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Gu Minghui calmly raised an eyebrow, turned around, and pointed his gun directly at Lu Zhou’s forehead.
“Because of me?” He scoffed, “Isn’t it because of you, Border Patrol Captain?”
Lu Zhou stood still, gun raised, his gaze cold.
He wasn’t entirely sure if the target of that group of people had been him or Gu Minghui. After all, he himself had been hunted recently, but if he was the target again, wasn’t the frequency a bit too high?
And Gu Minghui.
In that situation just now, his ability to remain so calm didn’t seem like the reaction of an ordinary person, and his familiarity with guns was also different from most.
Under normal circumstances, even if an ordinary person held a gun, their natural reaction would be like Shen Yihuan’s; they wouldn’t fire so decisively and skillfully.
Lu Zhou asked, “Have you been trained to shoot?”
Gu Minghui leaned casually against the window sill, scratching his eyebrow, looking completely unfazed by the gun pointed at him.
“Yes, I have.”
Lu Zhou narrowed his eyes slightly.
Gu Minghui said, “I joined some shooting club when I was studying abroad.”
A sound of a doorknob turning came from inside the room. Lu Zhou put away his gun: “I don’t care what your identity is, don’t drag Shen Yihuan into this.”
Gu Minghui smirked: “Of course.”
With that, he strode past Lu Zhou and walked towards Qiu Ruru: “How is she?”
“She’s still not awake.” She was still holding the clothes Shen Yihuan had just changed out of, which had bloodstains from when Lu Zhou held her.
Lu Zhou walked over, took the clothes from her hand, and said, “You two go back first. I’ll stay here.”
There really couldn’t be that many people staying in the ward. Qiu Ruru hesitated for a while, feeling uneasy. In the end, she asked Lu Zhou to tell her when Shen Yihuan woke up, then pulled Gu Minghui and left together.
The Lu Zhou in her memory was still the image from high school, and later, at most, he gained the “soldier” label.
But now, the Lu Zhou standing in front of her bore no resemblance to the clean-cut, aloof class monitor of the past. Now he was covered in blood, his face calm and indifferent.
Qiu Ruru finally realized why they had managed to escape successfully—everyone in that direction had been dealt with by Lu Zhou.
She didn’t know if those people were injured or dead, but seeing Shen Yihuan lying in the hospital bed now, she had a feeling that Lu Zhou definitely wouldn’t let those people live.
Even though she knew Lu Zhou was the Border Patrol Captain and that those who shot at them couldn’t be good people, this disregard for life and excessive calmness still sent shivers down her spine.
________________________________________
Shen Yihuan was awakened by pain.
The anesthesia in her leg wore off, and the pain from the fresh stitches crept up her nerves.
The sky was completely dark, with only a dim night light. Because the VIP ward was separate from the regular wards, there wasn’t even a hint of noise, making it incredibly quiet.
Lu Zhou sat by the bedside.
The man’s silhouette was smooth and firm. His clothes were no longer bloody, a bit wrinkled on him. When he saw Shen Yihuan’s eyebrows twitch slightly, he immediately leaned closer.
“Does it hurt?”
Shen Yihuan nodded with some difficulty, letting out an “Mm.”
She had been afraid of pain since she was little and had barely experienced any.
“Can you bear it? If not, I’ll call the doctor to give you another sedative.”
She shook her head.
The pain came in waves. After one wave passed, she let out a soft breath and asked Lu Zhou, “What about you? Are you not hurt?”
“I’m not.”
Lu Zhou leaned down and rubbed Shen Yihuan’s face. His hair was a bit stiff.
Shen Yihuan had many absurd and strange dreams just now. Gunshots echoed like tinnitus in her ears. The last image in her dream was Lu Zhou, covered in blood, walking towards her, picking her up, and telling her, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll get you out of here.”
She opened her eyes and saw him by the bed.
Quiet, without any other sounds.
If it weren’t for the pain in her leg, she would even think everything that just happened was a dream.
Shen Yihuan reached her hand out from under the blanket. She was still on an IV drip for inflammation. She fumbled, wrapping her hand around Lu Zhou’s, hooking his pinky finger.
Shen Yihuan frowned slightly: “Why is your hand a bit damp?”
Lu Zhou: “Just finished washing clothes.”
Only then did she realize that Lu Zhou’s clothes were not completely dry.
He didn’t feel comfortable leaving Shen Yihuan alone, so he directly washed his clothes in the sink in the bathroom. He also washed Shen Yihuan’s changed clothes and hung them on the balcony to dry.
