Chapter 61.1

“Sister-in-law, Lu Yu is done changing.”

Chen Yao turned over and got back into his bed.

Jiang Nian came in and folded Lu Yu’s clothes. The clothes were still warm, carrying Lu Yu’s body heat. She put them into a small cloth bag: “I’ll take them to the state-run embroidery shop to wash. After they are dried, you can change into them when you go back.”

Lu Yu looked at her: “Sit for a while.”

Jiang Nian pressed her lips together, ignoring the gazes of the other two people in the ward, and sat down by the bed. Lu Yu’s hand reached out from under the quilt and held Jiang Nian’s hand. Looking at Jiang Nian’s thin cheeks, he tightened his grip on her fingers with heartache: “I have a month’s leave this time. After I recover from my injury, let’s go to Dongshi city to visit Commander Song and his family.”

Jiang Nian was taken aback, a little surprised that Lu Yu would mention this.

However, thinking about how Commander Song took care of her while Lu Yu wasn’t around and in the army, it was right to go and visit them.

She was thinking of mentioning it after Lu Yu recovered, so she nodded gently: “Okay.”

Their hands clasped tightly under the quilt. Lu Yu’s fingers gently rubbed Jiang Nian’s palm, his deep voice carrying a unique hoarseness: “Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Nian’s back tingled suddenly, her face turned a little red, and she hurriedly lowered her head. She didn’t want Chen Yao and Zhou Ji to see this, but she unexpectedly met Lu Yu’s deep and intense gaze. His eyes were filled with a burning heat, making Jiang Nian’s heart beat faster and her breathing more noticeable.

“I…”

Before Jiang Nian could finish her sentence, Lu Yu grasped her wrist. The man asked: “Are you cold?”

Jiang Nian quickly shook her head: “No, I’m not cold.”

Her wrist was held by Lu Yu, and his rough fingers gently circled around her protruding knuckles. His calm and composed face contrasted with the actions under the quilt.

Jiang Nian swallowed, unable to sit still any longer, she stood up abruptly: “I-I’ll go back to the embroidery shop to wash the clothes.”

With that, she left with the small cloth bag.

“Take care, sister-in-law,” said Chen Yao and Zhou Ji.

Without turning her head, Jiang Nian replied, “Got it.”

Lu Yu watched Jiang Nian disappear at the door of the ward, his relaxed brows gradually furrowing, and a few traces of pain appeared on his face. Zhou Ji noticed something was wrong and frowned, “Did changing clothes just now strain your wound?”

Chen Yao jumped off the bed and shouted outside, “Doctor!”

This ward was different, always having a nurse specially watching over it. Hearing Chen Yao’s voice, the nurse quickly called the doctor, who came to check Lu Yu’s wound and sighed, saying, “Comrade, you cannot move now, and you must not exert yourself. The stitches are almost coming apart.”

The doctor instructed the nurse to bring over medicine and gauze, and they re-dressed Lu Yu’s wound.

After the doctor left, Lu Yu turned his head and told Chen Yao and Zhou Ji, “Don’t tell my sister-in-law.”

Both of them understood: “Got it.”

Chen Yao said, “But you must not move anymore. You need to rest properly for a few days.”

“Mm.”

Jiang Nian returned to the embroidery shop, where Zhang Xiao was talking to her child while stroking her belly.

Seeing Jiang Nian, she happily stood up: “Sister Jiang, why are you here?”

Jiang Nian said, “Lu Yu is hospitalized. I’m here to take care of him and wash his clothes.”

Hearing Jiang Nian’s voice, Peng Yin walked out from the compartment, saw the small cloth bag in Jiang Nian’s arms, and said with a smile, “Then wash them in the dormitory. There’s hot water there.”

Zhang Xiao: …

Lu Xiaoqing and Zhai Peipei in the compartment: …

Jiang Nian knew that Peng Yin was polite to her because she feared Jiang Nian would leave. She nodded, “Thank you, Director Peng.”

After getting the dormitory key from Zhang Xiao, she left the embroidery shop and met Auntie in the dormitory. Auntie smiled and said, “Oh, is that you, Jiang Nian?”

Jiang Nian smiled back: “Auntie, it’s me.”

Auntie said, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you. Are you not staying in the dormitory anymore?”

Jiang Nian replied, “Mm, I’m not staying there anymore.”

After chatting with that Auntie for a few moments, Jiang Nian went back. The enamel basin she had left under the bed was still there. She took the basin to the bathroom to wash Lu Yu’s clothes. There were bloodstains on the lower right corner of the sweater and snow on the pants. Jiang Nian’s fingers trembled, and she blinked, trying not to think about Lu Yu’s injuries. She scrubbed the clothes clean with soap.

“Don’t touch me!”

A quarrel was heard outside the bathroom. Jiang Nian paused and turned to look.

