Chapter 35

Meng Xuan immediately guessed that the clothes were definitely Lu Chen’s, but he couldn’t understand why they were in Meng Yinyin’s room. After all, they weren’t involved in any intimate behavior. So why would there be Lu Chen’s clothes in her room?

Could it be that they were both trying to deceive him?

Once this thought crossed his mind, Meng Xuan’s mood soured. His mind was filled with the image of his innocent little sister being taken advantage of.

He couldn’t help but turn around and glare at Lu Chen.

Lu Chen didn’t doubt for a second that Meng Xuan might act out in anger.

Luckily, Meng Yinyin’s voice rang out just in time. Nervously, she explained, “The clothes, I… I made them especially for you, Brother!”

In this situation, she couldn’t dare to say that she made the clothes to win over Lu Chen.

Even though she wasn’t that naive, she could tell her brother wouldn’t accept that idea. Fearing being scolded, she could only tell a little lie.

But, in a way, the clothes were originally meant for someone else. She had just decided to give them to her brother instead.

Hearing her explanation, Meng Xuan’s anger subsided a bit, though not by much.

He examined the clothes more carefully and noticed the stitching was quite rough. It was clear that the work was far from perfect, but at least they were wearable.

Looking at the craftsmanship, it did seem like something Meng Yinyin might have made herself.

As long as the clothes weren’t left by some other man in her room, Meng Xuan’s anger faded a little.

Once he confirmed that the clothes were made by his sister and not some stranger’s, he sighed and said casually, “It’s okay, but you need to practice more. It could be better.”

Meng Yinyin: “…”

If she could beat her brother, she would have punched him right then!

Finally, unable to keep her frustration in check, she straightened her face and demanded, “If you think it’s ugly, then give it back to me!”

But Meng Xuan raised his hand and easily held the clothes out of her reach.

“You should be more modest. I’m encouraging your improvement. I can’t even speak the truth now, huh?”

Meng Yinyin: !!!

She was so angry!

Seeing that he was really going to make her cry, Meng Xuan coughed lightly.

“Alright, enough. It’s getting late. Time to wash up and go to bed. I’m going to shower.”

With that, he grabbed the clothes and left.

Meng Yinyin could only watch his retreating figure in frustration. She stomped her foot and turned, only to find Lu Chen standing quietly nearby.

He had his lips pressed together, his gaze fixed on the clothes that Meng Xuan had taken, deep in thought.

As the sky darkened, Meng Yinyin couldn’t quite tell, but it seemed like she saw a hint of regret in Lu Chen’s eyes…

Regret?

What was he regretting? It couldn’t be that he regretted not accepting those clothes back then, right?

Though she wasn’t entirely sure, the thought of it made Meng Yinyin feel oddly satisfied.

Hmph, her brother was criticizing the clothes she made, but didn’t he see that someone else actually wanted them?

Moreover, did Lu Chen even realize what accepting those clothes would imply? If he had taken them, it would have changed the nature of their relationship entirely…

From just a simple partnership to something else entirely…

Meng Yinyin felt a bit awkward as she thought about it.

She couldn’t help but sneak a glance at Lu Chen.

He was facing away from her, with the moonlight casting a clear shadow of his side profile. His straight nose, sharp jawline, and long, thick eyelashes were all illuminated.

How could a man’s eyelashes be so long and thick?

Meng Yinyin muttered to herself and found herself staring at him a bit longer. The more she looked, the more handsome he seemed.

Her heart started to race, and she blinked, trying to ignore the inexplicable nervousness she felt. Quickly, she said to him, “I’m going inside!”

With that, she almost ran back into the house, leaving Lu Chen to snap out of his thoughts. He turned toward her direction but only saw the closed door.

Unable to see her expression, Lu Chen slowly withdrew his gaze and turned back toward Meng Xuan’s disappearing figure.

Meanwhile, Meng Xuan quickly finished preparing and headed for the shower room, his mood seemingly light as he whistled.

The shower room was a small, makeshift wooden building. Worried that his clean clothes might get wet, Meng Xuan hung them on the doorframe before focusing on his shower.

As he sang in the shower, Lu Chen hesitated for a moment before walking toward the kitchen. He picked up a ladleful of water and walked out.

…

Meng Xuan took a longer shower than usual. After all, he was outside the army and was not in a hurry. In addition, the weather was hot, and it would be more comfortable to take a cold shower, so he stayed in the bathroom for a while longer.

