after a whole night of “torment,” had the normal physiological reaction of morning.
And right now… it was particularly prominent.
How was he supposed to face anyone like this?!
He hurriedly tried to cover himself with the blanket.
But at that moment, Su Hongxia woke up too.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned, and saw Lu Huaizhou sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed, his face red like a boiled shrimp.
Her gaze moved downward along his rigid posture—
and landed on the spot under the blanket that still revealed a striking outline.
Su Hongxia froze for a moment.
Then her big, clear, innocent eyes filled with pure curiosity.
She pointed at it with her finger, like someone discovering a new continent, and asked with genuine concern:
“Brother… what’s wrong with that? Did you eat something bad yesterday… and it got swollen?”