Yun Shui's hand gripping the communicator was nearly sweating.
After dragging things out, they finally got to an image that seemed useful.
It was the lotus porcelain censer on the auction screen.
She studied the Fleet Commander's expression, pretending to ask casually, "Is it pretty?"
Fleet Commander: "Ugly."
Yun Shui: "…"
By now, all the various loudspeaker announcements outside the room had stopped. The sounds of supply distribution, eating, and chatting had all gradually come to an end.
The entire shelter pressed pause, sinking into the shallow sleep of the afternoon.
The sunlight wasn't warm-toned—it was a blazing white. The hastily constructed prefab rooms had no curtains, so the light flowed through unimpeded, landing precisely on the hospital bed like a deliberate stage spotlight.
Yun Shui caught the scent of bitter medicinal herbs tangled with the smell of blood. For a moment, she seemed to see a dying star.
They had been conversing in very low, very brief exchanges, their deliberately hushed voices melting into the still air.
Yun Shui had no choice but to spell it out for him: "General, don't you think this thing looks familiar?"
The Fleet Commander fell into thought.
His eyes had sharp lines, narrow eyelids, and his expression was somewhat tense.
Yun Shui couldn't help saying, "This is one of the items in the charity auction—the one, ahem, that you bought for me."
Fleet Commander: "?"
The Fleet Commander let out a cold laugh. "I'd have to be insane."
Yun Shui: "…" Not very happy.
She agreed anyway: "I think so too."
Jiang Xie's hearing was excellent—he could easily catch every suppressed syllable.
His eyesight was equally sharp, taking in every trace of Yun Shui's slight discomfort. He didn't think Yun Shui possessed such a sophisticated and natural talent for lying.
He wasn't one to throw money around, had no hobby of scattering cash, and his salary was just a number in his account. There was no reason for him to buy an auction item for a barely acquainted civilian staff member.
But he had bought it.
Bought it?
And given it to this person.
Jiang Xie was almost certain now—Yun Shui was exactly this kind of vain, foolish, two-faced person who took advantage of his favor.
The doctor said she had waited outside the ruins and pulled him out, crying her eyes out while waiting for his surgery outside, worried sick about him.
She had even gone deep into the disaster zone with a weak-signal tracking app when the network was down, wearing a hard hat herself, wanting to come save him.
Although her attitude was mediocre at best, everything required repeated coaxing, she occasionally defied discipline, loved sneaking in backtalk, and always expressed her dissatisfaction in a timid, hesitant way. She didn't even use honorifics!
What she should have done was go to the park near the residential area and stay put quietly, waiting for rescue and supplies. Don't run around, just keep herself safe—no need to save anyone.
But she had come anyway.
But this Yun Shui was also cunning, with a temper that flared up for no apparent reason. And she was nasty too.
Because he had lost his memory, she toyed with him like this, refusing to acknowledge her identity as his lover, insisting on drawing a line between them. And that time she secretly photographed him in the middle of the night—the camera shutter was so loud, she was caught red-handed!
Could it be that because he had forgotten her, she got angry?
Yun Shui asked, puzzled, "What are you smiling at?"
The Fleet Commander's mouth immediately straightened, equally puzzled: "I wasn't smiling. Yun Shui, you're not being honest."
Yun Shui, suffering an undeserved accusation: "I'm very honest. Every word is true."
The Fleet Commander lowered his eyes.
From Yun Shui's perspective, she could see his long eyelashes drooping—not shaped like little brushes, but shorter at the inner corner and longer at the outer, curving into a natural arc like a peach blossom petal. Yet his eyes beneath were utterly indifferent, cold and sharp, with a hint of bad temper.
The ill-tempered Fleet Commander commanded, "I'm annoyed just looking at this photo. Turn the page."
Huh?
Yun Shui had no choice but to flip to the next image—a wasted shot, a blurry ornate corridor with a phantom silhouette. The Fleet Commander made no comment, and Yun Shui secretly breathed a sigh of relief, swiping away.
