Chapter 1: Just after tearing up the marriage certificate, the "King of Hell" from the military region cornered her and proposed.
The Red Flag Commune in the late 1970s.
The autumn wind carries the last scent of rice from the fields, brushing against my cheeks with a touch of coolness.
Su Wanqing stood under the old locust tree at the entrance of the village.
She held a yellowed marriage certificate in her hand, the edges of the paper frayed from repeated rubbing.
This engagement has come to an end.
Before long, a figure walked over from a distance.
The man who came was wearing a clean white shirt and gray trousers. He was Zhao Jianhe, an educated youth who had been sent to the countryside, and also her fiancé whom she had been engaged to for three years.
His hair was neatly combed, and he wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. His refined demeanor was completely out of place in this yellow earth.
"Wanqing, you've arrived." Zhao Jianhe walked up to her, habitually pushing up his glasses, but dared not meet her gaze.
Su Wanqing didn't say anything, she just looked at him quietly.
Her eyes were unusually clear and cold today, like a deep well, reflecting his predicament.
Feeling uncomfortable under her gaze, Zhao Jianhe cleared his throat and adopted a serious tone: "Wanqing, I think it's better if we talk things out. You've probably heard that I'm dating Li Juan, the daughter of Section Chief Li from the county's logistics department."
He spoke directly, and his tone even carried a hint of barely suppressed smugness at the end.
"So, you've come to annul the engagement."
Su Wanqing spoke in a very calm tone, as if she were talking about something that had nothing to do with her.
The calmer she was, the more Zhao Jianhe's sense of superiority swelled, and even his tone became like that of a handout.
“Wanqing, you have to understand me. I am destined to return to the city; my future lies in a wider world. And you… you are very good, but we are not from the same world. Li Juan’s father can help me complete the procedures for returning to the city, which is crucial to my future.”
“We are indeed from different worlds.” Su Wanqing nodded in agreement.
Zhao Jianhe thought she had come to her senses, and his expression immediately relaxed a lot: "It's good that you think this way. Don't worry, your family has helped me a lot these past few years, and I won't treat you badly. Here's fifty yuan, and these cloth coupons and industrial vouchers. Take them all; consider it a little compensation from me to you and your aunt and uncle."
He pulled a wad of cash and bills from his pocket and pretended to stuff them into Su Wanqing's hand.
Su Wanqing took a step back and avoided it.
She raised her eyes, her gaze falling on his refined yet indifferent face, and said, word by word, "Zhao Jianhe, our Su family agreed to this marriage because we saw that it wasn't easy for you to be alone out there, and we wanted to lend a hand. The food we sent you was so that you would have enough to eat and the strength to study. The clothes we made for you were to keep you warm in the winter. Our family has never wanted anything from you, so now, I don't need any compensation from you."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, striking Zhao Jianhe's heart.
Zhao Jianhe's face instantly fell, and he said angrily, "Su Wanqing, don't be ungrateful! You're just a country girl, uneducated and ignorant, the only thing you're good-looking about is your face. If it weren't for me, do you think you could have gotten a job with an educated youth like me? Now I'm giving you a way out, and you're still acting tough with me? You'll regret this!"
"regret?"
Su Wanqing seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. The corners of her mouth curled up very slightly, but the smile was icy cold.
"My only regret is that I didn't listen to my father and misjudged you, you ungrateful wretch."
After she finished speaking, she couldn't be bothered to look at Zhao Jianhe's ashen face anymore.
In front of him, she held both ends of the marriage certificate with her hands.
"Sizzle—"
A crisp sound.
The marriage certificate, which had served as a formal document for three years, was torn in half, then into four pieces, then eight pieces...
Finally, it turned into scattered pieces of paper, tumbling in the autumn wind and covered in dust.
"Zhao Jianhe, from now on, we're even."
Su Wanqing patted off non-existent scraps of paper from her hands, then turned and left.
Her back was ramrod straight, without the slightest hint of lingering.
