Chapter 202: You Didn’t Spare Me Either
Chapter 202: Chapter 202: You Didn’t Spare Me Either
Lu Cheng’s sudden return filled the entire Lu Family home with joy.
He kept his head down, wolfing down the fried eggs as his whole family sat around the dining table watching him.
An Hui chided, "Slow down. Have some soup, you don’t want to choke."
Lu Cheng obediently picked up his bowl and took a big gulp of the soup.
Lu Deyao eyed him. "You came running back without a word. Is something wrong?"
Lu Cheng swallowed the food in his mouth. "Things have been pretty quiet at the base recently. I have half a month of leave, and it happened to be National Day, so I came back to see you all."
Lu Deyao huffed lightly, "Did you really come back to see *us*?"
Without looking up, Lu Cheng said, "Seeing you was just a bonus."
Lu Deyao: "..."
An Hui glared at her husband in annoyance.
’Just listen to what your son says. You had to argue with him. Are you happy now?’
Jiang Moli lightly tapped Lu Cheng’s elbow. "Hey, talk to Dad properly."
’My daughter-in-law is the filial one, after all.’
Just as Lu Deyao was feeling gratified, he heard her continue, "Dad’s getting on in years. He’s living on borrowed time."
Lu Deyao: "..."
’You didn’t spare me either.’
Lu Deyao left for his work unit, while An Hui and Ma Hongmei took their grocery baskets to the market to buy chicken and meat, planning to make a delicious lunch for Lu Cheng.
Only Jiang Moli and Lu Cheng were left at home.
Jiang Moli, as usual, was sprawled on the sofa, reading the newspaper.
In this era, besides listening to the radio, the only way to get news was by reading the newspaper.
The sound of trickling water came from the direction of the bathroom.
Before long, the sound of water stopped.
Lu Cheng emerged in a cloud of steam and walked to the sofa. He was dripping wet, wearing only a pair of floral boxer shorts. His perfectly sculpted muscles were on full display, his wheat-colored skin gleaming beautifully.
Both sensual and wild.
As he leaned in, a potent, masculine aura enveloped Jiang Moli completely.
"Hey, are you trying to seduce me?"
Lu Cheng chuckled, pecked her on the lips, then scooped her up by the waist and carried her back to their room.
...
Coming out of the market, Ma Hongmei saw a bus slowly approaching and quickly called to An Hui, "The bus is here!"
An Hui said leisurely, "The weather’s quite nice. Let’s just walk back."
"Huh?"
Ma Hongmei understood, then said with a smile, "Alright. It’s not like we’re in a hurry anyway."
...
Jiang Moli was sprawled on the bed like a kitten, unwilling to move, her flushed cheeks as vibrant as a ripe peach.
Lu Cheng couldn’t resist kissing her again and again. With gentle, dark eyes, he asked, "Tired? Want to take a nap?"
Jiang Moli pillowed her head on her hand, her almond-shaped eyes, shimmering like water, gazing at him. "Why did you come back?"
Lu Cheng, also lying on his side to face her, said, "Jia Ming got a divorce. I was afraid you’d run off too, so I hurried back to check on you."
Zhang Jia Ming was a soldier, so getting a divorce required filing a report first.
After seeing Zhang Jia Ming’s divorce report, a strange sense of crisis took root in his mind. He immediately sought out Zhong Weiguo to request leave, bought a ticket, and came home.
Hearing the real reason for his frantic return, Jiang Moli couldn’t help but chuckle. "If I wanted to run, you wouldn’t be able to stop me even if you came back."
Lu Cheng affectionately pinched her chin. "You’re not Jiang Qing. You wouldn’t do that to me, right?"
"Don’t be so sure."
Lu Cheng frowned. "What reason would you have to leave me? Am I not good to you? Tell me, and I’ll change."
Jiang Moli didn’t really want to talk about this topic, lest it ruin the mood. Instead, she asked about his mission.
Lu Cheng told her some of the things he was allowed to talk about.
The two of them stayed in bed, being lovey-dovey, until they heard An Hui and Ma Hongmei come through the door, at which point they finally got dressed and got up.
In the afternoon, Jiang Moli napped at home while Lu Cheng went to Lu An’s place.
