Volume One, Chapter Nine: Embraced by Him

Hoting Xiao strode over quickly, casting a sideways glance at Shen Qingran.

Sun Feng, with a serious expression, raised the rope in his hands.

“Commander, my sister-in-law is worried she might sleepwalk again tonight, so she asked me to help tie up her hands and feet.”

“I think you, Commander, are more suitable for this task.”

With that, Sun Feng handed the rope to Hoting Xiao. “Commander, I’ll go check the discipline manual.”

Shen Qingran watched Sun Feng slip away swiftly.

She had no choice but to turn to Hoting Xiao for help. “Commander Hoting, please, I need your assistance.”

Hoting Xiao watched as she turned and lay down on the bed, resting her hand on the railing beside her.

Her black hair spread out, her skin pale as snow, her red lips, and her small, delicate face framed by a pair of naturally tender, watery eyes that seemed to stare right at him.

It looked almost like she was seducing him.

Hoting Xiao turned his head away, his jawline tightening into a cold arc as he threw the rope on the ground.

“No need to tie up. I won’t be sleeping tonight.”

Shen Qingran stared at him in stunned silence as he strode out of the room.

He picked up the rope from the floor.

Not sleeping? That resolute?

How scared must he be that she would pounce on him like a hungry wolf?

It seemed Hoting Xiao truly detested her.

Shen Qingran sighed quietly and lay still on the bed. With this situation, if she went to the military district compound, she’d probably have to find a job quickly.

She thought Hoting Xiao would likely kick her out within a year.

With these thoughts, she drifted into a hazy sleep.

Hoting Xiao stood outside the door, glaring at the sleeping woman, his eyes dark and intense.

That night, Shen Qingran did not sleepwalk.

When she woke in the morning and turned her head, she met Hoting Xiao’s cold, sharp gaze.

Startled, she sat up straight with a jolt.

Had she done something unforgivable to him again last night?

She scratched her head in frustration.

Why did she have this problem?

Just then, Sun Feng came in.

“Sister-in-law, you’re awake? I was just about to wake you. The next stop is coming up.”

Shen Qingran responded quickly and cautiously approached Sun Feng, who was holding luggage.

“Comrade Sun, did I... do anything last night?”

Sun Feng tilted his head foolishly. “No, I saw Commander Hoting sleeping outside all night. I didn’t see you come out once!”

Shen Qingran’s heart, which had been suspended midair, suddenly dropped back to its place.

So she hadn’t sleepwalked last night.

Then why was he so terrifying early in the morning?

Seeing him get up, Shen Qingran hurriedly packed her things and followed behind.

In less than ten minutes, the train arrived at the station.

The doors opened slowly, and Shen Qingran took a long breath.

After breathing in the stale air on the train for so long, this fresh air felt refreshing.

At the station entrance, a figure in military green caught her eye.

About 1.78 meters tall, crew cut, square face, looking spirited.

They walked quickly toward her.

“Why is Captain Su here to pick us up?” Sun Feng muttered as they approached.

Su Yi greeted Hoting Xiao and Sun Feng first.

Then his eyes filled with admiration as he saw Shen Qingran behind them, though it was only for a moment.

The man’s expression quickly returned to normal.

“Commander Hoting, this must be your wife?”

“Hello, sister-in-law!”

He had heard that Commander Hoting married a countryside girl and had felt sorry for him, but seeing her in person, she was surprisingly beautiful.

Her striking looks — though he was a simple man and couldn’t quite describe it — were undeniably attractive.

Even more so than the women in the performing arts troupe.

Shen Qingran glanced at Hoting Xiao’s face and nodded with a faint smile in greeting.

“Back to the barracks,” Hoting Xiao said coldly.

Su Yi hurriedly added, “Commander, don’t be impatient. Jiajia just stepped out for some errands and caught a ride. She said she’d buy some things and should be back soon.”

He looked off into the distance.

Across the way, a girl in a white dress and little shoes, wearing an off-white headband, was jogging toward them.

Catching her breath slightly, she reached them, lifted her head, and smiled sweetly at Hoting Xiao.

“Brother Tingxiao, I bought you some soda.”

Hoting Xiao remained indifferent, his voice flat. “Thank you.”

He turned and handed the soda to Shen Qingran. “You drink it.”

Shen Qingran: ???

What kind of play was this?

Still, she obediently took it and softly said, “Thank you.”

Lu Jiajia’s gaze then shifted to Shen Qingran.

She clenched her palm tightly.

So this was Brother Tingxiao’s rustic fiancée?

How come she looked like this? Wasn’t she supposed to be dark-skinned, skinny like firewood, and with yellow teeth when she smiled?

But the woman before her was fair-skinned and beautiful, with a graceful figure.

Ugh, a vixen — clearly a restless spirit.

She must have used her looks to seduce Brother Tingxiao.

Her eyes practically sparked with jealousy.

Shen Qingran wasn’t blind; she immediately knew this girl liked Hoting Xiao.

But she wasn’t foolish either. Hoting Xiao probably didn’t feel the same way, or the soda wouldn’t have ended up in her hands.

Seeing the tension almost ignite between the two women, Su Yi quickly said, “Jiajia, this is Commander Hoting’s wife. Just call her sister-in-law.”

Sister-in-law?

Lu Jiajia nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood. Was her cousin an idiot?

Knowing her feelings, he still made her call her sister-in-law.

She gritted her teeth and kept silent.

“All right, let’s go.”

Hoting Xiao spoke, and the group carried their things toward the military jeep across the street.

Lu Jiajia watched Shen Qingran walk ahead, her waist swaying like willow branches, and fury surged inside her.

Why had the man she had long admired become someone else’s after just one visit home?

Who could have known that when she heard Hoting Xiao submit the marriage report, her heart would bleed?

Lu Jiajia followed behind Shen Qingran.

Noticing an elderly woman pushing a cart wobbling to the left rear side, she deliberately collided toward the old woman.

The elderly woman instinctively stumbled toward Shen Qingran.

The heavy impact sent Shen Qingran falling forward.

Seeing the steps ahead, her heart trembled — this time, even if she didn’t die, she’d be crippled.

She instinctively reached out to brace herself.

The next moment, a pair of hands caught her arms and pulled her fiercely into an embrace.

The instant she collided with his chest, she seemed to hear her heart pounding loudly.

Hoting Xiao looked at the woman pressed against him; the softness against his chest made him suddenly realize something.

His body stiffened immediately.

Unintentionally, he glanced down at her pale pink dress clinging to her chest, faintly revealing the red embroidered double mandarin ducks on her undergarment, entwined necks resting together.

A lush spring scene, fully exposed.

He hurriedly pushed her away.

Turning around, he draped his coat over her shoulders.

“Fix your clothes and stand straight.”