Chapter 21

Company Commander Zhang wore an unusually serious expression, which made Song Chunzhi all the more confused. She followed closely behind Gu Huaishan as they entered the room. Before she could even steady her footing, Zhang slammed the door shut with a loud bang. Her body trembled instinctively.

Inside the room stood several solemn men dressed in military uniforms. Song Chunzhi grew increasingly anxious. She glanced at Yu Ming, who was being restrained on the hospital bed. He thrashed about, his splinted limbs flailing, eyes wide open, and his mouth stuffed with a handkerchief. He looked nothing like a normal person.

“Didn’t you say Yu Ming wanted to see me?”

Sensing that something was wrong, Song Chunzhi carefully edged closer to Gu Huaishan and whispered the question. Her apricot-shaped eyes were filled with panic. What exactly was going on? How did Yu Ming end up like this?

“Are you Comrade Song Chunzhi?”

She turned toward the voice and saw a dark-skinned man in his thirties looking at her. She nodded and replied, “Yes, I’m Song Chunzhi.”

No sooner had the words left her mouth than she felt all eyes in the room turn to her. Her nervousness surged again. It became clear that it wasn’t Yu Ming who wanted to see her… it was these people.

“Comrade Song, you bravely climbed a cliff to save our comrade. We at the garrison are very grateful to you. There’s no need to be nervous. We invited you here today mainly to understand more about what happened at the time.”

Battalion Commander Wang glanced at the other leaders in the room before approaching Song Chunzhi. Noticing her anxiety, he offered some reassurance.

So it was about the rescue.

Song Chunzhi let out a sigh of relief. Her gaze swept to Gu Huaishan standing to the side, a hint of blame in her eyes. If they were just trying to gather details, she would have gladly cooperated. After all, she was even given a certificate and a cash reward by the garrison. But thinking of Yu Ming’s current condition, she began to suspect it wasn’t that simple.

She nodded to Commander Wang and recounted the same version of events she had told before. After finishing, her apricot eyes were calm as she looked at him and said, “That’s everything.”

“There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with what she said…”

“The girl is certainly brave, and her account is detailed. But what exactly is the issue here?”

The military officers in the room exchanged thoughts in hushed tones. Their gazes shifted repeatedly between Song Chunzhi and Yu Ming, their expressions growing more solemn.

“Young lady, you really are courageous.”

Commander Wang praised her again after hearing her story, letting out a soft sigh. It seemed the issue with Yu Ming had nothing to do with her.

However, Gu Huaishan frowned deeply, his sharp eyes locked on Song Chunzhi with growing suspicion. If he remembered correctly, her story just now was exactly the same, word for word, as the version she told him and Commander Zhang before. An ordinary person wouldn’t repeat a story three times with not a single word changed. Something was definitely off.

“Comrade Xiao Song, come here…”

A man with a square face and a kind expression waved at Song Chunzhi and signaled for the others to release Yu Ming. He also instructed someone to remove the handkerchief from Yu Ming’s mouth.

Song Chunzhi wasn’t sure if he was calling her at first, but after Gu Huaishan gave her a push, she hurried over to the bedside and lowered her head slightly to greet the man.

“Ah… flying… fairy… flying… fairy…”

Now unrestrained, Yu Ming began twisting and writhing again. Despite the splints on his limbs, he moved frantically. But the words coming out of his mouth made Song Chunzhi’s eyes widen in shock. Her heart started to pound uncontrollably. Had she been exposed? Did Yu Ming somehow see her during the rescue?

“This is why we called you here again. Apologies for startling you.”

The square-faced officer pointed to Yu Ming on the bed. Seeing how startled Song Chunzhi looked, he sighed helplessly.

“We’ve tried everything at the garrison, but nothing has worked to bring him back to normal. Since you were the one who saved him, we thought maybe you’d have an idea.”

As soon as the officer finished speaking, others quickly gagged Yu Ming again. They were a military unit, after all. Superstitious talk like that was unacceptable. If Yu Ming wasn’t still injured, they would’ve already dragged him off to be dealt with.

“Could he have been frightened?” Song Chunzhi was now seriously considering whether Yu Ming had remained somewhat conscious when she rescued him. Her apricot eyes flickered slightly as she shared her thoughts with the square-faced officer. “I carried him on my back while climbing the cliff. He might have been semi-conscious and felt like he was flying.”

“That makes sense.”

The officer nodded thoughtfully. As he imagined the scenario, he realized what she said was plausible. He looked around at the others in the room and saw that they agreed as well. Earlier, he had even suspected this young woman might be strange. Turned out they had been overthinking it.

Although Gu Huaishan also found her explanation reasonable, something still didn’t sit right with him. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but his deep gaze lingered on Song Chunzhi. He was determined to figure out what exactly was wrong.

“Falling from such a height must’ve terrified him. When people are scared, their minds run wild. Maybe we should just observe him a bit longer…” Commander Wang glanced at the leaders in the room and cautiously offered his suggestion. Yu Ming really had gone too far. Of all things to say, he chose that kind of nonsense.

“Have the doctor give him a sedative. Let him sleep. If he keeps babbling, send him to a large hospital in the city.”

With that, the leaders left the room. Their expressions were no longer as stern as before. They were convinced Yu Ming had simply been traumatized and was hallucinating. After all, they were soldiers; there was no place for superstition among them.

