Chapter 93

At six in the morning, the sky was still dark, but the snow had stopped falling.

Ruan Mingfu drowsily opened her eyes and was startled to see a pair of bloodshot eyes. She let out a sigh of relief once she recognized the person before her.

“… You didn’t sleep all night, did you?”

Xie Yanzhao shifted his stiff body and nodded while gazing at her small belly.

Ruan Mingfu: “……”

What a weirdo!

“You…” Looking at Xie Yanzhao’s condition, Ruan Mingfu didn’t know what to say. “Since it’s still early, why don’t you lie down and get some more rest?”

She really worried he might collapse.

He turned his head to glance at his watch.

“No, you should rest well. I’ll go prepare breakfast for you.”

Without waiting for Ruan Mingfu to refuse, Xie Yanzhao got out of bed.

Ruan Mingfu: “……”

She couldn’t sleep anymore, so she got up as well.

Today, they were having noodles for breakfast.

Ruan Mingfu picked up the mug of milk powder, but Xie Yanzhao stopped her. He reached for the cup, checked that it wasn’t too hot, and then handed it back to her.

After taking a sip, she set it aside. Just as she was about to grab an egg, she was stopped again by Xie Yanzhao.

“I’ll do it.”

He took the egg, peeled it, and placed it in her bowl.

“Old Xie, there’s something wrong with you!”

Ruan Mingfu looked at the egg in her bowl, exasperation written all over her face.

“I’m just pregnant, not some fragile doll,” she frowned, “You don’t need to take care of me like this.”

It was also quite stressful for her.

Xie Yanzhao: “Don’t you like it?”

“Well,” she shot him a glare, “What do you think?”

He nodded earnestly.

“Then I won’t do it anymore.”

Ruan Mingfu let out a slow breath.

While they were eating, the bright sun rose, shining through the window and casting a golden glow over her, almost as if enveloping her in a warm light.

“There’s sunlight!” After several days of heavy snow, her mood had been quite gloomy. “The snow in the yard should melt now, right?”

Xie Yanzhao handed her the milk powder. “No, and it’s supposed to snow heavily again tomorrow.”

“More snow?”

After a few days here, Ruan Mingfu had gone from being curious to feeling frustrated.

The bright sunlight reflected off the snow, casting an even stronger light, lifting Ruan Mingfu’s spirits.

Sitting at the table, she watched Xie Yanzhao clean up all the dishes and recalled what Hu Wanning had said yesterday.

Xie Yanzhao paused, thought for a moment, and nodded.

“I understand now.”

Ruan Mingfu: …??

“I’ll call and see if we can ask Aunt Zhang to come over and take care of you.”

Aunt Zhang?!

Oh right, she had completely forgotten about Aunt Zhang.

Ruan Mingfu’s eyes lit up. “Right! I’ll just say Aunt Zhang is our relative.”

There was no way around it; since Mrs.Ruan was looking after Father Ruan, and there was no need to mention Xie Yanzhao’s side, she could only hope for Aunt Zhang’s help.

Xie Yanzhao nodded gently.

“By the way, when you call, also inform Old Ruan,” Ruan Mingfu felt a bit smug. “If I don’t notify him in time, he might get mad at me. Oh, and my brother… Forget about him.”

Thinking about it, it had been more than half a month since Qi Yangyan left, and she had no idea how he was doing.

But it wasn’t easy for her to contact him here.

Ruan Mingfu wasn’t worried; her brother was sharp as a tack. No one could outsmart him.

“Aren’t you leaving yet?”

She looked at the busy Xie Yanzhao and glanced at the clock on the table. It was already eight o’clock. Normally, the dog man would have disappeared by now.

Was the army not busy anymore?

“There’s hot water in here. Pour it out to cool it down before drinking,” Xie Yanzhao brought over a thermos, unsure where to put it. After a moment of thought, he said, “It’s a bit hot… never mind, I’ll pour some into your cup to cool.”

He would be back by noon, and the house would be warm, so it shouldn’t cool off too quickly.

Still, he felt a bit uneasy. “… Don’t drink it if it gets cold.”

“I’ve put away all the needles and thread, and I’ve locked the storage room,” he brought several books from somewhere. “When you’re bored, read a book; you can also soak up some sun here… It’s cold outside, and…”

Ruan Mingfu: “……”

She was an adult, not three years old.

Seeing that Xie Yanzhao was about to continue his nagging, Ruan Mingfu pushed him out the door.

“I can take care of myself, so hurry up and leave,” she said, shoving his coat into his arms and closing the door before he could say anything. “It’s embarrassing for a regiment commander to be late.”

Ruan Mingfu leaned against the door and slowly sighed in relief.

… Becoming so motherly!

It was a headache when that dog man didn’t talk, but it was even worse when he did.

Xie Yanzhao looked at the closed door in front of him and shook his head with a smile. After standing there for a moment, he put on his coat and stepped across the courtyard. To prevent Ruan Mingfu from slipping, he deliberately cleared the snow inside.

After making two phone calls, he headed towards the unit.

As he passed the shooting range, he happened to see Captain Wang training the new recruits. Just as Xie Yanzhao was about to leave, he was called over.

“Commander!” Captain Wang hurried over, lowering his voice. “I was just telling those recruits that you hit the bullseye. They won’t stop talking about it. Old Xie, for my sake, can you show them a thing or two?”

Captain Wang was married to Li Xianglan and, due to his youth and vigor, had gotten the position of captain.

