Chapter 21

Zhu Jun's voice came from outside.

"Sister-in-law, there is a letter from you. I brought it to you."

It was dark now. Jiang Nian saw Zhu Jun running with sweat all over his head, holding an old-fashioned envelope in his hand.

Could it be from Lu Yu?

Jiang Nian walked over to take the letter. There was no return address on the envelope, only the recipient address. Lu Yu was the only one who knew she was here.

Could it be that something had changed on his side and he couldn't come back for the time being, so he wrote a letter to tell her?

Zhu Jun asked, "Sister-in-law, do you need me to read for you?"

Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment before she responded. Zhu Jun thought she was illiterate. She shook her head gently and said, "No, Dacheng taught me some words when he was alive, and I can read them with difficulty."

Zhu Jun said, "That's fine."

After saying that, he sniffed with his nose shrugged, with some greed in his eyes: "Sister-in-law, what did you cook? It smells so good."

Jiang Nian put the letter in her pocket and smiled: "I made pumpkin cakes. You sit and wait for a while. I'll pack a few for you when they are steamed."

Zhu Jun rubbed his head a little embarrassedly and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law."

"Oh, this smells so good!"

A sudden voice suddenly came from the courtyard wall, and Jiang Nian, who had just walked into the stove room, was startled. Zhu Jun was heard shouting in the yard: "Sister Feng, what are you doing lying on the wall?"

Feng Mei said: "I came here because of the smell."

Zhu Jun: ...

Jiang Nian: ...

She wanted to laugh, and said to Feng Mei who was lying on the wall with her head exposed: "Sister Feng, I steamed pumpkin cakes, you can take a few to taste later."

Feng Mei smiled and said: "Okay, I'll come right away."

After the pumpkin cakes were steamed, Jiang Nian packed four for Zhu Jun and four for Aunt Feng. She didn't have much left, so she could steam more if she wanted to eat more.

Feng Mei quickly took them back for the children and Old Master Song to taste.

When Jiang Nian saw Zhu Jun out and closed the gate, she saw a sneaky shadow walking along the wall. She held on to the rough edge of the door and stared at the shadow that was about to disappear in the dark night.

Zhu Jun was walking in the opposite direction, so he had never run into that shadow.

To be honest, Jiang Nian was still a little scared.

Although this was a military unit and there would be no criminals, she really didn't know who that person was. If she chased after him, if something happened, she would be the one to suffer in the end. At

this moment, Jiang Nian hoped that Lu Yu would come back soon.

At least there was a man at home, and she felt safe both physically and mentally.

Jiang Nian closed the gate, ate some pumpkin cake and went back to the house. She took out the letter from her pocket and opened it. She thought it was from Lu Yu, but it turned out to be from the Jiang family.

What a pity that this family still remembered the original owner!

At first, she was curious about how Jiang's mother knew Lu Yu's address. Then she thought about the time when Lu Yu sent money back, the original owner took the letter home together. The money and the letter were snatched away by Jiang's mother. Jiang's mother should have sent it according to the address where the male protagonist sent money back before.

The letter should have been written by Jiang's mother. The handwriting was not very good and a little stiff.

She read the letter patiently, her face suddenly darkened, and she sneered in her heart.

The beginning of the letter was very nice. Jiang's mother and Jiang Guo went to Xu's house to look for her, only to find that the house was empty. After asking Aunt Zhao, they learned that she was robbed and almost beaten to death at home. If it wasn't for Lu Lao Er coming back, she would have died. She expressed her worry as a mother. When she saw this, Jiang Nian laughed angrily.

She was not the real Jiang Nian, but she felt sorry for the original owner.

It was written in the book. Jiang's mother knew about the original owner's accident on the day she was in trouble. She didn't dare to come because she was afraid of collecting the body of the original owner, because burying a person also costs a lot of money. Jiang's mother was also afraid of running into Lu Yu, afraid that Lu Yu would find out that they had robbed money from the original owner all these years and then settle accounts with them.

At the end of the letter, it was written that Jiang's mother said that if a widow lived with another man, people would gossip about her, so she asked her to go back to her parents' home. She found another marriage for Jiang Nian at her home. Although the man was a little older and had a son and two daughters, his family had some background and was a relative of the captain. He could give a betrothal gift of 400 yuan. Moreover, she would not have to have children after marrying him, and she would be a mother directly.

Jiang Nian's fingers holding the letter were tightly clenched, with a cold anger on her face.

Not only was she feeling sorry for the original owner, but also for herself.

Who told her to be Jiang Nian now?

