After saying goodbye to Liu Lan and her family, Wen Jiaojiao headed toward the county town. Zhang Zhuang assumed she was going home, so he didn’t stop her.
There was a main road leading from the village to the county town, and Wen Jiaojiao followed it at a steady jog. It wasn’t completely dark yet, and she hadn’t even covered half the distance when she vaguely heard Li Chunhua’s voice coming from ahead, along with the rattling sound of bicycles.
Her heart immediately sank.
It can’t be that much of a coincidence, can it?
Not daring to take any chances, Wen Jiaojiao immediately turned onto a narrow dirt path by the roadside. There were fields on both sides, with trees growing along their edges. She planned to hide behind one of them until they passed.
“Ah!”
She hadn’t noticed the stone beneath her foot and twisted her ankle.
Leaning against a tree, she was in too much pain to move.
Enduring the pain, Wen Jiaojiao waited for the bicycles to pass. Sure enough, she hadn’t heard wrong. Li Chunhua and Wen Laosan had actually gone to get the police involved.
They were terrified that their beautiful daughter would disappear. The two of them pedaled their bicycles furiously, secretly cursing as they searched.
Once we find that rebellious girl, we’ll tie her up for a few days. Let’s see if she dares to run away again!
“Officer, you have to help us find our daughter!” Li Chunhua pleaded.
The police squad leader was a middle-aged man in his thirties.
“Don’t worry. Your daughter isn’t some little child. Could she have gone to someone’s house to play?”
“Sigh… If only she’d gone to someone’s house to play…” Wen Laosan’s tone carried the helplessness of a parent dealing with a disobedient child.
Only after their voices had completely faded did Wen Jiaojiao cautiously peek out from behind the tree.
“Ah…”
A sharp pain shot through her ankle, making her regret her carelessness.
She gritted her teeth and walked out from behind the tree. She didn’t return to the main road. Instead, she supported herself against the trees along the dirt path and slowly made her way forward, keeping her eyes on the road ahead while listening carefully to every sound around her.
The police hadn’t found her yet. They might still come through this road, so she absolutely couldn’t let them see her.
After nearly two hours of walking, night had completely fallen.
The pain had become unbearable, so she leaned against a tree and rested for a while.
I’m almost there. The county town isn’t far now. Just hold on a little longer.
She had barely caught her breath when she vaguely saw a beam of light flickering in the distance.
Then came the creaking sound of bicycles.
Wen Jiaojiao immediately held her breath and pressed herself against the tree, hiding her entire body behind it.
Fortunately, it was dark. Several police officers rode past on bicycles with flashlights in their hands, passing right beside the tree where she was hiding without noticing her.
Wen Jiaojiao waited until she could no longer hear their voices or see their shadows before continuing on her way.
The roads of this era were nothing like those decades later. There wasn’t even a single streetlight along the way. She could only feel her way forward in the darkness.
The only natural source of light was the moon.
Under its pale glow, a slender figure leaned against the trees, limping forward one step at a time.
There was still about half a kilometer to the county town.
Wen Jiaojiao’s face was pale, but her eyes were filled with determination.
I’m almost there.
Suddenly, a bright light appeared behind her.
Before she could react, a car sped past, kicking up a cloud of dust that covered her hair and face.
Wen Jiaojiao hurriedly lowered her head and spat twice.
There was dirt in her mouth.
At the same time, she couldn’t help feeling a little curious. Even in the town, let alone the village, cars were rarely seen.
She thought it was nothing more than a minor interruption.
But unexpectedly, the car stopped about twenty meters ahead.
Someone got out from the passenger side and ran back toward her.
Wen Jiaojiao’s heart lurched.
A familiar sense of panic swept over her, and instinctively, she wanted to run.
But she forgot about her injured foot.
The moment she put weight on it, a sharp pain shot through her ankle, and she fell to the ground.
“Comrade, are you having some kind of trouble?”
Seeing her panic and fall, Zhang Shaobing hurried over, intending to help her up. But when he got closer and realized she was a young girl, he hesitated and withdrew his hand.
