Song Ning nearly jumped in surprise as she stared at the man before her.
“Gu Zheng! D-Don’t scare me like that!”
But Gu Zheng simply looked at her with confused, unfamiliar eyes.
“Gu Zheng!”
Song Ning called out carefully.
“You… really don’t recognize me anymore?”
Gu Zheng shook his head.
Song Ning stared into his eyes for a moment, then rubbed her chin thoughtfully before speaking in a serious tone.
“My name is Song Ning. Gu Zheng, you must remember this name! You were unconscious, and I saved your life! Before you passed out, you promised you’d repay me. You said you’d buy me a house, and you also said—”
She paused dramatically.
“Hey! Isn’t that a little too shameless? Asking for money is one thing, but lifelong support? What kind of repayment is that?”
Gu Zheng found the woman in front of him unexpectedly brazen.
He couldn’t keep pretending anymore.
“Hahaha…”
Song Ning laughed so hard she could barely stop.
“It’s a life-saving favor! Originally, I was going to ask you to help me find a job, but then I thought about it. Having a job means working every day. Much better to have someone support me for life!”
Gu Zheng struggled into a sitting position.
Looking at Song Ning’s bright smile, the corners of his own lips lifted unconsciously.
“I thought my acting was pretty convincing. How did you figure it out?”
Song Ning grinned slyly.
“I was bluffing. Either way, I wouldn’t lose anything. And if you really had become stupid, wouldn’t it have been nice if you’d obediently handed me your bankbook?”
Gu Zheng pointed at her helplessly.
For a moment, he honestly didn’t know what to say.
Then both of them burst out laughing.
As a habit, Gu Zheng reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a cigarette pack.
His jacket had dried.
The cigarettes had mostly dried too.
But the moment he put a crumpled cigarette between his lips, Song Ning reached out and snatched it away.
“You can’t smoke in your condition.”
Gu Zheng immediately tried to take it back.
Song Ning raised her hand higher, and he grabbed nothing but air.
Narrowing his eyes, he shot her a sidelong glance.
“You’re trying to control me? Other than my mother, no woman has ever dared tell me what to do.”
Song Ning wagged a finger in front of him.
“Wrong. Right now, my identity isn’t ‘woman.’ It’s ‘doctor.’ Patients are supposed to listen to doctors. That’s perfectly natural.”
Gu Zheng fell silent.
After a moment, he sighed.
Annoyingly enough, her argument made perfect sense.
He couldn’t think of a rebuttal.
“Then shouldn’t I ask how exactly you became a doctor? And how you ended up here doing disaster relief?”
Song Ning scratched her head.
His question was completely reasonable.
Reasonable enough that she couldn’t avoid answering it.
So she repeated the explanation she’d used many times before.
“My grandfather wasn’t just a soldier. He was also a medic. A very skilled one.”
Then, before Gu Zheng could dig deeper into that topic, she quickly redirected the conversation.
“By the way, Gu Zheng, you’re with the Southwestern Military Region too, right?”
Fortunately, Gu Zheng didn’t pursue the subject of her grandfather’s medical skills.
Instead, he nodded.
“That’s right. Thirteenth Army, Southwestern Military Region.”
Song Ning immediately brightened.
“What a coincidence! I’m actually planning to go there too! Originally, the Anping County Public Security Bureau arranged for me to travel to Yucheng with Section Chief Fang and Comrade Xiao Zhang, then figure out a way to get to Rongcheng. But Director Hao told me to come directly to the military district and find someone there…”
She gestured animatedly as she explained why she had come to the disaster area.
Then she summed it up.
“Commander Gu! When the disaster relief operation is over, can you take me back to the military district with you?”
Looking at the girl in front of him, Gu Zheng found her amusing.
Whenever she needed something, it was “Commander Gu.”
Whenever she didn’t, it was simply “Gu Zheng.”
She switched between the two effortlessly.
And both sounded remarkably natural coming from her.
Too lazy to call her out on it, he simply asked,
“What are you going to the military district for? Don’t tell me you’re really planning to enlist?”
Song Ning chuckled.
Just as she was about to answer, a sharp whoosh echoed from outside the cave.
A signal flare.
The sound traveled across the mountains and lingered in the distance.
Gu Zheng’s expression immediately turned serious.
Bracing himself against the cave wall, he tried to stand.
He had been fine while sitting still.
The moment he moved, however, dizziness crashed over him.
After all, the injury was to the back of his head.
It wasn’t severe enough to affect his intelligence, but it definitely impacted his physical condition.
Seeing that something was wrong, Song Ning hurriedly stopped him.
“I’ll go check!”
Gu Zheng pulled a pistol-like launcher from behind his waist and handed it to her.
“A signal gun. Fire it into the air. They’ll hear it and come looking for us.”
“Got it!”
The cave was not easy to find.
After firing the signal, Song Ning moved farther out to meet the search party.
Before long, she connected with the soldiers sent by the military district.
The leader was a young man named Han Xiao.
Song Ning recognized him.
Back in the mountains, he had been one of the men following behind “Pan Tuozi.”
After finding Gu Zheng, Han Xiao briefly reported the situation.
Tie Dan had already been rescued and sent out of the mountains for emergency treatment.
More importantly, a telegram had arrived from the military district ordering Gu Zheng to return immediately for a new assignment.
Other personnel would take over the disaster relief work.
The telegram had arrived at seven that morning.
Their search efforts had already delayed matters considerably.
Without hesitation, Gu Zheng issued orders.
Han Xiao and another soldier named Chen Liang would escort Song Ning.
He and two other soldiers would return to the military district immediately.
Before leaving, he turned to Song Ning.
“It isn’t convenient to take you with me right now. If you still want to go to the military district, Han Xiao can bring you there later. If you need anything, tell him.”
Song Ning understood that military orders were absolute.
All she could do was repeatedly remind Gu Zheng that head injuries could cause many complications and insist that he get a thorough medical examination once he left the mountains.
Gu Zheng agreed.
Then the group hurried off.
As for whether he truly took her warning seriously—
She wasn’t sure.
Based on her assessment, he definitely had a concussion.
She only hoped it wouldn’t leave any lasting effects.
Along the way, Han Xiao filled Song Ning in on the latest situation in Yanjiao Village.
Road repair efforts had made significant progress.
The route leading into the village was now mostly cleared.
Earlier that morning, a new medical team had already arrived.
Given the village’s condition, the evacuation of residents to Gaoping was also proceeding smoothly.
Therefore, Song Ning only needed to return directly to Gaoping.
Since Han Xiao was easy to talk to, she decided to ask a question that had been on her mind.
“Comrade Han, you’re with the Thirteenth Army too, right? Do you happen to know someone from the Seventh Regiment named Lu Changqing?”
Han Xiao looked surprised.
“We’re from the Seventh Regiment ourselves! Lu Changqing is in the communications company. He came here for the disaster relief operation too!”
Song Ning blinked.
“You mean there’s a chance I could meet him here?”
“Sure. Though the rescue sites are scattered all over the place. There’s no guarantee you’ll run into him.”
Then Han Xiao asked curiously,
“Comrade Song Ning, why are you asking about him?”
“Oh.”
Song Ning answered casually.
“He’s my fiancé.”