Chapter 15: Military Family Compound—Her Water Broke

After another long and winding mountain road, they finally reached a valley nestled among the peaks.

From a distance, a cluster of small, low buildings came into view—that was the military base.

Song Qi drove the jeep toward the west side of the compound. The west side had even more tightly packed housing, with a stronger sense of daily life—this was the military family compound.

To enter the compound, they first had to pass the guard post, where two armed sentries were currently on duty.

The sentries looked about eighteen or nineteen years old—probably younger than Song Qi—but after training in the army, they had gained a composed and disciplined air.

They recognized Song Qi but not Chu Yue. One of them asked, “Who is that? Show her ID.”

The jeep couldn’t enter the family compound, so Song Qi, Chu Yue, and Lu Yuanbao had already gotten out of the vehicle.

Lu Yuanbao, having sniffed peppermint leaves the whole way, was doing much better than before and obediently stayed at Chu Yue’s side.

Chu Yue took out her ID.

“I’ve got it, sis-in-law,” Song Qi said quickly. He remembered what Xu Feng had told him back at the train station, so he took the ID from Chu Yue before she could speak and walked up to the two sentries, lowering his voice conspiratorially:

“You two better open your eyes wide and take a good look. This is the regimental commander Lu’s wife and son! They’ve come to join the army family!”

The two sentries were stunned, eyes going wide in disbelief.

“Whose wife and kid did you say?”

They opened the ID—and there it was in black and white: the name “Lu Zhanlin.” No mistake.

When did Commander Lu get married?!

The same question was written all over both of their faces. They looked as if they were about to bite their own tongues in shock.

“You said that’s—”

“Stop guessing!” Song Qi cut him off swiftly. “You’ve checked it, now hand the ID back. Sis-in-law’s been riding all day, she needs rest. Don’t waste time here. Do your job and stand your post properly.”

Without waiting for a response, he snatched the ID back and returned to Chu Yue’s side. “Here you go, sis-in-law. We can go in now. I’ll show you the way.”

Chu Yue hesitated. “Are you sure we’re not taking up too much of your time?”

“Not at all. Nothing’s more important than taking care of you, sis-in-law! It’s my duty!” Song Qi said warmly. “It’s nearly noon already. Did you bring any food with you? If not, I can go get you a hot meal from the canteen.”

After spending some time together on the way, Song Qi had grown much more familiar with Chu Yue. He wasn’t as cautious or restrained as before—actually, he was a bit overly enthusiastic now.

He led Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao forward.

Behind them, the two stunned sentries exchanged a silent look, clearly thinking the same thing: a massive piece of gossip had just landed in their laps— too bad they couldn’t share it with anyone!

But soon, Chu Yue felt something was off again.

She’d sensed this same weirdness earlier—from Xu Feng, and now from Song Qi.

It was like some secret was being kept from her, something obvious was right in front of her—but she just couldn’t see it.

It made her uneasy, and she furrowed her brows slightly.

But the answer to that mystery would soon reveal itself—

Chu Yue had lived two lives, yet this was her first time ever entering a military base.

Holding Lu Yuanbao’s hand, she walked step by step into the compound.

She saw a flagpole standing proudly in an open area, flying a red five-star flag.

She saw a slogan painted on the wall of a small building by the roadside:

“The military camp is my home; its construction depends on all of us.”

Big red letters, printed in thick block font—very much in the style of the 1970s.

As they turned a corner, guided by Song Qi, they suddenly came face-to-face with a group of women gathered together.

The women ranged in age—some in their early twenties, others in their thirties. Each wore blue or gray work clothes, had short ear-length hair, cloth shoes, and exuded a practical, energetic vibe unique to that era.

They were all wives of soldiers, living in the family compound, and they all knew Song Qi. The moment they saw him, the chatter began:

“Oh! Isn’t that Song Qi? Weren’t you out with Commander Xu training new recruits? We haven’t heard anything about new recruits arriving—why are you back already?”

“Exactly! Commander Lu’s been gone on a mission for over half a month now. He hasn’t even returned yet. Song Qi, why are you back by yourself? Did something happen on the way?”

“Pfft! Chen Fengying, you and your crow’s mouth! Always spouting nonsense. Can’t you see there’s a woman and child with Song Qi? Song Qi—don’t tell me you got secretly married?! Is that your wife? And where’d the kid come from—he’s pretty big already!”

