Cheng Zi was relatively lucky. Late at night, after receiving cold shoulders from two households, she finally found Xie Ci’s friend Hu Jin’s home.
Hu Jin was an honest and straightforward man, and he was fairly polite to Cheng Zi.
Seeing how anxious she was, Hu Jin took it seriously.
“Sister-in-law, don’t worry. I’ll call the unit right away to see what’s going on.”
Hu Jin didn’t even have a phone at home; he went to an old cadre’s house to make the call.
Cheng Zi waited anxiously for nearly 20 more minutes.
Hu Jin finally came back.
“Xie Ci was sent out on a temporary mission. We couldn’t find out exactly where—it’s probably a confidential operation.”
Cheng Zi: “……”
She suddenly felt powerless. Fighting the King of Hell for someone’s life—she still couldn’t win.
They had only spent two days together, but Xie Ci already held weight in her heart. To watch him repeat the same fate again…
It left a bitter taste in her chest.
“Is there any way to contact him?”
She still refused to give up. They had clearly agreed he would take leave—why was he still sent out?
But Hu Jin waved it off casually.
“It’s fine. Xie Ci is very skilled. These small missions are nothing for him. He’ll probably be back in a few days. Sister-in-law, you should go back and rest early.”
“But…”
“That’s Sister Xie, right? Brother Xie is the most capable in the unit. It must’ve been urgent business. Men’s affairs are better left alone. Look, we’re all going to sleep now…”
Hu Jin’s wife had come out by then. It was late, and the intention to see her off was obvious.
Cheng Zi pressed her lips together, still thanked them, and walked home alone.
She was drenched in sweat from walking back and forth, yet her heart felt ice-cold.
Back when her foster mother was critically ill, she had sat just like this—waiting for news of death.
“I told you we were going to live properly, and you break your word. Totally unreliable!”
Cheng Zi didn’t turn on the lights. She sat on the sofa, hugging her knees, curled up tightly.
Leaning against the pile of fabrics she had brought back earlier—most of which were for Xie Ci.
Tears welled in her eyes, and the hope she had just begun to feel slowly faded.
Before she knew it, her head felt heavy and she fell asleep.
Xie Ci arrived at the military residential compound close to 11 p.m.
He parked at the entrance, took his luggage from the trunk, and even left the keys behind.
“I’ll head back first. You drive the car back yourself.”
Li Leilei’s lips trembled with anger. She had spoken for over an hour, yet Xie Ci hadn’t responded once. He hadn’t even returned to the unit—he went straight home.
Why he was rushing back was obvious.
“Ci, are you really just leaving like this?”
“Mm. I’ve taken half a month off. Don’t bother me unless necessary.”
Whatever Li Leilei said after that, he didn’t even hear.
He strode off quickly and disappeared from sight.
Li Leilei slammed the car door hard, her anger almost overflowing.
In the end, she didn’t return to the unit and instead went back to the Li family.
The house was completely dark.
Xie Ci moved quietly, assuming Cheng Zi was already asleep.
The moment he turned on the light, he saw her curled up on the sofa.
Cheng Zi usually slept very deeply and wouldn’t wake easily, but this time she immediately opened her eyes.
“Xie Ci?”
“Mm.”
Before he could even ask why she wasn’t sleeping in the bedroom, she already started crying.
“You short-lived ghost! Sob—”
She didn’t even get up before tears fell. She tried to stand but missed her support and almost fell.
Xie Ci stiffened and quickly stepped forward to catch her.
Still groggy, she clung to him instinctively, sobbing as if he were already dead.
“I told you not to go, but you didn’t listen! You liar! You left me alone in this strange place as a widow—what am I supposed to do!”
“I… had a temporary mission.”
“You promised we’d live properly, but you just left me like that. Liar.”
She cried harder and harder, wiping tears and snot all over his clothes, arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
Xie Ci froze completely in place.
All he could feel was a small, soft, warm bundle in his arms.
He didn’t even pay attention to what she was saying anymore, only gently patting her back.
“Don’t cry.”
“You won’t even let me cry!”
“I will. Then cry.”
“You’re actually letting me cry—you’re not good to me at all!”
Xie Ci: “……”
He felt his clothes were soaked through with her tears—half amused, half heartbroken.
He lifted her face and gently wiped her tears.
Only then did Cheng Zi’s vision slowly focus.
When his fingertips brushed her eye corner, she froze slightly.
“Xie Ci?”
“Mm?”
“You’re not dead?”
Xie Ci: ?
She pinched his waist to check.
Not sure.
Then she reached under his clothes and touched him again.
Warm…
Xie Ci’s eyes widened slightly, his wiping hand freezing.
“He’s alive!”
“What nonsense are you talking about?”
He pulled her hand out and instinctively stepped back to keep a proper distance.
Cheng Zi blinked, rubbing her eyes again.
Once her mind cleared completely, she suddenly shouted:
“XIE CI!!!”
He was startled. “What now?”
“What do you mean what now?! Do you know how long I waited for you? I waited at the factory gate in that heat for half a day!”
“When I couldn’t wait, I had to go home myself. I cooked a whole table of food, and you still didn’t show up! I went looking for you everywhere and even got scolded!”
After confirming he was alive and well, she immediately began settling accounts.
Xie Ci glanced at the table of food, then at her pretty face. The corner of his lips lifted slightly as he crouched down to listen quietly.
When she finally finished, she closed her mouth.
“I’ll heat some water for you. Go wash up and sleep.”
He didn’t respond to her complaints at all.
“Who asked you to heat water? I’m asking you—why did you stand me up? You made me worry so much!”
“Stand you up?”
“It means you broke your promise.”
“I won’t next time.”
“I don’t believe you anymore.”
A faint smile lingered in Xie Ci’s eyes. He gently wiped the corner of her eye again.
“Sit.”
Cheng Zi’s heart skipped slightly. She wanted to argue more but couldn’t continue.
He prepared hot water, poured it for her, and stayed quiet the entire time.
No matter what she said, he only replied: “I know. It won’t happen again.”
It felt like every punch she threw landed on cotton.
After she finished bathing, Xie Ci went to wash up himself.
“Go to bed early. It’s late.”
Looking at the neatly hung towel, the aligned toothbrush cup, and the faint sweet scent lingering in the bathroom, a faint smile slowly appeared on Xie Ci’s lips.
He wasn’t slow to understand emotions.
He just now realized… everything she had done earlier…
was actually concern for him, wasn’t it?