Chapter 28: Get off me first

Chen Xiuyuan practically sprinted to the gate. From a distance, he saw a graceful figure.

“Comrade Lin!”

Chen Xiuyuan, breathless from running, his face flushed with excitement, left the base and stood before Lin Yitang.

“Why are you looking for me so late? Is something important?”

They were very close. Yu Jingchuan, arriving a moment later, saw this and his face darkened further, his expression icy and unapproachable.

A sentry who had accompanied them commented enviously, “Is that Chen Xiuyuan’s girlfriend? This guy is lucky; his girlfriend is so beautiful!”

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a chill run down his spine, and goosebumps erupted on his arms. Why did it suddenly feel so cold? 

He glanced sideways and was startled by Yu Jingchuan’s expression. Commander Yu looked terrifying!

Lin Yitang didn’t notice this, instead saying seriously to Chen Xiuyuan, “I have something very important to tell you. I may have found a human trafficker’s hideout!”

At this, Chen Xiuyuan instantly regained his composure.

“Are you serious?”

“Absolutely!”

Just as Lin Yitang was about to explain, she saw Yu Jingchuan walking over, hands in his pockets.

The man’s cold voice followed.  “Chen Xiuyuan, have you forgotten the base’s rules? It’s rest time. Go back to your dorm immediately!”

“Commander Yu, no, Comrade Lin…”

“I said go back!”

Yu Jingchuan’s expression was impassive. His voice wasn’t loud, but the underlying anger and authority intimidated Chen Xiuyuan.

Lin Yitang, however, wasn’t afraid.  She met the man’s dark eyes, her pretty eyebrows furrowed.

“Yu Jingchuan, I have something important to discuss with him! It’s about human traffickers!”

Hearing this, Yu Jingchuan’s anger subsided.

He quickly approached Lin Yitang, asking seriously, “What human traffickers?”

Lin Yitang explained the situation, showing him the note.

The note read: “Please save me. I was kidnapped after suffering amnesia from an illness! They’re going to sell me to a crippled old bachelor! Many others have been sold.

I’m so scared, please save me! Please don’t call the police. They know some police officers. If we’re discovered, I’ll be beaten to death! Save me!”

The note was crumpled and worn, having likely been hidden for a long time. The girl had been looking for an opportunity to send it out.

She probably feared that seeking help from nearby residents would alert He Chunhua, so she gave it to Lin Yitang.

Yu Jingchuan put away the note, his face grim. “You have no sense of safety. You dared to go there alone.

Do you know that if that was really a human trafficker’s den, you could have been in danger?”

Lin Yitang ignored his sour expression and said to Chen Xiuyuan, “That girl looks pitiful. You must rescue her!”

Chen Xiuyuan thumped his chest. “Don’t worry, we won’t let any bad guys go!”

Lin Yitang trusted them.

“Then I’ll go back.”

“I’ll walk you home!”

Chen Xiuyuan blurted this out.

“Mind your discipline, you should go back to the dorm.”

Lights-out was approaching, and Chen Xiuyuan was still out. Yu Jingchuan found him particularly annoying.

Chen Xiuyuan was troubled. It was so dark, and he worried about Lin Yitang’s safety. But the base’s discipline was strict; if he didn’t return before lights-out, he would be punished.

He glanced at Lin Yitang, gritting his teeth.  He’d accept the punishment! Even if he was punished, he would walk Lin Yitang home.

Before he could speak, Yu Jingchuan said in a low voice, “You go back to the dorm. I’ll walk her home. I’m going home anyway, and I can also learn more about the situation.”

Before Chen Xiuyuan could react, Yu Jingchuan had already pulled Lin Yitang away.

“Let go of me! I don’t need you to walk me home. I can go back myself!”

Lin Yitang flung off the man’s hand in disgust.

“Don’t be reckless. What if the traffickers are already watching you?”

Hearing this, Lin Yitang didn’t say anything more. It was better to be safe than sorry. If He Chunhua was really in cahoots with the traffickers, she might attack her.

Yu Jingchuan’s words made Lin Yitang a little afraid, especially as darkness fell, and the surroundings were empty and dark.

Lin Yitang felt insecure and subconsciously moved closer to Yu Jingchuan.

Their arms touched, the smooth skin brushing against each other. Yu Jingchuan inexplicably felt a warmth where they touched.

He quickly stepped aside, creating distance between them.

“Don’t get too close.”

Lin Yitang remembered the man’s aversion to her and moved further away.

Yu Jingchuan asked her more questions, and Lin Yitang answered truthfully, although she couldn’t answer some questions.

After all, she hadn’t paid much attention when she was at He Chunhua’s house, and she didn’t have the keen observation skills of a soldier.

After the questioning, they fell silent.

Lin Yitang was thinking about the girl when she suddenly caught sight of a dark shadow rushing towards them.

Then she felt something furry brush against her leg.

She screamed, “Ah! What was that!”

Her instinctive reaction caused her to jump into the man’s arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, her legs around his waist, trying to lift herself off the ground.

Yu Jingchuan caught her, his hands inevitably touching the woman’s soft body.

“It was a rat. It’s gone.”

“A rat!”

Lin Yitang shuddered. She hated rats. The thought of a rat touching her leg made her itch all over.

They were too close, and their clothes were thin; their bodies were practically touching. Yu Jingchuan could feel the woman’s softness pressed against his chest, and her faint fragrance stirred his blood.

“The rat won’t come back. Get off me.”

This was a severe test of his self-control.

“Is it really gone?”

Lin Yitang looked around incredulously, but it was too dark to see anything clearly.

“There’s no rat. Get down.”

The man’s voice was low, with a hint of restraint.

Lin Yitang realized how close they were.

Just as she was about to get off him, there was another sound from the nearby woods.