Chapter 20: Regimental Commander Lu, Lu Zhanlin! Your Man!

At this very moment, Lu Yuanbao was sitting on the steps under the eaves, his figure small and still.

Not far from him was a plate with two steamed buns on it—probably the lunch Xiaolan had brought over.

But Lu Yuanbao hadn’t touched it at all. Not even a nibble. He hadn’t even glanced at it.

Such a small child, having grown up hungry and cold in the countryside, yet somehow he managed to resist—he really didn’t eat a single bite.

Chu Yue said a quick thank you to Xia Xiaolan and walked over to Lu Yuanbao.

Under the gaze of Lu Yuanbao’s upturned eyes, Chu Yue sat down beside him, also settling on the cold steps.

“Why aren’t you eating the buns?”

Lu Yuanbao blinked. “You said not to eat food from strangers or talk to strangers.”

That was something Chu Yue had warned him about on the train after they encountered the human traffickers. She didn’t expect the child to remember it so clearly.

Chu Yue smiled gently and patted his head. It was soft and fluffy—surprisingly nice to the touch.

“You can eat now,” she said.

She picked up one of the buns and placed it directly into Lu Yuanbao’s hands.

The moment he held it, he instinctively swallowed a mouthful of saliva—he was really hungry. But his bright, dark eyes stayed fixed on Chu Yue.

He looked at her tired expression, at the bloodstains on her clothes.

She didn’t smell pleasant right now, but Lu Yuanbao didn’t mind at all.

He held the bun and said, “You eat too.”

Chu Yue smiled and picked up the other bun. “Alright, let’s eat together.”

With a mouthful of steamed bun, Lu Yuanbao asked in a quiet voice, “Did the baby come out?”

“Yes, he did. Very healthy, and a beautiful little baby. He’s still tiny, about this big…” Chu Yue gestured with her hands. “Once he gets a bit bigger, I’ll take you inside to see him.”

Lu Yuanbao looked at the size she showed. He too had started out that small, struggling just to survive and grow.

His chewing slowed, and after a pause, he looked up at Chu Yue and asked softly, “Does giving birth always hurt that much?”

“It hurts. Definitely hurts. It’s risking your life. That’s why every mother is amazing and deserves so much respect. Without love for their child, they couldn’t hold on. Yuanbao, your mother must have been the same.”

Chu Yue spoke calmly and naturally.

She had heard from Li Amei about what happened to Lu Yuanbao’s biological mother. And after what he experienced today, being in this environment, she knew he must be feeling a lot inside.

After hearing Chu Yue’s words, Lu Yuanbao lowered his head and slowly continued nibbling on the bun.

The two of them sat under the eaves, quietly eating the now-cold, hardened steamed buns. Neither spoke again.

Just then, a voice called out from the distance.

“They’re back! Song Qi is back! Company Commander Zhou is back!”

Song Qi had gone to find Zhou Zhijian at Chu Yue’s request. It had taken three full hours, but he finally returned—with none other than Li Jinrong alongside him.

Li Jinrong was in front, storming ahead with anger written all over her face. She looked like she was ready to fight someone.

They dared knock her out? They actually dared throw her out?! Where did that nasty little brat come from—such nerve!

Zhou Zhijian followed closely behind his mother. As her son, he knew all too well what kind of temper she had. His face was filled with awkwardness as he tried to hold her back.

Behind them was Song Qi.

And behind Song Qi… was a striking man in military uniform.

Chu Yue looked up and was stunned to see a familiar, handsome face.

It was him!

The soldier who had sat beside her on the train—how could he be here? Was he also stationed in this military unit?

From afar, Chu Yue and Lu Zhanlin locked eyes.

Lu Zhanlin saw her and Lu Yuanbao sitting on the steps eating buns. He also noticed the large bloodstains on her clothes. His brows furrowed deeply.

Before either Chu Yue or Lu Zhanlin could say a word, Li Jinrong was already shouting.

“Where’s that stinking girl who knocked me out?! Come out now! She even dared to lay hands on me, an old woman? She must be tired of living!”

“Mom! Stop it already! Care about Chunling first! How is she? Has she given birth yet?”

Zhou Zhijian still had some sense—and pride. With Lu Zhanlin standing behind him, he didn’t dare let Li Jinhua act recklessly.

“How am I being reckless? Who am I doing this for? Isn’t it for you, for your son, for the eldest grandson of the Zhou family? I have to settle this score!”

“Moooom—!”

Chen Fengying, who had long been fed up with Li Jinhua, seized this chance to unleash her pent-up anger and roared furiously.

