The warm, fragrant softness in his arms was fleeting—barely there before it was gone.
After steadying her, Li Chengyuan withdrew his hand with the manners of a gentleman, though he couldn’t resist lightly rubbing his fingertips together as if trying to erase the lingering sensation.
He lowered his gaze to the beautiful young woman standing before him. With twin braids, she gave off an immediate, striking impression.
Her slightly red almond-shaped eyes still carried lingering panic, the corners naturally upturned, lashes damp with tears.
There was something inexplicably heart-stirring about her appearance.
Her loose strands of hair at her temples were damp with sweat, her chest rising and falling unevenly with unsteady breaths.
A pale green dress clung to her slender waist—so slim it looked like it could be wrapped around with one hand.
And then there were her lips—the ones she had bitten into a crescent shape. Originally faint in color, they now glistened a soft, flushed red, slightly parted as she panted lightly. The white mist of her breath blurred the last half-inch of distance between them.
“Comrade, why are you crying?” Li Chengyuan asked instinctively, only realizing afterward that the question was somewhat improper.
This girl probably didn’t even know him.
“I… I’m fine. Thank you,” Song Xuezhi said, quickly wiping her tears with her sleeve before hurrying away.
Li Chengyuan stood where he was, watching her retreating figure until she disappeared completely at the end of the corridor, then turned and continued upstairs.
As she was leaving the hospital, a nurse at the entrance called out to her.
“Comrade, you forgot this.”
She handed over a slightly damp military jacket.
Song Xuezhi initially thought it belonged to Zhou Weidong and recoiled in disgust, but the moment she saw the two bars and four stars on the shoulder, she hesitated and instinctively took it.
“This jacket… where did it come from?” she asked.
The nurse looked puzzled.
“You were wearing it when you were brought in. Isn’t it your husband’s?”
Song Xuezhi knew immediately—it couldn’t be Zhou Weidong’s.
He didn’t have such a high rank.
Most likely, it belonged to the person who saved her.
Unconsciously, her mind drifted back to the man in uniform she had met on the stairs earlier.
Even in movies, she had never seen a man so striking.
Compared to him, Zhou Weidong had no comparison at all.
Broad shoulders, narrow waist, at least 1.85 meters tall. His features were carved like a sculpture—handsome beyond belief.
Especially that profile: sharp, cold, masculine, with a physique full of undeniable presence. Just thinking about him made her heart race.
It would have been nice if the one who saved her was him—she couldn’t help but think.
…
To make sure Zhou Yuwei wasn’t tricking them for money, Song Xuezhi went back to investigate. It turned out her son really did have heart disease, and the treatment cost was astronomical.
Her son, Qi Yi, was born prematurely with many health issues and had been malnourished in the countryside. It wasn’t surprising he developed such a condition.
After the diagnosis, Zhou Yuwei had been desperately trying to raise money. But her parents were poor rural people—an alcoholic father and a disabled mother—and had clearly said they would not contribute a single cent.
So she had no choice but to turn to her brother, Zhou Weidong.
Zhou Weidong, as always, doted on his sister. Without hesitation, he gave her 700 yuan and even borrowed another 300 from comrades, making a total of 1,000 yuan to send Qi Yi to a provincial hospital.
All of this was done behind Song Xuezhi’s back.
By the time she found out, the money had already been paid to the hospital. She knew that even if she demanded it from Zhou Weidong now, she would not get it back. So the next morning, she went directly to his military unit.
She also brought along the military jacket with the two bars and four stars, hoping to find the person who had saved her life.
“Hello, sister-in-law!” the on-duty soldiers greeted her warmly with salutes.
In this garrison unit, everyone basically knew Song Xuezhi. Many genuinely admired that Captain Zhou had married such a beautiful wife.
Song Xuezhi had met Zhou Weidong by chance.
Back then, she was robbed on a train. A man in military uniform—like a hero descending from the heavens—bravely chased off the thief and saved her.
Perhaps due to a “damsel in distress” effect, she fell for him.
Zhou Weidong also fell in love with her at first sight.
Hero saves beauty—everything afterward followed naturally.
However, at that time, Zhou Weidong was only a deputy company commander and not yet eligible to bring family members to live with him.
Song Xuezhi had a stable job at a supply-and-marketing cooperative in her hometown, and her mother, Song Hongmei, disapproved of Zhou Weidong’s rural background and low rank, refusing to let them marry. They could only date for the time being.
Fortunately, Zhou Weidong worked hard. Within three years, he rose to regimental commander through merit and was rewarded with a house in the county. With the savings he had accumulated for bride price, he finally brought her into marriage in a proper, respectable way.
Originally, after registering their marriage, she was supposed to join him in the military compound and work in the cultural troupe.
Unfortunately, all of that fell apart when Zhou Yuwei brought her child to live with them.
Facing the soldiers calling her “sister-in-law,” Song Xuezhi didn’t correct them. Instead, she showed them the jacket.
“Do you recognize whose uniform this is?”
Comrade Xiao Li examined it and exchanged looks with the others.
“We do recognize it… all uniforms here have identification numbers inside the collar,” he said, scratching his head as he handed it back.
“This belongs to Lieutenant Colonel Li.”
Another soldier cautiously asked, “Sister-in-law, how did you end up with Commander Li’s jacket?”
“This… happened for a reason,” she replied vaguely.
She assumed someone of that rank must be older. It likely wasn’t the young man she had met in the hospital.
She felt a faint sense of disappointment.
“By the way,” she asked, “which unit does Lieutenant Colonel Li oversee? Is he here today? I need to find him.”
Xiao Li replied, “He oversees the Sixth-Five-Three Division under Captain Zhou’s unit. He’s here today—I just saw him enter the command office.”
Without hesitation, she headed toward the direction he pointed.
Normally, civilians were not allowed inside the command building, but everyone knew her as Captain Zhou’s fiancée, so she was let through.
Inside the command room, Li Chengyuan was discussing matters with Division Commander Lu when his subordinate suddenly exclaimed excitedly:
“Lieutenant Colonel Li, it’s the young lady you rescued that day! She’s definitely here to see you—and she’s holding your jacket!”
Li Chengyuan turned toward the window.
The subordinate added boldly, “Sir, she wouldn’t be here asking you to take responsibility, would she?”
In those days, relationships between men and women were still quite conservative.
In rural areas, if a man rescued a woman from drowning and there was physical contact, they were often expected to marry. Otherwise, the girl might not be able to marry at all.
“Don’t talk nonsense,” Li Chengyuan said lightly.
But the corner of his lips curved slightly.
He remembered how thin her clothes had been that day, how soaked she was, and how he had even performed emergency rescue, including artificial respiration. If word got out, it could affect her reputation—he might indeed have to take responsibility.
Division Commander Lu laughed heartily and patted his shoulder.
“Finally something good! Your personal matters have been a headache for the organization for years. Even your father keeps sending telegrams urging me. So you’ve been secretly working on this, huh? Tell me honestly—when are you planning to submit your marriage report?”
Knock knock.
A knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Li Chengyuan said softly.
Song Xuezhi pushed the door open, slightly out of breath. When she saw the people inside, she froze.
“Is Lieutenant Colonel Li here? I need to speak to him.”
Division Commander Lu smiled kindly.
“I’m here. Comrade, what’s the matter?”
Taking him for Li Chengyuan due to his age, she went straight to the point:
“I want to revoke my marriage application with Captain Zhou Weidong…”
CRACK.
The edge of the window frame under Li Chengyuan’s hand shattered from his grip.
Division Commander Lu’s smile froze.
Such a beautiful, fresh-faced girl… already has a fiancé?