When Wesley heard what Blair said, he suddenly stopped in his tracks, paralyzed by her words. "No, I don't," he replied.
Blair wouldn't let the matter drop. She hurried over to him and asked, "Then why won't you take my gift?"
After giving it some thought, Wesley grabbed the bag in her arms and took out his phone. "How much was it? I'll pay you back. WeChat Pay okay?"
"No, you don't have to. I—" She wanted to tell him that she had money now; her aunt had floated her some funds.
But Wesley interrupted her. "It's not easy to win a scholarship. You're taking the GRE test, right? Studying abroad is expensive. You shouldn't be spending money on stupid things."
Blair said dully, "My uncle will help me out.
Since she would have to ask her uncle to help her with living expenses and schooling once she was overseas, she didn't think the meager thousands of bucks she had spent on the lighter would make much difference.
"In that case, let me buy your ticket. It's the least I can do."
Blair was disappointed seeing how persistent he was to pay her back. "Seriously, guy? Why can't it just be a gift? No strings."
Wesley had never gotten a present from a girl before, so he had no idea how to handle this. He gave her an infuriating answer, in his single-word style: "Because," he said eventually.
For a moment, Blair didn't know what to say, nor did he; the apartment fell quiet. After a while, she smiled, "Okay. I'll remind you to book a flight for me before I leave."
Her smile was so sweet, but Wesley wasn't fooled. The sadness behind her expression was obvious. "No problem," he said.
Blair decided she needed to get out of there, but needed a way to make a graceful exit. She didn't run away.
She walked straight to the door and then stopped. Without turning back, she asked, "Wesley, the kisses we shared…were those…just punishments?"
That question caused him to think of so many things—his future, her future, their future…
Blair left his place without waiting for an answer. If that were true, she didn't want to hear it. Being rejected again and again would finally break her heart. She might be a confident, skilled woman, but underneath she was just a girl with a fragile heart, after all.
Wesley eventually had to go back to work. Once he was back on base, the hellish days for his soldiers began. He was merciless—the slightest mistake meant a harsh punishment. Meanwhile, Wesley wasn't easy on himself either. He put himself through strenuous training exercises: hiking up mountain trails with a loaded backpack, kicking a tree to toughen his feet until he could barely walk, thrusting his fists into ice-water, and lifting weights until he dropped from exhaustion, shuddering from muscular failure. Seeing him like this, the soldiers started wondering what was bothering him.
One day, during a break, Talbot found Wesley, who was gulping down a bottle of water. He spotted one or two drops of water spilling from the corner of Wesley's mouth and streaking down his neck. He looked extremely masculine at that point. Talbot couldn't help but marvel at this man, who seemed like the iconic soldier—square-jawed, well-developed physique, rugged features. He looked for all the world like he had been made up for a commercial.
Talbot was in a daze for a while, lost in reverie. Wesley noticed it and glared at him. Talbot came back to his senses and asked, "You okay, Chief? I know you're a ruthless taskmaster, but you should treat yourself better. You're pushing yourself harder than anyone. What's wrong?" Wesley shot him a stern look. "Hey, hey, don't take this wrong. The men are worried. These exercises are kicking our collective asses, and you end each day looking like something the cat dragged in. Is there something going on?"
Wesley threw the empty plastic water bottle into the bin. "Mmm hmm," was his only reply.
"Mmm hmm what? Something's going on?"
"Mmm hmm."
'My God, something's bugging the tough guy.' Realizing something, Talbot followed behind Wesley excitedly and asked, "What is it, Chief? Girl trouble? Let me guess—Blair, right?"
As soon as he finished talking, Wesley shot him a cold glance. "Go do a hundred burpees. Miss one and get two hundred more. And grab a few other guys to join you—anyone you think is worried." He said that last word with a sarcastic sneer.
The grin on Talbot's face died. "No way! " All he had done was ask a few innocent questions.
