When Shen’s mother returned, she happened to see Shen Lifeng smiling foolishly at the doorway.
“Ah Feng, what’s gotten into you?” she asked as she walked over.
Shen Lifeng snapped out of it.
Then, as if remembering something, he said,
“Mom, didn’t my sister used to have a red wool scarf?”
Shen’s mother had almost forgotten about it. After thinking carefully, she nodded.
“Yes, that’s right. You never paid attention to things like that before. Why are you suddenly asking?”
Without hesitation, Shen Lifeng replied,
“Mom, could you go into town and buy one that looks similar? I want to give it to someone.”
Shen’s mother’s eyes lit up.
“You want to give it to Zhizhi, don’t you? That child saved your life. You really should thank her properly.”
Shen Lifeng’s gaze darkened, and he said nothing more.
Things between him and Wen Zhiyu were still uncertain. There was no point getting his mother’s hopes up.
Wen Zhiyu originally didn’t want to personally handle Shen Lifeng’s recovery.
But while staying in the dormitory, she kept remembering the resentful look on his face.
Since she had nothing to feel guilty about, she eventually came herself.
When she entered his room, she noticed a bag sitting by his bedside.
It looked familiar.
Before she could even begin examining him, Shen Lifeng spoke first.
“My mother bought this for you. Take a look and see if you like it.”
Wen Zhiyu wanted to refuse.
But Shen Lifeng was unusually persistent.
She opened the bag and discovered a bright red wool scarf.
Was she collecting scarves now?
Before she could speak, Shen Lifeng added,
“Big Mouth gave you a scarf before. I could tell you didn’t really want to accept it, so I asked one of my comrades to return the money to him.”
“This scarf suits you better.”
His goal had been clear from the beginning.
He felt that Wen Zhiyu would look good in a red wool scarf.
But he was also worried she might not like it.
So he carefully watched her expression.
Wen Zhiyu looked at him.
In the end, she didn’t say the words that came to mind:
This is my business and has nothing to do with you.
She was worried that if she said that, Shen Lifeng might end up confessing directly like Big Mouth had.
That would be awkward.
Instead, she took ten yuan out of her pocket and handed it to him.
“Thank you, but I can’t accept your gift either. Let me pay you for it.”
Shen Lifeng had been rather pleased with his clever idea.
The moment she said that, he froze.
Seeing no reaction from him, Wen Zhiyu placed the money directly into his hand.
“Thank you.”
Shen Lifeng was angry.
But Wen Zhiyu completely ignored his little mood.
Just as she was about to pull her hand back, Shen Lifeng suddenly grabbed it.
Caught off guard by a man suddenly seizing her hand, she panicked.
Following the force of his pull, she stumbled forward and crashed straight into him.
The two collided face-to-face.
Although Wen Zhiyu immediately braced herself against the bed, momentum wasn’t something she could stop so easily.
She landed in Shen Lifeng’s arms.
At that moment, she realized just how much larger he was than the average man.
In his embrace, she felt like a doll.
She quickly scrambled back up.
Then she frowned and asked seriously,
“How’s your body? Did you hurt yourself anywhere?”
Shen Lifeng shook his head.
After confirming that his surgical wound was completely fine, Wen Zhiyu finally relaxed.
As long as he wasn’t injured.
She patted her chest in relief.
“Comrade Shen, I came here to break off our engagement. Have you forgotten?”
Her words were firm and forceful.
She wanted to make her position clear.
Shen Lifeng clenched his jaw and frowned.
Wen Zhiyu thought he would finally back down.
Instead, he said,
“I think, given the relationship between the two of us, you don’t need to pay me.”
He grabbed her hand again and stuffed the money back into it.
The movement happened so quickly that Wen Zhiyu barely had time to react.
“Thank you for informing me, Comrade Wen. I understand now.”
Wen Zhiyu blinked.
Understand what?
If he truly understood, then what exactly did he mean by the relationship between the two of them?
What relationship did they even have?
The lingering scent of him from their brief contact still remained.
Wen Zhiyu decided she should keep her distance from Shen Lifeng.
His interest in her now was probably because she was different from other women of this era.
Or perhaps it was simply physical attraction.
Either way, those things couldn’t last a lifetime.
Some time passed.
Wen Zhiyu stopped visiting again.
The nurses handled Shen Lifeng’s care.
A month later, while she was seeing patients in her consultation room, someone pushed open the door.
She instinctively looked up.
Shen Lifeng stood there.
His expression was complicated.
Wen Zhiyu smiled politely and stood up.
Just as she would with any patient, she asked gently,
“Has your body recovered?”
Shen Lifeng was almost fully healed now.
The remaining injuries simply needed time.
“I thought Zhizhi didn’t care about my condition at all.”
Wen Zhiyu froze.
Then she stared at him.
Zhizhi?
When had they become close enough for him to call her that?
“Sorry,” Shen Lifeng said.
“My mother calls you that all the time. I hear it so often that I got used to it.”
Wen Zhiyu pressed her lips together.
“It’s fine. Auntie said she wants to make me her adopted daughter. We’ll be family in the future, so I suppose it’s normal to be a little closer.”
Shen Lifeng’s expression instantly stiffened.
The shameless confidence he had shown moments earlier vanished completely.
“Comrade Wen!”
Someone rushed into the room energetically.
It was Big Mouth.
He was carrying a bag of snacks.
“I was away on a mission recently. I bought these in a border city. They said young women all like these kinds of snacks.”
He handed the bag to Wen Zhiyu with a bright smile.
His mouth stretched wide, revealing a row of dazzling white teeth.
But the next second, a large hand intercepted the bag.
Big Mouth looked up.
Shen Lifeng’s face had already darkened.
Alarm bells instantly rang in his head.
He no longer intended to pursue Wen Zhiyu.
Not because he had given up quickly.
But because he knew he wasn’t worthy of her.
He practically worshipped Wen Zhiyu.
And in his mind, Shen Lifeng was practically a god too.
Besides, after the incident where Shen Lifeng had secretly returned the money for the scarf…
As a fellow man, how could Big Mouth not understand what that meant?
Had he just flirted right in front of the real contender?
Meanwhile, Wen Zhiyu simply considered Big Mouth a friend.
He often asked her to treat his comrades.
She never rejected the small gifts he occasionally brought.
Sometimes she even gave him money and asked him to buy things for her.
Seeing Shen Lifeng holding onto the snacks, she immediately reached out.
“Those are mine.”
She loved snacks.
And besides, they were a gift from a friend.
“I’ll buy you some next time,” Shen Lifeng said.
Wen Zhiyu frowned.
“Are you giving them back or not?”
She was already exhausted from her busy work at the hospital.
She had no energy for pointless arguments.
Shen Lifeng panicked.
Almost involuntarily, he handed the snacks over.
Wen Zhiyu took them.
Then she noticed the aggrieved expression on his face.
Watching the entire scene unfold, Big Mouth clicked his tongue in amazement.
How had I never realized Battalion Commander Shen was such a henpecked husband type?
After Big Mouth left, Shen Lifeng finally revealed why he had come.
“I’m being discharged.”
Wen Zhiyu looked at him and waited for him to continue.
“You previously wanted a fake marriage with me so you could get your mother’s ashes and belongings back.”
He paused.
“I came to ask whether we need to hold a wedding banquet and register the marriage officially.”
“If we do, I’ll go back and submit the application immediately.”