Chapter 5: Slapping the scum bag

I blocked the doorway, refusing to let Chen Jianjun take a single step inside.

“Chen Jianjun, I’m married. My husband’s family name is Lu. Loitering outside a married woman’s door day in and day out… don’t you have any shame?”

I deliberately emphasized the words *married woman*. The oily smile on his face froze over instantly.

“Ruo Ruo, listen to me, let me explain.” He hurriedly took a step forward. “I’m getting a promotion soon, and I’ll have a new source of income. Didn’t you always want a place of your own? I’ll buy you a house. Staying with me is bound to be a hundred times better than sticking around that invalid.”

I cut him off, my voice dropping to sub-zero. “Are you asking me to be your secret, nameless side-chick?”

He choked on his breath for a second before desperately trying to save face. “I’ll handle everything, just give me a little time…”

I was so furious I actually laughed out loud.

“So I’m supposed to give up being a legitimate military wife just to run off and become your unregistered little mistress? Do you honestly think I have water on the brain?”

My tone wasn’t loud, but every single word cut with razor precision.

“Chen Jianjun, I must have been stone-blind to ever think you were a decent man. I saved your life, and this is how you repay me?”

His expression turned uglier by the second. Yet his eyes continued to roam shameless over my body, finally coming to a rest on my chest—a look so revolting it made my stomach turn.

“Ruo Ruo… He isn’t even a man anymore! Everyone in this compound knows Lu Zhan has one foot in the grave. Staying with him is no different from becoming a widow ahead of schedule. Why throw your youth away?”

A mixture of nausea and pure rage surged right up my throat. I looked him dead in the eye.

“My husband is a soldier. The scars on his body are badges of honor he earned with his own life! You are one of the very people he fought to protect—what right do you have to stand here and belittle him? Let me tell you something: in my eyes, he is ten times the man you’ll ever be.”

“And as for you…” I swept my eyes over him from head to toe. “You might have a healthy body, but your brain and your morals combined aren’t even worth a fraction of his.”

Chen Jianjun’s face turned completely ash-gray. Furious beyond reason, he spat out, “You’d rather live as a widow with a guy who can’t even perform than be with me?!”

I let out a cold laugh. “At least my husband actually knows how to be a human being.”

With that, I slammed the wooden gate shut with a loud *BANG!* and threw the latch into place for good measure.

Right then, a faint rustling sound broke out behind me. My spine instantly stiffened. I whipped around.

Lu Zhan was standing right behind me.

He wore an army-green t-shirt with matching trousers, standing so close that if I tilted my head up just a fraction, my forehead would brush his chin. My heart leaped straight into my throat. *When did he come out here? And more importantly… how much did he overhear?*

“Brother… Brother Lu…” I stumbled over my words, so nervous I nearly bit my tongue.

He didn’t say a word, just stood there looking down at me. Shadows cast by the eaves draped across his face, making his naturally icy demeanor carry an even heavier, suffocating weight.

After an agonizing silence, he finally spoke, his voice deep and raspy.

“A moment ago… didn’t ‘my husband’ roll off your tongue rather naturally?”

My throat closed up. He took another step closer.

“Just a second ago, it was ‘my husband’ this and ‘my husband’ that. Why the sudden shift back to ‘Brother Lu’ the moment you turn around?”

A burning heat rushed straight to my ears.

“Don’t… don’t overthink it,” I stammered, keeping my head bowed, not daring to meet his eyes. “As long as I carry the title of the Lu family’s daughter-in-law, I’ll fulfill my duty… It’s getting late, I should go cook dinner…”

I scrambled to throw out excuses, my feet already itching to make a run for it. The air here was far too dangerous—ten times scarier than when my aunt used to chase me down with a broom.

But the second I tried to brush past him—

A firm grip clamped tightly around my wrist.

“Ah—”

Losing my balance, I crashed face-first into his chest. The bridge of my nose hit his rock-hard chest muscles so hard it went numb. Even through the thin fabric of his shirt, I could feel his muscles coil tight in an instant. My heart instantly went wild inside my ribs.

Lu Zhan looked down at me, his dark, bottomless eyes threatening to swallow me whole. The surrounding air fell so dead silent that I could hear my own heart hammering like crazy.

His fingers tightened ever so gently around my wrist, each word dropping slow and heavy.

“What do you mean by ‘as long as you carry the title’? Are you counting down the days until you can leave?”

My mind instantly blew a fuse. A remarkably uncharitable thought flashed through my brain: *Well, I can hardly tell you the truth… that I planned to stick around until you kicked the bucket before making my next move.*

Panicked, I gave a soft struggle. “No… no, I’m not.”

He seemed entirely deaf to my weak defense, his gaze lingering on me with an intense, burning heat.

“Then what you said to that guy… did you actually mean it?”

I was thoroughly confused. “Which part?”

This time, it was Lu Zhan’s turn to freeze. He went silent for a few long seconds before suddenly releasing my wrist.

Feeling like a prisoner granted an unexpected pardon, I immediately bolted back to my room and slammed the door shut with a heavy *BANG!*