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“Cough cough!”
Commander Feng came downstairs and saw the two hugging, he coughed to remind them.
Shen Yihuan released Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou turned around, saluted, his expression normal: “Commander Feng.”
Shen Yihuan tilted her head, looked at Lu Zhou, then at Commander Feng, and finally, imitating him, she also saluted.
“...” Commander Feng waved his hand, “In the military camp, pay attention to your image!”
Lu Zhou nodded: “Yes.”
After Commander Feng left, Shen Yihuan shrank her neck, thinking, He’s so damn fierce.
On the way back, Lu Zhou roughly explained the situation they encountered last night. Shen Yihuan’s previous self-righteous little spats were not even a speck of dust compared to this.
“Were you hurt?” Shen Yihuan asked.
Lu Zhou: “No.”
“Not at all?”
Lu Zhou smiled: “Not at all.”
“Who were those people who attacked you?”
Lu Zhou said: “Still under investigation.”
“You told me yesterday you were going on a night patrol. I thought it was just patrolling around. I didn’t know it would be this dangerous.”
Lu Zhou ruffled her hair, then hummed in affirmation.
At his dorm door, Lu Zhou unlocked the door with his key, pushed her inside, closed the door again, and asked, “Before the call was cut yesterday, what were you going to tell me?”
Shen Yihuan remembered.
“Then you can’t get angry,” she demanded first.
Lu Zhou sat across from her, unbuttoning his collar. He exuded the relaxation of having just finished a battle, with a hint of casual laziness.
“What?”
“You promise first.”
Lu Zhou paused slightly, then said, “I won’t get angry.”
Shen Yihuan watched him for a while, as if confirming the truth of his words.
“I mentioned it to you before, Ruru’s work is over, she’s coming to Xinjiang to find me tomorrow. Sister Qin Zheng and I have already discussed it, we’ll go play with her the day after tomorrow.” She looked up at Lu Zhou, then added, “Gu Minghui is coming along too; we already agreed when we were in Beijing. I’ll be back in two days.”
Lu Zhou looked at her extremely calmly.
He didn’t seem angry, but the aura around him was even more terrifying than anger.
Shen Yihuan quickly said, “You said you wouldn’t get angry!”
Lu Zhou’s thin lips slightly parted: “What time tomorrow?”
Shen Yihuan thought for a moment: “Ruru’s flight arrives here at 5 PM.”
Lu Zhou said: “I’ll go with you.”
“Huh?” Shen Yihuan was stunned.
Lu Zhou didn’t intend to say more. He pushed her into the bedroom: “You should get some sleep first. I have something else to do and need to go out.”
________________________________________
Shen Yihuan barely slept last night. She fell asleep almost immediately after her head hit the pillow. Lu Zhou got up, leaned over again, and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth.
He gently closed the door and went out, heading straight for the military medical office.
He Min had just finished a series of examinations. Fortunately, the bullet embedded in his flesh contained no toxic substances, and the wound was treated promptly and disinfected thoroughly, showing no signs of inflammation.
Initially, He Can was startled when she tore off the bandage on He Min’s arm.
It was a bloody mess, with a dent, and a piece of flesh had been directly cut away.
Although it was indeed necessary to do so in the wild when uncertain if the bullet was poisoned, how could an ordinary person endure such a degree of pain, and how could anyone so decisively and cruelly excise a piece of flesh with precision?
Seeing He Can’s shocked expression, He Min raised an eyebrow: “What, was it not handled well?”
He Can quickly shook her head, while speeding up her actions, wrapping the bandage and throwing it into the trash, picking up tweezers: “No, it’s... handled too well. Didn’t it hurt?”
“Captain Lu handled it. He’s been injured so much, he’s become a doctor from prolonged illness,” He Min smiled. “Of course it hurt, but there’s no other way in that kind of environment.”
He Can was a little surprised.
Many medical students initially find it difficult to cope with bloody and cruel scenes, sometimes even suffering trauma, and switch majors because they cannot adapt.
For non-medical students, such scenes are even more impactful.
She knew that everyone in this military camp faced life and death, and charged into battle, but this was the first time she had truly witnessed it firsthand, not just He Min’s horrific arm injury, but also Lu Zhou’s psychological resilience.
A doctor from prolonged illness.
How much blood had he shed to reach this point?
Thinking of this, He Can felt a pang of sadness.