Zhao Jianhe was completely stunned.
He had imagined she would cry, throw a tantrum, or even threaten suicide, but he never expected her to be so resolute.
This decisiveness left him speechless, choking back all the words he had prepared, leaving him only with the embarrassment of being completely looked down upon.
"You...you just wait!" He uttered a harsh word to her retreating figure, then turned away in a disheveled manner and hurried away.
In the shadows of a corner not far away, a tall and upright figure stood quietly.
The man wore a faded old military uniform, with broad shoulders and a sturdy build. He had just returned from a mission at the border, and the dust and menacing aura still lingered on him.
His eyes, deep and sharp, took in the entire scene that had just unfolded.
He watched the girl's resolute back as she walked away, her demeanor neither humble nor arrogant amidst the mess and the subtle whispers and pointing fingers of those around her.
A hint of approval flashed in the man's usually calm eyes.
That's interesting.
Lu Zhanting's lips twitched almost imperceptibly as he stepped out of the shadows.
Su Wanqing didn't go straight home. She was holding back her anger and didn't want to bring her bad mood to her parents. She chose a secluded path and went around to the river behind the village, wanting to get some fresh air.
This road passes through a narrow alley, with tall adobe walls on both sides.
As soon as she turned into the alley, everything went dark.
A tall figure blocked her way.
Su Wanqing stopped abruptly and looked up warily.
The man was backlit, his face blurred, but the oppressive feeling emanating from his mountain-like, imposing figure was undeniably real.
He carried a faint smell of gunpowder and dust, mixed with a sharp, masculine aura that wafted towards you.
Su Wanqing subconsciously took a half step back, her hand quietly reaching for the small scissors she used for self-defense in her pocket.
Her mind raced, and she secretly communicated her secret—a bag of lime powder in her personal space.
"Who are you? What do you want?" she asked calmly, her voice full of wariness.
The man took a step forward, stepping out from the boundary between light and shadow, revealing a face with distinct features.
His skin was a bronze color from years of exposure to the wind and sun, and he had sword-like eyebrows that reached his temples and a high nose bridge.
Those deep eyes fell on people with a scrutinizing gaze unique to soldiers, as if they could penetrate the heart.
Su Wanqing's heart clenched suddenly.
She knew this person.
Or rather, everyone in the entire Hongqi Commune, and even several nearby communes, knew him.
Lu Zhanting, battalion commander of the Tiger Battalion of the military region.
A figure living in legend. It's said he went to the battlefield at thirteen, and with a ruthless, fearless spirit, carved his way to glory from piles of corpses. His soldiers were all fierce tigers. He was rough and hot-tempered, a "living devil" in the army, and in the village, he could silence even the most fussy child instantly.
How did he end up here?
They even blocked my way?
Countless thoughts flashed through Su Wanqing's mind.
"Commander Lu...?" she asked tentatively.
“You know me.” Lu Zhanting spoke, his voice low and hoarse, each word carrying an undeniable force.
He used a declarative sentence, not an interrogative sentence.
"Everyone in our village knows you," Su Wanqing said truthfully, but her grip on the scissors tightened even more.
She couldn't understand why this important figure had stopped her when she had never had any dealings with him.
Lu Zhanting's gaze lingered for a moment on her face, which still held a hint of anger but remained beautiful, before he cut straight to the point: "I saw what happened just now."
Su Wanqing's heart sank.
“Zhao Jianhe is not good enough for you,” he said again.
Su Wanqing was completely dumbfounded.
She couldn't keep up with the legendary battalion commander's train of thought at all. He had specifically stopped her just to say this.
Just as she was puzzled, Lu Zhanting dropped an even more shocking bombshell.
He stared into her eyes and spoke, word by word, in a commanding tone:
"Su Wanqing, marry me."
The alley was deathly silent, save for the mournful sound of the wind whistling past the walls.
Su Wanqing doubted that she had heard correctly.
