Old Madam Lu dropped by the Lu Manor before the start of the college semester.
“Gu Mang, school will start soon and there’ll be a month of military training for orientation. If you don’t want to go, you can just skip it,” she said while placing a hand on Gu Mang.
Seated next to her, Gu Mang responded blandly, “No need for any special treatment.”
Reluctance was written all over the granny’s face as she admired the girl’s attractive features. “What if you get sunburned? It’s scorching in August.”
“It’s fine.”
“You won’t look as pretty if you become tanned.” She did not want her future granddaughter-in-law to undergo military training when she noticed how fair and thin her wrists were. “We girls can rely on our brains instead of our physical strength. Capital University’s military training is very intense and tiring. I don’t want you to suffer.”
Gu Mang didn’t say anything.
Lu Chengzhou raised his head. The security footage showing his girlfriend and the group of new cadets instantly came to mind when his gaze rested on her face. Although he had not asked about her exact age, he knew that it was unlikely that she had been eighteen when he captured her.
No one had managed to even come close to dethroning her as the top assassin over the years so he could imagine just how much suffering she had experienced. Then, there was also that matter at the Law Enforcement Hall. He had truly wanted to torture himself to death back then.
His grandmother, meanwhile, was still nagging away. “You possess great medical expertise, so you don’t need to waste time on military training. How about this? I’ll go ask Academician Yu to take you in as his disciple and you can learn from him in the future. In terms of clinical experience, you can’t find anyone better than him.” When the girl did not respond, she added, “You’ve met him before. You conducted my surgery with him.”
At that, Gu Mang hummed an “mm” before saying a moment later, “Thanks, grandma, but my stamina… is a little poor. I could do with some military training.”
The elderly woman knitted her eyebrows together. “Are you sure you want to participate in military training?”
“Yes,” she replied lazily. “You… don’t have to worry.”
The old madam had nothing more to say when she saw how insistent Gu Mang was, so she patted her hand instead. “Alright. Remember to inform others if you’re not feeling well.”
She nodded in response. Old Madam Lu left after she had lunch with her.
…
That night.
After playing a round of games with Gu Mang, Lin Shuang told her that she wanted to hit the sack.
“That’s early,” commented Gu Mang while leaning against her seat. The chair was tilted slightly backward and she stacked her legs on the table. Sitting in a roguish position, she looked at the woman on the screen, who had her chin propped on her hand as she sighed wearily.
“What else can a singleton like me do when I don’t even have a nightlife?”
At that moment, Lu Chengzhou came walking out of the bathroom with his head lowered as he buttoned his nightshirt. Lin Shuang could not help but lament the unpredictable workings of the world when she noticed his appearance on screen.
Sure enough, opinions do change. Who was the one who said that they weren’t interested in Lu Chengzhou back then?
Walking over to his girlfriend’s side, the man, who seemed to be too lazy to pour his own cup of water, picked up her cup and took a huge gulp from it.
“Hey there, Young Master Lu.” Lin Shuang greeted him with a smile and received a cold nod from him in response.
Upon noticing the temperature on the air-con controller which lay next to Gu Mang’s hand, he put his hand over hers and, when he felt how cold she was, he promptly increased the temperature by three degrees.
She lifted an eyebrow at that.
“Let’s end the call.” Her friend yawned. “We’ll meet when your military training is over.”
She uttered an assent, only to hear Lin Shuang mumbling, under her breath, something about having no idea why an international devilish instructor like her wanted to attend university military training.
Lu Chengzhou’s eyes gleamed when he heard that, but nobody could tell what he was thinking.
The video call ended and the screen displayed the game interface again. With a few taps on the keyboard, Gu Mang closed the game and shut the laptop. She then put her legs down and looked up to see her fiancé gazing at her deeply. She froze in place and just like that, the two stared at each other without saying a word.