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They got into the car.
Lu Zhou held her face, his thumb stroking her cheek. He sighed, “Crying again.”
Shen Yihuan didn’t want to cry either. She felt so useless. She bit her lower lip hard, but a tear still fell and flowed into the corner of her mouth.
“Babe,” Lu Zhou said, his voice soft. He squeezed her chin and leaned in to kiss her.
“I’m fine,” Shen Yihuan said, wiping her face. She also kissed him back.
“Don’t cry. Let me tell you some good news.”
Shen Yihuan blinked at him. “What?”
“In a little while, I’ll be transferred back to Beijing.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
There was still a misty look in Shen Yihuan’s eyes, but they were filled with a big smile, like her expression had instantly changed. She looked so cute that Lu Zhou couldn’t help but press her against the car and kiss her again.
“Open up,” Lu Zhou said.
He gently but firmly pried Shen Yihuan’s teeth apart, and his soft tongue wrapped around hers.
“Have you decided when we’re getting married?”
“Huh?” Shen Yihuan’s eyes were even more watery from the kissing, and she was a little dazed.
“Marriage.”
“If we get married,” she said, pausing, as if the words were hard to say, “do we still have to go to my house? My mom...”
Normally, for a marriage, they would have to talk to her mother. Regardless of her attitude, she should at least be informed.
“Should I go with you?”
Shen Yihuan leaned back in her chair, her fingers rubbing the seatbelt. “I don’t want to.”
Lu Zhou looked at her without speaking.
Shen Yihuan sighed. “I feel like my mom doesn’t like you. What if she says those things to you again? I don’t want to hear it, and I don’t want you to have to hear it either.”
Lu Zhou rubbed the palm of her hand, not concerned about that. He just said, “But you promised to marry me.”
“I know,” Shen Yihuan said, holding his hand. “I know.”
Lu Zhou said firmly, “I’ll go with you. Don’t worry.”
________________________________________
Shen Yihuan didn’t follow the exhibition to the next few cities. She stayed in Xinjiang for a while.
Originally, it was the higher-ups’ idea to transfer Lu Zhou back to Beijing to head the new military industrial project. Commander Feng was a little reluctant to let him go, but since Lu Zhou had agreed, he had no choice.
The news was passed down.
From now on, the captain of the border guard would be He Min.
Lu Zhou tidied up his single room in the barracks. He didn’t have much—just a few clothes. After all these years, he could take everything with him in one backpack.
He temporarily put his things in the house that Lu Youju had owned, making the room available for He Min. For the next few days, he and Shen Yihuan lived in that house.
There was a farewell party that night.
Their mission had directly overlapped with the lunar New Year, so the team’s New Year’s party hadn’t happened. This time, they would combine the two.
The team had prepared a few performances.
Shen Yihuan and Lu Zhou sat together in the audience, watching. The performances in the army weren’t exactly spectacular. Since there were no female soldiers, it was just the big men singing military songs, which had no melody and were all shouted.
Lu Zhou was initially worried that Shen Yihuan would be bored, but he watched her eat, watch, and laugh all at once.
After a few songs, He Min went on stage alone with a microphone.
Lu Zhou raised an eyebrow slightly. He had never heard He Min sing anything alone before. Even military songs sounded off-key when he sang them.
He Min went on stage, turned his face away, and coughed lightly. “Today is also our farewell party for Captain Lu.”
At those words, the audience fell silent.
He Min cleared his throat again. “There are some things everyone asked me to say to Captain Lu.”
“Captain Lu has been with our Xinjiang Military Region for almost four years and has been our captain for almost three. We’ll say this much, Captain Lu, you’ve earned that title. When you go to Beijing, if we ever get a chance to see you again, we’ll still call you Captain Lu! That title will stick with you for years to come!”
“You’re not that old in our team, and you’re the youngest major I know. When you first became the captain and led our training, not everyone was on board, right?” He Min smiled, but his eyes were a little wet.
Lu Zhou sat in the audience, gently holding Shen Yihuan’s hand. He had a faint smile on his face as he looked at He Min.
“We all thought you were younger than us. Why should you be the one to lead us in training? At first, we were defiant. You didn’t react, but Commander Feng got mad and shouted, ‘Whoever has a problem can speak with their fists.’ And that stubborn kid Zhao He really did go up to fight you.”
Zhao He, sitting nearby, laughed and stood up. “He Min, why are you making me look bad today!”
He Min also laughed and pointed at him. “Did you or did you not do it?!”
Zhao He rubbed his nose, waved his hand, and sat back down.
He Min continued, “After that, everyone respected you. We all feel safe following your lead on missions. I truly admire you, Lu Zhou.”
