Chapter 77.3

When it was getting dark, Commander He’s eldest son, He Ming, came knocking, saying it was time to eat and asking them to come over. Jiang Nian lay weakly in the bed, staring resentfully at Lu Yu: “What should I do?”

Lu Yu said, “I’ll go tell Sister Lan that you’re tired and want to rest.”

“No.”

Jiang Nian sighed, “On the first day of marriage, I can’t afford to act like this.”

Besides, Sister Lan and Commander He had helped them a lot, and this kind of thing couldn’t be neglected. But now she was weak all over, her voice wasn’t right, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. She stretched her feet out of the quilt and kicked Lu Yu twice. The man easily held her feet, with a smile on his face: “I’ll help you put on your clothes.”

Jiang Nian tensed up, hurriedly saying, “I’ll do it myself.”

By the time she was dressed and went out with Lu Yu, it was completely dark outside. The two went to Commander He’s house, and as soon as they entered, they smelled the aroma of meat. He Ming and He Bing placed their bowls and chopsticks on the table, seeing Lu Yu and Jiang Nian together and shouting in unison, “Uncle Lu, Aunt Jiang.”

Lu Yu and Jiang Nian responded with a word. Commander He sat on a stool with a bottle of white wine and two glass cups on the table. As soon as Lu Yu came in, Commander He said, “Come, let’s have a good drink today.”

Lu Yu smiled, “Okay.”

Jiang Nian: …

Lan Hui came out carrying a plate of fish and said, “This is the leftover fish from yesterday. Look, it’s still intact.” After saying this, she placed it on the table.

At the dining table, Jiang Nian learned that there was a school in this base, and even a literacy class. The children in the family apartment all attended school, and every Monday morning, military wives would also attend the literacy class. Lan Hui asked Jiang Nian, “It’s Monday tomorrow, do you want to come with me to the literacy class?”

Jiang Nian hesitated…

She wanted to say no, but in the eyes of Lu Yu and everyone else, she was illiterate and uneducated. She could tell from the handwriting of ‘Jiang Nian’ in the dream. Lu Yu looked at Jiang Nian and whispered, “If you don’t want to go, then don’t go.”

“You can’t say it like that,” Lan Hui continued, “I’ve been studying for ten days now, and I can already recite a poem. Jiang Nian is young and has a good memory. She will definitely learn faster if she goes. Jiang Nian, we women can also learn. Tomorrow, come with us. Remember to bring a notebook and pen.”

Jiang Nian reluctantly said, “Okay.”

Lu Yu glanced at Jiang Nian with lowered eyes. He knew there was a secret hidden in this person in front of him. This secret he would slowly explore, and there would eventually be a day of revelation.

He said to Lan Hui, “Sister Lan, wait for two more days. We are going to the embroidery shop tomorrow.”

Lan Hui nodded when she heard this: “Yes, you must go to the embroidery shop. Look at how nice those ladies at the embroidery shop were to your wife yesterday. They kept saying that they were your wife’s family. With so many people helping your wife, let’s see if you dare to bully Jiang Nian in the future.”

Lu Yu smiled and shook his head, “I wouldn’t dare.”

Commander He brought up something from the past, “Did you go back to your hometown this year?”

Lu Yu replied, “I did.”

Commander He wiped his face, “Back then, I watched you and Xu Cheng step by step. If that kid hadn’t had an accident, he’d be just like you now.”

“What a pity.”

Commander He took a sip of wine and smacked his lips, “When do you plan to take your wife back to your hometown to see Xu Cheng and the old man? Your mother handed you over to Xu Cheng’s father when you were young. After so many years, you’re already family. Now that you have a new wife, you should take her to recognize the family.”

Lu Yu’s brow subtly furrowed. He lifted his glass and drank it all, “At the end of the year.”

Jiang Nian lowered her head, feeling uneasy.

It was late when they left Commander He’s house. Lu Yu had a faint smell of alcohol on him, which was blown away by the wind. Jiang Nian’s body was still weak. Lu Yu held her and walked back.

To say he held her would be inaccurate. Jiang Nian’s strength seemed to depend entirely on Lu Yu. Yet he acted as if nothing was wrong, bringing her back home. As soon as the door closed, Lu Yu pinned Jiang Nian against the door panel, holding her tightly.

