An Accidental Military Marriage

By the time Lu Cheng arrived at the guest house, Jiang Moli had already gotten herself ready.

She wore a floral print blouse and black trousers, her hair styled in two pigtail braids.

She wasn’t wearing any accessories.

She actually had earrings and hair clips in her bag.

But in these mountains, where people could barely get enough to eat, dressing up so meticulously was clearly inappropriate.

Seeing that she had buttoned her blouse all the way up to her neck, Lu Cheng asked quizzically, "Why button it up so high? Aren’t you hot?"

Jiang Moli looked at him for two seconds. "Alright, I’ll unbutton it then."

As she spoke, she undid the top two buttons.

"Better button it back up. The wind gets cold at night."

His gaze fell on the vivid, eye-catching love marks on her neck and chest. After a two-second silence, Lu Cheng reached out and buttoned her collar back up.

But just buttoning it wasn’t enough. He even gave the collar a tug, as if trying to hide her entire neck.

He only dropped his hand sheepishly when Jiang Moli shot him a glare. "Let’s go."

Jiang Moli looked at him. "You’re just going to take me to your superior’s home for dinner empty-handed?"

"I already sent some gifts over this morning. A jar of beef paste, a bag of malt candy, and about two pounds of cured pork."

’That’s acceptable.’

As they went downstairs, he also told Jiang Moli about how he’d given the beef paste and salt-boiled peanuts to his men to eat.

Jiang Moli didn’t have an opinion on how he distributed the food; she just asked, "You gave it all to the soldiers? Didn’t you save any for yourself?"

At the corner of the landing below, Lu Cheng subconsciously reached out, placing his hand over a sharp corner of the railing to keep her from bumping into it.

"The rank-and-file soldiers have it the hardest," he said. "They don’t get stipends or vacation time. Some of them haven’t been home in two or three years. Getting to eat something nice can make them happy for days."

Jiang Moli couldn’t help but gaze at her husband.

’She knew he was a man of outstanding character, but she was still captivated by his actions and his magnanimity.’

...

Even though she hadn’t deliberately dressed up, her beautiful features and fair skin made her a walking spotlight.

A passing glance wasn’t enough. After she walked by, they would stop and stare fixedly at her retreating figure.

"Tsk, tsk, that little lady is a real looker. What did she eat growing up? Her skin’s fairer and softer than tofu."

"What good is being pretty? You can tell just by looking at her that she’s trouble. The kind that only makes problems for men!"

’They had a point.’

’She’d only just arrived on base and already had her husband in hot water, forced to make a public self-criticism in front of the entire town. What an absolute disgrace.’

Disdain Value +2. 20,000 Yuan credited to your account.

A few children playing nearby began to trail the couple, circling them like a little tail.

"Camp Commander Lu, is that your wife?"

A boy of about eight or nine craned his neck to gawk at Jiang Moli.

It was as if his eyeballs were about to pop out and stick to her face.

Lu Cheng nudged the boy aside with his foot. "Where are your manners? Don’t you know to call her Auntie?"

The boy slapped the shoe print off his rear, his practiced air marking him as a seasoned little troublemaker.

"My grandma said your wife is the reason you had to make that public apology! She made the whole town laugh at you. She’s a jinx! HAHA!"

The other children erupted in cackles.

They laughed and made faces at Jiang Moli, chanting, "Jinx! Jinx!"

Once they were done yelling, they scattered in all directions.

Clearly, they knew what they were doing was wrong and that they’d get a beating for it.

Lu Cheng’s face darkened. He closed the distance in a few quick strides, grabbed the ringleader, and landed a kick squarely on his butt.

Unlike the playful nudge from before, this kick carried some real force.

The boy fell flat on his butt and started wailing.

The family members in the area, along with some passing soldiers, all turned to look.

Jiang Moli pulled Lu Cheng behind her, then bent down and helped the boy to his feet.

She said with a beaming smile, "It’s okay. Your grandma’s getting on in years. She probably won’t live another two, so I won’t hold a grudge."

A woman passing by overheard this and gave her a look filled with disdain and contempt.

Disdain Value +1. 10,000 Yuan credited to your account.

