Chapter 28

Lu Nong was stunned. “Where is he hurt?”

Aunt Wu replied, “Your husband is in the study. You can check for yourself.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Nong felt relieved. As long as he wasn’t seriously injured to the point of being bedridden, it was fine. If he had sustained such a serious injury, he would likely be in the hospital.

“Then I’ll go take a look. Please help me with Xiao Huai,” Lu Nong said as she handed Gu Huai to Aunt Wu and headed upstairs.

She walked to the door of the study and knocked. The door opened quickly, revealing Pei Zheng inside.

Pei Zheng’s expression was a bit gloomy. Upon seeing Lu Nong, he didn’t say anything but moved aside to let her in.

Once inside the study, Lu Nong saw not just Pei Ji’an but also Pei Zheng and his brothers. Pei Ji’an was seated, while Pei Zheng and the other three stood in a line, their heads bowed. Pei Ji’an glanced over them, causing the four of them to stiffen.

Lu Nong: “…” They really are obedient.

The four of them returned to the Little Red Building one step earlier than Lu Nong, so it was natural for them to visit the injured Pei Ji’an, but was this a visit to the sick or for training?

It made her a bit nervous. Hadn’t the incident of drinking with Pei Zheng passed by now?

It should have, since Pei Zheng had already been punished, Lu Nong reassured herself, though she still felt uneasy.

She quietly observed Pei Ji’an and met his gaze. His eyes held a profound depth, like an ocean, and Lu Nong froze for a moment. The memory of drinking with Pei Zheng made her feel guilty, and she quickly averted her gaze.

When she regained her composure, she noticed that Pei Ji’an had lowered his eyes, seemingly lost in thought.

Lu Nong took a moment to examine him. There were no visible signs of injury on him, and he looked no different from an ordinary person.

However, perhaps due to the injury, Pei Ji’an appeared a bit pale. Nonetheless, he sat upright, the sunlight streaming through the window onto his smooth forehead, his sharply defined eyebrows, high nose, perfect chin, and prominent Adam’s apple…

Lu Nong realized that Pei Ji’an’s eyebrows were exceptionally beautiful, perfectly shaped like the brush strokes in a Chinese ink painting. They were a classic expression of the phrase “sword-like brows and starry eyes.” Very few people could boast such attractive eyebrows.

No wonder he was known as the most handsome man in the military in the novels.

At that moment, he slightly lowered his eyes. The side of his nose cast a shadow, and his lips were pale. Suddenly, Lu Nong thought of a term—“battle-damaged handsome.”

Slurp, Lu Nong seemed to hear the sound of her own drooling. Oh no, she was in trouble. This was exactly her weakness.

What she found most irresistible were strong and beautiful men who had experienced hardships.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine,” Pei Ji’an said, noticing Lu Nong staring at him in silence. He had no choice but to explain.

“But Godmother said you were injured,” Lu Nong replied, snapping back to reality. She suppressed her racing heart and decisively turned her gaze away. This old man was dangerous, he wasn’t someone she could just toy with.

The four younger brothers looked at Lu Nong in confusion. Her behavior towards Pei Ji’an was completely different from how she had been moments ago, standing obediently and responding respectfully instead of barking orders at them.

…It turns out that she is as timid as them in front of Dad/Uncle Pei. That was a relief.

“It’s just a small injury,” Pei Ji’an said casually. “I got a little scraped up by some shrapnel during the training. It’s nothing serious.”

Lu Nong didn’t fully understand but took his word for it. However, upon hearing this, Pei Zheng’s expression went from gloomy to completely dark. He turned away, looking wronged.

Seeing this, Lu Nong began to grasp the implication of Pei Ji’an’s “small injury” and felt a wave of concern. “Where exactly are you hurt?”

Though it might be a bit selfish, Pei Ji’an was her only protector in this era. He had lived much longer than the original owner of this body in the novel, but what if something unexpected happened? What if he ended up like Gu Weiguo, who suffered from old injuries and died early? Then she would be in serious trouble.

Pei Ji’an didn’t expect Lu Nong to care about him. He gave her a deep look.

Before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. Moments later, Xiao Zhou entered, carrying new bandages and medicine.

Xiao Zhou was taken aback to find so many people in the study. He turned to Pei Ji’an and said, “Chief, I brought your medicine. You need to change the dressing today…”

Just as he was about to suggest helping Pei Ji’an change the bandages since it would be inconvenient for him to do it alone, he caught sight of Lu Nong standing behind Pei Zheng. He hesitated, swallowing the words that were about to come out.

Pei Ji’an nodded and said lightly, “Just put the medicine on the table.”

He then looked at Pei Zheng and the others, saying, “You’ve checked on me. Now go do what you need to do. You don’t need to stand here, I’m fine.”

Pei Zheng pursed his lips and still said nothing. However, when he saw that Xiao Zhou didn’t have much medicine in his hand, he looked much more relaxed.

“Okay,” Xiao Zhou said, quickly placing the medicine down. He gave Pei Zheng a knowing look. “Pei Zheng, the matter you asked me about a few days ago regarding going to the shooting range has progressed. Come out, and I’ll tell you about it.”

As soon as Pei Zheng heard this, his eyes lit up, and the gloom from earlier faded. He followed Xiao Zhou out of the study.

Lu Nong thought that Pei Ji’an’s “you all” should include her as well, so she followed Xiao Zhou and Pei Zheng. However, when it was her turn to leave, the door just happened to close.

She pushed the door, but it wouldn’t budge.

Lu Nong: “…” This was awkward.

