Psst! We're moving!
Shen Yihuan’s “Gege” instantly made Lu Zhou lose all reason.
The self-control he had cultivated in military academy and barracks, far superior to ordinary people, easily crumbled because of that single word.
He leaned forward, his lips close to her, while the faint scent of tobacco from him enveloped Shen Yihuan, almost seeping into her pores.
“What did you call me?”
Lu Zhou’s voice was a little hoarse, even a bit cold and hard due to his restraint. His lips were tightly pressed, and his pupils, under the light, took on an erotic quality.
Shen Yihuan tilted her head: “Gege, are you so serious now?”
Lu Zhou: “...”
He didn’t know how Shen Yihuan had suddenly transformed from that little pitiful girl into a little fox.
The young girl’s lips were red and teeth white. Due to the phone call just now, she still looked a bit tired, yet she exuded a lazy playfulness. Her dark eyes sparkled, her lips still moist from the watermelon juice, red and white.
Stunningly beautiful.
Lu Zhou lowered his gaze.
“Baby,” he called her hoarsely.
Lu Zhou lowered his head, blocking out all the light that had been falling on Shen Yihuan’s face.
The aggression was too strong, Shen Yihuan instinctively took a step back.
Lu Zhou pressed forward, step by step. Seeing her movement, he curved his lips and smiled: “Why are you hiding?”
The man’s usually cold face now held a faint smile. As he lowered his head, he completely enveloped the young girl in his shadow. The masculine scent came over her overwhelmingly. His deep eyes, mixed with his smile, actually showed a hint of uninhibited charm.
Shen Yihuan stopped moving.
Lu Zhou lowered his head further, leaning closer to her, his voice deep and hoarse, like an enchantment, full of helpless yet tender indulgence.
He smiled and said, “How do you want me to be improper?”
Shen Yihuan was so flustered by him that she couldn’t speak.
She realized that usually, Lu Zhou was cold, not even very enthusiastic towards her. His personality was simply like that; his affection for you was always expressed through silent acts of devotion.
But as long as she was more proactive, or said things he liked to hear, he would soften, becoming much gentler, like a large golden retriever that wouldn’t get angry no matter how much you hugged and ruffled it.
Sometimes, thinking about it, it was quite... naive and sweet.
Treat him a little better, and he would be overjoyed.
All the unseen aspects and depths of him would be laid bare for you without reservation.
However, this current unseen side of him made Shen Yihuan feel a little despair.
She no longer had time to think about what her mother had just said, because Lu Zhou had already lifted the hem of her clothes, his hand brushing up her waist.
His fingertips were slightly hot, as if on fire, and Shen Yihuan’s entire back ignited wherever his fingers touched.
He closed his eyes, his arm tightened, pulling Shen Yihuan onto the TV stand. His legs moved between hers, and he lowered his head to kiss her.
Shen Yihuan’s two slender arms loosely hung around his neck. She was breathless and weak-kneed from the kissing.
Lu Zhou’s one hand remained pressed tightly against her smooth, slender back, tracing her spine, while his other hand lifted her upper thigh. Shen Yihuan sat on the low table, gripping his waist with her legs.
She had only been wearing a pair of white flip-flops when they went out. One had fallen off, and the other barely hung from her toes.
Lu Zhou’s breathing was heavy, right by her ear.
His rationality was hanging by a thread.
He raised his hand, his index finger hooking into the strap at Shen Yihuan’s back.
Shen Yihuan suddenly sobered up, letting out a soft gasp: “Don’t.”
Lu Zhou opened his eyes, his index finger paused there and didn’t move, nor did it withdraw. He kissed the corner of her mouth, and said hoarsely, “We’re going to the desert tomorrow, so not today.”
If they really did it today, and he couldn’t control himself, they definitely wouldn’t be able to go to the desert tomorrow.
With Shen Yihuan, Lu Zhou wasn’t confident he could exercise restraint.
Shen Yihuan didn’t understand what he meant, and followed his words: “If you can’t, then why are you still doing this?”
“What am I doing?” he chuckled.
Shen Yihuan glared at him: “Your hand!”
He flicked his finger outward, then twisted it. The restraint behind her chest instantly loosened.
Shen Yihuan: !!!
Commander Feng! Your subordinate is harassing me!!
After undoing it, Lu Zhou didn’t move. His voice resonated in her ear: “Help me, baby.”
Shen Yihuan’s entire face was red enough to drip blood. She was all bluster but inwardly a coward, always had been. When it came to the real deal, her skin was actually very thin.
She didn’t even dare to raise her eyes, biting her lower lip, her voice awkward and soft: “How the f*ck... do I help?”
Though she hadn’t forgotten to curse.
