"Desolate? Not really," Huo Jingyuan replied.
A few years ago, the area around the Northwest Military Region was indeed desolate, even filled with yellow sand. But in the last couple of years, the environment has changed drastically. They've built family housing compounds and planted oleaster trees to prevent desertification.
Having the Jiang family's daughter join him in the Northwest was because Huo Jingyuan, as an officer of the Northwest Military Region, needed to lead by example for the entire army. This would encourage more families to be willing to move to the Northwest.
Huo Jingyuan's gaze fell on the cheerful young lady from the Jiang family. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "The family compounds in the Northwest... they probably aren't like here in Beijing. You'll have to do most things yourself. It will be very hard."
"I don't mind," Wen Ci said with a shrug.
'Could it be any harder than the apocalypse?'
'This is the eighties. At most, it's just about being self-reliant.'
Huo Jingyuan lowered his gaze slightly. He had previously heard from his elders that the Jiang family's daughter was a delicate and frail young woman. Seeing her today, she was completely different from what he had imagined.
"Although we've already registered the marriage, we can book the wedding banquet at the state-run restaurant."
Wen Ci asked, "Can we skip it?"
In the eighties, the price per table at a state-run restaurant was quite high. Children from the military compounds usually had eight large tables for their weddings, and that didn't even include the cost of alcohol for each table.
The mere thought of the cost made Wen Ci's heart ache.
Besides, as the substitute bride, it wasn't necessary!
"Why?" Huo Jingyuan asked, confused.
His trip back to Beijing wasn't just to bring the Jiang family's daughter with him to the Northwest.
He also had to hold a wedding to announce it to the whole compound.
Huo Jingyuan had lived in the Beijing compound with his maternal grandparents as a child. His parents worked at another confidential unit and happened to share the same surname, Huo.
So, outsiders assumed that Huo Jingyuan was the biological grandson of the Beijing Huo family.
Ever since Huo Jingyuan's maternal grandfather passed away, many people in the compound thought the Huo family was in decline. In reality, his paternal grandfather's side of the family was even more powerful and influential.
Wen Ci blinked, her voice soft and sweet as she replied, "Three days is probably too rushed to plan a wedding. I don't want it to be so hurried, so we could hold it back in the Northwest."
For some reason, Wen Ci always felt a sense of discomfort in her body while in Beijing, as if it was the original owner's resistance. The feeling was even stronger inside the Jiang Family home.
Hearing this, Huo Jingyuan nodded solemnly. He had indeed not thought things through regarding the wedding. In total, he was only staying in Beijing for three days.
Including today, he only had the next two days left.
Even if they could book the state-run restaurant tomorrow, it would still be a bit rushed.
Huo Jingyuan looked at Wen Ci. The woman before him would be his companion for the rest of his life, and he didn't want to give her a rushed wedding either.
He had heard the political commissar at the military region say that marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime event.
It absolutely couldn't be done carelessly.
"Then I'll listen to you."
Wen Ci smiled. Her gaze fell on the casual suit jacket Huo Jingyuan was wearing. Underneath was a white shirt, through which she could make out his powerful pectoral muscles.
'I want to touch them!'
'I want to play with them!'
Huo Jingyuan sat ramrod straight beside Wen Ci. Feeling her scorching gaze, he glanced sideways and saw her eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation.
He couldn't help but look at Wen Ci, their eyes meeting for a few seconds.
Huo Jingyuan really couldn't take that look from Wen Ci. He turned his face away, the tips of his ears turning faintly red, a detail you'd miss if you weren't looking closely.
He hadn't had many opportunities to interact with girls growing up.
In the Northwest Military Region, he would only see one or two female nurses when he was injured, but they weren't as bold as this young woman from the Jiang family. They usually avoided him whenever they saw him.
Seeing the tips of his ears turn red, Wen Ci couldn't help but chuckle softly.
'He's an innocent soldier boy.'
