“I am sorry, I won’t do it again.” Jiang Yao nodded. “I was so worried about you! Did you know how frightened I was after hearing the news on the radio? I called Brother Liang immediately after that but I didn’t think he’d be a liar! He lied to me and said that the soldier wasn’t from the Jin City platoon! Hmph!”
“It was for your own good, he didn’t want you to worry!” explained Lu Xingzhi. “He took the first flight here just to find out who the soldier was. He was also worried, but as a man, he had to put on a strong front for all.”
“I know and I am not angry,” Jiang Yao replied in a gentle voice. “After arranging for the hospital and Changkang Group’s relief efforts, I couldn’t stay put in Nanjiang City. I went off, driving along one of the West River distributaries to see if I could stumble upon the soldier. Thank the lucky stars that I actually found him! I didn’t know it was Chen Feibai until then.”
She made sure to explain that she went looking after the soldier not because he was Chen Feibai, lest Lu Xingzhi felt jealous.
“Whoever the victim maybe, I wanted to help. I really didn’t expect the soldier to be Chen Feibai.” Now, Jiang Yao saw Chen Feibai differently. “I used to think he was a good-for-nothing brat, an entitled rascal in the platoon. However, I’m thinking he’s not that bad now.”
Lu Xingzhi agreed. “I have known him for a long time and this was my first time seeing the character of a true soldier in him, self-sacrifice and courage!”
When the incident happened, Lu Xingzhi was actually nearby. Chen Feibai, holding a child in his arms, stood right next to a tree in danger of falling over. Lu Xingzhi saw the collapse of the tree and called out to Chen Feibai, who managed only to hurl the child at his comrade before getting struck by the falling tree into the rapids of the flood.
Lu Xingzhi caught the crying child. When he returned to the place of incident, Chen Feibai had disappeared, swept away by the currents.
“Catch the kid.” The last words uttered by Chen Feibai before falling into the water. He was afraid as his voice trembled when he said it, but he chose to save the child in the end.
An entire night of searching by the helicopter found nothing. Lu Xingzhi thought those were Chen Feibai’s last words.
At that exact moment, Lu Xingzhi had a drastic perspective shift on Chen Feibai. His true character was deviant from the bratty attitude he appeared in public.
However obnoxious he was, he was a soldier through and through.
“I found him lying on a rock. The current was swift and his lower body was immersed in the water. Whatever happened, he held on to the rock tightly. That was when I saw his will to survive and feeling of despair.” Jiang Yao pulled herself into Lu Xingzhi’s embrace and placed her face on his chest.
“You may think I am a bad person for saying this but I was so relieved after finding out that it was Chen Feibai on the rock instead of you.”
