“No such person? How is that possible? Comrade, could you please ask around again?”
Gu Panpan’s face was filled with disbelief.
After a dusty journey, she had finally arrived at the 1688th Regiment headquarters before evening, only to receive this shocking news.
The regiment’s garrison was in the middle of nowhere, isolated and remote beyond belief.
To make matters worse, the wind carried sand everywhere, leaving her with a mouthful of grit.
The author of this period novel had really thrown Qin Dazhu, the male supporting character, into a place resembling the Great Northwest.
If she couldn’t find Qin Dazhu, she had no idea where she was going to spend the night.
“Little girl, I’m really not lying to you. I’ve checked through all three battalions in our regiment. There really isn’t anyone named Qin Dazhu.”
The sentry scratched the back of his head awkwardly and secretly glanced at the dejected young woman.
The girl’s eyes were large and bright, making her look just like a doll. Seeing that she was on the verge of tears, he grew as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
What should he do?
Could this girl have been deceived by some swindler?
If this Qin Dazhu was truly a beast in human skin who had used their regiment’s name to trick innocent young women, then if the sentry ever laid eyes on him, he would beat the man to death.
“Hiss…”
At that very moment, Qin Zhan, who was sitting in the back seat of a military jeep, suddenly sneezed without warning.
The motion tugged at his not yet fully healed wound, causing him to let out a muffled groan.
“Qin Zhan, don’t tell me your wife is missing you already? Hahaha… Brother, you’ve really got all the luck. You came back from the gates of hell and immediately ended your bachelorhood.”
Lu Tian lounged in the front passenger seat with his hands behind his head and one leg crossed over the other, grinning mischievously as he teased his friend.
“Company Commander Lu, since you seem to have so much free time, why don’t we have a little sparring session tomorrow?”
Qin Zhan had spent over a month recovering at the provincial military hospital and had finally been discharged that very day.
His hands had been itching for action for quite some time. Since someone foolish enough had volunteered himself, Qin Zhan naturally intended to seize the opportunity for a proper “exchange of skills.”
Lu Tian hurriedly waved his hands in surrender.
“Forget it, brother. If anything happens to you again, Political Commissar Liu from your family won’t just skin me alive, he’ll grind my bones to dust.”
Qin Zhan was a ruthless force of nature.
Born into a rural family, he had enlisted in the army at sixteen and accumulated military merits time and time again.
In less than six years, he had risen to become the deputy battalion commander of the First Battalion of the 1688th Regiment.
In Lu Tian’s opinion, if Qin Zhan hadn’t been so young, and if the higher-ups hadn’t worried that promoting him directly to battalion commander would fail to convince others, then his military achievements alone would have more than justified the appointment.
Although Qin Zhan had been seriously wounded during this latest mission, he had nevertheless completed it flawlessly.
Despite returning from death’s doorstep, none of the honors due to him would be withheld.
Lu Tian estimated that once Qin Zhan returned to the regiment, a promotion would surely be waiting for him.
“Reporting to the commanders, we’ve arrived.”
The driver reminded Qin Zhan and Lu Tian that they had reached the entrance of the regiment headquarters.
By now, night had completely fallen.
At the gate of the headquarters, a young woman with braided hair squatted on the ground, absentmindedly poking at an anthill with a stick.
Gu Panpan had no other choice.
She had already decided to spend the night outside the military base.
At the very least, there were soldiers standing guard here, which was far safer than wandering around alone in the middle of the night.
The jeep’s headlights illuminated the path ahead, landing directly on the spot where Gu Panpan was crouching.
The intense brightness forced her to shield her eyes instinctively.
Her fair cheeks were covered in a layer of dust, making her look rather pitiful under the harsh beam.
Gu Panpan was exhausted and starving, and now these headlights seemed to be deliberately provoking her.
Irritation bubbled within her as she narrowed her eyes and glared toward the culprit responsible for blinding her.
“Hmph! So what if you’ve got a car? Just wait, I’ll smash it later!”
