Chapter 14

Pu Yue had known Lu Jingzhe for so long, but she had never known he had such a soft side.

He was tall, handsome, and had already become a battalion-level cadre at a young age. Many female soldiers in the army had a crush on Lu Jingzhe, but he had never had any private interactions with anyone. This made them both frustrated and feel like they still had a chance.

Later, a deputy chief of staff was transferred to the military district. His younger daughter, Mo Xiaoxiao, was not only beautiful but also gentle and talented in singing and dancing. She made all the male soldiers in the army smitten.

Mo Xiaoxiao had a crush on Lu Jingzhe shortly after arriving. Although everyone was unhappy, they had to admit that the two were a perfect match, handsome and beautiful. It was only a matter of time before they got together.

But no one expected that two years ago, Lu Jingzhe suddenly submitted a marriage report to the army. He quickly got a marriage certificate, and they didn’t even know who the woman was.

It wasn’t until Mai Yajun, who lived in the same compound as Lu Jingzhe back home, was transferred to the army that everyone learned from him that the woman was from the countryside, had no background or education, and was even ugly. Lu Jingzhe only married her because he was forced to.

Everyone in the army believed Mai Yajun’s words because Lu Jingzhe only submitted a report for such a major event as marriage, and he didn’t even go home. If he was truly willing to marry her, how could he not even go home?

Last year, Pu Yue was transferred back here from the army. She specifically inquired about her and even pretended to encounter her by chance. But to her surprise, Xia Qingning wasn’t as ugly as Mai Yajun said. Not only was she not ugly, but she was even very beautiful. Her appearance was no less than any of the female soldiers in the army.

Pu Yue felt a little defeated. After learning the reason why Lu Jingzhe married her, she felt a little unwilling. She used such a despicable method to easily extinguish everyone’s hopes.

Her liking for Lu Jingzhe had gradually faded with time, but seeing him again today, that uncontrollable throbbing was still there. She couldn’t help but want to get closer to him.

She originally thought, as she had heard, that Lu Jingzhe disliked this woman, even hated her. But she was wrong again. How could he be so gentle to her if he didn’t like her? He even fed her.

Pu Yue felt a mixture of sourness and bitterness, but she still walked over to them with a smile and said to Lu Jingzhe:

“Feeding your wife?”

This time, she called her “sister-in-law.” Xia Qingning didn’t expect that.

Lu Jingzhe turned his head and saw it was Pu Yue. He didn’t feel awkward because he was feeding Xia Qingning. He replied naturally:

“Yeah, she can’t use her hand.”

Originally, calling Xia Qingning “sister-in-law” was just to test him, but she didn’t expect Lu Jingzhe to deny her identity. This made Pu Yue feel even more sad. She tried to make her tone sound normal:

“I’ll take your wife’s temperature.”

At this time, the noodles in the lunch box were finished. Lu Jingzhe stood up and said:

“Okay.”

Pu Yue took out the thermometer, shook it, looked at it in front of her, and handed it to Xia Qingning, saying:

“Put it under your armpit, and take it out after five minutes.”

Xia Qingning took it, said “Okay,” and did as she was told.

Pu Yue didn’t ask her anything else. Instead, she looked at Lu Jingzhe and asked:

“Have you eaten?”

“No.” Lu Jingzhe replied. “I’ll go eat downstairs later.”

Hearing him say this, Pu Yue felt a surge of excitement. She quickly said:

“We employees have a special window. There are fewer people so it’s not crowded. I’ll take you downstairs to eat later.”

“No need.” Lu Jingzhe refused, his face cold and serious. “It’s against the rules.”

She originally wanted to eat with him, but hearing him say this, and knowing his personality, Pu Yue didn’t invite him again. After a moment, she continued:

“When I went to visit Principal Guo, he often mentioned you. Now that you’re back, should you go see him?”

Principal Guo was Lu Jingzhe’s teacher and the father of his deceased comrade-in-arms. Naturally, he should go visit him after returning, so he said:

“Yeah, I should go.”

“I haven’t gone to visit them in a while either. When are you going? Let’s go together.” Pu Yue tried to sound natural.

In front of her, she was inviting him to eat and then to visit someone. This Dr. Pu really didn’t take her, Xia Qingning, seriously.

Lu Jingzhe wasn’t used to traveling with people he wasn’t familiar with. He was about to refuse, but he heard Xia Qingning suddenly speak up and agree for him.

“Okay.”

He frowned slightly, clearly blaming Xia Qingning for her own initiative, but the next second, he heard her say:

“But he has to accompany me back to my hometown these days, so he might not have time.” She changed the subject and said, “If Dr. Pu is in a hurry, you can go first.”

She thought she had made it clear enough that she was helping Lu Jingzhe refuse, but Pu Yue seemed not to understand. The next second, Xia Qingning heard her say:

“I’m not in a hurry. You can go when Jingzhe’s busy.”

This person was so clueless. Xia Qingning was unhappy in her heart, but she still maintained a smile on her face:

“We have some other things to do. It’s hard to say when we’ll be able to visit the principal.”

Xia Qingning had already said this much, and Lu Jingzhe didn’t come out to deny it. Pu Yue was also a person who cared about face, so naturally, she didn’t have any reason to insist, so she could only say:

“Oh, okay then.”

“Sorry, Dr. Pu.” Xia Qingning, who had achieved her goal, didn’t forget to apologize politely.

“No, it’s fine.” The smile on Pu Yue’s face was a little forced. This wasn’t the uneducated country girl that Mai Yajun had described. She thought she was quite clever.

“You can take out the thermometer.” Pu Yue said after a while.

Xia Qingning took the thermometer out from under her clothes and handed it to Pu Yue. Pu Yue looked at it and said:

“The fever has gone down. Drink plenty of water and eat bland food for the next two days.” Then she looked at Xia Qingning again and said, “You’re a little malnourished and have some low blood sugar. Eat more rice. Don’t starve yourself to stay thin.”

This was said without any basis, but it was clearly directed at Lu Jingzhe, wasn’t it obvious that she was telling him that she was so thin because she was trying to stay thin for her looks?

Xia Qingning didn’t argue, but nodded along with her words:

“Okay, Dr. Pu, I’ll remember that.”

Pu Yue was a little surprised. She was just laughing at her in her heart for being so stupid and not understanding the hidden meaning in her words, when she saw her suddenly turn to Lu Jingzhe, looking innocent and wronged, and say:

“Then I’ll eat more rice and not save money.”