Chapter 13

That’s right—the man was none other than He Mingchuan.

His superiors had approved his leave for the wedding, and once Professor He saw him home, he remembered how Lu Miao had wanted to meet him before. So naturally, he made a fuss and insisted Mingchuan bring some local specialties to her and discuss the marriage while he was at it.

Lu Congge didn’t recognize him at all. In fact, he took the initiative and asked, “Comrade, you’re not from around here, are you? What brings you here?”

What a clueless kid.

“I’m looking for Comrade Lu Miao from the Xiaohe Brigade.”

Lu Congge genuinely didn’t recognize him, while Lu Miao was clearly pretending not to.

Surprised, she asked, “What do you need with me?”

He Mingchuan hadn’t expected to run into her on the road. He froze for a moment before coolly introducing himself, “Hello, I’m He Mingchuan.”

“Sorry I didn’t recognize you just now.” Lu Miao blushed and added, “Professor He showed me a photo of you before. You look a little different in person.”

Lu Congge stared in disbelief. Was this mushy-voiced, demure girl really his sister?

He Mingchuan’s eyes lingered for a second on her flushed cheeks before quickly looking away.

He responded flatly, “No worries.”

He Mingchuan wasn’t much of a talker, so Lu Miao had to keep the conversation going. “This way, please.”

Then she added, casually, “Funny thing—this morning I heard magpies chattering outside. I had a feeling we might have a guest today. And here you are.”

Lu Congge thought, Magpies this morning? I didn’t hear anything...

After a long beat, he realized that was just his sister using flowery words. Huh, he thought, I actually learned something today.

“Quite the coincidence,” He Mingchuan replied, still terse as ever.

Wow, that was dry, Lu Miao thought. She couldn’t tell if he was just pretending or if he was really that stiff—like a walking robot.

Still, she kept the small talk going. “Everyone in my family is really happy you could come.”

A layered statement—because she was family too. But apparently, she was throwing flirtatious glances at a blind man, because this guy was completely oblivious.

All he said was, “Thank you.”

This is exhausting, Lu Miao thought. Is it even worth it?

Just then, Qiao Yanxiang came rushing back after spending the whole morning searching for her kids. When she saw the two of them walking in together, she immediately yelled, “You two little brats, where the hell did you—”

But as soon as she spotted the unfamiliar young man, she froze mid-scolding.

Being the thoughtful daughter she was, Lu Miao stepped up to introduce him. “Mom, this is He Mingchuan.”

For days, Qiao Yanxiang had been going on and on about He Mingchuan. But now that he was standing right in front of her, she was so stunned her smile came out awkward and stiff. You’d never guess from her expression that she had just been saying how happy the whole family would be to have him visit.

“Mingchuan, come in, come in!”

She didn’t ask Lu Miao where the meat had come from earlier, but when He Mingchuan wasn’t looking, she shot her daughter a vicious side-eye.

“Are your parents and grandfather doing well?”

“They’re fine.”

He was polite but reserved—too reserved. Qiao Yanxiang had barely exchanged a few sentences with him when she already felt uneasy, like she was talking to some high-ranking official and might mess up at any moment.

She quickly excused herself under the pretense of cooking. “You young people chat. Auntie will go make lunch—it’ll be ready soon!”

She told herself this wasn’t throwing her daughter under the bus. They were going to be husband and wife eventually; might as well start building the bond now.

As she carried firewood into the yard, the neighbors heard voices and sent Hu Jing over to snoop around.

Among Lu’s extended family, Hu Jing was the most recent addition through marriage. She had decent emotional intelligence and had never butted heads with Qiao Yanxiang, so the two maintained a civil relationship—one of those “chit-chat for fifteen minutes if they bump into each other” kind of things.

Hu Jing wasn’t thrilled about being sent on this mission. She didn’t get what her mother-in-law was thinking. What’s the point of poking around in He Mingchuan’s business? What do we even gain from it?

Absolutely nothing. So why do something that might offend people?

But she didn’t have much say in her household. Big or small, she had to follow the matriarch’s orders.

Qiao Yanxiang could easily guess why Hu Jing was there. She smiled graciously and said, “Yep, Mingchuan’s here—he’s inside.”

