When Nanheng heard Feng Ling grumbling, he immediately released her.
Feng Ling then took a large step backward, as though she was terrified of him touching her again.
Nanheng watched her defensive expression with distant eyes; his gaze gradually turned cold.
Feng Ling was a boy. It was typical for young men to begin experiencing their first love at his age, and there was nothing unusual about him developing feelings for a beautiful and adorable girl. Feng Ling was typically a cold and indifferent person, but in front of that Feng couple’s niece, he was clearly much more patient.
This was very normal.
Nanheng expressionless headed for the business street where their car was parked. Feng Ling followed him without glancing back at Qin Shuke who was staring at her with wide eyes.
It wasn’t easy for her to catch up to the man’s pace. All of a sudden, she heard his cold voice: “The base has clear cut rules for members to abide by in their personal lives; there shouldn’t be a need for me to remind you of this.”
The iciness in this man’s voice caused Feng Ling to seriously suspect if Boss Li was interested in that Qin Shuke and if he was frustrated at her for interfering…
“Cough.” Feng Ling immediately felt apologetic as she answered him, “I really didn’t pay much attention to the regulations on our private lives. Boss, which rule are you referring to?”
The man did not turn back: “You’re not allowed to be in a relationship before you turn 21. You’re also not allowed to interact with anyone outside of the base, excluding your parents.”
When Feng Ling heard these cold words, she was astonished. She raised her head to stare at the man’s back.
Nanheng pad no mind to the person he had left behind and directly headed straight to the business street.
After he returned to the car, it took Feng Ling ten minutes to catch up to him. The man in the driver’s seat did not say anything as she climbed it. Even though this car was relatively quiet, he stepped heavily on the accelerator as he started up the engine, causing a loud noise to reverberate through the parking lot.
“You dilly-dallied for a good ten minutes. What were you up to?”
The man’s gaze was set ahead and his tone did not contain any warmth.
“My phone rang. I didn’t manage to answer K’s call from earlier, so he called me again. In the end, Qin Shuke chased after me and snatched my phone over. She dialed her own phone with it and saved my phone number,” Feng Ling answered directly. “Because she’s a girl, and her character isn’t easy to deal with, it took me some effort to take her phone and delete my number.”
Initially, when he heard that Qin Shuke had saved her number, the man’s gaze was cold to the point where icicles were forming in the car.
It was only when Feng Ling said that she had deleted the number that his gaze softened once more.
By the time they returned to the base, it was past 10:00 p.m. Feng Ling said her goodbye to Nanheng and turned to go to her room.
The man stopped her mildly. “Wait.”
“Boss, are there still matters to be dealt with?”
“We stay on the same floor. We can head back together later. Make a trip to the conference room with me.”
“All right.”
No matter if they were outside or within the base, Feng Ling always maintained a professional attitude. Nanheng glanced at her and met Feng Ling’s gaze. Ever since that day when she had unintentionally heard his affirmation for her, this brat’s gaze was no longer as rejecting or indifferent. Instead, she completely respected him as the boss and leader of this base.
Nanheng brought out a cigarette and lit it as they headed for the conference room: “After one month of training, the ones that show outstanding performance can receive the official training for the sniper team first. After the past few days of training, what thoughts do you have about the other four members?”
Feng Ling walked by his side as she replied, “My thoughts?”
“All five of you will be asked this privately. Although you are part of the same team, you are also considered each other’s enemies. Only the person that is more outstanding than the other four will be valued, and only that person will receive private instruction. Long-range sniping isn’t something anyone can easily manage. The reason why we’ve yet to allow any of you to officially touch a rifle is because your standards are not there yet.”
Nanheng placed his cigarette in his mouth and narrowed his eyes as he unbuttoned his cuff. He folded the sleeve of his black combat shirt up until it revealed a large but faint scar on his inner elbow.
In the past, Feng Ling had never paid much attention to this. The location of his scar also made it difficult to be seen. This was the first time she had seen it and she was startled by the size of it.
“This is the consequence of showing off your ability with the rifle without sufficient experience.” Nanheng kept his skin revealed while he plucked the cigarette out of his mouth. He spoke indifferently as they walked: “When I was twelve years old, I thought because I had grown up in XI Base, I would be able to play with everything without being found out. When I tried to mess with the rifle, because my precision wasn’t good and because I didn’t know how to manage the risks of overheating, the back of the rifle caught on fire and it directly spewed out from the back. It burnt my elbow and the skin in contact with the rifle.”
Nanheng casually adjusted his sleeves back and spoke mildly: “I can only say that my luck was good then. Even though I didn’t know how to use a rifle, I still managed to fire the bullet out from the front. Otherwise, if I hadn’t adjusted the bullet properly, it would have been ejected out from the back to pierce through my elbow. My arm would have been crippled.” He smirked coldly. “Burn wounds aren’t like any other wounds. Even if the Li family is capable and was able to hire specialists from all over the world to give me the treatment, they could only flatten the surface of the scar. When you look at it closely, the difference between the color of my scar and my skin is obvious. Even though the scar is now flattened and no longer affects me, I’ll never forget the lesson I received due to my own ignorance when I was twelve.”
Feng Ling took another glance at his arm. “And so, the reason why you’re always especially strict to us is because you’re taking responsibility for our lives and don’t wish for us to receive any unnecessary harm. You would rather we train now and gradually increase our stamina than to make any unnecessary sacrifices in the future.”