The wives chattered on, one line after another—sharp, biting words that gave Song Qi no chance to explain himself.

Seeing that a huge misunderstanding was about to explode, Song Qi grew so anxious his face turned red, frantically trying to clarify.

“No! Sisters-in-law, please don’t say things like that! I’m a soldier—we have to file a report before getting married. I can’t just marry someone casually! We’re not married—she’s not my wife! Really, she’s not!”

Song Qi’s throat was nearly on fire from speaking, but the wives didn’t believe him in the slightest.

Chen Fengying squinted, scanning Chu Yue up and down. Chu Yue was young and pretty, and Song Qi wasn’t bad-looking either. The two of them standing together actually looked quite well-matched.

She looked at them and said loudly, “Song Qi, you’re even carrying her bag. And you still say she’s not your wife?”

“She’s not! Really, she’s not! Sisters-in-law, please listen to me, I swear she’s not! You can’t joke about something like this!”

At this point, Song Qi felt like even jumping into the Yellow River couldn’t wash away the misunderstanding. He even felt like dying.
If these rumors reached Lu Zhanlin… who knows what would happen to him?

The wives kept egging each other on, voices rising, the scene becoming more and more chaotic. In the end, it was Chu Yue who couldn’t stand it any longer. She raised her voice and shouted over everyone:

“The person I’m married to is Lu Zhanlin. I’m his wife, and this child is his son. He has nothing to do with Song Comrade here.”

The moment the words left her mouth, silence fell.

All the wives froze like someone had pressed pause, stunned in place, not moving a muscle. Only their eyes stayed wide open, staring straight at Chu Yue—unblinking, and growing hotter by the second.

Chu Yue frowned in discomfort.

Lu Yuanbao also sensed something unusual. His little face turned serious, and he tightened his grip on Chu Yue’s hand.

That small figure didn’t hide behind Chu Yue but instead stepped in front of her, as if to shield her.

Seeing this, Song Qi was left with only one thought in his heart: It’s over. Mission failed. This secret can’t be kept anymore…

After a few seconds of stunned silence, a loud burst of exclamations erupted.

“What?! You said you’re whose wife? Lu Zhanlin? Your husband is Commander Lu? When did he get married?! I’ve never heard about it! Was it in the countryside?”

“…Now that you mention it, I remember. A long time ago, Commander Lu did mention once that he was engaged back in his hometown, and would marry her when she came of age. Could he have been telling the truth?”

“But all these years, we never saw anyone, and Commander Lu didn’t seem anxious. I thought he just made that up to fool He Comrade, to get her to give up.”

“Now his wife’s here! And there’s a son too! What about He Comrade now?”

One wife after another spoke, even more agitated than when they were confronting Song Qi. Their reactions were a mix of shock and regret.

Chu Yue quickly caught on to something important:

Commander? Lu Zhanlin is a commander?

She had doubted what Li Amei and Chu Yaoyao said, thinking Lu Zhanlin was probably not even a platoon leader—just an ordinary foot soldier. She hadn’t expected him to actually be a commander!

And from the way everyone spoke, there was clear reverence and fear in their tone. That kind of respect couldn’t be faked. It meant Lu Zhanlin held real authority in this unit.

If Li Amei and Chu Yaoyao ever found out the truth—that they had turned down a commander as a son-in-law—they’d probably regret it so much they’d vomit blood in the middle of the night.

Clearly, Lu Zhanlin had kept this hidden on purpose, likely to test Li Amei and Chu Yaoyao’s attitude toward him. She had thought they were scheming to get his military stipend—turns out, he was the one testing them.

What a performance this has been…

For the first time, Chu Yue felt a flicker of curiosity about the man whose name was written next to hers on the marriage certificate. Who exactly was Lu Zhanlin?

The wives’ conversation also mentioned someone named “He Comrade,” but before Chu Yue could think about that, a figure came running toward them in a panic.

Xia Xiaolan shouted in a flurry of fear and urgency:

“Fengying-jie, Aifang-jie, sisters! Come quickly! Chunling’s water broke—she’s going into labor… She’s about to give birth… Hurry, help! Chunling’s in danger! Help!”