Chapter 1: He’s Dead

In July, the sky was a clear blue without a single cloud or breeze. The sun was blazing hot, making people sweat profusely, wishing they could strip off their clothes to cool down. Yet, there was someone dressed in a heavy cartoon panda costume, holding a black umbrella, walking down the street, drawing frequent stares from passersby.

Ling Yiran ignored the looks from everyone and made his way as quickly as possible to the entrance of the First Group’s Land Battle Base.

The soldiers on duty saw a panda mascot approaching them and their eyes flashed with caution. Ordinary people wouldn’t normally wear performance costumes to a military district, so they had to take it seriously.

A soldier from the duty room immediately came out and shouted, “Hey, friend, this is a military area, not an amusement park or a place for fun. Please leave quickly.”

Ling Yiran knew that his outfit might cause misunderstandings, so he quickly stopped and said, “Sorry, I’m here to find someone.”

The soldier frowned, “Who are you looking for?”

“I’m looking for Xing Han. Can you let him know?”

The soldiers were slightly taken aback.

Seeing their silence, Ling Yiran expressed his urgent desire to meet Xing Han again, “I have something very urgent to discuss with him. Please let him know.”

The soldier asked, “Who are you? What do you need him for?”

“My name is Ling Yiran…” Ling Yiran thought just giving his name might not be enough for the soldiers to notify Xing Han, so he added, “I’m Xing Han’s partner.”

“The commander’s partner?” The soldiers were so shocked their jaws almost dropped to the ground. “The commander has a partner? And it’s a guy!?”

“Not sure, better call and check. It might be true.”

The soldier called the office.

Xing Han, who was in the office writing a report, picked up the phone, “Hello, this is Xing Han.”

The soldier quickly said, “Reporting, Commander, I’m the soldier from the gate duty room. There’s a man outside saying he’s your partner and has urgent business with you.”

“My partner?” Xing Han was momentarily stunned, suddenly remembering the engagement his grandmother had arranged for him over half a month ago. He had just returned from a mission yesterday, so he hadn’t had time to deal with it yet.

But wasn’t it supposed to be a secret marriage?

Why did he come to the military district looking for him? And even told the soldiers he was his partner? Plus, his grandmother actually found him a male partner.

“Yes, he says he’s your partner, named Ling Yiran.”

“Okay, I got it. I’ll go out and take a look now.” Xing Han hung up the phone, put down his pen, and got up to leave the office.

Outside the military district gate, after the soldier hung up the phone, his companion quietly asked, “So, is he the commander’s partner?”

“The commander didn’t deny it and said he’d come out to take a look. I think it’s pretty much confirmed. I never thought the commander would like men.” The soldier walked out of the duty room and politely said to Ling Yiran, “Mr. Ling, please wait a few minutes. Our commander will be out soon.”

Another soldier invited Ling Yiran into the duty room, “Mr. Ling, it’s hot outside. Come in and wait. I’ll get you a glass of water.”

“No, I’ll wait for him at the gate.” Ling Yiran was eager to see Xing Han and wasn’t in the mood to sit down for a drink. He moved to the shade and looked inside the military district.

About three minutes later, a man with a handsome and resolute face, a tall and strong build, wearing a black military uniform, walked out of the office building with steady steps and came to the gate.

“Reporting, Commander.” The soldier pointed at Ling Yiran and said, “This is the person looking for you.”

Xing Han looked at Ling Yiran in the mascot costume and raised an eyebrow.

“Xing Han.” Ling Yiran stood up straight in excitement, but suddenly, the scene in front of him swayed.

Oh no, he had been standing under the sun for too long and couldn’t hold on any longer.

Ling Yiran quickly supported himself against the wall, “I…”

He had just said one word when everything went black, and he fainted.

Xing Han was startled and quickly ran over to support him, “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Commander, I think he fainted from the heat.” A soldier stepped forward to help remove the panda head from Ling Yiran, “Wearing such thick, airtight clothes in this heat, it’s no wonder he fainted.”

Xing Han saw a pale, bloodless, yet handsome face under the panda head, and quickly picked him up and sprinted towards the military medical building, attracting quite a few soldiers to watch.

The military doctors in the medical room saw the person in Xing Han’s arms had already fainted and hurriedly pulled over a stretcher, asking, “What happened to this person?”

Xing Han placed Ling Yiran on the stretcher, “He has heatstroke.”

The doctors quickly pushed Ling Yiran into the emergency room for treatment.

Outside, Xing Han was both amused and exasperated. He never expected his first meeting with his partner to be like this.

He didn’t know how much time had passed when Doctor Fu came out of the emergency room with a serious expression.

Xing Han immediately asked, “Doctor Fu, how is he?”

Doctor Fu asked, “Commander, who is he to you?”

“…” This question stumped Xing Han, “He… he’s my partner.”

“Your partner?” Doctor Fu was taken aback, then patted him on the shoulder with a heavy heart, “Please accept my condolences.”

“What?” Xing Han didn’t react immediately.

“We did our best just now, but we couldn’t save him. Please accept our condolences.”

Xing Han was in disbelief, “You’re saying, he… he died!?”

“Yes, when you brought him in, he had no pulse or breath. We really did everything we could.”

Xing Han: “!!!!!!”