Xiao Ye held Su Yemang, bracing against a crevice in the rocks.
Su Yemang held her breath, afraid to look down at the cliff below.
Xiao Ye drew his military knife with a click! and wedged it into a crack in the stone.
He tightened his grip.
In a low voice he said, “Hold on tight.”
Su Yemang nodded.
“Ugh!” Xiao Ye let out a low exhale and hoisted both himself and Su Yemang upward.
When they landed, one above the other, Xiao Ye looked down at Su Yemang, his gaze lingering on her lips.
He faltered.
Kept staring at those rosy lips.
Suddenly, he thought of her ex husband…
Her ex… had kissed her too!
Xiao Ye’s heart clenched painfully. He gasped sharply.
Su Yemang blushed, frozen in place…
The sandy soil at the mountaintop swirled around. Su Yemang lay on the ground, shaken, only calming herself after a while.
She endured the pain in her foot and sat up. “Thank you.”
Xiao Ye half squatted with bent knees, his face twisted in anguish.
His eyes, bloodshot, stared down the mountainside. For a moment, he felt like jumping down.
Her mouth… other men had kissed it…
Her body… she had married someone, shared a bed with someone.
Xiao Ye could not control his imagination; a burning heat surged in his chest.
Her ex… in bed… was he any good?
The suffocating feeling swept over him again.
He suddenly drew the knife in his right hand, slash! cutting his own arm.
Blood dripped onto his military trousers.
Only then did his breathing begin to steady.
Su Yemang didn’t understand what he was doing, clutching her bruised foot. “Hiss…”
Xiao Ye immediately turned to look at her.
After a moment, he tossed her a bottle of red medicinal liquid. “Put this on.”
Then he walked away, clutching his arm.
That evening.
At the Su family dinner table. Su Yemang couldn’t help speaking. “Brother, earlier at the service store, you saw Yun Ruo. Did you talk to her?”
Su Yechuan lifted his almond shaped eyes. “Didn’t say a word.”
Su Yemang relaxed. “Then you didn’t harass her, right?”
Su Yechuan remembered how he had bought a huge pile of snacks and supplies for Yun Ruo at the service store, only to be told off by her, which had frustrated him greatly.
He picked a slice of bitter melon for Su Yixin. “Don’t worry. I didn’t.”
Two days later. As soon as Su Yemang arrived at the Military Science Institute to start her position, Director Lin rushed in, drenched in sweat. “Little Su, take the instrument box immediately and follow me to the back mountain! Third company of the border defense battalion…” The jeep sped toward the back mountain. Su Yemang nervously sat in the back seat, organizing her instruments.
Director Lin spoke anxiously, “During the exercise at Border Gate 3, several soldiers began feeling nauseous and vomiting. We suspect radiation exposure.”
Su Yemang’s expression grew serious. “Director, what’s the batch and date of the equipment? What are the environmental conditions at Border Gate 3?”
Director Lin couldn’t answer immediately. “Uh… cough… my fault. Before you arrived, the institute hadn’t handled these issues…”
Finally, the jeep reached Gate 3.
A cordon had already been set up, and the medical team was on site.
Among the crowd, Su Yemang’s eyes immediately spotted a familiar figure.
Xiao Ye’s face was ashen as he and several soldiers carried a stretcher.
Su Yemang jumped out of the jeep.
“Make way!” she pushed through the crowd and crouched down, checking the injured soldier’s eyelids.
She placed the radiation detector on the soldier’s wrist. The reading was normal.
Checking the others one by one, all readings remained normal.
Su Yemang froze.
Strange. The soldiers’ symptoms didn’t match radiation sickness, yet the detector indicated radiation exposure.
She said firmly, “This is not radiation sickness.”
“Ah! With these symptoms, and it’s not radiation sickness? Do you even understand?” a soldier shouted.
Su Yemang replied decisively, “The detector is definitely broken. The ambient radiation is normal; the detector is giving false alarms.”
A female medic sneered, “The Military Science Institute of our district is this unprofessional now? Sending a female ‘Three Defense’ officer!”
Everyone, looking at the bright and attractive Su Yemang, felt a hint of doubt.
Su Yemang ignored it and followed Director Lin to find Xiao Ye.
