Chapter 19

Lu Weidong scratched his head. “That girl from our neighbor’s house—the one who used to follow me around when we were kids. She was younger than me, and since her family didn’t really keep an eye on her, she often played with my little sister.”

Gu Zhixing frowned as he looked at Lu Weidong’s slightly flushed face and asked curiously, “Don’t tell me you like her?”

Lu Weidong quickly waved his hand. “No way! I’m not good enough for Xiao Chan.”

Seeing his expression, Gu Zhixing immediately sensed something was up and pressed further, “You really don’t like her?”

Lu Weidong chuckled. “Xiao Chan is the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen!”

Gu Zhixing’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately grabbed Lu Weidong, who was about to keep walking, and said sternly, “Dongzi, listen to me—I like Xiao Chan, really, really like her! You know the saying, ‘A friend’s wife is off-limits,’ right?”

Lu Weidong frowned and muttered, “Captain, does Xiao Chan even like you? Besides, she’s not your wife yet.”

“Hey, you brat, are you asking for a beating?”

Lu Weidong quickly admitted defeat. “No, no! I know I’m not good enough for Xiao Chan. Back then, she was one of a kind in our village! I heard that her mother, who works in the city, was too busy and would only send her here occasionally. But Xiao Chan always brought her own food money—ten yuan a month! Too bad her grandmother treated her poorly. Later, when she started middle school, she stopped coming. I joined the army around the same time, so I haven’t seen her much these past few years.”

Gu Zhixing patted Lu Weidong on the shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, you’ll find someone right for you. Are you going on a matchmaking date while you’re back home?”

Lu Weidong shook his head frantically. “No way! I already told my mom that I’m seeing someone in the army.”

Gu Zhixing’s eyes lit up. “Oh? Who is it? How come I don’t know?”

“There’s no one! I made it up to stop my mom from nagging. I barely have time as it is—between missions and everything else, how could I have time for blind dates?”

Gu Zhixing laughed, slapping his friend’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll have my wife introduce you to someone when we get back!”

Lu Weidong rolled his eyes. “You’re not even married yet, and you’re already calling her ‘wife’?”

Suddenly, Lu Weidong spotted something and pointed ahead excitedly. “Look! There’s a pheasant!”

Gu Zhixing focused his gaze, quickly took out the slingshot he carried with him, and—snap!—the stone shot out, hitting the pheasant squarely. The bird dropped to the ground instantly.

“Captain, you’re amazing! No wonder you’re the best marksman in our unit!” Lu Weidong shouted excitedly.

“Oh, right, weren’t you going to tell me about Old Zheng?”

Lu Weidong reported his observations from the past few days in detail. “I’ve been to these woods several times and haven’t noticed anything unusual. But Old Zheng keeps coming here every few days, and he always leaves empty-handed. I thought it was a bit strange, so I called you over to take a look.”

Gu Zhixing furrowed his brows and gazed into the distance…

---

On the other side, Li Yuechan was bored out of her mind. She glanced at her watch—it had been nearly an hour, and those two still hadn’t returned. Who knew where they had run off to for their hunting trip?

She wandered back to the trap she had set earlier and peered inside. Wow, a pair of rabbits! And they were still alive—what a great find!

Just then, Gu Zhixing arrived, his face stern. “Why didn’t you wait for us where we told you to?”

Li Yuechan rolled her eyes. “You two have been gone for over an hour. Do you have any idea how bored I was?”

Gu Zhixing noticed the rabbits in her hands and asked curiously, “You set that trap?”

Li Yuechan was still too excited to think and blurted out, “Yeah, I dug it this morning.”

Lu Weidong’s jaw dropped. “You dug such a big pit by yourself?!”

Li Yuechan’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt a little guilty. But she quickly steadied herself, pointing at a nearby shovel. “I used that shovel, of course.”

Lu Weidong was full of admiration. “Xiao Chan, you’re so smart! You even thought to bring a shovel. Look, Dajun caught the pheasant, so you can take these rabbits home to eat.”

Li Yuechan’s eyes sparkled with delight. “Really? Great!” She then turned to Gu Zhixing and asked, “Your name is Dajun?”

Gu Zhixing coughed. “Yeah, Gu Dajun.” No choice—this was his alias for the mission.

---

An hour later, as Gu Zhixing watched the girl happily munch on her meal, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.

Li Yuechan glanced at the pile of chicken bones in front of her and grinned sheepishly. “How about we roast the rabbits too?”

Gu Zhixing checked the sky. “Aren’t you heading back to the city today?”

Li Yuechan suddenly remembered how she had gotten here. The thought instantly dampened her mood—so much so that even the delicious pheasant no longer tasted good.

She shot up from her seat. “I need to go! The road back is still long!”

Gu Zhixing immediately said, “I can give you a ride—I have a bicycle.”

Li Yuechan’s eyes lit up. “That’s great!”

But Lu Weidong quickly chimed in, “Dajun, don’t forget about Zhou Tao!”

Gu Zhixing smacked his forehead. “Right!”

As the group descended the mountain, they ran into Zhou Tao, who had been standing guard at the base, keeping an eye out for any unusual activity. Seeing Li Yuechan, Zhou Tao was taken aback.

Li Yuechan frowned as she looked at the single bicycle. “How are the three of us supposed to ride that?”

Gu Zhixing suggested, “How about Zhou Tao sitting on the back and Xiao Chan sitting in the front?”

Li Yuechan looked at the bicycle’s crossbar and pouted. With the rough roads, her backside would be sore by the time they got back!

“Forget it, I’ll walk.”

“No way! Walking back will take at least three hours, and the buses aren’t running anymore,” Gu Zhixing said. Then he turned to Zhou Tao, “How about you walk back instead? I’ll take Xiao Chan first.”

Zhou Tao gave his captain a resentful look. “I’d still have to walk for three hours! My parents are waiting for me to come home for dinner!”

“What, your dad isn’t busy these days? He always complains about how hectic work at the factory is.”

“Yeah, well, the steel plant hasn’t had much work recently, so he doesn’t need to do overtime anymore.”

Hearing this, Li Yuechan’s expression shifted slightly. She asked, “Your dad works at the steel plant? The First Steel Plant in Luoan City?”

Zhou Tao nodded. “Yeah, why? Someone in your family works there too?”

Li Yuechan nodded. “My dad does. But isn’t the factory busy these days?”

“It was before the New Year, but not so much lately.”

Li Yuechan pressed her lips together and didn’t say anything more.

Lu Weidong quickly suggested, “How about this—I’ll go borrow a bicycle from the village chief. I’ll take Zhou Tao, and you can take Xiao Chan back first. Then I’ll return the bike afterward.”

Zhou Tao immediately perked up. “That’s a great idea! We’ll wait here for you, Weidong.”

“Alright, I’ll be quick.”

Gu Zhixing thought for a moment and said, “Actually, how about this—Zhou Tao, you wait here. I’ll take Xiao Chan back first. It’ll be dark soon.”

No way was he going to let these two third wheels stick around.