Chapter 73: The Truth

Upon entering the house and looking around, Lin You realized that the entire space was filled with Qin Lang’s presence and essence.

The bowls and chopsticks he used were neatly placed on the dining table, his favorite cup quietly rested on the coffee table, each item seemingly waiting for its owner.

Lin You walked to the balcony and saw the lounge chair that Qin Lang had specifically chosen for her, feeling as though she could sense the care he had put into selecting it. She slowly sat down, closed her eyes, and reminisced about the wonderful times spent with Qin Lang.

She simply could not believe that Qin Lang had vanished like this.

In the bathroom, his razor, toothpaste, and toothbrush were still arranged neatly.

Returning to the bedroom, she opened the wardrobe to find Qin Lang’s clothes hanging in an orderly fashion. Gently caressing the fabric, tears began to blur her vision.

She could not accept the reality that Qin Lang was truly gone and might never return.

Unable to ignore the lingering scent of Qin Lang in the air, she walked to the bed, picked up his pajamas, and felt the soft material, as if she could hear his gentle voice whispering in her ear.

Lin You lay on the bed, clutching Qin Lang’s pillow to her chest, closing her eyes as if he were right beside her.

Seeing her silently wandering through the rooms, Lu Li felt at a loss for what to do and helplessly sat on the sofa, starting to smoke.

He stared at the dining table, lost in thought. Just before leaving, the three of them had been happily eating together, why had there been such a tragic separation in just a month?

Where was her brother in law’s body? Were they really not going to search for him?

Suddenly, Lu Li had a realization. Something was off! If her brother in law had really sacrificed himself, the team should have held a memorial service for him. But why hadn’t the captain taken any action? He had clearly been informed before returning.

Why hadn’t he told Lin You sooner and instead waited for Lu Li to come back? And when he was notified that Qin Lang was missing, he had shown no signs of panic rather, he seemed relieved.

Qin Lang had always been paired with him. Why had he teamed up with Yang Pan this time? And why hadn’t anyone been sent to inform Yang Pan’s family?

Lu Li then recalled that for over a month, they had been ordered to remain on standby, as if waiting for the right moment. This felt very wrong, could it be…

With this thought, Lu Li extinguished his cigarette, stood up abruptly, and prepared to head outside.

Thinking of Lin You, he went to the bedroom door and softly said, “Sister, I think something is off. You should rest. I’ll figure everything out and come back to tell you.”

He locked the door with a key and strode toward the office building.

Lu Li didn’t knock and directly pushed open the door to the captain’s office.

Captain Zhou, seeing him, showed no surprise, as if he had been waiting for him. Lu Li knew he had guessed correctly.

He quickly approached, placing his hands on the table, and angrily demanded, “How could you do this? Why make her bear all of this alone?”

“Because of that, Qin Lang has been disowned by our family,” Lu Li declared. “He can forget about being forgiven by the Lu family.”

With that, he turned to leave.

Captain Zhou quickly stood up, raised his voice at Lu Li, “Stop right there.”

He walked to the door, closed it, and forcibly pressed Lu Li down into a chair.

Looking at him with appreciation, he said, “No wonder Qin Lang said you were the smartest person at the base, nothing escapes your notice.”

Lu Li scoffed, turning his gaze away.

Seeing Lu Li’s reaction, Captain Zhou sighed helplessly, looking at him meaningfully. “You should have been the one to go. Qin Lang was worried that Lin You couldn’t handle it, so he took Yang Pan instead.”

Lu Li stared at Captain Zhou in shock.

Captain Zhou patted his shoulder, signaling him to hold his tongue.

“This operation was originally planned for you to stay at the base, but Qin Lang insisted you go. The reason he did this, I believe you already understand it was to let you know on purpose.”

“He wanted you to stay behind to comfort Lin You.”

Lu Li nodded, realizing that Qin Lang had anticipated he would see through the flaws and guess the situation.

But that wasn’t a reason to make Lin You endure all this.

He stood up and asked Captain Zhou, “Can I tell her everything?”

Captain Zhou responded with a question, “What do you think?”

Lu Li lowered his eyes, defeated, and sat back down.

“This matter is currently only known to you and me, even Qin Lang’s parents are unaware. You know who his father is, right?”

Lu Li nodded.

“From now on, they will contact you and me unilaterally. Do you understand what I mean?”

Lu Li nodded helplessly.

“What you need to do now is keep Lin You stable until Qin Lang’s parents arrive.”

Lu Li stood up in anger “Do you think she can be stable? What if… what if she decides to make the same choice as my aunt did years ago? What then? Have you thought about that?”

“Why don’t you consider her feelings at all?”

Captain Zhou explained to Lu Li, “Besides Qin Lang, who else at the base could handle this? Shan Ye? Me? Li Yang? Or you?”

Lu Li shook his head, knowing none of them were suitable.

“This is a soldier’s mission, it’s unavoidable.”

“As for your concerns, I don’t believe Lin You would do that.”

Lu Li wanted to argue but ultimately chose silence.

Captain Zhou’s voice echoed again

“Lu Li, be rational.”

“Go back, keep an eye on Lin You.”

“I believe you’ll know what to do.”

“I don’t know.” He stood up and left, kicking the door hard as he exited.

Captain Zhou shook his head, deciding not to say anything further, allowing Lu Li to vent his frustrations.

Qin Lang was right, Lu Li was the most headache inducing, but he was also exceptionally protective. With him around Lin You, things would be much better.

Lu Li brought some food and stood at the bedroom door, seeing her still maintaining her previous position, as if she hadn’t moved at all.

He knocked on the door and said, “Sister, get up and eat something.”

However, Lin You remained motionless.

Not caring about the gender difference, Lu Li entered the bedroom and approached Lin You.

He saw that she wasn’t asleep at all, just looking blankly ahead in despair.

Squatting down to look directly into her eyes, Lu Li said, “Sister, things aren’t as bad as you think. There is still hope. Really, you have to believe me.”

In Lin You’s eyes, there seemed to be a flicker of light as she softly asked Lu Li, “Did you figure everything out?”

Lu Li nodded, then shook his head, finally giving an ambiguous answer “It’s classified information, I can’t say much. I can only tell you that anything is possible.”

Lin You sat up and walked to the dining table, looking at the food but having no appetite at all, she put down her chopsticks.

Then, looking at Lu Li, she said, “Lu Li, I want to go out for a walk. Can you drive me around?”

“Okay.”