Chapter 28

Hongjun Island is a remote island located on the outskirts of S province.

Su Xi embarked on the journey alone, carrying a large rattan box. It was a bumpy ride, switching from train to car, and then from car to oxcart. After a fourteen-day journey, she experienced the hardships of a “troubled journey.”

Finally, on the afternoon of July 15th, at 2 o’clock, she boarded the last mode of transportation, a somewhat dilapidated wooden boat.

Her elder brother had mentioned in a letter before that there were small boats available for travel to and from Hongjun Island.

Uncertain about her exact arrival time, Su Xi chose to take the boat herself without notifying anyone from the military base to pick her up at the dock.

On a scorching summer day, the sun was blazing in the sky.

The afternoon sun hung in the air like a giant fireball, with no obstructions on the sea surface. Waves of intense heat swept over, and even with Su Xi’s special physique, she couldn’t withstand the scorching sun.

She half lifted her buttocks and pulled the low stool towards the edge of the cabin, where there was at least some shade.

“Miss, there’s a fan inside the cabin. If you don’t mind, take it and use it,” suggested the elderly man rowing the boat, his dark skin glistening. He smiled as he watched Su Xi fanning herself to cool down.

How could Su Xi refuse? With about two more hours of the journey ahead, having a fan was certainly better than not having one.

If it weren’t for the fact that there was only a small bed in the cabin, obviously where the boat owner slept, she would have wanted to crawl in to cool off.

Without being overly polite, Su Xi took two fans directly—one for herself and one handed to another passenger sitting not far away.

“Thank you!” The girl across from her, wearing a small floral dress and looking at the surroundings with a disdainful expression, hesitated for a while when she saw Su Xi handing her a fan. Unable to withstand the scorching sun, she finally took out a handkerchief from her pocket, wrapped it around the fan handle, and then held it in her hand, swaying it gently.

When the weather gets hot, people easily become irritable.

Su Xi’s ink-black hair, reaching her waist, was braided into a long, flowing plait, trailing behind her.

People nowadays like to braid their hair, either like Su Xi does now, with a single braid tied at the back of the head, or with two braids hanging down the shoulders in front, just like the girl across the street.

But Su Xi couldn’t stand it anymore; even a peach blossom spirit couldn’t withstand such intense heat exposure, especially since she was a ‘weak chicken’ half-demon.

Su Xi felt so suffocated that she had no choice but to undo her braids, and then gather her hair high on her head, coiling it into a neat and refreshing bun. This not only made her already flawless, delicate face look even more radiant and charming but also provided relief from the scorching sun.

Holding a banana leaf fan, she waved it vigorously a few times, exhaling a breath of relief and finally feeling the air on her back.

Mei Li, holding the fan handle with a handkerchief, swayed it back and forth while sneakily glancing at Su Xi.

Then she saw this girl change her hairstyle with just a few simple moves.

Although it seemed simple, it was inexplicably beautiful, making her somewhat jealous. At the same time, she couldn’t help but itch to try the same hairstyle.

After mentally visualizing herself with this hairstyle and enjoying the radiant and beautiful scene, Mei Li discreetly began to scrutinize Su Xi’s dressing style.

Only then did she realize that not only did this girl look slightly better than herself, but she also dressed well. She had never seen someone with such a stylish outfit.

The more she observed, the more uncomfortable Mei Li felt. She decided to probe Su Xi’s background: “Big sister, what’s your name? Are you here to accompany your husband to Hongjun Island?”

Upon hearing this, Su Xi raised her hand to touch her cheek. She was only 20 years old; how did she end up looking like a married woman and a big sister at that?

“I’m Su Xi, I’m here for work. And you, big sister?”

Mei Li lifted her somewhat wide chin, speaking arrogantly, “I’m Mei Li, ‘Li’ as in beautiful. I’m only 22 this year. Just call me Sister Mei Li. I’m here to visit relatives. Of course, if I find a suitable job, staying won’t be a problem. My brother is a platoon leader.”

Su Xi: “…..” 

Su Xi: “I’m 20 this year, thank you!” Who’s the big sister here?