Wen Jiaojiao also got a clear look at him.
He was wearing a military camouflage uniform, and his face looked firm and upright.
Her panic immediately subsided.
That’s right. This isn’t my previous life.
In this life, she was still an insignificant nobody. There was no reason for anyone to specifically send a car to kidnap her.
If she wasn’t mistaken, this man should be a soldier.
And when she thought about how she would become a soldier herself, her fear was quickly replaced by a sense of familiarity.
Embarrassed, Wen Jiaojiao said, “I’m fine. I just twisted my ankle.”
Zhang Shaobing glanced at her injured ankle before saying, “Hello, my name is Zhang Shaobing. I’m an active-duty soldier. It’s not safe for a young girl to be walking alone at night. Are you heading to the town? We can give you a ride.”
Wen Jiaojiao’s eyes lit up.
“I am. Would it be too much trouble?”
Zhang Shaobing nodded.
“Of course not. Can you walk right now?”
“I can.”
Wen Jiaojiao was about to use the tree to pull herself up, but the fall had made her twisted ankle even worse. She could stand, but walking was another matter entirely.
Seeing this, Zhang Shaobing said, “If you don’t mind, I can carry you there.”
How could she possibly accept that?
Wen Jiaojiao hurriedly refused.
“N-No, it’s okay. I can walk.”
With that, she gritted her teeth and forced herself forward, limping painfully.
Once she stood up, the moonlight finally illuminated her face clearly for Zhang Shaobing.
He couldn’t help drawing a sharp breath inward.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen such a beautiful girl.
Seeing her leaning against the tree and limping along while enduring the pain, he couldn’t bear to watch any longer. He took the initiative to support her.
Wen Jiaojiao didn’t refuse.
He was only trying to help, and without his support, she really wouldn’t be able to walk.
The twenty-meter distance wasn’t far, and after only a few steps, they reached the car.
Only then did Wen Jiaojiao notice another man leaning against the car door, a cigarette hanging from his lips as he watched them.
It was dark, making his features difficult to see clearly, but Wen Jiaojiao could still feel that his gaze was fixed on her.
There was an unmistakable sense of pressure in that gaze.
“What happened?” the man asked.
His voice was deep, rich, and powerful. The faint smell of cigarette smoke drifted through the air.
Zhang Shaobing explained, “This young lady is heading to the town, and she’s also twisted her ankle. We’ll give her a ride.”
Wen Jiaojiao quickly said, “I’m really sorry to trouble you.”
Jiang Ting merely nodded and stubbed out his cigarette.
“Get in.”
With Zhang Shaobing’s help, she climbed into the back seat. Zhang Shaobing then walked around to the other side and got into the passenger seat, while the cool-looking man took the driver’s seat.
The car started moving.
After a while, Zhang Shaobing asked, “Little girl, where should we drop you off?”
“Just drop me off at the entrance of a hotel.”
“Hotel?”
Zhang Shaobing turned around and looked at her.
Wen Jiaojiao quickly explained, “It’s like this. I have to catch a train tomorrow to report to my military unit, so you can just drop me off at a hotel.”
Hearing this, both men looked slightly surprised.
“So you’re one of this year’s new recruits?” Zhang Shaobing asked. “Do you have your enlistment documents?”
Wen Jiaojiao nodded.
“Yes. The town government issued them for me.”
“In that case, there’s no need to go to the town. We’ll take you directly to the military unit.”
“Oh, by the way, there’s some medicine in the car. Can you treat your injury yourself?”
“…Yes.”
The car stopped again.
Zhang Shaobing got out to retrieve the medicine. The small interior light came on inside the car.
Through the rearview mirror, Wen Jiaojiao finally got a clear look at the man in the driver’s seat.
She nearly cried out in shock.
She hadn’t seen wrong, had she?
Jiang Ting?
That Jiang Ting—the future People’s Hero and military commander?
Then she looked at Zhang Shaobing.
No wonder his name had sounded so familiar.
This man would also become a renowned division commander in the future.