After the joke, the air suddenly froze, as if everyone was waiting for someone to unravel a thousand-year-old mystery.
Their eyes, postures, expressions, and demeanor were all primed for gossip. Whether it was a tongue twister or not, everyone present knew the truth.
However, due to the imposing presence of the major, no one dared to fire the first shot.
"Captain Xu, you know her?" Xia Junnan's cheerful voice broke the strange atmosphere.
Everyone turned to look at the armed police officer who had spoken—a fair-skinned young man grinning broadly, revealing a set of bright white teeth, his face showing obvious curiosity and a hint of something more.
Xia Junnan was the team's strategist, clever as a monkey. He had sensed something at a glance, but with so many people around, it wasn't appropriate to ask directly. So, he tactfully used the word "know" to probe.
Su Anxi snapped back to reality and realized she had acted impulsively. In the face of Xu Yu, her usual composure seemed utterly insignificant.
It had been that way before, and it still was now.
Yet, how could she have known that she wasn't the only one acting impulsively?
She looked at him for less than a second before involuntarily averting her gaze. She could clearly feel the sudden, rapid pulse in her neck.
Even more, she felt as if, in the blink of an eye, her meridians had been unblocked, and her blood was coursing wildly through her body, completely out of control.
Nervous—more nervous than when she had been rescuing people earlier.
In an instant, the faint roguish smile on Xu Yu's face vanished without a trace. His handsome face turned cold, his indifferent eyes swept over Su Anxi's face, and his deep voice accompanied the obvious movement of his Adam's apple as it bobbed up and down.
He casually tossed out two words: "Fellow townsfolk."
These two words, which should have felt warm and familiar, instantly plunged Su Anxi's heart into an icy abyss.
Yes, what else was the relationship between her and him now, if not the simplest of terms—fellow townsfolk…
"From Yujiang?" Xia Junnan's eyes instantly lit up, and he quickly glanced at the name tag on Su Anxi's chest. "Me too! You're Su… Hey, Captain Xu… Hey, hey, hey…"
Before Xia Junnan could finish, Xu Yu grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away. His clear, authoritative voice, tinged with a hint of reprimand, faded into the distance. "Check the headcount. Stop trying to cozy up. Do you even know her?"
"…"
When the captain gave an order, no one dared to disobey. They quickly shut their mouths and hurried to follow his lead.
The man at the back took a step forward, seemed to think for a moment, then turned back. He was a burly, dark-skinned sergeant who gave Su Anxi an apologetic smile, speaking with a northeastern accent.
"Sorry 'bout that. Our Captain Xu talks like he's freezin' ice pops. Don't take it to heart!"
Su Anxi gave a slight nod. "Are you from the Fangquan detachment?"
Zhang Zhong nodded. "That's right. We just finished our training and got the news on our way back, so we came to pick up your medical team!"
So that was it. Su Anxi had noticed their arm patches earlier—Special Forces Team. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn't send a Special Forces team, let alone an entire Special Forces squadron, to pick them up. It turned out they were just passing by.
"You all rest up. We'll handle things here and call you when we're ready to go." Zhang Zhong scratched the back of his head, unsure what else to say.
Su Anxi nodded. "Thank you."
Zhang Zhong smiled with simple honesty, nodded, and turned to leave. He felt that this female military doctor was indeed extremely beautiful, but she gave off a cold and indifferent vibe, seeming somewhat absent-minded.
"Doctor Su, what exactly is going on between you and that major just now?" The little nurse, unable to hold back any longer, tilted her head and asked with particular excitement.
Su Anxi turned her gaze and noticed that everyone who had been sitting or standing along the way was looking at her, waiting for her answer like curious children.
She stood up, cleared her throat quietly, and said, "Didn't I already say? We're from the same hometown."
"That can't be. The things you said weren't as simple as just being from the same hometown—talking about not wearing clothes, not wearing pants." Nurse Wang, who usually joked around with Su Anxi, wore a suggestive expression as she stood up and leaned closer, continuing with a grin, "He's your ex-boyfriend, isn't he?"
Everyone blinked their eyes, staring intently at Su Anxi, as if wishing they could give her a full-body X-ray, followed by a CT scan, or even an MRI if necessary—anything to thoroughly analyze and uncover the truth.
Su Anxi shot a glare at Xiao Wang and solemnly addressed the group, "Alright, all of you. It's a shame you're not working as paparazzi. That major and I grew up in the same neighborhood. Those were just childhood jokes—don't take them seriously. I'm really not close with him."
With that, Su Anxi quickly escaped the gossip scene. She had been too friendly with them on ordinary days; if they kept questioning her, they could really leave her bewildered.
"Um, I… I… Hey, hey…"
The man who had been trying to strike up a conversation earlier, left ignored on the sidelines, couldn't get a single word in. Watching that slender, straight-backed figure walk away, he privately lamented his missed opportunity.
…
"Su Anxi, Su Anxi…" Liao Zhiping suddenly appeared from somewhere, pulling Su Anxi aside with a mysterious grin. "Guess who I saw?"
Su Anxi snatched the bag of biscuits from Liao Zhiping's hand, took one out, and stuffed it into her mouth. Chewing the bland soda cracker absentmindedly, she glanced up at Liao Zhiping. "Xu Yu."
Liao Zhiping widened his eyes, pointing at Su Anxi. "You've already seen him? So it's true—old flames. It hasn't been that long, and you two have already met up."
"I'm warning you, Liao Zhiping, Xu Yu and I have nothing to do with each other. If you keep talking nonsense, I'll hit you."
Liao Zhiping shook his head inwardly as he looked at Su Anxi.
