Chapter 22 Why are you hugging me? Don’t you dislike me?

The two kids were already used to Fu Jingchuan often going back to the army. Besides, they were still thinking about the snacks they’d hidden in the side room. As soon as they got home, they dashed straight for it.

Aunt Tang was gone too. Who knew what kind of makeshift meal she’d cobbled together—there wasn’t even a trace of cooking smell in the courtyard.

Jiang Wan watched Fu Jingchuan’s tall, imposing figure walk out the front gate, getting farther and farther away, and suddenly felt a surge of grievance rise in her chest. She pouted, then bolted out the door.

“Fu Jingchuan!”

Jiang Wan stared at him with her glistening almond-shaped eyes, a faint red tinge at their corners. Her long curled lashes trembled, and it looked like tiny flames flickered in her gaze.

What was this supposed to be?

If he was going to act like this, then he shouldn’t have married her in the first place!

“What exactly do you mean by this?” she demanded.
“Do you despise me… or just not want to see me? If you still can’t get over the fact that the Jiang family didn’t send their biological daughter and shoved me, their adopted one, into your arms—then fine! We shouldn’t be married! I’ll leave right now!”

“I have hands and feet! I won’t starve out there!”

In her past life, Jiang Wan had never experienced real family love. She grew up without wanting to burden the orphanage, so she became independent early, working hard to support herself. In the end, all her hard work led to her collapsing from exhaustion and overwork.

She died.
And the next time she opened her eyes, she was in this strange world.

At first, she’d figured: since she was here, might as well settle down. Marrying into this family didn’t seem like such a big deal.
But this man? He was like a rock!

Such a waste of that hormone-exploding appearance!

When she first arrived, she’d thought he just had a naturally serious face and a cold temperament.
But why did he hate coming home so much?

It was precisely because he was rarely home that he didn’t know how that mother-daughter duo had warped the two kids!

The more Jiang Wan thought about it, the more wronged she felt. Somehow, tears began to stream from her eyes.

She rarely cried.
But once she started, it was like a dam had burst—unstoppable.

She sobbed and sobbed, and standing a short distance away, Fu Jingchuan—nearly 1.9 meters tall, a rough thirty-year-old man who looked like a mountain—suddenly seemed like a helpless, clueless teenage boy.

His sharp, dark brows furrowed deeply, and his long, narrow eyes were filled with shock.

His arms lifted halfway, frozen mid-air.

Fu Jingchuan instinctively tried to say something, his thin lips parting slightly, but his mind went blank.

The sun was setting, and the dirt path in the countryside was deserted.

Looking down at Jiang Wan—her delicate, pink-white face now red from crying—Fu Jingchuan’s chest tightened.

Her eyes were misty and glimmering, like soft fog—and seeing her like this tugged at something deep in his heart.

He clenched his back molars. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen women cry before.
But Jiang Wan’s tears didn’t irritate him at all.

They just made him anxious.

Something clogged his throat—he wanted to speak, but couldn’t find the words.

His square jaw was clenched so tightly it looked like it might crack.

Then, out of nowhere, a memory surfaced.

Back in the army, they’d once received tickets to a movie screening. Some new recruits had pestered him into going. It was a foreign romance film.
Fu Jingchuan had felt bored the whole time, utterly uninterested.

Yet now, for some reason, scenes from that movie flashed vividly in his mind.

Without thinking, he raised his strong arms and pulled Jiang Wan into his embrace.

She was so small—just barely reaching his chest.
So soft and delicate as she fell into his arms.

His large, calloused hand rested lightly on her back—he didn’t dare apply any pressure. But sweat was already forming on his forehead.

His heart pounded in his chest like it was going to explode.

When he finally spoke, his voice was rough and low, almost hoarse.

“Don’t… don’t cry.”

Clumsily and awkwardly, he patted her back.

Jiang Wan, however, was completely stunned.

She hadn’t expected it at all.

This rough, stoic man—always so cold, barely said a word—suddenly hugged her?!

His iron-like arms were firm and strong, and his chest was solid as stone. She could feel his muscles shift slightly with every breath, his loud heartbeat pounding in her ears.

That hand on her back, right over her shoulder blades, was so warm it felt scorching.

Jiang Wan’s tears came to an abrupt halt.

Heat rose from behind her ears and quickly spread through her body, making her skin tingle.

Her little hands timidly rested on Fu Jingchuan’s chest, feeling the tension in his body—and then suddenly—

“Pfft—” she let out a laugh.

“???” Fu Jingchuan’s brow furrowed even deeper.

What is with this woman? Crying one second, laughing the next?

Then he saw her lift her small, delicate chin. Her watery, deer-like eyes still held traces of tears as she pouted and asked, voice full of grievance:

“Why are you hugging me?”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t like me?”

“Who told you I didn’t like you?” Fu Jingchuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly. He turned his gaze away like he couldn’t bear to look at her again, and said hoarsely,

“I… I even got the marriage certificate.”

“How could I not like you?”

As he spoke, he reached into the pocket of his camouflage pants and pulled out two small cards.

Jiang Wan blinked at the old-style little ID cards, her cute nose twitching slightly.

She stared at him with wide eyes—
Only to see the man turning his neck stiffly, still avoiding her gaze. His sun-kissed neck had faintly turned completely red.

“…Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Jiang Wan kept her eyes on Fu Jingchuan’s neck, and noticed that the redness had crept all the way up to his ears.
It’s just that his skin was so tan, you wouldn’t notice it unless you looked closely.

“……”
Fu Jingchuan suddenly pressed his lips together, falling silent as if something had come to mind.
He remembered—he had come home around noon earlier.
Then… he went to her room…
And saw her wearing so little…
And even accidentally touched her.

“???”
Why is he getting even redder???

Jiang Wan’s almond-shaped eyes curved, her smile bubbling with amusement.
Oh my god, this man is way too adorable with that contrast in personality!
What on earth is going on here!!!

“Well, since the marriage certificate is already issued, then give it to me.”
Jiang Wan smiled sweetly, her voice soft, and reached out to take the certificate from him.

“And I don’t mind you being busy with the army.”

“But—”
She suddenly grew serious, her tone earnest.

“Fu Jingchuan, I don’t care how you dealt with relationships in the past.”

“But I, Jiang Wan, did not marry just to have a roommate in life.”
“And I certainly didn’t come running to be someone’s stepmother.”

“I… I also want to be cherished…
I want the two of us to care for each other and look after one another… together…”