"But she wasn’t entirely right. I’m not just a jinx, I’m also foul-mouthed—whoever I curse dies. Be a good boy and go tell your grandma. She’ll be thrilled to hear it and will probably reward you with some candy."

The boy took her at her word, turned, and ran for home.

When the other children saw this, they swarmed after him.

Lu Cheng was completely stunned by Jiang Moli’s tactic of giving them a taste of their own medicine.

The kid would repeat her words at home, the loose-lipped old woman would be hopping mad, and the bratty child would inevitably get a good thrashing for his troubles.

’Killing two birds with one stone!’

’He had great taste. The wife he’d found wasn’t just beautiful, she was clever and quick-witted too.’

His heart swelled with pride, and he couldn’t help but praise her aloud, "Moli, your method was much better."

Jiang Moli turned and glared at him. "Stop trying to flatter me. Have you lost your mind? Hitting someone else’s child in public turns you into the bad guy, even if you were in the right."

If anyone else had dared to call Lu Cheng brainless, he would have argued them into an existential crisis.

But when his wife scolded him, he wasn’t the least bit angry. On the contrary, he felt a sweet warmth spreading through his chest.

He almost wished she would scold him a little more.

He loved the sound of it.

"You’re right, I was impulsive. I’ll be more careful next time."

Jiang Moli was satisfied with his attitude. She then asked about the public apology.

Lu Cheng didn’t hide anything, telling her the whole story.

Only then did Jiang Moli understand why her Disdain Value had inexplicably spiked that morning. And it was no wonder Lu Tingting had mistakenly assumed at lunch that Lu Cheng was abusing her.

’She must have figured I’d stirred up trouble and deserved to be beaten for it.’

With that thought, she shot her husband another glare. "If it weren’t for that kid, how long were you planning to hide this from me? Do you even acknowledge my authority as your supreme commander anymore?"

Lu Cheng explained, "I wasn’t trying to hide it. I just didn’t want to ruin your appetite this morning. I was going to tell you when we got back tonight."

’Fine.’

"So, do you regret it?"

"Regret what?"

Jiang Moli flashed a grin. "You refused to divorce me when I gave you the chance. Well, now you’re stuck with a big troublemaker like me, and you’ll never be able to get rid of me."

Jiang Moli had no idea that her little thoughts and schemes were completely transparent to this man.

"We have a long life ahead of us, and I can’t promise that I’ll never say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, or make you angry. If I make you unhappy in the future, I hope you’ll be patient with me."

The last bit of guilt and self-reproach in her heart vanished as if blown away by the wind.

The guest house was only a hundred meters or so from the family quarters, and they arrived in no time.

Though it was called the family quarters, it looked more like a large, indigenous village.

Wooden houses and bamboo buildings stretched as far as the eye could see, topped with all sorts of different roofs.

There were simple gabled roofs, conical roofs, and even elaborate, double-eaved hip-and-gable roofs.

Lu Cheng led her deeper inside, explaining as they went, "This place was originally a village. After the troops were stationed here, the villagers relocated to the foot of the mountain. The army bought the old houses they left behind and turned them into these family quarters."

"Later, as more and more military dependents arrived, there weren’t enough houses, so the army allocated plots of land and let everyone build their own."

’How interesting.’

’You could build whatever style of house you liked.’

’Isn’t that much better than being crammed into one of those uniform apartment blocks?’

As they spoke, they arrived at Zhong Weiguo’s home.

Zhong Weiguo was a commander, and his house looked far more impressive than most of the other family homes.

It had a double-eaved, hip-and-gable roof and was raised a meter off the ground on logs as thick as a man’s leg. The interior was very spacious and even included a loft.

Tonight’s dinner was primarily to welcome Jiang Moli.

She had traveled a long way and was Lu Cheng’s new bride.

As his superior officer, it was only right for Zhong Weiguo to make a welcoming gesture.

To avoid showing favoritism, he had also invited the other two camp commanders in the regiment and their families.

"Moli, this is Commander Zhong. Sir, this is my wife, Comrade Jiang Moli."

Although everyone had guessed she wouldn’t be bad-looking before they met her...

After all, Lu Cheng had been picky for so many years. He wasn’t going to choose an ugly one, was he?

But when they finally saw her in person, they were still shocked.

’How could anyone be so beautiful?’

’She looked like a goddess.’