Chapter 440: Distinguished Guest

Chapter 440 Honored Guest

Ye Changyuan was escorted by the guard to the front of Ye Xiaoxiao's house.

It had been a long time since he last saw Xiaoxiao. While they weren't exactly strangers, he still felt a bit nervous.

"This is Commander Lu's place."

"Thank you for leading the way."

"You're welcome. I'd better get going—I need to return to my post."

After the guard left, Ye Changyuan pushed open the door and entered the yard.

Lu Hanchuan happened to be home today. Hearing movement in the yard, he came out to check and saw Ye Changyuan.

It had been a while. The other man had grown taller, his skin tanned to a wheatish hue, radiating masculinity just by standing there.

"Xiaoxiao, look who's here!"

Lu Hanchuan called out.

Ye Xiaoxiao had been washing jujubes in the kitchen and rushed out upon hearing Lu Hanchuan’s voice.

"Brother Changyuan!"

She had already guessed it might be Ye Changyuan, which was why she was so excited.

"Wow, Changyuan, you’ve changed so much! If you went back home now, your father might not even recognize you."

"Come on, it's not that exaggerated. Did I get uglier after staying in the military for so long?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "No, no, you’ve become even more handsome."

Ye Xiaoxiao led Ye Changyuan inside and took him to the guest room.

"I’ve had the room ready for a while. You’ll be staying here tonight."

Ye Changyuan looked at the yellow floral-patterned bedsheet, and his eye twitched at the sight. His hard-earned masculine image—would a few nights here ruin it?

But this was clearly Xiaoxiao's style. He couldn’t help but wonder if even Lu Hanchuan had to sleep on such bedsheets at home.

That thought made him feel better.

After putting away his things, Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Changyuan sat down in the living room.

Lu Hanchuan had already made tea and brought out the partially washed jujubes.

Once seated, Ye Xiaoxiao and Ye Changyuan caught up on news from home.

She'd only been on the island for two months, so there couldn’t have been major changes.

She mainly told Ye Changyuan about her oldest sister's husband and second sister starting a business together.

"I’m not worried about Second Sister. She’s always been good at handling things like this, and she’s persuasive—she's a natural at business.

"But my oldest sister's husband… he always seemed like such a straightforward guy to me."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "That’s exactly why they balance each other out. They’ve been doing really well together and have even expanded to a second location in the city now."

Ye Changyuan: "Couldn't have done it without Third Brother's help."

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Don't put it like that. Second Sister and Elder Sister's husband did well too. Otherwise, no matter how much goods Third Brother provided, they wouldn't have made money."

Ye Changyuan nodded, as long as the family keeps improving.

Ye Xiaoxiao asked again: "How's everything in the army?"

Ye Changyuan: "All good. Don't worry about me, Xiao Xiao."

Ye Changyuan had already been promoted.

Although he was only a squad leader, he hadn't graduated from military school. He earned this through his service record.

At the same time, the Yun family's connections helped too. He had been arranged into the army by the Yun family, and his CO knew about his connections.

But Ye Changyuan had never thought of using connections. He just focused on doing his job diligently and left it at that.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "How long are you staying, Changyuan?"

"Three days. After that, I'm shipping out."

Ye Changyuan didn't get much time off, and he was also planning to go home for the New Year.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Alright, then let's check out the island tomorrow. Today, let me show you some hospitality."

Lu Hanchuan snickered from where he stood. Xiao Xiao's demeanor made it seem like she was a five-star chef.

Even when guests came, it was usually him who cooked.

Lu Hanchuan waved Xiao Xiao into a seat. "You stay and chat with Changyuan. I'll go see what to cook."

Ye Xiaoxiao plopped down obediently. "I'll help you later."

Lu Hanchuan shook his head and left.

Seeing Lu Hanchuan leave, Ye Changyuan quietly asked Ye Xiaoxiao:

"Xiao Xiao, how's married life? You're not being bullied, are you?"

Ye Xiaoxiao: "Of course not. Do you think Lu Hanchuan could bully me?"

She tossed her head proudly, looking extremely confident.

Ye Changyuan fell silent.

He wanted to say that Lu Hanchuan looked like trouble, but after recalling their earlier interactions, he realized Lu Hanchuan wasn't so standoffish.

For the first time observing how married folks interact, Ye Changyuan decided to keep an eye out.

...

Besides the small shop on the island, there was also a makeshift market the locals set up near the shop.

They sold extra produce and the day's catch.

The customers were the soldiers based on the island.

Lu Hanchuan picked up some kelp and fresh catch, then went to the shop to get a bundle of rice noodles.

A Bang was working the store today, and they barely exchanged words. After paying up, Lu Hanchuan walked out.

"Ouch..."

Just as Lu Hanchuan stepped out the door, before even descending the steps, he saw a woman riding a bicycle crash straight into the doorstep and fall.

Lu Hanchuan barely batted an eye at her fall—it clearly wasn’t serious.

But he gave the bike a good once-over. They should probably buy one for Xiao Xiao to ride.

She'd been getting out more often lately and still hadn’t explored the entire island. Having a bike would make it easier for her to get around.

Xu Li was normally a decent rider, but today she hadn’t been paying attention to the road, hitting a rock that sent her flying.

Across from the store sat a group of old-timers. Xu Li was already embarrassed enough, but when she stood up and saw a strange man staring at her, she saw red.

"What are you looking at? What, never seen a pretty girl?"

Xu Li was indeed wearing a beautiful red dress today.

But calling herself a beauty in front of Lu Hanchuan made him let out an involuntary chuckle.

"Miss, I was looking at the bicycle, not you. And don’t get ahead of yourself—I have a wife. I’m not interested in beauties."

After saying this, Lu Hanchuan descended the steps, carrying his groceries, and walked off without a backward glance.

All things considered, his words had been civil enough.

She was a female comrade, and she had just taken a spill—her anger was understandable.

If it had been a man starting trouble, Lu Hanchuan wouldn’t have let it slide.

Xu Li’s face flushed red. Who did this guy think he was? So rude!

Plenty of creeps got their kicks staring at women’s skirts—for all she knew, she might've flashed something she shouldn't have when she fell.

Claiming he wasn’t looking at her? Yeah, right.

But Xu Li’s mental rant would remain unknown to anyone.

Lu Hanchuan returned home with the groceries and got started on dinner.

Ye Xiaoxiao told Ye Changyuan to make himself comfortable while she went to the kitchen to help.

But soon, she came back out, holding two cloves of garlic to peel.

Ye Changyuan remembered that back home, this sort of chore had always been handled by five-year-old Ye Baocheng.

Now, even Ye Baocheng didn’t do this anymore.

"This is what you call helping?" Ye Changyuan asked in disbelief.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "This is about my speed right now."

Because she hadn’t mastered anything else yet.

Ye Changyuan sighed and stood up. "I saw Comrade Lu bought some seafood earlier. I’ll go give him a hand with the cleaning."