Fortunately, that spicy strip wasn’t poisonous, and Chi Heng reacted quickly enough.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been just a simple fractured leg.
It hurt, sure, but as Chris spoke, she suddenly laughed.
Her heart finally settled on one thing.
That was, she seemed to hold some weight in Chi Heng’s heart.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been so frantic.
In that moment when she tumbled down, her mind went blank.
But one thing was certain.
When Chi Heng rushed down to pull her up, his hands were trembling.
On the way to the hospital, he held her hand tightly, never letting go for a second.
As the two were talking, a soft knock came from outside the door.
It was Chi Heng returning.
He was the one who had just called Jiang Si to inform her.
Seeing the insulated lunchbox in his hand, Jiang Si tactfully excused herself and left early.
When she got home, the two little ones were hugging the receiver, shouting "Daddy!"
The children were now ten months old, and their cries of "Mommy" and "Daddy" were especially clear.
Though words like "Grandma" and "Grandpa" weren’t quite as polished yet.
Still, the whole family was more than satisfied.
Seeing Jiang Si return, Mother Huo happily placed the two babies into their stroller.
"It’s Little Zhou on the phone. You two chat—I’ll take Suisui and Zhaozhao out for some fresh air."
Jiang Si nodded and took the receiver.
The casing felt warm to the touch, a clear sign the call had been going on for a while.
"How come you could talk for so long today?" Jiang Si asked, surprised.
Hearing his wife’s voice, Huo Tingzhou’s smile visibly widened. "We just wrapped up the second phase of training. Everyone performed well, and the results were solid, so the higher-ups gave us a few hours off to relax."
This was the first time Jiang Si had heard of a "vacation" lasting just a few hours.
It showed just how rare this break was.
"How’s everything lately? All good?" Huo Tingzhou asked with concern.
Since he had time to spare, Jiang Si teased him playfully, "Guess?"
Her tone told him everything must be fine.
The worry in his heart eased considerably.
With the call heavily routed, Jiang Si couldn’t go into details about the mole being uncovered. She only mentioned that, at this pace, the main structure of the building should be completed by year-end.
She also said that once this busy period was over, she planned to take a proper break.
"Mm, when I’m on leave at year-end, I’ll take you to the hot springs."
He’d promised her before, but one thing after another kept delaying it. This year, he was determined to make it happen.
Jiang Si chuckled in agreement. "Perfect timing—Chris gave me a swimsuit recently."
Not the usual full-coverage, long-sleeved kind.
It was the bold, eye-catching type.
Definitely not something to wear at a public beach in this era, but a private hot spring? That should be fine.
"She gave it to you?"
Huo Tingzhou vaguely remembered Chris but didn’t realize his wife had grown so close to her.
Close enough to gift something so personal?
Curious, Jiang Si briefly explained how they’d started off as rivals before becoming friends.
She’d actually meant to mention it during their last call.
But with only a few minutes to talk, it never came up.
"I just visited her at the hospital earlier," Jiang Si added, casually bringing up Chris’s situation with Chi Heng.
There was no mention of any collaboration details, only that they were now in a romantic relationship.
“They’re together?” Huo Tingzhou was genuinely surprised—or more accurately, pleasantly shocked.
Having someone like that always by his wife’s side had undeniably weighed on him.
If the other man had ill intentions or poor character, Huo Tingzhou wouldn’t have hesitated to intervene.
But as it turned out, Chi Heng’s demeanor could only be described as that of a true gentleman.
Now, learning that Chi Heng had found someone else was nothing short of a relief for Huo Tingzhou.
They chatted a while longer until static crackled over the line, forcing him to reluctantly hang up.
When he looked up, he saw Xiao Zhengjun leaning against the doorframe, clutching his jaw with one hand.
Before Huo Tingzhou could speak, Xiao Zhengjun teased with a smirk, “Well, well—who would’ve thought you’d be like this when talking to your wife? Good grief, it’s so sweet my teeth are aching…”
Before he could finish, Huo Tingzhou grabbed the training manual from the desk and hurled it at him.
Xiao Zhengjun nimbly dodged and caught it. “Hey, since when do you resort to sneak attacks?”
“And since when do you eavesdrop?” Huo Tingzhou replied coolly.
His wife was easily embarrassed, and thankfully, he hadn’t said anything too sappy—otherwise, this guy would’ve mocked him for months.
“Eavesdrop? I was standing right here in plain sight! You were too busy talking to your wife to notice—can’t blame me for that.”
After setting the manual back in place, Xiao Zhengjun plopped onto a nearby stool.
“Honestly, it’s going to feel weird without you here.” They’d spent nearly eight years together, and Huo Tingzhou’s sudden departure left an emptiness in his chest.
Perhaps sensing the mood had turned heavy, Xiao Zhengjun chuckled and added, “But why didn’t you tell your wife about the transfer earlier? She’d be thrilled.”
Huo Tingzhou paused before answering, “It’s just a possibility for now. No guarantees it’ll happen.”
Some things were better kept quiet until certain—he didn’t want to disappoint her.
If the reassignment to Beijing went through, it could be a pleasant surprise.
Xiao Zhengjun, however, was convinced Huo Tingzhou’s transfer to the capital’s headquarters was practically a done deal.
After all, his recent achievements spoke for themselves.
Who could’ve predicted that during their routine night flight training, the U.S. would simultaneously dispatch a special transport aircraft from their southern airbase?
The transport plane alone wasn’t the issue—it was the two ‘Firebee’ unmanned high-altitude reconnaissance drones attached to its wings.
Equipped with aerial cameras, these compact, high-speed drones had violated Chinese airspace over 90 times in recent years.
Huo Tingzhou had shot down both in one go, dealing a sharp blow to their arrogance.
“Rumor has it the headquarters’ top brass personally requested you. Division Commander Yao might be reluctant, but he’ll have to let you go.”
Besides, everyone knew Huo Tingzhou’s talents would shine even brighter in Beijing.
“Still, you’ve really done our Fourth Division proud this time.”
As Xiao Zhengjun mused aloud, he glanced up to find Huo Tingzhou already slipping into his combat uniform.
“Seriously? You’re pushing yourself like this? We’ve got two more hours!”
Huo Tingzhou didn’t turn back, merely waving a hand over his shoulder as he walked away.
He had a home, a wife, and children.
Life couldn’t afford any accidents.
And he didn’t want any accidents to happen either.
So all he could do was: be diligent in daily life and remain steady in times of crisis.
...
Time passed in its usual orderly manner, and a week later, Chris was discharged from the hospital.
Remembering how she had been craving roast duck all these days, Jiang Si made a detour to the duck shop after work.
Roast duck wasn’t cheap at the time, costing several yuan for a whole bird.
But no era lacks wealthy people.
Just as dinner hour began, the shop was already packed with customers.
Just as Jiang Si was wondering whether to check another store first, a figure in the crowd instantly caught her attention.
[Updates come in three chapters at a time. Every time I ask for more engagement, it drops. Can you guys tap that "more chapters" button to make Orange happy? Sending love!
P.S.: The plane mentioned in the story is real—it was active in the southern region as early as the 1960s, and its shootdown is also based on true events.]