Nothing to do with each other? Back then, everyone knew Xu Yu had repeated a year of school because of Su Anxi. How could that be called "nothing to do with each other"?
…
Yujiang No. 1 High School was one of the most prestigious key high schools in Yujiang City. Back then, Su Anxi was one of the school's famously top students, while the other academic prodigy was a junior two years younger named Xu Lai.
Xu Lai had an older brother who was one grade above Su Anxi and was also a well-known figure at Yujiang No. 1 High School. He excelled at everything except academics—this person was Xu Yu.
Normally, Xu Yu's grades wouldn't have been enough to get him into the high school division of No. 1 High School, but he advanced directly from junior high to high school, with the entrance exam merely a formality.
When Su Anxi first entered the school, she caused a sensation. Her name and outstanding scores were prominently displayed on the bulletin board.
Everyone had expected her to be a plain-looking bookworm with thick glasses, but she turned out to be a genuine beauty.
This class flower was liked by everyone—except for the school heartthrob, Xu Yu.
Over time, a widely known secret spread among the students of No. 1 High School: the school heartthrob and the academic prodigy couldn't stand each other, each keeping to their own path.
No one knew they had grown up together since childhood, no one knew they lived in the same courtyard, and no one knew they were actually childhood sweethearts.
Everyone only knew that Yu didn’t care about anyone, especially Academic God Su.
Everyone also only knew that Academic God Su was friendly to everyone, except for School Hunk Xu.
Until one day, School Hunk Xu suddenly started studying diligently. Later, even though his college entrance exam scores met the second-tier cutoff, he chose to repeat his final year of high school and transferred to Su Anxi’s Class 1, Grade 12.
Until Xu Yu, carrying his backpack, stood handsomely and imposingly at the door of Class 1, Grade 12, backlit by the light, tilting his head slightly and curling his lips into a smile at the academic god.
It was at that moment that everyone seemed to realize that School Hunk’s series of bewildering actions might all be related to Academic God Su.
It was also at that time that Liao Zhiping, Su Anxi’s deskmate and good friend, noticed something unusual—Xu Yu had repeated his final year and specifically transferred to their class for the sake of his deskmate!
But whether the two of them had ever been together, no one knew…
…
All the medical supplies had been transferred to the armed police vehicles. The medical team bypassed the cleared road, walked to the other side of the landslide, and boarded the vehicles one by one.
Su Anxi walked at the back, expressionless and preoccupied.
Just as she was about to follow Liao Zhiping onto the vehicle, the door closed right in front of her. She turned to look at Zhang Zhong, who had closed the door, but before she could speak, he beat her to it.
“Dr. Su, this vehicle is full. Please take the one in front!” Zhang Zhong’s honesty and integrity left no room for resentment or suspicion. As he spoke, he shouted to Xia Junnan ahead, “Old Xia, Dr. Su is riding with your vehicle.”
“Got it.” Xia Junnan nodded, opened the car door, and waited for Su Anxi to approach.
Su Anxi walked over. Seeing Xia Junnan smiling and inviting her to board, she said thank you and stepped inside. Xia Junnan followed, slamming the door shut with a bang.
“Hello, let me formally introduce myself. I’m Xia Junnan, also from Yujiang.” After speaking, Xia Junnan extended his hand in a very formal gesture, intending to shake hands.
“Su Anxi.” Su Anxi reached out her hand and shook his in a polite, perfunctory manner.
At that moment, the passenger door was opened from the outside. Xu Yu swiftly climbed in, his hand just reaching for the door handle to close it. As he turned his head, he saw the two people in the back seat holding hands. His hand paused mid-action, then he forcefully slammed the door shut, causing the vehicle to shudder slightly.
“Drive.” Xu Yu’s voice was as cold as a frosty mountain.
Su Anxi hadn’t expected to be in the same vehicle as Xu Yu either. She immediately withdrew her hand and sat up straight.
From her vantage point, she could see the man in the passenger seat—his stern, cleanly defined profile and his upright posture.
Suddenly, she remembered how during their school days, he would always lounge lazily in his chair, propping his long legs up and kicking her seat. He was nothing like the person he was now.
The vehicle drove along the road, and the atmosphere inside grew increasingly awkward.
Xia Junnan wanted to ease the tension and, following his comrades’ instructions, probe into what exactly was going on between Captain Xu and Dr. Su.
Thinking this, he cleared his throat with a cough and spoke with a smile, “What a coincidence! Everyone in this vehicle is from the same hometown. Dr. Su must be quite familiar with our Captain Xu, right?”
As soon as Su Anxi heard this, her gaze happened to meet someone’s eyes in the rearview mirror. Flustered, she turned to look out the window and didn’t answer.
Suddenly, a voice from the passenger seat rang out: “Xia Junnan, five-kilometer armed cross-country run when we get back. No food until you finish.”
"Captain Xu." Xia Junnan's face stiffened upon hearing this, stammering, "Didn't you say there wouldn't be a punishment?"
"Ten kilometers." Xu Yu's voice showed no fluctuation. After speaking, he reached up to press down the brim of his cap, crossed his arms, and said nothing more.
Xia Junnan glanced at Su Anxi—she was busy admiring the scenery outside the window, wasn't she?
So, he pleaded pitifully, "Reporting, Captain Xu, how about we stick to the agreed… five kilometers?"
Silence… the car fell into complete silence, with no one responding.
…
Bonus Scene: Zhang Zhong had Su Anxi go to Captain Xu's vehicle. Watching her get in, he gave a thumbs-up to Xia Junnan standing by the car door. Xia Junnan nodded in understanding and made a 'watch me' gesture.