Song Chunzhi watched as Yu Ming was gagged again. His face had turned pale, and his limbs continued to flail. She couldn’t help but sigh. She still wasn’t sure whether saving Yu Ming had been a blessing or a mistake.

In a military base, making such remarks as Yu Ming did would definitely lead to punishment. Back then, they had all confirmed that Yu Ming had been unconscious. Otherwise, she would never have dared to drag him up on her own. Looking back, she still hadn’t been cautious enough.

“Watch out…”

Gu Huaishan reached out and tugged Song Chunzhi back, but she still got hit by Yu Ming’s arm, which was braced with a splint. Gu Huaishan glanced down to see a red mark forming on her arm. Yu Ming had clearly struck with some force. Concern flickered in his complicated gaze as he quickly asked, his voice slightly tense.

“Are you alright?”

“I’m fine. Just bumped a little.”

Song Chunzhi felt a sting and raised her arm to check. A red mark had formed on her pale forearm, but the skin wasn’t broken. She shook her head at Gu Huaishan and, instead of worrying about herself, showed concern for Yu Ming.

“His injuries are so serious. When do you think he’ll recover?”

“Here, let me put some ointment on that.”

Gu Huaishan picked up some medicine from the side table and instructed the doctor to restrain Yu Ming again to prevent him from hurting anyone else. But he didn’t notice that Yu Ming had already gone quiet. His hands and feet had stopped moving, his eyes were closed, and his face had gone still. He had clearly fallen asleep.

“It’s okay, it’ll fade soon.”

Seeing Gu Huaishan approaching with the ointment, Song Chunzhi’s apricot eyes trembled slightly. She hadn’t expected Commander Gu to be this concerned about her. She hurriedly waved her hands and declined. When she noticed everyone in the room looking their way, her cheeks flushed, and she smiled awkwardly.

“You’re injured here in our garrison. Surely you can’t refuse even a little medicine?”

Gu Huaishan paid no attention to the others’ gazes. His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at Song Chunzhi, his handsome face displaying a kind of firm, undeniable authority. He opened the ointment and began to apply it to her arm.

“Commander Gu, since when are you so thoughtful?”

Watching the scene unfold, Commander Wang turned to ask Commander Zhang with raised eyebrows and wide eyes, shock written all over his face. Normally, Gu Huaishan was known to be cold and reticent, to the point that any female comrade who got too close would be glared away.

“Ahem…”

Commander Zhang cleared his throat and hurriedly told Commander Wang he had something to take care of and needed to leave. He feared that if he stayed any longer, he’d laugh out loud. He had suspected since the last time when Gu Huaishan volunteered to carry that girl on his back that he had other intentions. And now, it was clear that Gu Huaishan’s motives were far from pure.

“I can do it myself, really…”

Embarrassed by Commander Wang’s teasing, Song Chunzhi was startled by Gu Huaishan’s actions. She quickly stepped back, reached out to snatch the ointment from his hand, scooped a little out, and applied it herself. Her apricot eyes glimmered with a smile as she looked up at him.

“Commander Gu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now.”

“I’ll walk you out.”

Gu Huaishan put the ointment away, his cold eyes focused steadily on Song Chunzhi. His handsome face wore a gentle expression as he spoke. As they left the room, he even nodded politely at the still-surprised Commander Wang.

“Gu Huaishan is acting strange.”

Commander Wang stared at Gu Huaishan’s tall figure as he followed after Song Chunzhi. Rubbing his chin, he muttered to himself. Then, a thought struck him, and he widened his eyes. “That girl really is quite pretty.”

“Commander Gu, you don’t need to walk me back. I can manage.”

Song Chunzhi frowned slightly at Gu Huaishan trailing behind her. She had already visited several times and wouldn’t get lost. And even if she did, she could just ask someone for directions. There was no need for Gu Huaishan to escort her personally.

“Song Chunzhi, I didn’t mean to lie to you.”

Gu Huaishan walked beside her, studying her face as his mind turned over one thought after another. What exactly wasn’t right? Even if everything had been a coincidence, there had just been too many coincidences between them. As a soldier, he was naturally prone to thinking deeply. And every time he saw Song Chunzhi, he felt uneasy.

“It’s fine.”

Song Chunzhi didn’t mind. After all, Yu Ming’s condition wasn’t something easy to explain. Her expression softened as she smiled again and politely insisted that she didn’t need an escort. But she soon realized that the path Gu Huaishan was taking wasn’t the same one they had come by. Her face tensed as she asked nervously, “Commander Gu, did you take the wrong path?”

“No.”

Gu Huaishan’s cold eyes swept over her anxious expression. The corner of his lips curled slightly as he teased, “We’re still in the garrison. What, do you think I’m going to sell you off?”

“That’s not what I meant, Commander Gu. It’s getting late, and I still need to head back up the mountain.”

Song Chunzhi shook her head with a laugh. She wasn’t worried about being sold. It was just that ever since they had met that afternoon, she had felt that Gu Huaishan’s gaze had grown increasingly complicated. It made her uncomfortable. Although he was handsome and generous, she still wanted to keep her distance.

Although Song Chunzhi was smiling, Gu Huaishan could still see the nervousness beneath her surface. He reached out and pulled her into a nearby room. After closing the door behind them, his expression turned serious. His eyes, cold and piercing, locked onto her as he demanded an answer.