Qiao Lanshu paced back and forth nervously in the office. Suddenly, seeing the office door being pushed open, she quickly turned around to look.
As expected, it was Qin Yuanzheng returning. She hurried forward to meet him: "Brother Zheng!"
Even though it was far away, she had heard that gunshot just now from inside the office.
She looked at Qin Yuanzheng somewhat nervously, her hands unconsciously rubbing the hem of her clothes. With complex emotions in her heart, she asked in a low voice, "Brother Zheng, how did it go? Did you catch him?"
Qin Yuanzheng walked in briskly, still carrying the biting, snowy breath of the outdoors. A thin layer of snow rested on the shoulders of his military overcoat. The frost clinging to the tips of his hair met the warm air of the room and condensed into tiny water droplets.
He had walked in a hurry, and a gust of piercing cold wind swirled in behind him when he pushed the door open. Afraid the cold wind would blow on Qiao Lanshu, he quickly stepped in front to shield her.
He reached out and grasped Qiao Lanshu's hands. The warmth of his palms instantly enveloped her fingertips. He nodded and said, "It's been handled, everything went smoothly... It's getting late. I'll take you home to rest first. Once you're settled, I have to come back to write a report and head to headquarters overnight to report the situation."
He felt that Qiao Lanshu's hands were very cold.
The office clearly had a coal stove burning and was comfortably warm, with even the air carrying a cozy heat, yet Qiao Lanshu's hands were icy cold, devoid of any warmth.
Her fingertips even had a faint, pale bluish tint.
He quickly tightened his grip, using his large, thick hands to completely envelop her small ones. His thumb pads gently rubbed the back of her hands and fingertips, slowly transferring his warmth to her. His movements were gentle, and even his eyes were tinged with a bit of heartache.
Qin Yuanzheng asked, "Why are you so cold?"
Qin Yuanzheng lowered his eyes to look at her, his gaze sweeping over her floral padded jacket. His tone was full of concern, "Did you not wear enough clothes? The wind and snow are heavy outside, don't catch a cold."
Qiao Lanshu looked at the undisguised worry in his eyes and forced a smile, the curve of her lips a bit stiff. She shook her head gently, her voice soft: "No, I'm not cold."
Pausing for a moment, she looked up at Qin Yuanzheng, her eyes carrying a bit of hesitation and a trace of unconcealable urgency, "Brother Zheng, that Chu Liangjun who stole the explosives, is he..."
Qin Yuanzheng lowered his eyes to gaze at her face, taking in all of her expressions.
Qiao Lanshu's face was a bit pale, yet it revealed a strange complexity.
There was the relief of the dust settling, the joy of a hidden danger being eliminated, and mixed within was an indescribable sense of liberation, like a heavy stone that had weighed on her heart for a long time finally hitting the ground, yet carrying a bit of disbelief.
She lowered her head slightly, her gaze falling on their intertwined hands. Her long eyelashes fluttered gently, as if trying to hide something. Her voice was kept extremely low, carrying a barely perceptible tension: "Is he... dead?"
Qin Yuanzheng didn't hide it. He nodded, then reached out and pulled her tightly into his arms. His large hand gently landed on her back, patting softly, thinking she had been frightened by the gunshot and the thrilling scene just now. His tone was full of comfort:
"Yes, he got what he deserved. From the moment he dared to steal military explosives, he had no way out. It's a capital offense, and no one could save him."
Qiao Lanshu leaned against his chest, her nose filled with his unique scent—a mix of wind, snow, and the coal mine. Her long-tense shoulders finally relaxed slowly, and she let out a deep sigh of relief in her heart.
Of course she knew that stealing military explosives was a capital offense.
She had been crystal clear about this from the moment she made up her mind to guide Chu Liangjun down this path.
From the very beginning, she only had one thought: to let Chu Liangjun die.
Although she had originally intended for Chu Liangjun to steal the explosives to take revenge on her, and it ended up being revenge on Qin Yuanzheng instead, the outcome was good regardless.
Chu Liangjun was dead, and he hadn't caused any casualties to others.
The explosives hadn't detonated, and no damage was done to the construction site or the troops.
Everything went smoothly.
Qiao Lanshu breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.
It had been several months since her rebirth, and only at this very moment did she feel a sense of relaxation in both body and mind.
In her previous life, Chu Liangjun had imprisoned her with chains. In this life, although she hadn't been tied up,
her heart had still been trapped in those endless mountains.
Now, she had finally truly walked out of those mountains.
Qin Yuanzheng gently patted her back and said in a low voice, "Let's go, I'll take you home."
Qiao Lanshu nodded and followed Qin Yuanzheng out of the office.
The wind was strong outside. Qin Yuanzheng happened to be wearing a cloak, so he held Qiao Lanshu in his arms and wrapped the cloak around her.