"Wait," the Fleet Commander said, once again wearing that arrogant expression of someone who'd caught her by the tail, feigning confusion as he exposed her, "I thought you'd hidden all these photos. How are there still some left?"
Seeing Yun Shui's guilty look, the Fleet Commander shook his head, staring at the phantom figure in the photo and complaining matter-of-factly, "Why do you always sneak photos of me? That's a bad habit."
Oh my god, what a brazen accusation. What utterly unreasonable narcissism.
Yun Shui nearly rolled her eyes, immediately swiping back and long-pressing the image.
Under both their gazes, the Live Photo showed a tall figure in a white suit from behind, calmly walking through an arched corridor, every gesture carrying a slow, refined elegance.
Nothing like the Fleet Commander, who was always ramrod straight and briskly decisive.
The Fleet Commander's expression turned very sour. In that instant, his already nonexistent forbearance grew even weaker—even the suspicion he'd just been so certain of was shaken.
He stared at Yun Shui in disbelief, as if she'd committed some unforgivable crime.
He demanded, "Yun Shui, who is this?"
Yun Shui hesitated for a few seconds, and the Fleet Commander's face darkened to the color of a burnt pot bottom.
She mumbled vaguely, "I don't know either."
"Don't know?" The Fleet Commander fixed his gaze on her, staring motionlessly at Yun Shui's mouth as if determined to wait for more, even more outrageous answers. His voice rose unconsciously, "If you don't know him, why did you photograph him? Yun Shui, are you some kind of lovesick fool? Unbelievable."
Yun Shui: "?!?!"
She shot to her feet, flustered and furious: "General, he helped me. I just took a random photo."
"Bullshit," the Fleet Commander's arrogance flared even higher, his face expressionless. "You must be blind, thinking this person is good-looking! The moment you see someone dressed up all slick, you can't walk straight!"
Yun Shui choked: "I—you… how can you think that of me."
She was just—she tried to defend herself.
The Fleet Commander looked at her coldly: "Is that not it? Just from his back, this person looks shifty-eyed and weasel-faced. Your taste is truly bottom-tier."
Yun Shui shot back: "From his back alone, you can tell he's graceful and radiant."
Unlike some people—erratic, hot-tempered, and utterly inexplicable! She was fed up with his personal attacks, and stood up to leave.
The Fleet Commander felt like his wounds were splitting open from rage, thoroughly furious now, and said incredulously, "You're leaving? You stand right there and explain yourself properly."
"Explain?" Yun Shui suppressed her anger. "There's nothing to explain. Keep your voice down—you're disturbing others' rest. No manners."
Their argument wasn't exactly quiet, and Yun Shui was both anxious and apologetic. She glanced at the patient in the neighboring bed who was sneaking peeks at them, then quickly walked away.
Jiang Xie was injured, his hand still wrapped up in a bulky bandage, his combat effectiveness pitifully low and his authority completely diminished—he couldn't stop Yun Shui from storming off in anger.
He was equally furious, feeling his anger flare hotter and hotter, as if something cold and hard was churning uncontrollably in his chest, tangling his organs into a mess.
Too much. Yun Shui.
How dare she use a derogatory term toward me.
How dare she pat another man.
How dare she be so fickle.
…
Yun Shui had no idea the Fleet Commander was wallowing in self-pity. Fuming, she clutched her communicator and stormed out, finding the surroundings utterly silent.
She went to the bathroom and splashed water on her face. Reflecting on herself, she felt she had grown bold, daring enough to talk back to the Fleet Commander.
Perhaps it was because of this disaster-stricken environment, where order had faded and courage had swelled.
She could almost foresee the future—the Fleet Commander would meticulously prepare a closet full of shoes, just waiting to make her life miserable.
Petty in temper, even pettier in heart.
