Time lost all shape, stretched thin by waiting.
On the seventh day since Lu Zhanting left, Su Wanqing still filled her days to the brim.
The small vegetable patch in the courtyard was lush and green. On her desk, stacks of improved formulas for the “Jade Complexion Ointment” and sketches of children’s clothing piled high. The first batch of samples had been made, astonishingly effective.
She gave samples to Sister Liu and Wang Xiuying, earning a flood of praise. The women eagerly asked when they could buy the ointment, money ready in hand.
The blueprint for her career unfolded before her; everything was thriving.
But only Su Wanqing knew that when night fell, the longing for the man far away silently strangled her throat.
That afternoon, Su Wanqing was preparing dinner for one in the kitchen.
Suddenly, a loud commotion outside the courtyard gate shattered the afternoon quiet—Sister Liu’s booming voice.
“Wanqing! Wanqing! Come out quick! There’s great news!”
Su Wanqing wiped her hands and stepped out, puzzled.
Sister Liu rushed into the courtyard like a whirlwind, her face flushed, words tumbling out in excitement.
“Just got the news! Zhanting and the others are back! The mission was a complete success, a great victory! The convoy is already inside the military district, heading to the parade ground!”
Su Wanqing’s hearing vanished instantly.
All the sounds of the world drifted away, leaving only those three words thundering in her mind:
He’s back.
He’s back!
That thought seized her entire mind.
The towel slipped from her hand to the ground without her noticing; she froze on the spot.
“What are you standing there for, dumbstruck?” Sister Liu grabbed her wrist and pulled her outside. “Hurry to welcome our hero! If you’re late, you won’t even see him!”
Pulled by her, Su Wanqing’s steps were unsteady, her body moving on pure instinct.
Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, hammering so hard her eardrums buzzed.
He’s back.
That single thought swept repeatedly through her blank mind.
At the military district parade ground, the crowd was already a sea of people.
Family members flooded out, necks craned in eager anticipation, faces woven with excitement and anxiety.
As the dusty green military trucks slowly rolled in, the crowd erupted.
“They’re back! They’re back!”
“Old Zhang! I see you!”
The trucks stopped and the doors opened.
Soldiers covered in dust, faces tired but backs straight, carrying backpacks and rifles, jumped down nimbly.
Their faces still bore unwashed camouflage paint; their combat uniforms were stained with mud and grass. Some still had bandages wrapped around them. Yet their gazes were sharp, calm, and heavy with the weight forged in blood and fire.
Family members surged forward, frantically searching for their loved ones.
“Dad!” a young voice cried, heart-wrenching.
“You damn fool, you’re finally back!” a woman punched her husband’s chest, tears flowing.
Joy and tears of reunion mingled in the air, the most moving noise under the sky.
Su Wanqing stood at the crowd’s edge, her heart hanging so high it nearly stopped beating.
Her eyes fixed desperately on those trucks, greedily scanning every figure that disembarked.
One, two, three…
Soldiers from the Fierce Tiger Battalion got off one after another and began to line up.
But she did not see the figure carved deep into her heart.
No. Still no sign.
A cold sweat seeped from her palms; sharp anxiety gripped her heart.
At that moment, the door of the front truck’s driver’s cabin was pushed open.
A tall, upright figure jumped down from the truck.
It was him.
Lu Zhanting.
Still in the same camouflage combat uniform, the paint on his face hid his skin tone but could not hide the exhaustion to the bone.
He was darker and thinner than when he left. Black stubble grew on his chin, his lips cracked and peeling, and his eyes were filled with terrifying red blood vessels.
His left arm was wrapped in bandages soaked with blood, showing a shocking dark red.
Though his movements remained swift, Su Wanqing caught the tiniest, forcibly suppressed hesitation when he landed.
He was injured.
That realization stabbed Su Wanqing’s heart like a knife, making it impossible to breathe.
After getting off the truck, Lu Zhanting did not look for his family.
He turned and began directing the soldiers to check their equipment, his voice hoarse as if ground by sand, yet still carrying an unquestionable command.
Standing there, he was the soul of the unit.