As the two came out of the office, Qiao Lanshu suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked at Qin Yuanzheng with a blushing face.
Qin Yuanzheng looked down at her: "What's wrong?"
Qiao Lanshu said with some embarrassment, "I, I need to use the restroom."
That orderly just now had been too diligent, constantly pouring tea for her.
She had been very nervous at the time, constantly thinking about Chu Liangjun's matter, so she kept drinking water.
Then she needed to go, but didn't know where the restroom was.
She was too embarrassed to ask the orderly.
After all, this was a mining unit with soldiers everywhere. As a woman, she felt awkward going to the restroom; what if she bumped into other men?
Qin Yuanzheng looked down at her for a moment, suddenly leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Need to pee?"
Qiao Lanshu: "..."
It was strange. It was clearly a very normal sentence, so why did it sound so indecent coming out of Qin Yuanzheng's mouth?
Hearing him say this, Qiao Lanshu couldn't help but think of when they were on the heated brick bed before, and he had leaned into her ear to ask this same question.
Her face instantly flushed red with embarrassment, and feeling both shy and exasperated, she reached out and pinched his waist.
Qin Yuanzheng quickly dodged, laughing, "Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore. Come on, I'll take you to..."
He didn't get to finish his sentence before Qiao Lanshu glared at him.
Qin Yuanzheng chuckled. As he led her toward the restroom, he teased her, "We are all rough men in the military camp. This is just how we speak, very crude. Tell me, how did a gentle and refined little girl like you end up marrying a rough guy like me? Hmm? You can't even handle a single sentence. Why didn't you know to be afraid when you married me?"
Blushing, Qiao Lanshu replied, "Because I had a dream. In the dream, you married me and treated me incredibly well."
The Qin Yuanzheng in her dreams was just like this. He often liked to tease her, enjoying the sight of her blushing in embarrassment.
Although his desire for her was also very strong, it was usually just once a day, not nearly as frequent as it was now.
Perhaps this was also related to his physical condition.
Thinking of this, Qiao Lanshu said to Qin Yuanzheng, "Brother Zheng, you shouldn't have any missions right now, do you?"
Qin Yuanzheng shook his head: "Not at the moment."
Even though he had married his little wife and wanted to guard by her side every moment,
if the country needed him, he would definitely go.
Qiao Lanshu didn't know during which mission he had been injured, so she paid special attention to his assignments.
Qin Yuanzheng brought Qiao Lanshu to the restroom door. He asked in a low voice, "Do you want me to go in with you?"
Qiao Lanshu shook her head. "No, I'll go by myself."
Qin Yuanzheng stood guard at the door for her.
After a while, Qiao Lanshu came out of the restroom, suddenly grabbed a nearby tree, and began to retch, feeling nauseous.
Qin Yuanzheng was speechless.
Qin Yuanzheng hurried over and said, somewhat puzzled, "Does the restroom smell really bad? It shouldn't."
The septic tank was regularly cleaned out for farming, and besides, it was the dead of winter right now, so it shouldn't smell, right?
Qiao Lanshu didn't know what was going on either; she just felt a sudden wave of nausea and a churning stomach.
Her stomach was doing flips. She endured it for a moment, suppressing the nausea.
Fortunately, she didn't throw up her dinner. She leaned against Qin Yuanzheng's chest to recover for a moment before saying, "I might have just swallowed some cold wind. I'm fine."
The wind was too cold; if it accidentally got into the stomach, it could easily cause a gastrointestinal cold.
Qin Yuanzheng quickly adjusted her scarf again, wrapping it around half of her face so that not even her mouth or nose was exposed.
Then, he scooped Qiao Lanshu up into his arms and said, "Let's go. We need to hurry home."
Recently, Qiao Lanshu had been feeling a bit nauseous from time to time, as well as very tired.
But she hadn't thought much of it. After all, Qin Yuanzheng tossed her about in bed every day, countless times a day.
She also had to go to work during the day, so it would be strange if she wasn't tired.
After returning home, Qin Yuanzheng was truly worried about her. He placed her on the sofa, squatted on the floor to look at her, and asked, "Are you feeling any better? Do you want me to call someone over to keep you company?"
Qin Yuanzheng still had to go back to report on his work, but he couldn't put his mind at ease leaving Qiao Lanshu alone.
He felt very conflicted.
Qiao Lanshu sat up and comforted Qin Yuanzheng, "Brother Zheng, I'm fine. Just go to work with peace of mind."
Qin Yuanzheng hesitated for a moment but still said, "I'll ask the wife of Lao Zhao next door to come over and keep you company. Both of them are home today."
Without waiting to hear what Qiao Lanshu would say, Qin Yuanzheng stood up and went to knock on the neighbor's door.
While knocking, Qin Yuanzheng called out, "Lao Zhao, are you there?"
Zhao Jiannong had also just returned and hurried over to open the door.
