Qiu Dongyuan immediately handed his tray to Xu Yu upon hearing this, muttering "Why didn't you say so earlier?" before dashing out of the cafeteria entrance like a gust of wind. In the blink of an eye, even his retreating figure had vanished.
Xu Yu set down his empty tray and continued serving food using Qiu Dongyuan's tray.
"Don't take that." Su Anxi glanced at the shredded pork with peppers Xu Yu was scooping up with the large ladle and casually reminded him.
Xu Yu kept his posture unchanged, but his pitch-black eyes scrutinized Su Anxi as he said, "Since when do you get to tell me what to do?"
Su Anxi discreetly scanned the soldiers in the cafeteria, all of whom were focused on their meals, before clearing her throat and saying, "Isn't your stomach sensitive? You should avoid spicy food."
Upon hearing this, Xu Yu naturally set down the ladle, chuckled softly, and asked, "Been checking up on me?"
Su Anxi blew a strand of hair upward, gently placed her tray on the table, then turned to face Xu Yu, lowering her voice as she asked, "Captain Xu, must you always talk like this?"
"How would you prefer I talk?" Xu Yu leisurely glanced at Su Anxi and inquired.
"Can we keep things professional?"
Xu Yu raised an eyebrow with a smile, holding his tray. "Haven't we always kept things perfectly professional, Doctor Su?"
With that, Xu Yu strode away.
Su Anxi stared at Xu Yu's back, wishing she could hurl her tray of food at him.
Jerk…
By the time Qiu Dongyuan returned, the team members in the cafeteria had already finished eating and left. Doctor Su and Doctor Liao from the medical team were also nowhere to be seen, leaving only Xu Yu, who had just emerged from the kitchen at the back.
"You rascal." Qiu Dongyuan pointed at Xu Yu as he walked over, his large eyes wide open. "My wife never called me at all."
Xu Yu calmly straightened the sleeves he had just rolled up and said with utter nonchalance, "Oh, really? Must've been my imagination then."
Qiu Dongyuan chuckled. Given his line of work, if he couldn't see through this, he wouldn't be much of a political instructor.
"Old Xu, do you smell something?" Qiu Dongyuan deliberately waved his hand in front of Xu Yu's face.
"What smell?" Xu Yu was still adjusting his rolled-up sleeves but paused to sniff the air.
Qiu Dongyuan's expression turned suggestive. "What smell? The smell of vinegar, of course. If you still like her, go after her. Why waste time being jealous over nothing with me?"
Xu Yu patted Qiu Dongyuan's shoulder, tilted his chin, and said, "The food's gone. I got restless and made a bowl of noodles with a fried egg. It's on the stove. Take it or leave it."
With that, he headed toward the cafeteria entrance. Behind him, Qiu Dongyuan watched Xu Yu's retreating figure and shook his head with a resigned smile before turning to enter the kitchen.
As Xu Yu walked, he pondered Qiu Dongyuan's words: if you like her, go after her.
He had liked her since childhood, and he had pursued her, but in the end, they still broke up.
Because he had only ever liked one person his entire life, from then on, his heart would never flutter again.
How wonderful it would be if he had only just met Su Anxi now.
He pinched the bridge of his tall nose, shook his head with a self-deprecating smile, and thought, what was he fantasizing about? If they had only just met now, perhaps both of them would already be married.
…
In the afternoon, Xia Junnan came to Su Anxi for a check-up and kept chattering away, asking her about how things were in Yujiang now. Su Anxi patiently chatted with him.
As they talked, Xia Junnan sighed, his tone tinged with melancholy. "Ah, so Yujiang has changed so much. It's been two years since I've been home. I really want to see what it looks like now."
"Why do you never go back during the annual home leave?" Su Anxi couldn't help but ask.
"Can't leave. Here, we never know when actual combat might come, when we might be needed. We have to maintain our presence, stay on standby at all times. It's all just to protect our country's mountains and rivers, and to live up to the trust of the Party and the people." Xia Junnan's words were simple, but as fellow military personnel, Su Anxi understood the weight behind them.
"Every inch of land is soaked with blood, every handful of soil holds a soul." Su Anxi looked at Xia Junnan and couldn't help but recite.
Hearing this, Xia Junnan perked up. He crossed his hands on the table, looked at Su Anxi, and said, "Doctor Su and our captain really are a perfect match—even the things you say are similar. The two phrases our captain often tells us are: 'Every household's light brings peace, every iron-willed soul remains unyielding.'"