Lu Zhou clasped her wrist, guiding her, leisurely making a suggestive movement.
Shen Yihuan couldn’t help but tremble when her fingertips touched him, earning a soft chuckle from above, and a gentle coaxing: “Don’t be afraid.”
She gritted her teeth, not daring to make any sound, even her breathing lightened. Slowly, she closed her fingers, gripping that aroused part.
The only sounds left in the room were Lu Zhou’s ragged breaths and the rustling of clothes, mixed with various noises from outside the room. The sound of rolling luggage in the corridor, conversations and discussions, all painted a more ambiguous and mysterious picture of the space separated by just one wall.
“Hurry up,” Lu Zhou said.
Shen Yihuan rested her forehead on his shoulder, lowering her head, closing her eyes as if resigned, an “out of sight, out of mind” expression, only quickening her hand movements a little.
She didn’t remember how long she had been doing it. Her hand was sore, and it still wasn’t over.
She started to slack off, her grip loosened slightly, and the frequency slowed down.
As if to punish her laziness, Lu Zhou lowered his gaze, gently biting her ear cartilage, a lingering and indulgent gesture.
“Baby,” Lu Zhou called her, his voice muffled, “Say something.”
“...Say what?”
“Anything.”
Shen Yihuan felt all the blood rush to her head. She understood Lu Zhou’s meaning and reason for wanting her to speak.
But what could she say...
She gritted her teeth, her voice a little annoyed, tinged with shame and indignation: “Lu Zhou, you need to know when to stop.”
He started to laugh again. Shen Yihuan felt the chest she was leaning against vibrate.
While laughing, he also guided her: “Hold it tighter.”
Shen Yihuan angrily squeezed hard.
Lu Zhou “hissed,” gripping her wrist, knowing he had successfully provoked the little fox.
He placatingly kissed the little fox’s forehead, coaxing her good-naturedly: “It’ll be over soon, don’t rush, just a little more.”
Shen Yihuan’s hand was really sore, and Lu Zhou seemed unwilling to stop. She paused, took a deep breath, and buried her face completely in his embrace.
Her voice deliberately softened, knowing what Lu Zhou couldn’t resist.
One after another.
“Gege.”
“Gege.”
...
By the fifth “Gege,” Lu Zhou held her tightly, as if to meld her into his embrace.
Shen Yihuan’s hands were wet and sticky.
Lu Zhou led Shen Yihuan to the bathroom to wash her hands.
The warm yellow light of the bath heater cascaded down, enveloping them.
Warm water flowed onto her palms. Lu Zhou held both of her hands, squeezed hand soap, and meticulously washed each finger.
His knuckles were distinct and bony. When he lowered his head, his dark eyelashes fanned out on his lower eyelids, his expression too serious, revealing a hint of an unapproachable sharpness at the corners of his eyes.
But what he was doing right now was incredibly intimate.
Coming out of that excruciatingly awkward atmosphere, the blush on Shen Yihuan’s face finally faded a bit. She leaned lazily against the sink, watching Lu Zhou meticulously and seriously wash her hands, then dry them with a towel.
She suddenly curved her lips and smiled.
Lu Zhou tilted his head, then pulled his gaze back, continuing to seriously dry her hands, and asked, “What are you laughing about?”
“I was just thinking, if your subordinates saw you like this right now, they’d definitely be scared to death.”
Lu Zhou’s expression relaxed. He hung the towel neatly back, then led her by the hand to the bed.
After going out late at night and then coming back and messing around for half a day, Shen Yihuan was finally a bit sleepy.
Lu Zhou, needless to say, had pulled an all-nighter on patrol the day before. However, they often had emergency drills in the middle of the night for sudden attacks, so their sleep requirements weren’t as high as ordinary people’s.
Once unfamiliar, twice familiar.
Shen Yihuan threw her pillow on the floor, pulled Lu Zhou’s arm, and used it as a pillow.
Her movements were seamless.
The room lights were off, the heavy curtains drawn, and boundless darkness descended.
Shen Yihuan smelled Lu Zhou’s tobacco scent, permeated by the strong lemon scent of hand soap, and also a unique scent of his own.
Lu Zhou held her, one arm around her back.
Those scents seemed to seep into her body through her pores, as if marking her, belonging to Lu Zhou.
She also hugged Lu Zhou’s waist back. The man’s current physique was clearly honed through countless trials. She didn’t know how much sweat had been poured into shaping it. His waist was hard as a rock, without an ounce of excess fat, concave on both sides, with fluid curves.
Shen Yihuan snuggled closer into his embrace, eyes closed, her voice very soft: “You smell of smoke.”
Lu Zhou asked: “Then should I go shower again?”
