At the military's group wedding, my best friend and I swapped husbands.

Chapter 33 Protecting One's Own

Su Wanwan shook her head, her voice trembling with tears, "No... I just... wanted to cook..."

Seeing her pitiful state and hearing the gossip around her, Lin Weiwei's anger flared up instantly.

She turned around, her eyes sweeping over the group of women outside the courtyard, and she was about to start a tirade.

"My family's affairs are none of your concern."

A deep voice came from the kitchen doorway, interrupting Lin Weiwei's words.

As everyone looked, they saw Bai Rongbei emerge from the thick smoke.

He had taken off his military jacket, leaving him only in a white vest. His face was smeared with black ash, and he was holding a burnt iron pot in his hand.

He walked straight to the corner of the yard, put the pot on the ground, straightened up, and coldly swept his gaze over the crowd outside the yard.

"The fire is out, nothing happened." His voice was calm, but carried a natural sense of pressure. "It's normal that Comrade Su Wanwan is not familiar with using a traditional earthen stove for the first time."

He paused, then looked at the tall, thin woman who had spoken the loudest earlier: "Nobody is born knowing everything. You can learn it."

The auntie felt a little awkward under Bai Rongbei's gaze and muttered, "You have to be careful when you study, it's too dangerous..."

"I will teach her," Bai Rongbei replied quickly, his tone resolute. "This will never happen again."

After saying that, he stopped looking at the crowd and turned back to Su Wanwan.

Su Wanwan kept her head down, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Bai Rongbei looked at her, remained silent for two seconds, and then suddenly reached out and took the spatula that she was tightly gripping in her hand.

"I'll cook tonight." He only said four words, then looked at Lin Weiwei, "Could you please accompany her to wash her face?"

Lin Weiwei nodded quickly and pulled Su Wanwan into the house.

Bai Rongbei bent down to pick up the pot from the ground and walked into the messy kitchen.

Seeing that there was no excitement to be had and Bai Rongbei's attitude was cold and hard, the onlookers outside the courtyard gradually dispersed.

Wang Xiuying stood at the back of the crowd, watching Bai Rongbei's retreating figure as he walked into the kitchen, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Just now, Bai Rongbei's words "it's my family's business," and the way he unhesitatingly defended Su Wanwan...

He was completely different from the Bai Rongbei she remembered who had ignored Lin Weiwei.

Sister Zhang sighed and said to the people around her, "Alright, alright, everyone disperse. She's a new bride, we can teach her slowly. Commander Bai said he'll teach her, so let's not worry about it."

The crowd dispersed, and the courtyard became quiet.

In the kitchen, Bai Rongbei threw away the burnt potato shreds and washed the pot.

He had rekindled the fire in the stove, and it was burning brightly, the red flames reflecting off his expressionless face.

He scooped water, washed the rice, and put it in the pot.

The movements were skillful and efficient.

In the inner room, Lin Weiwei brought water and wiped Su Wanwan's face.

"Why are you showing off like that!" Lin Weiwei scolded as she wiped the clothes. "If you don't know how to do it, don't do it. Just wait for them to come back and do it! Look at yourself, you look like you crawled out of a coal pile."

Su Wanwan's eyes were still red, and she said softly, "I just... wanted to thank him..."

"You got yourself all messed up just to thank him?" Lin Weiwei poked her forehead. "Are you stupid?!"

After wiping her face clean, Su Wanwan looked at the dark water in the basin and, recalling the accusations from the crowd and Bai Rongbei's defense, felt a lump in her throat.

"Weiwei...am I...really useless?" Her voice was choked with sobs.

Lin Weiwei paused, put down the towel, and looked at her seriously: "Who said that? You just haven't done these kinds of chores before. You'll learn slowly! Look at me, I don't know how either, but I'm thick-skinned, I'm not afraid!"

Su Wanwan wanted to laugh at her, but couldn't manage to.

"Alright, stop thinking about it." Lin Weiwei put her arm around her shoulder. "Wasn't your man pretty cool just now? 'My family's affairs are none of your business,' tsk tsk, so fiercely protective of his own!"

Su Wanwan's face flushed slightly.

The sounds and aromas of stir-frying came from the kitchen.

Lin Weiwei sniffed: "It smells alright. Let's go outside and take a look."

The two walked out of the house and saw Bai Rongbei standing in front of the stove, holding the pot handle with one hand and stirring with a spatula in the other.

The cuffs of his military trousers were rolled up, revealing his muscular calves. A small patch of his white undershirt was soaked with sweat and clung to his back.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone into the kitchen, gilding his silhouette with a layer of gold.

Su Wanwan stood at the door, watching his back, and the embarrassment and grievance in her heart suddenly dissipated.

Bai Rongbei seemed to notice her gaze and turned around to look at her.

"The food will be ready soon," he said. "Go set the table."

"Mmm." Su Wanwan responded softly, walked into the kitchen, and took out four bowls and four pairs of chopsticks from the cupboard.

Lin Weiwei also came in to help.

Bai Rongbei stir-fried some cabbage, heated up some cornbread, and cooked a pot of millet porridge.

Although it's simple, it tastes much better than what you get in the cafeteria.

Just as the food was served, Bai Si'an came over from next door.

He saw Su Wanwan's clean face, then looked at the steaming food on the table, pushed up his glasses, said nothing, and sat down at the table.

The four of them sat around the table eating.

It was very quiet, with only the sound of bowls and chopsticks clattering.

Lin Weiwei munched on her cornbread, her eyes darting back and forth between Su Wanwan and Bai Rongbei.

Su Wanwan sipped her porridge, occasionally stealing a glance at Bai Rongbei across from her.

Bai Rongbei ate quickly but quietly.

Bai Si'an ate silently as well.

After finishing their meal, Bai Rongbei got up to clear the dishes, and Su Wanwan quickly stood up: "I'll wash them."

Bai Rongbei glanced at her, didn't object, and handed her the bowl.

Su Wanwan took the bowl to the kitchen to wash it.

Lin Weiwei wanted to go and help, but Bai Si'an stopped her.

"Weiwei, come here for a moment." Bai Si'an stood up and walked outside. "We still need to discuss the plans for that courtyard."

Lin Weiwei glanced at the kitchen, then at Bai Si'an, and followed him out.

In the kitchen, Su Wanwan stood by the water tank washing dishes.

The water was cold, and she washed very carefully.

Bai Rongbei walked in, picked up a ladle and scooped water into the pot, preparing to boil water for washing his feet.

Neither of them spoke.

After a long while, Su Wanwan finally spoke softly, "Commander Bai... thank you for today."

Bai Rongbei added a piece of firewood to the stove: "No need to thank me."

"Thank you for getting me out of that predicament... and thank you for not thinking I'm stupid." Su Wanwan's voice trailed off.

Bai Rongbei paused for a moment and looked up at her.

She was facing him sideways, her profile soft in the dim light of the kerosene lamp, her eyelashes wet, and the tip of her nose slightly red.

"Not stupid," he suddenly said.

Su Wanwan was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at him.