“Is there anything else uncomfortable?” Lu Zhou asked softly.
Shen Yihuan moved her uninjured leg, extending it outside the blanket: “My feet are cold.”
The young girl’s legs were incredibly beautiful, slender and straight, as white as mutton fat jade. Her skin glowed like silk under the light. When she was in school, she always liked to wear short skirts that came just above her mid-thigh, and they would bounce in that “absolute territory” when she ran.
Lu Zhou’s eyes darkened, and he said in a deep voice, “It might leave a scar.”
“I’ll buy some scar cream then and see if it helps,” Shen Yihuan said.
She also cared about her appearance; no one would want a shocking scar on such beautiful legs.
“I’ll go buy it for you.” Lu Zhou squeezed the ankle of her uninjured leg.
It was cold.
He lifted his own shirt and, grasping Shen Yihuan’s ankle, had her step on his lower abdomen.
Shen Yihuan pulled her leg back when she felt the scorching touch: “...Aren’t you cold?”
“Be good.”
Lu Zhou was uncompromising. His hands were also cold, so he directly pressed Shen Yihuan’s foot onto his lower abdomen. Then he felt the young girl wiggle her toes on his lower abdomen.
He looked up. Shen Yihuan was tilting her head, looking at him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Why did we encounter those people?”
“I don’t know.”
Shen Yihuan stared into his eyes. That “I don’t know” just now wasn’t very convincing.
No matter what, with Lu Zhou’s personality, it was impossible for him to be completely unaware of such matters. Even if he couldn’t be completely clear, he would have his own hypotheses in a few directions.
Shen Yihuan sighed: “Does your work often involve such dangerous situations?”
It had only been a few days, and they had already encountered two such gunfights.
“Sometimes.” Lu Zhou tucked her now warm leg back into the blanket, unwilling to discuss the details with her, only assuring her, “Don’t worry, I won’t let you encounter this situation again in the future.”
His voice was deep, and his expression was serious.
Like making a solemn promise.
From childhood, Lu Zhou had always been calm in everything he did. Firstly, no matter what emotions he had, he wouldn’t receive different treatment from his family. Secondly, he was indeed intelligent and had never encountered any setbacks along the way.
All the twists and turns on his long, smooth path were given by Shen Yihuan.
He hadn’t panicked when he first saw the wound on Shen Yihuan’s leg; he was even overly calm. It wasn’t until he had safely placed Shen Yihuan on the leeward side of the sand dune and walked in that direction that his reason slowly began to slip away.
In that situation, he indeed had reason and the right to shoot them directly.
But for a soldier with ample combat experience, he shouldn’t have killed all of them, yet he couldn’t control himself.
At that moment, he was completely controlled by a terrifying impulse—he had seen red.
Just thinking about Shen Yihuan being injured, he simply couldn’t control himself.
Lu Zhou tucked her blanket in, reached over her to adjust the night light to its lowest setting, and kissed the corner of her mouth: “Sleep. It won’t hurt when you’re asleep.”
Shen Yihuan fell asleep shortly after.
However, during her sleep, the sedatives and anesthesia in her body gradually wore off completely. In the latter half of the night, she truly didn’t sleep well, tormented by the pain. Although she didn’t wake up, she knew in her dream that she was dreaming.
Besides the pain, she only vaguely felt a warm hand gently resting on her forehead, wiping away her cold sweat and tucking her long hair behind her ear.
________________________________________
Lu Zhou sat on the chair, watching Shen Yihuan for a while, then quietly went out with his phone.
The corridor was empty.
He dialed He Min’s number.
He explained what had just happened and instructed him to keep the news confidential. The scenic area also needed to be temporarily closed and operations suspended.
“Was this also done by Li Wu?” He Min asked.
Lu Zhou: “Did anyone track the person we caught last time?”
“Yes, they tracked him, but he didn’t contact anyone.”
The sole survivor from last time was taken back for interrogation and confessed that Li Wu had instigated him to take Lu Zhou’s life. Later, Lu Zhou ordered him to be released and secretly tracked him.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression hidden: “What’s his state?”
“Huh?” He Min didn’t understand what he meant, only saying, “That kid is quite carefree, eating well, drinking well, having fun, clearly playing games with us.”
Lu Zhou said in a deep voice, “It can’t be Li Wu.”
“Why?”
The person at that time had the courage to commit suicide directly. Such a “dead man” who couldn’t endure and revealed his master’s identity had already made a huge mistake. After being released, he would undoubtedly face death.
