Chapter 106: Getting Angry

Cheng Jingmo had been running between his unit and the hospital, managing his work and taking care of the patients, but Yu Xiangnian remained cold towards him.

On the third day, Brother Ping arrived. The once formidable and commanding leader was now being pushed in a wheelchair, his face devoid of color and his aura significantly diminished.

Yu Xiangnian frowned from her bedside. “You’re more seriously injured than us, yet you’re still running around like this.”

With little emotion, Brother Ping replied, “My son is in the hospital here, and I’m in the hospital there. I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”

Yu Xiangnian said, “This is my fault. Next time you have a patient, I won’t charge you. That’s all I can do.”

“Thank you!” Brother Ping said. “Last time, you mentioned I might get to see your knife skills. Well, I really did! Please, stop cursing my family and friends!”

Yu Xiangnian chuckled, “Then I hope you make a fortune, become a big boss, and protect me in the future!”

“That’s more like it!”

Yu Xiangnian then asked, “Any progress on the house I asked you to find?”

“Are you really planning to get a divorce?”

Yu Xiangnian stayed silent.

Brother Ping said, “Haozi told me about that day. Selfishly speaking, I have to thank him. If he hadn’t chosen to cut the rope, Rui Rui wouldn’t be alive. I only have this one child, and he’s only ten.”

After a moment of silence, Yu Xiangnian said, “Keep an eye out for me. I’ll borrow money if I have to buy it.”

Cheng Jingmo is a soldier who sacrifices his family for the greater good, putting the people above himself… She understood all this. But when this reality directly affected her, when she was the one being abandoned, she just couldn’t get over it.

On the fifth day, Yu Xiangnian and the others were discharged, but Cheng Jingmo was nowhere to be seen.

It was Yu Xiangguo who drove her and Xiao Jie back to her own home. Even at home, Cheng Jingmo was absent, and Yu Xiangnian pursed her lips in displeasure.

Zhao Ruozhu said, “Knowing you don’t want to see him, we brought you home so you wouldn’t have to.”

Sprawling on the sofa, Yu Xiangnian saw through the pretense, “You’re trying to matchmake us, aren’t you?”

Zhao Ruozhu chuckled, “You’re smart now, but how could you be so confused about that incident!”

“What am I confused about!” Yu Xiangnian protested, “I almost died!”

Zhao Ruozhu said, “Do you know why your dad and I haven’t mentioned it these past few days?”

“You’re asking, so just say it already.”

Zhao Ruozhu explained, “On that day, besides Cheng Jingmo and Yu Xiangyang, there were three other soldiers. Each wrote a report from their perspective. The site was also surveyed, and we fully understand the situation.”

Zhao Ruozhu summarized the reports and findings.

The plan was for Cheng Jingmo to negotiate directly with Ding Yunfei, Yu Xiangyang to handle long-range sniping, and the other three soldiers to provide support from the perimeter.

When Cheng Jingmo arrived, he realized that Ding Yunfei had no desire to survive. Ding Yunfei had tied Rui Rui in front of him with a rope, holding a knife to Rui Rui’s neck, standing on the edge of the cliff, ready to take Rui Rui down with him.

Cheng Jingmo aimed to stall him while Yu Xiangyang found a suitable sniping position. However, with the cliff behind Ding Yunfei, there was no sniping point from behind or the sides. The only possible shot was from the front, but Rui Rui was blocking that.

Ding Yunfei, having been in the army for many years, was well aware of such reconnaissance, ambush, and coordination tactics.

He had already made preparations for these defenses.

Cheng Jingmo needed to both stall Ding Yunfei and find a way to expose Ding Yunfei to give Yu Xiangyang a chance to shoot. When Ding Yunfei was counting down, Cheng Jingmo took a desperate gamble and said those words, which shocked Ding Yunfei and caused him to turn around, revealing himself.

Although Cheng Jingmo cut the ropes, he only cut a small part with each slice, and the places he cut were already weakened by Ding Yunfei in advance. This meant that whether Cheng Jingmo cut the ropes or not, Yu Xiangnian would fall.

Ding Yunfei wanted Yu Xiangnian to believe that she was dying at Cheng Jingmo’s hands.

He was aiming to kill both her body and spirit!

Zhao Ruozhu said, “Fortunately, Cheng Jingmo risked his life to grab the rope. If it hadn’t been for the two soldiers holding him back, he would have fallen too! You didn’t see his palms, they were scraped raw from the rope!”

Yu Xiangnian hadn’t actually noticed; she hadn’t even looked at Cheng Jingmo’s face, let alone his hands.

She remembered the rainy night a few days ago when she and Cheng Jingmo listened to the recording.

She had disdainfully said, “It’s surprising that Ding Yunfei is a man and doesn’t even know that a man who is drunk and unconscious can’t get it up!”

At that time, Cheng Jingmo’s gaze at her was filled with shock, suspicion, and disbelief…

He almost seemed to want to ask her, “How would you, as a woman, know this? How can you say such things in front of me, someone so pure?”

That damned man! If he had something to say, why didn’t he say it earlier? Why wait until life and death were at stake?

It was Sunday.

Yu Xiangnian casually asked, “Why aren’t my dad and Yu Xiangyang at home?”

Zhao Ruozhu replied, “Your dad has a meeting today and should be home soon. Yu Xiangyang went out on a mission.”

Yu Xiangnian thought to herself, Zhao Ruozhu’s answer was quite thorough.

She clearly knew what Yu Xiangnian wanted to ask but didn’t mention it!

Soon, Yu Jiashun arrived home, sat next to Yu Xiangnian, and examined her wrist with concern, saying, “Such a deep wound, it will definitely leave a scar!”

Yu Xiangnian playfully said, “The scar on my heart is even bigger.”

Yu Jiashun said earnestly, “Nian Nian, if you feel wronged, you can vent your anger on us. But I understand Cheng Jingmo and support his choice.”

“If there was no other way and one of us had to die, I would also choose you. Even though you are dear to me, I would choose to sacrifice you to protect an unrelated person. Because we are soldiers, protecting the country and the people is our mission. We’d rather let our family down than let down the country and the people!”

After a pause, Yu Jiashun added, “You made the same choice. You knew there would be danger going there, but for the sake of those two kids, you were willing to take the risk alone. Everyone has their own beliefs, and to defend those beliefs, we can act without hesitation!”

Yu Jiashun glared at her, “I’m both proud and angry about your actions! You need to think about me before you act. I’m counting on you to take care of me in my old age!”

Yu Xiangnian felt her eyes well up with emotion and, in addition to being touched, tried to ease the atmosphere, “Dad, I always thought Mom was the cultured one, but I didn’t expect you to be too.”

She pouted and said, “But what bothers me is that Cheng Jingmo was so calm and indifferent when he abandoned me!”

Yu Jiashun retorted, “What do you expect from him? To cry and beg on his knees?”

“Remaining composed in a crisis is an essential quality for a good soldier! He did his best. If it were someone else, you’d already be dead by now!”

Yu Jiashun took a brown envelope from his pocket and placed it on the coffee table, “This is for you!”