Chapter 2 – My Little Childhood Sweetheart, For a Lifetime

Ran Jinnian looked at the big bed in the bridal room, her cheeks flushing.
“It’s broad daylight, and the guests are still here.”

“Hm?” Lu Jinyuan’s thin lips curved slightly.

Ran Jinnian instantly realized she had misunderstood. Her little face turned crimson, making one’s heart itch unbearably.
“I’m not tired, and there are guests here.”

“No rush.”

Lu Jinyuan simply looked at her.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” Ran Jinnian felt self-conscious under his gaze.

“Because I want to.”

His voice was low and direct.

His wife was really worth looking at.

He had thought about her for seven years while stationed at the military district. Every time he came home on leave, he made sure to take at least one good look at her.

Ran Jinnian never imagined this cold, reserved man could say something like that. She shyly pushed him away.
“Go greet the guests.”

Lu Jinyuan studied the bashful young woman. He had been away for several years, and her courage had grown so small.

The noon banquet was held in the open space in front of the tube-shaped apartment building.

Every household had lent out tables and bowls, and the atmosphere was lively and festive.

Ran Jinnian and Lu Jinyuan were run off their feet. After the lunch, they finally went to register their marriage.

Originally, the plan had been to register first, but Ran Jinnian had stubbornly refused, so they agreed to hold the wedding first.

Looking down at the marriage certificate in her hands—at this time, just a red sheet of paper printed with her and Lu Jinyuan’s names and the wedding date—Ran Jinnian took a deep breath.

Her new life had begun.

The wedding night.

Ran Jinnian sat on the bridal bed, feeling a little nervous.

The door creaked open, and Lu Jinyuan’s tall figure stepped in. The handsome officer’s face was set in cold lines, and the aura he carried made one shiver.

He lifted his gaze toward her. In the dim glow of the kerosene lamp, her face was like a peach blossom, tinged with deep red.

His throat tightened.

Seeing him looking at her, Ran Jinnian’s ears burned red, and her hands unconsciously gripped the bedsheet.

In her past life, even though she had eloped with Song Zehan, deep down she was very traditional—intimacy could only happen on the wedding night.

Song Zehan had gone along with it, and they’d even picked a good date to marry two months later.

But just days after they arrived in Guangzhou, he started using her money for “reselling goods,” which was really just gambling.

He spent every other day and night in shady gambling dens, and when he came back, he would just collapse into bed.

Back then, she’d been too naïve to suspect him, thinking he truly cared for her.

It wasn’t until the debt collectors came knocking that she saw Song Zehan’s true face.

He beat her within an inch of her life and then tried to force himself on her. Naturally, she refused, and only the arrival of one of his gambling buddies stopped him.

After that, he forced her to do hard labor to earn money for his gambling.

Her love for him turned into bitter hatred. How could she ever share a bed with him after that?

Malnourished and working to exhaustion year after year, she changed from a bright, pretty girl into a worn-out, sallow woman.

All Song Zehan cared about was money, and as she grew uglier in his eyes, he lost all interest in her.

“Wife.”

Lu Jinyuan sat down in front of her, his tall frame easily enveloping her.

Ran Jinnian’s face heated, and she suddenly didn’t dare meet his eyes.

He hadn’t expected her personality to have changed so much in the seven years he’d been in the army. She was no longer the bold girl who used to follow him everywhere.

“Wife, here.” Lu Jinyuan took out a passbook.

Ran Jinnian looked up, surprised. “For me?”

“This is my army stipend. Aside from the fixed monthly expenses I send to my mother, she saved the rest for me.”

“You mean… Mom told you to give it to me?”

“She’s been saving it for this day.” Lu Jinyuan casually undid the top buttons of his shirt, revealing his solid chest.

Ran Jinnian’s breath hitched, and she quickly turned away. “Better let Mom keep it.”

“You’re my wife. From now on, everything I have is yours to manage.”

“Wife, it’s time to sleep.” His large hands slipped around her slender waist.

Ran Jinnian sank into his arms, hearing nothing but feeling that this night seemed endlessly long.

“Keep your voice down—Jinnian’s still sleeping.”

“Don’t wake her, let her sleep a bit longer.”

The voices outside drifted in.

Ran Jinnian slowly opened her eyes, and seeing the bright sunlight outside, her face turned red.

Oh no.

On the very first morning after her wedding, she had slept in.

She hurried to get up, but her legs gave out and she nearly fell.

Hearing movement inside, Lu Jinyuan pushed the door open. Seeing her awake, he said, “Wife, sleep a bit more.”

“Why didn’t you wake me?” As soon as she spoke, she realized her voice was hoarse. She shot him a glare.

His eyes lingered on her spring-water gaze and her rose-petal lips, slightly swollen. He gave a light cough. “It was my fault.”

“You—shut up. Don’t say another word.”

She glared again, thinking inwardly: This man had tormented her all night and was still so energetic.

No wonder—he was a soldier.

After washing up, she went out and saw her mother-in-law cooking breakfast in the kitchen. She quickly went over.
“Mom, let me do it.”

Lu’s mother smiled. “Jinnian, our family has no rules about serving your mother-in-law. Now that you’re married into our family, just do whatever you like.”

Kind-hearted and long fond of Ran Jinnian, she treated her like her own daughter.

Ran Jinnian’s eyes grew a little misty. In her past life, she’d been a fool—ignoring her childhood sweetheart and such a good family, all for that heartless scumbag.

She’d deserved to die miserably on the street back then.

“Mom, let me help you.” Naturally, she wouldn’t take advantage of her mother-in-law’s kindness to do nothing.

Breakfast at the Lu house was sweet potato porridge, coarse-grain steamed buns, a plate of pickles, and boiled eggs.

Simple, but in these hard times, already quite good.

Lu Jinyuan peeled a boiled egg and placed it in Ran Jinnian’s bowl.

His mother hid a smile and said, “Jinnian, the last time this boy came home on leave, he kept urging me to go to your parents to propose.”

Her son had always been cold, indifferent to everything.

He had joined the army at sixteen, and his temperament only grew more distant. She had thought he might never marry.

Never did she expect him to speak up first.

“Ah?”

Ran Jinnian was stunned. She had assumed Lu’s mother had suggested it herself—she hadn’t expected it to be Lu Jinyuan.

He had always been cold toward her no matter what she did, acting as if she were just the neighbor’s little girl.

After he entered the military, they saw each other less and less, and whenever he came home, he kept her at arm’s length.

She had grown from a little girl into a young woman, and naturally stopped clinging to him—until she met Song Zehan.

Pah.

Why was she thinking about that stinking piece of trash again?

“Mom.” Lu Jinyuan frowned slightly, the tips of his ears tinged red.

Knowing her son’s nature well, Lu’s mother chuckled. “Jinnian, you don’t know. When he was nine, I deliberately asked him if he wanted you to be his wife.”

Ran Jinnian’s beautiful eyes widened.

“He said yes.” Lu’s mother revealed his secret completely.