Originally, Lu Qian and Lu Chengzhen had been upstairs exchanging pleasantries with Feng Xiao and his sister. After all, it had been a long time since they last saw Feng Xiao.
Then, they heard noisy commotion from downstairs, followed by screams like a pig being slaughtered, which reached their ears.
Since all four were children of the Military District Compound and soldiers themselves, their senses were much sharper than those of ordinary people.
Even though there was some distance between the upstairs and downstairs, and the voices were not entirely clear, they still caught a few key words: “Lu Chengye” and “little aunt.”
Upon hearing these two keywords, let alone Lu Qian and Lu Chengzhen worrying that their troublemaking rascal of a younger brother had stirred up trouble again—not to mention He Hong and Feng Xiao, both furrowed their brows, their hearts filled with anxiety.
After all, they knew that reckless kid Lu Chengye well. He was utterly shameless in his actions. If he got tangled up with Qiao Shu…
In an instant, both of them lost their composure. They both feared that the lawless little tyrant Lu Chengye would hurt Qiao Shu.
Just as the four of them grew increasingly anxious, something He Hong and the other two did not expect happened: the first to leave the room and rush out was none other than the “patient comrade” Feng Xiao.
Seeing Feng Xiao, who was clearly injured and in need of rest, move with agile grace like a leopard poised to strike, darting out like the wind—Lu Qian, who knew some inside details about the Feng Family, looked at He Hong in bewilderment and said,
“You said your younger brother doesn’t like Shushu, right? But from the way he looks… it doesn’t seem like it at all.”
With him acting so nervous, where did he look like he had no feelings for the girl at all!
“…Let’s go downstairs first.”
He Hong’s brows furrowed slightly. Though she was unwilling to believe Lu Qian’s words, she had to admit that this was the first time she had seen her younger brother so flustered and out of sorts.
Meanwhile, Feng Xiao, who had charged straight downstairs without a care for his wound, was completely unaware of his own lapse.
At that moment, his mind was filled only with Qiao Shu.
Especially after leaving the room, when He Anning’s voice became clearer, and Feng Xiao made out what she was saying—his speed increased even further, and a hint of anger appeared in his eyes.
After descending the stairs at top speed, Feng Xiao quickly appeared in front of Qiao Shu.
Almost on instinct, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him.
Qiao Shu was startled by Feng Xiao’s sudden appearance.
Especially when the man’s large, calloused palm warmly gripped her wrist—she widened her eyes in shock, her face full of confusion, not understanding what Feng Xiao was doing.
Compared to Qiao Shu’s panic and bewilderment, He Anning lit up as if she had seen her savior. She loudly complained to Feng Xiao.
“Little Uncle! You’re finally here! If you didn’t come soon, Little Aunt was going to be snatched away by that dog bastard Lu Chengye! That dog bastard Lu Chengye actually said he likes Little Aunt! He even said he’s going to marry Little Aunt and take her home! Shameless! Little Uncle, beat him to death quick!”
Hearing He Anning’s words, Feng Xiao’s brows knitted tightly, and his cold gaze swept toward Lu Chengye.
Feeling Feng Xiao’s murderous glare, even the fearless Lu Chengye was intimidated by this man who had walked the line between life and death.
But intimidated or not, he still had to fight for his own happiness!
After all, this was the first girl who had ever stirred his heart.
“Feng Xiao bro…”
Lu Chengye glanced guiltily at Feng Xiao and murmured his name.
But then he remembered that his own sister had said Feng Xiao did not like his little wife, and that the marriage was likely off, with He Yingzi looking for a new match for Qiao Shu.
With that in mind, Lu Chengye’s courage grew again.
What did he have to feel guilty about? Feng Xiao did not like his little wife anyway, so what was wrong with him pursuing her~!
“Feng Xiao bro, you don’t like sister anyway. Instead of letting her go on blind dates and marry some outsider, why not keep the good stuff in the family and marry her to me!”
The more he spoke, the louder Lu Chengye’s voice became, and the more righteous he sounded!
“I definitely will treat sister well and won’t bully her!”
“…”
Faced with the boy’s nearly naive and straightforward confession, Feng Xiao felt an inexplicable surge of anger in his heart, as if a fire burned within him, gradually consuming his reason.
Until—
“Ah! It hurts!”
Qiao Shu let out a pained cry, her face paling slightly. Hearing that soft, tender voice, Feng Xiao, who had been on the verge of losing control, snapped back to his senses.
He lowered his head and saw his hands firmly gripping the girl’s wrist, unknowingly so tightly that red marks had appeared.