She spoke directly, “Captain Xiao, I need to inspect the equipment for this border exercise.”
Here’s the English translation of your passage:
Xiao Ye gave a low “hm” and led Su Yemang over. Dozens of sets of protective suits, gas masks, and sensors were piled together. Su Yemang picked up her tools and began checking them one by one…
She opened the back covers of the instruments and found droplets of water inside. Checking a few more, it was the same water droplets on every one.
Su Yemang shouted, “No radiation exposure! The sensors got damp, causing inaccurate readings. The protective suits’ sealing glue had aged, so the injured soldiers had trouble breathing, plus the psychological stress they felt nauseous and vomited.”
Someone muttered quietly, “How could a newly issued batch get damp?”
Another sneered, “Yeah, a woman doing radiation protection, and flashy looking too totally unreliable…”
Xiao Ye’s voice cut sharply through the murmurs: “Quiet!”
Su Yemang looked at him seriously. “Captain Xiao, give me some time I’ll dry the sensors.”
Xiao Ye watched her, thinking she was nothing like the young educated woman who had come to Yongbei Village five years ago. It was as if they weren’t the same person.
After a moment, he gave a slight “hm” and gestured forward.
Twenty minutes later, all the sensors were dried. She reopened her toolbox and reworked the protective suits’ sealing glue. The sensor readings now showed normal levels.
Xiao Ye and Director Lin went over to inspect. A few minutes later, Director Lin addressed the team:
“Professor Su is correct. The sensors are working properly previous readings were inaccurate due to dampness. The injured soldiers are not suffering from radiation sickness.”
The scene went completely silent. Everyone looked at Su Yemang with new respect.
Xiao Ye said in a low voice, “Medical team, administer treatment immediately according to hypoxia stress protocols.”
The rescue team responded in unison: “Yes, sir!”
Xiao Ye lowered the brim of his cap and watched Su Yemang from a distance.
Su Yemang suddenly said, “Excuse me, which of you is the equipment officer? I’d like to request a set of dehumidifying equipment for routine sensor maintenance.”
No one answered.
Director Lin was busy elsewhere at the gate.
Su Yemang smiled faintly and had no choice but to record the data in her notebook.
Xiao Ye stood nearby, silently observing her.
He was on a small mound at Gate 3, watching her for an unknown amount of time.
Su Yemang immersed herself in work. When finished, she turned to leave.
She walked past Xiao Ye.
He didn’t move.
As she approached the jeep, heavy leather boots sounded behind her.
“Su Yemang.”
She stopped, hand on the car door handle, and turned to see Xiao Ye.
He stood less than half a meter away.
Their eyes met.
Both were silent.
Xiao Ye took a step forward.
Su Yemang held her breath, stepping back.
Suddenly he spoke: “How many things are there that I don’t know about?”
“I’ve always wanted to ask… Five years ago, when you went to the countryside, did you already know all this?”
Su Yemang froze, her throat drying up slightly.
Xiao Ye handed her a sheet of paper. “This is a supply request form. I’ve already approved 100 sets of dehumidifying equipment…”
The next day.
Military Science Institute office.
Xiao Ye was there.
Director Lin cheerfully said, “Little Su, your idea to provide dehumidifying equipment for the border battalion was excellent.”
Su Yemang smiled.
Lin continued, “Captain Xiao normally oversees both the border battalion and the reconnaissance company. With all the border related issues, he can’t handle it alone.”
Xiao Ye nodded. “If I want to establish a border post, I do need a scientific researcher.”
Su Yemang trembled slightly, a bad premonition rising.
Lin slapped his knee. “Perfect timing! Little Su is here. Border nuclear protection is a unified system.”
He turned to Su Yemang. “Little Su, from now on, you and Captain Xiao will be colleagues…”
Su Yemang waved her hand. “Uh… Director Lin, I don’t ”
Xiao Ye interrupted, “Alright!”
“Then it’s settled. You two talk. I’m leaving,” Director Lin said, walking out.
Bang!
The door closed.
Silence. Su Yemang took a deep breath.
Xiao Ye stared at the documents on the table.
Silent.
After a moment, he spoke in a low tone:
“Professor Su.”
“Are you… afraid of being my colleague?”