He let out a self-deprecating laugh. “Eventually, my mom couldn’t take that kind of life anymore either, so they divorced when I was ten. After that, with no ties left to us, my dad came to see us even less.” Bian Jincheng paused for a moment. “In my memory, the times I saw him were few and far between. Then one day, I heard he’d passed away.”
Mu Fu didn’t say anything—she simply listened quietly.
“I really hated him back then. He made my childhood incomplete and forced my mom to raise me like a widow. So when he died, not much actually changed for us. My mom and I just kept on living the same way. The only difference was that sometimes his old comrades would come to visit. Honestly, our life wasn’t any different from when he was still alive.”
“So when I got older, I applied to a military academy. My mom was totally against it, but I felt like if I didn’t at least experience the life he chose, I’d never be at peace with it.”
He glanced over at Mu Fu, who was still listening intently. “It wasn’t until I joined the army that I finally understood why he loved it so much—only then did I feel the honor that comes with wearing the uniform.”
Mu Fu asked gently, “Do you still hate him?”
Bian Jincheng looked off into the distance. “I do. Because he put his ideals first, and we came second.”
Mu Fu rested her chin on her hand. “Do you think you’ll end up like him? You’re a soldier now too.”
Bian Jincheng smiled. “No. I’m in a technical unit—I don’t go to the front lines. And if my partner didn’t want to move with me, I’d leave the military.”
“You’ll find someone who shares your values.”
“Yeah. Maybe she’s right in front of me, don’t you think?”
Mu Fu didn’t dodge his words. She knew exactly what he meant. Smiling, she replied, “Could be. So you’d better look closely at the girls around you.”
Silence suddenly settled between them.
Bian Jincheng chuckled. “Wanna take another walk?”
“Sure.” Mu Fu nodded.
They wandered a while longer before finally returning to their rooms for the night.
Meanwhile, Wen Shu was still awake. He didn’t even know what he was being so stubborn about—he just sat there in his room, waiting for Mu Fu to come back. Then he heard a door open next door, followed by a man and woman exchanging soft goodnights.
Wen Shu felt like something sharp had pierced straight through his chest. He had overestimated himself—he couldn’t bear watching the woman he loved walking into someone else’s arms.
His body reacted faster than his brain. He shot to his feet and yanked the door open. The two still chatting outside went quiet at the sound.
Mu Fu looked calmly at Wen Shu, saying nothing.
Bian Jincheng gave him a polite smile and asked bluntly, “Something wrong?” He sounded like the man of the house.
Wen Shu was silent for a moment before replying, “No, I just felt like going for a walk.” Then he stepped out of the room.
Mu Fu didn’t go after him. Smiling, she turned to Bian Jincheng and said, “I’ll head in now. Good night.”
Bian Jincheng smiled gently. “Alright, good night. I’ll call you tomorrow morning when breakfast is ready.”
“Great, I’ll be waiting to taste your cooking!”
His lips curved upward, still smiling. “Let’s hope I don’t disappoint you.”
Mu Fu teased, “We’ll see how skilled you really are. I’m heading in now.”
“Okay.” Bian Jincheng only walked away after watching her close the door completely.
Farther down the corridor, Wen Shu had already cooled off. He realized how impulsive he’d been just now and slapped his forehead in frustration. Then he turned and walked back—by now, Bian Jincheng should’ve left.
When he reached the door, sure enough, the hallway was empty. He stared at Mu Fu’s door, lost in thought. After standing there for quite a while, he finally went back to his own room.
……
The next morning, Bian Jincheng was up bright and early.
Seeing the breakfast spread he was preparing, Pang Chuan couldn’t help but ask, “Why are you making so much food today?”
Usually, after their morning run, Bian Jincheng kept things simple—maybe a steamed bun and soy milk. But today, the table was packed: fried dough sticks, soup dumplings, steamed dumplings, pan-fried buns…
“Mu Fu’s eating with me,” he replied, a bright smile lighting up his whole face. It was obvious he was in a great mood.
Pang Chuan was a little surprised. He remembered Mu Fu had been pretty close to Wen Shu—not long ago they even went on a date. Maybe something happened between them? Thinking back, last night there didn’t seem to be any interaction between Mu Fu and Wen Shu at all.
Pang Chuan suddenly leaned in and bumped Bian Jincheng with his shoulder, his tone full of teasing curiosity. “Hey, what’s going on? Wasn’t Mu Fu closer to Wen Shu?”
Bian Jincheng shot him a cool glance. “Says who? They just happened to hang out once. I went on the first date with her, remember?”
Pang Chuan thought for a moment—yeah, that was true.
Bian Jincheng clearly didn’t want to keep talking about it. He cut him off with a sharp tone. “Didn’t you already get your porridge? Why aren’t you waking Shirui up?”
Pang Chuan rubbed the back of his short hair with a shy smile. “Shirui said not to wake her today—she wants to sleep in a bit.”
“What’s going on with you two now?” Bian Jincheng asked as he kept working with his hands.
“Well… that’s just how it is,” Pang Chuan mumbled, his face turning red. “I’m going to eat now. Gotta head back to the team afterward.”
