A whirlwind marriage with a high-ranking official: Lights out, don't force me to take the initi

After closing the door, Lu Weidong stood in the hallway and took a deep breath of the morning air.

In Northeast China in July, it gets light early; by 3 a.m., it's already quite bright.

The morning breeze carries the scent of dew and grass, and feels cool on the skin, but in two hours, the sun will bake you alive.

He walked out of the apartment building. Sparrows fluttered up from the poplar tree at the entrance of the building. He subconsciously looked back and saw that behind the window, which was blocked by the small courtyard on the first floor, was his and Ye Wenxi's home.

The officers and staff did their morning exercises on the parade ground west of the division headquarters building, separate from the grassroots companies. The three-kilometer warm-up was just a run for Lu Weidong, which was no different from taking a walk.

He was the regimental chief of staff, and could have easily followed the main force and completed the journey at a leisurely pace, but he never did.

Military regulations stipulate that officers must participate in morning exercises at least four times a week, but Lu Weidong would make other training arrangements for himself at other times.

Today is the day he gives himself extra training.

The parallel bars and horizontal bars area in the corner of the playground was empty.

Lu Weidong took off his short-sleeved military uniform and draped it over the parallel bars, revealing only a grass-green fitness vest underneath, which showed off his bulging muscle lines.

He stretched his neck a couple of times, then did pull-ups. By the time he got to eighty, the veins on his forearms were bulging, and sweat was pouring from his forehead.

This was followed by push-ups, weighted sprints...

An hour later, Lu Weidong looked as if he had been pulled out of the water.

Lu Weidong took off his military uniform from the parallel bars, picked up his change of clothes, and headed towards the public bathhouse.

After a quick ten-minute shower, Lu Weidong changed into dry clothes and emerged from the public bathroom feeling refreshed.

They bumped right into Director Huang of the Political Department, who came out one after the other.

"Wei Dong?" Director Huang stopped and looked him up and down. "Wow, you just finished practicing again?"

"Good morning, Director Huang." Lu Weidong dried his still-damp hair with a towel. "Are you doing morning exercises too?"

"Getting old, can only keep up with the regular training." Director Huang waved his hand. "I saw you there, just now on the horizontal bar. Goodness, you're aiming for special forces standards, aren't you? At least five sets, right?"

"Hehe, I don't know."

"Didn't you count?" Director Huang chuckled, reaching out to pat him twice on the chest. "This physique... tsk tsk, with a build that's ready to be deployed to the front lines at any time, it's a waste of your talent to stay cooped up in the office. Why don't you just join the special forces?"

Director Huang joked with Lu Weidong all the way, and the two chatted until they reached the division headquarters building.

As the two went upstairs, Lu Weidong remembered that matter: "Director Huang, do you have a moment now? There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

"Is this your business?"

"Yes, it's about my lover, Ye Wenxi."

Director Huang pushed up his glasses, paused, and then gestured towards the end of the corridor with his chin: "Let's talk in my office."

Lu Weidong followed.

Director Huang pushed open the office door and went to open the window first.

A cool breeze instantly flowed through the windows and doors. He casually closed the inner wooden-framed screen window, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Come, come, sit down and let's talk slowly." Director Huang pointed to the chair.

He poured himself and Lu Weidong each a glass of cool water: "What's wrong? Is your wife facing any specific difficulties?"

Lu Weidong took the enamel mug, took a sip, and put it aside: "It's nothing serious, I just wanted to ask about something."

"you say."

........

Meanwhile, the ready-to-wear company.

Ye Wenxi rode her bicycle slowly to the entrance of the clothing store, with the enamel mug she had just brought in the basket.

The bottom of the jar contained cornmeal porridge, topped with a large, golden-yellow cornbread, next to which lay a boiled egg, and a small handful of pickled vegetables.

Ye Wenxi locked the car, picked up the jar, sat down at the desk, and lifted the top layer; the porridge was still warm.

She turned on the fan and blew it on herself while slurping her porridge.

A passing technician peeked in: "Oh, Wenxi's just eating? What are you eating?"

Ye Wenxi picked it up and showed it to her.

"Corn noodles with corn noodles?"

