Chapter 84.2

Guan Lu stayed home these days due to her pregnancy. Whenever Luo Xiaoyue went to school, she would come to Jiang Nian’s place, teaching her to read while chatting. Guan Lu found comfort and matching topics in Jiang Nian’s company.

Guan Lu took the cup and poured some water into the bottle. Looking at the withered flowers and plants, she smiled and said, “I’ll pick some more flowers and plants in a couple of days.”

Jiang Nian saw that she covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom to vomit as soon as she finished speaking and suddenly felt that it would be better not to have a baby for the time being. Otherwise, she would not be able to bear vomiting like this all the time.

At dusk, Lu Yu returned.

Jiang Nian ran back home and bumped into Lu Yu, who was coming out. Seeing his tense expression, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

Seeing Jiang Nian safe and sound in front of him, Lu Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Holding her hand, he walked back. “It’s nothing. I didn’t see you at home, so I thought I’d go look for you.”

Now, it was Jiang Nian who squeezed Lu Yu’s fingers, looking up with a smile. “I was at Guan Lu’s house.”

She raised the notebook and pen in her hand. “I learned a lot of characters today.”

Lu Yu glanced at the paper and pen in her hand, a smile appearing in his eyes. “How many characters did you learn today?”

Jiang Nian cleared her throat. “I learned an entire article.”

“Oh?”

Lu Yu’s eyebrows showed a hint of teasing. “You’re making progress quickly.”

Jiang Nian smiled, put the notebook and pen on the cabinet, and went to the bathroom to wash her hands before heading to the kitchen to cook. Lu Yu followed with an apron. When Jiang Nian turned around, he embraced her, his fingertips brushing her eyes, his voice husky and hard to suppress. “I’m not hungry yet.”

Jiang Nian’s eyelashes trembled. She glanced at the apron in Lu Yu’s hand, her face suddenly turning red.

He… why did he take out that apron?

Not giving Jiang Nian a chance to react, Lu Yu took her hand and helped her put on the apron, his hands brushing past her elbows, tying the apron from behind, the strings making her waist look even slimmer. Lu Yu’s dark eyes grew deeper.

He lifted Jiang Nian by the waist, kissed her lips, his fingers threading through her hair, holding the back of her head, his voice hoarse. “Let’s go back to the room.”

Jiang Nian’s heart raced, her hands resting on Lu Yu’s shoulders, her fingers involuntarily curling.

Under her palms, she felt his taut muscles, hard as iron.

Lu Yu closed the curtains with her in his arms. The already dim room turned pitch black. Unable to see Lu Yu, Jiang Nian’s senses heightened. She pressed her lips together, the quiet room amplifying Lu Yu’s breathing, mixing with her own, making her blush even more.

In the end, the apron lay lazily on her body.

Jiang Nian’s eyelashes fluttered lightly, her eyes rimmed with red, tears welling up in her eyes.

Her slender arms lay on the bedding, a red string resting on her fair wrist. Lu Yu kissed her wet eyelashes, then carried her to the bathroom. After a while, he brought her back to bed. “Rest first. I’ll cook.”

The room was lit by a bulb. Jiang Nian pinched her sore waist, turned over, and fell into a hazy sleep. She didn’t know how long she slept before Lu Yu woke her up, whispering in her ear, “Time to eat.”

Jiang Nian: …

She is so sleepy.

Jiang Nian tried hard to open her eyes. After dinner, she lay in Lu Yu’s arms and fell into a deep sleep. Suddenly, from outside the hallway, came Yue Qiao’s voice, “Guan Lu, what’s wrong?!”

“Luo Xiaoyue, did you do it on purpose?!”

As soon as Yue Qiao finished speaking, Captain Lei quickly stopped her and said, “She’s still a child. How can she understand anything?”

Jiang Nian’s eyes snapped open, her sleepiness gone. Lu Yu held her shoulder, and seeing her awake, kissed her eyelashes. “Not sleeping anymore?”

“I’ll go out and take a look.”

She got up, put on her clothes, and ran outside. Lu Yu got up to follow her. The two walked outside and saw He Yue coming out as well. He Yue rubbed her eyes and said,”I don’t know what happened.” then walked over.

Guan Lu was standing against the wall, holding her stomach with a pained expression. Luo Xiaoyue stood against the wall, crying as if she had been greatly wronged. Yue Qiao, hands on hips, glared at Luo Xiaoyue, being pulled back by Captain Lei. Luo Chengyi came out with a coat, draped it over Guan Lu, and carried her out.