Eventually, realizing it was getting late and that he’d get sick if he stayed in the water any longer, Meng Xuan stopped, dried off, and reached for the clothes he’d hung on the wooden beam to put them on.

Just as he reached out, the sound of water splashing suddenly came from outside, followed by Lu Chen’s apologetic voice.

“Comrade Meng, I’m really sorry. When I was pouring the water, I accidentally spilled it on your clothes.”

What’s going on?

Before Meng Xuan could process what was happening, Lu Chen’s voice came again from outside.

“Your clothes got wet. I’ll go get you one of my clothes. Don’t worry, it’s new and hasn’t been worn.”

After he said that, Meng Xuan noticed that the clothes hanging on the wooden board had disappeared in a flash, followed by the sound of Lu Chen’s footsteps leaving without any hesitation.

Meng Xuan: “…?”

He didn’t even get a chance to say anything and was left with another set of clothes from Lu Chen.

But Meng Xuan wasn’t angry, nor did he think too much about it. After all, the new clothes Lu Chen had brought were clearly much better than the ones Meng Yinyin had given him. The workmanship and material were far superior to the rough garment that Meng Yinyin had made.

He just felt a little awkward.

“These clothes are new. It doesn’t feel right for me to wear them. How about I wear the one my sister gave me earlier? The weather is warm; it will dry soon enough.”

However, Lu Chen directly held up the clothes that had been soaked in the laundry basin, both inside and out, and said to him:

“I’ve already washed your clothes.”

Meng Xuan: “…”

This guy is being a bit too proactive.

But since the clothes were wet and clearly unwearable, Meng Xuan didn’t argue. He just thanked Lu Chen and quickly went inside.

His steps inside weren’t any slower than when Lu Chen had entered earlier. In fact, they might have been even quicker.

From Lu Chen’s strange behavior that night, Meng Xuan was seriously beginning to suspect that the guy was trying to curry favor with him!

Otherwise, why would he be so considerate, so eager to wash his clothes? Wasn’t it just to show off in front of him?

Meng Xuan couldn’t help but sigh at how sneaky Lu Chen was, while also feeling a bit of admiration for his boldness. His emotions were rather complicated.

Lost in thought, he completely forgot about the issue with the clothes.

Meanwhile, in the yard, Lu Chen finally let out a quiet sigh of relief, his nervousness finally settling.

Looking down at the black cloth coat in his hands, his emotions were also complicated.

After all, only he himself knew that the so-called incident of accidentally pouring water and wetting Meng Xuan’s clothes was completely intentional on his part.

He knew that what he was doing was despicable, but he still didn’t want anyone else to wear the clothes.

So, it was fine. As long as he didn’t say anything, no one would know about his hidden possessiveness.

…

The next morning, when Meng Yinyin got up and saw that her brother hadn’t worn the clothes she gave him the day before, she was confused.

Later, she learned that her brother’s clothes had gotten wet before he could even put them on, so he decided to wash them right away, and then it all made sense.

She glanced up at the coat hanging in the yard, her brows furrowing slightly. Something didn’t seem quite right.

Why would Lu Chen pour water in the direction of the bathroom? The kitchen behind could have been used for that, right?

But after thinking about it, she couldn’t figure out any other reason for Lu Chen’s actions, so she decided to let it go for now.

The matter was left as it was, and soon it was time to leave for work. After Lu Chen heated up their breakfast, he left.

By the time Meng Yinyin got up, she didn’t see him. All she found was the warm porridge and the boiled eggs on the stove.

Lu Chen had raised chickens at home, three in total, with two of them laying eggs. So every day, he could collect two warm eggs.

However, he didn’t eat any of the eggs himself and gave them all to Meng Yinyin and her brother.

While eating the eggs, Meng Yinyin felt a bit guilty. She realized that she had been staying at Lu Chen’s for a few days now, and she thought it was time to give him some money.

Otherwise, if she kept eating and living for free, she would feel really embarrassed.

After breakfast, she decided to talk to her brother about how much money they should give to Lu Chen.

Before they could reach a conclusion, they heard some noise from the neighboring Lu Dashan’s house.

“…You wait here. I’ll go to the fields and call them back.”

The voice was not loud but clear enough, and Meng Yinyin recognized it as Lu Xiujuan’s.

Lu Xiujuan is back?

Did this mean that Wang Chengwu had settled the issue?