The two brothers hadn’t seen each other for over half a year. They talked until evening and still felt they hadn’t caught up enough.
Lu An asked him to stay for dinner, but Lu Cheng politely declined.
"Some other time. I promised Moli we’d go to her father’s place for dinner tonight."
Lu An teased him, "We should really call Big Brother back to see this henpecked version of you. Back when he offered to set you up, you looked like you were being sent to the execution ground."
Lu Cheng said, "If he had introduced me to Moli back then, my son would be old enough to run errands by now."
Lu An found this funny. "Is sister-in-law really that great? In terms of looks, it’s not like there aren’t prettier women out there. And her education isn’t that outstanding..."
Lu Cheng cut him off. "Even though you’re my own brother, if you say anything bad about my wife, I’ll still get mad at you."
Lu An: "..."
...
When he got back, Lu Cheng’s gaze warmed as he saw Jiang Moli putting on lipstick in front of the mirror.
’My wife is so beautiful.’
He walked over with a smile. "What should I wear when we go over? Can you spruce me up a bit too?"
Jiang Moli pressed her lips together, glanced at him, and said, "What you’re wearing is fine. My dad will like it."
Lu Cheng was wearing his Type 65 military uniform, with its two red flag-colored collar tabs and four-pocketed jacket.
There was no outfit that elders liked more than this one.
"What about you? Do you like me in my uniform?"
Jiang Moli looked him up and down, her gaze far from innocent. "I like you best when you’re wearing nothing at all."
Lu Cheng: ...
’My wife is so naughty. I love it!’
...
Grabbing the gifts An Hui had prepared, the couple headed to her parents’ home in the evening sun.
They passed a non-staple food store and saw they were selling bananas. Remembering his wife had said her father liked bananas, Lu Cheng stepped inside.
"Boss, how much for the bananas?"
The shopkeeper immediately recognized Jiang Moli behind Lu Cheng, but seeing Lu Cheng’s military officer status, he didn’t dare show his anger.
"Forty cents."
"I’ll take a bunch."
’Huh?’
’She’s not buying them one by one today?’
The shopkeeper’s anger turned into a smile. "Okay, okay! Anything else?"
Lu Cheng turned and asked Jiang Moli, "Is there anything you want to eat?"
Seeing Jiang Moli’s eyes scan the fruit shelves, the shopkeeper wanted to slap himself.
’Why did I have to open my big mouth? In a minute this crazy woman will want to buy things one by one again. What do I do then?’
"No need, eating bananas is enough for me."
Lu Cheng paused in the act of paying and turned to look at her deeply.
’Are you talking about *actual* bananas?’
Jiang Moli smiled innocently. "What’s wrong?"
Lu Cheng raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything more.
The shopkeeper beside them sighed in relief. "Eating bananas is good, eating bananas is good."
Jiang Moli held back her laughter.
Lu Cheng was a very perceptive person. After they left the store, he voiced the question on his mind.
"That shopkeeper just now, do you know him? It felt like he was really scared of you."
"I came to buy bananas last time, and I bought them individually. He probably didn’t like my purchasing method."
Hearing this, Lu Cheng didn’t think much of it. He just assumed the shopkeeper was greedy and wanted to sell a whole bunch to make more money.
Jiang Moli didn’t explain further. "Hey, when you see my dad later, call him Grandpa. He’s been wanting a grandchild. If we call him Grandpa directly, he’ll have a granddaughter and a grandson-in-law all at once. Solves the problem in one go."
Lu Cheng: "..."
Looking at her charming and beautiful face, Lu Cheng asked hopefully, "Have you ever thought about giving our dad a real grandchild of his own?"
Jiang Moli teased, "You can give birth to one?"
Lu Cheng: "If I could, I’d give him eight or ten."
Jiang Moli was speechless.
This was the first time they had talked about the issue of children since they got married.
Lu Cheng said seriously, "Moli, you’ve said you don’t want to have children, and I respect your decision. If Mom and Dad start pressuring you, just blame it on me. Tell them I’m the one who doesn’t want kids."
In the glow of the setting sun, the man’s face was resolute, and his gaze, fixed on her, was firm and warm.
It felt as though a faint crack had appeared in her heart of stone, letting a sliver of light shine in.