Chapter 41: Lu Zhanlin: She’s Seducing Me!

Lu Zhanlin’s unusual behavior continued.

Because of the winding mountain road, the vehicle kept turning sharply, making it hard to sit steadily. The people in the car swayed left and right with each curve.

Lu Zhanlin, being constantly trained, had incredible core strength. Even as the vehicle rocked, he sat perfectly still and unmoved.

Chu Yue, on the other hand, wasn’t so lucky. Her current body was soft and frail, without a single ounce of muscle. She swayed involuntarily with every twist of the car.

Left, then right.

With each motion, she inevitably bumped into Lu Zhanlin’s shoulder.

After a few times, Chu Yue scooted her butt to the side, putting a little more distance between them.

Lu Zhanlin’s eyelids twitched. He reached over and wrapped an arm around her waist, his voice low:
“Sit closer.”

His tone sounded as if he was claiming something that belonged to him.

Just then, the car made another sharp turn. Since it veered toward Lu Zhanlin’s side, Chu Yue’s slender body, driven by inertia, was thrown in his direction.

Right into his chest.

Firm. Solid. Felt like pecs.

Chu Yue lay awkwardly against Lu Zhanlin’s chest, her mind spinning wildly — thoughts flying everywhere. She quickly propped herself up using his thigh and sat back upright.

When she looked up, her cheeks were slightly flushed.

There was no space left between them — from her hips to her thighs, they were completely pressed together.

Lu Zhanlin kept one arm tightly around her slender waist, holding her close so she could sit steadily. His arm never loosened, constantly shielding her.

But then—

“You’re poking me,” Lu Zhanlin frowned, reminding her, “What’s in your pocket?”

Their pants were touching directly. Chu Yue’s pocket bulged out with something firm and lumpy that rustled and crunched whenever it moved.

“Oh, this…” Chu Yue looked down and suddenly realized. She pulled a small paper packet from her pocket, opened it, and asked Lu Zhanlin,
“Want some?”

When Lu Zhanlin saw what was inside the packet — red dates, lotus seeds, and melon seeds — the phrase “zao sheng gui zi” (a Chinese blessing meaning “may you soon bear a noble child”) flashed through his mind.

He remembered seeing this during village weddings — red dates, lotus seeds, melon seeds, and longans were often scattered on the couple’s bed as good luck charms, symbolizing fertility and blessings for children.

Chu Yue had actually bought those things?

The implication was obvious. And now she was even asking if he wanted to eat them?

Lu Zhanlin looked at Chu Yue’s slightly flushed face and couldn’t help thinking:
She’s seducing me. She’s definitely seducing me.
She was even hinting that she wanted to have his child.

His lips uncontrollably curled into a faint smile.

Chu Yue, unaware of Lu Zhanlin’s mental spiral, said in a normal tone,
“These were from Sister Chen. I didn’t finish eating them earlier, so I shoved them in my pocket and forgot about them.”

Lu Zhanlin’s smile faded slightly, his brow furrowing.

So… she didn’t buy them herself?

He stared into her watery eyes, his chest visibly rising and falling. He inhaled deeply and said,
“I’ll eat them.”

He reached into the packet in Chu Yue’s hand and pulled out a red date, biting into it with a crunch — crushing the pit in his mouth.

Chu Yue could faintly sense a strange anger radiating from Lu Zhanlin, though she had no idea why.
Why was he mad all of a sudden?

Lu Zhanlin finished the red date, moved on to the lotus seeds, then the melon seeds — munching on them loudly, crack crack crack.

Song Qi was eating nervously, his heart pounding. He’d been with Lu Zhanlin long enough to know — the look on Lu Zhanlin’s face meant he was in a bad mood.

Chu Yue, still not familiar with the man she was meeting for only the second time, hadn’t yet figured out the reserved and secretly affectionate nature behind his cold exterior.

Watching Lu Zhanlin keep snacking inside the swaying vehicle, she kindly reminded him:

“Don’t eat too much. It’s easy to get carsick if you overeat in a moving car. Someone on the bus I just rode threw up for exactly that reason—”

Before she could finish, Lu Zhanlin picked up a red date and stuffed it into her mouth, cutting her off mid-sentence.

In a low voice, he said:

“You eat too.”
(Stop talking so much.)

Chu Yue was left wide-eyed and dazed, her expression frozen. She blinked, bit into the red date in her mouth — it was sweet.

Song Qi, sneaking a glance, nearly burst out laughing on the spot.

This scene — thanks to Song Qi’s later storytelling — would go on to become a legendary anecdote in the military district.

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The jeep sped up the mountain. By the time they reached the entrance of the compound, the snacks Chu Yue had been holding were completely gone.

Lu Zhanlin instructed Song Qi to return to the base and come pick him up early the next morning, then got out of the car carrying all of Chu Yue’s bags.

Just as the two of them stepped onto solid ground, someone came rushing over from not far away.

“Comrade Chu! Comrade Chu…!”

The one yelling was Xia Xiaolan. She had rushed out in a panic to wait for Chu Yue at the bus stop, only to find that Chu Yue had already made it back.

In her flustered state, Xia Xiaolan didn’t even notice Lu Zhanlin standing right next to Chu Yue — her eyes were filled with urgency.

She ran up, panting, and blurted out:

“Comrade Chu, something bad happened! Your child has been beaten up!”

Chu Yue’s expression changed immediately. The corners of her eyes lifted sharply, revealing a fierce glint.

She shoved all the bags in her hands into Lu Zhanlin’s arms without a second thought, and without looking back, she grabbed Xia Xiaolan’s wrist and started rushing forward, asking as she went:

“Where is Yuanbao?”

“He’s… he’s… he’s in your yard,”

Xia Xiaolan finally caught her breath enough to respond, while inwardly marveling at how strong Chu Yue was…

Xia Xiaolan was a slender and delicate girl, with little body mass and even less strength. She had already exhausted herself running out to find Chu Yue.

So now, with Chu Yue dragging her forward, she had no strength left — she was completely being pulled along.

They were moving so fast… cold wind whooshed down her throat, making it feel like her windpipe had been scraped raw.

But Chu Yue didn’t slow down at all, walking swiftly and firmly.

In the blink of an eye, they were back in Chu Yue’s yard.

Inside the courtyard were not only children but also several army wives who hadn’t gone out. Some looked flustered, others were gossiping and watching the drama unfold. Though their mouths said, “Stop fighting!” none of them actually stepped in to break it up.

In the cleared area of the yard — which Chu Yue had recently tilled — three kids were fighting.

One of them was Lu Yuanbao.

The other two boys — identities unknown — were both boys, one older than Yuanbao, around seven or eight, the other about the same age as Yuanbao, five or six.

The two boys had twisted, aggressive expressions. The older one had Yuanbao by the collar, while the younger one pinned down his legs. Together, they were pressing him hard into the ground.

The soil that had been loosened by Chu Yue’s hoeing was now all over Yuanbao.