Chapter 48: Brushing Teeth, Drinking Milk

Chu Yue was already very pleased that she could follow the army as Lu Zhanlin’s wife according to the marriage agreement.
The days ahead were still long — there was no need to rush and scare the young woman off. For now, he would endure.

As the saying goes:
The word “endure” has a knife above it. (忍字头上一把刀)

Earlier, when Lu Zhanlin had taken a shower, he used cold water. In the middle of winter, the water temperature was near freezing — only then could he suppress the burning heat inside him.

Lu Zhanlin could endure that.
But what he couldn’t prevent was the half-asleep Chu Yue, who, guided by instinct, slowly inched closer to the warm, steaming man beside her.

With a turn of her body, the girl who had been lying flat now faced him. Her light, shallow breaths fell directly onto his neck.

It was just like that time on the train — when she had fallen asleep leaning on his shoulder, her breath carried a sweet, feminine scent.

And then — came a hand that stretched across.

Followed by — a leg.

Chu Yue’s hands and feet were a little cold. The moment they touched Lu Zhanlin’s body, he shuddered from the sudden chill. But she had found her source of warmth and clung tightly to it — almost as if she wanted to lift his shirt and stick herself directly to his hard, defined eight-pack abs.

Lu Zhanlin didn’t push her hand and foot away.
Instead, he reached over, took her small hand, and gently warmed it in his own.

Closing his eyes, Lu Zhanlin began his long, sleepless night.

---

The next morning.

As dawn was just breaking, Lu Zhanlin was already awake.

The moment he opened his eyes, they were dark and clear, showing no sign of fatigue. Whether or not he had slept at all last night — who knew?

He had to head down the mountain to the new recruit training camp, and departure had to be early.

Moving quietly and efficiently, he got up without making a sound. But just as he put on his military coat, Chu Yue turned over in bed and stirred slightly.

In the apocalypse, Chu Yue had always had to stay on guard, even while sleeping — danger could strike at any time. Though she had been in the 1970s for a while now, some habits were hard to break.

She had actually started waking the moment Lu Zhanlin moved, but the cozy warmth of the winter quilt made her too drowsy to fully open her eyes.

With a soft, groggy voice, she mumbled,
“Are you heading out?”

“Mhm. It’s still early. Go back to sleep,” Lu Zhanlin replied, glancing at her sleepy little face.

Half-asleep, Chu Yue still remembered something important.

“The candies… the candies are outside. Take some to the unit to share…”

Previously, the conflict between Lu Yuanbao and the Zhao brothers had all started because of those wedding candies.
In the army, Lu Zhanlin had a wide social network — it was necessary to keep up proper ties.

Lu Zhanlin’s figure paused beside the bed. His voice came out low and husky:
“Alright. I’ll take them. Go back to sleep.”

With those words, Chu Yue slipped back into her dreams, completely unaware of when he actually left.

---

Three hours later.

Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao stood beside the courtyard wall, each holding a steaming enameled mug in one hand and a toothbrush in the other.

One mug was printed with “Labor is the most glorious”, the other with a red five-pointed star — both sturdy and eye-catching.

Yesterday, Chu Yue had bought Red Double Happiness plastic toothbrushes at the supply and marketing co-op (with packaging illustrations).
She hadn’t managed to get any tin tube toothpaste, but she did find tooth powder — a big tin only cost five cents.

Lu Yuanbao had never seen a toothbrush or tooth powder before. He didn’t know how to use them, so his bright, curious eyes were fixed on Chu Yue.

Chu Yue demonstrated for him.

She dipped the clean toothbrush into the tooth powder — the white grains clung to the bristles. Then she took a sip of the hot water from her enamel mug — not to swallow, but to swish it in her mouth and spit it out, moistening her mouth first.

Only after that did she put the toothbrush in and start brushing.

Lu Yuanbao watched closely, then mimicked every step exactly —
like a kitten copying its owner.

The toothbrush had barely touched his teeth a few times when foam started bubbling up in his mouth. A cool, minty sensation spread—like rubbing medicated oil down his throat.

Lu Yuanbao suddenly stopped brushing.

Chu Yue turned her head to look at him, speaking around the foam in her mouth,

“That’s right, just like that… keep brushing, don’t stop. Brush for at least two minutes. You can spit out the foam—don’t swallow it.”

Lu Yuanbao widened his eyes and did exactly as Chu Yue said, brushing and brushing until he slowly got used to the icy, tingling feeling in his mouth.

After two minutes, he swished his mouth with water and spit it all out with loud gurgles, until his mouth was completely clean.

Chu Yue looked at the corners of his mouth still covered in white foam, smiling with her eyes.

“Well done. Come in and wash your face.”

Lu Yuanbao followed Chu Yue, licking his teeth with his tongue, then breathing softly into his hand to check.

That cool, fresh feeling—it was just like mint. Very clean and pleasant.

He tiptoed to place the enamel cup and toothbrush back on the shelf. Chu Yue took a steaming hot towel and pressed it to his face, wiping in circles like cleaning a window, until his little face was spotless and fresh.

Now they could eat breakfast.

This morning’s breakfast wasn’t made by Chu Yue.

When she got up, she found two aluminum lunch boxes being kept warm on the stove, along with two buns.

Lu Zhanlin hadn’t left a single note, but she could easily guess it was breakfast he had prepared. It was early in the morning—who knew what methods he used—and they were even rare meat buns.

Chu Yue and Lu Yuanbao each took a meat bun and ate happily.

She also took out the milk powder she’d bought yesterday from the supply store. The iron can had a red label that read “Full-Cream Sweet Milk Powder” (illustration included). Inside was slightly pale yellow powder, and just opening the lid released a delicious aroma.

Lu Yuanbao’s nose twitched, instantly captivated.

Chu Yue scooped two heaping spoonfuls into a glass, poured in hot water, and stirred with a chopstick.

The milk powder quickly dissolved, and the hot water gradually turned into a milky liquid. As the swirl formed in the cup, the fragrance grew even richer.

Chu Yue set the cup down in front of Lu Yuanbao.

“It’s a bit hot. Let it cool a little before drinking.”

Lu Yuanbao stared at the milk—something he’d never seen before. He looked at the cup, then at Chu Yue.

“Aren’t you drinking?”

Chu Yue replied,

“Milk is for children. Grown-ups don’t drink it.”

So… this was specially bought for him.

Lu Yuanbao blinked harder, staring intently at the swirling milk. After making sure it wasn’t too hot, he carefully cupped the glass in both hands and took a sip.

So sweet! And there was a flavor…

Lu Yuanbao couldn’t quite describe it, but some deep part of his memory seemed to recognize this taste, and loved it dearly.

Before, this taste only existed on his biological mother.
Now… it also seemed to come from Chu Yue.

After finishing her breakfast, Chu Yue tidied up the table, while Lu Yuanbao continued to sip the milk slowly, savoring the sweetness and reluctant to finish it all at once.

Just then, a familiar voice came from outside:

“Chu girl, are you in? I’m coming in now!”

Accompanied by Chen Fengying’s loud voice, the woman had already walked through the door.

“You’re eating breakfast, huh? I didn’t interrupt, did I?”

“Sister-in-law Chen, not at all. We’ve finished eating—come sit.”

While Chu Yue was talking, Lu Yuanbao quickly lifted his cup and finished off the last of the milk, leaving a milky white ring around his lips. He stuck out his little tongue to lick it—it was still sweet.

Chen Fengying waved her hand and said,

“No need to sit. I didn’t come for anything else today—I just brought my son over to introduce him to you.”