Chapter 37: A Night in the Mountains

Suddenly, Qin Lang stopped Professor Song from leaving, assuring her that he would take the initiative to apologize to Lin You.

Professor Song’s protective instincts kicked in, and she gave Qin Lang a stern lecture.

“You deserve it if Yoyo is ignoring you, she’s jealous and cares about you.”

“Son, communication is key in a marriage. If Yoyo isn’t talking and you don’t make a move, how are you two going to live together?”

“I know you have feelings for Yoyo, I’ve always known. But she doesn’t know that you need to express it.”

“It’s just like how Yoyo has never understood Lu Jing’s decision all those years ago, which is why she hasn’t visited Lu Jing’s grave all this time.”

Qin Lang nodded, understanding what Professor Song meant.

He picked up the luggage she had packed and prepared to leave. Professor Song walked him to the door, continuing to remind him, “After you make up, remember to call us.”

On the other side, Lin You was preparing to finish work that afternoon when Captain Song hurried in. Seeing his urgent demeanor, she quickly stood up and asked, “Captain, what happened?”

Captain Song replied breathlessly, “Doctor Lin, there was an accidental fire caused by some children from the village on the back mountain.”

Lin You was taken aback and worried, “Is it under control now?”

“It’s mostly under control, but we have some injured soldiers. You need to come with me up the mountain now.”

Lin You hurriedly packed her things and got in the car with him, heading up the mountain.

Since they were going to the back mountain, they had to hike a bit.

When they arrived, they learned that although the fire was discovered in time, people had started fighting it themselves before the fire fighters arrived, which led to injuries.

They quickly attended to the injured.

Lin You found that Li Yang was hurt the worst, with multiple burns and a broken leg, requiring immediate hospitalization.

Captain Song instructed Lin You, “I’ll take him to the hospital. You stay here and clean the wounds of the others. When you come down later, come with them.”

Lin You promptly agreed, “Don’t worry, Captain, you go ahead.”

By the time they finished treating everyone, it was already evening. Worried there might be other injured individuals, she wandered a bit further.

She found Lieutenant Qiong Hua sitting under a tree and hurried over.

“Lieutenant Qiong Hua, why are you here alone?”

Qiong Hua replied irritably, “Thanks to you, everyone in the team is rejecting me.”

Lin You didn’t respond and started examining Qiong Hua.

Qiong Hua had sprained her ankle and her arm was burned.

Using the faint light, Lin You cleaned and disinfected the injury, applying burn ointment, and then checked for possible fractures, preparing to find someone to help bring Qiong Hua down.

However, when she returned to the earlier spot, she discovered there was no one around, and it was silent with no burnt smell, realizing she had gotten lost.

She had to feel her way back to find Qiong Hua again. After a long time, she finally found her.

Feeling embarrassed, Lin You said, “Lieutenant Qiong Hua, I got lost. It seems there’s no one else around, it’s just us now.”

Qiong Hua snorted, “They are taking the injured down, they should come back up soon.”

The cool autumn night air was really cold, and Lin You was only wearing a simple white coat, not suited for the mountain environment.

Qiong Hua, showing rare concern, said, “I remember there’s a cave nearby, let’s gather some branches to start a fire. Otherwise, once the dew sets in, the temperature will drop, and you’ll freeze to death.”

Seeing Lin You hesitate, Qiong Hua continued, “Help me up, they won’t be back for a while. If we don’t leave soon, the wolves will come out.”

Lin You shivered at the thought and quickly helped Qiong Hua up.

Qiong Hua was indeed impressive, she quickly found a cave that had some branches and leaves.

Qiong Hua directed Lin You to gather the leaves and branches.

After Lin You finished gathering everything, she realized they had no way to ignite the materials, and she was starting to feel the cold, her lips turning purple, shivering all over.

Qiong Hua began to rub the branches together, and soon they sparked into flames.

Lin You sat opposite her, continually adding more branches to the fire.

Qiong Hua rolled her eyes and reminded her, “If you keep adding more without waiting for them to come back, we’ll burn through all the branches in the cave. Go outside and find some more.”

Seeing her urgency, Qiong Hua kindly warned, “But don’t go too far.”

Lin You obediently gathered branch after branch, fearful of running out, and returned only when there were almost no branches left to collect around.