Of course, he was the one least afraid of Xie Yanzhao.

If it were anyone else, they wouldn’t dare to make such a request.

Xie Yanzhao turned to look at Captain Wang and took the gun from his hand.

Captain Wang’s eyes lit up.

“Old Xie, what a good friend!” He boasted to the recruits with pride. “You’re in luck today, you’ll get to see our military district’s sharpshooter in action!”

Those naive new recruits sneered at Xie Yanzhao.

The sharpshooter, is that all?

Before the recruits could ridicule him, they heard a series of sharp gunshots.

They looked at the targets and then at Xie Yanzhao, who seemed casually standing there, their eyes lighting up with fervor.

“Wow! So strong.”

“All shots in the bullseye… is he even human?”

“Quick! Pinch me, I need to see if I’m dreaming.”

“…”

Captain Wang: …

Suddenly feeling a bit embarrassed for some reason.

He cleared his throat, trying to get everyone to quiet down. But those recruits couldn’t settle down. They began chattering among themselves. One sharp-eyed recruit pointed at Xie Yanzhao and said,

“Wow! He’s the legendary Commander Xie.”

“Damn! So it’s him. No wonder he’s so strong.”

“He really is the strongest man in the whole unit…”

If these recruits hadn’t been trained and knew to uphold military discipline, they would have rushed over to surround Xie Yanzhao.

With sparkling eyes, they exclaimed, “Commander Xie, can you teach us how to shoot?”

“Yeah…”

“Go away, go away,” Captain Wang glared at the group of recruits who were getting too bold. “Do you even know how busy Commander Xie is?”

He knew Xie Yanzhao’s temper.

Captain Wang had already risked a lot by making that request, but these recruits were even bolder.

“Sure.”

Xie Yanzhao agreed and walked over to them with the gun in hand.

Captain Wang: …

Feeling utterly confused.

Wasn’t Xie Yanzhao that he knew the kind of person who was hard to approach?

Before Captain Wang could ponder further, he heard the recruits erupt in cheers. Gritting his teeth, he squeezed in as well.

Old Xie’s shooting skills were unparalleled; he wanted to learn too!

Next was Xie Yanzhao’s personal showcase, as he tamed those rebellious young recruits, who began calling him Brother Xie in admiration, their eyes shining like they were looking at an idol.

He was incredibly patient, explaining various techniques to them. Not only the recruits who had just touched a gun, even Captain Wang, the seasoned veteran, was mesmerized.

“… Alright, I’ll stop explaining here. The rest you can leave to your instructor.”

“Thank you, Brother Xie!”

Xie Yanzhao glanced at the group and, with a slight smile, left.

The recruits were excited beyond words:

“Who said Brother Xie was cold? He’s actually very approachable. And that’s not fierce, it’s called having masculinity!”

“Exactly! Brother Xie is amazing. I couldn’t understand that movement, but once he explained it, I got it right away.”

“I messed that movement up so many times, but Brother Xie was really nice and helped me correct it.”

“And this…”

Captain Wang stood to the side, wiping his face. Remembering how he had been assigned to Xie Yanzhao’s team right after joining the military and the scoldings he had received… he couldn’t help but look up at the bright sun.

Was the sun really rising from the west today?

Xie Yanzhao made his way over and coincidentally, saw Xu Zhu coming out with some documents.

“Old Xie, you’re finally here! You thought you could take a day off? Come on, I’ve got a document for you to look at.”

“Slow down, why are you in such a hurry?”

He brushed off Xu Zhu’s hand gripping his clothing.

“Ah, there’s no time! Come on, follow me.”

Xu Zhu was clearly in a rush, dragging him over.

Xie Yanzhao glanced at the document and frowned slightly, but he patiently read through all the content.

“When will the factory hire workers? They need to come to me?”

This was clearly a task for logistics, and the military wives in the family compound were not under his jurisdiction.

“Hey, how would I know?” Xu Zhu said, taking a sip of water. “This morning, logistics handed over the list and kept urging me.”

He felt wronged too.

Xie Yanzhao put the document away. “I’ll go find them.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” Xu Zhu pulled him back, no longer in a hurry, and even had the time to tease Xie Yanzhao. “I heard my sister-in-law is pregnant?”

“Yeah.”

Mentioning this made a warm tenderness fill Xie Yanzhao’s eyes.

Xu Zhu looked at him and couldn’t help clicking his tongue in surprise.

Is this really the childhood friend he’s known for so long?

“Congratulations, I want to be his godfather when the baby is born!”

Xie Yanzhao shot him a sideways glance. “You?”

He raised an eyebrow and turned to leave.

Xu Zhu: “…”

Huh… what does he mean by that?

Xu Zhu stared at Xie Yanzhao’s retreating figure, growing angrier by the second.

This bastard!

If it weren’t for his strong intervention back then, it was uncertain whether Xie Yanzhao and Ruan Mingfu would even end up together. And now… he’s already acting like he doesn’t care?

If the person hadn’t left, he would have had to find this bastard and have a good argument with him.

…

In the hospital, He Cuixiang lay on the bed, her face still pale. She rubbed her belly, a frown creasing her forehead.

She was further along than Li Xianglan, but her belly was just starting to show a little curve. He Cuixiang felt a pang of sadness. If only she had been more careful, the baby wouldn’t have been so close to being lost, and she wouldn’t have made Wu Gang run back and forth to the hospital.

She sighed, and just then, she saw her mother walk in. Before she could feel joy, her face fell instantly upon seeing who was behind her mother.