Chapter 26: Looking Up, Catching a Glimpse of the Light of Day

That day was a sweltering summer afternoon. Outside the window, there seemed to be patches of striking red. The flamboyant trees beside the Military District General Hospital were in full bloom, clusters of vivid red bursting beneath the blazing sun. Viewed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, it was an exuberant sight, brimming with hope.

“Commander?” The soldier assigned as her orderly paused, staring at her with surprise.

Jiang Chen had searched her hospital room in vain, only to find the young woman in a secluded hospital garden, clutching a beer can and drinking. She sat in her wheelchair, head slightly raised, revealing a slender, snow-white neck. Her long lashes trembled as she swallowed the alcohol, the faint burn of the liquor failing to warm her chilled body. Her cool fingertips stilled on the beer can the moment she heard movement behind her.

Jiang Chen finally turned and, with a glance, signaled the orderly to leave. He then approached, his face softening as he looked at her and said, “Boss, you’ve only just started to recover. Why are you out here already?”

“The doctor specifically reminded you a few days ago that you can’t drink alcohol.”

As he spoke in a lowered tone, the pale-faced girl, looking weak and frail, lifted her eyes. Her cool, indifferent gaze landed on Jiang Chen.

“When did you,” her delicate fingers pressed lightly against the beer can as she sneered coldly, “gain the right to meddle in my affairs?”

Jiang Chen fell silent.

His boss was still his boss—the look she threw him was full of pressure, just like the commander in uniform, eyes frosty, strict and resolute.

#

“Hey, Boss? Do you like apples? I saw some fresh ones outside the hospital today. Since you’ve just recovered, you need more nutrients, so I picked a few for you.” As he spoke, Jiang Chen fiddled with a plump, shiny red apple, poking it with his finger.

“I don’t like them.” The words were spoken coldly by the pale girl. She sat in her wheelchair by the window, lashes lowered as if lost in thought, her expression icy.

Hearing Jiang Chen’s words from the bedside, she lifted her eyelids and turned to glance at him, her gaze settling on his arm. Then, Shen Zhaoxi replied, telling him calmly that she didn’t like apples. But as she spoke, she picked up an apple from the table, slender fingers clasping a fruit knife. She pressed the apple and began to peel it slowly, meticulously.

Sunlight spilled over her, enveloping her in a gentle halo. Her eyes were slightly lowered, skin pale as snow, her eyes clear as a spring, a far cry from her days as the heiress of W Group in Dongzhou. Even in hospital attire, seated in a wheelchair, her aura was cold and ethereal, as beautiful and fleeting as an epiphyllum, impossible to look away from.

It was because of her, Jiang Chen truly understood the meaning of not judging a book by its cover. You couldn’t simply judge a person’s character by their appearance—Shen Zhaoxi was precisely that kind of person.

“You don’t like them? Then why are you peeling one, Boss?”

“If peeling an apple helps relieve your mood, I can buy you more this afternoon,” he offered.

But just as he finished speaking, Shen Zhaoxi’s eyes shot him a frosty glare. Then, with a swift flick, something shot past his face at high speed. Wasn’t that the fruit knife? In that instant, Jiang Chen’s pupils contracted—he’d nearly died of fright.

He looked back to see the fruit knife embedded perfectly in the wall behind him, dead center.

When had someone hung a dartboard in the hospital room?

#

He knew nothing about it.

Shen Zhaoxi eyed him coldly. Then, with her pale fingertips, she handed him the apple she’d peeled. As she raised her hand, Jiang Chen, still shaken, hesitated.

“For me?” he asked incredulously. His boss had actually peeled him an apple.

“Since you gave me blood, rest well and talk less nonsense,” Shen Zhaoxi replied.

He was far too noisy—his chatter made her ears ache.

Jiang Chen paused. He’d given her a transfusion when she was unconscious—how did she know?

Clearly seeing through his thoughts, Shen Zhaoxi glanced at his arm and looked away. “Next time you put your sleeves down, make sure they’re even.”

His cuffs were obviously mismatched.