“Jiang Nian…”

The man buried his head in her neck, his throat hoarse with the scent of alcohol, carrying a unique magnetic roughness, “About you being my sister-in-law before, I didn’t tell Commander He and the others.”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say it. He feared that Jiang Nian couldn’t bear the criticism from everyone. He would rather bury this secret in his heart forever than lose her. He could gamble on anything, endure everyone’s criticism, but he wasn’t completely sure about Jiang Nian.

Jiang Nian hugged Lu Yu lightly and said in his arms, “It’s okay.”

Maybe because Jiang Nian was tortured enough today, Lu Yu let her go for a rare night. The two lay quietly in bed, Jiang Nian lying on Lu Yu’s arm, her fingers drawing circles on his abdominal muscles, silently counting.

One pack…

Two packs…

When she reached the sixth pack, her hand was suddenly grasped by Lu Yu. The man’s dark eyes stared at her intensely, “Sleep or… other activities, you can only choose one.”

Jiang Nian: !!!

She jerked her hand back and turned around to face away from Lu Yu, her face blushing, “Sleep.”

Joking aside, if they kept messing around like this, she might not see the sun the next day.

Lu Yu hugged her from behind, his palm touching Jiang Nian’s soft belly. Jiang Nian’s spine tingled for a moment. Just as she was about to move forward a bit more, his arm around her waist exerted a little force, pulling her back into his arms. Her back pressed tightly against Lu Yu’s solid chest. Jiang Nian was startled, grabbing the long, slender hand and saying, “I’m sleepy.”

Lu Yu: …

“Go to sleep.”

The man closed his eyes and held Jiang Nian all night. Even if she turned and tossed, she was held firmly by him, not once flipping out of the covers. She slept soundly until dawn. When the sky was bright, Lu Yu kissed Jiang Nian’s lips, then got up and dressed.

This place was a bit far from the regiment, and in the morning, there was no sound of the bugle call. Jiang Nian was awakened by Lu Yu.

She opened her eyes drowsily and looked at Lu Yu who was close by, “What time is it?”

“It’s nine o’clock. After we eat, let’s go to the city.”

“Okay.”

Jiang Nian struggled to get up from the bed, her legs still trembling. With Lu Yu’s support, she quickly dressed and went out to wash. After breakfast, Lu Yu washed the dishes and took Jiang Nian out.

This time they drove over. Early in the morning, Lu Yu drove the car out of the regiment. If they drove quickly, they would reach the city in less than an hour. The people at the embroidery shop were all there. Ge Mei, who rarely stayed in, was discussing embroidery patterns with Yu Xia and the others. When they entered, a few people burst into laughter. Jia Yuan teased, “Oh, who do we have here?”

Su Na joined in, “The newlyweds, of course.”

Fan Shan also said, “Has the bride returned home?”

Jiang Nian smiled, “Yes, I’m back.”

Laughter filled the embroidery shop. Lu Yu brought in the things from the car and placed them on the table. Su Na was still thinking about the banditry of Lu Yu and the others on the day when Lu Yu went to pick up the bride.She said to Lu Yu unhappily, “Look at you guys. You almost want to tear down our door for picking up the bride. If the door is broken, what will we do if we freeze to death when we sleep at night?”

Shu Xue said, “Even if we don’t freeze to death, what if we encounter thieves?”

Lu Yu laughed, “They know their limits.”

Then he put the things away and said, “I bought something for each of you as an apology for what happened on the wedding that day.”

Yu Xia ran over to take a look first, everything was good stuff, this must have cost quite a bit of money, so she turned her head to look at Jiang Nian, and said with envy from the bottom of her heart: “Jiang Nian, what good deeds did you do in your previous life to marry such a good man?”

Jiang Nian: …

Lu Yu smiled.

At noon, Lu Yu treated everyone at the Red Star Hotel. During the meal, Ge Mei mentioned the boss of Gangcheng: “Comrade Deng is coming to Yuan city in a few days and specifically asked to see you. I’ll call you when she arrives, and you can come over.”

Jiang Nian said, “Okay.”

The fact that Sister Deng could come was actually within her expectations. She just didn’t expect it to be so soon.

