Xie Jinghuai froze slightly.
He saw Ruan Liuzheng quickly run into the kitchen and take down the dartboard made by Old Man Niu.
“This! This is what I want. I want to practice shooting.”
“Shooting? You want to participate in the shooting competition?”
Ruan Liuzheng nodded firmly.
“Yes, I want to take part.”
Xie Jinghuai hesitated for a moment.
Afraid that he might refuse, Ruan Liuzheng quickly stepped forward, a little nervous.
“Don’t reject me yet. Look—I’m really accurate with darts.”
She picked up a dart, stood slightly sideways with her left foot forward and right foot back, leaning her body slightly forward.
With a swift motion—
Whoosh.
The dart flew out and landed firmly in the very center of the target.
Xie Jinghuai was slightly startled. He hadn’t expected her to be this accurate.
Then she picked up another dart.
Another perfect hit—dead center again.
Only then did Xie Jinghuai believe it wasn’t luck. She truly had skill.
“Your aim with darts is good. Have you trained before?”
Ruan Liuzheng smiled faintly.
Trained?
Not exactly.
In her past life, due to illness, she never had the chance to continue working at the operating table. To maintain wrist strength, she practiced darts whenever she had time. Over time, she became very accurate.
Later, after transmigrating and losing her memory, she still enjoyed playing—especially with Shen Que.
Shen Que always liked to stand behind her while she was throwing darts, teasing her, brushing her waist, and whispering in her ear.
“Zhengzheng, only when you can resist temptation and still hit the target can you be truly skilled.”
She would always end up flushed and distracted, missing her shot.
And then Shen Que would laugh and hug her.
“Looks like Zheng still can’t resist me, this charming demon.”
Thinking of this, Ruan Liuzheng internally cursed a whole storm of frustration.
She snapped back to reality.
“No. My father taught me when I was young.”
Xie Jinghuai frowned slightly and took a dart from her hand.
With a quick throw, it hit the center.
“Shooting and darts are still different.”
Ruan Liuzheng looked a little disappointed but remained confident.
“I think I can do it. If not, we can compete in darts. If I win, you teach me.”
Looking at her determined expression and recalling how she carried water that day, Xie Jinghuai couldn’t help but suppress a smile.
His voice was cool.
“If you can beat me, I’ll teach you.”
Ruan Liuzheng ran over and pulled the darts down.
“Ten throws each.”
He nodded.
They took turns.
After nine rounds, they were tied.
Ruan Liuzheng’s final dart also hit the bullseye.
Xie Jinghuai’s expression grew more serious. He truly hadn’t expected her to be this skilled—even if it was just darts, it was impressive.
Noticing his gaze, Ruan Liuzheng gave a sly smile, her voice soft and sweet.
“Brother~~”
Xie Jinghuai’s heart suddenly skipped violently.
His hand slipped.
The dart flew out and fell to the ground with a dull clack.
Ruan Liuzheng laughed softly.
“I win.”
Xie Jinghuai frowned.
Ruan Liuzheng immediately looked like a student who had just been caught cheating.
“I—I call that strategy. Comrade Xie, you lost. You can’t go back on your word.”
Afraid he might regret it, she turned and ran off.
Xie Jinghuai watched her lively back figure, a faint smile forming at the corner of his lips.
Such a sly little girl.
He slowly squatted down and picked up the dart from the ground, shaking his head helplessly with a quiet laugh.
He must be crazy.
He actually went soft on her.
All because she called him…
“Brother.”
Forget it. If she needed to be taught, then he would teach her.
Ruan Liuzheng jogged all the way around a corner until she reached a deserted spot, where her expression instantly turned cold.
Opportunities had to be created.
Beauty and fragility were weapons—but a woman with her own beliefs, her own persistence, and one who never backed down in the face of hardship would be even more attractive to a man like him.
For the sake of her own life… sorry.
Near the eastern military region, the post office was engulfed in flames.
Everyone carried buckets of water, desperately trying to put out the fire.
After a long while, the fire was finally extinguished, and the crowd sighed in relief.
The postal staff’s faces darkened.
“Leader, the fire was caused by arson.”
“The suspect has already been taken away by the police, but a large number of letters were destroyed. Especially this batch—it was all military mail.”
The post office leader sighed.
“There’s nothing we can do. Fortunately, there are records of the shipments. Retrieve them and notify the recipients.”
“Yes.”
The staff quickly got to work. Fortunately, most of the burned mail was headed to the military district, so it was relatively quick to investigate and trace the records.
Air Force Unit 1, Ning City Base.
Built against the mountain, hidden among rows of white poplar trees.
The solemn base could only hear drills being shouted and the roar of aircraft overhead.
A strict guard post and mountains of barbed wire separated it from the noise of the outside world.
Shen Que removed his helmet and let out a long breath.
After leaving the training ground, he headed toward the dormitory area.
Just as he reached the gate, a young soldier called out:
“Report! Deputy Battalion Commander Shen, there’s something to inform you about.”
Shen Que turned, puzzled.
“Hm?”
The soldier quickly opened his notebook.
“This morning, staff from the post office came. Their office caught fire, and a batch of letters was destroyed. One of them was a letter sent to you by a comrade named Ruan Liuzheng from Ning City.”
Shen Que’s lips curved into a faint smile.
His Zheng had written him a letter for the first time.
A little regret surfaced—how unfortunate that there had been a fire.
He wondered what she had written to him.
Was she missing him?
Or hoping he would return to marry her?
Just thinking about it made a sweet feeling rise in his heart.
But his Zhengzheng had always been shy—she probably wouldn’t say the things he wanted to hear.
Every time, it was only when he pushed her too far that she would reluctantly indulge him and call him “brother” a couple of times.
Just imagining her soft, delicate appearance made something in his chest feel like it was erupting like a volcano—burning molten heat flooding his heart.
It hurt, in a sweet way.
Soon… just a little over a month, and he would see her again.
He missed her to death. He really wanted to kiss her hard.
Shen Que kept a calm expression, but inside he was already in turmoil.
“Shen Que, what are you thinking about? You look so happy.”
A man in the same dark blue air force uniform walked over.
Seeing that he was heading back to the dorm, he immediately said, “Don’t go back yet. The political instructor just issued a notice—we’re going to a study session.”
“Hm?” Shen Que frowned slightly.
As they walked, the man continued, “It’s about the sniper incident in the northern region. The whole military is being briefed to learn from the experience.”
Shen Que’s expression turned serious.
He had already heard about it. He just didn’t know how that guy Xie Jinghuai was doing.
He’d have to call and check.
And while he was at it… call his sweetheart too.
He really wanted to hear her crying softly as she called him “brother.”