Jiang Nian put the letter away, and she made up her mind. When she had the chance to go back, she would find the Jiang family and settle all the old accounts!

Jiang Nian did not sleep well at night, and was half asleep and half awake the whole time.

In the yard of Xu Yan's house next door.

Liu Qiang came out of his son's room, walked into the second room on the east side in the dark, took off his shoes and lay on the bed, propped up his upper body with his arms and watched Xu Yan sleeping. Xu Yan was sleeping facing the wall, her hair was spread out, some of it fell on her face. She had been applying lotion every day for more than a month, and her skin was better than before.

Wearing a small vest and shorts, a part of her waist sank into Liu Qiang's eyes, and Liu Qiang's eyes were a little hot. He lay behind Xu Yan, stretched out his hand from under her arm to hug her, and rubbed her neck affectionately.

Since Zheng Hong's review last time, Xu Yan not only treated him coldly when she came back, but also refused to let him enter the house.

He hasn't touched her for two months.

Seeing Xu Yan dressing up more and more beautifully day by day, Liu Qiang began to become alert. He pinched Xu Yan's belly and whispered in her ear, "Who are you dressing up so beautifully for every day?"

The sudden voice and touch scared Xu Yan from her sleep. She turned over and sat up, staring at Liu Qiang who sat up. She picked up the pillow and threw it at him angrily, "You bastard, why are you running into my room so late at night? If you don't sleep, I will sleep too!"

"Don't wake up the child."

Liu Qiang clamped Xu Yan's hand, pressed her on the bed, and kissed her on the face affectionately, "I just missed you."

His hands were not honest and wanted to squeeze into her vest.

Xu Yan pushed him away with all her strength. Although there was no light in the room, the light coming in from the moon was enough for Xu Yan to see the lust in Liu Qiang's eyes. His Adam's apple rolled, and he reached out to grab Xu Yan's wrist, trying to pull her over.

Xu Yan kicked him mercilessly and glared at Liu Qiang: "Don't touch me!"

Liu Qiang was immediately furious: "You are my wife, why can't I touch you?!"

He said, ignoring Xu Yan's struggle, and wanted to force her: "I must touch you tonight, what can you do?!"

"Liu Qiang, you bastard!" Jiang Nian was awakened by the sound of the horn

.

She rubbed her eyes, put on her shoes, went out to wash, and then went to the stove to light the fire and cook. She was the only one at home, so she simply made pumpkin porridge and fried spicy and sour potato shreds.

Calculating the time, it has been two months, and Lu Yu should be back soon.

She had just finished washing the pots and bowls after dinner when there was a knock on the door.

"Jiang Nian, are you home?"

It was Xu Yan's voice.

"I'm here——"

Jiang Nian took off her apron, ran over to open the courtyard door, and was startled when she saw Xu Yan: "What's wrong with you?"

No wonder she was surprised.

Xu Yan had her hair loose and her face was haggard, looking like she hadn't slept all night.

She walked into the yard listlessly and sat on a bench. She told Jiang Nian what happened last night. Finally, she bit her lower lip, looked at Jiang Nian, and whispered, "He held me all night and said a lot of nice things to me. He also said that he would not talk to Zheng Hong anymore and asked me not to be cold to him anymore."

Jiang Nian looked at the listless Xu Yan, without saying anything to comfort her. She only asked, "What do you think?"

If she softened her mind because of Liu Qiang's few nice words, she felt that there was no need to give advice to Xu Yan in the future. Some things just need to be hardened and done step by step. There is no such thing as doing it all at once.

If Xu Yan does not easily forgive Liu Qiang now, it is possible that Liu Qiang will return to his old ways in a few days.

Xu Yan raised her head, her eyes were bloodshot and her eyelids were dark. She pursed her lips and sneered: "Actually, I was a little soft-hearted at first, but I asked him to ask Zheng Hong to return the fifty yuan, and he was unwilling to do so. He just said that it was not the time yet and he would ask for it when the time came."

She wiped the tears from her face, lowered her head, pinched her nails and said, "It was obvious that he didn't plan to take it back."

Jiang Nian found that Xu Yan's state was the same as when she first met her. She was numb and lifeless.

She stood a little under the shade of the tree, watching Xu Yan pinch her fingers and make many nail marks, as if she didn't feel any pain, so she walked up to her and squatted beside her, holding her hand to stop her from continuing her self-abuse, and repeated the question just now: "What do you think?"

Xu Yan raised her head, and tears rolled down her eyelashes.

