Chapter 12

When they walked out of the family compound, a breeze cooled the sweat on Lu Weiguo’s face, and the itchy feeling in his chest gradually subsided.

He quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

They took a car to the city and went to the furniture section.

A few years ago, getting furniture required applying through the government, but in the past two years, furniture had started being supplied through tickets.

However, furniture tickets were still hard to come by.

The Shi family had some saved up, and Lu Weiguo also had a few, so they didn’t need to barter with others.

Most families didn’t rush into marriage like they did; they would have their furniture custom-made by a carpenter in advance. In their case of a flash marriage, they had to buy ready-made furniture.

After buying the furniture, their remaining tickets were few.

They arranged for the delivery to be made the next day and then headed back.

By now, it was getting dark. Lu Weiguo didn’t drive, so they planned to buy the rest of the items the next day.

After safely seeing Shi Tingyu home, Lu Weiguo returned to his place.

He was on leave for a few days, so returning to the dorm late wasn’t an issue.

Early the next morning, Lu Weiguo drove to pick up Shi Tingyu.

The car was authorized by Captain Zhao.

Captain Zhao knew they needed to buy things and traveling back and forth would be inconvenient. Since the regiment didn’t need the car for a few days, he allowed Lu Weiguo to use it.

With the car, Shi Tingyu was able to buy more freely.

Lu Weiguo followed behind her, taking whatever she bought.

Very quickly, his hands were full.

After loading the items into the car, they went to the furniture counter. Hearing that the delivery workers were about to leave, they went along with them to avoid being stopped outside the residential compound.

The two cars arrived at the compound one after the other. After registering, they drove in.

It was almost lunchtime, and some family members coming off work saw the truck full of furniture and were astonished.

“How much did all this cost?”

“Just the tickets for these must have taken years to save up.”

“Commander Lu is really generous.”

Everyone passing by couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

The truck stopped in front of a small courtyard. Hearing the commotion, a woman in her thirties with short hair and neat clothes came out from the neighboring yard.

She saw the truck parked at the gate of the small courtyard and looked eastward from her doorway.

Shi Tingyu got off the car following behind Lu Weiguo, her petite figure completely shielded by him.

Lu Weiguo saw Mrs. Zhang at the neighboring gate and greeted her, “Sister, you’re off work?”

Mrs. Zhang smiled and nodded. She was one of the few people in the family compound not afraid of Lu Weiguo.

Her husband was the second battalion commander and got along well with Lu Weiguo. When they had a meal together after she joined the army, Lu Weiguo attended.

Knowing she was easy to get along with, he chose this compound.

Mrs. Zhang looked at the truck and asked, “Xiao Lu, when are you moving over? I heard from Old Zhang that you got married. When will you bring your wife over for a meal?”

Lu Weiguo paused and stepped aside, revealing Shi Tingyu to Mrs. Zhang.

Shi Tingyu stood there gracefully, like a swaying flower.

She greeted Mrs. Zhang in a sweet voice.

Mrs. Zhang’s eyes widened, and after a moment, she stammered, “Xiao Lu, this, this is your, your… wife?!”

Seeing Lu Weiguo nod, Mrs. Zhang slapped her thigh, “Oh my, Xiao Lu, how did you find such a beautiful wife? I thought you’d be single forever.”

Mrs. Zhang was so shocked that she blurted out her thoughts.

In front of the two delivery workers, Shi Tingyu glanced at the slightly embarrassed Lu Weiguo and said with a smile, “Sister, you’re joking. Weiguo is great. He looks fierce but is very kind.”

Lu Weiguo’s eyes flickered slightly, and when he realized what Shi Tingyu said, his expression became a bit unnatural.

It was the first time he had been praised like this.

He had grown used to being feared and disliked. Hearing these words suddenly made him feel different.

Mrs. Zhang felt a bit embarrassed too, “Oh! Look at me. I know what kind of person Xiao Lu is. Don’t take it to heart, sister. Before, when we didn’t see him get married, Old Zhang and I were worried for him.”

“Now that he’s with you, we’re happy too. You might be busy now, but when you move in, come to our place for a meal.”

Shi Tingyu could feel the sincerity in her words and replied, “We’ll have plenty of chances after we move in. By then, Weiguo and I will host a meal, and you and your husband must come.”

Lu Weiguo echoed, “Yes, Sister, you must come.”

He wasn’t good at dealing with the wives of his comrades.

Many military family members used to fear him, so few dared to approach him. But whenever he passed by them, he could always hear some whispers, which made him feel both frustrated and helpless.

Being able to talk this much was already a breakthrough for him.

It was because Shi Tingyu was there. He worried that she might feel awkward not knowing anyone, so he said a few more words.

Mrs. Zhang had a good impression of Shi Tingyu. Knowing they were busy, she didn’t hold them up for more chat.

“You guys go ahead and take care of your business. I just came out to check when I heard the noise. Now that I know it’s you, I’m relieved.”

With that, she didn’t continue the conversation, waved her hand, and went back inside.

At this point, the two delivery workers had already unloaded the furniture from the truck.

“Comrade, where should we put this wardrobe?”

Shi Tingyu quickly walked ahead to lead the way, and Lu Weiguo helped the workers move the furniture.

By the time the bed, wardrobe, tables, and chairs were all in place, lunchtime had passed.

Since the house wasn’t yet occupied, they couldn’t even offer the workers a glass of water. Lu Weiguo handed them two yuan as a tip for their hard work.

After sending off the delivery workers, Lu Weiguo took Shi Tingyu to the canteen in the camp.

By then, the canteen was almost empty, with only a few people who had missed the meal time coming in to find something to eat from the chef.

Lu Weiguo and Shi Tingyu, a beauty and the beast combination, drew a lot of attention. People turned their heads twice to make sure they weren’t seeing things.

They had heard that the long-time bachelor Battalion Commander Lu got married. They originally thought that given Lu’s looks, his wife would be, if not burly, at least a fierce-looking woman, as no ordinary woman could tame this wolf.

But now, what were they seeing?

This delicate and fair woman wasn’t running away crying and keeping ten meters away from Commander Lu? It was a miracle.

They couldn’t believe that this woman wasn’t Lu Weiguo’s wife.

Everyone knew that Commander Lu never got close to any female comrades in the camp.

Now seeing them walking so intimately together, it was clear that their relationship was exactly what they had imagined.

Lu Weiguo settled Shi Tingyu in a corner and checked the remaining dishes. He paid and handed over some tickets, asking the chef to prepare another dish.

The chef, being quick and efficient, immediately started cooking.

When Lu Weiguo returned to their table, he suddenly noticed that the few people who had been sitting far away had quietly moved several seats closer to them.

Lu Weiguo glared at them, but all he got in return was a silly grin.