Chapter 51

When Lu Weiguo arrived at the school gate, there weren’t many people there yet. Nowadays, children are rarely picked up by their parents, especially since the school for the government workers’ children is within the residential compound, so there’s no issue.

Seeing that school hadn’t let out yet, he went over to look at the mural on the wall.

No matter how many times he looked at it, he never felt it was enough.

When the guard saw someone coming, he hurried out of the gatehouse. Upon seeing that it was Lu Weiguo, he let him go on his way.

Lu Weiguo was a well-known figure in the military district, and the guard, a retired soldier, recognized him. He also knew that the mural was painted by Lu Weiguo’s wife.

After about ten minutes, the school bell rang.

The whole campus erupted like water splashed into hot oil.

The younger students came out first, followed slowly by the older ones.

It wasn’t until most of the children had left that Lu Weiguo saw the figure of Shi Tingyu.

Lu Weiguo was very tall, nearly 1.9 meters, and stood out among the small children. Shi Tingyu spotted him immediately.

She smiled and waved at him, slowly making her way out behind the line of children.

Once she got out of the gate, Shi Tingyu quickly walked up to Lu Weiguo.

“How long have you been here?”

As he helped her tidy her hair, which had become a bit messy from running, and took her textbooks from her, he replied, “I haven’t been here long.”

Shi Tingyu walked with Lu Weiguo towards the adjacent military camp. Along the way, some students wanted to stop and greet Shi Tingyu, but upon seeing Lu Weiguo by her side, they hesitated.

Never mind, they thought, I’ll greet the teacher next time.

The two registered at the camp entrance.

The sentry on duty couldn’t help but glance at Shi Tingyu. This was his first time seeing Captain Lu’s wife.

He had heard she had come once before, but it hadn’t been his shift.

He’d heard she was a great beauty, and now seeing her in person, she was indeed very pretty.

After registering their information, Lu Weiguo noticed the sentry sneaking glances. He placed a hand on the soldier’s head and turned it straight. “Greet her properly.”

The sentry immediately stood at attention, saluted Shi Tingyu, and said loudly, “Hello, ma’am!”

Shi Tingyu was startled by the sudden loud greeting, and awkwardly smiled, “Hello, hello.”

Lu Weiguo handed the registration form to the sentry and led Shi Tingyu into the camp.

Even though it wasn’t her first time there, Shi Tingyu couldn’t help but feel the solemnity of the place.

Since it wasn’t time for training to end, soldiers were still training hard on the field.

As they passed by the training ground, one soldier, distracted by their presence, accidentally fell off the climbing frame.

Lu Weiguo’s face darkened, and he shouted into the field, “Liu Dazhu! Add ten more sets to your training!”

Liu Dazhu, who had just gotten up, almost fell again.

The other soldiers stifled their laughter, knowing that if Captain Lu caught them, they would also have to add to their training.

It was almost mealtime, and they were hungry and tired.

Liu Dazhu saluted in Lu Weiguo’s direction and shouted, “Yes, sir!”

Then he continued with his unfinished training.

After yelling, Lu Weiguo remembered his wife was beside him. He turned to look at Shi Tingyu, blushing, and stammered, “I’m not usually like this.”

He meant he wasn’t usually this fierce.

Shi Tingyu looked at him with smiling eyes, “I think you were great just now.”

Lu Weiguo, looking at her smiling face, felt a touch of sweetness in his heart.

On their way to the regiment commander’s office, they garnered many looks.

Shi Tingyu teased, “You’re quite popular in the camp.”

Lu Weiguo: …

They were just curious, he thought.

When they arrived at the regiment commander’s office, Lu Wenbin and Aunt Lu were already there.

Commander Zhao quickly invited them in to sit.

This was Commander Zhao’s first time meeting Shi Tingyu, although he had heard about her before.

He saw that she had delicate features, a sweet smile, and fair skin—she was the most beautiful girl in the area.

No wonder Xiao Lu had his eyes set on her, and he had also heard she was quite capable.

He was aware of the mural situation as well. His wife had specifically gone to the school to see it and came back full of praise.

Seeing the two of them standing, Commander Zhao said to Lu Weiguo, “Why don’t you find a chair for your wife?”

Since they arrived a bit late, the two chairs were occupied by Lu Wenbin and his mother.

Lu Weiguo was about to go to the next office to get a chair when Lu Wenbin quickly stopped him.

“No need, Captain Lu. My chair can be for your wife,” he said, offering his chair to Shi Tingyu.

Shi Tingyu’s social anxiety flared up at that moment.

If it had been Aunt Lu offering her a seat, she would have accepted it without hesitation, but with Lu Wenbin, she was conflicted.

Should she sit down immediately, or should she exchange some polite refusals with him first? It was a headache; she just wanted to leave.

Without further ado, Lu Weiguo moved the chair behind Shi Tingyu and gently pushed her to sit down.

Shi Tingyu breathed a sigh of relief; now she didn’t have to worry about the formalities. It was great.

Commander Zhao, seeing this, couldn’t help but smile. Even this guy knew how to take care of someone sometimes.

Thinking about the reason he had called them in, Commander Zhao decided to get straight to the point.

He looked at everyone and said, “The reason I’ve called you here today is clear. Instructor Lu and his mother are here to apologize to Comrade Shi Tingyu and Captain Lu for the previous rumors. I’ll be a witness to this.”

From the moment they entered, Aunt Lu had been sitting silently in her chair. Now she finally raised her head.

She glanced at the couple, and then her gaze settled on Lu Wenbin.

When the military district leadership approached her, she was terrified.

Before this, she often boasted and gossiped in the village, and no one ever bothered her about it. She never expected that gossiping would be such a serious offense in the military district.

She didn’t regret spreading rumors about Shi Tingyu; she just felt a bit guilty towards her son because his involvement in her gossiping had led to him receiving a warning, effectively stalling his career advancement for the next few years.

When the warning came, although her son didn’t scold her, she understood the gravity of the situation.

This hurt her more than any punishment she could have received.

She was willing to apologize to Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo if it meant she could help mitigate her son’s mistake.

It was precisely because of Aunt Lu’s willingness to swallow her pride for Lu Wenbin’s sake that made things difficult for Lu Wenbin.

If his mother had been outright malicious, he could harden his heart against her.

If she had been more reasonable, he wouldn’t have these worries.

But she was stuck in the middle, neither entirely good nor completely bad, making it hard for him to make any clear decisions.

Seeing his mother’s cautious behavior, Lu Wenbin also felt a headache.

However, he knew they still had to apologize, and that he needed to follow up with her ideological education.

“Captain Lu, sister-in-law, we were wrong about the rumors. I sincerely apologize to you both. If anyone talks about this again, sister-in-law, just come to me and I’ll clear things up for you.”

As he spoke, Lu Wenbin bowed deeply to the two of them.