Gu Beichen had just returned to the military district after completing a mission and hadn’t even rested before the division commander called him to the office.
Commander Huo looked at his increasingly silent subordinate. “There’s a mission to protect a female translator. Go to the military airport immediately—she’s waiting there.”
Usually, missions came with briefing materials, but Gu Beichen’s cold eyes swept toward Huo’s empty hands. “No materials?”
“No need for materials. Someone is already protecting her—you’re just going there to be the backbone. The regimental commander from the second regiment who was previously guarding her got injured.”
Hearing someone was hurt, Gu Beichen realized the situation was tense. He saluted sharply and moved out quickly.
His long legs carried him forward, but a voice called after him. He turned to see his partner, Lu Yan. They had planned to eat together, but Gu Beichen had been summoned to the office.
He stopped to wait for Lu Yan, who was holding a meal box. “Just back and you’re heading out on another mission??!!”
Gu Beichen nodded. “Leaving immediately.”
Lu Yan shoved the meal into his hands. “Eat first. I’ll borrow a vehicle and take you there.”
Without waiting for a reply, he dashed off.
Gu Beichen, indeed, was a little hungry. He sat on a stone bench, mechanically scooping bite after bite, tasting nothing. Eating now was simply about filling his stomach. Ever since she disappeared, his taste buds seemed to have disappeared with her.
By the time Lu Yan called, he had finished his meal, and soon they were speeding down the road.
Lu Yan glanced at Gu Beichen, who was feigning sleep. Years of relentless missions had roughened him; Lu Yan sighed inwardly.
“Are you still looking for her?” he asked softly.
The words hit Gu Beichen like a dagger. He could vividly recall her bright face.
The night before she left, they had held each other tightly, again and again. She had been as passionate as ever, giving no hint of leaving him.
So why, when he went to find her after completing missions, did she seem to have vanished into thin air??!!
He shook his head. “I’ll find her.”
Lu Yan hesitated. “You two weren’t even married yet. Even if you look for her, it may be useless—maybe she’s married to someone else now and doesn’t want to be disturbed. It’s been years.”
Gu Beichen’s heart constricted violently, as if gripped by an invisible hand. He turned sharply to the car window, his throat moving as if choking.
The scorching sunlight outside made his eyes sting. He raised a hand to shield them, using his fingers to rub at the corner of his eyes.
This was the thing he never wanted to think about, never wanted to face. That’s why in the first year, he searched desperately; the following three years, he threw himself into missions.
He didn’t dare let his mind wander—because if it did, he would remember that he and she were ultimately separated.
From the corner of his eye, Lu Yan saw Gu Beichen’s movement, and his heart clenched sharply!
They were both hardened men who bled without tears, but how many times had Lu Yan seen Gu Beichen cry??!!
He felt a pang of pity. Over the years, Gu Beichen had gone from recklessness to cold indifference—outside of missions, he was almost a walking corpse.
Everyone in the military district knew Gu Beichen’s situation and avoided letting him idle. Whenever a mission appeared, he was always the first considered.
How could that woman be so heartless??!!
If they really were to part, why not make it clear at the start??!!
Because it was a military vehicle, after inspection, Lu Yan drove Gu Beichen directly onto the military airport grounds.
When Gu Beichen stepped out, his expression was already back to neutral. His gaze was like steel forged in ice—sharp and composed. His facial features were chiseled as if carved by a knife; his lips pressed into a firm line, revealing nothing.
Anyone passing by instinctively shivered. He exuded a natural aura of cold.
He stood still, scanning the area with a sharp gaze, quickly locking onto his target, and strode forward with long legs.
Gu Beichen saw a short-haired woman with her back to him, surrounded by his familiar comrades. They watched her cautiously.
Clearly, she was in danger, otherwise their alertness wouldn’t be so high!
Suddenly, Gu Beichen’s hair bristled. Danger!
His eyes locked, surveying the surroundings. Finally, he spotted a glint—just a small one.
His heart sank. Like a leopard, he lunged forward, shouting as he ran: “Sniper! Take cover!”
Several comrades immediately recognized Gu Beichen. One grabbed the woman and began moving toward cover—but it was already too late.
Gu Beichen leapt forward, holding the woman tightly, rolling with inertia toward the nearest cover.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Bullets struck the ground where they had just been, sending debris flying.
Gu Beichen used his body to shield her from all impact.
During the roll, he pinpointed the sniper’s location, firing three shots instinctively with one hand—muscle memory and relentless combat experience guiding him.
A muffled sound and falling debris came from afar. The threat was temporarily neutralized.
Everything had happened in the blink of an eye.
Adrenaline surged. He immediately propped himself up, his voice tense: “Comrade, are you okay??!!”
He looked down.
The woman in his arms lifted her eyes.
Their eyes met.
In that instant, Gu Beichen felt his breath and heartbeat freeze.
Time itself seemed to stop.
The bustling airport, running comrades, lingering smoke—all faded into the background.
Gu Beichen’s pupils constricted sharply. All was silent, except the frantic beating of his heart.
—How could it be her?
—How could it be that face, appearing countless times in his dreams, now cold and unfamiliar??!!
Lin Su!
The wife he had searched for over the years, thought about obsessively, nearly to the point of madness.
Now she was pinned beneath him, gazing at him with a calm, even scrutinizing, and strangely detached expression.
No joyous reunion, no visible emotion.
Her eyes were colder than the Siberian wind.
Gu Beichen froze. All words caught in his throat.
Then, Lin Su’s red lips parted. In a voice meant only for him, formal and icy:
“Comrade, may I get up now?”