April on Earth, a Hint of Joy (46) Part 2

Chen Rui added, "I heard the government forces have been pushed back into the mountains by Gouxite's allied forces. If this war continues, I'm afraid the allied forces will win. What if the other side sends fighter jets to our border?"

Lu Huaizheng suddenly said, "Let them in."

Chen Rui was delighted and said, "Yes, sir."

He just knew it. The captain might seem cold and tough, but he had the softest heart.

Sun Kai said, "Having them come over one after another like this isn't a solution..."

Lu Huaizheng nodded. "Let's open up a refuge point. Tell them not to flee aimlessly anymore."

Chen Rui relayed the message. The man was like a new person, his eyes shining with excitement. He happily led his wife and children over to Lu Huaizheng, pressed his palms together, and bowed deeply, weeping with gratitude.

He muttered, "Righteous Chinese Soldiers...Righteous Chinese Soldiers..."

Lu Huaizheng crouched down slightly and ruffled the two little girls' hair. Sun Kai handed down two compressed biscuits. He took them and gave one to each girl. The two girls acted as if they hadn't eaten in days, snatching the biscuits, tearing open the packaging, and gobbling them down.

A soldier watching from the side felt his eyes well up, likely thinking of his own daughter.

On the day of the field training, they set up a refugee camp, gathering all the displaced people who had been trickling across the South Bank Crossing. They distributed the compressed biscuits from their own Military Unit supplies. They hadn't brought much to begin with, and in just one day, almost all their rations were gone.

Instructor Tang had someone send over a few more boxes. Accompanying them was Zhao Dailin.

Lu Huaizheng and Sun Kai were out patrolling the border at the time. Zhao Dailin looked everywhere but couldn't find them. She was about to start searching through the crowd of refugees, frantic with worry, when she saw the two of them emerge from the woods in their training uniforms.

Sun Kai saw her first. Stunned, he nudged Lu Huaizheng beside him. "Am I seeing things? What's that big sister doing here?"

Lu Huaizheng glanced over casually. He subconsciously scanned the area around her and saw she was alone. He quickly looked away and said lazily, "Probably looking for you."

Sun Kai was completely baffled. "Why would she be looking for me?"

Lu Huaizheng just smiled and didn't say anything. In that instant, Zhao Dailin had already rushed up to him.

He froze.

He subconsciously wanted to ask, 'Where's Yu Hao?'

He held back and didn't ask.

But he saw her solemn expression and grave face, completely devoid of her usual playful, joking demeanor. It made his own heart inexplicably tense up, and his expression grew restrained.

Zhao Dailin didn't have time for pleasantries. "Yu Hao is sick."

Lu Huaizheng's expression gradually tightened. "Is it serious?"

If it wasn't serious, she wouldn't have come all this way to find him. His heart was now in his throat.

Zhao Dailin nodded heavily.

"This is my fault. I've been so swamped these past few days that I didn't pay attention to her. Ever since that encounter with the pervert last time, Yu Hao has been running to the bathroom to throw up every few days. She said it was something she ate, so I didn't think much of it. Until this morning, when I was reviewing the past few days' medical records, I discovered she's been prescribing herself diazepam and sleeping pills. I took the prescription over to ask her what was going on, and I heard her throwing up in the bathroom again. I asked her, but she wouldn't tell me anything. She even threw up bile just now. I told Professor Han, and he told me to take Yu Hao back to Beijing first." At this point, Zhao Dailin paused. "Professor Han seems to know something, but he won't say what. He just told me to get her back quickly, but as for the sub-district here..."

"You take her and go first. We'll be back in about a day anyway."

Zhao Dailin nodded, then asked, "Do you want to come back with me to see her?"

"No," Lu Huaizheng said. "I can't get away."

Zhao Dailin shook her head in frustration, didn't linger, and turned to leave.

After she was far away, Lu Huaizheng stood alone by the road for a long time, as if in a daze. Sun Kai came over, casually plucked an unknown plant, and twirled it in his hand. "If you're so worried, just go back and see her. Why are you just standing here like this?"

Lu Huaizheng didn't speak, just lowered his head and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

He rolled up his sleeve, revealing a strong arm. On his wheat-colored skin, some red dots, like a rash, had appeared at some point. Sun Kai threw the plant away, grabbed his hand to examine it back and forth, and asked in shock, "What is this!?"