Luo Xiaoyue grabbed Luo Chengyi’s coat hem, tears streaming down her face. “Daddy, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know Aunt Guan would get scared. I just wanted to make Aunt Guan happy. Daddy, if you’re angry, just hit me, but don’t ignore me.”

Luo Chengyi frowned at Luo Xiaoyue. “You stay in the house. I’ll take Aunt Guan to the health center first.”

Luo Xiaoyue wouldn’t let go, seemingly unaware of Guan Lu’s pain, continuously apologizing to Luo Chengyi.

Jiang Nian, frowning, felt the child was deliberately stalling Luo Chengyi. Seeing Luo Xiaoyue’s behavior, Yue Qiao got angry, shook off Captain Lei, and started scolding. “Is that how you make Guan Lu happy? Who uses a scary red mask to cheer someone up? I think you did it on purpose. How can a little girl be so mean? Your mother—”

“Yue Qiao!”

Luo Chengyi’s voice was stern, trying to shut Yue Qiao up.

Captain Lei covered Yue Qiao’s mouth, dragging her back inside. Yue Qiao kicked and punched, twisting Captain Lei’s arm painfully, but he still dragged her in and shut the door.

The door closed, but Luo Xiaoyue still didn’t let go of Luo Chengyi’s coat.

Jiang Nian, unable to bear it, said to Luo Xiaoyue from a distance, “If you don’t let go, something might really happen to Aunt Guan. What will you do then? Apologize while crying again?”

Her voice wasn’t loud but carried clearly in the hallway. Even the military wives running down from upstairs heard it. He Yue also paused, everyone looking at Luo Xiaoyue who still held onto Luo Chengyi’s coat. Luo Chengyi frowned and told Luo Xiaoyue, “Go back to the house.”

He quickly walked to the stairs, Luo Xiaoyue stumbling a few steps before letting go, showing how tightly she had been holding on. Seeing everyone watching her with disapproval, she angrily glared at Jiang Nian, clenching her fists.

A nine-year-old child, but her gaze sent a chill down the spine.

Lu Yu frowned, stepping forward to hold Jiang Nian’s thin shoulder, telling Luo Xiaoyue, “Go back to sleep.”

His voice was cold, carrying a certain sharpness, his eyebrows sharp and piercing. Luo Xiaoyue’s body tensed up in fear. She was afraid of Commander Lu. Ever since he moved here, every time she saw him, she would call him Uncle Lu, but his gaze always seemed to see right through her.

It was as if he could see through her facade. Whenever they met, he would give her a cold, dismissive look.

Luo Xiaoyue didn’t dare to meet Lu Yu’s gaze, quickly turned around, and shut the door with a loud “bang,” as if venting her anger.

Jiang Nian: …

Lu Yu said, “Let’s go back.”

He held Jiang Nian, his strong arm protecting her within his space. Chen Ping glanced at them in the hallway. Seeing their intimacy, she quickly dismissed any thoughts of their previous brother-in-law and sister-in-law relationship and hurried back upstairs.

Returning to her room and closing the door, Captain Ren came out and asked, “What’s going on downstairs? Why so noisy?”

Chen Ping recounted Luo Xiaoyue’s behavior. Captain Ren frowned, saying, “That child has a lot of thoughts.”

Chen Ping added, “If Jiang Nian hadn’t pointed it out just now, I wouldn’t have noticed anything wrong. Usually, she seems polite and always smiling, but who knew she had such a bad heart.”

Outside, the noise subsided. Jiang Nian looked up at Lu Yu, still a bit uneasy about what had happened earlier. “Lu Yu, that child Luo Xiaoyue is not as cheerful and friendly as she appears.”

The last time she and He Yue saw Luo Xiaoyue’s mother outside the military base, with such a mother frequently visiting her, how could the child’s mind be pure?

Lu Yu gently patted Jiang Nian’s shoulder. “That child is scheming. Stay away from her.”

Jiang Nian nodded. “Okay.”

After a while, she remembered something, turned around, and half-lay beside Lu Yu, her hand on his shoulder. “Don’t you think Luo Xiaoyue doesn’t resemble Deputy Commander Luo at all?”

From the first time she saw Luo Xiaoyue, she felt the child didn’t look like Deputy Commander Luo. Even if the child took after her mother, there was no resemblance to Deputy Commander Luo in any feature. But she thought maybe it was just her imagination. Some children indeed take after only one parent.

Lu Yu held Jiang Nian’s hand, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and said only, “Don’t think about it. Get some sleep.”