Yun Shui grabbed at her hair, utterly baffled as to why the Fleet Commander had suddenly turned into a vicious dog.
After zoning out, she returned to the small bed next door and lay down for a while. In the afternoon, after busying herself for a bit, she went to find her volunteer colleague to watch a drama. This colleague had offline-stored several TV series and variety shows in her Optical Brain and had been crowned the Entertainment God by everyone.
The Entertainment God was generous, projecting the Optical Brain screen into the air, and several of them squeezed together to watch.
The drama's picture quality was already somewhat blurry—it turned out to be a very old-school idol drama, dating back to an era before AI actors had taken over the screens. The soundtrack was light and cheerful. Everyone was shocked by the ancient 480p quality. The Entertainment God said solemnly, "You don't understand—this is a true classic from the old days!"
In the drama, having witnessed the male lead and the second female lead inseparable and chatting happily, the female lead dejectedly boarded a bus. Rain poured outside the window as she murmured to herself, "I think… I want to give up liking him."
Then the female lead cried, spending her days in a daze. She tried her hardest to avoid the male lead, living each day like a walking corpse.
Yun Shui watched intently, thinking, "Oh my god, this is way too angsty."
Then the female lead's friend stood up for her and confronted the male lead. When he learned the female lead was jealous over him, a faint, barely noticeable smile appeared on his cold face.
Yun Shui frowned: "If he likes her, why does he let her be sad?"
The Entertainment God's taste was questioned, and she retorted, "The male lead hasn't recognized his own feelings yet."
Then the male lead went to find the female lead, casually revealing that there was nothing between him and the second female lead. The female lead brightened instantly. And this kind of scenario repeated endlessly, filled with cold words, occasional sweetness, stolen moments of happiness, and occasional stabs of despair.
Yun Shui: "…"
The Entertainment God coughed a few times: "I told you, it's old-school…"
Old-school, a true classic. Nuts!
The Entertainment God wrapped an arm around Yun Shui's shoulder, beaming, "Yun, that's just how it is—young men and women tangled in hesitation, refusing to admit their feelings yet unable to hide their concern, countless misunderstandings, repeated heartbreak, tears and laughter, love and affection, until they finally find their way to each other. Isn't that a beautiful thing?"
Yun Shui stared at the screen where the male lead set the female lead's ugly photo as his computer wallpaper to tease her, the two of them playfully bickering. She rubbed her forehead helplessly: "Fine."
But Yun Shui didn't have the courage of those old-school female leads, nor the boldness to endure heartbreak and keep charging forward. She would only shrink back into her shell, avoiding both love and hurt.
If liking someone only leads to mockery and cold remarks in the end, then it's better not to like them at all.
She took a quick combat shower. There was no hairdryer, so she did her best to towel-dry her dripping hair until it stopped dripping.
It was getting late. She casually padded into the ward with a towel draped over her shoulders, fetched a basin of water, and planned to secretly confirm that the Fleet Commander was still alive and well.
Because there was a child in the ward too, and it was already close to ten o'clock, the lights were kept dim.
Yun Shui went in with the nurse, intending only to take a single glance and then leave.
But unfortunately, the Fleet Commander was sitting up, his eyes wide open like brass bells.
Yun Shui pursed her lips.
Maybe not quite brass bells, but his gaze was sharp, scrutinizing every person who entered with equal intensity.
The moment Yun Shui came in, he locked onto her, expressionless. With a hint of gloomy displeasure, he silently stared at her like that. Yun Shui brought over the plastic basin and the washcloth, dabbing it at his face.
Then, through the thin layer of washcloth, he bit her hand.
Yun Shui: ?!
She felt a sharp pain and numbness in her hand, nearly swinging a punch at him. In her struggle, she caught sight of gleaming white teeth.
Yun Shui was so shocked that, for the first time ever, she called the Fleet Commander by his full name: "Jiang Xie, are you a dog?"