The knocking at the door continued, each knock more urgent than the last.
“Division Commander? Are you inside?”
Zhao Gang was a straightforward, no-nonsense type. When he didn’t hear a response, his hand was already resting on the doorknob.
The sound of the metal handle turning was, to Jiang Li’s ears, more terrifying than thunder.
She couldn’t be caught!
If she was taken back, it would be a dead end!
The bald factory director’s ferocious grin, her stepmother’s greedy face, and all the horrors that were about to happen…
Overwhelming fear crushed her sense of shame.
Jiang Li didn’t know where she found the courage. She suddenly crawled forward two steps.
She stretched out a pair of mud-stained yet dazzlingly pale hands and clutched Huo Yan’s calf tightly.
It was her only lifeline.
The muscles in Huo Yan’s leg instantly tensed, hard as iron.
He looked down— and met Jiang Li’s eyes.
What kind of eyes they were.
Filled with tears, red-rimmed, like a frightened little rabbit’s.
They were full of pleading, terror, and a desperate, all-or-nothing reliance.
She didn’t dare make a sound, only shook her head frantically.
The small hand gripping his pant leg trembled violently, fingertips turning white from the force. Her nails were too long, and she accidentally scratched his skin.
That faint sting shot along his nerves straight to the top of Huo Yan’s head.
His breathing faltered for a split second.
He looked at the small, soaked bundle at his feet— like a newborn kitten thrown into the rain.
If he handed her over…
According to regulations, trespassing into a military restricted zone meant detention at best, prison at worst.
Even if it was confirmed she was fleeing a forced marriage, she’d still be repatriated.
Judging by her miserable state, nothing good would await her back home.
That familiar irritation surged up in Huo Yan’s chest again.
Trouble.
Big trouble.
He hated trouble more than anything. By all logic, he should’ve just thrown her out.
But— as if possessed.
Just as Zhao Gang was about to push the door open—
Huo Yan moved.
He didn’t kick Jiang Li away. Instead, he stepped forward and used his body to block any possible line of sight through the door crack.
“What are you yelling for? Calling ghosts or something?”
Huo Yan’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried the impatience of being woken up and an authority that brooked no challenge.
The movement outside froze instantly.
Zhao Gang jumped in fright and hurriedly stood at attention.“Division Commander! Reporting! The patrol said—”
“I said there’s no need.”
Huo Yan cut him off coldly.“Not even a mosquito can get into my room. Where would a person come from? Go search somewhere else.”
His tone was absolute, domineering in a way that left no room for argument.
Zhao Gang froze, scratched his head.“But… someone saw her running this way—”
“Zhao Gang.”
Huo Yan’s voice sank, dangerous.“Do you want me to repeat myself a second time?”
“Yes! Understood! I’ll take the men to search the woods over there right now!”
Zhao Gang shuddered. He didn’t dare say another word, turned, and ran off. His footsteps quickly disappeared down the corridor.
The hallway returned to silence.
Only the rain outside the window continued to pour.
Jiang Li’s body went limp. She collapsed onto the floor as if all her strength had been drained.
She was saved…
She looked up at Huo Yan gratefully, tears spilling down again.
“Th-thank you…”
Huo Yan showed no trace of tenderness.
He tossed the gun onto the table with a loud clang.
Then he turned around and bent down.
That large hand grabbed Jiang Li by the back of her collar like she weighed nothing, lifting her straight off the ground.
Jiang Li cried out in alarm, her feet leaving the floor, the world spinning.
The next second— she was thrown heavily onto the narrow army cot.
The bed wasn’t soft—if anything, it was hard.
But it was filled with this man’s scent.
That strong, aggressive mix of tobacco and soap instantly enveloped her.
Huo Yan leaned in.
He knelt with one knee on the edge of the bed, hands braced on either side of Jiang Li’s body, trapping her between himself and the mattress.
The position was far too intimate.
And far too dangerous.
Jiang Li curled up in fear, arms crossed over her chest, staring in terror at the man inches away.
Up close, she felt his menace even more keenly.
Those hawk-like eyes locked onto her, as if trying to see straight through her soul.
“Don’t think for a second I kept you here out of kindness,”
Huo Yan said in a low, ruthless voice.“Now tell the truth. Your name. Where you’re from. Why you ran. If there’s a single lie, I’ll make you regret ever being born.”
Jiang Li didn’t dare hide anything.
Trembling, she haltingly explained how her stepmother had forced her into marriage, planning to sell her to an old factory director.
She cried as she spoke.
Her voice was soft and sweet, thick with tears, tugging painfully at the listener’s heart.
As Huo Yan listened, his brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Things like this still happened nowadays?
Forced transactions, ghost marriages, selling daughters?
But he didn’t fully believe her.
Suspicion was an occupational disease for a commander.
Her background was too strange. Her appearance—too coincidental.
What if it was a fabricated story from enemy agents?
Huo Yan’s gaze fell on her again.
Because of the struggle earlier, her collar had loosened slightly.
A large patch of snowy white skin was exposed, dotted with a few specks of mud—only making it more striking.
That waist…
It really was too thin.
As if he could snap it with just a bit of force.
Huo Yan felt his throat go dry. An inexplicable heat rose from his lower abdomen.
He cursed under his breath. “Damn it.”
Abruptly, he straightened up, pulling distance between them.
“That’s enough. Shut up.”
He cut off her sobbing impatiently.
Walking to the wardrobe, he took out a brand-new set of military uniform and began dressing with his back to Jiang Li.
His broad back muscles shifted with each movement, filled with a powerful, restrained beauty.
Jiang Li’s face burned, her heart pounding. She quickly lowered her head, not daring to look again.
Huo Yan dressed quickly.
He fastened every button, all the way up to the top discipline collar, covering that sensual Adam’s apple and collarbone.
In an instant, he was once again the ascetic, cold division commander.
Only now, his eyes were darker than before.
He walked to the door, hand on the doorknob, and glanced back at Jiang Li coldly.
“Until your identity is verified, you’re not allowed to go anywhere.”
“Stay here obediently. If you dare run—or make a sound…”
Huo Yan narrowed his eyes and made a slicing motion across his throat.“I’ll shoot you on the spot and treat you as a spy who trespassed into a military restricted zone.”
With that—
Bang.
The door slammed shut.
Immediately after came the sound of metal clashing.
He locked the door from the outside.
Jiang Li sat dazed on the bed, listening to the series of locking sounds, emotions swirling inside her.
She was being confined like a criminal.
Yet this door also shut out the storm outside— and those man-eating demons.
She looked around.
She was alone in the room now.
The space filled with his presence made her afraid… yet strangely safe.
Her stomach suddenly growled.
Jiang Li hadn’t eaten for a full day and night; her stomach burned with hunger.
She saw half a leftover steamed bun on the table, along with a military canteen.
She swallowed, cautiously reaching out to take them.
Just then— a blinding beam of light flashed past the window.
It was a flashlight.
Immediately after, a dark shadow swayed outside the window, seeming to press against the glass and peer inside.