He wanted Wesley to reconsider his punishment. But he knew him. The more he talked, the worse it would get.
Talbot went back to the training field in misery. What surprised him was that Wesley was right behind him.
Under his confused gaze, Wesley began to do burpees.
Talbot was taken aback. He realized that Wesley was hurting worse than he had initially thought.
While Wesley was going through his calisthenic routine, his head was filled with thoughts of Blair. Her face, her figure, her voice. Actually, he wasn't depressed, but angry. He was pissed that he didn't know what his heart wanted.
When Blair expressed her feelings for him, he turned her down; but now that she wasn't around, she was all he could think of.
So he took it out on himself by engaging in the most difficult training programs. He forced himself to focus on enhancing his strength and endurance. To make sure he wouldn't slack off, he had even asked some of his soldiers to supervise him during the training.
Soon, lunar New Year arrived. Blair spent the holidays with the Ji family. She overheard Adalson say that Wesley had left the country for his hometown to celebrate the New Year.
It had been one month since she saw him last. She didn't know when she would be able to see him again.
After Spring Festival, Blair focused on preparing for the GRE test.
She spent all her time studying. Joslyn had invited her out, maybe take a walk or go out dancing. She turned her down every time. One evening, Blair realized she might become a nerd if she kept studying like that. Studying too long without a break was the best way to fail.
So when Joslyn asked her once more to go outside and have some fun, she said yes.
They didn't go far. They went hiking in a national forest, 45 minutes from the city, and returned that night.
They came back by minibus. Blair slept on the way back, head bobbing to the bumps in the road. Suddenly, she heard someone complain, "This traffic is murder!"
"Should we get out and walk? We're close to the school," Joslyn suggested. It was bumper-to-bumper traffic. Try as they might, the line of cars stretched as far as the eye could see. Blair and Joslyn could only wait in the minibus.
Blair, who was carsick, agreed to Joslyn's suggestion right away.
They told the driver, and he kindly opened the doors for them and let them out. They started walking down the sidewalk.
They talked as they walked. "I'm glad we ditched the minibus. Those cars aren't moving at all. There must be an accident," Joslyn commented.
Blair looked ahead and then behind them. "I suppose so. Look at that—they must be lined up outside the city." The traffic in Y City wasn't usually this bad.
They continued walking for a few more minutes. Then they heard sirens screaming. The police and emergency vehicles showed up on the scene.
People had become impatient because of the traffic jam. Hearing the sirens, they fell silent. Since the emergency vehicles had come, they realized that someone must have been hurt. Something serious had happened.
Blair was soon able to see what was going on. There was a car accident. One car had plowed into another, caving in its back end. A military vehicle was also there.
That section of the road had been cordoned off. A crowd gathered, as well as the usual EMTs and police. There were three emergency vehicles. The police and the firemen were all actively working. A few of them were out with signs and flashlights, trying to redirect traffic and keep it flowing.
Right then, another car pulled up. A woman got out of the Porsche and walked over to a man who was lying in the street and drenched in blood. "How did this happen? Why is he dead? Who did this? And you! You are soldiers. You save people. How could you let this happen?" she yelled like a crazy person, obviously distraught.
People attempted to calm her down, but to no avail.
Blair and Wesley were doomed to meet at random.
Like right now.
The scene unfolding before her eyes made her sad. Blair was going to walk away when she heard a familiar voice. He said to the grieved woman, "We know this is a difficult time for you. Sorry for your loss. Your husband died during the accident. We wanted to save him, but we couldn't—"
The woman let go of the man in her arms, and shouted at Wesley, "Bullshit! You didn't do your jobs! Is this how you operate? It's a wonder you're still alive."
The onlookers couldn't stand her wild accusations anymore. A murmur traveled through the crowd. But since she was grieving, none of them came forward to confront her.
Talbot and Bowman, who were standing next to Wesley, took one step forward, intending to reason with the woman, but Wesley stopped them.
