Chapter 63.2

This sentence instantly caused a commotion among the people in the dormitory. Lu Xiaoqing and Zhang Xiao kept teasing Jiang Nian, asking who she liked. Jiang Nian pleaded, “When the time comes, I’ll bring him over for you to see.”

Lu Xiaoqing asked a crucial question, “Do we know him?”

Jiang Nian shook her head without hesitation, “You don’t know each other.”

Early the next morning, Jiang Nian deliberately got up early, made some pastries, cooked sweet potato porridge, and fried some dishes, packing them into aluminum lunch boxes. Zhai Peipei and the others were awakened by the enticing aroma. When they came together, they saw Jiang Nian carrying the aluminum lunch box and walking out.

After knowing each other for so long, it was the first time they had seen Jiang Nian take the initiative to get up so early.

Jiang Nian went to the hospital. She first went to see Sun Yuan and, upon reaching the door of the ward, saw her father, Sun Chao, so she walked over to Lu Yu’s ward. The door was closed. Jiang Nian lightly knocked, “Lu Yu, are you awake?”

As soon as she spoke, Lu Yu’s deep voice came from inside, “Come in.”

Jiang Nian pursed her lips nervously, pushed the door open with the lunch box in hand, and Chen Yao and Zhou Ji smiled, “Sister-in-law.”

Jiang Nian smiled and said, “I brought you food.”

The lunch box was relatively heavy, and Jiang Nian’s slender fingers were reddened by the pressure. Lu Yu reached out and took the lunch box, looking at Jiang Nian’s frozen red cheeks, “Why didn’t you wear a scarf?”

Jiang Nian touched her cool cheek, “I forgot.”

It snowed in the city this morning, and snow could be seen on the windows. Lu Yu said, “Sit here.”

As a result, as soon as Jiang Nian sat down, the hand resting on her lap was pulled under the blanket by Lu Yu. The warm large hand wrapped around her cold small hand, and the deep black eyes and eyebrows showed no trace of last night’s chill, “I asked the doctor last night. I’ll be discharged from the hospital in a few days.”

“So soon?” Jiang Nian was somewhat surprised. This was a gunshot wound!

Lu Yu said, “I can recuperate at home. It’s just in time to celebrate the New Year at home.”

He didn’t want Jiang Nian to run back and forth to the hospital, let alone let her travel alone in the city.

“Sister-in-law, did you make this?”

Chen Yao looked at the exquisite pastries in the lunch box, took a bite, and felt its soft texture in his mouth. He had never eaten such exquisite and delicious things before. Zhou Ji also enjoyed a bite, suddenly feeling hungry, and the two of them started slurping up the sweet potato porridge and eating the dishes.

As they ate, they praised Jiang Nian, making Jiang Nian feel genuinely embarrassed.

“You should eat too.”

Jiang Nian tried to pull her hand from Lu Yu’s grip but couldn’t.

Lu Yu looked at her, “Have you eaten yet?”

Jiang Nian knew she couldn’t hide it from Lu Yu, shook her head, and said, “I’ll eat in the dormitory later.”

Only then did Lu Yu let go of Jiang Nian, opened the lunch box, and handed Jiang Nian a piece of pastry, “Have some to fill your stomach.”

Jiang Nian took the pastry, “Okay.”

These days, Jiang Nian delivered meals to Lu Yu and others in the morning and at noon, and stayed in the dormitory at night. She went to see Sun Yuan several times and heard from Sun Yuan that Zhao Lin was detained because Sun Yuan had a miscarriage due to domestic violence.

Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment and didn’t say anything more.

She knew that Sun Yuan was about to reclaim what rightfully belonged to her.

Today is the twenty-sixth day of the lunar new year, and it’s also the day when Lu Yu is discharged from the hospital. Chen Yao and Zhou Ji left early in the morning. Before leaving, the two of them left twenty yuan and some food coupons on the table. During their six-day stay in the hospital, they ate Jiang Nian’s meals every day. They couldn’t just eat for free, and with twenty yuan, they couldn’t even get the taste of this kind of food in the state-run restaurant.