"Shao Feng said it might be symptoms of an acute infection."

"When did they appear?"

"A few days ago."

"Are you sure?! It's not an allergic reaction?"

Lu Huaizheng shook his head. "I've never had any health problems since I was a kid. I rarely even get fevers or colds, and I've never had a rash before. Do you think it's such a coincidence?"

"So you've been avoiding her these past few days?"

"She tends to overthink things. If she saw this, who knows how much she'd cry." Lu Huaizheng lowered his head, his hands clenched tightly in his pockets.

Sun Kai was so shocked he couldn't speak for a long time.

His eyes turned red. He put a hand on Lu Huaizheng's shoulder, wanting to comfort him but unable to find the words.

Lu Huaizheng smiled faintly and put his arm around Sun Kai's shoulder in return, still in the mood to joke. "How many bad things do you think I must have done in my past life to have to go through all this in this one?"

Sun Kai couldn't help but cry, covering his eyes and wiping away tears.

But Lu Huaizheng smiled. "But, it was worth it."

Sun Kai didn't understand and stared at him. "Are you crazy?! What was worth it!?"

Lu Huaizheng glanced at him, a thousand emotions swirling in his eyes. He finally lowered his head with a smile, as if he didn't need Sun Kai to understand, and patted his shoulder.

"You should just enjoy the scenery."

Sun Kai had always felt that his brother never showed his emotions, always acting with a detached attitude, and was unusually calm.

That was the first time he seemed to have read the emotions in his eyes.

He seemed to have read the emotions in his eyes.

He saw a lingering tenderness, deep attachment, reluctance, and profound love.

...

As soon as the plane landed, Yu Hao was admitted to the Second Institute.

Yu Hao was admitted to the Second Institute. She insisted she was fine, that it was just ordinary vomiting, and wanted to be discharged, but Professor Han stopped her. The old man sat earnestly by her hospital bed and lectured her, "Do you know what habitual vomiting can lead to? When you called me, I immediately advised you to come back. You refused. Now you're lying in this bed, and it's your own doing."

Professor Han added, "Now you have a conditioned reflex of nausea whenever you eat. What did I tell you then? Observe carefully, observe carefully, and come back immediately if something isn't right. But you insisted on staying there."

Yu Hao sat with her legs bent, hugging them with her arms, her head resting on her knees. Her mind was a bit hazy, and she didn't seem to hear Professor Han's words.

"Is Lu Huaizheng back yet?"

Professor Han shook his head and sighed. "A grown daughter can't be kept at home. He came back yesterday. He rushed over to see you right after getting off the plane. He was still in his Military Uniform, looking so gallant and sharp, didn't even have time to change. When he walked over, he gave that group of young nurses next door quite a sight."

Since when had Professor Han become so fond of teasing people?

Yu Hao smiled, her lips pale.

"He happened to come by when I was leaving. You were asleep then. It seems he didn't wake you?"

She shook her head. "No."

The sedative effects of the diazepam made her sleep deeply. But she vaguely felt someone sitting by her bed, felt someone stroking her hair and wiping the sweat from her forehead. She woke up once in the middle of the night, but no one was by the bed, only the curtains swaying emptily in the air.

Professor Han's gaze suddenly turned a bit melancholy. "I used to look down on him. I thought that with Old Man Li's character, he couldn't possibly train any good soldiers. But these last few times, my opinion of him has changed. He's a very responsible young man. I heard he performed another meritorious service in Yunnan and was promoted. He's a Major now."

After that, Yu Hao never mentioned Lu Huaizheng again, and Lu Huaizheng never came again—at least not during the day. Perhaps he came at night, always when she was asleep. Yu Hao always felt someone sitting by her bed, but whenever she woke up, the bedside was always empty.

The young woman who had been clamoring to be discharged was now insisting on staying a few more days, making the attending physician so anxious that he called Professor Han. "Xiao Yu is hogging one of our beds."

Professor Han was evasive on the other end of the line. "Hey, that's a bit harsh. What do you mean, hogging? If she's not feeling well, just let her stay a few more days."

"From what I've seen, she's been eating and sleeping just fine these past few days."

Professor Han was protective. "Mental issues don't heal that quickly. Besides, it's not like your beds are as in-demand as the obstetrics ward. Let her stay a few more days."

And so, Yu Hao successfully continued her stay.

...