His gaze was sharp, like he was interrogating a suspected spy—so ruthless! Could it be that he still suspected her of being an enemy agent?
Jiang Mengning had wandered around the mountain, hot and exhausted. After all that effort just to get some beeswax, and being smoked out by the smoke, she now had to endure this gaze. Her spoiled young lady temper flared. Puffing out her cheeks, she glared back.
“What are you looking at? Haven’t you seen your wife in such a mess? Hurry up and wipe my sweat, I’m exhausted!”
In her mental little notebook, she made a note: “This stinky man has no tact—not fit to be a boyfriend.” One point deducted.
Huo Jinyan: “…”
If the spoiled little girl had been tall, burly, dark, and broad-shouldered, her flirtatious antics would have been a disaster—eye-burning even. But this was Jiang Mengning! Fair-skinned, beautiful, long legs, slender curves with a full bust and a perky rear, and that radiant, almost divine little face… even looking disheveled, she was pitifully cute.
When a person like that acted coquettish, it was soul-shaking. No matter how bad-tempered he was, he would have to endure. As the saying goes, “Even dying under the peony is still romantic”—men really couldn’t resist a woman like her.
Duàn Xiaowu, wide-eyed and a little foolish, admired the commander’s wife. Even in this situation, she could act so coquettishly. Truly impressive!
Suddenly, he wanted to see how his boss would react. The boss was so upright, surely he wouldn’t fall for this, right? After all, during training, the boss was terrifyingly strict. His face stretched like a horse’s; even children would cry at night from the sight of him.
But before his inner commentary ended, he saw his boss bend down and pick up the basket from the ground—without any trace of anger.
Whoa… he was stunned again. Not only did he not get angry, he actually helped his wife carry the basket! What kind of operation was this? Clearly, the boss had been mesmerized by her beauty.
“Let’s go down the mountain! It’s not safe here!” Huo Jinyan said. He didn’t wipe her sweat, but carried the basket and started down. Since he had confirmed last night that she wasn’t a spy, he didn’t suspect she would set the forest on fire—she had no motive.
“Ah!” Jiang Mengning cried out. Just leaving? Not wiping her sweat? This man—so inconsiderate! Another point deducted in her little notebook.
“Wait!” She stepped forward, grabbing his arm.
“Oh, never mind about wiping my sweat. I can do it myself; don’t trouble yourself!” She squinted her eyes and clasped her hands together in a pleading gesture.
“But… I really need your help taking down that honeycomb. I just can’t do it myself! Look, my hands are red from climbing the tree.” She held out her palms to Huo Jinyan, looking pitiful. The delicate, fair skin of her hands was indeed reddened.
She knew Huo Jinyan’s impression of her was still stuck in the past—and it wasn’t good. To get someone to help, one couldn’t be too forceful. Otherwise, it would backfire.
Jiang Mengning couldn’t help smiling. “Please, please, Huo Captain! I beg you, just help me!”
That soft, sweet voice—completely irresistible.
Huo Jinyan quickly withdrew his gaze, turning away, no longer looking at her. His eyes shifted upward to the huge honeycomb. He didn’t understand why she wanted it—but fine, if she wanted it, he’d help.
“Duàn Xiaowu, take some men and get that honeycomb down. Make sure to leave part of it up there.”
Such a large honeycomb had to contain many bees. If they removed it all, the bees would be displaced, and if they swarmed, nearby villagers could get hurt. Leaving part of it ensured the bees stayed and could continue producing honey—killing two birds with one stone.
Duàn Xiaowu, who had been watching as a spectator, now got roped into helping. Fine, he went to retrieve the honeycomb. Soldiers worked efficiently, starting fires to smoke the bees, climbing trees, and harvesting the comb in one smooth operation. Meanwhile, Huo Jinyan had already taken Jiang Mengning far away. Even with smoke, they risked bee stings. Better to get this “good-for-nothing” woman out of harm’s way. She would surely cry if stung again.
Halfway down the mountain, some soldiers were still busy in the grass. When they saw Huo Jinyan coming down, one of them ran over carrying a snake-skin bag.
“Captain, we’ve caught most of the snakes nearby. How should we deal with them?”
The bag was already half full, writhing with black, green, and patterned snakes, coiling around each other—a truly shocking sight.
“Ah!” Jiang Mengning hadn’t expected to see so many snakes. She jumped, hugging Huo Jinyan’s neck and leaping onto him.
Huo Jinyan reacted instinctively, catching her.
“Go, go, go! I’m scared—I don’t want to see them!” She was not joking about her fear.
Huo Jinyan, awkwardly holding her, signaled the soldiers to move away with his eyes. They were nearly in tears, thinking they had scared the commander’s wife. Hastily, they carried the snake bag off.
“All right, no more snakes. You can get down now!” Huo Jinyan tried to release her.
“No! You have to carry me all the way to the foot of the mountain. I’m scared.” She clung to him, refusing to get down.
Helpless, he carried her toward the foot of the mountain. His steps were steady; even on the uneven mountain path, it felt smooth. Quite comfortable, in fact.
There was a faint scent on him. Not soap—it was the subtle scent of hormones.
Suppressing a laugh, Jiang Mengning couldn’t help asking, “Captain Huo, did you bring them here to catch snakes?”
Huo Jinyan walked seriously, ignoring the question.
She wasn’t going to give up teasing him. “I knew it! You brought them because you saw I was afraid of snakes! You were worried I’d get bitten, right?”
“See, you actually care about me!” She lifted her hand to touch his Adam’s apple.
“Captain Huo, do you… like me?”
Huo Jinyan tilted his head, dodging her hand.
“Jiang Mengning, behave yourself!”
“This is the army—no messing around,” he said, stiffly, avoiding her gaze.
Jiang Mengning glanced at the nearby small grove and smiled. “Fine, if we can’t mess around here, there’s a little grove over there. Want to go check it out?”