Huo Jingyuan had the classic build: a tiger's back, an ape's waist, and a mantis's legs.
Just from his physique, she could picture his V-taper.
Wen Ci liked men with this kind of build the most.
In her past life, she had always wanted to date a man with such a perfect body in college, but she never expected the apocalypse to arrive, bringing with it a zombie onslaught.
After becoming the War God, Wen Ci had no time to even think about romance.
Usually, just feasting her eyes was satisfying enough.
But now...
'Heh heh.'
She was Huo Jingyuan's wife in name.
Jiang Chen returned from the department store with several sets of clothes. He reluctantly tossed the new garments onto the edge of the sofa and started to say, "Wen..."
As soon as the word left his mouth, he met Huo Jingyuan's eyes and immediately corrected himself, a faint smile on his face. "Sister Jiang Ci, do you think these clothes will fit?"
Before the Jiang Family sent out Wen Ci's household registration, they had changed her surname.
Jiang Ci.
Huo Jingyuan lightly rubbed his calloused fingertips together.
He silently repeated the name of the woman beside him.
Suddenly, a CRASH came from upstairs. Shards of a vase clattered onto the staircase, accompanied by a woman's delicate shriek.
Jiang Chen immediately panicked. Ignoring Huo Jingyuan's presence, he walked straight to the stairs. Seeing his sister fallen on the floor, he showed a flustered expression and comforted her:
"Sister, are you okay?"
Jiang Chen's concerned voice was neither loud nor soft.
Huo Jingyuan frowned slightly upon hearing the commotion. As far as he knew, the Jiang Family only had one daughter. So who was the one who had fallen and broken the vase upstairs?
Just as he was pondering this, Wen Ci touched his hand.
Huo Jingyuan flusteredly snatched his hand back. He looked at Wen Ci in shock, his heart skipping a few beats and his Adam's apple bobbing up and down.
Wen Ci said, "Let's go."
She didn't like the atmosphere in the Jiang family's home.
"Go... go where?"
Wen Ci: "Home, of course."
As she spoke, Wen Ci took the initiative to move closer and link her arm with Huo Jingyuan's. Her tone was calm, each word firm and clear: "We are a legally married couple, Mr. Huo."
The title "Mr. Huo" made Huo Jingyuan's ears burn.
He wasn't used to Wen Ci acting so boldly.
But deep down, he found it secretly thrilling.
Su Guilan was just about to ask them to stay, but she heard a louder commotion from upstairs. She gave Wen Ci a complicated look and reined in her emotions.
"Ah Ci is right. You're a married couple now; you should start your life together. I'll have her brother bring Ah Ci's luggage over tomorrow."
Wen Ci pulled Huo Jingyuan to his feet. "Let's go, Mr. Huo."
Even through their clothes, Huo Jingyuan could feel her hand brushing against him, sometimes intentionally, sometimes not. Flustered and nervous, he clenched his fists.
Once they were outside the Jiang Family home, Wen Ci let go of Huo Jingyuan's arm.
She knew he was uncomfortable.
In this era, men and women were extremely reserved with each other.
Unmarried men and women, in particular, wouldn't have much contact in private.
Even married couples often maintained a certain distance.
But Wen Ci didn't share that mindset. She was a modern woman who had been alone for over twenty years and had seen too much cruelty in the apocalypse, which made her yearn for love.
She had only just met Huo Jingyuan.
But as the old saying goes...
'We have plenty of time!'
She was about to move to the Northwest with the army. While she was still in Beijing, how could she not get to know her husband a little better?
After all, a harmonious marital life is also very important.
'Ahem.'
At this thought, Wen Ci's gaze couldn't help but fall back on Huo Jingyuan.
She carefully sized him up from head to toe.
'Huo Jingyuan's body is so perfect, and he's been training in the army for a long time. His stamina can't be that bad, no matter what.'
"How's your stamina?" Wen Ci asked.