The iron-blooded aura he brought back from mountains of corpses and seas of blood made him, even in the noisy crowd, like a silent lone wolf—out of place among the warmth around him.
Only when all arrangements were made did he finally raise his head.
His gaze pierced through the crowd, past all the cries and laughter, and landed precisely on Su Wanqing.
Their eyes met.
The entire world instantly fell silent.
Su Wanqing looked at him—at his eyes so utterly exhausted yet still dazzling, his cracked lips, and that blood-stained bandage.
Tears could no longer be restrained; they surged out.
Lu Zhanting looked at her too.
Saw her standing alone at the crowd’s edge, her figure thin and pale.
Those usually calm, clear eyes were now filled with tears, fixed unwaveringly on him, fragile enough to tighten his heart suddenly.
A torrent of emotions mixed with longing, guilt, and the fierce joy of reunion overwhelmed all his calm.
He took a step forward toward her.
His steps steady, one by one, breaking through life and death, crossing through gunfire, all just to reach her.
The crowd unconsciously parted under his invisible commanding presence.
He stopped before her.
His tall figure completely enveloped her.
He said nothing, only lifted his uninjured right hand and, with rough fingers still carrying the scent of gunpowder, firmly wiped away her tears.
“I’m back.”
His voice was hoarse and deep.
Su Wanqing’s tears fell harder. She opened her mouth, her throat clogged, unable to make a sound, only nodding frantically.
The next second, Lu Zhanting stretched out both arms and suddenly pulled her into his embrace.
That embrace was hot, hard, full of the savage strength of one who survived calamity.
He held her so tight it hurt, as if trying to embed her bones into his own body to confirm her reality.
Su Wanqing buried her face deeply into his dusty, sweat-scented chest, greedily breathing in that unique scent that instantly calmed her.
All worries, fears, and soul-wrenching longing at this moment turned into burning tears, soaking his shirt front.
“Welcome home.”
She murmured those words into his chest with a thick nasal tone.
“Mm.”
Lu Zhanting answered deeply, his arms tightening.
When they entered the house and closed the courtyard door, the world was shut out.
The fierce killing aura on Lu Zhanting dissipated the moment he stepped inside.
He released the hand that had been gripping hers tightly. His tall frame leaned against the door, exhaling a long breath as if unloading a thousand-pound burden.
“I’ll go boil water for you to wash.”
Su Wanqing, red-eyed, turned to head to the kitchen.
But her wrist was grabbed firmly.
“Wait.”
Su Wanqing looked back, confused.
Lu Zhanting said nothing but with those bloodshot eyes, inch by inch, greedily traced her facial features.
His gaze was intense and burning, as if wanting to swallow her whole and carve her into his very bones.
Then he lowered his head and captured her lips precisely.
This kiss was utterly different from any before.
No probing, no soothing.
Only overbearing dominance and invasion, filled with suppressed longing and desire to the extreme.
His lips and tongue tasted of gunpowder and blood, roughly prying open her teeth, ravaging every inch of sweetness in her mouth, violent almost to cruelty.
Su Wanqing’s mind went completely blank, only instinctively clutching his arm, enduring his storm-like kiss.
The kiss was so long it felt like a whole century.
Only after the air in her lungs was completely squeezed out did Lu Zhanting slightly pull away, his forehead resting against hers, both gasping heavily.
“I missed you.”
He looked at her lips, swollen and red from the kiss, and said hoarsely.
Those simple four words carried the weight of life and death, striking harshly at Su Wanqing’s heart.
Her heart was scorched into chaos by those words.
She reached out, gently stroked his lean cheek, voice trembling with tears: “Me too.”
Lu Zhanting went to take a shower.
Su Wanqing entered the kitchen and reheated the meal she had prepared earlier.
A pot of mushroom chicken soup, a red-braised fish he loved, and two refreshing vegetable dishes.
In recent days, she had been preparing fresh ingredients daily, just waiting for his return, so she could quickly serve him a hot meal.
When Lu Zhanting finished showering and came out, the aroma of the food filled the small house.
He changed into clean casual clothes, his wet hair dripping water. The grime of the campaign was washed away, and he looked much fresher, but the exhaustion etched deep in his brows remained.
