Chapter 43: Little Husband and Wife, Sharing One Bed

—“Yuanbao, it’s me. I’ve come back.”

Before Chu Yue had gone down the mountain for supplies, Lu Yuanbao had expressed his worry. He was afraid that once she left, she wouldn’t come back — that she’d abandon him and leave him all alone.

Now, this simple sentence from Chu Yue was the best response to his deepest fear.

She had come back. She would not leave him behind.

Lu Yuanbao’s eyes, which had been burning with anger, trembled slightly. He slowly raised his gaze and looked at the person holding him in a warm embrace — a familiar face, gentle eyes.

The only person who had ever been truly good to him since his mother passed away.

His pupils quivered, and his lips parted slightly, as if he wanted to say something. But what came out of his throat was a choked, wounded-animal-like whimper.

He hadn’t cried when he was beaten.
He hadn’t cried when it hurt.
But now — the moment he laid eyes on Chu Yue — his eyes turned red.

All the women around them could see there was something extraordinary in the bond between Lu Yuanbao and Chu Yue — something even deeper than a mother and son.

And among the crowd, standing at the very edge, was Lu Zhanlin, silently watching this scene unfold.

Lu Yuanbao’s grip slowly loosened.

Chu Yue immediately lifted him into her arms, hugging him tightly and gently stroking his trembling back.

Lu Yuanbao buried his face in her shoulder, arms wrapped around her neck. His small face was completely hidden in her embrace, eyes shut tightly.

He was drawing strength and comfort from Chu Yue.

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At the same time, after Lu Yuanbao let go, Zheng Yue’e finally had the chance to rescue her two sons.

“Tieniu! Tieniu! Let Mommy take a look. Are you hurt?” Zheng Yue’e asked anxiously, patting and inspecting Zhao Tieniu from head to toe.

Zhao Tieniu, who’d always been the undefeated bully of the compound, had never been beaten so badly before. He couldn’t even speak — he just opened his mouth and burst into tears.

“Waaah—! Mom—!”

“Waaah… Mommy…!”
Zhao Tiedan cried even louder than Zhao Tieniu, bawling uncontrollably, his wails echoing in the compound.

Zheng Yue’e wiped one child’s face, dabbed the other’s tears, and held both of them in her arms as she tried to walk away.

But after just a few steps, a tall figure stepped in and blocked her path.

Zheng Yue’e looked up and saw a deeply handsome face — and was so startled she nearly cried on the spot like her kids.

“Lu… Lu Regiment Commander…”

Gulp — she audibly swallowed in nervousness.

Lu Zhanlin looked down at her from above, his dark eyes radiating danger.
“You’re not leaving yet.
Did you already forget what we just talked about?”

“I didn’t! I didn’t forget! Apologize! I’ll have the kids apologize!” she blurted in a panic.

Zheng Yue’e had originally hoped to get away with a vague excuse. She never expected that Lu Zhanlin, the fearsome commander in charge of new recruit training, would also be present.

Hurriedly, she turned around, dragging Zhao Tieniu and Zhao Tiedan over to Chu Yue. She pushed their heads down and scolded them.

“What are you standing there for?! Just look at the mess you caused! The two of you couldn’t even beat one kid and still tried to bully him? Where are your brains?! Were they eaten by dogs? How did I raise two such disappointing kids?! Apologize! Hurry up and apologize to your little brother!”

Zheng Yue’e’s sudden switch to harsh discipline was clearly due to her fear of Lu Zhanlin.

Some of the other women around her saw through this immediately, and one commented coolly,
“Zheng Yue’e, if you’d disciplined your sons like this earlier, none of this would’ve happened.”

Zheng Yue’e glared at the woman, then turned back and smacked both boys lightly on the heads.
“Apologize! Say you’re sorry! Do I have to teach you even that?!”

“Waaah… I’m sorry… I won’t do it again…”

“Boohoo… I’m sorry… I-I’ll never… never do it again…”

Zhao Tieniu, with his head throbbing from the beating, cried while apologizing. Zhao Tiedan, who didn’t even know what “apologize” meant, simply repeated whatever his older brother said.