She pursed her lips and cried: "Jiang Nian, I listen to you, I listen to you, you tell me what to do, I don't know what to do now, I just want Liu Qiang to take the money back, why doesn't he ask for it, that's our family's money, why is it Zheng Honghua's right, why should I suffer this grievance..."

Xu Yan cried and said a lot.

Jiang Nian wiped the tears from her face and held her hand tightly again: "Since you agreed to listen to me, then remember my words. Don't be soft-hearted towards him and do as I say."

"Xu Yan, you have to take the initiative in your own hands. You have to let Liu Qiang's emotions be led by you, instead of you being led by him."

Xu Yan was stunned, raised her head to look at Jiang Nian, and finally nodded heavily: "Okay."

She sniffed and asked: "Then what should I do next? Keep giving him the cold shoulder?"

Jiang Nian smiled and whispered: "You can try another method. Next, you have to use sugar-coated bullets to coax Liu Qiang and let him give all his money to you."

She came up to Xu Yan and whispered a few words in her ear. The more Xu Yan listened, the faster her wrinkled brows relaxed. In the end, she smiled, and looked at Jiang Nian with eyes full of gratitude and admiration: "I can do it." Jiang

Nian smiled, but he was thinking about other things in his heart.

Xu Yan couldn't divorce Liu Qiang yet. She had no money and her family was unreliable. Once she divorced Liu Qiang, she would repeat the plot in the book and marry an old bachelor in the village. So the most important thing now was to let her take charge of the family finances.

Seeing that Xu Yan's mood was gradually improving, Jiang Nian got up and went to the vegetable garden to pick a pumpkin. Anyway, it was fine. She could mix the pumpkin with flour, pinch some Chinese zodiac animals and steam them to kill time.

Jiang Nian rummaged around the kitchen, and Xu Yan came in calmly. Seeing her looking around, she asked curiously, "What are you looking for?"

Jiang Nian said, "I'm out of sugar. I have to go to the supply and marketing cooperative."

Xu Yan said, "I'll go with you."

Jiang Nian turned around and looked at Xu Yan standing at the door of the kitchen. Xu Yan smiled and raised her hand to wipe her eyes vigorously, "You're right. I have to take the initiative. I can't let Liu Qiang lead me by the nose."

And after the changes in the past two months, she also found that Liu Qiang was not the same to her before. When talking to her, he would sometimes be tentative and cautious.

Jiang

Nian took the money and sugar tickets from the iron box and went to the supply and marketing cooperative with Xu Yan.

The two of them were walking on the road, and the passing military wives and elderly mothers-in-law looked at Jiang Nian with some jokes and ridicule.

When they walked out of the family compound, they met several military wives coming towards them. They were originally chatting and laughing. One of the military wives saw Jiang Nian across from her, nudged her arm with her elbow, and whispered in her ear.

The looks and actions of several people really made Jiang Nian think too much.

She frowned in confusion, turned around and looked at the military wives who passed by, and only heard a few sporadic words.

Widow, restless, shameful.

Jiang Nian:...

What's wrong with her?

Who did she embarrass? !

Seeing that Jiang Nian looked unhappy, Xu Yan turned her head and glared at the military wives who were whispering. When they saw Xu Yan's fierce eyes, they immediately turned their heads away and stopped looking at Jiang Nian. Xu Yan

said, "Let's ask Sister Feng when we come back from the supply and marketing cooperative. She should know what's going on."

Jiang Nian nodded, "Yeah."

So many people passing by on the road looked at her fiercely. No matter how good Jiang Nian's mentality was, she couldn't help but feel suspicious in her heart.

The sun in September was not that scorching. Jiang Nian walked under the shade of the trees. The wind blew on her body with a slight coolness. She rubbed her arms and planned to bring cloth coupons and cotton coupons next time she went to the supply and marketing cooperative to make some autumn and winter clothes for herself and Lu Yu. As soon as

she and Xu Yan walked to the door of the supply and marketing cooperative, they met Liu Qiang, who was supposed to be in the team for training.

In addition to Liu Qiang, there was also Zheng Hong. The two stood face to face, and no one knew what they were talking about.

Jiang Nian:...

This dog man, is he really fed up with this piece of shit? !

Xu Yan froze outside the door, looking at Liu Qiang and Zheng Hong talking in the supply and marketing cooperative, her eyes gradually became cold, and the corners of her mouth were tightly pursed together.

Zheng Hong stood facing the door of the supply and marketing cooperative and saw Jiang Nian and Xu Yan standing outside the door.

She didn't expect to meet Captain Liu here, and she didn't expect to meet Jiang Nian and Xu Yan. She came to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy chocolate for Zhijun. She happened to meet Captain Liu and wanted to get close to him and talk. As a result, she saw two people standing outside the supply and marketing cooperative before she opened her mouth.