Outside stood a man and a woman. The man held a thermos, and the woman held an enamel basin. They looked like factory workers. The man wore glasses and looked like an educated person, but he spoke in a rather sinister way: “If you don’t want me to touch you, who do you want to touch you?”

“Do you want Wu Hao to touch you? Huh?!”

The man tugged at the woman’s arm. The woman, angry, threw down the enamel basin, making a loud, piercing sound.

“Zhao Lin, are you out of your mind!”

“Who’s out of their mind? Sun Yuan! Is it because I can’t satisfy you that you’re looking for other men outside?”

“How can you be so filthy with your words!”

Sun Yuan couldn’t take it anymore, slapped Zhao Lin, and ran off.

Zhao Lin chased after her.

Jiang Nian was enjoying her melon when she suddenly heard Sun Yuan’s name, which sounded familiar.

Winter clothes are hard to wash, and Jiang Nian’s hands were red from scrubbing. After finishing, she hung the clothes in the dormitory, placing two enamel basins underneath to catch the dripping water and prevent it from freezing on the floor.

It was almost lunchtime. Jiang Nian went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy six pounds of white flour, got a pound of pork from the food station, and bought ingredients for making mixed noodles at the vegetable stand. On the way back, she suddenly remembered who Sun Yuan was.

She is Sun Ying’s half-sister.

The book mentioned that Sun Ying’s father had two wives. Sun Yuan was the daughter of the first wife. Later, Father Sun married the second wife and had Sun Ying. Sun Yuan had been with her father since childhood and had a poor relationship with Sun Ying. Sun Ying’s mother didn’t like Sun Yuan either, but Father Sun loved Sun Yuan more than Sun Ying.

The book didn’t mention much about Sun Yuan, but one memorable plot point was that after her divorce, Sun Yuan moved back home. Sun Ying’s mother, who disliked her, constantly targeted her. Driven to the brink, Sun Yuan almost pushed Sun Ying’s mother down the stairs. To maintain peace, Father Sun sent Sun Yuan to live elsewhere.

When Jiang Nian read this part of the plot, she thought that the female lead’s mother was truly despicable.

Back in the dormitory, Jiang Nian started making dough, then cut the meat into small pieces for the sauce. The rich aroma wafted out the window. It was almost lunchtime, and people were coming back to cook. Smelling the aroma, they wondered who was cooking meat today!

Despite being city dwellers, they didn’t have extra money for meat.

Their monthly wages were sent back home to support their families. With only one working member, feeding a large family was challenging. Eating meat was a luxury, and even a full meal was rare. Smelling the meat, everyone was tempted.

People passing by the window sniffed hard, trying to savor the aroma.

Today, Lu Xiaoqing was the one cooking lunch. Smelling the aroma, she ran back to the dormitory, saw Jiang Nian making mixed noodles, and was almost in tears from craving. She leaned close to Jiang Nian and sniffed hard: “Is there any for us?”

Jiang Nian smiled: “No.”

Lu Xiaoqing: …

She squeezed next to Jiang Nian, making Jiang Nian move aside and laugh helplessly: “There is, there is. Everyone gets some.”

Lu Xiaoqing immediately smiled.

Jiang Nian filled three aluminum lunch boxes with mixed noodles, knowing that Lu Yu had a big appetite, and Chen Yao and Zhou Ji probably did too. The rest she left for Zhang Xiao and the others. After eating with Lu Xiaoqing in the dormitory, she took the lunch boxes to the hospital.

As soon as Jiang Nian walked out the dormitory door, an enamel mug came flying over and rolled to a stop at her feet.

Jiang Nian: …

“Zhao Lin, what the hell is wrong with you?!”

Zhao Lin and Sun Yuan had started arguing again at the dormitory entrance. People from the rows of dormitories, some wearing aprons and others holding spatulas, came out to watch the commotion. The hallway was filled with the smell of cooking, whispers, and noisy quarrels, creating a lively atmosphere.

But there were also plenty of troublesome matters.

Lu Xiaoqing locked the dormitory door, pulling Jiang Nian aside, and whispered, “These two quarrel every three days and have a big fight every five days. It’s so annoying.”

Jiang Nian asked, “When did they move in?”

She remembered that the neighboring dormitory was unoccupied before.

Lu Xiaoqing said, “They moved in two months ago. I heard that the woman’s father arranged for them to get this place. People on our floor say that Sun Yuan’s father is a director and quite wealthy.”

She glanced back at the arguing couple and said, “Jiang Nian, what do you think Sun Yuan sees in Zhao Lin? She’s good-looking, her family has money, so why did she choose that lunatic Zhao Lin?”

Jiang Nian: “I don’t know.”

Even if she knew, she couldn’t say.

