Chapter 46.2

Jiang Nian drew the curtains and lay down on the bed after removing her clothes. She stared at the dark beams of the room and found herself somewhat insomniac. She wasn’t used to sleeping alone after having spent so long in the dormitory and always cuddling with Zhang Xiao at night.

She kept tossing and turning until midnight before falling asleep, only to dream again of returning to her home in the New Century.

Her parents, grandparents, were all sitting in the living room, talking. They greeted her warmly and had a lot to say to her.

Her father prepared a delicious meal, and after eating dinner with her family, Jiang Nian returned to her bedroom and saw the book lying on the bedside table.

She lay on the soft bed, picked up the book, and flipped through it.

When she had read it before, the earlier pages gradually faded, and now that she opened it, they were blank. If she hadn’t read the contents of the book before, Jiang Nian would have seriously doubted her memory.

She turned page after page, all blank in the beginning. As she approached the middle, though the writing was faint, she could discern a little. Jiang Nian remembered this part—this was where the male lead became a regimental commander and was transferred to another city. At the time, Sun Ying cried because she couldn’t bear to part with him.

Two pages later, counting the time, it seemed inconsistent with reality. Jiang Nian was too lazy to dwell on it and turned forward to see the chapter where Sun Ying got married, wondering who the man walking into the bridal chamber would be.

Would it be Wu Youshan?

When Jiang Nian flipped to the page she had folded earlier, the writing was clear. She nervously turned past it, discovering the neatly written, blackened writing, and was so excited she almost jumped up.

The door slowly opened, and a man entered. Sun Ying wore a red shirt with a red flower pinned to her chest, two braids, and light red lipstick on her lips. Her beautiful eyes were full of tears.

When the man walked into the room, Sun Ying slowly looked up and saw Wu Youshan and asked in disappointment, “What are you doing here?”

Wu Youshan walked over and hugged her, forcefully kissing her face, almost in a crazed manner. He said, “Look at me, okay? Look at me! Stop obsessing over this. Do you have to hit a brick wall before you turn around?”

Sun Ying tried to break free from him. “I don’t need you to worry about me!”

“Then who do you want to worry about you? Lu Yu? Stop daydreaming. Do you think just wearing a red dress at home will make Lu Yu come to you?”

“That’s none of your business!”

Sun Ying couldn’t free herself from Wu Youshan and bit down on his shoulder.

Wu Youshan endured the pain and sneered, “Originally, we were the perfect pair. We grew up together and understood each other. Yingying, stop being so stubborn. Lu Yu is selfish and indifferent. He doesn’t love you at all, only I do.”

…

Jiang Nian blinked in surprise. She hadn’t expected the situation to take such a turn.

Why was Lu Yu described as selfish and cold?

In the more than half a year she had spent with him, Jiang Nian found Lu Yu mature, responsible, intelligent, and wise. Where did selfishness come from?

She remembered dropping the book and falling asleep when she saw the main characters about to marry. When she woke up, she had crossed into this book, and indeed, the earlier pages of the book had described the budding romance between the main characters on the train, gradually developing.

But why did it no longer match with the later content?

Thinking of the faded earlier pages of the book, Jiang Nian speculated whether the plot had started to change.

Putting aside these thoughts, she turned to the next page to continue reading.

As she flipped through, she immediately saw Wu Youshan and Sun Ying’s passionate encounter.

Jiang Nian: …

She inexplicably felt that there was a green hat on Lu Yu’s head.

Jiang Nian turned to another page and read about Sun Ying and Wu Youshan returning home, then coming back to find out that Lu Yu had been transferred away. She asked the soldiers in the unit, but they refused to disclose anything.

This was a military secret. How could they possibly tell an outsider?

Jiang Nian was puzzled. Wait, didn’t it say earlier that the male lead had been promoted to regimental commander and transferred? Sun Ying even cried because she couldn’t bear to part with him. She also knew where he had been transferred to. How come now it seemed like she knew nothing?

Was the plot all messed up?

The book’s erratic storyline left Jiang Nian thoroughly confused. Everything seemed out of sync now.

She flipped forward and found more blank pages.

Refusing to give up, she flipped to the last chapter, but it was still blank.