Realizing this, Feng Xiao instinctively released Qiao Shu’s wrist.
Only then did he discover how badly he had hurt her.
A clear ring of red marks stood out starkly on Qiao Shu’s snowy white wrist, faintly swollen.
This frightened Feng Xiao, who was always steady and calm no matter the situation. In an instant, his mind went blank. On instinct, he scooped Qiao Shu up into his arms and, without a word, quickly ran out.
“Ah!”
Qiao Shu, suddenly princess-carried by Feng Xiao, was completely dazed. This was the first time in her two lifetimes that someone had carried her like this!
And by a man, no less!
Feeling Feng Xiao’s solid chest and firm arms, the somewhat dazed Qiao Shu drifted off in thought: This must be what a sense of security feels like… right?
Seeing the girl he liked being carried away in Feng Xiao’s arms, Lu Chengye wanted to rush out without thinking and snatch her back.
But as soon as he took a step, He Anning blocked him.
“Little Aunt is Little Uncle’s wife. You dog bastard Lu Chengye, don’t you dare pester my Little Aunt!”
“Feng Xiao hasn’t even married her yet, so how is she your little aunt!”
Lu Chengye got angry too and sneered mockingly, shameless as ever.
“She is my little aunt! Little Uncle came back this time specifically to marry Little Aunt!”
“Feng Xiao didn’t come back to marry her!”
…
While He Anning and Lu Chengye argued endlessly, He Hong and Lu Qian’s voices came from behind them.
“He Anning, where are your manners! Who are you calling a dog bastard!”
“Lu Chengye, you’ve really made something of yourself, huh? Arguing with a ten-year-old girl and still claiming to be a real man. I think you’re not man enough at all.”
Hearing the two women’s voices, He Anning and Lu Chengye immediately behaved themselves.
Though they still glared at each other with displeasure, they did not dare continue bickering.
“Sister Yingzi, sis, I’m going to check on A Xiao.”
Lu Chengzhen shook his head at his spoiled younger brother and left the Feng Family Residence, chasing after Feng Xiao.
Thus, the entire Feng Family Residence was left with only He Hong and Lu Qian, the two adults, to discipline the “children.”
Soon, He Hong and Lu Qian understood exactly what had happened.
“Pfft! So it turns out my family’s good-for-nothing little brother has fallen for your family’s Shushu.”
After learning the reason, Lu Qian burst out laughing and tentatively asked,
“You’re helping Shushu with blind dates anyway, so why not… introduce her to my little Ye? My little Ye might look like a punk without a proper bone in his body, but he’s actually a good kid. And I believe that once he marries Shushu, he’ll turn into a responsible and reliable husband…”
Seeing her best friend shamelessly hyping up her playboy little brother, He Yingzi snorted coldly, her tone icy and firm.
“Keep dreaming. Your family’s Lu Chengye isn’t worthy of our Shushu. Hurry up and take that brat home!”
“Aww, Sister Yingzi, don’t be like that. My little brother is really great. Don’t write him off with one stroke. Why not observe him a bit more? Plus, my little Ye is good-looking and very appealing to girls. Who knows, maybe Shushu likes a type like my brother…”
…
Meanwhile, Lu Qian tried her hardest to persuade He Yingzi, hoping to matchmake Qiao Shu with her own little brother.
On the other side, Feng Xiao carried Qiao Shu in a jog all the way to the Military Infirmary in the Military District Compound.
“Doctor, check her out.”
Feng Xiao carefully placed Qiao Shu gently on the chair in front of the doctor’s desk, his face full of tension, as if Qiao Shu were some fragile, priceless treasure.
The doctor in the Military Infirmary was first stunned by Qiao Shu’s breathtaking beauty. Once she recovered, she carefully examined Qiao Shu.
After the check-up, she found it amusing and chuckled.
“I say, young man, your girlfriend is fine. With you acting so nervous, I thought something serious had happened to her.”
“She’s fine? But Doctor, her wrist is swollen.”
Feng Xiao’s brows remained tightly furrowed as he pointed to the red ring on Qiao Shu’s wrist, his deep black eyes filled with distress.
And he himself was unaware of it.
“Young man, really, it’s nothing. What kind of injury is this! No need for ointment even; it’ll heal on its own in a few days. Don’t think it looks serious just because your girlfriend’s skin is so delicate—much more tender than ordinary people’s, so it bruises and marks easily. So in the future, you need to hold your girlfriend’s hand a bit more gently…”
The doctor said with a smile. In all her years of practice, this was the first time she had seen skin as fair and delicate as this young girl’s.