The plot mentioned that Sun Yuan didn’t like her current marriage. When Zhao Lin pursued her, she married him. Later in the plot, she reappears after divorcing Zhao Lin and returns to the Sun family, clashing with Sun Ying’s mother.

Jiang Nian went to the hospital and saw a military jeep parked at the entrance, thinking that Song Bai and Zhu Jun had arrived. She pushed open the hospital door and walked in, meeting a few men in military uniforms. The leader looked older than Commander Song, with graying hair at his temples, accompanied by guards and two soldiers about the same age as Lu Yu.

Jiang Nian stepped aside, and one of the soldiers closest to her nodded, “Thank you.”

Jiang Nian bowed her head and softly said, “You’re welcome.”

She went up to the third floor and opened the ward door. The conversation inside stopped, and Chen Yao and Zhou Ji both called out, “Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Nian smiled lightly, “Mm.”

Lu Yu was leaning against the headboard, his deep black eyes lingering on Jiang Nian’s face for a moment before asking, “Finished washing?”

Jiang Nian nodded, “Yes, I made some mixed noodles for you all.”

She handed a portion to Lu Yu, and gave another to Chen Yao and Zhou Ji. Hearing that it was mixed noodles, both of them perked up. Chen Yao, with his injured arm immobile, had Zhou Ji help open his container. Zhou Ji, with an injured leg, couldn’t get out of bed.

Smelling the fragrant meat, their eyes lit up, “Sister-in-law, your mixed noodles smells amazing!”

Chen Yao continued, “We were just saying we wanted to try your cooking, and here we are, getting to taste it for lunch.”

Jiang Nian smiled, “I’ll make something else for dinner.”

Lu Yu opened his lunch box and said to Jiang Nian, “Sit here.”

Recalling Lu Yu’s wandering hand in the morning, Jiang Nian deliberately moved a bit further away to sit down. Her little move didn’t go unnoticed by Lu Yu, whose eyebrows slightly raised. He glanced at her blushing face, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“Tired?” he asked.

Jiang Nian gently shook her head, “Not tired.”

Lu Yu placed his lunch box on the blanket, picked an orange from the table, and peeled it for Jiang Nian, “Have you eaten?”

“Yes, I ate at the dormitory.”

Jiang Nian took half of the orange and ate it, savoring the sweet and sour taste. The sound of the three men slurping their noodles filled the room. Zhou Ji said, “Sister-in-law, I’ve never had noodles this delicious!”

Chen Yao nodded, “Me neither.”

He took a big bite after speaking.

Jiang Nian smiled, noticing the various expensive fruits on the table. She guessed that the military men earlier must have come from Lu Yu’s ward. After finishing one orange, before she could catch her breath, Lu Yu handed her another.

Jiang Nian: …

She shook her head, “Too cold.”

She was about to have her period and was afraid eating something too cold would cause stomach pain.

After they finished eating, Jiang Nian took the lunch boxes to the water room to wash. On her way out, she encountered Sun Yuan, accompanied by another woman. The woman said, “Are you really sure you want to abort this baby?”

Sun Yuan looked exhausted, “I don’t want to live with Zhao Lin anymore.”

The woman said, “You need a referral letter to get an abortion. Where will you…” Before she could finish, Sun Yuan cut her off, “I’ll ask my dad for help.”

After they walked away, Jiang Nian glanced back.

When couples have a bad relationship, the children suffer the most. Liu Jianye and Lu Zhijun were examples of this.

Jiang Nian returned to the ward, this time sitting on a stool beside the bed instead of on the bed itself. She hadn’t slept much the previous night, always worried about the four o’clock car in the morning.Now, sitting on the stool and listening to Chen Yao and the others talk, she began to feel drowsy.

Lu Yu noticed her eyelids drooping, “Rest here for a while.”

Jiang Nian nodded, folded her arms on the bed, and soon fell asleep. In her half-asleep state, her cheek felt itchy. She murmured and turned her head, giving Lu Yu the back of her head.

Lu Yu: …

The man lowered his gaze, covered Jiang Nian with his coat, and gently slipped his long fingers through hers, holding her hand. Even though his palm was slightly sweaty, he was reluctant to let go.

Chen Yao and Zhou Ji talked to him, but he only half-heartedly responded.

The sleeping girl soon turned over again, almost falling to the floor. Lu Yu held her slender arm firmly, a faint smile appearing on his thin lips.

Her sleeping posture was terrible, but he had known that for a long time.

Chen Yao turned his head, “Lu Yu, what are you laughing at?”

Lu Yu said, “Nothing.”

Zhou Ji remarked, “Your sister-in-law sleeps so soundly. If it were us, we’d wake up at the slightest noise.”

Lu Yu: “Mm.”

For the past six months, he had hardly slept, living in a state of constant tension. Whenever he had a moment of peace, he thought of Jiang Nian the most.