Seeing Zhou Jinshan's cold face, Zhai Qingping snapped out of his daze and forced a smile to greet him: "Old Zhou, have you eaten yet?"

Seeing the stiff smile on his roommate's face, Zhou Jinshan suddenly changed his mind about beating him up. A pleasant smile appeared on his lips: "Not yet. Comrade Feng and I just got our marriage certificate and rushed back to buy wedding candy to give to everyone. You're the first one."

As he spoke, he casually grabbed a handful of candy from the net bag on the handlebars and handed it to Zhai Qingping.

Zhai Qingping's hand froze, and his gaze turned to Feng Mingshu who was walking over.

Feng Mingshu met his gaze, somewhat puzzled.

The two had met at the dance. Zhai Qingping seemed to be pursuing her, but when he learned about her background, he apologized and left gracefully. So when they met again, Feng Mingshu didn't feel awkward, since the two had no connection.

No, they are related. He is Zhou Jinshan's roommate, and the two seem to have a good relationship.

As Zhou Jinshan's wife, she felt obligated to maintain these relationships, so Feng Mingshu asked him with a smile, "Comrade Zhai doesn't like hard candy, does he? Old Zhou, why don't you pick out some candy he likes?"

Zhou Jinshan glanced back at his wife, his eyes brimming with laughter. He took the candy from Zhai Qingping's hand and said apologetically, "Old Zhai, my wife is right. It was my oversight. You probably like White Rabbit candies, right? My nephew likes them too. I'll pick out a few for you."

As he spoke, he tossed the candy back into the net bag and picked out White Rabbit candies from it.

Just then, half of a large White Rabbit candy squeezed out of the mesh bag. The chubby rabbit on the white wrapper was lifelike, with its red eyes wide open, staring directly at Zhai Qingping, as if mocking him.

Even Zhai Qingping, with all his composure, couldn't hold back any longer. He grabbed Zhou Jinshan's hand and gritted his teeth, saying, "Old Zhou, don't go too far. I'm not your nephew, I don't like White Rabbit candy..."

His gaze fell on the chocolates at the bottom of the net bag, and Zhai Qingping paused, a subtle emotion welling up inside him. He glanced at Feng Mingshu beside him, then smiled at Zhou Jinshan and said, "I like chocolate, bittersweet. Give me a few pieces."

Zhou Jinshan narrowed his eyes, pushed Zhai Qingping's hand away, casually grabbed two hard candies and stuffed them into the latter's hand, then tightened the drawstring of the net bag: "The chocolates are for my wife, you don't get any. Just keep these two candies, it's good luck for you. You can eat them or not, it's up to you."

Zhai Qingping: "..."

"Old Zhou, you're back! Hand out wedding candy! Hurry up and give me some, I love candy!"

Just then, Lu Xiangqian came running over. His loud voice attracted the other students who had finished eating, who swarmed around the couple and asked for wedding candy. Zhai Qingping was immediately pushed to the outside.

Lu Xiangqian, however, firmly occupied the center position, stretching out his arm to block the people coming later: "I'm telling you guys, keep it to yourselves, don't scare away Lao Zhou's new wife, or Lao Zhou will fight you to the death. Do you think you can beat him in a fight, or can you win the competition?"

The students burst into laughter, admitting that Lao Zhou was better than them in everything except academics, but their enthusiasm for getting wedding candy didn't diminish. One of them shouted, "It's just asking your sister-in-law to give out some wedding candy, why is Lao Zhou so nervous? We're not going to steal the bride."

"Yes, we won't try to steal the bride; we can't outdo Old Zhou anyway."

Zhai Qingping on the outer circle: "..."

Feng Mingshu, who was at the center of the conversation, was already blushing. She picked up a net bag to hand out candy, but Zhou Jinshan intercepted her halfway.

“Go to the dormitory for a while, I’ll give it to them,” Zhou Jinshan said gently, bowing his head. This intimate gesture between the two caused the military academy students to cheer again.

Feng Mingshu admitted that she wasn't thick-skinned enough, so she went into the dormitory and shut out the teasing and joking noises.

She patted her face again to calm herself down before starting to look around the dormitory.

This is a simple dormitory room with a cement floor. There are three beds, a wardrobe, a table, and a few stools, showing signs of three people living there.

But right now, only the bed by the window has a pillow and a quilt. The military green quilt is folded into a neat square, exuding a sense of military discipline that makes people subconsciously hold their hands and feet still so as not to mess something up.

The noise outside gradually subsided, and there was a knock on the door. Feng Mingshu's heart tightened slightly. He tugged at his sleeve and said to the door, "Come in."

The door opened, and Zhou Jinshan gripped the doorknob. Lu Xiangqian peeked out from behind him and greeted him warmly, "Hello, sister-in-law."

"Hello, Comrade Lu." Feng Mingshu responded with a smile, and then invited, "Come in, this is your dormitory."

Lu Xiangqian glanced at Zhou Jinshan, who was blocking the doorway, and quickly waved his hand: "Sister-in-law, you've misunderstood. Lao Zhai and I moved out this morning. We moved next door. If you need anything, just let me know next door."

"Are you free right now?" Zhou Jinshan asked him, turning his head slightly, his eyes indifferent.

Lu Xiangqian immediately understood his look, inwardly cursing him as a dog, but outwardly smiling, he said, "I'm not free, I need to go take a nap, see you later, sister-in-law."

After saying that, he dashed away.

Zhou Jinshan then entered the dormitory and closed the door behind him.

The light in the room dimmed, and the enclosed space inexplicably made her feel nervous. As the man approached her, Feng Mingshu asked first, "Have you given out all the wedding candies?"

Zhou Jinshan paused slightly, then looked down at her and said, "We've almost finished distributing them all. There's only one left for Political Commissar Lin. Let's go to his office at 2 PM this afternoon."

Feng Mingshu immediately checked her watch; it showed 12:30, with an hour and a half to go. She suddenly felt like she couldn't wait any longer.

Looking at her expression, Zhou Jinshan asked, "Are you hungry? Do you want to come to the cafeteria with me, or should I get some food and bring it back?"

Upon hearing his question, Feng Mingshu did indeed feel a bit hungry and immediately replied, "Let's eat at the cafeteria, and then we can take a walk around the campus, if it's convenient."

Zhou Jinshan could tell that his wife didn't want to stay in the same room with him, but he didn't insist. He smiled and nodded, "There's nothing inconvenient about it. Let's go."

He opened the door and went out first.

Feng Mingshu breathed a sigh of relief and followed in his footsteps.

Once the two left the dormitory area, the once quiet area suddenly became lively, with students peeking out one by one.

"You're leaving already? Old Zhou, that won't do."

"What nonsense are you talking about? It's the middle of the day, even if Old Zhou is in a hurry, he won't do anything reckless."

"Hey, you greenhorn, you don't understand, do you?"

"You understand, then tell me about it."

"I can't explain it to you. You'll understand once you get married."

"cut!"

Feng Mingshu was unaware of the whispers behind her; if she had known, she would never have returned to the dormitory.

Zhou Jinshan had a good relationship with the people in the cafeteria and had given them advance notice. By the time they arrived, the three dishes and soup were already cooked.

Braised pork belly, pan-fried pork tenderloin, stir-fried eggplant, potatoes, and green peppers, and seaweed and egg drop soup—the steaming hot dishes and enticing aromas immediately whetted Feng Mingshu's appetite, yet she couldn't help but say, "This is too much."

"It's not much, I'll finish what you leave behind." Zhou Jinshan said as he put food into her rice bowl, which quickly became overflowing.