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Chapter 21.2
As dusk settled, Jiang Nian watered her vegetable garden again, took a bath, and went to bed. Before falling asleep, she was still wondering when Lu Yu would return.
Because she had a lot on her mind, Jiang Nian did not sleep soundly and was half asleep and half awake the whole time.
Suddenly, a faint creak disturbed the quiet night. Jiang Nian woke up instantly, her thoughts racing to the shadows she had seen outside her door. Frightened, she got out of bed, grabbed the stick hidden behind the door, and quietly stepped outside.
She surveyed the area and noticed that the lights in both the kitchen and Lu Yu’s room were on. For a moment, she thought Lu Yu might have returned, but the gate was bolted from the inside, indicating someone had climbed over the wall.
Jiang Nian blinked in fear, her palms sweating as she gripped the stick.
Hearing a cabinet door open in the kitchen, she crouched down and moved towards the kitchen door. Seeing a shadow extending out, she closed her eyes and swung the stick wildly.
The stick was caught mid-air by a strong hand. Lu Yu, having seized the stick, saw Jiang Nian struggling and screaming with her eyes shut. Fearing she would wake up the neighbors, he grabbed her hands, pinned them behind her, and held her close, covering her mouth.
“It’s me, sister-in-law.”
His deep voice resonated in the quiet night, magnetic and calming.
The tall man bent down, aligning his eyes with hers. Jiang Nian’s eyelashes fluttered as she slowly opened her eyes, her tear-filled gaze meeting Lu Yu’s dark pupils. His breath hitched, and the heat from his palm seemed to burn from skin to heart.
His heartbeat quickened inexplicably.
Lu Yu let go of her, awkwardly clenching his hand before stepping back. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Jiang Nian snapped out of her daze and looked at Lu Yu by the window. After two months apart, he seemed thinner, wearing the same army-green uniform. His short hair was neatly trimmed, and his sharp features were even more striking.
Her fear vanished. She pursed her lips and asked softly, “Why did you climb over the wall?”
Lu Yu explained, “I came back late and didn’t want to wake you by knocking. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Jiang Nian: …
She sighed with relief, leaning weakly against the kitchen door, feeling a sense of lucky escape. “I thought it was that person who climbed in.”
If it had been, she wouldn’t know what to do.
Lu Yu’s expression turned cold. “Who are you talking about?”
Jiang Nian, hands behind her back against the door, looked up at Lu Yu, her eyes filled with fear. “I don’t know. A few times, when I saw Zhu Jun off and closed the gate, I saw a shadow running away from the corner. It was too dark to see clearly.”
Lu Yu’s expression grew colder. He turned to look at the gate, his lips pressed into a thin line.
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle it.”
Lu Yu calmed down and looked at Jiang Nian. Now that they were both calm, he noticed she was wearing a small vest and shorts.
Thinking back to how he had just held her, his ears reddened. He awkwardly looked away, focusing on the stove. “I’m here now. Go back to bed and rest.”
“Afraid that his sister-in-law, who had barely survived this life, would once again follow the same old path, he couldn’t imagine what would have happened if it had been the stranger his sister-in-law mentioned tonight, not him.
Seeing the corn pancakes on the chopping board that Lu Yu had taken from the cabinet, Jiang Nian, realizing he hadn’t eaten, said quietly, “I’ll make you some noodles.”
Seeing Lu Yu about to refuse, she added, “It won’t take long.”
She quickly went out to the yard, turned on the light, and picked tomatoes and peppers. Lu Yu, stepping out of the kitchen, saw her bare legs and arms illuminated by the light, making his ears burn even more.
He turned away, facing the gate. “Sister-in-law, put on some proper clothes before you cook.”
Jiang Nian, who had just reached the kitchen door, looked down at her clothes, not finding anything wrong. She glanced at Lu Yu’s back and couldn’t help but smile.
He really is a proper gentleman, just as described in the books.
The book also wrote that when the hero and the heroine were dating, the hero never did anything inappropriate. Thinking of this, Jiang Nian placed the tomatoes and chili peppers on the cutting board, then hurried back to her room to change clothes and comb her hair before going to the kitchen to cook.
Entering the kitchen, Jiang Nian found that Lu Yu had already washed the vegetables. He sat in front of the stove, lighting the fire. The orange flames illuminated the sharp features of his face, adding a touch of warmth to his piercing gaze.
Seeing Jiang Nian dressed, Lu Yu relaxed and looked down to continue lighting the fire.
Jiang Nian started by making noodles, then took out salted pork from the cabinet, slicing it into shreds. She prepared the side dishes as well, and in no time, the pork noodle soup was ready. Smelling the aroma, she realized she was hungry too. She served Lu Yu a large bowl and herself a small bowl before starting to eat.
After finishing the meal, Lu Yu put away the bowls and chopsticks, saying to Jiang Nian, “Don’t mention my return to anyone.”
Confused, Jiang Nian looked up at him. ‘What’s wrong?’
Lu Yu emptied the water from his bowl. ‘I’m going to see Zhu Jun in the dorms later about something. Go back to your room and lock the door. Don’t open it no matter who knocks. I’ll call out to you from outside when I come back.’
Hearing this, Jiang Nian felt nervous.
Seeing her anxiety, Lu Yu reassured her, “Nothing will happen. I’ll find a way to catch that person as soon as possible.”
Jiang Nian nodded. “Okay.”
She lay back in her room for a while. Hearing footsteps outside, she knelt at the end of her bed, craning her neck to look out. In the dim moonlight, Lu Yu swiftly walked to the wall. With his tall frame and long legs, he leaped up and over the wall in a blink of an eye.
Jiang Nian stared in amazement.
—Impressive!