She blinked, looking at the serious-looking, imposing man in front of her, her mind going blank for a moment.
Marriage? With her?
With a woman he only officially met today?
This is even more absurd than Zhao Jianhe climbing the social ladder.
"Commander Lu, are you joking?" she asked, frowning as she composed herself.
“I never joke,” Lu Zhanting said, his expression completely calm, “especially about this kind of thing.”
"Why?" Su Wanqing couldn't understand. "We don't even know each other."
“Now that we know each other.” Lu Zhanting’s logic was simple and straightforward. “My name is Lu Zhanting, I’m 28 years old, the battalion commander of the Fierce Tiger Battalion, with a monthly allowance of 78 yuan, and I have no bad habits. I need a wife, a wife who can manage the family and has a strong character.”
His gaze fell on her again, and he added, "Your performance just now met my requirements."
Su Wanqing was so angry she almost laughed.
So, in his eyes, her tearing apart of that scumbag boyfriend had become a unique "interview"?
Is his choice of wife like choosing a gun that's easy to use at a shooting range?
"I appreciate Battalion Commander Lu's kindness." She suppressed the absurdity in her heart and tried to refuse politely, "But I just broke off my engagement and have no plans to consider personal matters for the time being. Please let me through, I need to go home."
As she spoke, she tried to walk around him.
Lu Zhanting stood like a wall, blocking her way without moving an inch.
His tall figure completely enveloped her, creating a powerful sense of oppression.
"Marry me, and I'll protect you for the rest of my life."
His voice was a few decibels deeper than before, carrying an undeniable force.
“If you break off the engagement, there will be plenty of gossip in the village. A scoundrel like Zhao Jianhe might even retaliate. Your family will also be pointed at and talked about because of you.”
These words were like a precise knife, each one piercing Su Wanqing's deepest fears.
She wasn't afraid of being gossiped about, but she couldn't ignore how her parents would lose face because of it. Today, she finally saw Zhao Jianhe's true character for what it was—a hypocrite who held grudges and was capable of anything.
“Marry me,” Lu Zhanting said, watching her changing expression, “and these problems will no longer be problems.”
"No one dares to talk about military dependents, and no one dares to touch my woman, Lu Zhanting."
He spoke those last words very slowly and with great emphasis.
The wind in the alley seemed to have stopped.
Su Wanqing's heart was in turmoil.
She had to admit that the offer was incredibly tempting.
Marrying Lu Zhanting was like instantly gaining the strongest support, shielding her and her family from all storms.
The price, however, is that she ties her entire life to a completely unfamiliar man who appears strong and dangerous.
Is this really a good deal?
She thought of the secret of her rebirth, and the space where she could farm and store things.
Her original plan was to break off her engagement with Zhao Jianhe and then secretly use the resources in the space to improve her family's life and give her parents a better life.
But if she marries a soldier and lives in a military compound, constantly under the watchful eyes of others, how can she use her personal space?
Can she keep her secret?
Seeing that she remained silent for a long time, Lu Zhanting seemed to be getting a little impatient.
He was used to the strict discipline of the battlefield and disliked this kind of hesitant and indecisive approach.
"I'll give you three days to think it over," he said in a deep voice. "Three days later, I'll be waiting for you at the county's armed forces department. Once you arrive, we'll go and file for marriage."
After he finished speaking, he gave her a deep look, his gaze so complex that Su Wanqing couldn't decipher it.
Then he turned around, strode away, and walked away without looking back.
The steady, powerful footsteps echoed in the alley, gradually fading into the distance.
Su Wanqing stood alone in the alley, the wind blowing through her hair and making her heart feel chaotic.
She looked down at her empty hands, as if she could still feel the resolute determination she had when she tore up the marriage certificate.
But at this moment, Lu Zhanting's words, "Marry me, and I'll protect you for the rest of my life," were like an invisible brand, deeply engraved in her mind, and she couldn't shake them off.
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