Jiang Nian frowned slightly. She didn't know why, but she always felt that there was a bit of gloom in Zheng Hong's eyes.

Zheng Hong's eyes moved from Jiang Nian to Xu Yan's face. When she saw Xu Yan's cold face, she glanced at her provocatively, then threw herself on Liu Qiang, saying something "uncomfortable": "Captain Liu, my head hurts..."

"Captain Liu!"

Zheng Hong's words were interrupted by Jiang Nian's voice before she finished.

Liu Qiang heard Jiang Nian's voice and turned around subconsciously. Zheng Hong, who was about to throw herself on Liu Qiang, missed her target and stumbled several steps and almost fell to the ground. She raised her head and glared at Jiang Nian hatefully, her eyes almost spitting fire.

If it weren't for the widow's nonsense at the market that time, how could Zhijun talk nonsense?

It was all because of her that Guosheng misunderstood that she had feelings for Deputy Head Song and wanted to divorce him. Guosheng had been very cold to her these past few days, and she was afraid that Guosheng would ask her to go back to her parents' home.

"Yanyan, why are you here?"

Liu Qiang subconsciously glanced at Zheng Hong behind him, and then walked up to Xu Yan, fearing that Xu Yan was making trouble in the supply and marketing cooperative, and wanted to take her home. Xu Yan shook off his hand, and then raised her hand and slapped him without hesitation. This slap was all the resentment Xu Yan had for the past two years.

Liu Qiang tilted his head because of the slap, and when he came to his senses, he saw that Xu Yan had left.

His face was ashen, and just as he was about to chase after her, he was stopped by Jiang Nian.

"Captain Liu."

Liu Qiang frowned and looked at Jiang Nian, with an embarrassed look on his face after being slapped by Xu Yan: "Deputy Regiment Lu's sister-in-law, I won't tell you for now, I'm going to chase Xu Yan."

Jiang Nian said: "But I have something to say to you."

She glanced at Zheng Hong, who had a bad face in the supply and marketing cooperative, and then looked at the embarrassed Liu Qiang, trying her best to control her temper. She couldn't let these two people make her stand out. The sudden change of temper aroused suspicion, so he said in a muffled voice: "Captain Liu, think about it in your heart. Is it appropriate to treat your wife like this for a woman with evil intentions?"

Liu Qiang frowned: "You..."

Jiang Nian interrupted him: "Captain Liu, think about it yourself. I still need to buy sugar, so I won't say more to you."

After saying that, he didn't even look at Liu Qiang's expression, and walked into the supply and marketing cooperative with his head down.

Liu Qiang felt that he was more wronged than anyone else. He just came to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some peach cakes for Xu Yan and the children, how could he encounter such a mess!

Zheng Hong looked at Liu Qiang who was leaving, gritted her teeth and glared at Jiang Nian: "Who are you calling a bad-hearted woman?!"

Jiang Nian didn't even look at her: "I'm calling you."

Zheng Hong: ...

How can this widow be so pretentious? She acts

one way in front of people and another way behind their backs!

Jiang Nian gave money and sugar coupons, bought two kilograms of sugar, turned around and left the supply and marketing cooperative. Zheng Hong also ran out and cursed at Jiang Nian's back: "You are a widow of a bereaved family. You took advantage of Deputy Tuan Lu's absence to seduce Zhu Jun to fetch water and water the vegetables for you every day. You are not a woman who is content with your lot. What right do you have to say that to me?!"

She looked at Jiang Nian turning around and walking towards her, and immediately frowned in alertness: "What do you want to do?"

Jiang Nian pursed his lips, slapped her without saying a word, turned around and ran away.

She knew that she was small in size, and if she really had a conflict with Zheng Hong, she would be completely at a disadvantage.

Zheng Hong was stunned and stood there. When she reacted, Jiang Nian had already run away! Jiang Nian ran all the way back to the family compound

.

As soon as she arrived at the door, she ran into Feng Mei. Feng Mei was holding a bunch of leeks in her hand. Seeing her running out of breath, she hurriedly asked: "Why do you look like you were bitten by a dog?"

Jiang Nian pursed her lips and held back her laughter.

"Jiang Nian!"

Zheng Hong's voice just happened to come from behind. Feng Mei turned around and saw Zheng Hong running towards her angrily, as if she wanted to fight with Jiang Nian. Feng

Mei immediately glared at Zheng Hong angrily: "What are you trying to do by making such a fuss?!"

