After Jiang Ye left, Huo Jingyuan locked the iron gate to the courtyard. Wen Ci cozied up to him, wrapping her arms around his firm, muscular arm, and said with a smile,

"It’s so cold outside, but you’re a human furnace."

"A human furnace?"

Huo Jingyuan’s voice lifted, the corners of his lips curling up slightly. He leaned close to Wen Ci’s ear and whispered, "Am I the human furnace, or is *it*..."

Wen Ci was already used to Huo Jingyuan’s raunchy comments.

She let go of Huo Jingyuan’s arm, went around behind him, and jumped onto his back. Resting her head on his shoulder, she whispered, "Are you saying you’re weak?"

’A man’s body is only cold if he’s weak.’

"Don’t you know by now if I’m weak?"

Wen Ci smirked. "I don’t know."

At her words, Huo Jingyuan supported Wen Ci’s behind with both hands and suddenly dropped into a squat. The unexpected movement caught Wen Ci off guard, and she threw her arms around his neck.

Her heart skipped a beat as she waited for him to straighten up again.

Wen Ci cried out playfully, reaching up to give his ear a gentle twist. "Huo, did you do that on purpose?"

"Did what on purpose?"

"Playing dumb, aren’t you?"

Huo Jingyuan carried Wen Ci on his back into the living room.

Suddenly, Wen Ci remembered what Su Wanqing had said during the day. She leaned close to Huo Jingyuan’s ear and blew a soft breath against it, clearly feeling his body tremble.

Then, she asked unhurriedly,

"I hear you and Doctor Su are childhood sweethearts."

Huo Jingyuan: "..."

Just as he felt the warm breath on his ear and his eyes darkened with desire, ready to carry Wen Ci straight to the bedroom, his heart suddenly tensed.

’The regimental committee had warned him that if he didn’t handle this matter properly, a rift would grow between him and Wen Ci.’

Huo Jingyuan set Wen Ci down. His handsome, rugged face was stern and serious as he raised his hand. In a slow, solemn voice, he said, "I, Huo Jingyuan, swear to God that Su Wanqing and I are not what you would call childhood sweethearts."

"Then what are you?"

Huo Jingyuan only knew Su Wanqing because he used to spend his winter and summer breaks abroad with his aunt. The Su Family were his aunt’s neighbors.

After listening to Huo Jingyuan’s explanation, Wen Ci said, "So you’ve known each other for a long time."

Huo Jingyuan shook his head. "Not that long. I haven’t been abroad since I joined the army at eighteen."

Soldiers can’t just leave the country whenever they want. As the youngest officer in the Northwest, a trip abroad was extremely complicated for him, so his aunt started visiting him once a year instead.

Huo Jingyuan’s gaze was intense as he leaned in and kissed Wen Ci’s eyelids. "Ah Ci, you can trust me unconditionally from now on."

"Unconditionally?"

Wen Ci wrapped her arms around his neck, her gaze fixed on the man before her. She watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed, a smirk playing on her lips. "If I were to leave a mark on Mr. Huo’s neck, would your subordinates laugh at you?"

Those two words, ’Mr. Huo,’ coming from Wen Ci’s lips.

That title seemed to be filled with temptation. The man’s deep eyes darkened, his gaze so fiery it was as if he were about to devour her, bones and all.

"They won’t."

The men in the Northwest Military Region used to treat marks from a woman as a status symbol, something to brag about. They’d laugh at the rookies who were still unmarried virgins.

Huo Jingyuan had been one of those rookies they laughed at.

Even though this wasn’t his first time with Wen Ci, she had never been the one to leave a mark on his body. The fact that she was bringing it up herself made him ecstatic.

"Ah Ci, whether or not I get to laugh at the others is all up to you."

As he spoke, he wrapped an arm around Wen Ci’s waist and pulled her into his embrace. His palm caressed her sensitive, slender waist as he said in a deep, magnetic voice, "Leave plenty on my neck."

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