Chapter 15

The dusk was as dark as ink, and the military compound seemed especially quiet because of the arrival of Lu Zhanye and Shen Nanxing.

The neighbors were all observing and talking about Lu Zhanye’s unexpected “acquisition” of a wife.

The light from the east house on the third floor looked particularly lonely in the night.

Shen Nanxing stood at the door of the inner room, staring at Lu Zhanye who was busy in front of the stove.

He didn’t look comfortable in the backfield.

Shen Nanxing knew that his back injury must have recurred.

It kept overlapping with the cold image of him holding a gun in my memory.

The man who had pulled the trigger without hesitation, shot her in the heart and ended her life, was now acting as a good family husband.

“The soup is ready, let’s eat first.”

Lu Zhanye’s voice broke the silence in the room.

Then he turned back to the kitchen and continued to work.

Shen Nanxing did not respond, but just watched him coldly put the enamel bowl on the table.

I have to admit that the food cooked by Lu Zhanye is quite delicious.

Since her father’s sacrifice, Shen Nanxing was forced to marry Li Dazhuang in order to save her younger brother.

She hardly ever had a chance to sit down at the table and have a proper meal.

The white rice and golden egg drop in the camouflage enamel bowl reminded Shen Nanxing of the last meal before his execution.

The soup was also warm, but it had a disgusting smell of blood.

The delicious taste on the tip of the tongue at this moment is so real.

The finely chopped green onions that Lu Zhanye had chopped floated on the surface of the soup, like snowflakes scattered on the execution ground.

Shen Nanxing stared blankly at the table full of food.

Lu Zhanye came out of the kitchen wiping his hands, looked at the untouched dishes and asked Shen Nanxing.

“Why don’t you eat?”

There was a rustling sound outside the window, and Wang Guiying’s voice penetrated the screen:

“I think this bride has a stubborn temper. Captain Lu is going to have a hard time in the future…”

Before he could finish his words, someone made a “hush” sound, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps.

“Try this.”

Lu Zhanye pushed a plate of stir-fried vegetables in front of Shen Nanxing.

Shen Nanxing’s hands were shaking slightly as he picked up the vegetable leaves.

The familiar salty taste comes out when you chew it.

In my memory, the tears I shed before being executed also tasted the same.

“I asked someone to bring two boxes of your brother’s medicine from the provincial capital.”

Lu Zhanye suddenly spoke, startling Shen Nanxing so much that he almost knocked over the bowl.

Medicine, yes. If it weren’t for the medicine, Shen Nanxing wouldn’t be sitting here, eating a table full of food prepared by the executioner.

“What’s wrong? You look so worried? Is the food not to your liking?”

He took out an oil-paper bag from his pocket, inside of which lay two fruit candies. The color of the candy wrappers was exactly the same as the half-filled can on the bookshelf.

“The doctor said that patients can have some sweets, especially children. Take this to your brother tomorrow. He will be happy.”

As Lu Zhanye said this, the sharp pain in his lower back came again.

Shen Nanxing stared at the candy wrappers on the table, recalling the plot of the original novel in his mind.

It was this box of candy that ridiculously became evidence of her crime of “reselling fake medicine”.

Looking at this moment, the appearance of Lu Zhanye Shengfan kept overlapping with the cold face when he was holding the gun in his memory.

She concluded that this gentleness was clearly a trap.

“Don’t cook anymore. I spend most of my time in the hospital, and the hospital has a cafeteria.”

Shen Nanxing pushed the bowl away and asked Lu Zhanye to stop serving the rice.

When she was leaving, she accidentally knocked over a chair, and Lu Zhanye reached out to help her.

The sharp pain in his lower back made him stagger half a step and hold onto the edge of the table.

Shen Nanxing looked at Lu Zhanye’s expression of enduring pain, which formed a sharp contrast with his calmness when pulling the trigger on the execution ground.

The sweat beads rolling down his forehead dripped onto his collar.

“Captain Lu, don’t get too caught up in the drama. I’ll treat your back injury, and you’ll give me medicine to save my brother. It’s only fair.”

Shen Nanxing secretly picked up the glass fragments and hid them in his sleeve. When he turned around, he glanced at the belt on the sofa in the outer room.

