Chapter 8

Lu Yancheng’s throat tightened. One hand on the bicycle handle, he gripped Song Si’s hand with the other, forcefully moving it away. His voice was hoarse as he said, “Just hold onto the back of my jacket. Don’t move around.”

Song Si: “???”

A few minutes later, she belatedly understood what had happened. She suddenly fell silent, her fair cheeks tinged with a suspicious blush.

Once they left the military compound and headed into the city, neither of them spoke for the entire hour-long ride. They shared a mutual understanding to stay silent.

When they arrived at the Overseas Chinese Shopping Mall, Lu Yancheng stopped the bicycle and wrapped an arm around Song Si to lift her down.

Song Si said, “I could’ve gotten down myself.”

Lu Yancheng replied, “Oh.”

His gaze passed over the top of her head, looking off elsewhere.

Song Si asked, “What do you want to buy?”

Lu Yancheng said, “Nothing in particular. Just seeing what you want to get.”

They had a tacit agreement—not looking at each other as they entered the mall, one after the other.

The mall was quite large—by the looks of it, the most upscale in the entire city. It had all kinds of appliances, even imported VCRs and color TVs, handicrafts, general merchandise, medicines, cigarettes, alcohol, tea, food, textiles, daily goods, audio-visual products, jewelry, video rentals, clothing, and skincare. Everything was there.

Many of the products looked like the ones she had only seen in period dramas—antiques by the standards of her previous life!

After riding in the cold wind, Lu Yancheng felt much better. He said in a low voice, “You go pick out some clothes. I’m going to buy a few things. I’ll come find you in a bit.”

Song Si: “Alright.”

She watched Lu Yancheng walk away, feeling like something about his expression was a little off, a bit strange.

What was he up to?

Once he was out of sight, she began thinking about what she needed.

She was a bit of a clean freak. Even though she had been reborn into the original host’s body, she didn’t feel like using the original host’s personal items, so she first headed to the toiletries section.

Three tubes of “Solid Toothpaste” for only 1.36 yuan?

The prices were amazing!

A toothbrush for just 0.29?

Soap, shampoo, and lots of other daily items—by the time she was done shopping, half an hour had passed.

Just as she reached the clothing section, she spotted Lu Yancheng looking around for her.

The moment his dark eyes landed on her, his expression eased a little. He quickly walked over and saw the large bag in her hands, which looked heavy. “Let me carry that.”

Before Song Si could respond, the bag had already been taken from her.

She: “……”

She smiled faintly and lowered her head, suddenly finding it funny. In her twenty-something years of life, this was the first time a man had helped her carry things.

Yeah, even in her past life, she never had this kind of treatment.

Her biological father had been a lofty CEO. Her brothers were all elite heirs and company presidents—those hands were far too precious to do something as menial as carry shopping bags.

The only exception, of course, was for that delicate little white lotus.

Lost in thought, she suddenly heard Lu Yancheng’s voice. “I didn’t catch that. What did you just say?”

Song Si’s breath caught. She looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes.

The mall was noisy, and she’d muttered softly just now—so he didn’t hear clearly?

So as long as she controlled it, even if her inner thoughts slipped out, they weren’t necessarily audible?

Just now, Lu Yancheng had clearly seen her lips move slightly, as if murmuring to herself, but he couldn’t hear a thing. He froze for a second before asking, “Song Si, did you just say something?”

Song Si replied in a slightly coy tone, “I did. It was a secret—I didn’t want you to hear it.”

Lu Yancheng stared at her silently. Her voice seemed to burrow into his ears and itch at his heart, like a feather brushing softly against it.

Song Si said, “Let’s go. I want to look at clothes.”

She reached out and tugged on his arm.

Lu Yancheng lowered his gaze to her hand.

Though she was a sent-down youth, as a soldier’s family member, she was often looked after by Party Secretary Wang. She hadn’t suffered much hardship.

Even so, her skin was naturally fair—she just didn’t tan. Her hands were pale with long, slender fingers. According to the elders, she had the hands of a scholar—very elegant.