At noon, Zhu Jun and Song Bai came over in the military jeep.

Jiang Nian returned to the dormitory early in the morning and put her and Lu Yu’s clothes into the military green backpack. She and Lu Xiaoqing took it to the embroidery shop and waited for Lu Yu and the others to come. The jeep stopped in front of the embroidery shop. Zhu Jun got out and ran in to help Jiang Nian pick up the backpack. Then he talked to Zhang Xiao for a few words and bought some delicious food for Zhang Xiao.

Zhang Xiao waved to Zhu Jun with a smile, and then reluctantly hugged Jiang Nian before letting her go after a conversation.

Song Bai drove the car, and Zhu Jun sat in the passenger seat, while Lu Yu sat in the back row. Jiang Nian also sat in the back. After getting in the car, she looked at Lu Yu’s hip bone. The man cleared his throat lightly and whispered to Jiang Nian, “Don’t look around.”

Jiang Nian: …

She asked, “How’s your injury?”

Lu Yu said, “It’s fine. Just need to rest when I get back.”

The group went to the state-run restaurant for lunch first, and then drove back. Jiang Nian still couldn’t change her habit of falling asleep as soon as she sat in the car. She leaned against the window, feeling uncomfortable with her forehead bumping against the window. She felt someone pulling her over. Jiang Nian’s head rubbed against Lu Yu’s arm, and she slept more and more sweetly.

Lu Yu was afraid she would be cold, so he draped his winter military uniform over Jiang Nian’s body. Under the military uniform were their intertwined fingers.

Song Bai glanced at the rearview mirror and saw Lu Yu’s tall figure. Jiang Nian slept sweetly against his arm, covered with a military coat, revealing half of her face. With the bumpiness of the wheels, the stray hairs in front of her forehead flickered on her eyelashes, and her eyes trembled slightly from time to time.

He noticed the indulgence in Lu Yu’s eyes when he looked at Jiang Nian, which shouldn’t be the gaze of a brother towards his sister-in-law.

As a man himself, Song Bai keenly perceived the difference in Lu Yu’s attitude towards Jiang Nian.

He remembered the frequent occasions when Lu Yu picked vegetables for Jiang Nian during their meals at Lu Yu’s home.

And on the day Tang Ze got married, rumors spread about him and Jiang Nian. That night, Lu Yu returned to the dormitory and pulled him over to practice. When Jiang Nian came to the hospital that day, Lu Yu tightly held Jiang Nian’s wrist. That wasn’t an action a brother should have towards his sister-in-law.

Song Bai tightened his grip on the steering wheel and looked ahead.

Zhu Jun talked nonsensically beside him, so the atmosphere in the car wasn’t too quiet. Lu Yu rubbed Jiang Nian’s hand back with his fingertips, lifted his gaze to the sharp eyebrows and eyes reflected in the rearview mirror, and said nothing more.

Song Bai drove the car directly into the family quarters, Zhu Jun helped Lu Yu back into the house, and Song Bai helped Jiang Nian carry things into the house. When he left, he asked Jiang Nian, “Sister-in-law, can I come over to eat on the thirtieth day of the lunar new year?”

“And me and Zhang Xiao too.”

Zhu Jun also slipped a word in.

Jiang Nian smiled, “Sure, the more the merrier.”

Song Bai finally smiled, “Thanks, sister-in-law.”

After Song Bai and the others left, Jiang Nian went to Lu Yu’s room. During his recovery period, he lived at home first. Jiang Nian lit the fire in the brazier, heated the room, and Lu Yu lay on the bed, turning his head to look at Jiang Nian. The orange flames flickered, reflecting on his snowy white cheeks.

“Jiang Nian.”

A low voice rang out.

Jiang Nian added firewood again, clapped her hands, and raised her head, “Are you hungry? I’ll go cook.”

Lu Yu looked at her, reached out and covered his wound, “It hurts here.”

The man’s face was calm, but his voice revealed a hint of weakness.

Jiang Nian heard this and hurriedly ran to the bedside. Before standing firmly, her wrist was grabbed and pulled, and she plunged into Lu Yu’s arms without warning. The man’s long arms hugged her waist tightly, and his lips pressed heavily on her lips.

