Wen Zhiyu thought there was something strange about Big Mouth’s expression. After asking a few questions, she learned that Shen Lifeng was the youngest battalion commander in the military district and had a brilliant future ahead of him.
However, not long ago, Shen Lifeng had led a team on a mission along the border.
The mission had gone terribly wrong.
Of everyone who went out, Shen Lifeng was the only one who came back alive.
Even so, he had lost one arm and one leg, suffered severe injuries all over his body, and had yet to regain consciousness. He was still lying in the military hospital.
Big Mouth looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Wen Zhiyu simply asked,
“Could you tell me how to get to the military hospital?”
Big Mouth immediately replied,
“I’ll take you there. Wait a moment. Let me make some arrangements first, and I’ll personally escort you.”
From their earlier conversation, he already knew that Wen Zhiyu had ended up trapped in quicksand because she had gotten lost.
He was worried she might lose her way again.
Given Captain Shen’s condition, and as one of his comrades, Big Mouth felt obligated to take good care of his fiancée.
Wen Zhiyu herself had a poor sense of direction and was worried about getting lost again, so she didn’t refuse.
The two of them set off together.
As they were leaving, they ran into several military wives walking arm in arm.
When they saw the beautiful young woman beside Big Mouth, one of them joked,
“Big Mouth, is this your wife?”
Big Mouth nearly exploded.
“No, no, no! Absolutely not!”
Wen Zhiyu stepped forward with a smile.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Shen Lifeng’s fiancée. I’ve come to the military base to find him.”
Shen Lifeng’s situation was serious, and the news had already spread throughout the military family compound.
The moment they heard her introduction, the women looked at her with sympathy.
At the same time, seeing how fair and delicate she appeared, they couldn’t help wondering whether she could endure the hardships of life in the Gobi Desert.
Even if Captain Shen recovered, would this relationship really last?
Wen Zhiyu naturally noticed the change in their expressions but wasn’t offended.
It was only human nature.
Besides, she and Shen Lifeng barely had any relationship to begin with.
The reason she had come was to break off the engagement.
“Sisters-in-law, I’ll take Comrade Wen to the hospital first. You all carry on.”
Big Mouth hurriedly interrupted, afraid they might accidentally say something inappropriate.
After they parted ways, Big Mouth kept sneaking glances at Wen Zhiyu during the journey.
She was truly beautiful.
Not only that, she knew medicine.
She was the most beautiful, capable, and extraordinary woman he had ever met.
If she hadn’t been Captain Shen’s fiancée, he might have tried pursuing her himself.
But what if Captain Shen really didn’t make it?
The thought flashed through his mind.
Big Mouth immediately wanted to slap himself.
How could he think such unlucky things?
Meanwhile, Wen Zhiyu walked quietly beside him, occasionally chatting with him as though she hadn’t noticed any of his thoughts.
After more than twenty minutes of walking, a half-hour bus ride, and another stretch on foot, they finally arrived at the military hospital.
Calling it a military hospital was generous.
The conditions were terrible.
Outside, sandstorms raged endlessly.
The hospital itself consisted of simple mud-brick buildings barely fit for habitation.
Even the intensive care ward where Shen Lifeng was staying only differed from the other rooms by having a few machines monitoring vital signs.
The bed itself was little more than a wooden frame covered with sheets and blankets.
The blankets were worn thin and covered in pilling. Just touching them felt scratchy.
As for the equipment, Wen Zhiyu wasn’t impressed at all.
Even by the standards of this era, most of the machines looked at least ten years outdated.
She frowned.
Big Mouth pulled over a chair for her.
“Um, Comrade Wen, this is just how things are around here. The conditions aren’t great. Please bear with it. I heard Captain Shen’s mother has been staying here taking care of him. I’ll go find her.”
With that, Big Mouth hurried off.
Wen Zhiyu didn’t sit in the dusty chair.
She really did have a bit of a cleanliness obsession.
Though in an environment like this, there wasn’t much point.
Her gaze fell upon Shen Lifeng.
The man had thick brows and sharply defined features that gave him a naturally imposing appearance.
His facial features fit together perfectly.
Handsome.
Years of exposure to wind and sand had left his skin rougher than average, but rather than detracting from his looks, it added a rugged masculinity.
Wen Zhiyu once again ruled him out as husband material.
A man like this was probably very strong-willed.
He likely preferred a gentle woman who would manage the household and support her husband.
Not someone as stubborn as she was.
“Madam Shen, Comrade Wen is waiting in the room. Please don’t get upset.”
Big Mouth’s voice sounded from outside.
A woman soon entered.
Her eyes were swollen from crying.
Her face was gaunt and emaciated.
The spark in her eyes seemed completely gone.
Even when she saw Wen Zhiyu, her expression barely changed.
“So you’re the girl.”
Mother Shen’s voice was weak.
For weeks she had been caring for Shen Lifeng nonstop.
The physical exhaustion and emotional strain had left her unable to eat or sleep properly.
Wen Zhiyu nodded.
“Hello, Auntie. My name is Wen Zhiyu.”
Seeing Mother Shen’s condition, Wen Zhiyu decided not to immediately bring up the engagement cancellation.
The woman was clearly not doing well.
She took out a small bottle of medicine from her pocket.
“I noticed your heart doesn’t seem very healthy. Please keep this medicine. If your heart starts feeling uncomfortable, take one pill. It should help.”
Mother Shen looked surprised.
She hadn’t expected Wen Zhiyu to carry medicine around with her.
Smiling, Wen Zhiyu explained,
“I studied medicine in the capital. I’m a graduate student at the Capital Medical University. This is a new medication our team developed recently. Don’t worry—it’s already passed testing and has been approved for sale.”
Mother Shen examined the bottle.
Sure enough, it contained proper pharmaceutical labeling and information.
After hesitating briefly, she tucked it away.
Big Mouth had tactfully left them alone.
Once he was gone, Mother Shen finally spoke.
“Child, I know why you’ve come.”
She glanced at her unconscious son.
“My son is in this condition now. The doctors say he doesn’t have much time left.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
“When I thought about arranging a marriage to bring him good luck, I was blinded by desperation. Instead, I was only adding more burdens to his fate.”
“You should leave.”
“The engagement is canceled.”
Tears streamed down her face.
This was the greatest kindness she could offer Wen Zhiyu.
She had looked into the girl’s background.
Although Wen Zhiyu was a university graduate, her family circumstances were poor.
Her father wasn’t a responsible man.
If she returned home, she’d likely continue being mistreated.
Originally, Mother Shen had thought that if the girl married into the Shen family, she would treat her like her own daughter.
But now she realized that Wen Zhiyu wasn’t someone who could easily be bullied.
She was a master’s student.
With such excellent qualifications, there was no way she had traveled all this distance intending to marry a dying man.
“Auntie…”
Wen Zhiyu had expected this conversation to be difficult.
Instead, before she could say anything, Mother Shen had offered to cancel the engagement herself.
But there was a problem.
She still needed her mother’s ashes and belongings.
If she simply left now, the Wen family would never hand them over.
And they would almost certainly continue causing trouble for her in the future.
“Auntie, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you.”
Wen Zhiyu abandoned her original plan of directly canceling the engagement.
Looking at Mother Shen, she slowly began to speak.