“Eat first, or treat the wound first?” Su Wanqing asked, holding a clean towel and naturally helping to dry his hair.
“Eat.” Lu Zhanting pulled her to sit beside him at the table, picked up his chopsticks, and started eating.
He ate quickly and urgently, as if trying to make up for all the missing everyday life of recent days.
Su Wanqing said nothing, quietly sitting opposite him, picking food for him bite by bite, soon piling his bowl high.
Lu Zhanting accepted everything.
They ate in silence, but the air was filled with a regained peace and warmth.
After the meal, Su Wanqing led him to the sofa, took out a medical kit, and began treating the wound on his arm.
She unwrapped the blood-soaked bandage, revealing a fresh, flesh-flayed wound glaring under the light.
The wound was long, its edges swollen and red, gruesome and shocking.
Su Wanqing’s eyes instantly reddened again.
She dipped a cotton swab in the spring water and gently cleaned the wound with utmost care, then took out the best healing ointment and carefully applied it.
Lu Zhanting watched her silently.
Watching her lowered brows, long lashes dotted with crystal tears, her focused and pained expression softened his battle-hardened heart into water.
“Does it hurt?” she asked, her voice trembling as she finished dressing the wound and looked up.
“No.” Lu Zhanting shook his head, holding her slightly cold hand. “Seeing you, nothing hurts anymore.”
Su Wanqing’s cheeks flushed as she lightly glared at him.
“This mission was very dangerous?” she couldn’t help but ask.
Lu Zhanting’s eyes darkened. He didn’t want her to worry but also didn’t want to lie.
“We encountered a group of traffickers crossing the border; their firepower was fierce.” His voice grew low. “We lost two brothers.”
Su Wanqing’s heart clenched sharply.
In a few words, he hinted at horrors beyond ordinary imagination.
She squeezed his hand tightly and didn’t ask further.
“It’s all over.” She said. “You came back safely, that’s all that matters.”
Lu Zhanting looked at her, warmth almost overflowing in his eyes.
Suddenly remembering something, he pulled a small item wrapped in a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.
“What’s this?” Su Wanqing took it, puzzled, and opened it.
Inside was a translucent stone, irregular in shape, refracting rainbow-like light under the lamp, too beautiful to be ordinary.
“I took it from the traffickers’ leader. Things were chaotic then, so I slipped it into my pocket.” Lu Zhanting explained awkwardly. “I thought you’d like it.”
Su Wanqing held the stone.
A warm, strange energy seeped slowly from her fingertips into her body, resonating mysteriously with the spiritual energy in her space.
Her heart stirred as she clenched the stone tightly.
“I really like it. Thank you.” She looked up and gave him the brightest smile.
Night deepened.
They lay in bed. Su Wanqing snuggled into Lu Zhanting’s arms, resting her head on his bicep, listening to his steady heartbeat.
“Wanqing,” Lu Zhanting suddenly spoke.
“Hm?”
“When interrogating those traffickers, they mentioned that the weapons this time were acquired through a new channel.” His voice was very low, like talking to himself or to her. “Behind that channel is a mysterious organization called ‘Ghost.’ Ruthless and powerful.”
“Ghost?” Su Wanqing repeated softly.
For some reason, hearing that name sent a chill through her heart.
“Yeah.” Lu Zhanting’s voice took on an unprecedented gravity. “I feel like these people are different from any opponent we’ve faced before.”
He didn’t say more.
The person in his arms was his precious treasure regained; he didn’t want that dark, bloody world to taint her.
He tightened his arms, pulled her deeper into his embrace, lowered his head, and kissed the top of her head.
“Go to sleep.”
“Okay.”
Su Wanqing closed her eyes but couldn’t fall asleep.
The strange stone Lu Zhanting brought back and that mysterious organization called “Ghost” were like two massive stones thrown into her peaceful life, stirring ripples.
She had a premonition that the days ahead might never be so peaceful again.
But she was not afraid.
Because she was not alone.
Feeling the man’s warmth and steady heartbeat beside her, her heart was at ease.
No matter what the future held, they would face it together.