It was filled with plunder and roughness, breaking through the lips.

Jiang Nian was frightened, especially when she heard the footsteps passing by outside the gate and the voice of the military wife talking, and the whole person seemed to be under a fixed spell, biting tightly, and Lu Yu’s hand lightly stroked her neck, helping her relieve tension: “Don’t be afraid.”

“Jiang Nian.”

Xu Yan’s voice was outside the door.

Jiang Nian finally returned to her senses, struggling out of Lu Yu’s arms,

The snowy white face flushed red, seeing Lu Yu’s black eyes reveal a smile, her face even redder, listening to Xu Yan’s footsteps went to her house, Jiang Nian quickly ran out: “I’m here.”

She ran into the kitchen with her head down, using the dim light to conceal the odd expression on her face.

Xu Yan entered the kitchen and sat down by the stove. Seeing Jiang Nian washing vegetables and cooking, she helped to start the fire. “What have you been up to these days?”

Jiang Nian kept her head down. “Lu Yu got injured, so I went to the hospital to take care of him. I just got back a while ago.”

Xu Yan didn’t notice Jiang Nian’s unusual demeanor. She added firewood to the stove and didn’t ask how Lu Yu got injured. In the military, such matters were classified, and they only needed to focus on their own tasks. She then mentioned another matter, “The courtyard of Captain Tang’s house has been returned. It seems Sun Ying no longer lives in the family quarters.”

Jiang Nian hadn’t expected Tang Ze to act so quickly. It only took a few days to return the house. It probably wouldn’t be long before he divorced Sun Ying?

Thinking of the child in Sun Ying’s belly, Jiang Nian couldn’t help but sigh. Most likely, it was Wu Youshan’s.

Xu Yan said, “I wonder what’s going on with Captain Tang and Sun Ying.”

Jiang Nian didn’t mention seeing Tang Ze and Sun Ying in the hospital. She wasn’t trying to protect Sun Ying’s reputation but rather Tang Ze’s dignity. She shook her head, “I’ve been running between the city hospital and embroidery shop these past few days, so I don’t know.”

After sitting for a while, Xu Yan left. In the evening, Jiang Nian stewed chicken soup and made red sugar sponge cakes. After finishing cooking, she brought them to Lu Yu’s house. Now that she didn’t need to embroider, she had plenty of time. Every day, she pondered how to make delicious food for Lu Yu and help him regain the weight he had lost in the past six months.

Jiang Nian noticed that Lu Yu’s gaze towards her had been a bit off these past few days.

The room was lit with a dim yellow light bulb.

Jiang Nian sat opposite Lu Yu, took a bite of red sugar cake, and glanced at Lu Yu again, wanting to ask him what was wrong but unsure where to start. Seeing Jiang Nian hesitating, Lu Yu lifted his gaze to her and asked, “Do you have something to say?”

Jiang Nian took another bite with her chopsticks and whispered, “What’s been going on with you these days?”

Lu Yu knowingly asked, “What do you mean?”

Jiang Nian lowered her head and took a sip of the soup, unable to say more. She just vaguely felt that Lu Yu was not quite right. Although he smiled on his face, his eyes always revealed a hint of complexity. Lu Yu had always been reserved and taciturn. If he didn’t speak up, Jiang Nian couldn’t guess what he was thinking.

Seeing Jiang Nian lowering her head again, quiet as before, Lu Yu’s forehead tightened a bit. “Do you still consider our agreement to get married valid?”

Jiang Nian: ???

She suddenly looked up, unexpectedly meeting Lu Yu’s deep black eyes. Only now did she realize he was still upset about what Lu Xiaoqing had said in the hospital. Quickly nodding, she replied, “It’s valid, it’s valid.”

Seeing a smile in Lu Yu’s eyes, Jiang Nian blushed. She felt like she was nodding like a chicken pecking at rice, feeling somewhat resigned.

“Have some more meat.”

Lu Yu picked a few more pieces of meat into her bowl. Jiang Nian hurriedly covered the bowl with both hands, shaking her head, “I really can’t eat anymore.”