“No need, it smells quite nice,” Shen Yihuan mumbled, then snuggled further into his embrace.
She didn’t actually like the smell of smoke, but Lu Zhou’s scent was pleasant to her, faint, hidden beneath the fresh scent of other shower gels and shampoos.
“But you should smoke less,” she said to herself with her eyes closed. “If this smell gets too strong, it won’t be nice anymore, and it’s not good for your health.”
“Mm,” Lu Zhou ruffled her hair, “I’ll smoke less in the future.”
Lu Zhou had a pretty big smoking habit; it wouldn’t be easy to quit.
He started smoking in high school, but it wasn’t an addiction then. It only really became the addiction it is now during the period when Shen Yihuan had just left.
Now, with just a word from Shen Yihuan, he was willing to quit smoking again.
“When your mom called you just now, what did she say?” Lu Zhou paused, then asked.
He had some understanding of Shen Yihuan’s family, but that was before Shen Fu went bankrupt. Money could expose much of the evil in human nature; Shen Yihuan’s mother was clearly different in the past and present.
He could guess what kind of grievances Shen Yihuan had suffered from her mother.
In the past, if her mother had truly slapped Shen Yihuan like that, Shen Yihuan would have certainly caused a huge fuss.
But now.
A mother who never restrained her daughter, slapped her daughter in the name of “it’s for your own good,” and the always pampered and willful daughter, after being slapped for no reason, could only shed a few tears with him.
It was a lie to say he didn’t feel sorry for her.
He was practically heartbroken.
“She asked when I’m returning to Beijing,” Shen Yihuan said.
Lu Zhou paused: “When are you going back?”
“I’ll go back after work finishes, I guess,” Shen Yihuan opened her eyes and saw Lu Zhou staring intently at her. She asked, “What about you, will you go back?”
“Yes, but I don’t know when. I can’t leave here temporarily,” Lu Zhou said honestly.
As a military officer, young and promising, with distinguished military achievements, and whether he liked it or not, he would always be influenced by Lu Youju’s status. It was only a matter of time before he was transferred back to Beijing to be responsible for other projects.
Shen Yihuan nodded: “So if I come to Xinjiang again after work, I won’t be able to sleep in your military camp?”
Lu Zhou froze for a moment, his dark eyes fixed on her.
Shen Yihuan explained: “I don’t want to stay in Beijing; I want to be with you.”
She sighed softly: “I like this land, and I like the people here, and the soldiers in your military camp. They all give me a feeling of living very intensely, unlike me.”
Here.
Especially in remote areas.
Many people come with great enthusiasm—teachers, doctors, directors—but very few are willing to stay, willing to take root in this sandy land.
People complain about the hustle and bustle of the city, yet they can’t willingly break free from the flourishing and lively human metropolis. Their hearts drift and hesitate between two places, finding no rest.
Lu Zhou had seen too many people come and go.
Living in this world, there are shackles everywhere that bind you.
Family, work, love, relationships. If you try to break free, you’ll be choked until blood flows.
Shen Yihuan used to be a pure girl unrestrained by anything. Lu Zhou grew up in a military compound since childhood, restricted by layers of rules in his language, actions, and even academic performance.
That’s why, in the early summer of that year, he was inevitably drawn to Shen Yihuan.
After years of hardship, the girl learned to be well-behaved and compromised with life. Only now, the small spark rooted in her heart began to rekindle little by little.
Lu Zhou felt that his usually calm heart was warmed by Shen Yihuan’s words.
The young girl seemed spoiled and willful, but in fact, she was purer and cleaner than many, many others.
At this moment, Lu Zhou believed that even if he were to die by Shen Yihuan’s hand, he would be willing.
But he rarely showed his emotions, no matter how much Shen Yihuan’s words moved him, his expression remained unchanged. He only curved his lips, holding her tighter.
His lips close to her ear.
His voice deep, filled with endless indulgence and helplessness.
It was as if she were now unreasonably asking for the stars from the sky, and he would immediately set up a ladder to pluck them for her.
“You don’t need to like them; liking me is enough.”
“...” Shen Yihuan bent her elbow and gently nudged him with it, “Lu Zhou, I remember your Chinese was pretty good before. Is this the time to be saying that?”
Lu Zhou only said, “Don’t like anyone else.”
Shen Yihuan chuckled, intentionally saying, “My mom is waiting for me to go back and attend all the blind dates she’s arranged.”
Lu Zhou’s expression instantly darkened, his brows furrowing: “You’re not allowed to go.”
Shen Yihuan patted his back: “I won’t go, I won’t go.”
“Don’t go,” Lu Zhou leaned closer.
His nose brushed hers, and he said softly, “I’ll marry you.”