“What’s different about him?”  

“His lower legs were blown off by an artillery shell.”  

Ruan Qingzhi immediately thought of the little boy from earlier.  

But Shen Zhanwu said the child was over five years old, while that little boy looked no more than three. They probably weren’t the same…  

Still, Ruan Qingzhi felt a faint worry for that child and sighed softly without realizing it.  

Seeing that she didn’t want to marry him, Shen Zhanwu could understand. Yet, his eyes, darker than storm clouds, grew even more unfathomable.  

His voice was slightly hoarse as he said, “I’ll have someone take you to eat. If you want to return to your hometown, I’ll send you back in a few days. If you stay in Sheng…”  

Ruan Qingzhi snapped out of her thoughts, surprised. “So after saying all that, you still don’t want me?”  

The girl pouted, on the verge of tears again.  

Shen Zhanwu’s thoughts froze for a moment. “You really want to marry me?”  

Ruan Qingzhi wiped her tears, then suddenly leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. Her voice was muffled. “Mhm! You’re the best person I’ve ever met.”  

Shen Zhanwu was startled by her action.  

The girl in his arms continued, “Shen Zhanwu, you said that no matter which choice I made, you’d honor it. So if I choose to spend my life with you, you have to keep your word!”  

Shen Zhanwu responded in a low voice, “Alright.”  

Hearing this, Ruan Qingzhi lifted her head to look at the man’s clean, sharp jawline and asked, “Then am I your wife now?”  

Shen Zhanwu instinctively lowered his gaze, meeting her eyes.  

Her bright, clear eyes held nothing but straightforward anticipation.  

“Mhm.”  

He gave a slight nod, his ears burning.  

The next second, the girl broke into a radiant smile, looped her arms around his neck, and nuzzled her fluffy head against his jaw.  

Like a kitten seeking affection.  

Shen Zhanwu had never experienced such close contact with a girl before. Flustered, he gripped her shoulders to push her away.  

Just then, a startled exclamation came from the doorway.  

“Goodness!”  

Li Kanshan covered his eyes and turned to leave. “I-I’ll go now.”  

“Come back.”  

Shen Zhanwu called out to stop him.  

Li Kanshan slowly turned around, peeking through his fingers. Seeing that the two had separated, he finally let out a relieved sigh.  

Shen Zhanwu asked, “Do you have any money on you?”  

Li Kanshan fished out two yuan. “Here, Deputy Battalion Commander.”  

The man took it and asked another question. “Are there any spare clothes of mine here?”  

“Yes!”  

Li Kanshan pulled out a set of summer clothes from the cabinet.  

Shen Zhanwu handed the money and clothes to the girl. “Across from the hospital, there’s a public bathhouse. Go take a hot bath there. The clothes are clean—don’t mind that they’re mine. Once I’m discharged, I’ll take you to buy some new clothes and daily necessities.”  

Ruan Qingzhi had been thinking the same thing.  

The weather was sweltering, and after such a long train ride, she didn’t need Shen Zhanwu to tell her she probably didn’t smell great.  

The man added, a little uneasy, “Come straight back after your bath. Don’t wander off, and don’t talk to strangers.”  

Ruan Qingzhi smiled faintly. “You’re worried about me?”  

The words caught in Shen Zhanwu’s throat, and the tips of his ears turned red.  

Seeing how easily flustered he was, Ruan Qingzhi’s heart swelled with even more affection. As she left the inpatient ward, the corners of her lips still curled in a soft smile.  

But the next moment, she saw Lin Ruzhen.  

Ruan Qingzhi’s smile vanished instantly.

The woman stood under the blazing sun, her face a mix of panic and sweat, looking utterly disheveled.  

Ruan Qingzhi narrowed her eyes.  

A faint smirk curled at the corners of her slender eyes as she slowly walked forward.  

By now, Lin Ruzhen had also spotted Ruan Qingzhi. Her expression stiffened, clearly not expecting Ruan Qingzhi to come downstairs—let alone run into her in such an embarrassing state.  

Lin Ruzhen turned her head, hastily wiping the sweat from her forehead and smoothing her hair.  

But Ruan Qingzhi didn’t even glance at her.  

She simply walked past as if Lin Ruzhen didn’t exist.  

Lin Ruzhen clenched her fists: “…”  

The more Ruan Qingzhi ignored her, the more it felt like a deliberate provocation.  

As if she wasn’t already frustrated enough!  

Not only had the man she’d loved for six years suddenly gained a wife, but the life-saving credit that should have gone to her uncle was snatched away by this bitch.  

And now, even that little bastard had disappeared!  

She was on leave today and had specifically gone to the political commissar’s house to pick up the little brat, wanting the military wives to see her nurturing side.  

Everyone assumed she’d brought the child to the hospital to keep Shen Zhanwu company.  

But Lin Ruzhen didn’t want the kid interrupting her alone time with Zhanwu. Since the boy had no lower legs anyway, she left him in the lobby—it wasn’t like he could run off.  

Yet when she came back downstairs, the lobby was empty.  

Lin Ruzhen narrowed her eyes, glaring hatefully at Ruan Qingzhi’s retreating figure. If it weren’t for this country bumpkin showing up, her day wouldn’t have been such a disaster!  

And now she had the nerve to ignore her…  

Who did she think she was?!  

Fury boiling over, Lin Ruzhen shrieked, “Ruan Qingzhi! Stop right there!”  

Ruan Qingzhi paused leisurely, a faint smirk playing on her lips. A glint of amusement flickered in her cool eyes as she turned and arched a brow. “Oh, it’s Dr. Lin. You’re still here?”  

Lin Ruzhen’s gaze locked onto the items in Ruan Qingzhi’s hands.  

Recognizing the familiar clothing, she rushed forward in two or three steps, reaching out to snatch them. “What are you holding?”  

Ruan Qingzhi sidestepped effortlessly, deliberately raising the clothes in her hand as she taunted, “What else? Shen Zhanwu’s clothes, of course.”  

Lin Ruzhen sneered. “Ruan Qingzhi, what do you have to be so proud of?”  

Ruan Qingzhi smiled back, her beautiful eyes glinting with mischief. “Well, it’s just that I’ve got what you could never have.”  

Lin Ruzhen’s eye twitched violently, her chest heaving—clearly provoked by the remark. “Ruan Qingzhi, why don’t you take a piss and look at your own reflection, huh?”  

“You’re just some backwater village girl—no education, no sophistication. You probably can’t even tell north from south if you stepped outside. And that pathetic, starved look of yours—what could Zhanwu possibly gain from being with you?”  

“But I come from a family of doctors. I have the best background and resources. If I hadn’t chased after Shen Zhanwu all these years, who would even know him? Any privileges he’s gotten were only because people were doing me favors! Otherwise, he’d be nothing!”  

Ruan Qingzhi’s expression suddenly darkened.