The sound of a horn shattered the quiet morning. Jiang Nian woke from her sleep, sitting up in bed and squinting out the window until she saw Lu Yu fetching water from the well, fully awake.
She had unknowingly fallen asleep last night and didn’t know when Lu Yu had returned.
After getting dressed, Jiang Nian went outside. Lu Yu had already prepared breakfast. When she came out, he said to her, “I’ll stay inside today. Prepare lunch and leave it by the window. I’ll take it myself.”
“Okay,”Jiang Nian replied.
She washed up and sat on a stool, absentmindedly chewing on a steamed bun. She glanced at Lu Yu, who was tidying up the garden, hesitated, and asked, “Does Commander Song know you’re back?”
Lu Yu lifted his gaze and reassured her, “Commander Song knows. I talked to him this morning.’
Jiang Nian didn’t know what method Lu Yu would use to catch that person, but she was quite looking forward to it.
After Lu Yu finished tending to the garden, he returned to the house. Jiang Nian finished her meal, washed the bowls and chopsticks in the kitchen, swept the courtyard, and then took a small basket to pick some vegetables from their private plot that were not available in their garden. She planned to make braised pork with green beans and stir-fried cabbage for lunch.
Walking through the family quarters, Jiang Nian passed by military wives and older women who whispered and pointed at her, saying she was a widow who didn’t uphold proper morals, taking advantage of being Deputy Commander Lu’s sister-in-law to flirt with Sergeant Zhu while Deputy Commander Lu was away.
Jiang Nian: …
Indeed, the old saying proved true, widows attract much gossip.
To dispel the rumors, she had to first catch the shadow lurking outside her home. Perhaps things would turn around then. If she tried to explain verbally, no one would believe her anyway, and she couldn’t be bothered to argue.
Jiang Nian spent more time in the plot, pulling out weeds and picking green beans and other vegetables. Only then did she return home. As soon as she entered the door, Feng Mei rushed in behind her. “How could you still be in the mood to pick vegetables? Rumors are spreading like wildfire outside. They say you’re seducing Sergeant Zhu, having him over for dinner every night at your house! Why don’t you go out and defend yourself? If this continues, it’ll be disastrous!”
Jiang Nian knew Lu Yu was inside, so she couldn’t say much to Feng Mei. She just kept her head down, tightly gripping the basket, feeling deeply wronged. “How can one person’s words compete with a hundred others’? Who would believe me if I explained?”
Feng Mei was so upset her chest hurt. “Oh, and one more thing,” she pointed outside. “A while ago, Xu Yan and Zheng Hong got into a fight. Oh, it was fierce! I went to break it up and got scratched by Zheng Hong.”
“Look.”
Feng Mei turned her head, and Jiang Nian noticed a small cut in front of her ear. She frowned and asked, “Why did they fight?”
Feng Mei fumed, “All because of Zheng Hong’s big mouth! When Xu Yan went out this morning, she heard Zheng Hong talking nonsense about you seducing Sergeant Zhu, so she ran over and started a fight with Zheng Hong. You don’t know how fierce it was. Many people couldn’t break it up. Captain Lu and Captain Liu rushed back from the camp to separate them. They both took Xu Yan and Zheng Hong back home.”
Hearing that Xu Yan had fought with Zheng Hong because of her, Jiang Nian was surprised.
Originally, she had helped Xu Yan because she didn’t want to see her bullied by Zheng Hong and didn’t want her to follow the same path. Now she felt she had to help Xu Yan even more. At least, Xu Yan had fought Zheng Hong for her sake, which was worth it.
Feng Mei grumbled, “I think this rumor was started by Zheng Hong!”
Dealing with someone like Zheng Hong left Feng Mei helpless. She was good at arguing but easily deceived in cunning situations.
Across the wall, Liu Qiang’s yard echoed with arguing voices.
This time, it wasn’t Xu Yan arguing. It was Liu Qiang shouting, “Can’t you be obedient? Why did you go out and start a fight? Zheng Hong didn’t provoke you. You provoked her!”
Jiang Nian pursed her lips. At that moment, she felt an urge to smack Liu Qiang with a stick.
Feng Mei said, “I’ll go and stop the fight.”
Jiang Nian was worried about Xu Yan, too. She wanted to go out, but Feng Mei closed the door and said, “Xu Yan fought with Zheng Hong because of you. It’s best if you stay inside. If Captain Liu directs his anger at you again, it won’t be good.”
After saying that, Feng Mei closed the door and left.
Jiang Nian: …
She was still a bit uneasy, so she put the vegetable basket on the ground, ran to the wall, stepped on a wooden block, and with both hands on the wall, peered over to look. Xu Yan was sitting on a bench in the courtyard, her clothes torn open, revealing an arm. Her two braids were loose and messy, tangled at the back of her head. There were several nail marks on her face, making her look very disheveled.
Liu Qiang stood beside her, looking bossy, which made Jiang Nian very angry.
After Feng Mei ran in, she immediately started scolding Liu Qiang. Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, then cupped her hands around her mouth and softly called out, “Xu—”
“Sister-in-law.”
Lu Yu’s voice suddenly came from behind, startling Jiang Nian. She slipped, unable to hold onto the wall, and tilted to the side. As she flailed her hands, thinking she was about to fall to the ground, Lu Yu stepped forward and caught her by the waist, helping her regain her balance.
Jiang Nian let out a sigh of relief, standing close to the wall, looking up at Lu Yu who was now very near.
For a moment, she was so embarrassed she couldn’t speak.
She had only been focused on seeing how Xu Yan was doing and had forgotten about Lu Yu.
Jiang Nian lowered her head, tugging at the corners of her clothes with both hands, tightly pressing her lips together, her gaze falling on the large hands still holding her waist.
***
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Ayalee[Translator]
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