It was probably the kind of “so tender it could be broken by a puff of breath” described in idioms.
“Really no medicine? Then just prescribe some anyway. She was in a lot of pain earlier…”
Even after hearing the doctor’s explanation, Feng Xiao’s furrowed brows did not relax. He still spoke tensely.
As the person involved, Qiao Shu was utterly speechless toward Feng Xiao.
“Alright, alright, I’m really fine. Feng Xiao, take me back.”
Along the way, no matter what she said, Feng Xiao stubbornly carried her princess-style all the way to the Military Infirmary. So Qiao Shu had gone from politely addressing him as Regiment Leader Feng to calling him Feng Xiao out of anger.
“…Okay.”
Seeing the girl truly angry, her lips pouting, Feng Xiao still worried about the wrist he had gripped red and swollen, but he finally nodded.
However, just as he was about to pick her up again, Qiao Shu stopped him.
“Stop! Feng Xiao, my wrist is hurt, not my legs. Why are you carrying me in public again? We’re not married yet…”
Qiao Shu had wanted to complain earlier. Her injury was just on the wrist, and not even serious, yet Feng Xiao had carried her sprinting over as if she were gravely wounded with crippled limbs.
If she did not know Feng Xiao’s personality and the fact that he was impotent, Qiao Shu would really suspect this “old man” was taking advantage of her!
Being coquettishly scolded by Qiao Shu like this, Feng Xiao suddenly felt as if his head had been steamed by hot air—he blanked out.
Then a rush of heat surged straight to his forehead.
Fortunately, Feng Xiao was the type who never blushed, so even though he felt his cheeks burning hot, to others, he still appeared perfectly calm and composed.
But upon closer inspection, one could see that Feng Xiao’s ears had turned red enough to drip blood.
“What are you standing there stunned for? Let’s go.”
Qiao Shu looked at the man foolishly rooted to the spot and suddenly felt that this man, who was taller and stronger than her, always silent and stern in her presence, seeming so unapproachable—perhaps was not as difficult to get close to as she had imagined.
At least from today’s events, this man clearly valued her and cared for her a great deal.
Her wrist had only been gripped red by him, yet he had rushed her straight to the infirmary out of worry.
Although, in this matter, Feng Xiao had made a bit of a fuss, for Qiao Shu, who had lacked love in her previous life, it was still quite pleasing.
She had only suffered such a minor injury, yet Feng Xiao treated it with such importance. In the coming decades, as she lived with him as ‘roommates’, her sense of security would simply overflow!
Indeed! Feng Xiao was her heaven-sent husband candidate!
Living with him, she definitely wouldn’t have to worry about falling ill in the future!
“……Mm.”
Having composed his mood, Feng Xiao nodded and followed closely behind Qiao Shu in a protective stance, step by step.
“Feng Xiao, when you carried me to the medical office earlier, I spoke to you, but you didn’t hear me? You didn’t respond at all.”
“Mm, didn’t hear……”
“Ah? I spoke so loudly, how could you not hear? Could it be that you injured not only your leg but also your ear? If your ear is injured, what food should I make to nourish it……”
“……”
Listening to the little girl’s entangled mutterings, Feng Xiao said nothing. After all, he couldn’t tell Qiao Shu that earlier, he had been so worried about her injury and so nervous about her that his mind had been filled only with rushing her to the doctor—nothing else had registered…
After sending Qiao Shu back to the Feng Family Residence, Lu Chengye had also been led home by Lu Qian.
Upon seeing that Lu Chengye, that brat, was no longer at home, the inexplicable hostility clinging to Feng Xiao finally dissipated when he returned, and his heart relaxed considerably.
However, before he could follow Qiao Shu into the living room, a voice called out to him.
“A Xiao.”
Feng Xiao turned his head and saw Lu Chengzhen standing right behind him.
“Chengzhen, why are you here?”
Seeing that Feng Xiao truly hadn’t noticed him trailing along the whole time, Lu Chengzhen fully understood his mindset. He smiled faintly and said to Feng Xiao,
“Come out for a moment. I have something to discuss with you.”
He thought that his own path in love had been so bumpy, filled with so many obstacles. He couldn’t just stand by and watch his good friend circle around endlessly, veering off course in matters of the heart.
So, he would lend a hand where he could. After all, from Feng Xiao’s series of abnormal actions earlier, it was clear his good friend had truly fallen for that beautiful little girl.
But the person involved was baffled, while the onlooker saw clearly…