Chapter 12 – Darling, Care to Explain?

Xu Nuo planned to go for interviews today—maybe not just at one hospital.

When Uncle Lu said that Lu Cheng should drive her, she had actually wanted to refuse. After all, the job hunt hadn’t yielded any results yet, and she didn’t want others to know too much—
especially not Lu Cheng.

She could already imagine how he would mock her.

To her surprise, Lu Cheng didn’t insist, but then the task shifted to Lu Chen. What she hadn’t expected was that he actually agreed.

“Lu-ge, I can go by myself, really. The buses in the city are very convenient…”

Before she could finish, Lu Chen simply said, “I’ll take you.”

His words were cold and short, but they left no room for negotiation.

Xu Nuo was momentarily stunned, then politely said, “Thank you.”

After breakfast, she left the house with Lu Chen to wait for Xiao Wei to drive the car over. The sky above was gloomy, thick with humidity, as if it was about to rain.

When the jeep arrived, Lu Chen opened the car door for Xu Nuo. Once she got in, he shut the door and circled around to the front passenger seat.

“Commander, where to?” Xiao Wei asked after starting the engine.

Lu Chen didn’t answer right away. He simply glanced up at the rearview mirror.

Xu Nuo happened to look up too, and when their eyes met in the reflection, she immediately offered a destination: “To the hospital.”

The jeep slowly pulled out of the military compound.

Lu Chen turned slightly toward her. “Not feeling well?”

Realizing he was talking to her, Xu Nuo sat up straighter and replied in a soft voice, “No, I’m fine. I have other business at the hospital.”

She didn’t elaborate, and Lu Chen didn’t press her.

Since it wasn’t a medical visit, Xiao Wei grew puzzled.

There were so many hospitals in the city—how would he know which one she meant?

So he asked, “Miss, which hospital would you like to go to?”

“Whichever is the biggest—go to that one!” Xu Nuo replied.

Larger hospitals had better resources, more job openings, and more room for advancement.

“Got it.”

Half an hour later, Xiao Wei stopped the jeep in front of a major hospital. Xu Nuo thanked them and stepped out, giving Lu Chen a small wave.

“Thanks, Lu-ge. Thank you too, Wei-ge.”

Xiao Wei nearly jumped out of his skin. Wei-ge? What status did he have to be addressed on the same level as Commander Lu?

He stammered, “J-just call me Xiao Wei. That’s fine!”

Xu Nuo flashed him a smile before turning and walking through the hospital gates.

Only after her figure disappeared from view did Lu Chen retract his gaze and instruct calmly, “Let’s go—time to see Wu Yue.”

—

That morning, Xu Nuo went to several hospitals for interviews. Her abilities were acknowledged, but unfortunately, because she didn’t have a state-allocated grain status and no registered city household, she was considered an “unregistered” resident in the city.

And unregistered residents couldn’t get jobs in institutions like hospitals.

She had completely overlooked this issue—she wasn’t familiar with the policies of 1979.

But now that she knew, she also knew what to do.

She didn’t necessarily have to marry into the Lu family,
but—she planned to use the engagement to obtain a city household registration.

That would be the best outcome for everyone involved—not just for her, but also for Lu Cheng and the rest of the Lu family.

Since the job search had hit a wall, she decided to head back to the military compound.

She planned to bring it up over dinner tonight and discuss it openly with the family.

—

Meanwhile, Lu Cheng was sitting in a 212 military jeep with a few of his buddies, chatting.

Yang Pan leaned over excitedly and said, “Hey! Remember Jiang Miao-miao? When you came back for New Year’s, we had that get-together—didn’t you totally have a thing for her? I heard she’s coming to today’s gathering too!”

Without Xu Nuo tagging along, Lu Cheng had been feeling a bit meh about today.

Not because he liked her—but because he wanted to bring her around his circle of friends,
to make her realize just how different their worlds were.