Zheng Hong wanted to say something angrily, but she ran too fast and couldn't catch her breath. She just took two breaths, but Jiang Nian spoke first.

"Sister Feng, Zheng Hong, she, she..."

Jiang Nian's eyes were slightly red, with tears in her eyes, she raised her hand tremblingly and pointed at Zheng Hong, Feng Mei was anxious and shouted: "What did she do to you?"

"She..."

Jiang Nian closed her eyes and fainted before she finished speaking. She fell to the ground, and the sugar in her hand also fell to the ground. She was motionless, which scared Feng Mei so much that she screamed for the first time

. She threw away the leeks and ran to Jiang Nian to push her. Seeing that she didn't respond, she reached out and felt her breath. Fortunately, she was still breathing.

Zheng Hong was also scared. She wanted to ask Jiang Nian in front of Feng Mei why he hit her, and wanted to expose the hypocritical face of this widow in front of everyone, but who knew that she actually fainted.

"It's none of my business, it has nothing to do with me."

Zheng Hong said, and then she turned around and ran home under the pointing and gesturing of several military wives.

"What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and carry Deputy Colonel Lu's wife in!"

Feng Mei yelled at the military wives in the distance, and they hurried over to carry Jiang Nian into the house. One of them said anxiously, "I'll go find the sanitation worker."

The remaining military wives and Feng Mei stayed in the yard waiting for the sanitation worker to come.

Everyone in the house had left, and only Jiang Nian was left.

She quietly narrowed her eyes, quickly looked around the house, and then raised her upper body to look out the window. The three military wives and Feng Mei stood under the shade of the tree, all curious about what happened between Zheng Hong and her.

Feng Mei said angrily, "You ask me, how should I know? I just saw Jiang Nian running back in a hurry, and Zheng Hong was chasing after him. Jiang Nian fainted before he could say anything."

She snorted again, "I can see that Zheng Hong is a disaster. Which daughter-in-law in the family compound can cause trouble like her? She caused the quarrel between Xu Yan and Captain Liu. "They scolded Deputy Colonel Lu's sister-in-law as a widow, forcing her to hit her head against the wall and commit suicide. Now they are looking for Deputy Colonel Lu's sister-in-law again. Now, she has fainted again. If Deputy Colonel Lu's sister-in-law gets into trouble again, even if Captain Lu protects her, Deputy Colonel Lu will not let her go!"

The people outside talked for a while, and soon Xu Yan heard that Jiang Nian had fainted and ran over worriedly.

Jiang Nian quickly lay down with his eyes closed until the hygienist came over to check and said, "It's nothing serious, just running too fast caused indirect fainting. He woke up after a while. After the hygienist left, Jiang Nian slowly opened his eyes after a while. There was some confusion in his eyes. He looked at the military wives, Feng Mei, and Xu Yan in the room. He was stunned for a moment before speaking in a low voice: "Why did I... What's wrong?"

Xu Yan said with some guilt: "Do you feel uncomfortable in your head?"

Feng Mei also came over and sat beside the bed and asked her: "The hygienist hasn't left yet, if you feel uncomfortable in any way, tell me quickly, I'll go call the hygienist back."

Jiang Nian said slowly: "I'm fine."

The other military wives saw that Jiang Nian was fine, and it was time for lunch, so everyone went home. Only Feng Mei and Xu Yan were left. Feng Mei asked Jiang Nian, "What happened just now? Why did Zheng Hong chase you?"

Jiang Nian lowered his eyes, like a child who had done something wrong. "I went to the supply and marketing cooperative and saw Captain Liu and Zheng Hong together, so I said a few words to Captain Liu, asking him not to treat his wife harshly for a woman with evil intentions. Zheng Hong heard it and said, 'I'm sorry, but I'm sorry.'" "She just chased me all the way to settle the score with me."

She pursed her lips, her tone full of grievance: "It's also my fault that I said the wrong thing."

Xu Yan felt even more guilty, and opened her mouth to say something to comfort Jiang Nian, but she didn't know what to say. She just looked at Jiang Nian with more heartache and gratitude. If it weren't for her, Jiang Nian wouldn't be chased all the way back by Zheng Hong, and wouldn't have fainted.

When Feng Mei heard this, she immediately shouted at the top of her voice: "I think you are right! She is a woman with a lot of bad intentions!"

Feng Mei paused, and then said: "Oh, by the way, I remembered something." She looked at Jiang Nian: "People in the family compound are saying that Zhu Jun comes to your house every other day, and always comes back to the dormitory after dark. When he leaves, he takes food and things with him. They say that you..."