They chatted for a bit about how wonderful it was and how the wedding with Sanshui should be finalized soon. Then Hu Jing went back to report what she’d found.

Before Lu Lao’er (Lu Miao’s second uncle) got home, Lu Dabo (the eldest uncle) and Lu Laotou (the old patriarch) showed up first—curious to finally see this famous He Mingchuan in the flesh.

After laying eyes on him, they both felt the same regret—not regret over him, but over the fact that Lu Lu had chosen Li Qinglin instead of this guy.

Such a solid young man. He almost became their son-in-law, and now he was going to end up with Lao’er’s family. What a waste.

To the grandfather, both Lu Lu and Sanshui were grandkids—no real difference. But Lu Dabo clearly wasn’t thinking that way.

Lu Dabo talked way more than Lu Miao. Not that she was especially quiet—just reserved, trying to keep a bit of mystery before marriage. Didn’t want to scare him off.

Lu Dabo had no such concerns—his family didn’t have any more eligible girls to marry off. So what if he said the wrong thing?

Even so, chatting with He Mingchuan wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. After a few awkward exchanges, Lu Dabo was already looking for a polite excuse to leave.

Lu Miao thought it was hilarious watching him flounder.

And she was starting to understand why Lu Lu hadn’t wanted to marry this guy.

But in her eyes, none of this was a dealbreaker. They weren’t going to be living together full-time anyway—he’d only be home for ten days or so each year. The rest of the time, she’d be free.

Besides… her eyes drifted down to his chest. Yeah… definitely worth putting up with.

Thankfully, once he dropped the social small talk, he was easier to deal with.

After lunch, he took the initiative to discuss the wedding date and other related details.

When the topic of Lu Miao’s living arrangements came up, he laid out two options:

“With my current rank, I can apply for you to come with me as military spouse. If you find life in the compound inconvenient, you could also live with my parents and younger sister.”

Then, after a short pause, he added, “But if you’d prefer to stay with your own parents, that’s also fine.”

Qiao Yanxiang practically jumped in to stop that idea from taking root. “Living apart long-term can really damage a marriage. Let Sanshui just—”

Lu Miao cut her off. “I’m happy to stay and help take care of your parents.”

Qiao Yanxiang shot her a glare. What is wrong with this girl? Doesn’t she have a brain? Living with your in-laws is a nightmare!

Going with her husband meant seeing him every day and avoiding the constant supervision of his family.

But He Mingchuan responded plainly, “My parents are in good health, still in their prime. They don’t need looking after.”

Of course, he didn’t sugarcoat it at all.

Blunt enough to sting.

Lu Miao tried another angle: “Don’t you have a younger sister? Your parents are probably busy with work—maybe they don’t have time to care for her properly?”

Lu Congge, hearing that his sister was about to go take care of someone else’s little sister, felt an ache in his chest.

Qiao Yanxiang couldn’t hold it in and gave him a hard stare—as if to say, Don’t you know what kind of caretaker your sister is?

At home, Lu Miao was the one who needed to be taken care of.

Lu Congge knew exactly what his mom meant, and now he felt even worse. His sister never lifted a finger at home, but just because she was getting married, she was suddenly willing to dote on someone else’s kid?

He felt… strangely bitter.

Qiao Yanxiang was on the verge of a headache. Every family has its own drama, she thought. Ours just happens to have two volumes.

The eldest daughter was a mystery. The youngest son? Not the brightest bulb.

Lu Miao had only one burning question: “By the way, your sal—”

But no one knew her like her mother. The moment she opened her mouth, Qiao Yanxiang knew exactly what kind of question she was about to blurt out.

Anything involving money—absolutely forbidden to ask before the wedding. What if he thought she was only interested in his salary and ran off?

So under the table, she reached out and pinched Lu Miao’s thigh hard. It was a desperate move, with zero restraint. Lu Miao flinched so hard her whole body jerked. Her eyes teared up from the pain.

He Mingchuan, who had been listening carefully to hear her question, looked up and saw her teary-eyed gaze aimed right at him.

It was rare for him to see something like this. He frowned slightly and asked, “Comrade Lu, are you feeling unwell?”

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