"Hehe... there's still an egg left!" Ye Wenxi held up the pancake, a crumb still stuck to the corner of her mouth.

"Eat slowly, don't choke!" The technician walked away with a smile.

Ye Wenxi took a bite of the egg, then picked up some pickled vegetables, preparing to put them in her mouth...

Suddenly, I felt an itch at my feet.

Something furry brushed against her bare ankle.

Ye Wenxi lowered his head.

A grayish mouse, about half a hand's length long, with a thick, long tail, was slowly crawling past her shoes, its small, beady eyes glancing in her direction.

"ah--!!!"

The scream pierced the roof of the clothing store.

Ye Wenxi sprang up like a spring, leaping onto the table and kicking over the enamel mug, spilling corn porridge all over the floor.

"What's wrong?! What's going on?"

"What?"

"Rat!! Help!! There's a rat!!" She hugged her knees tightly, curled up into a small ball, and her voice was hoarse.

The room erupted in chaos.

Sun Xiaolan, who was operating the sewing machine, yelled and jumped onto her sewing machine table, almost knocking the spool of thread off.

As soon as Aunt Xu stepped inside, she turned around and ran out, almost not stepping over the threshold.

Several newly arrived military wives crowded together at the entrance, their screams rising and falling.

"Where is it? Where's the mouse?!"

"Under the table! Crawl under the table!"

Several daring military wives grabbed brooms and shovels and began sweeping furiously under the table, sending dust flying and raging fabric scraps scattering everywhere.

"Did you hit it?! Did you hit it?!" Ye Wenxi knelt on the desk, her face pale, her voice trembling with tears.

"Killed him? It looks like he's dead—oh no! He's not dead, he escaped! He's too fast!" shouted the people below.

"What? They ran away?" Ye Wenxi was devastated.

"He squeezed out through the gap in the closet!"

"Quickly, call for help!"

Several of the men who had run out turned back and called back a few soldiers who were repairing irrigation ditches next to the vegetable garden.

Several young soldiers rushed in carrying shovels and bricks, their eyes scanning the entire room.

"Sister-in-law, how tall are you?" the squad leader asked.

"This—this is so big!!" Ye Wenxi gestured, her hands still trembling.

"Okay, you don't need to get down, just leave it to us."

Several young soldiers ransacked the garment factory as if they were in a battle.

The cabinet was moved, the pile of fabric was turned over, and every nook and cranny in the wall was poked with a stick.

Finally, behind a pile of scrap cloth, the squad leader slammed a shovel down, and the rat twitched twice before going still.

"It's dead! Sister-in-law, it's all over!"

Zhang Yunxia burst through the door in a flurry of activity, only to be startled by the scene inside.

Ye Wenxi was sitting on the table with her legs drawn up to her chest. Porridge was spilled on the floor. Several military wives were holding brooms, and several soldiers were carrying shovels. The room was a mess.

"What's going on here?!" Zhang Yunxia exclaimed, her eyes wide. "Is there a thief?"

"Sister-in-law..." Ye Wenxi's voice trembled, "There was a mouse crawling near my feet while I was eating...it scared me to death..."

Zhang Yunxia was stunned for a moment, then laughed and cried at the same time: "That's it? Haven't you ever seen a mouse before?"

"I...I didn't..." Ye Wenxi hugged her knees, her eyes reddening. "I'm afraid of that thing...I'm really afraid..."

Seeing her like that, Zhang Yunxia softened and reached out to help her down from the table.

Ye Wenxi's legs were so weak that she trembled as soon as her toes touched the ground, and she clung tightly to Zhang Yunxia's arm, not daring to let go.

"Hey, okay, okay, didn't we kill him? Come down now."

"What...what if there are still more?" Ye Wenxi got off the ground shakily, her eyes still scanning the ground warily, not daring to take a big step.

Zhang Yunxia helped her up and sighed, "Isn't it normal for there to be rats around here? With such a big vegetable garden, with corn kernels and green beans, it would be strange if rats didn't come."

"Look at these windows..." she pointed to the wide-open windows, "In the summer, the doors and windows are always open for ventilation. A snake even crawled in before."

"...Huh? A snake?!"

Ye Wenxi's legs went weak, and she almost sat down on the ground again.