The following words were too harsh, so she didn't say anything else, and changed the subject: "We are neighbors, I know everything between you and Zhu Jun is unknown. "No, but you can be sure that someone might use this incident to splash dirty water on you on purpose. How about this, I will help you fetch water for your private plot in the future. I don't have any other skills, but I still have a lot of strength."

Hearing Feng Mei say this, Jiang Nian felt quite warm in her heart. Since she came to the army, Feng Mei has taken special care of her, and her interactions with Feng Mei are somewhat exploitative. She smiled and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law Feng."

The two talked for a while and then left. Before leaving, Xu Yan also told Jiang Nian that she could also help her with the water-fetching work.

Jiang Nian was thinking about what Feng Mei had just said, and then she thought of the sneaky figure she had seen outside the door several nights ago. This rumor was deliberately spread by someone, and it might be related to this person.

She thought about it carefully and felt that Zheng Hong was more likely to be the one.

As dusk fell, Jiang Nian watered the vegetable garden again, took a bath, and lay down to sleep. Before falling asleep, she was still wondering, when will Lu Yu come back?

Because she had something on her mind, Jiang Nian did not sleep deeply, and was half asleep and half awake.

Suddenly, a slight "creaking" sound was heard in the quiet night. Jiang Nian woke up instantly. Thinking of the dark shadow she had seen outside the door several times, she was so scared that her face was tense. She got up from the bed, picked up the stick hidden behind the door, opened the door and walked out quietly.

She looked around and found that the lights in the kitchen and Lu Yu's room were on.

At that moment, she thought it was Lu Yu who came back, but she clearly saw that the yard door was facing inward, which meant that the man had climbed over the wall.

Jiang Nian blinked in fear, and the palms holding the wooden stick were sweating.

She heard the sound of a closet door opening in the kitchen, so she crouched to the door, and when she saw the shadow extending out from the ground, she closed her eyes and raised the stick to hit it without any plan.

The stick swinging in the air was firmly grasped by a hand. Lu Yu snatched the stick from Jiang Nian's hand, and saw that she was struggling and screaming with her eyes closed. Fearing that she would wake up Captain Song and Battalion Commander Liu next door, he grabbed her hand and pressed it behind his back to hug her, and covered her nose and lips with his free hand.

"Sister-in-law, it's me."

The deep voice was even more attractive in the quiet night.

The man was tall and slender, and one hand was enough to hold Jiang Nian. He lowered his head and looked at his sister-in-law who was only as tall as his chest, so he took two steps back to distance himself from her, bent his back, and looked at her level. He looked at Jiang Nian with trembling eyelashes, and slowly opened his eyes.

A pair of wet eyes suddenly collided with Lu Yu's dark pupils without warning. The man paused for a moment, and the palm covering Jiang Nian's mouth and nose seemed to be burned by a stove, and the heat went from the skin to the blood vessels, and along the meridians all the way to the heart. The heartbeat

inexplicably accelerated.

Lu Yu retracted his hand, clenched his five fingers, and uncomfortably let go of Jiang Nian, then stood up and took two steps back: "I scared my sister-in-law."

Jiang Nian came to her senses in a daze and looked at Lu Yu standing by the window.

After not seeing him for two months, Lu Yu was thinner than when he left. He was still wearing the army green uniform and had a neat short hair. Because he was thinner, his handsome face was a little more stern than before.

The fear in her heart disappeared completely. She pursed her lips and asked in a low voice: "How did you climb over the wall?"

Lu Yu said: "I came back late, and I was afraid that knocking on the door would wake you up, so I thought of climbing over the wall, but I didn't expect to scare you."

Jiang Nian: ...

She breathed a sigh of relief, leaning softly against the door of the bedroom, feeling lucky to have survived a disaster: "I thought it was that person who climbed over the wall."

If it was that person, she really didn't know what to do.

Lu Yu's eyebrows were furrowed, and a cold look appeared in his eyes: "Who is sister-in-law talking about?"

Jiang Nian put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door panel, raised her eyes and looked at Lu Yu, with some fear in her eyes: "I don't know either. I sent Zhu Jun out a few times, and when I closed the gate, I saw a dark shadow running away from the corner of the wall. It was too dark, and I couldn't see who it was."

Lu Yu's expression was even colder than before. He turned his head and looked at the gate through the window, his thin lips pursed coldly.

"It's okay, leave it to me."

Lu Yu calmed down and turned to look at Jiang Nian. Now that they were both calm, he realized that Jiang Nian had run out again in a small vest and shorts.