She opened a sheet of anti-inflammatory medicine, took out two pills, and poured a glass of water: “Deputy Captain He, please take these first.”
Just as He Min took his medicine, the door to the military medical office opened, and a wind chimes tinkled, sounding like the melodious song of a skylark in this vast emptiness.
Lu Zhou walked in, his long legs and tall, agile build striking.
“How is it?” he asked.
“No major issues, but muscle tissue was also damaged. He definitely can’t train normally for a while. The exact number of rest days will depend on his recovery. Also,” He Can put the medicine from the table into a bag, “I’ve already marked the dosage and timing for these medications. Don’t forget.”
Lu Zhou took it, then looked at He Min: “Good, you’ll lead the team training tomorrow. I need to go out.”
“To the border post?”
“No.”
Lu Zhou and He Min bid farewell to He Can and walked out of the military medical office.
Only then did He Min ask, “Then what are you going to do? Don’t hide anything from me if it’s important.”
“No, it’s Shen Yihuan. I’m going out with her for a couple of days.”
He Min paused, remembering what Lu Zhou had mentioned to Commander Feng earlier: one of the suspected targets related to arms trafficking was a friend of Shen Yihuan’s.
He lowered his voice: “Gu Minghui?”
“Yes, I need to confirm if he’s involved in arms trafficking.”
If he truly was, then he couldn’t possibly let Shen Yihuan be exposed to any danger by being around Gu Minghui.
He Min was silent for a while, then asked: “What about the one brought back? Any confessions?”
“No, probably needs some persuasion.”
He Min grunted: “Just grind him down, it’ll come out eventually.”
Lu Zhou wasn’t as optimistic as him. Last night, that man clearly aimed the gun at his own head without hesitation. If Lu Zhou had been a step slower, he wouldn’t have been able to bring him back.
Today, such “dead men” only exist for a few reasons: they’ve been brainwashed, they can gain higher benefits by dying, or, if they don’t die, their fate will be more painful than a bullet to the head.
________________________________________
The next day.
The two set off.
The sun was strong, but the wind was cold.
The car windows were tightly closed. Shen Yihuan pulled down the sun visor in front. The car’s heater was on, creating the illusion of warm sunshine through the car glass.
Her eyelids drooped, showing fatigue.
She wore a long black dress that reached her calves, her ankles slender and fair. She leaned her head against the car window, her hair loosely tied into a ponytail, with stray wisps clinging to her pale neck.
She had applied a rather exquisite makeup today, with rosy lips, white teeth, and two willow-leaf brows.
Her finger pressed on the phone screen.
Qiu Ruru sent her a location.
Shen Yihuan handed the phone over: “Do you know this place?”
Lu Zhou steered the wheel with one hand, glanced at the phone: “I know it. Going straight there?”
“Mm, they’re already there.”
As soon as Qiu Ruru got off the plane, she and Gu Minghui went straight to a restaurant. She had done some research before coming, but the places she found were still “internet-famous restaurants” popular with tourists. The food was indeed delicious, but not necessarily authentic, and also very expensive.
Lu Zhou parked the car at the restaurant entrance. Shen Yihuan got out first, then he went to find a parking spot.
After getting out of the car, she finally felt like she was genuinely traveling in Xinjiang.
The surrounding crowd was bustling; it was dinner time. Men and women entered and exited the restaurant. It was clear that none of them were local Xinjiang people; they were all tourists. Even if some wore Western Region-style clothing, it wasn’t hard to tell.
Shen Yihuan felt many gazes on her.
Her appearance, from childhood to adulthood, had always been accustomed to such gazes, and she didn’t feel uncomfortable.
However, she had been in the military camp for a while. There, even though Lu Zhou’s subordinates often looked at her with curiosity, the meaning of those gazes was completely different from these.
At that moment, she even had a feeling of memory returning.
Memories from the bustling cities, from the endless traffic, collided with the memories of this desolate wilderness.
She looked down and texted, saying she was at the entrance.
Qiu Ruru sent the private room number.
Lu Zhou parked the car and came over, walking through the bustling crowd. He was tall, half a head taller than the people around him, easily noticeable.
He had changed out of the military uniform and camouflage he usually wore these days, opting instead for white casual clothes and black pants. His muscles were sleek and graceful, and his long legs were incredibly eye-catching.
In just those few steps, from the parking spot to where Shen Yihuan stood, he attracted countless gazes.
Some tourists, women, had even pulled out their phones to take pictures of Lu Zhou.