As soon as he opened the door and saw Qin Yuanzheng in his military uniform with a serious face, his heart skipped a beat. Thinking something had happened, he quickly asked, "What's wrong? Did my southern suburbs forestry center get bombed?"
That shouldn't be the case. The mining area was over twenty kilometers away from the southern suburbs forestry center. There was no way an explosion could reach his forestry center, right?
Qin Yuanzheng briefly told Zhao Jiannong about the situation in the mining area.
Then he said, "My wife is feeling a little unwell, but I still have to go back and report to the chief. Could your wife come over and keep my wife company? I'll be back in three hours at the latest."
It was already nine o'clock at night; it would probably be late into the night by the time he returned.
If he left Qiao Lanshu alone at home, he wouldn't be able to rest easy at all. But having his orderly or other men come to keep her company wouldn't be appropriate either.
There were no female soldiers in his unit. As for the female military doctors and other civilian female staff, he wasn't familiar with them and rarely interacted with them.
The only people he could think of were his good neighbors.
Naturally, Zhao Jiannong wouldn't refuse such a request.
He immediately said, "Go with peace of mind. For trivial things like this, just give us a holler in the future; no need to ask."
Qin Yuanzheng patted Zhao Jiannong on the shoulder and said, "Thank you."
This "thank you" gave Zhao Jiannong goosebumps all over.
He was truly speechless.
After getting a wife, Qin Yuanzheng was acting as if he had been possessed by a ghost.
After Qin Yuanzheng left, Huang Erling came over carrying a few balls of yarn. She sat down on the sofa with a smile and said to Qiao Lanshu, "Oh my, your sofa is so much more comfortable. It's soft, cozy, and warm."
As she spoke, she placed the yarn on the table, picked up her needles, and started knitting a sweater. She continued, "The sofa at my house is old and rock hard. My back hurts if I sit on it for too long. In the future, whenever you need someone to keep you company, just call for me. I'd come over just for your sofa alone."
Qiao Lanshu sat on the sofa, leaning against the backrest, and said with a smile, "Sister Ling, I'm really troubling you. Actually, I don't need anyone to keep me company, but Brother Zheng insisted that he was worried."
When it came to Qin Yuanzheng, there was truly nothing bad to say.
While knitting a sweater for her daughter, Huang Erling said, "Your Regiment Commander Qin has always been a very reliable person. Even my Lao Zhao has said that no matter what the mission is, as long as Regiment Commander Qin is there, he will definitely not let his teammates get hurt. For someone so responsible, wouldn't he be even more attentive to his own wife? Xiao Qiao, you really married a good man."
Qiao Lanshu also felt that she had married a good man.
She only hoped that Qin Yuanzheng could safely make it through his upcoming mission crisis; only then would she be able to completely relax.
Qiao Lanshu watched Huang Erling knit, the two needles in her hands moving up and down with lightning speed.
Feeling a bit envious, Qiao Lanshu said, "Sister Ling, you knit so well. Could you teach me? I want to knit a sweater for Brother Zheng too."
Huang Erling replied, "It's very simple. Go buy some yarn from the supply and marketing cooperative another day, and I'll teach you myself. When knitting a sweater, you just need to be careful when finishing off the edges; the rest is very easy. Look here if you don't believe me."
Saying that, she slowed down her pace and knitted slowly for Qiao Lanshu to see.
Qiao Lanshu was watching intently. Just as she was about to speak, the feeling of nausea in her stomach suddenly surged up again.
Qiao Lanshu gagged. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand and ran to the restroom.
Looking at her retreating figure, Huang Erling nervously put down the sweater and followed her to the restroom door. She asked anxiously, "Xiao Qiao, are you okay? Are you really sick? Do you want me to call Lao Zhao over to drive you to the hospital for a check-up?"
At this hour, there were still doctors on duty at the military hospital, so they could have a doctor look at her.
Qiao Lanshu retched for quite a while and then took a moment to recover before coming out of the restroom.
Qiao Lanshu's face was a bit pale. She shook her head and said, "Sister Ling, I'm fine. I didn't throw anything up. I probably just swallowed some cold wind outside tonight. I'll be fine after resting for a bit."
Huang Erling supported her arm, looking at her rather awful complexion, and asked softly, "Do you want to drink some hot water or something? Or go rest in bed?"
Worried that something might happen to Qiao Lanshu, Huang Erling was no longer in the mood to knit. She helped Qiao Lanshu sit down on the sofa and was about to go pour her some water.
Qiao Lanshu leaned against the sofa, wrapping herself in a small blanket, and murmured, "I'm so tired."
She felt like going to sleep.
Huang Erling was speechless.
Looking at Qiao Lanshu, a thought suddenly crossed Huang Erling's mind.
This Xiao Qiao, could it be that she was... pregnant?