“Old woman Li, how dare you talk about settling scores! If Comrade Chu hadn’t knocked you out and driven you off, Wang Chunling and the baby in her belly would’ve been dead by now! The delivery just now was extremely dangerous—the amniotic fluid was already gone, and the baby was suffocating inside her womb. When it was finally pulled out, it wasn’t even breathing!”

“This all happened because you refused to let Chunling go to the hospital earlier. It’s all your fault! We’re talking about two living lives here!”

“Commander Zhou, you’re Chunling’s husband—don’t you think you should use some reason? Chunling was in so much pain she was rolling on the floor, but your mother still wouldn’t let her go to the hospital. She insisted on not allowing a C-section. Chunling was even on her knees, begging her! How could she be so heartless? If Chunling were her own daughter, would she dare treat her like this?”

It wasn’t just Chen Fengying. The surrounding women were all pointing fingers, their eyes full of reproach, all focused on Zhou Zhijian.

Zhou Zhijian’s face looked terrible. Embarrassed and flustered, he quickly asked, “How’s Chunling now? Has she given birth?”

“Count yourself lucky you ran into Comrade Chu. She knows how to deliver babies. She not only saved the child but also saved Chunling’s life. She’s a true benefactor of your Zhou family.”

Hearing this, Lu Zhanlin, who had been standing quietly at the back of the crowd, glanced over at Chu Yue in the corner.

She could set bones… and also deliver babies?

When he heard the child had been born safely, Zhou Zhijian finally let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you all for helping out today. I’ll go in and check on Chunling and the baby. I’ll treat everyone to sweets another day!”

As he spoke, Zhou Zhijian began to head toward the house.

Li Jinhua’s eyes darted and she quickly grabbed Zhou Zhijian’s arm.

“You can’t go in! A woman’s room right after childbirth is full of bad luck. If you go in, it’ll ruin your fortune! Zhijian, you can’t!”

Zhou Zhijian looked helpless. “Mom! Chunling just gave birth to my child. How can I not go see them?”

Li Jinhua tightened her grip, refusing to let him go, and said forcefully, “I said no, so it’s no! You’re a company commander now, and in the future you’ll be a battalion commander or even a regimental commander. If you bring bad luck into your future, it’ll ruin your career! You can’t go in!”

“Mom, just let me go see Chunling and the baby—I’ll just take one look and come right out.”

Zhou Zhijian kept trying to reason with her, but as a grown man, he couldn’t even shake off an old woman.

Chu Yue, watching from the side, finally understood something: when the mother-in-law is overbearing in a household, it’s usually because the husband is weak and useless.

She stood up, about to walk over to Zhou Zhijian.

At that moment, someone else spoke up.

“Company Commander Zhou, when the military was cleansing bad habits, it emphasized discipline—traditional culture should be preserved, but the next step is— superstition must be eliminated.”**

Lu Zhanlin suddenly spoke, his voice low and cold, carrying a powerful and chilling presence that made everyone pause.

Zhou Zhijian felt a shiver down his spine. “Yes, Regimental Commander Lu!”

Lu Zhanlin was his direct superior—two ranks above him. In the military, that kind of authority crushed people. He absolutely couldn’t break discipline in front of him.

“Mom! Stop causing trouble!”

Zhou Zhijian finally found some courage. He forcefully pushed Li Jinhua aside and walked into the house.

Li Jinhua saw him enter and muttered, “Zhijian, you’re being foolish…” Then she hurriedly chased after him, wanting to take a look at her eldest grandson.

Outside.

Chu Yue looked at Lu Zhanlin, frowning slightly. She hadn’t expected this military man to be able to bring a weakling like Zhou Zhijian to heel with just a few words.

This man’s status in the military clearly wasn’t ordinary.

She was still thinking about it when she heard the other women talking nearby.

“Regimental Commander Lu, you’re finally back? Are you here to pick up your new bride?”

Regimental… Commander?!

Could this uniformed man really be Lu Zhanlin—the one whose name was on the marriage certificate with hers?

Her… husband?

Chu Yue’s eyes widened, her gaze lifting in shock. Her pupils sparkled with disbelief as she stared at Lu Zhanlin.

That expression, so different from her usual calm and collected self, carried the lively charm only seen in a girl of eighteen or nineteen—fresh, stunning, and full of spirit.

She was breathtaking.

Under Chu Yue’s astonished gaze, Lu Zhanlin walked toward her. Afraid of scaring her again, he deliberately softened his tone.

“Chu Yue, I’m your man, Lu Zhanlin. I’ve come to take you home.”