Shen Yihuan frowned slightly.
Lu Zhou was already in front of her. As if he hadn’t noticed the surrounding gazes, he looked down, Shen Yihuan’s reflection in his pupils: “Which private room number?”
“324.”
Lu Zhou looked around, then consciously led the way: “Let’s go.”
Shen Yihuan followed, walking beside him, the rustling whispers of discussion reaching her ears.
She tilted her head, accusingly: “Why aren’t you holding my hand?”
Lu Zhou’s steps paused, then he took her hand without hesitation.
________________________________________
Inside Private Room 324.
Qiu Ruru had already booked it, and the dishes were already on the table. Yesterday, after learning that Lu Zhou was also coming, she specifically asked Shen Yihuan what Lu Zhou liked to eat, only to give up after receiving the reply “anything is fine.”
To be fair, Qiu Ruru was a very rational person. Regarding the reason for their previous breakup, although she knew Lu Zhou’s personality was a factor, it was more of Shen Yihuan’s problem.
So, as Shen Yihuan’s best friend, she didn’t dislike Lu Zhou at all; in fact, she quite admired him.
“That’s enough. Someone who doesn’t know might think you’re a mother-in-law seeing her son-in-law.”
Gu Minghui sat on the side, rolling his eyes at Qiu Ruru’s differential treatment.
Qiu Ruru glared at him: “Go to hell.”
After a few bickering remarks, the private room door was pulled open.
“Cherry!!”
Qiu Ruru called out enthusiastically, almost rushing over to hug Shen Yihuan.
“You’ve gotten thinner again, is work very hard?”
Shen Yihuan smiled: “It’s alright, pretty much the same as when I was in Beijing.”
Qiu Ruru’s gaze shifted to Lu Zhou behind Shen Yihuan. Their previous meeting was at a class reunion, where she could only sense his extraordinary aura. Now, standing in this land, she could feel his wildness and assertiveness even more.
Even Qiu Ruru didn’t dare to be presumptuous in front of this border defense team captain.
Finally, she respectfully shook Lu Zhou’s hand.
“...” Shen Yihuan looked at the two of them, speechless, “Do you know you two were high school classmates?”
Qiu Ruru: “...”
Gu Minghui, who had remained seated, stood up, his chair scraping. He extended his hand towards Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou’s expression remained unchanged as he shook his hand.
“Cherry, come sit down,” Gu Minghui gestured.
Once everyone was seated, Qiu Ruru had the other hot dishes served, filling the entire table.
Shen Yihuan’s mouth watered from the aroma. Fortunately, the three people present were all too familiar with each other, so there was no need to be reserved.
The two girls ate lively, while the two men only occasionally moved their chopsticks. Gu Minghui said he had already eaten many Xinjiang delicacies in the past few days, and Lu Zhou had been here for three years, so there was no need to mention him.
________________________________________
They ate for a long time.
Many plates were empty.
Qiu Ruru and Shen Yihuan went to the restroom together.
Lu Zhou leaned back in his chair, his eyes lowered, looking disinclined to interact.
His phone vibrated with a message from Shen Yihuan.
Cherry: Don’t you two fight!
Lu Zhou: We won’t.
Gu Minghui picked up a glass, swirled it, drank a sip, then put it down again, making the glass clink.
Lu Zhou slowly raised his eyes, his gaze deep, his pupil color made lighter by the light, the corners of his eyes long and slightly upturned, looking very cold.
Gu Minghui looked up at him with his chin lifted.
“The wound on your face is healed?” Lu Zhou asked.
Gu Minghui licked his back molars with his tongue: “Are you blind? Can’t you see for yourself?”
Lu Zhou lowered his head to light a cigarette, not looking at him: “Then the next day, I sent my subordinate to the hotel where you were staying to give you medicine.”
Gu Minghui scoffed, raising an eyebrow calmly: “Give me medicine?”
“You weren’t there.” Lu Zhou suddenly looked up, his gaze fixed on his face, “Where did you go?”
Gu Minghui suddenly raised his hand, took a toothpick, and speared a piece of Hami melon. The Hami melon from Xinjiang was indeed incredibly sweet. He ate it in two bites and then shifted into a more comfortable position.
“What, after taking care of Cherry, now you have to know my whereabouts too?”
“I am now asking you, as the captain of the border defense team, where you went.”
His voice was cold and hard, the previous nonchalance completely gone.
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