Thinking of how he had just hugged Jiang Nian, Lu Yu's ears suddenly turned red. He looked away uncomfortably at the stove, coughed to ease the embarrassment, and said to Jiang Nian: "I'll be fine at home, sister-in-law, go back to your room and sleep peacefully."

After Jiang Nian said that just now, he was also a little scared. He

was afraid that his sister-in-law, who had finally survived in this life, would repeat the same mistake again. If it wasn't him tonight, but the stranger in his sister-in-law's mouth, he didn't dare to think about what would happen.

Jiang Nian saw the corn cakes on the chopping board, which were taken out from the cabinet by Lu Yu. Thinking that he hadn't eaten, she whispered, "I'll make you a bowl of noodles."

Seeing that Lu Yu was about to refuse, Jiang Nian said, "It will be ready soon."

After that, she ran to the yard to pull the light rope, and went to the vegetable garden to pick tomatoes and peppers. Lu Yu walked out of the kitchen and glanced at Jiang Nian's two white legs and arms under the light. The redness on his ears did not fade but increased.

He turned around and looked at the gate of the yard: "Sister-in-law, you should put on your clothes first before cooking."

Jiang Nian, who had just run to the door of the kitchen: ...

She lowered her head and looked at her clothes. She really didn't think there was anything wrong. She raised her head and looked at Lu Yu who had his back to her. She couldn't help laughing in her heart.

He is really just like what is written in the book, a gentleman.

The book also says that when the hero and the heroine were talking about dating, the hero never did anything inappropriate. Thinking of this, Jiang Nian put the tomatoes and peppers on the chopping board, turned around and ran back to the house to put on his clothes, combed his hair, and then went to the kitchen to cook. Jiang Nian

walked into the kitchen, and Lu Yu had already washed the vegetables. He sat in front of the stove and lit a fire. The orange flames shone on the man's angular features, and also added a bit of warmth to his sharp eyebrows.

Seeing Jiang Nian put on his clothes, Lu Yu breathed a sigh of relief, lowered his eyes and continued to light the fire.

Jiang Nian kneaded the dough first, then took out the pork sprinkled with salt from the cabinet, cut the meat into strips, and cut the side dishes. After a while, the pork noodles were ready. She smelled the smell and felt hungry. She served a large bowl to Lu Yu and a small bowl for herself and started eating.

After dinner, Lu Yu put away the bowls and chopsticks and said to Jiang Nian: "Don't tell anyone that I'm back."

Jiang Nian looked up at him in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Lu Yu emptied the water in the bowl: "I'll go to the dormitory to find Zhu Jun later and tell him something. You go back to the room and lock the door. Don't open the door no matter who knocks. I will call you outside when I come back."

Hearing him say this, Jiang Nian felt a little nervous.

Lu Yu saw her nervousness and comforted her, "It's okay. I want to find that person as soon as possible."

Jiang Nian nodded, "Okay."

She went back to the room and lay down. After a while, she heard footsteps outside, so she stood up and knelt at the end of the bed, stretched her neck and looked outside. In the dim moonlight, Lu Yu walked quickly to the wall. The man was tall and had long legs. He climbed up the wall with his hands and jumped up. In the blink of an eye, he jumped out of the wall.

Jiang Nian's eyes widened in shock.

——Awesome! The sound of the horn broke the quiet morning

.

Jiang Nian climbed out of her sleep, sat on the bed, squinted and looked out the window. She didn't wake up until she saw Lu Yu drawing water from the well.

She fell asleep last night without realizing it, and she didn't know when Lu Yu came back.

Jiang Nian got dressed and walked out. Lu Yu had already prepared breakfast. Seeing Jiang Nian coming out, he said to her, "I'm staying in the room today. You can prepare lunch and put it by the window. I'll take it myself."

Jiang Nian said, "Okay."

She washed up and sat on the bench to eat, chewing the steamed bun absent-mindedly. She raised her head and glanced at Lu Yu who was tidying up the vegetable garden. After hesitating for a while, she asked, "Does Captain Song know that you're back?"

Lu Yu raised his eyes and glanced at Jiang Nian, comforting her, "Captain Song knows. I talked to him this morning."

Jiang Nian didn't know how Lu Yu was going to find that person, but she was looking forward to it.

Lu Yu went back to the house after cleaning up the vegetable garden. After dinner, she put the dishes in the stove and washed them. After sweeping the yard, she took a small basket to her private plot to pick some vegetables that were not in the family garden. She planned to make stewed pork with beans and pickled cabbage with vinegar for lunch.