The leather buckle shone coldly under the light, just as cold as her heart at the moment.

She heard Lu Zhanye’s suppressed cough coming from behind her, but he showed no intention of turning back.

“There are new Dacron sheets in the inner room, you…don’t be disgusted.”

Shen Nanxing didn’t say anything else and just stared at Lu Zhanye as he walked towards the hut.

The small bed was made of wooden boards and covered with a faded green military blanket, which had obviously been made up temporarily.

There were footsteps in the corridor, and Wang Guiying’s loud voice floated in through the door:

“Captain Lu is sleeping in a separate room after their wedding? Could it be that the bride dislikes his back injury…”

Then there was a chuckle among the neighbors.

The “double happiness” character in the inner room caught Shen Nanxing’s eye.

The movie ticket stubs pressed under the food coupons in the tin biscuit box on the bedside table made her feel even more uncomfortable.

The smell of coal stove wafted in from outside the window, mixed with the crying of a child from somewhere downstairs.

A muffled groan came from outside, and she stood on tiptoe to look…

I saw Lu Zhanye lying on the small bed, supporting his waist with his right hand, and cold sweat soaked his back.

This doesn’t seem like an act, his back injury has indeed recurred.

Shen Nanxing recalled what Li Shufen had said to several nurses during the morning shift change:

Captain Lu accompanied her on the night shift last night, and I’m afraid he didn’t sleep the whole night.

He left his acupuncture bag in the duty room, and before he could get it, Lu Zhanye took it back “home”.

The first clause of the contract cannot be fulfilled tonight.

“Are there any painkillers?”

Shen Nanxing came to the cabin and realized that his tone was too soft when he spoke, so he turned his face away in a hurry.

Lu Zhanye looked up, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:

“There is Yunnan Baiyao in the drawer.” The voice was weak and hoarse.

Shen Nanxing took out the medicine bottle and asked, “Have you changed the medicine?”

She stared at the gauze on Lu Zhanye’s lower back.

In her eyes, the bandaging technique was still terrible.

“None of your business. Go back to sleep.”

Lu Zhanye turned over and faced away from her.

As the night deepened, the sound of footsteps fetching water could be heard in the corridor.

Someone was playing “Moscow Evenings” on the second floor.

Shen Nanxing was lying on the double bed, staring at the swaying shadows of trees on the ceiling, and heard the sound of flipping newspapers outside.

It was Lu Zhanye who was reading Reference News.

It was almost dawn when Shen Nanxing was awakened by the sound of keys.

In the dim light, Lu Zhanye pushed the door open and came in wearing a coat, holding a thermos in his hand.

“The boiler room boiled water in the middle of the night and gave you some water to wash your face.”

Shen Nanxing could hear the fatigue in his voice.

“Captain Wang” coughed outside the window:

“Look, Captain Lu brought water in the middle of the night. He loves his wife even though they sleep in separate rooms.”

Another voice chuckled:

“I heard the bride is a nurse in the hospital, and she’s very pretty…”

Shen Nanxing took out the contract signed by the two from under the pillow.

The third clause reads “Marriage will be dissolved once the back injury is cured”, and below it is Lu Zhanye’s signature.

The fruit hard candies on the bedside table suddenly reminded her of the can she saw on the bookshelf during the day.

That half can of candy was the orange flavor that she often ate in the hospital duty room.

At this moment, the sound of even breathing came from the small room. Lu Zhanye was really tired.

But it seemed like he was a very light sleeper.

The bed creaks when you turn over.

Shen Nanxing stared at the word “double happiness” on the wall.

Suddenly I realized that it was newly painted with red paint, and there were still traces of the brush at the corners.

He probably drew it himself while lying on the ladder after moving in overnight the day before.

The coal stove outside the corridor was gurgling.

Shen Nanxing was not sleepy at all at the moment. She put on her cloth shoes in the dark, walked around the charcoal brazier and went to the outer door.

Moonlight leaks in through the screen window,

“Shen Nanxing? Why aren’t you sleeping yet?”

Lu Zhanye’s voice startled Shen Nanxing so much that he turned around quickly.

“No, nothing.” She turned and was about to go into the house.

“come over.”

Shen Nanxing froze in place, “What…what are you doing?”