The girl in front of Su Xi, named Mei Li, could be considered pretty, with a certain degree of elegance and confidence.

Especially with the way she showed off, Su Xi couldn’t bring herself to tell her that even as a platoon leader in the military, it wasn’t a significant rank, and a second lieutenant’s rank was enough to be assigned as a platoon leader.

Although Su Xi majored in medicine, she still had a military rank upon graduation. For example, she, a new student who had just graduated from campus, already held the rank of captain.

If there is a Ph.D. available now, then she would normally graduate with the rank of major.

Su Xi didn’t know how to respond to Mei Li’s show-off, so she just smiled without saying anything.

This expression, in Mei Li’s eyes, took on another meaning; she believed that Su Xi, this enchanting woman, must be feeling inferior because of her own status.

Thinking about it, no matter how good-looking she was or how young she looked, what was the use if she couldn’t make money?

Unlike Mei Li, who had a brother in a high-ranking position, she was destined to be an official’s wife and give birth to a son.

This time, she was sent to her brother’s unit under the pretext of taking care of her pregnant sister-in-law, but in reality, it was to give her a chance to find a military officer like her brother.

Thinking about it, Mei Li pulled on her expensive floral dress and laughed with great satisfaction.

Ignorance makes people act boldly.

Mei Li was convinced that Su Xi was going to the island to do some laborious work that she looked down upon, so she confidently pulled Su Xi and began to talk endlessly.

From being spoiled at home to her brother’s prowess to her future husband and what kind of person she would marry, Mei Li’s words were non-stop.

Su Xi had heard that three women together could be as noisy as five hundred ducks. Su Xi believed it depended on the individuals. Taking Mei Li as an example, she could be as noisy as a thousand ducks all on her own.

If it weren’t for the fact that she was a girl, Su Xi felt like she could throw a punch and knock her out to silence her.

Just as Su Xi clenched her fists, struggling to control her rising impatience, the boatman’s shouting from outside saved her (or saved Mei Li?).

“We’re about to reach the island soon, ladies. Get ready! The old man can only take you to the shore,” the boatman exclaimed.

Su Xi quickly got up and looked ahead.

Sure enough, not far away stood a towering watchtower. It seemed that people on the island had spotted their boat.

In the distance, a few figures moved rapidly, resembling tiny black dots, running towards the edge of the island where Su Xi and the others would disembark.

The boatman seemed to be familiar with them. With his weathered and thin face, he smiled kindly at the young men in military uniforms. “Today is Sergeant Wang’s patrol. I’m bringing these two ladies. Verify their identities, and if everything is in order, I’ll be on my way.”

As the old man spoke, he secured the boat’s rope to a stone on the shore, following a well-practiced routine that showed his familiarity with the process.

The chubby-faced young soldier at the front responded to the old man and then approached Su Xi.

Su Xi, holding her suitcase, stood by the shore without looking around. She simply took out her documents from her backpack and handed them to the young soldier for inspection.

The little soldier took the document and carefully flipped through it, only to find out that the beautiful little girl in front of him, who looked about the same age as him, was actually the new military doctor or captain.

He had initially thought she was a family member visiting someone.

The little soldier closed the document and gave Su Xi a standard military salute, much to the surprise of everyone around. “Thank you for your hard work, Captain.”

Su Xi also gave a military salute and smiled. “You don’t need to call me Captain; just call me Doctor Su.”

“Yes, Doctor Su!”

Su Xi declined the soldiers’ offer to help and carried her suitcase to the side, waiting for the young soldier to verify Mei Li’s identity.

Speaking of Mei Li, her face was now flushed with embarrassment. She hadn’t expected that Su Xi, whom she had looked down upon throughout the entire journey, would turn out to be a captain. Although she didn’t know the exact rank, she was undoubtedly an officer.

Moreover, the person was a doctor, such a young doctor; she must be quite impressive.

When the young soldier asked for her identification information, she quickly explained that she was Platoon Leader Mei’s sister.

However, the young soldier didn’t give the same treatment to Mei Li; instead, he stopped her. “We haven’t received any registration for Vice Company Commander Mei’s family visit. Comrade, please wait here for a moment. We need to confirm with Vice Company Commander Mei before we can allow you to enter the island.”

