Chapter 31: Why Is the Captain So Full of Energy?

Rong Jingchen rushed out of the family compound and headed straight to the base, but the scene from earlier still lingered vividly in his mind.

Had he been poisoned?

His feelings were complicated. He shook his head, trying to drive those images out of his mind.

But it was completely useless.

“…” Rong Jingchen could feel the restlessness in his body. At his age, full of youthful vigor, such reactions… were honestly quite normal.

Yet even though he had left home and couldn’t see her, he still couldn’t calm down.

He took a deep breath and began running laps around the training field.

“Eh? Is that our Captain Rong? Why is he still out running at breakfast time?” Yin Daquan asked in confusion.

He and Lin Zihua were heading to the mess hall for breakfast and were surprised to see Rong Jingchen still jogging.

Although their Captain had always had a habit of morning runs, he usually finished in time to eat breakfast and then prepare for the day’s training.

But this… running at this hour? That was unheard of. Naturally, they were curious.

Lin Zihua looked over and saw sweat on Rong Jingchen’s forehead. He had clearly been running for quite a while already.

“Captain!” they saluted immediately when Rong Jingchen jogged past.

“Captain, aren’t you having breakfast?” Yin Daquan, who was always a bit blunt, asked directly without thinking much.

Lin Zihua elbowed him in the side.

“Are you stupid? The Captain has a wife now. Since she’s come over, of course he’s eating at home. Why would he still come eat with us bachelors in the canteen?” Lin Zihua said as if it was only logical.

“Oh…”

Yin Daquan thought about it and agreed.

The Captain is a married man now—of course he’d have eaten at home before coming to the base!

At the mention of Ye Muqi, the image Rong Jingchen had finally pushed away flashed back into his mind. He fell silent and said nothing.

Seeing that his expression wasn’t great, Lin Zihua quickly tugged Yin Daquan away.

“What’s up with the Captain? He doesn’t look like he’s in a good mood…” Once they were farther away, Yin Daquan whispered to Lin Zihua.

Although Rong Jingchen usually had a cold, stern expression, just now both of them had clearly felt his suppressed irritation—like he was about to hit someone!

After they left, Rong Jingchen started running laps again, this time even faster than before.

“It is a bit weird.” Lin Zihua shook his head and turned back to look at Rong Jingchen, still puzzled by his strange behavior today.

Rong Jingchen didn’t go for breakfast. After finishing his run, he went straight to training, and even added an extra set on top of the scheduled drills.

“Hey, what’s gotten into you today? Your wife’s here, and you’re still this full of energy?” Chen Hong remarked, clicking his tongue at the unusually driven Rong Jingchen.

Shouldn’t it be the opposite now that his wife’s here…?

Why did he seem even more pent-up than usual?

“Shut up,” Rong Jingchen said coldly. “Focus on your training!”

Chen Hong: “…”

What’s with the attitude?

Why so fierce, Captain?!

—

Meanwhile, Ye Muqi had gotten up, washed, and walked around the house. Sure enough, Rong Jingchen was nowhere to be seen—he had really left.

And she hadn’t even taken that long to make breakfast! Why had he rushed off like that?

“Hmph, too bad you missed out,” Ye Muqi muttered with a sigh.

She had thought that after he woke her up, she’d make breakfast and the two of them could eat together before he left.

It was still early in the morning. Even though this was the military, Rong Jingchen was the Captain—surely he didn’t need to leave that early… right?

She glanced at the table and saw that Rong Jingchen had left her some money—not much, about ten or so yuan in mixed denominations.

“Did he just give me all his money?” she wondered aloud, eyebrows raised as she counted it.

If it were just for spending, it’d probably be whole bills. But here, there were coins and small notes too. It wasn’t as much as he used to give her monthly, but for some reason, she felt like this was everything he had on him.

Ye Muqi couldn’t help but smile as she tucked the money away.

Rong Jingchen really was a good man—handsome, responsible… she had to admit, he was husband material.

The original host had good taste. No wonder she’d gone to such lengths to trap him into marriage.

Yep. First you question the original host, then you understand her.

After putting the money away, Ye Muqi went into the kitchen. She had told Granma Cai Dongmei yesterday that she’d bring the ingredients herself—not just taking them from her magical space, but prepping them, too.

It wouldn’t be convenient to do it all at the store. So Ye Muqi took out several seasonings that didn’t exist yet in this era, along with some vegetables. She washed, chopped, and cooked them, busy in the kitchen for quite a while.

She made three large pots of side dishes, packed them neatly into big bowls, and got ready to head out.

Even though everything was wrapped up, the aroma still wafted through the air.

“Rong Jingchen, you don’t even know what you missed by leaving so early,” Ye Muqi said, hands on her hips as she admired her handiwork.

The smell was so good, even she was impressed.

She had planned all this yesterday—three types of side dishes, perfect with noodles or rice. She had even wanted Rong Jingchen to be the first one to try them, but he’d left before dawn.

She didn’t eat any either. Carrying the food, she left the house, planning to eat with Granny Cai once they got to the shop—she was worried the old lady might skip breakfast and get low blood sugar again.

“So fragrant…”

As she walked through the hallway, the smell followed her, making heads turn.

“Wow, what smells so good? Who’s got breakfast ready this early?” a few military wives returning from the market stopped in their tracks, sniffing the air.

They could even smell meat!

Meat in the morning? How luxurious!

Ye Muqi didn’t pay much attention to them, just nodded politely and hurried past. It was getting late, and it would take time to get into town, so she was in a rush.

“I think the smell’s coming from her bag,” one of the wives pointed in Ye Muqi’s direction.

When she walked by, the aroma had hit them the strongest—it had nearly made them drool!

“She looks like a new face. Not sure whose wife she is… but smelling that, I’m starving now.”

Ye Muqi had no idea they were talking about her. She quickly exited the family compound and headed in the same direction she’d gone yesterday, moving swiftly and confidently.

The compound was far from town, and public transport was inconvenient. Even Ye Muqi wasn’t sure if she’d be able to catch a ride this early in the morning.