Jiang Nian was confident in her embroidery and was also sure that Sister Deng’s visit this time was about the embroidery. When Yu Xia heard this on the side, she curiously asked, “Who is Comrade Deng?”

Ge Mei explained the relationship between the boss from Gangcheng, Deng Ke and Jiang Nian. Everyone looked at Jiang Nian in surprise when they heard this. Dong Shu also looked at Jiang Nian, but in the end, didn’t say anything, lowered her head and drank a glass of water.

Yu Xia sighed, “Jiang Nian, I was right. You were born to do this job.”

Shu Xue took a bite of meat and chewed it in her mouth before saying, “I really regret not knowing you earlier. If I had met you earlier, I could have gone with my grandmother to meet the old tailor who taught you embroidery.”

When this was said, Jiang Nian’s heart skipped a beat and almost instinctively looked at Lu Yu. Sure enough, she met his gaze.

Jiang Nian: !!!

She hadn’t forgotten what she had told Lu Yu before, that she had taught herself.

Lu Yu picked up a piece of meat for Jiang Nian and poured some hot water into her cup. “Eat something.”

It was obviously a normal sentence, but Jiang Nian inexplicably had the illusion that he should settle the score when he got home.

She quickly lowered her head, and no matter what anyone else said, she didn’t pay attention. Her mind was focused on Lu Yu, his movements when he lowered his eyes, and his calm demeanor when he looked up again, giving Jiang Nian a sense of an impending storm.

After lunch, when they left the embroidery shop, Shu Xue walked with Jiang Nian. Seeing the silver-white watch on Jiang Nian’s wrist, she held her wrist and admired it enviously. “This must have cost several hundred yuan, it’s so expensive.”

She had seen it in a department store before. It was extremely expensive. She had to embroider for a year to be able to afford it. Even so, she had to save money and keep embroidering.

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, looking at the silver-white watch strap on her wrist. Since Lu Yu put it on her, she had taken it off only when bathing, and wore it on her wrist at all other times. She had never asked Lu Yu how much it cost.

Also, his money was all stored with her. Where else could he have gotten the money to buy a watch?

Jiang Nian raised her eyebrows and turned to look at Lu Yu behind her. The man was tall and had long legs. He was wearing a military green uniform, with short sharp hair. His cold eyebrows were filled with smiles. He had a very handsome face, and he had all the advantages of a male protagonist.

Jiang Nian: Hidden money?

This time, Jiang Nian didn’t need to embroider yet. She would wait until Deng Ke came over to see the situation. But while Lu Yu was here, Ge Mei still asked Lu Yu to take Jiang Nian’s embroidery frame back. The embroidery frame was heavy. Fan Shan and Shu Xue wanted to help Lu Yu, but Lu Yu just raised his hands and moved it out easily.

Shu Xue: …

Fan Shan: …

He’s really strong.

Ge Mei gave Jiang Nian two red envelopes. Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment. Ge Mei said, “One is your reward for the embroidery, and the other is the red envelope I gave you for you returning home. You must accept this red envelope.”

Jiang Nian blinked, looked up at Ge Mei, and said, “Sister Ge…”

Her words choked up, unsure of how to continue.

Ge Mei stuffed the two red envelopes into Jiang Nian’s hands and smiled, “Alright, go back quickly.”

“Thank you, Sister Ge.”

Jiang Nian put away the red envelopes, waved to Ge Mei before getting in the car and left.

The car headed towards the direction of the base, the windows were closed, Jiang Nian turned her head to look at Lu Yu who was driving. The man’s side profile was angular and distinct, when not smiling, his eyebrows were cold and sharp, his eyes also carried a hint of distance. Lu Yu had already noticed Jiang Nian’s gaze for a while, and turned to look at her. The smile in his eyebrows momentarily diminished the coldness in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips, and when Lu Yu looked back at the road ahead, she asked, “Did you hide private money?”

Lu Yu: …

He understood Jiang Nian’s meaning and smiled, “The salary and subsidies I received during the six months I went out last year haven’t been given to you yet.”

Jiang Nian turned her head to look at him, just listening to Lu Yu continuing, “Saved for this year’s wedding.”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and smiled, then turned her head to look at the road ahead. Unexpectedly, she heard Lu Yu ask again, “Which old tailor taught you embroidery?”