Chapter 40: Cold and Stoic… But He Actually Likes Candy

Lu Zhanlin placed the things down, opened the car door, and waited for Chu Yue to get in.

As she was getting in, Lu Zhanlin instinctively moved to offer a helping hand. The jeep’s chassis was relatively high, and it was usually hard for women to climb in without assistance.

But Chu Yue grabbed the door frame with one hand, placed one foot up, and lightly hopped in with ease — no help needed whatsoever.

As she brushed past him, Lu Zhanlin caught a faint, cool scent at the tip of his nose.

Peppermint.

The refreshing and cool peppermint aroma wasn’t unpleasant. In fact, it was rather soothing. Still, it was different from Chu Yue’s usual light, sweet fragrance.

Between the two, Lu Zhanlin found he preferred the scent from the last time — after she’d taken a bath, her body had carried a soft, sugary sweetness.

Even the military coat he’d draped over her that time ended up infused with her delicate fragrance.

In no time, all three were in the vehicle.

Song Qi, who was sitting up front in the driver’s seat, gave Chu Yue a quick reminder,
“Ma’am, we’re heading off. Hold on tight.”

The army green jeep started up and slowly drove past the parked bus and the scattered army wives standing on the roadside.

The wives stood halfway up the mountain, watching through the glass as Chu Yue sat in the back seat. Their eyes showed traces of envy.

As the jeep drove by, a gust of cold winter wind swept past them — bone-chilling and sharp, making them all shiver.

One of the wives began to grumble,
“Wang Xiulan, are you done vomiting or not? When can we get back on the bus? Standing here is gonna freeze me to death!”

“Heh,” someone scoffed, then added mockingly,
“If you’re that afraid of the cold, why are you even riding the bus? You should’ve just taken Commander Lu’s jeep. No cold wind, no crowd, no nasty smells. Honestly, you’re just jealous of Chu Yue. But hey, it’s not your fate. You didn’t marry a commander — just an ordinary company captain.”

“So I’m not lucky, fine. But are you? I admit I’m jealous of Chu Yue. Aren’t the rest of you? You, you, and you — which one of you isn’t?”

“Why drag us into your fight? What does your argument have to do with us?”

The army wives, still standing in the bitter wind, were full of complaints and looked ready to break into a full-blown quarrel.

Chen Fengying shouted above them all,
“What are you yelling about? You want to spend the night out here or what? If not, then get on the damn bus. I need to get home and cook for my kid!”

At the mention of cooking dinner, the women gradually calmed down and began boarding the bus in twos and threes.

Wang Xiulan, still pale and weak, was helped onto the bus as well.

Her face was drawn, her lips colorless, yet she was still mumbling,
“My meat… my precious meat… It wasn’t easy for me to get that meat…”

The sight was both pathetic and ridiculous.

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Compared to the noisy squabbling outside, the atmosphere in Chu Yue’s vehicle was much quieter.

Lu Zhanlin sat cold and stoic, his demeanor that of someone used to authority, silent and stern.

As for Song Qi, a mere junior officer, the oppressive aura of Commander Lu left him too afraid to even breathe wrong — let alone strike up casual conversation with Chu Yue under the commander’s nose.

He didn’t dare talk, but sneaking glances? That he could do.

This was Commander Lu and his new wife — sitting together in the same vehicle! A rare, once-in-a-lifetime moment!

Among the soldiers, Lu Zhanlin was practically a legend. Everyone wanted to know what kind of husband he was in private.

So Song Qi kept sneaking peeks in the rearview mirror, trying to catch glimpses of the interaction between Lu Zhanlin and Chu Yue.

After a few times, however, he suddenly met a cold, piercing gaze in the mirror — Lu Zhanlin’s.

His back went stiff with fear, and he shivered involuntarily.

Immediately, he straightened up and focused all his attention on driving. He didn’t dare sneak another look.

That’s when Chu Yue finally spoke.

From the moment she got in, she’d been digging through her shopping bags. After a while, she finally pulled out the five jins of candy she’d bought.

The five jins were packaged by weight — each half-jin in a small paper bag, ten bags in total.

Chu Yue took out two bags, totaling one jin, and placed them beside Song Qi on the front seat.

“Song Qi, here are two packs of candies — keep one for yourself, and take the other back to the unit and share it with the rest of the soldiers.”

Song Qi, young and sharp, immediately caught on. “Sister-in-law, are these wedding candies from you and Commander Lu?”

“Yes,”
Chu Yue nodded, giving a light smile.

At that same moment, Lu Zhanlin’s gaze landed on her radiant, smiling face.

Wedding candies?

Lu Zhanlin was a bit surprised — he hadn’t expected Chu Yue to prepare anything like this.

As for Lu Zhanlin himself… when he submitted the paperwork to register their marriage, he had just returned from the front lines and was busy with military reassignment matters. By the time the marriage certificate was finalized, he was already en route to another mission.

To Lu Zhanlin, it had never really occurred to him that Chu Yue would actually come to join the military family — much less that he’d really end up with such a delicate, lovely wife.

As for things like wedding banquets, wine, or candies… he hadn’t even thought about them.

In comparison, Chu Yue had thought much more — it was clear that he owed her.

Song Qi not only received the candies, but one whole pack was just for him. This showed Chu Yue’s attentiveness — and favoritism. Delighted, Song Qi grinned wide enough to show his white teeth and beamed happily.

He immediately unwrapped a candy and popped it into his mouth.

“Thanks, Sister-in-law! I got to taste the wedding candy from you and Commander Lu — it’s really sweet! You two are definitely going to grow old together with a house full of kids and grandkids!”

Lu Zhanlin watched Song Qi and Chu Yue chatting and laughing so easily. He almost looked like the outsider, and he hadn’t even gotten a single candy from his own wedding.

Something unfamiliar stirred in Lu Zhanlin’s chest. His dark eyes turned to Chu Yue as he asked,
“What about mine?”

Chu Yue froze. What?

Under his intense, direct gaze, her heart started to pound. Nervous, she clutched the candies in her hand, the wrapper rustling audibly, and only then did she realize what he meant.

“…Here.”

Chu Yue gave a helpless smile and pulled out a candy from the paper bag, placing it into Lu Zhanlin’s palm.

He looks so cold… but he actually likes candy?

That contrast… she liked it.

After all, Chu Yue had survived ten extra years in the apocalypse. Even though the original body had an age gap with Lu Zhanlin — and in Chu Yaoyao’s words, he was just some “old man” — in Chu Yue’s mind, she often subconsciously saw herself as the older one.

So in her eyes, Lu Zhanlin was like a younger wolfdog, and as the older sister, she naturally had to spoil him a little.

After receiving the candy from Chu Yue, Lu Zhanlin was satisfied. He unwrapped the wrapper and put the candy into his mouth — a sweet orange flavor spread out as it melted.

He licked the hard candy once. Not bad.

Song Qi, who’d been eavesdropping the whole time, had clearly heard Lu Zhanlin ask Chu Yue for candy. He couldn’t help sneaking a glance at the rearview mirror.

There he saw Lu Zhanlin with a candy in his mouth, his cheek slightly bulged, and the corners of his lips subtly lifted.

Song Qi’s heart jumped violently, and he quickly averted his gaze.

Inside, he was completely stunned:

Commander Lu doesn’t even like sweets…!

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Song Qi:
After seeing this unknown side of Commander Lu…
Am I going to get assassinated now?