The entire movement was completed in one smooth motion.

Song Qinghe is pleasing to the eye even from the outside; it has to be said that a man who can cook is indeed very charming.

Especially when Lu Zhaolin does these things, he looks incredibly handsome; his green military uniform makes him look even more dashing.

Lu Zhaolin noticed Song Qinghe's gaze and turned the shovel even more forcefully.

Fortunately, during my first two years in the army, I trained in the canteen for a period of time when I was working at the grassroots level.

I learned excellent cooking skills from the head chef in the cafeteria; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have had the chance to showcase my abilities now.

I might even make a fool of myself in front of her!

Indeed, learning an extra skill or technique is far better than being a clueless pretty boy.

Lu Zhaolin was secretly pleased. After stir-frying the spicy chicken, he didn't forget to take out some flour from home, put in a few potstickers, and stir-fry them together with the spicy chicken.

This way, the flavors will be absorbed better, and there's no need to prepare a separate main dish.

As the host, Song Qinghe couldn't just barge into the bedroom without him saying anything.

If they stumble upon something they shouldn't see, or if Lu Zhaolin is in any inconvenience, then it will be troublesome.

After all, they are soldiers; they must have some secrets.

Fortunately, Lu Zhaolin was quite fast; he not only cooked a spicy chicken dish but also a stir-fried vegetable dish.

The greens were grown in the neighbor's garden. When Lu Zhaolin came back, some were given to him.

Lu Zhaolin hadn't had a chance to eat yet, so now was the perfect time to show off. It was a good combination of meat and vegetables, a balanced diet.

Considering that the spicy chicken is spicy, the vegetables were only stir-fried briefly.

Lu Zhaolin quickly scooped out the spicy chicken and vegetables and put them in a bowl. There was a bit too much spicy chicken, and some was still left in the pot, so he simply covered the pot with the lid to keep it warm, as they would be used later.

"Alright, let's eat!"

"Comrade Lu, is there anything I can do for you?"

Song Qinghe felt really embarrassed to freeload and do nothing, even though it felt nice to be taken care of.

But actually, the two of them have absolutely no relationship.

Song Qinghe did not believe that Lu Zhaolin had an obligation to take care of her. She always believed that there needed to be a certain exchange of interests between people.

Is he taking such good care of himself because he has ulterior motives?

This is important.

Song Qinghe had thought it through. As a newly arrived educated youth, she certainly didn't have anything that Lu Zhaolin would want to take advantage of.

That would make things even more complicated.

Song Qinghe felt that she still needed to settle the score with him. She couldn't feel at ease owing someone something without knowing the details.

It's better if the price is clearly marked; otherwise, she's afraid she won't be able to pay it back in the future.

Seeing her cautious demeanor, Lu Zhaolin paused for a moment and said, "It's alright. You were sent here by the village chief, so you're considered my guest. It's only right to take care of a guest."

"Don't feel pressured. It's normal for you to be unaccustomed to things since you've just arrived in the countryside."

"It'll only be a few days. After I return to my unit, I'm afraid I won't be able to take care of things anymore. I might have to trouble you to look after the house for me then!"

"real?"

"Of course it's true. My family doesn't live here. I just come here to stay occasionally. To be honest, I'm even worried about cleaning."

"At that time, I'm afraid you'll have to trouble you with all of this."

Lu Zhaolin spoke very frankly, afraid that if he said something wrong, Song Qinghe would hold him accountable again.

He didn't want to figure it out.

In this situation, it's definitely better for the two of them to be as close as possible.

Song Qinghe was skeptical, but she didn't sense any malice from him.

How about we leave it at that for now?

Anyway, if I don't live here, I have nowhere to go. I can't exactly sleep on the floor in the village committee compound.

That definitely won't work.

Putting aside the safety issue, she could always hide in the space if necessary, but the problem is that it's scary.

It's not that I'm afraid of scaring myself, but that I'm afraid of scaring others.

Furthermore, if they don't stay with Lu Zhaolin, they'll have to look for other families, which might not be better than staying with him.

In any case, Lu Zhaolin won't be home in a few days.

Song Qinghe is relatively free, which is quite good.

Lu Zhaolin looked at her cautiously, pondered deeply, racked his brains, and then said—