Chapter 31

Xu Nian Nian rolled her eyes at her and got into the front passenger seat.

She had spoken without thinking earlier.

Xu Ruhua, seeing her leave, wanted to curse, but she could only think of calling her a shameless woman. Everything she said was fake.

At that moment, Lu Huaijin, who was about to open the driver’s door, stopped, giving Xu Ruhua a cold stare.

Xu Ruhua opened her mouth to continue cursing, but when she saw that cold, icy gaze from Lu Huaijin, her words faltered. His gaze was so sharp that she felt like she might lose her life if she said anything more.

Instantly, all her energy drained away. She had waited for He Conghao to come back for hours yesterday, but he never showed up, even though she’d overheard them talking about coming back today. She felt exhausted.

After Xu Nian Nian sat down in the front passenger seat, Lu Huaijin started the car.

The air was hot and muggy, and despite opening the windows, the humidity still lingered, making everything feel even more irritable.

Xu Nian Nian glanced cautiously at Lu Huaijin.

She blamed herself for being so smooth-talking on the internet in her past life, even remembering the catchphrases. Now, she felt so awkward she could build an entire fantasy castle out of it.

Lu Huaijin’s mood seemed a little complicated. He wasn’t completely clueless. He’d spent time with his comrades, and they used to joke around with each other. He could tell that what Xu Nian Nian had said earlier was probably meant in a certain way.

He caught a glimpse of Xu Nian Nian softly slapping her own lips, and he found it kind of cute.

He spoke:

“Do you want me to explain?”

She looked like she was really angry, her cheeks puffed up like a little goldfish blowing bubbles.

Xu Nian Nian laughed despite herself at this. Sure, she had misspoken, but when she was talking with Xu Ruhua, even though it was his fault, it seemed like she was being unreasonable.

She already disliked Xu Ruhua, and after learning the truth, she disliked her even more. The thought that Xu Ruhua might be her half-sister made her wish she could replace her blood.

It felt like when your best friend doesn’t stand by you during a tough time.

Lu Huaijin noticed she wasn’t saying anything, so he continued:

“When I got out of the car, she tried to grab me. I avoided her, and then she said, ‘You came back last night with some guy.’ When I heard that, I saw you coming over.”

He glanced at Xu Nian Nian from the corner of his eye. Her soft, pale face seemed to have turned slightly pink, her eyelashes fluttering, her eyes lowered, and her fingers turned white as if she was shy.

Lu Huaijin, acting on impulse, added:

“I didn’t say anything to her.”

Xu Nian Nian felt a bit guilty when she heard this. It did seem a bit ambiguous for a woman to return in the same car with a man late at night, especially when she had actually gone to sell grain. If Lu Huaijin found out, would she be in serious trouble?

She clenched her fist slightly.

Lu Huaijin glanced at her, wondering why she seemed so guilty.

His gaze softened:

“Did something happen? You can tell me. I heard the man was quite handsome.”

Xu Nian Nian sped up her words:

“He was a bit handsome, but that’s not the point. The point is, I ran into a human trafficker on the street, and I saved a girl. That man was her family.”

Lu Huaijin slowed down the car a bit:

“You weren’t hurt, were you?”

Xu Nian Nian shook her head, but thinking he couldn’t see her, she quickly added, “No.”

“Then why did you go out again? Didn’t you get everything you needed?”

“No, I just wanted to go out for a walk… But really, there’s nothing between me and that man. We’ve only met once, and we didn’t even hold hands.”

Xu Nian Nian felt embarrassed. She felt like she was being caught in a compromising situation when, in fact, she hadn’t done anything wrong.

She just thought Lu Huaijin was still okay, or else she wouldn’t bother explaining.

Lu Huaijin knew that the first half of her sentence was a lie, but the latter half was true.

He suddenly thought about her hands, realizing that he hadn’t held them either… they were in the same situation.

He pursed his lips.

“Let’s eat something first. The food on the train isn’t good.”

He pulled into a state-owned restaurant.

Lu Huaijin went to the counter and ordered two plates of pork and leek dumplings, a dish of stir-fried bok choy, and some cold pig’s tripe.

He turned to Xu Nian Nian:

“Is there anything else you want to eat?”

Xu Nian Nian reached into her pocket and pulled out two yuan, offering it to him.

“No, this is enough.”

When Lu Huaijin saw her offering him the money, he pushed it back.

“No need.”

As soon as they sat down, Lu Huaijin asked again:

“What happened with the human trafficker?”

His eyes again swept over her delicate wrist, which seemed so fragile.

Xu Nian Nian took the opportunity to explain the whole situation, emphasizing how useful the stun gun was:

“It was really helpful, otherwise, those two would have escaped.”

Lu Huaijin was silent for a moment after hearing this:

“I didn’t give you that to help you catch bad guys. I gave it to you for your safety. If the other side had a more powerful weapon…”

As a soldier, he felt obligated to fight bad guys, but he also thought Xu Nian Nian needed to have better safety awareness.

Given that the criminals had already abandoned the girl, he didn’t think Xu Nian Nian needed to chase after them—he left the rest to the police.

Xu Nian Nian wasn’t bothered by this lecture at all. She smiled up at him:

“I only dared to do something because I had the stun gun you gave me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have done anything.”

Lu Huaijin nodded, seemingly casually asking:

“What was the relationship between that man and the girl you saved?”

“He was her husband’s brother,” Xu Nian Nian added. “They treated me to a meal, so we ended up talking for a while and it got late.”

Lu Huaijin furrowed his brow. He thought they must have sent her back together.

“Make way, the dumplings are here,” the waiter interrupted their conversation.

Xu Nian Nian looked at the plate of round, plump dumplings and thought how honest people were these days. She picked up the plate. “I can’t finish these. Can I give you some?”

She hesitated. She wasn’t sure if their relationship was at the level where they could share food.

Lu Huaijin slid his plate over to her:

“Sure.”

As she picked up the dumplings, Lu Huaijin noticed her hair seemed a bit shorter now. It was dark, and her eyes were so bright and watery.

She was wearing the army green shirt they had bought together yesterday.

He’d seen many female soldiers in similar shirts before, but this time, he found her outfit quite eye-catching. Her forearm was so white, though it looked a little too thin.

When she reached out for more dumplings, he lightly touched her wrist, signaling her to stop:

“Enough, you’re too thin. Eat more.”

With that, he pulled his plate back and casually ate a dumpling.

To his surprise, the dumpling skin was thin, and when he bit into it, the juice exploded in his mouth. He couldn’t help but think how much better it would have tasted if the dough had been made with his own space’s flour.

The delicious flavor of the dumplings made him take a few small bites in satisfaction.