Jiang Chen was speechless.

Just then, Lu Yunzhou, passing by the hospital ward, saw Jiang Chen lying in bed through the door’s glass pane. Shen Zhaoxi was by the bed, peeling apples and throwing knives. From his angle, he could only see Jiang Chen in bed, seemingly talking to his visitor.

“Oh, Captain, that’s someone from the First Military District,” Chen Yu explained, having stayed behind to care for a teammate and familiar with the hospital’s situation. Noticing Lu Yunzhou glancing at the ward, Chen Yu continued, “Like us, they also had people seriously injured during the operation and were brought to the general hospital together.”

“Mm.” Lu Yunzhou’s voice was cool, his expression unreadable, but his eyes were dark, hinting at something obscure.

He said nothing more, striding down the corridor toward another ward. He was here to see Chen Zui, one of the two who’d first gotten into trouble in Dongzhou and been captured by W Group—the other was Qin Hu.

Chen Zui, who’d been leading the team, was severely injured. The people from W Group in Shacheng tortured him for three days and nights to extract information, but he’d said nothing. After being rescued, Lu Yunzhou had him sent back to the military camp. Qin Hu was detained for investigation, while Chen Zui was hospitalized.

“Are you saying that injection is the latest drug developed by the International Institute of Medical Research? It can coagulate blood and relieve pain?” Lu Yunzhou asked.

“Yes, Captain Lu,” replied the doctor in charge of Chen Zui’s treatment.

Lu Yunzhou pressed his lips into a thin line, a cold gleam flashing in his dark eyes. No wonder—when he’d tried to force the truth that day, he’d later injected the same drug into the W Group heiress. Yet in her body, the medicine had no effect at all.

#

At the Military District General Hospital, the flamboyant trees were in full bloom, their petals scattered across the ground. In the third week after surgery, Shen Zhaoxi visited the cemetery once more.

The weather was overcast, unlike the day of the funeral. The wind was gentle, and there was no torrential rain.

She sat in her wheelchair, gazing at the medal in her hands—this one was for Zhou Xu. Jiang Chen placed a bouquet of white daisies before the tombstone in silence.

Shen Zhaoxi slowly set the medal down and stared at the grayscale photo on the headstone. The young man was smiling.

Though it was summer, the cemetery was hushed and tranquil.

Suddenly, the wind picked up. A shaft of light broke through the clouds, and the sky brightened. Shen Zhaoxi’s long lashes trembled. She looked up and glimpsed the sunlight.

Zhou Xu.

Is that you?

You know I’ve come to say goodbye.

The Dongzhou mission is over, but the responsibility still rests on my shoulders. Just as you said, as long as the national flag flies over the First Military District, we will defend our country with our lives and fulfill our duty.

Shen Zhaoxi smiled gently, gazing at the young man’s face on the gravestone.

“Zhou Xu.”

“Your sacrifice will not be in vain.”

And I promise you, this era of prosperity will be just as you wished.

#

Two days later, Shen Zhaoxi was discharged from the hospital and reported to the Joint Military District. Her slender fingers tapped the letter on her desk—she’d been forcibly placed on medical leave to recuperate.

“Reporting, Commander!”

Suddenly, a clear, resonant voice called from outside. A young man in uniform saluted her.

Shen Zhaoxi’s pale, sickly face remained solemn, her eyes cold. “Come in.”

“These are documents from the military,” the young man said, handing her a classified file.

Shen Zhaoxi took it and opened it. “I understand,” she replied.

Beside her, the video conference timer ticked down. In the solemn, austere conference room, officers sat in silence until one spoke gravely: “We have just received news—someone has infiltrated Country Y. The collapse of W Group in Dongzhou has triggered turmoil, affecting many with ties to the region.”

Military intelligence had also mentioned this.

The file in Shen Zhaoxi’s hand was stamped “Top Secret: Operation 511.”

After the video meeting ended, she called for someone.

“Xiao Xiao, come with me to Country Y.”

“Yes, Commander!” came the firm and powerful reply.