Her words hit Su Wanqing like a stone to the chest.
She instantly snapped awake, her apricot eyes widening. “The broadcast mentioned the typhoon?”
Su Wanqing was stunned.
She had no idea about this at all…
“You didn’t know?!” Lin Man sounded as if she’d caught her off guard, her voice suddenly rising, eyes fixed on Su Wanqing, full of disdain.
“Su Wanqing, do you even care about Chief Lu at all? Something this serious, and you don’t even know—clearly, you’re not worthy of him!”
“A typhoon over ten levels! Do you know the situation at sea right now? If something happens, can you take responsibility?”
Lin Man grew increasingly agitated, reaching out as if to push Su Wanqing. “How can you be so selfish, only thinking about your own victories and losses, without a shred of concern for Chief Lu’s safety!”
Su Wanqing sidestepped her hand, fingers gripping the doorframe, her apricot eyes now cold and sharp. “Doctor Lin, you’d better clarify two things before pointing fingers at me.”
She stepped forward slightly, the corner of her thin jacket lifted by the wind, revealing the clean collar underneath. Though petite, her presence was commanding.
“Lu Yan is a military district commander. Going on missions is his duty. Even if I had known about the typhoon yesterday, I still wouldn’t have stopped him.”
“This is serious business. You’ve been in the military district for so long and you don’t understand this rule?”
Su Wanqing scoffed coldly. “And you… always using dressing changes as an excuse to visit, fawning over Lu Yan, and now you’re criticizing me for not caring about him? Who do you think you are?”
Lin Man’s face flushed red from being rebuked. Pointing a finger at Su Wanqing, she stammered, unable to form a full sentence: “You… you’re being unreasonable! I’m Chief Lu’s attending doctor—it’s only natural I care about his safety! And you? You’re just a burden, dragging everyone down!”
“An attending doctor should stay in the infirmary, doing your duty, not come to the staff quarters to stir trouble.”
Su Wanqing’s gaze grew even colder. “If what you say were true, wouldn’t the military affairs office have considered the typhoon when issuing orders? No need for you to worry unnecessarily and then twist it around to accuse me.”
Lin Man trembled with anger at Su Wanqing, unable to find a retort.
She had intended to use the “informing” excuse to show her presence in front of Lu Yan, but never expected he would have gone on a mission…
“Fine, fine!” Lin Man gritted her teeth and glared fiercely at Su Wanqing. “If anything happens to Chief Lu, I’ll see how you explain it to the Lu family!”
With that, she turned and left, her white coat quickly disappearing around the corner of the staff quarters.
Su Wanqing closed the door and leaned against it, worry surging in her chest like a rising tide.
Lin Man’s words were harsh, but the phrase “over ten-level typhoon” still made her heart race.
Lu Yan had left in such a hurry last night, not even saying a word.
With the sea this rough now, could he be in danger…?
As Su Wanqing pondered, the staff quarters’ broadcast suddenly blared to life. A deep male voice pierced the rain, clearly reaching inside:
“Attention all staff quarters residents, attention! Due to a strong typhoon, the next three days will experience violent winds and storms. Sea winds may reach above level twelve. For safety, all personnel must remain within the staff quarters. Going outside is strictly prohibited, and approaching the coastline is forbidden. In special circumstances, report to the staff quarters management office. Repeating…”
The broadcast repeated three times before stopping. The room instantly fell silent, leaving only the “whoosh” of rain outside.
Lu Zhengming shrank his shoulders and muttered softly, “Wow, a level twelve typhoon… my brother’s luck is really bad…”
Su Wanqing said nothing, turning toward the kitchen.
She knew worrying now was useless. Lu Yan was an experienced soldier and certainly had ways to handle the storm.
Better to calm herself and wait patiently for news than to sit there fretting.
With nothing else to do, Su Wanqing pushed aside her chaotic thoughts.
She took out the pork belly she’d exchanged for with ration coupons yesterday, sliced it thin, marinated it with salt, soy sauce, and a little shrimp powder. She also ground the star anise and cinnamon she’d dried earlier into powder, mixing it evenly with the meat.
She heated water in a pot, laid the marinated meat slices in a steamer, and slowly steamed over low heat. Once the fat in the meat was rendered, she removed it and placed it on a bamboo tray, slowly drying it over charcoal fire.
The charcoal’s heat wasn’t high, and the aroma of the meat gradually spread, mingling with the spices and dispelling the gloom in the room.
Su Wanqing sat by the stove, occasionally turning the slices on the bamboo tray, her gaze flicking out the window from time to time.
The leaden clouds hung low, the rain fell like broken strings of pearls, and the distant coastline was completely hidden by mist, not a trace visible.
By evening, the rain had lessened slightly, but had not stopped.
The meat on the bamboo tray had dried halfway, a shiny reddish-brown, mouthwatering just to smell.
As Su Wanqing was about to take the meat inside, a sudden “bang, bang, bang” came from the door—more urgent than when Lin Man had come this morning, as if someone wanted to break it down.
“Su Wanqing! Open the door!”
A familiar rough male voice, raging with anger—her second brother, Su Hua.
Su Wanqing frowned, set the bamboo tray aside, and walked over to open the door.
Outside, Su Hua wore work pants splattered with mud, his face full of rage, eyes glaring at her as if he wanted to devour her alive.
He grabbed Su Wanqing’s wrist with astonishing strength. “Su Wanqing, you are so cruel! Weiwei lost fair and square, but how could you force her to leave the military district?”
“On a typhoon day, when she left by boat, the strong wind almost swept her into the sea! If the mission boat hadn’t rescued her, she would have died!”
Su Wanqing’s wrist hurt from his grip. She struggled, but he didn’t let go. Her apricot eyes turned cold in an instant.
“Let go of me!”
She yanked her hand free with force.
“When did I ever force Su Weiwei to leave the military district? She set the rule herself—‘loser leaves.’ I only won. Her leaving was her choice. What does that have to do with me?”
“Nothing to do with you?” Su Hua sneered.
“If you hadn’t insisted on competing with her, would she have been pushed to this point? Now Weiwei’s in the infirmary with a high fever, calling out your name. You must go apologize to her with me!”