Turning to Pei Ji’an, she saw him fiddling with the medicine and bandages. It looked like he intended to change the dressing himself. Noticing she hadn’t left yet, he paused his movements and looked at her.

Lu Nong said, “The door is broken.”

Pei Ji’an replied, “Mm.”

Outside, Xiao Zhou braced the door with his foot. After a while, when there was no longer any sound of pushing from the other side, he relaxed his foot and pulled out a piece of wire to prop the door closed, taking the credit for it.

Pei Zheng and the others were speechless.

“Xiao Zhou, what are you doing?” Pei Zheng whispered, trying to keep his voice down. “Why don’t you let Lu Nong out? Don’t you like her?”

Xiao Zhou twitched his mouth. After a week apart, Pei Zheng was still the same old Pei Zheng, as no-nonsense as ever.

He patted Pei Zheng on the shoulder and said, with a hint of sadness, “I have no issues with Comrade Lu. It’s just that this past week has been a bit difficult for me. Xiao Zheng, I don’t expect you to understand. Just know I mean no harm.”

“Let’s go,” Shen Jiming said, lowering his head. His slightly long hair obscured his expression. “We should go do what Lu Nong instructed. She’ll come to check on us.”

The group headed downstairs, while Pei Zheng remained in the middle, confused and repeatedly asking Xiao Zhou why he had found the past week difficult.

In the study, Lu Nong couldn’t get out and saw that Pei Ji’an was planning to change the dressing by himself. Her heart softened, and she walked over to him, saying, “Let me help you change the bandages.”

Oh, mainly because the battle-scarred beauty was just too captivating; it was hard not to feel soft-hearted, especially when he was both alluring and injured. Who could resist that?

Pei Ji’an paused for a moment and replied in a low, quiet voice, “Okay.”

He began to undress, his long fingers unhurriedly unbuttoning his clothes, starting with the outer military uniform, then his shirt… To Lu Nong’s astonishment, despite the heat, he was fully dressed in all three layers, and every button was tightly fastened.

What a tough guy.

Once he removed his upper garments, his toned abs and white bandages became visible, with faint red stains showing through the bandages on his shoulders.

Lu Nong, with some memories of the original owner as a nurse, walked around the table to Pei Ji’an’s side and began to untie the knotted bandages.

A strong scent of medicine enveloped Pei Ji’an, thick and bitter. Lu Nong couldn’t help but feel that this scent somehow resembled him. If there were a perfume with that scent, she would consider gifting it to Pei Ji’an.

As she unwrapped the bandages, both Lu Nong and Pei Ji’an remained silent. She focused intently on changing the bandages, and the wound was bleeding, not at all as lightly as Pei Ji’an had claimed.

Lu Nong realized she had been too naïve. An injury caused by shrapnel wouldn’t merely scrape the surface.

Her fingers accidentally brushed against his skin, prompting her to glance at Pei Ji’an.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Does it hurt?” Lu Nong looked at him with concern, yet he hadn’t made a sound throughout.

Pei Ji’an hesitated, not saying whether it hurt or not. He simply stated quietly, “I’m used to it.”

Was he used to being injured or just used to the pain? Lu Nong felt that his words held unspoken meanings.

“…I’m going to change the bandage now,” she said softly.

“Okay,” Pei Ji’an replied.

Lu Nong took the bandage, wrapping her arms around Pei Ji’an. From the back, it looked as if she were embracing him completely. Pei Ji’an appeared momentarily frozen, but quickly regained his composure.

At that close moment, their breaths mingled, and Lu Nong thought it was strange. She felt a sense of familiarity.

It was as if she had been held by Pei Ji’an in the past.

After tying the first knot, Lu Nong stepped back from Pei Ji’an and moved to his back to secure the remaining knots.

After finishing the dressing, Pei Ji’an put his clothes back on. Lu Nong gathered the dirty bandages and wraps she had removed, preparing to take them downstairs to deal with them. She tried the door one more time, hoping against hope to open it…but it still wouldn’t budge.

It felt like something was blocking the door. Lu Nong wasn’t foolish, she suspected this was the prank of her four troublesome younger brothers. Oh, how bold they had become! She silently vowed that if she ever got out, it would mark the end of their good times.

Lu Nong set aside the dirty gauze and bandages, intending to quietly read at her desk for a while. As her gaze swept across Pei Ji’an’s desk, she noticed her original edition of Borges’ poetry collection prominently displayed on it.

“Do you like this book?” she asked.

The original was an English poetry collection, and Lu Nong had seen Pei Ji’an reading it several times. He must understand English, she thought.

To her surprise, Pei Ji’an remained silent for a moment before replying, “I’m learning English and only understand it somewhat.”

Oh my, Lu Nong gasped internally. This was the pinnacle of the brooding, wounded hero. She couldn’t help but blurt out, “I can read it to you.”

“Sure,” Pei Ji’an replied, relaxing his posture. He leaned back against his chair, signaling that he was ready to listen.

Lu Nong pulled up a chair to sit opposite him and opened to her favorite poem, reading:

“What can I hold you with?

I offer you lean streets, desperate sunsets, the moon of the jagged suburbs.

…

I can give you my loneliness, my darkness, the hunger of my heart;

I am trying to bribe you with uncertainty, with danger, with defeat.”

As Lu Nong softly read the lines, Pei Ji’an listened quietly. The only sound in the study was her voice reading the poem.

The sunlight gradually shifted, casting a warm glow on Lu Nong, mirroring the happiness in the family photo displayed on the desk, where she appeared just like the girl in the picture.