“You’re not coming back today?” Bian Jincheng asked casually.
“I’ll be back tonight. Nothing much going on here today anyway.”
After Pang Chuan finished eating and left, Bian Jincheng’s breakfast was just about ready. He took off his apron and went to knock on Mu Fu’s door.
Mu Fu, still groggy, was woken up by the knocking. Irritated, she sat up and snapped, “Who is it?” But when she opened the door and saw who it was, she froze—it was Bian Jincheng.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, totally forgetting their breakfast plans from the night before.
“I’m here to get you for breakfast. Didn’t sleep well? How about you eat something first and then go back to bed?” His voice was so gentle, it swept away her morning grumpiness.
Mu Fu, a little embarrassed, said, “Oh, right, I forgot. Give me a minute—I’ll be ready soon.”
“Alright.” Bian Jincheng’s gaze was warm. Seeing this slightly dazed version of Mu Fu tugged at his heart in the softest way.
She got ready quickly. “Let’s go!”
Once they sat down at the table, Mu Fu’s eyes widened in surprise at the spread. “You made all this?”
“Yep. I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I made a bit of everything.”
“How do you even know how to cook all this?” She suddenly paused, her smile fading a little. He reminded her of Wen Shu. She quickly forced him out of her mind—she hadn’t meant to think of that man at all.
Mu Fu didn’t let Bian Jincheng notice her momentary distraction.
Bian Jincheng chuckled. “Back in school, I was often home alone, so I started experimenting with cooking. Eventually, I just fell in love with it.”
Mu Fu could more or less imagine the kind of life he had back then, but she also knew that Bian Jincheng wasn’t someone who wanted pity.
“Well then, I’m digging in.” She took a bite of the pan-fried bun—it was delicious. “This is amazing!” she said, giving him a big thumbs-up.
“If you like it, eat more. I made plenty.” Bian Jincheng’s eyes were full of warmth.
“Mhm, I will!”
Before long, Mu Fu was completely full and slumped back in her chair. She let out a satisfied sigh. “Breakfast like a king, lunch like a commoner, dinner like a pauper. Right now, I feel like I’ve eaten both well and plenty!”
“If you like it, I can make you breakfast again tomorrow,” Bian Jincheng said as he started cleaning up. He told her to just sit and rest.
“No need, I prefer sleeping in and eating when I wake up naturally.”
“I can always make it and leave it for you.”
Mu Fu cut him off quickly. “Let’s talk about it next time—I don’t want to trouble you too much. I’m gonna go back to bed for a bit. Let’s go out this afternoon instead?”
Bian Jincheng was a little disappointed they wouldn’t be going out in the morning, but afternoon was fine too. After their foot massage, they could go out for dinner together. “Sure.” He paused. “Do you want me to wake you up at noon?”
“No need. I’d rather sleep until I wake up naturally. I really need to recover from the exhaustion of the past few days.”
“Okay.”
On her way back, Mu Fu passed by Wen Shu’s room. The door was shut tight, giving no clue if anyone was inside. She didn’t stop—just walked straight to her own room.
But Wen Shu had actually already been up for a while. When he returned from his morning run earlier, he saw Mu Fu and Bian Jincheng happily eating breakfast together. With a gloomy expression, he quietly slipped out of the living room, careful not to let anyone notice he had been there. Back in his room, he tidied up quickly and went back out—without even having breakfast.
Mu Fu had no interest in where Wen Shu had gone. She was still giving him the cold shoulder.
Before long, it was past 1 p.m. Mu Fu had finally slept her fill. The other three female guests had slept in too—none of them got up in the morning. After the four of them worked together to make a quick lunch, they went their separate ways.
Once she said goodbye to Fan Xinjie and the others, Mu Fu went to look for Bian Jincheng—it was time for their foot massage.
“You’re here?” Bian Jincheng opened the door, surprised and delighted to see her.
“I’m full now. Are you ready? I think we can head out.”
“You don’t want to rest a bit more?” he asked, worried she might still be tired.
“We can relax during the massage too. It’s basically the same thing.”
“Alright.” Bian Jincheng closed the door and left with Mu Fu.
By the time she returned to the courtyard, it was already past 7 p.m. The sky had been dark for a while. After their massage, they’d grabbed dinner nearby before heading back.
On the way back, they happened to run into Wen Shu returning from the military base. Just like that, the three of them unexpectedly crossed paths.
“You’re just getting back now?” Wen Shu asked, assuming Mu Fu and Bian Jincheng had spent the entire day together.
Bian Jincheng remained calm and replied, “Yeah. You just got back too?”
“No, just went out to grab something,” Wen Shu said quickly, suddenly not wanting Mu Fu to know he’d been out all day.
Mu Fu responded casually, “Oh,” then turned to Bian Jincheng. “Let’s hurry back—I need some water. I’m a little thirsty after dinner.”
“Sure,” Bian Jincheng said, then turned to Wen Shu. “We’ll head in first.”
“Okay.” The forced smile on Wen Shu’s face hadn’t left since the moment he saw them.
Axolotl Translations 
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