Jiang Nian: …

She sighed, feeling frustrated and disoriented, and flipped back again. The part where she had just read about the male lead being promoted to regimental commander and transferred, and Sun Ying crying, had disappeared.

Jiang Nian: …

She closed the book and tossed it onto the bedside table, exclaiming in annoyance, “Forget it, it’s ruined.”

The next morning, Jiang Nian was awakened by Feng Mei’s loud voice.

Feng Mei’s voice was loud, shouting Jiang Nian’s name against the wall. Jiang Nian groggily got up, put on her clothes, slipped on her cotton shoes, and walked outside. She looked at Feng Mei perched on the wall, feeling uncomfortable with the sunlight in her eyes. “What’s going on?”

“What else? Look at the sun, it’s almost noon. If we don’t go to the market, the market will be closed soon!” Feng Mei exclaimed.

Jiang Nian: ???

She hadn’t realized she had slept in so late!

“Just wait for me a moment, I’ll freshen up.”

Jiang Nian quickly washed up, and when she ran to the kitchen, she saw Lu Yu warming the rice in the pot. He had made breakfast before leaving in the morning without waking her, not even the bugle call had disturbed her.

She ate a few bites of steamed bun casually and then grabbed a small basket to go to the market with Feng Mei.

She thought about last night’s dream, the chaotic plot in the book, and wondered on which day the male lead had been transferred and left. If things hadn’t changed, it would be three months after Commander Song’s promotion?

“Xu Yan and Captain Liu had another fight this morning. Did you hear it?” Feng Mei mentioned.

Jiang Nian snapped out of her thoughts. “No, I didn’t.”

She had been sleeping too soundly.

So she asked, “Why are they arguing again?”

Feng Mei explained, “What else could it be? It’s still about Captain Liu’s second uncle’s family affair. Captain Liu’s grandmother blamed Xu Yan and Captain Liu for not helping his second uncle, so the Gu family is in a mess, and his grandmother said she wants to come to the unit to take care of the children. In fact, she just wants to give Captain Liu’s family a hard time. Xu Yan disagreed with the old lady coming over, so they had an argument. Just think, how old is that old lady? It’d be a shame if she died on the way.”

Jiang Nian: …

Xu Yan really has a bad time with this family. “And then what happened?”

Feng Mei said, “Captain Liu said he understood and would write back to say that the unit’s request hadn’t been approved.”

Jiang Nian said, “Well, that’s good.”

There were a lot of people at the market today. In addition to the warm spring, everyone was buying vegetable seedlings. The supply of seedlings was limited every time at the market. In addition to Feng Mei and Jiang Nian being late, they only bought some chili seedlings and cucumber seedlings.

Feng Mei glared at her. “The next market is in seven days. If you’re late again, I won’t wait for you.”

Jiang Nian smiled awkwardly. “Next time, I’ll get up before dawn.”

Back at the barracks, they saw Chen Fang and Tang Ze coming out from inside. Chen Fang and Feng Mei greeted each other with a cold grunt, then smiled. Jiang Nian called out, “Sister Chen, Captain Tang.”

“Yeah,” Chen Fang responded.

Tang Ze’s eyes fell on Jiang Nian’s face, and he smiled. He didn’t know what to call her. He could call her sister-in-law, but he was older than her and Lu Yu, and calling her by her name didn’t seem appropriate. Finally, he settled on, “Younger sister.”

When Xu Cheng was alive, he had a good relationship with him.

Jiang Nian was taken aback. She had gotten used to being called “sister-in-law,” and being called “younger sister” for the first time felt a bit awkward. Feng Mei saw Tang Ze looking at Jiang Nian, pulled Jiang Nian away, and said as they walked, “Chen Fang, you guys hurry up, we still have to go back to make lunch.”

It wasn’t until they got home that Feng Mei let go of her.

Jiang Nian walked into the house carrying the basket and heard the splashing sound from the yard. She looked up and saw Lu Yu standing beside the well, bare-chested, pouring water. He was wearing army green pants with a black belt around his waist. His legs were long and straight, his bare upper body showing firm and muscular arms. Water dripped down from his short hair, and there was a towel hanging around his neck.

It seemed like he had just finished washing his hair.

Jiang Nian coughed softly, her gaze uncontrollably drawn to Lu Yu’s abdominal muscles!