But not only did he not hide and live a precarious life, he was even eating well, drinking well, and having fun?
Then there was only one possibility: he wasn’t afraid of Li Wu’s revenge because Li Wu, whom he had betrayed, simply didn’t know such a person existed, so how could there be revenge?
His master behind the scenes was someone else entirely.
He Min, after hearing his explanation: “Are you saying that the last operation wasn’t launched by Li Wu, and this one wasn’t him either?”
“It’s not yet certain if the same person is behind both operations.” Lu Zhou frowned, “If Gu Minghui really has smuggling suspicions, I can’t even be sure if the target this time was me or him.”
________________________________________
The next day.
Lu Zhou bought breakfast outside and returned.
When he entered the ward, Shen Yihuan was on the phone.
The owner of the photography studio in Beijing had heard about the incident from somewhere and was deeply worried and concerned, repeatedly urging her: “If you can’t hold up, just come back quickly. I’ll figure out a way to send someone back. Those big guys just slack off all day and hide when there’s an assignment that involves a business trip.”
Shen Yihuan held her phone, glanced at Lu Zhou, pointed at the phone, and mouthed: “My boss.”
Lu Zhou nodded, took out dishes from the nearby sterilizer, and poured out the packed breakfast.
Shen Yihuan watched his movements and said into the phone, “Everyone’s busy. I volunteered to be in charge of this Xinjiang project myself, so let’s not trouble everyone. I’ll see again. The injury on my leg isn’t too serious.”
Zhou Yishu also understood that Shen Yihuan didn’t want to sour her relationship with her colleagues.
If she truly forced someone else to take over the filming in Xinjiang, Shen Yihuan would be the one who ended up getting blamed severely.
After a pause, she said, “Then how about this, I’ll contact the TV station. Our special feature only needs food content. You don’t have to follow them for the other cultural and geographical stuff; let them handle it themselves.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to Director Qin myself.”
Zhou Yishu exchanged a few more pleasantries and urged Shen Yihuan not to push herself too hard before hanging up.
As soon as she put down the phone, Lu Zhou offered her warm water to her lips. Shen Yihuan took a sip from his hand.
Lu Zhou asked, “Is the filming still continuing?”
“Yes,” Shen Yihuan said, “If it’s just about food, it should finish much faster.”
Lu Zhou picked up a steamed bun, dipped it in vinegar, and held it to her lips: “Then you’ll go back to Beijing?”
Shen Yihuan took a bite, blinked, and smiled: “Are you reluctant to let me go back?”
“Go back after you finish filming,” he said.
Shen Yihuan was startled.
Lu Zhou’s gaze fell on her lips, which were damp with the broth from the meat bun, without lipstick, a natural reddish pink, looking very soft.
He lowered his eyes and picked up another bun: “There might be a mission coming up soon. It’ll be safer for you to go back.”
Shen Yihuan asked, “Will there be danger?”
“Yes.”
“Will you get hurt?”
Lu Zhou said, “I’ll protect myself.”
Shen Yihuan’s throat caught, and she didn’t speak.
It wasn’t until after breakfast that she spoke, her voice low, tinged with helplessness and grievance: “I don’t want to go back.”
“Because of your mom?”
She shook her head, looking at him: “Because I don’t want to leave you.”
Lu Zhou’s heart suddenly ached.
He was someone who didn’t trust emotions much. From childhood, Lu Youju had never shown him the attitude or responsibility a father should have, and he had never even met his mother. His perception of family affection was almost zero.
Later, with his outstanding looks, many girls liked and pursued him.
But he had only ever liked Shen Yihuan.
The one who had unhesitatingly abandoned him and fled abroad, leaving for three years without contact.
Even though he was now with Shen Yihuan again, deep down, he still didn’t believe her. That phrase “I don’t believe you anymore” wasn’t spoken lightly.
He genuinely found it very difficult to trust Shen Yihuan again.
Yet, he also never thought of breaking up with Shen Yihuan again.
If Shen Yihuan regretted it in the future, Lu Zhou couldn’t guarantee what he might do. He might, as he had always thought before.
Keep the young girl at home, lock her at home, not let her go out, not let her meet others, not let her talk to others, make her truly belong only to him.
Only show herself to him, only talk to him, only smile for him, and only cry for him.
But now, Shen Yihuan’s simple phrase, “I don’t want to leave you,” suddenly made him incredibly soft-hearted.
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