First Night with the Army: The Stoic Big Shot Is Done Pretending

Before Wen Ci could even speak, Xue Li gave a magnanimous wave of his hand. "Doctor Yu, what would you like to eat? I’ll get a plate for you."

Yu Qing shook her head, politely declining. "There’s no need."

As he spoke, Xue Li shot up from his chair and strode over to the service window, extravagantly pointing at the pork stew with glass noodles and the sweet and sour spare ribs.

The sweet and sour spare ribs were the Friday special and were extremely popular.

Yu Qing whispered, "This soldier is so enthusiastic."

Watching Xue Li’s back as he got their food, Wen Ci’s eyes curved into a smile. She teased, "Xue Li is certainly enthusiastic. And still single, too."

She didn’t mean anything else by it.

A moment later, Xue Li returned with a heaping tray. The woman serving at the window must have thought the food was for him, because she had piled on the rice—at least half a pound’s worth.

Yu Qing froze for a second. ’Does he think I have a monstrous appetite?!’

"You..." Yu Qing started to say, but trailed off as she looked at Xue Li. Seeing his burning enthusiasm, she swallowed her words and managed a faint smile. "Thank you. I’ll pay you back for it tomorrow."

"Don’t worry about it."

When Wen Ci saw the amount of food on the tray, she had to resist the urge to facepalm. Shaking her head, she thought, ’Xue Li seems like a sharp guy.’

’So how does he end up acting like such a clueless kid?’

Wen Ci sighed softly. Deciding to ignore it, she slurped up some of the glass noodles. Any longer and the pork stew would get cold. They had added pickled mustard greens to the noodles, which took the flavor to a whole new level.

"SOB... I haven’t had Northeast food in so long. This tastes so authentic."

"It’s making me homesick, too."

Zhu Jing was from the Northeast herself, so her standards for the cuisine were even higher. Her cooking was so good it brought tears of homesickness to the soldiers’ eyes.

Xue Li smiled and said, "Doctor, give it a try. What do you think?"

"It’s delicious!"

-

「Nightfall.」

Wen Ci was just about to lie down to sleep when she heard a soft rustling. Her eyes narrowed as she walked straight into the living room and glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was nearly one in the morning.

Unable to sleep, she had spent some time reading a philosophy book in Huo Jingyuan’s study, and the time had slipped away from her.

Wen Ci hid behind the bedroom door in the darkness. Listening to the clumsy footsteps, she couldn’t help but frown. A moment later, the door was pushed open.

Wen Ci was about to launch a kick at the entryway when she caught sight of Huo Jingyuan and managed to pull her foot back just in time. She had been preparing to use her full strength—enough to break a rib without a problem.

Wen Ci let out a relieved sigh and immediately threw her arms around Huo Jingyuan. The man’s body was ice-cold, and she could feel the rough stubble on his chin.

’Do men’s beards grow this fast?!’

"Didn’t you say you weren’t coming back?"

"I said I *might* not be back."

Wen Ci keenly detected the exhaustion deep in Huo Jingyuan’s eyes. Her own gaze filled with heartache. "Even if the mission was a success, you didn’t have to rush back just for me."

"Mm."

She wasn’t chiding him; she just wished he would think more about his own well-being. From the looks of it, he hadn’t rested for at least thirty-six hours.

A cold draft from the open door snaked into the room. Wen Ci reached over and shut it. As the man’s body gradually warmed up, a large, rough hand slid around her waist. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"Miss me?"

"Nope." Wen Ci pushed his hand away, then reached up to pinch his ear, giving it a gentle tug. "What are you up to? Aren’t you tired?"

"The second I get home, I’m not tired anymore." A smile spread across Huo Jingyuan’s face. Even though Wen Ci was pinching his ear, a sweet feeling blossomed in his heart.

As the old saying goes: hitting is a sign of affection, and scolding is a sign of love.

Theirs was an arranged marriage. Trading risqué comments now and then was a normal, small pleasure for a married couple, but this kind of intimate "hitting" was a first.