Qiong Hua made space for Lin You, and they both heard animal sounds nearby. Though uncertain if it was a wolf, they felt scared. Lin You sat down close to Qiong Hua, leaning against her.

Noticing Lin You’s frightened expression, Qiong Hua asked, “You’ve never camped outside before?”

Lin You replied softly, “No.”

“But both the team and the captain often need to survive in the wilderness, sometimes for several days.”

Lin You realized she was being mocked for her timidity and moved away slightly.

Qiong Hua’s voice reached Lin You again.

“But you look like someone who has been pampered since childhood. I don’t understand how you gathered the courage to venture out alone and find me.”

Lin You remained silent, sensing Qiong Hua wasn’t finished.

As expected, Qiong Hua continued, “The captain could be called to duty at any moment, facing danger. You’re only focused on your grievances, don’t you worry about him?”

“You don’t trust him at all, otherwise, you wouldn’t be so easily deceived by my lies.”

“That’s why you don’t really love him.”

Hearing Qiong Hua’s accusations struck Lin You deeply. She realized it was true, she had never truly trusted Qin Lang. Guilt washed over her, and tears began to well in her eyes again.

“But he trusts you immensely. Do you know what he said when he found me that day?”

Lin You looked up at her.

“He said you would cook for him, wait for him to come home, wash his clothes, and buy him new clothes. He enjoys the life you provide him. As long as you’re around, whether you’re angry or in a cold war, just being seen by him is enough for him. He will never divorce you.”

“Even if you don’t have him in your heart, he can wait.”

“He said he has already waited long enough and wouldn’t mind waiting longer. When you come to your senses, you will take the initiative to find him.”

Lin You felt overwhelmed by emotion upon hearing this. Tears streamed down her face like a dam bursting, falling onto the dusty ground with a soft “squeak.”

Qiong Hua watched the scene before her, the firelight illuminating Lin You’s face, which appeared delicate and beautiful, her hair slightly disheveled, but it did nothing to hide her stunning beauty.

The tears in Lin You’s eyes sparkled like pearls, flowing down her rosy cheeks, evoking a sense of pity and regret.

In that moment, Qiong Hua realized that no matter how hard she tried, she could never fit into the space between them. She resolved to let go of her own obsessions.

Lin You and Qiong Hua spent the entire night on the mountain.

When Captain Song returned, he found that the injured had already been taken care of, and those who needed to be sent to the hospital had already gone. He thought Lin You must have gone home.

Down the mountain, no one was aware that Qiong Hua and Lin You had not come down at all.

The next day at work, it was already past 8:30 AM, and Lin You still hadn’t shown up. She had never been late before, and Captain Song began to realize something was wrong.

He asked Xiao Dong and the head nurse, “Did Doctor Lin come back to the health team last night?”

Both shook their heads.

Captain Song slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Oh no.”

He quickly instructed Xiao Nan and the head nurse, “Xiao Nan, go to the staff dormitory and see if Doctor Lin is home.”

“Head nurse, let’s go look for Shan Ye and the others.”

“After Xiao Nan checks, let’s meet in front of the office building.”

Shan Ye hurried to find Lu Li and asked, “Did sister in law come back with you last night?”

Lu Li was puzzled, “Wasn’t sister in law with you when you went down the mountain?”

Both were extremely frightened when they saw Xiao Nan running toward them and rushed forward, hoping for good news.

“What’s the situation?”

Xiao Nan, nearly in tears, answered through her sobs, “She’s not at home, Doctor Lin isn’t there.”

“It was so cold on the mountain last night, and there were wolves. Doctor Lin is so frail and has no experience surviving in the wilderness at night.”

She clung to the head nurse and began to cry, “Head nurse, what if Doctor Lin…”

Captain Song yelled, “Shut up!”

Shan Ye and Lu Li were equally terrified but maintained their composure, instructing, “Lu Li, go gather everyone and find out who last saw sister in law.”

“Then report the situation to the team leader.”

Turning to the other three, he declared, “We’re going up the mountain now.”

Qin Lang had just entered the station, his luggage in hand, when

he turned a corner and spotted Shan Ye and the others rushing around. He found it strange, what were they so anxious about early in the morning?

He shouted, “Shan Ye!”