The moment Qin Zhan and Lu Tian looked up, they saw the little girl glaring furiously at them while muttering under her breath.
Whatever she was saying, it certainly wasn’t anything flattering.
“Stop the car.”
For the first time in a long while, a trace of nervousness appeared on Qin Zhan’s usually expressionless face.
Half a month earlier, his mother had written to inform him that his wife would soon be joining him at the military base.
He had entrusted Political Commissar Liu with the arrangements, only to forget about the matter entirely afterward.
Judging by the dates, she should be arriving around now.
The jeep slowly came to a stop in front of Gu Panpan.
The door opened, and a tall man stepped out.
Dressed in a crisp military uniform, he looked to be around one meter ninety in height.
As for what he actually looked like…
Gu Panpan couldn’t see clearly at all.
The headlights were still shining straight at her.
Her poor eyes… no, no, no, her bright and beautiful eyes were practically being blinded by the glare.
Gu Panpan’s heart skipped a beat as she squinted at the man striding toward her with what she interpreted as murderous intent.
Could this soldier understand lip-reading?
Had he heard her threatening to smash the jeep and gotten out specifically to beat her up?
The thought terrified her.
Panicking, she scrambled to get to her feet and flee.
Unfortunately, after squatting there for so long, her legs had gone numb.
Before she could even stand up properly, she plopped right back onto the ground.
Damn it! How embarrassing.
Had she seriously gone weak in the knees just because she saw a man?
Since her dignity was already in tatters, she decided to go all in.
Leaning backward, she stretched out her legs and lay flat on the ground.
Then she closed her eyes and played dead.
No matter what happened, she absolutely could not admit that she had just cursed someone out.
Already anxious about identifying the newcomer, Qin Zhan saw Gu Panpan collapse and immediately strode over in large steps.
Standing above her, he looked down at the young woman lying on the ground.
He had never met his wife before and couldn’t determine whether the girl before him was truly her.
However, she did fit his mother’s description remarkably well.
“Fair-skinned, soft-looking, and adorable.”
Qin Zhan’s heart pounded.
He sincerely hoped that this little girl was his wife.
His injury was on his abdomen, making it difficult for him to crouch down and examine her condition. Instead, he asked softly,
“Comrade, are you alright? You seemed perfectly fine just now. Why did you suddenly collapse?”
Hmm, what a magnetic voice.
Unable to resist, Gu Panpan cracked open one eye and stole a glance at the man.
Holy crap! What a coincidence.
He was the other soldier from the photograph Li Cuihua had shown her, the one standing beside Qin Dazhu.
He really wasn’t photogenic.
In person, he was far more handsome than in the picture.
If she revealed who she was, surely he wouldn’t be petty enough to beat her up anymore, right?
Lu Tian had also followed Qin Zhan over. Coincidentally, both men caught Gu Panpan peeking at them through narrowed eyes.
Her sneaky behavior was unexpectedly adorable.
So she had been pretending to faint.
Where did this girl come from? Why was she so hilarious?
Yet in the very next moment, Lu Tian lost the urge to laugh.
He had never expected the girl’s reflexes to be so quick.
Taking advantage of their momentary distraction, she sprang to her feet with a nimble movement and excitedly grabbed his hand.
“Brother Dazhu…”
Brother Dazhu?!
Wasn’t that Qin Zhan’s original name from when he had first enlisted?
Later, after attending military academy, he changed his name to Qin Zhan.
The name suited him perfectly.
From then on, “God of War Qin” had become famous throughout the military, undefeated in every match he fought.
Very few people knew about his former name.
Lu Tian only knew because he had arrived at the 1688th Regiment a year earlier than Qin Zhan.
But what exactly was happening now?
This girl had mistaken him for someone else.
Why was she grabbing his hand and calling him “Brother Dazhu”?
Lu Tian turned to look at Qin Zhan beside him.
The man’s expression had already darkened.
Instinctively, Lu Tian shook Gu Panpan’s hand off.
Damn it!
It seemed he could never escape the fate of “sparring” with Qin Zhan.