In any case, they finally got through the apology part.

Zheng Yue’e grabbed her two sons, ready to leave once again.

“Wait a moment.”
This time, it was Chu Yue who stopped them.

Zheng Yue’e stole a glance at Lu Zhanlin, who stood silently to the side with a stern face, then asked cautiously:

“Comrade Chu, is there something else?”

Chu Yue didn’t answer her. Instead, she bent down to ask the two boys:

“My Yuanbao was quietly staying at home, didn’t bother you, didn’t provoke you. Why did you come into our yard? How did the fight even start?”

Zhao Tieniu, terrified from the beating, immediately confessed:

“It was Granny Li — Granny Li told us there would be candy here if we came to this yard. She told me to find a kid and ask for candy… So I came in and asked him, but he wouldn’t give me any, he wouldn’t even talk… Wahh… But Granny Li said married couples always hand out wedding candy…”

Turns out, Zhao Tieniu and Zhao Tiedan were just greedy for sweets. But when they ran into Lu Yuanbao — who stayed silent no matter how they asked — a dispute broke out, which then turned into a fight.

Luckily, Xia Xiaolan had been worried about Yuanbao being alone and often came by to check on him. She happened to catch them in the act. If not, no one would’ve known the kids were fighting.

Now Chu Yue understood the real cause of the incident — it was Li Jinhua who had instigated it.

Zheng Yue’e also realized where the trouble came from and cursed:

“Pah! That damned old hag Li again! Always stirring up trouble with her shameless mouth! Just wait till I tear that tongue out!”

She stormed off in a huff with Zhao Tieniu and Zhao Tiedan.

Seeing this, the other wives were about to leave as well.

Lu Zhanlin stepped up beside Chu Yue and suddenly said to everyone:

“Sisters-in-law, Yuanbao is mine and Chu Yue’s child. I’m his biological father. He’s not some unwanted stray. I don’t want to hear that kind of talk in the compound again.”

The sisters-in-law nodded vigorously like pecking chickens:

“Yes, yes, of course, Commander Lu! We all know that. It’s just Zheng Yue’e — she talks without thinking. Don’t lower yourself to her level.”

After a few more words to ease the tension, they all left.

“Let me take Yuanbao. I’ll carry him inside and check if he’s hurt.”

Lu Zhanlin reached out toward Chu Yue.

She passed Lu Yuanbao into his arms. Though Yuanbao’s eyes were still closed, he had clearly heard what Lu Zhanlin just said. He didn’t resist being held.

Lu Zhanlin held Yuanbao in one arm, carried the supplies in the other, and went into the house first.

Chu Yue stayed in the courtyard a moment to thank Xia Xiaolan.

“Xiaolan, thank you so much for today.”

Xia Xiaolan waved it off.

“Comrade Chu, it’s rare for Commander Lu to be back — you’d better head in too. I’ll get going now.”

As she left, Xia Xiaolan turned back and gave Chu Yue a big thumbs-up.

At first, she hadn’t understood why Chu Yue didn’t immediately rush over to protect Yuanbao. But once the tables turned — and it was Zheng Yue’e who panicked while Chu Yue remained calm — she got it.

Only when Zheng Yue’e felt the same pain herself could she understand Chu Yue’s anger.

That move… was brilliant.

But that wasn’t all.

Another reason Chu Yue had let the fight go on — was to let Lu Yuanbao fight back.

An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth.

If she had pulled Yuanbao away, she couldn’t very well beat up children as an adult. But having Yuanbao do it himself was the most reasonable and appropriate way.

After seeing Xia Xiaolan off, Chu Yue turned and headed inside.

Just as she stepped toward the door and looked at the house in front of her, a sudden thought hit her:

Earlier in the car, Lu Zhanlin told Song Qi to pick him up tomorrow morning… which meant…

Lu Zhanlin would be staying here tonight.

And inside the house, there were only two rooms — a large double bedroom, and a small single room, which was Yuanbao’s.

In other words… she and Lu Zhanlin would be sharing a bed tonight.