Bringing the Nation's Husband Home

Lu Jinnian lifted the cigarette towards his mouth to take a deep breath. Exhaling slowly, he looked at the two names behind the smoke for a long while. In the end, he still couldn’t resist reaching towards his thigh to pinch himself. When the sharp stinging pain pulsed through his veins, he was reassured that the past twenty four hours—the flight back from America all the way till now—had really happened.

Qiao Anhao was really married to him, she was his wife.

”Lu Jinnian...” Qiao Anhao’s voice suddenly sounded from the staircase. Soon, he could hear her hurried footsteps.

He came back to his senses and extinguished the cigarette instantly, stuffing the marriage certificate back into his pocket. He turned to walk out of the study room. Qiao Anhao had just showered and was dressed in a cotton night dress and had a towel wrapped around her head. With a cleanly scrubbed face, she ran up the stairs with her hands on the railing as she shouted continuously, ”Lu Jinnian, Lu Jinnian...”

”Here.” Lu Jinnian frowned, he shut the study room door and walked down the stairs towards her.

The moment she heard his voice, she lifted her head in its direction. The moment his face came into sight, the obvious anxiousness and anxiety etched on her face faded away, turning into a warm smile. Rushing up the staircase once more, she panted slightly, seemingly out of breath. ”I filled the tub with hot water for you.”

Was she worried when she couldn’t find him?

His heart increased in tempo, the drumming clear in his ears, and his gaze turned fiery. After a while, he nodded his head silently. Grabbing her hand, he walked her back to the bedroom.

-

When Lu Jinnian came out of the shower, Qiao Anhao was already lying on the bed, chatting in a low voice. He didn’t pay attention to the content but when he heard her say ”Brother Jiamu”, he froze slightly before returning to the bathroom and closing the door behind himself.

Qiao Anhao didn’t talk for long, it was about two minutes before the conversation ended. Lu Jinnian tossed the towel he had in his hands before returning back to the bedroom.

Qiao Anhao sat on the bed. When she heard him, she turned asking gently, ”Done showering?”

”Yea,” Lu Jinnian replied coldly. He switched off the bedroom lights and laid down on the bed.

Nothing happened on the first night after they got married, they just laid on the bed silently.

Qiao Anhao inched slightly towards him. He didn’t avoid and even brought her into his embrace.

Since they came back from America, they had gone straight to get their marriage license. They never once stopped to rest, so by then they were exhausted. Qiao Anhao nestled in Lu Jinnian’s arms and fell asleep after a short while.

Lu Jinnian waited till her breathing became deeper before he lowered his head. With the faint glow from the night lamp, he looked at her face for a while. Reaching out with his arm, he lightly caressed her face. The feeling was real. Glancing back at the ceiling, he stared for a while more before gently removing Qiao Anhao from his arms. Silently, he put on a sweater before going to the study room.

He sat at the same spot he was in previously. Picking up the box of cigarettes in front of him, he lit a stick.