Jiang Nian was walking on the road in the family compound. The military wives and elderly women who passed by secretly pointed at her and said that she was a widow who was not faithful to her husband. She took advantage of being the sister-in-law of Deputy Regiment Commander Lu and took advantage of Deputy Regiment Commander Lu's absence to seduce squad leader Zhu.

Jiang Nian: ...

It really proves the old saying that there are many troubles around a widow.

In order to dispel the rumors, she had to catch the dark figure lurking outside her house first. Maybe things would turn around. If she tried to explain it with her mouth, no one would believe her no matter how hard she tried. She was too lazy to waste her breath.

Jiang Nian stayed in her private plot for a while longer, pulled out the weeds, picked some beans and other vegetables, and then walked back. As soon as she entered the house, Feng Mei rushed in: "How can you still be in the mood to pick vegetables? What are the rumors outside? They say that you seduced squad leader Zhu and invited him to your house for dinner every night! Why don't you go out and defend yourself? If the rumors continue, you will be in trouble!"

Jiang Nian knew that Lu Yu was... In the room, it was not easy to say anything to Feng Mei. She just lowered her head sullenly, her fingers tightly grasping the basket, as if she had suffered a great injustice: "How can one person defend a hundred people? Who would believe me if I said it?"

Feng Mei's chest hurt from anger: "Oh, there is one more thing." She pointed outside the door and said: "Xu Yan and Zheng Hong had a fight earlier. Oh, it was so fierce that I went up to stop the fight and was pushed by Zheng Hong."

"You take a look."

Feng Mei tilted her face, and Jiang Nian saw the skin in front of her ear that was broken, and immediately frowned and asked: "Why did they fight?"

Feng Mei said angrily, "It's all because of Zheng Hong's bad mouth! When Xu Yan went out in the morning, she heard Zheng Hong talking to others about you seducing Zhu Jun, so she ran over and started fighting with Zheng Hong. You don't know, the fight was so fierce that many people couldn't pull them apart. Battalion Commanders Lu and Liu rushed back from the team to pull the two of them apart, and then took them home."

Jiang Nian was still shocked when she heard that Xu Yan fought with Zheng Hong for her.

Originally, she helped Xu Yan because she didn't want to see her being bullied by Zheng Hong, and she didn't want her to go down the same path as in the plot. Now, she feels that she has to help Xu Yan even more. At least, the favor Xu Yan gave her by tearing Zheng Hong apart is worth it.

Feng Mei snorted, "If you ask me, this rumor was spread by Zheng Hong!"

Feng Mei is really helpless against Zheng Hong. She is good at making her quarrel, but she can fool others if she is asked to play tricks on them.

Across the wall, the sound of quarreling came from Liu Qiang's yard.

This time it was not Xu Yan who was arguing, but Liu Qiang who yelled at the top of his voice: "Can't you listen to me? Why did you go out to fight for no reason? Zheng Hong didn't provoke you, why did you take the initiative to provoke her!"

Jiang Nian pursed her lips, and at this moment she had the urge to beat Liu Qiang to death.

Feng Mei said: "I'll go over to stop the fight."

Jiang Nian was also a little worried about Xu Yan, and she wanted to go out with her, but Feng Mei closed the gate and said to her: "Xu Yan is fighting with Zheng Hong because of you, so don't go over. It would be bad if Captain Liu gets angry with you again."

After that, she closed the door and left.

Jiang Nian: …

She was still a little worried, so she put the basket on the ground, ran to the wall, stepped on the wooden block, leaned on the wall with both hands, and looked over. Xu Yan was sitting on a bench in the yard. Her clothes were torn, exposing one arm. Her braids were also untied and tangled behind her head. There were several nail marks on her face. She looked very savage.

Liu Qiang stood beside her, looking bossy, which made Jiang Nian furious.

Feng Mei ran in and pointed at Liu Qiang and began to teach him a lesson. Jiang Nian hesitated for a moment, put her hands under her chin to make a trumpet shape, and whispered: "Xu——"

"Sister-in-law."

Lu Yu's voice suddenly came from behind. Jiang Nian was startled, her feet slipped, and her hands didn't have time to grab the wall. The whole person leaned to the side. She was so scared that she waved her hands. Just when she thought she was going to fall to the ground, Lu Yu strode forward and supported her waist to help her steady her feet.

Jiang Nian breathed a sigh of relief, stood by the wall, looked up at Lu Yu who was so close. She

was speechless for a moment.

She only thought about Xu Yan's situation, and in a hurry, she forgot about Lu Yu's existence.

Jiang Nian lowered her head, grasped the corner of her clothes with both hands, pursed her lips tightly, and her eyes fell on the big hands that were still pinching her waist.