Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
But it seemed like Regiment Commander Zhai liked the fact that his younger sister tended to him.
“That’s good. Bring me the water.” It was no wonder that although he woke up feeling sweaty today, he did not feel as sticky as he used to be. He had been injured several times during his past missions. This was the only time he woke up feeling good.
“Yes, Regiment Commander Zhai.” The soldier brought the water into the room and stood guard at the entrance. He waited until Zhai Sheng had wiped himself clean before he poured the water away.
Zhai Sheng felt refreshed. He then gave the soldier a serious stare. “From yesterday up until now, apart from Comrade Xiao Qiao, did anyone come looking for me?”
“Yes, Comrade Qiu came looking for you, but the political commissar had already instructed that before you recovered, nobody was to disturb you from your rest. Hence, I didn’t allow her to enter.”
“Since you didn’t allow Qiu Chenxi to enter, why did you let Comrade Xiao Qiao in?”
“The political commissar said that the higher-up had instructed that Teacher Xiao Qiao was to be allowed entry.” He was clueless about the reason behind such instructions.
“Instructions from the higher-up? Did the political commissar tell you himself?”
“Yes!”
“Alright, you can go out now. I want to have some time to myself.”
“Yes, Regiment Commander Zhai.” The soldier breathed a sigh of relief and retreated from Zhai Sheng’s room to return to his post.
Regiment Commander Zhai had a domineering aura. Apart from the usual training, he felt particularly nervous whenever he was alone with him.
Zhai Sheng listened to the voices of the soldiers who were training and running outside, and he could feel the mountain breeze drifting in from the window. He was silent.
Why would the political commissar give such instruction? That nobody except Nan Nan was allowed entry to his dormitory?
Since the orders were given by the higher-up, could it have been his father?
It was no wonder that the political commissar dared to have his porridge. It seemed that because of the odd order from his father, the political commissar had discovered his relationship with Nan Nan.
As for Shi Peng, Zhai Sheng knew that whatever that Shi Qing knew, Shi Peng must have known about it as well. Even if Shi Peng did not know about it at the beginning, Shi Qing would definitely tell him.
Since he was already awake, Zhai Sheng decided to take a walk outside and he ended up at his office where he made a phone call.
Someone answered the phone right away. “Hello, who are you looking for?”
“Shi Qing?” Why was Shi Qing at the Qiao family’s residence?
“Brother Zhai, you are awake.” The first thing Brother Zhai did when he returned to the camp from his mission was to make a phone call to Qiao Nan, and the first thing he did after he woke up from his injuries was to make a phone call to Qiao Nan to tell her that he was doing well. They had deep feelings for each other. “You must be looking for Qiao Nan. I will get her for you.”
“Wait a minute, you haven’t told me why you are at the Qiao family’s residence.”
Shi Qing halted her footsteps and was amused. “Brother Zhai, you may not know. In fact, it just crossed my mind today to move in here. I told my dad today and he agreed. I stay alone in Ping Cheng. As a girl, it’s unsafe for me to live by myself. If there is anything, I don’t know how to call for help. Besides, the Qiao family’s residence is very near to the school. It is located in the school district. I am in the same class as Qiao Nan. If I stay with her, I can go to school and come back home with her. We will have each other as companions.”
“Unsafe?” Zhai Sheng sneered. “Is it unsafe for you, or for those who have designs on you?”
“No matter what, as long as it may be unsafe, as the descendants of the soldiers, I should try to remove all the possible dangerous factors. Brother Zhai, don’t you think so?” Shi Qing swung her legs. “Brother Zhai, are you sure I don’t have to put Qiao Nan on the phone? If you are done chatting with me, I will hang up the phone. I will be having my meals in a moment.”
“Get Nan Nan on the phone.”
“Brother Zhai, you must speak what’s on your mind. Don’t do this in the future. It’s better to make it known as early as possible. If you are too slow, she may not be yours.” Shi Qing sneered at Brother Zhai who was all pretenses in front of her. She had thought that he would continue with his act to maintain his dignity.
“Thank you for your reminder.” Zhai Sheng pursed his thin lips. His eyes revealed that he was deep in his thoughts.
It was not that he was unwilling or afraid to make known his feelings, but it was Nan Nan who forbade him from doing that.
“Hi, Brother Zhai?” Qiao Nan sat down. “Brother Zhai, how is the injury on your arm? Did you change your dressing when you woke up today? Also, have you taken the oral medicine? Don’t be lazy. If you don’t want to have a woman to tend to you, you can get a man to help you. By the way, have you eaten the chicken porridge?”
As soon as Qiao Nan mentioned about ‘chicken porridge’, Shi Qing, who sat next to her, and Zhai Sheng, who was on the other side of the phone, had mixed reactions.
Shi Qing stared intently at the television, but she lowered the volume with the remote control so that she could hear the conversation between Qiao Nan and Zhai Sheng.
Zhai Sheng’s face darkened. “Yes, I have eaten the porridge, but I only managed to have two bowls of porridge.”
“Two bowls? Impossible! I brought one whole chicken to the army. The canteen chef prepared it according to my method. There should be one big pot of porridge. It’s impossible that you only had two bowls of porridge. Could it be that the porridge went bad as the weather is too hot?” If the porridge had turned bad, he would not have any porridge at all.
“None of the above.” Zhai Sheng took out his wallet and stared at the photo of Qiao Nan. She was smiling brightly in the photo. “The political commissar and Officer Shi had helped themselves to the porridge. One of them said that he had a legitimate reason to have the porridge, while the other said that he had the porridge so that it would not turn bad and we would not waste the food.”
Qiao Nan was stunned momentarily. She glanced at Shi Qing, who had a guilty conscience. These reasons were too ridiculous.
“Brother Zhai, when you come back next time, I will prepare the porridge for you.” Since among those who had the porridge, one of them was Brother Zhai’s colleague, while the other was his benefactor, there was nothing Qiao Nan could say.
“This is the only way.” Zhai Sheng looked gloomy. “Don’t worry. The injury on my arm is not serious. The fever is gone and the wound has stopped bleeding. Everything is fine. But it will take some time for the body to recover.”
“How about going home to rest?” The conditions in the army camp were not as good as the Zhai family’s residence. Though Brother Zhai’s injuries were not serious, he had lost a significant amount of blood. There were not many cooking ingredients in the army camp. It was impossible for her to prepare food that was nourishing for Brother Zhai.
“I won’t go back for the time being.” Zhai Sheng rejected the suggestion. “This time, the mission is not that simple. There is a lot of follow-up work to do. The most important thing is that the main problem has not been completely resolved. Before the mission is completed, there is no chance of going back to Ping Cheng.” For this current mission, what he faced was an organized team. Those people were highly skilled. But more importantly, there was a murderous look about them. They did not seem to be ordinary people. This was different from the information that he had received previously. They could likely be mercenaries.
