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“Commander Lu, let me make you a bowl of noodles,” Hu Ouhua said attentively.
Lu Yuetang waved his hand. “No need to trouble yourself. I already ate at the cafeteria today. Just boil a pot of hot water and bring it upstairs—I want to soak my feet.”
The old doctor had adjusted his treatment.
Instead of a 30-minute medicinal bath once a day, he now had two foot soaks daily, along with regular bloodletting.
After boiling the water, Hu Ouhua carried it up to the second floor.
She felt a little nervous, afraid that if she opened the door, she’d find him sitting in the tub without clothes…
Fortunately, when she entered, Lu Yuetang was fully dressed. A wooden basin sat at his feet, with a medicinal pouch inside.
Hu Ouhua poured the hot water into the basin.
Lu Yuetang took off his shoes and placed his feet in the herbal water.
He sat quietly.
After a while, when Hu Ouhua still hadn’t left, he said, “You don’t have to wait here. Go study your lessons.”
“It’s not that…” Hu Ouhua’s cheeks flushed slightly.
She didn’t know how to bring it up.
They were just in an employer-employee relationship, not close enough for her to ask him for favors. If he thought she was overstepping and fired her, that would be a real problem.
“If you have something to say, just say it.”
Lu Yuetang soaked in the warm water, feeling his whole body heat up. The faint fragrance from Hu Ouhua filled his nose, making his blood race and his chest feel stifled.
“I wanted to ask… Commander, do you have any self-defense weapons I could borrow for a while? I’ll return it before you leave,” Hu Ouhua asked.
After the college entrance exams, she planned to leave Ning City. Then, she’d be safe.
Lu Yuetang frowned slightly. “I can assure you that what happened last time won’t happen again.”
“No, it’s not that.”
Hu Ouhua quickly shook her head.
She turned away and told him about Wang Chunlan insisting on marrying her off to Yang Wei.
So that was it.
Lu Yuetang recalled the scene from last time when a group of people had come to the house. He couldn’t remember all their faces, but Yang Wei was so hideously unforgettable that he’d taken notice.
He gestured toward the nightstand. “Open the drawer. There’s something inside that might be useful.”
Seeing him agree, Hu Ouhua’s face lit up with joy.
She rushed over to the bedside, pulled open the drawer, and saw a bronze military knife inside. Her eyes widened. “Isn’t this too valuable? What if I lose it…”
“It’s fine. I have plenty. You can keep this one.”
Lu Yuetang didn’t tell her that this military knife was a reward for a major achievement. The serial number on it represented his identity.
Hu Ouhua was thrilled.
She quickly expressed her gratitude. “Thank you, Commander Lu! Let me know before you return to the capital, and I’ll give it back to you.”
“Mm.”
Lu Yuetang watched her admire the knife with pure delight. The sharp blade reflected her delicate face, making her look exceptionally beautiful.
He clenched his fingers into his thigh, forcing himself to snap out of it.
To show her gratitude, Hu Ouhua went to boil another pot of water, continually adding hot water to his soak until he had been soaking for a full hour.
As a result, the basin was now overflowing.
After he dried his feet, she squatted down to lift the basin. But the combined weight of the water and the basin was too much for her. As soon as she lifted it, her hands gave way, and she lost her balance, falling forward.
Lu Yuetang instinctively reached out to catch her.
But the water spilled everywhere.
Clatter!
The wooden basin flew onto the bed, completely soaking the mattress.
Lu Yuetang leaned forward, legs tensing, barely managing to catch the falling woman. Her soft body pressed against his chest, her arms wrapping around his neck.
A delicate fragrance drifted into his senses, making him momentarily dazed.
Her rosy lips were incredibly soft and inviting. She had bitten her lower lip in shock, making his heart pound wildly.
“I’m sorry! I—I didn’t mean to! Let me clean this up—”
Hu Ouhua struggled to get up.
But she was too close to the ground.
As she pushed herself up, she accidentally pulled him down with her. Losing all balance, he fell completely on top of her.
Boom—
It felt like something exploded inside him, stirring up a storm.
He had never been so acutely aware of a woman’s softness before. It made him tremble, igniting a greed within him, an unwillingness to let go.
“Whoa, looks like I came at the wrong time~”
A voice came from the doorway.
Shen Fubai stood there, stroking his chin with an amused expression. He didn’t know whether to walk in or back away.
“Ah! No—it’s not what you think!”
Hu Ouhua blushed furiously, trying to explain.
She pushed against Lu Yuetang.
He looked slim, but now that he was fully pressed down, he was unexpectedly heavy—she could barely breathe.
“Twisted your ankle?”
Shen Fubai had already noticed the overturned basin and the puddles of water on the floor. He teased them as he approached and pulled Lu Yuetang up. But his relaxed demeanor successfully shattered the awkwardness between them.
After Hu Ouhua got up, she hurried to clean up the mess.
By the time she was done, Lu Yuetang had finished showering and changed into clean clothes. Seeing her still tidying up, he said in a low voice, “Go wash up. Leave this—let Fubai clean.”
“Hey, Lu, that’s not fair,” Shen Fubai muttered, teasingly.
Still, he took the cleaning tools from Hu Ouhua and went upstairs to tidy up.
Hu Ouhua thanked him and quickly took a bath.
By the time she came out, Shen Fubai was gone. But the mattress was completely soaked, making it impossible to sleep on.
Lu Yuetang had no choice but to move into the room next to hers.
Normally, Lu Yuetang liked peace and quiet. Since the first-floor bedroom was near the main entrance, where people often passed by, it was almost never used.
Now, he had no choice but to make do for the night.
After they both returned to their rooms…
The moment he closed his eyes, all he could think about was Hu Ouhua’s softness—that intoxicating moment.
He felt like he was addicted.
No matter how much he warned himself not to have stray thoughts, every time he tried to focus on military training or something else, his mind would drift back to that scene.
Unable to sleep, he felt restless, as if he were about to explode. A strange tension built up in his body, an unbearable pressure in a certain… area.
With no other choice, he got out of bed and began practicing military combat moves.
Their rooms were adjacent, separated only by a thin wall.
The house wasn’t well soundproofed.
He could hear her turning over in bed, her occasional sleep-talking… Every little sound reached his ears as if the wall didn’t even exist.
When he returned to the military base, the political commissar noticed his exhausted look and said, “If you’re not feeling well, go home and rest. Don’t push yourself—your health is more important than anything.”
Lu Yuetang thought back to the morning when he had walked past Hu Ouhua’s door. Through the tiny gap, he saw her peacefully sleeping, her hair tousled, her figure softly outlined…
His nose started bleeding.
“Whoa! What’s wrong? Hurry—go to the hospital! This can’t wait!”
The commissar was startled.