Song Si said, “Come on.”

Lu Yancheng: “Alright.”

Noticing she didn’t let go of his arm gave him a strange feeling.

She hadn’t been like this before. She used to be wary of getting too close to him—physical contact was a no-go.

This wasn’t feudal times. Couples were affectionate in public. Holding hands wasn’t unusual for loving partners or spouses.

He looked down at her hand and then reached out his own to gently hold it, folding it into his palm.

Song Si paused and looked at him.

Lu Yancheng looked a little embarrassed.

He had acted on impulse. The thought had barely formed before his hand had moved on its own.

But Song Si didn’t say anything—and didn’t pull away either.

This was her first time holding hands with a man. It felt strange and a little awkward… but also surprisingly secure.

His hand was large, a bit rough, but very warm.

She had naturally poor circulation—cold hands and feet since childhood—so she wasn’t opposed to this kind of warmth.

Lu Yancheng turned his head away, ears slightly red. “Why are your hands so cold?”

Song Si: “I have a cold constitution.”

Cold constitution?

Lu Yancheng frowned. “When we get back, I’ll have the military base’s TCM doctor take a look.”

Song Si: “Okay!”

Hand in hand, the two of them entered a clothing store. The man was tall and handsome, the woman fair and beautiful—they quickly drew attention. A shop assistant soon came over to attend to them, introducing the latest styles.

Lu Yancheng looked at Song Si. “Go take a look. Get whatever you like. Don’t worry about the price—I make a decent salary.”

Song Si asked curiously, “How much do you make a month?”

Lu Yancheng replied in a low voice, “This year, the military’s reforming and getting younger. I was just promoted to regiment level. I make 70 yuan a month—lower than the veterans, who make over a hundred. But it’ll go up in a few years.”

Song Si noticed the envious glances from people around them. She instantly realized that in this era, his salary wasn’t low at all. It was probably considered high income.

But the clothes here were expensive!

A single pair of pants cost 24 yuan?

And the price tag on a leather coat read 104!

She looked at Lu Yancheng. “Maybe we should try a different shop?”

Lu Yancheng: “No need. This store is fine. That pair of pants looks great—buy it.”

Twenty-four?!

That was a third of his monthly salary!

Was this man always so generous?

Now that she realized speaking quietly kept her inner voice from being heard, she’d learned to control it. No more overthinking—if she had something to say, she’d whisper it like a secret.

The mall was playing music, so neither the clerk nor Lu Yancheng heard her.

Seeing that Song Si thought it was expensive, the clerk quickly said, “Miss, this is the latest style, made of premium wool-polyester blend. Super trendy this year. You’re tall and slim—this would look amazing on you.”

Just as Song Si was about to decline, Lu Yancheng pulled out a few Overseas Chinese coupons from his pocket and handed them to the clerk.

He looked at Song Si. “Go try it on.”

Deputy Commander Zhang had said that if they were going to consummate their marriage tonight, it would be rough on her. Lu Yancheng wanted to make up for that a little.

Zhang had also said that once a woman had a child, she’d settle down and stop thinking about other things. He’d even suggested Lu Yancheng have a baby soon to “tie her down.”

It sounded shameless—but Lu Yancheng was… a little tempted.

…

When they left the Overseas Chinese Shopping Mall, Lu Yancheng was carrying multiple large shopping bags, hands full.

Song Si: “……”

This man had spent 500 yuan in one day—nearly an entire year’s salary!

Lu Yancheng hung the sturdier bags on the bicycle handlebars, placed others in the front basket, and the rest were carried by Song Si—one arm holding the bags, the other wrapped around his waist.

As they passed through Baiyang Village on the way back to the military base, Secretary Wang spotted them and widened his eyes.

Captain Lu and Comrade Song… were this close?

They never even used to walk together!

Remembering something important, he quickly called out, “Comrade Song! Your parents called earlier. You weren’t home, so I told them you’d return the call later.”

Parents?

The original host’s adoptive parents?