After he said that, a few voices from the audience shouted that they also admired Lu Zhou.
“Captain Lu,” He Min said, looking at him. “With our line of work, we never know when we’ll see each other again. We don’t know if we’ll even get the chance.”
He bit down on his teeth, his voice choked up and hard to control.
He shouted, “In short—!”
“The land under our feet, you can hand it over to me. Go on your way. You fought for this with your life, so I’ll do everything in my power to protect it!”
At this point, many people in the audience were already in tears.
Many new recruits couldn’t help but wipe their eyes. They had all felt the blood and tears shed here, and they truly didn’t know if they would see each other again. Whether it was in a few years, ten years, or decades, or separated by death, no one knew.
Lu Zhou was also moved, but he was used to keeping his emotions to himself. He didn’t show them, so no one could tell what he was feeling.
However, Shen Yihuan, who was sitting next to him, had started wiping away her tears after He Min had said only a few words.
He Min’s speech had turned the joyful New Year’s atmosphere into this.
Lu Zhou stood up. He didn’t use the microphone. He just spoke directly. “From now on, everyone must remember one thing. We are soldiers. Stand up, don’t fall. We live in uniform, and we die under the national flag!”
The applause was thunderous.
He Min, still on stage, naturally took over the host’s job. “So, does our captain’s wife have anything to say?”
Suddenly called out, Shen Yihuan stood up. He Min extended the microphone to her, and she went on stage and held it in the center.
The young woman’s eyes were red. She stood on stage, her gaze passing over the crowd and landing on Lu Zhou. The man, in his neat military uniform, looked at her with a gentle expression.
“Lu Zhou.”
Lu Zhou stood up, his back straight, and his lips curved into an indulgent smile. “Yes?”
She said, “Your right hand must salute the national flag, but I will never let go of your left.”
He smiled, his eyes burning with emotion. “Okay.”
...
Suddenly, a wave of cheering erupted from the audience.
“Sing us a song, ma’am!”
“Sing one! Sing one!”
...
Shen Yihuan wasn’t afraid of this. She used to frequent bars and karaoke rooms, and her singing wasn’t bad. She didn’t hesitate and even took a guitar from a wall.
She plucked the strings, and a smooth melody came out. It was in tune.
Everyone was quiet as they watched her set up.
Shen Yihuan hadn’t studied the guitar in depth, but it was an easy instrument to learn. She had simply thought it was cool at the time and had learned it for a while.
He Min brought a chair for her.
She sat on it, one foot resting on the crossbar, with a stand-up microphone in front of her. Her dark hair was spread out, and she had a delicate face. In her soft and gentle white sweater, she held a wooden guitar.
She lowered her gaze, strummed the guitar strings, and her fingers gently plucked out a melody. Then she pressed on the strings and leaned in close to the microphone.
“A song called ‘Liking’.”
She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the audience. She smiled slightly and squeezed the microphone. “This is for Captain Lu.”
The audience cheered, and the applause was deafening.
“I withstood my friends’ teasing at gatherings I withstood the difficulties of everyday life But I couldn’t withstand liking you
I escaped the end of the world And I understood that life is priceless I escaped the extremes of sorrow and joy But I couldn’t escape liking you.”
The young woman’s voice was soft, deliberately kept a little low. She skillfully strummed the guitar strings, and her sweet tone was filled with an undisguised smile.
The radiance on her was impossible to hide.
The Lu Zhou of the past only wanted to cover up her light so no one else could see it.
But now, this was the real Shen Yihuan.
As long as she was happy.
No matter what happened, he would always be there for her.
After she finished the song, the audience was silent. Shen Yihuan took the guitar off and stood it by her legs, cocking her head playfully. She started to clap twice, leading the applause.
Then the audience went wild, shouting and clapping.
Shen Yihuan laughed and jumped off the stage. She ran to Lu Zhou, her eyes sparkling. “Did it sound good?”
“It sounded good.”
“Did you like it?”
“I liked it.”
Shen Yihuan stood right in front of him, as dazzling as she was when she was young.
________________________________________
In the period right after he and Shen Yihuan broke up, he was in a state of distress. Yu Jiucheng asked him, “Why are you wasting your time on Shen Yihuan?”
At the time, Lu Zhou thought, I’m still young. What do I have to lose?
He lived with that hollow part of his heart, and the northwest wind howled through it for three years.
He thought that wound would become a chronic illness that would never heal, but he didn’t expect that with just one “I like you” from Shen Yihuan, all his wounds would heal, like ice melting in water, leaving no trace of a scar.
The sickness was you.
You came, and I got better.
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