Mei Li suddenly remembered that she had a strained relationship with her sister-in-law. This time, she had come secretly without informing her brother and sister-in-law.

So, she rolled her eyes, cleared her throat, and said softly, “Can’t we make an exception? My brother is a company commander, and it’s scorching hot outside.”

The Company Commander, stern and unyielding, replied, “No!”

Then, he gestured to two soldiers standing nearby and said, “You two, take Doctor Su to Secretary Wang for registration.”

He turned back to Mei Li with a cold gaze and ordered, “You! Wait here!”

Su Xi nodded to the squad leader, picked up her suitcase, and followed the soldiers.

Mei Li became anxious and shouted, “Comrade Su Xi, we know each other. Can’t you vouch for me?”

Su Xi waved her hand without looking back and said, “That’s not possible, and we don’t really know each other. We just happened to be on the same boat.”

After that, Su Xi paid no more attention to Mei Li’s tantrums and walked away gracefully.

Su Xi surveyed the vast surroundings, with large areas and endless forests. The distant beach looked desolate under the scorching sun.

“…….” Is this really a military base? Why is there nothing around?

Even though she had some mental preparation before coming, she never expected it to be so isolated. She wondered if her brother and sister-in-law could adapt to this place.

Did she make a mistake by insisting that they live in seclusion on the island for ten years?

“Where is the hospital located? And where is the family building?” Su Xi, effortlessly carrying a large rattan box, asked the young soldier beside her without a hint of fatigue.

Seeing Su Xi handling the load so easily, the young soldier assumed it wasn’t heavy and didn’t offer to help.

He chuckled, showing a set of white teeth, too embarrassed to look at Su Xi directly. The new doctor was exceptionally good-looking, and he didn’t dare glance at her. He spoke warmly with a blush on his face: “This is the most remote place in our base. The hospital and the barracks are at the other end. Usually, the base’s boat doesn’t dock every day, so the old man Li carries those military dependents who want to come and go, making some pocket money. But this is a military base, so the docking area is relatively secluded.”

No wonder: “Does this old man have any special circumstances?”

The young soldier nodded vigorously, thinking that Su Xi was quite knowledgeable and that her guess was right on the mark. “Yes, I heard that Old Man Li’s son, Li Erzhu, used to be a soldier on our island. He sacrificed himself on a mission a few years ago. They only had Li Erzhu as a son, and when he died, the child was only a few years old. After our leaders understood the situation, they let Old Man Li take on this boat-rowing job. I heard that the leaders even chipped in to buy this boat for him.”

After hearing this explanation, Su Xi understood. As she had suspected, without special circumstances, ordinary people couldn’t get close to the island.

Along the way, Su Xi chatted with the little soldier for about half an hour before seeing rows of buildings in the distance.

The little soldier said, “Doctor Su, shall I take you to report to Secretary Wang first? That way, we can arrange accommodation for you.”

Su Xi shook her head and said, “No need; take me to the place where Doctor Su Dong or Captain Xi Yannan lives first. I’ll drop off my luggage there before reporting.”

“Su… where does Doctor Su Dong or Captain Xi live?” the young soldier stuttered.

Su Xi smiled and nodded. “Yes, they are my brothers. Don’t we look alike?”

The young soldier didn’t expect that Doctor Su Dong, who had attracted the admiration of many female comrades when he arrived at the hospital earlier this year, turned out to be the brother of the ‘Doctor Su’ in front of him.

Now, looking at Doctor Su Xi’s appearance, it doesn’t seem that surprising anymore. Both of them were incredibly good-looking, almost like celestial beings.

Thinking about this, the young soldier nodded enthusiastically. “Looks similar, yet not quite, but both good-looking anyway.”

Su Xi was amused and said, “Then please take me to either of my brothers, wherever is convenient.”

“No trouble at all, Doctor Su. You’re too polite. But Doctor Su Dong and Captain Xi live together, so let’s head there directly.”

Su Xi exclaimed, “Oh, great!”