Upon hearing this, Su Anxi leaned back in her chair, looked at Xia Junnan, and forced a relaxed smile. "Comrade Xia, that phrase I said is known by everyone in the country. Are you implying your captain matches with the entire nation?" "That's not what I meant." Xia Junnan had sensed something from the start but chose not to point it out. His sharp mind still had to be put to use. He thought for a moment and continued, "Let me put it this way: over all these years, aside from you, Doctor Su, our captain has never given a second glance to any female comrade, let alone initiated a conversation. You two can't just be simple hometown acquaintances, right?"
"I feel like you're your captain's spokesperson." Su Anxi wanted to know about Xu Yu's situation over the years, and perhaps this person was the key. With that in mind, she continued, "Do you admire your captain a lot?"
Xia Junnan nodded. "There isn't a single person in our entire Special Forces Team who doesn't respect Captain Xu. Whether it's team combat or individual combat skills, he's the best in the entire army. Actually, given his rank, he should have been transferred away from here long ago, but he never mentions it. Whether it's emergencies, riots, counter-terrorism, or rescue missions, as the captain, he always charges ahead first. He never says it, but we all know he's protecting us. That's why he often says, aside from the two phrases I just mentioned, 'Sweat more in training, bleed less in battle.' As a result, our training load is immense, but no one complains."
Su Anxi fell silent as she listened. She had heard about Xu Yu's glorious combat record before, and how he had nearly lost his life. Just thinking about it made her heart ache to the point of suffocation.
If three years ago, he really hadn't made it through, what would she have done? Probably resented herself for the rest of her life, and then perhaps followed him in death.
All their childhood friends knew that Xu Yu loved Su Anxi obsessively, but they couldn't see how deeply Su Anxi loved Xu Yu.
That's why, in the nine years after she so easily said they should break up, she remained alone, focusing only on work, never on relationships.
She had thought about forgetting him, spending the rest of her life with someone who treated her well.
But when she reached old age and looked back on her plain, uneventful life, she would suddenly realize that she had never truly forgotten that person. She would carry that regret with her to her last breath, hoping never to meet him again in the next life.
Yet, she could never bring herself to settle for just anyone.
In the years that followed, it seemed she really didn't think of him as often anymore, but she also couldn't love again.
After breaking up, even living in the same courtyard, they never saw each other again, and perhaps they wouldn't meet for decades to come.
So, she told herself that she had only ever loved a man named Xu Yu.
In this lifetime, let it be this way!
But she never imagined they would meet here, in such a manner.
Learning that he had remained single all along brought her genuine joy, yet hearing Xia Junnan say it only deepened her heartache. What kind of trials and hardships had he endured to utter words like, "A thousand homes lit, a thousand homes at peace; unyielding bones, an undying spirit"?
…
"Doctor Su." Xia Junnan waved his hand in front of Su Anxi's face, calling out to her.
"Oh." Su Anxi snapped back to reality and looked at Xia Junnan. "Alright, the examination is done. You can go now."
Xia Junnan glanced at Su Anxi with confusion, confirming, "Doctor Su, are you really okay?"
Su Anxi curled her lips into a smile. "What could possibly be wrong with me? Hurry up and go, don't waste others' time."
"Yes, ma'am." Xia Junnan smiled at Su Anxi and left the room.
Su Anxi had finished seeing the last military personnel on her list. She stood up and stretched her body just as Qiu Dongyuan, who had just come out from Liao Zhiping's side, approached holding a piece of paper.
"Doctor Su." He knocked on the door, beaming with a smile.
"Instructor Qiu, is something the matter?"
Qiu Dongyuan walked over and handed the paper to Su Anxi, saying, "Doctor Liao still has a few more patients over there. He asked if you could lend a hand."
Su Anxi took the paper and immediately knew Liao Zhiping was up to his tricks. She smiled at Qiu Dongyuan and asked, "Excuse me, has Captain Xu arrived yet?"
"I'll go get him." Qiu Dongyuan promptly left.
Su Anxi glanced at the physical examination form in her hand. The military personnel in the ID photo had deep, handsome features—if this photo were posted online, it would undoubtedly go viral.
After a while, Xu Yu walked in, sat on the stool, and said to Su Anxi, "Please make it quick, Doctor Su. I have other matters to attend to."
"I'll do my best." Su Anxi picked up the blood pressure monitor and looked at Xu Yu. "Roll up your sleeve."
Outside, eavesdropping, Liao Zhiping and Qiu Dongyuan shook their heads in unison—truly just a doctor and a patient!
Su Anxi put on the stethoscope and placed it over Xu Yu's heart and lung area. When she reached his left chest, her ears suddenly felt warm. She pursed her lips, cleared her throat softly, and looked up at him.
The man's deep voice vibrated through his chest and into her ears. "I just ran here."