Their environment, their mindset, their way of life—they belonged to two completely separate circles.A melon forced off the vine doesn’t taste sweet. That’s why Lu Cheng had wanted Xu Nuo to figure things out on her own and willingly propose breaking off the engagement.

But he hadn’t expected her to be busy with something today, which meant his plan had to be postponed.

Just then, Yang Pan dropped a bombshell—Jiang Miaomiao was coming too! Lu Cheng instantly perked up.
“Seriously? That’s great. I haven’t seen her in ages. You think she’ll even remember me?”

“Of course she will,” Lei Ming chimed in. “She even asked about you! Oh, and she’s not going abroad this time. Word is, she’s staying for good.”

Lu Cheng’s lips curled into a small smirk. “That’s nice.”

“Nice? It’s perfect! Jiang Miaomiao’s treating us to dinner tonight at a western restaurant. The place is already booked—just waiting on you to show,” Lei Ming said excitedly.

Lu Cheng shot him a sidelong glance. “Look at you, acting like you’ve never had Western food.”

Lei Ming rubbed his hands together. “C’mon, it’s not just about the food. Western restaurants have loads of pretty girls—I just wanna feast my eyes a little!”

Yang Pan clicked his tongue. “Tsk. You’re hopeless.”

Lu Cheng chuckled and turned his head toward the window.

Just then, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in his line of sight.

He snapped upright and squinted through the car window toward the back.

Sure enough—it was Xu Nuo.

“Hey! Stop the car!” he barked.

“Huh? Lu-ge, we haven’t even reached the place yet!” the driver protested.

“Stop yapping. Of course I know that! Just pull over—I saw someone I know.”

With a screech, the jeep came to an abrupt halt.

Lu Cheng jumped out, waved at Xu Nuo’s retreating figure, and called, “Xu Nuo!”

She paused. That sounded like Lu Cheng.

When she turned around, she saw him standing next to a jeep, waving at her.

“Come on—get in the car,” he said.

“For what?” she asked.

“I’ve got plans. Let’s go.”

“I’m not going,” Xu Nuo said calmly. She’d already made up her mind to break off the engagement—there was no point entangling herself further with him.

“You have to. If you don’t, the old man’s going to break my legs.” Without giving her a chance to argue, Lu Cheng strode over and tugged her into the car.

In the backseat, Lei Ming gawked. “That’s Lu-ge’s fiancée, Lu Cheng’s future sister-in-law! This guy just yanked her into the car like it’s no big deal! What if Lu-ge sees and breaks his legs for real?”

Yang Pan snorted a laugh. “It’s not that serious.”

Lu Cheng pulled Xu Nuo into the jeep and gave a half-hearted intro, just saying her name and nothing more.

Lei Ming grinned and greeted her, “Hello, saozi (sister-in-law)!”

Xu Nuo frowned. “Sister-in-law? Isn’t that… a little inappropriate?”

“Why? You’re going to marry Lu-ge sooner or later. You’re nine years younger than him, so calling you little sister-in-law seems fair, right?”

After Lei Ming said it, the rest of the group chimed in too. “Saozi!”

Xu Nuo turned to look at Lu Cheng. “Is this how you introduce me behind my back?”

Lu Cheng didn’t say a word—he just raised an eyebrow.

Xu Nuo understood instantly.

So, this was why he dragged her here—up to no good as usual.

Her lips curved into a sly smile, and she sweetly said, “You’ve all misunderstood. I’m Lu Cheng’s fiancée—we’ve been engaged since childhood. It’s written clearly in the marriage contract.”

“What?!”

“No way—what kind of situation is this?”

“Lu Cheng! You better start explaining!”

Caught red-handed, Lu Cheng’s expression stiffened. His pride took a solid hit.

Xu Nuo knew this whole setup was shady from the start. She wondered if Lu Chen knew how his little brother was introducing her behind his back.

So, she casually draped her hand over Lu Cheng’s shoulder, her eyes glinting mischievously.
With a playful tone, she teased, “Darling, your friends are all waiting for your explanation. If you don’t say something soon… I’ll spill everything for you.”