Xu Jingyun’s face flushed crimson, and he wanted to retort, but seeing someone approaching, he swallowed the words back down.
Remembering the woman’s voice in the middle of the night, and how her desperate pleas had ended up with her scratching up his back, he was just glad he didn’t have to do physical training like the others during the day. The moment he took off his shirt, the truth would have been completely exposed.
“Your walk is obviously uncomfortable. Anyone with eyes can tell. I’m supporting you there.” Xu Jingyun wasn’t negotiating; he was simply giving her a choice of how they were going to get there.
Cheng Mengzhi glared at him in silence and started walking forward.
With a deep breath, Xu Jingyun strode over and swept an arm around Cheng Mengzhi’s waist.
“I’ll walk!” Cheng Mengzhi was far too familiar with this CEO-romance trope. She quickly grabbed Xu Jingyun’s arm, stopping him right as he looked like he was about to squat down and scoop her up. “Just… support me as I walk!”
The gloomy expression on Xu Jingyun’s face melted away. He placed both hands under her arms and guided her toward the clinic.
Cheng Mengzhi was genuinely in pain. She knew very well that getting involved with a man before marriage during this era—even as official fiancé and fiancée—was a massive taboo. If the organization found out, both of their jobs would be gone on the spot. A decade or so later, the situation could even be severe enough to earn you a firing squad.
While Cheng Mengzhi herself didn’t care much about such conventions, the original host was the one who had messed up in the first place. Now that she had transmigrated into this body, she had to play it safe for the sake of survival.
“What’s going on here?”
Her dormitory roommate, Lu Mina, was holding a basin and heading out for a bath when she happened to spot Cheng Mengzhi being supported by Xu Jingyun, her walking posture a bit awkward and unnatural.
Lu Mina’s eyes swept up and down over the two of them. Don’t tell me she’s so terrified of being kicked out over her suspension that she’s gone and hooked up with Staff Officer Xu?
“It’s nothing. I just came out of the cafeteria after lunch, missed a step, and sprained my ankle.” Cheng Mengzhi offered a guilty, vague explanation.
Lu Mina and Cheng Mengzhi had never gotten along. Within the military unit, Cheng Mengzhi’s obsession with the female protagonist had earned her a rather poor reputation. In the dorms, Lu Mina also frequently locked horns with her.
“Such a delicate princess!” Lu Mina sneered, looking at how close the two of them were standing. “Let me help you to the clinic instead. Staff Officer Xu is a man—it doesn’t look good for people to see you like this.”
Cheng Mengzhi felt like she was facing an existential threat. Why on earth would Lu Mina suddenly be so kind? If she went to the clinic with her, the whole charade would instantly fall apart.
“No need. I happen to be heading over to check on another colleague anyway, it’s right on the way,” Xu Jingyun cut in ahead of time, refusing Lu Mina’s offer and guiding Cheng Mengzhi away.
“Hmph,” Lu Mina scoffed under her breath. “No good deed goes unpunished. By tomorrow, the rumors will be flying everywhere—let’s see how you plan to explain this to your precious Lin Shuyan!”
Thinking back on Lin Shuyan’s recent behavior, Lu Mina couldn’t help a flash of annoyance. If Cheng Mengzhi hadn’t kept humiliating herself as a woman, Lu Mina actually thought she was a pretty decent person. She had no shortage of money, treated others well, was gentle and kind, and had uncomplainingly cared for Lin Shuyan for such a long time—only for him to cast her aside for another woman in the end.
To still be this delusional at a time like this!
Lu Mina didn’t hate Cheng Mengzhi because she was a bad person; she hated how her “love-brain” had completely ruined her. Her infatuation with Lin Shuyan was the root of all her misery.
Thinking of a woman like Qin Junyao, Lu Mina knew her methods were ruthlessly calculating. Even the most seasoned, shrewd men would fall for her traps; very few could see through her facade. Her very first impression of Qin Junyao had been pure aversion—the kind where the more she looked at her, the more grating she found her. Back then, whenever she tried to advise Cheng Mengzhi to stay away from Lin Shuyan, she’d get cursed out for it, which led to the two of them frequently snapping at each other whenever they rubbed each other the wrong way.
Brought inside the clinic, Cheng Mengzhi nervously cast her eyes around the room.
“You’re here! What on earth happened that you needed me to take a look?”
Stepping out was a female doctor in a white lab coat. Before conducting her examination, she squeezed a dollop of disinfectant onto her hands and rubbed them together. Noticing the absolute silence, she looked from Xu Jingyun over to Cheng Mengzhi sitting on the stool.
A flash of surprise crossed the doctor’s face when she recognized that the patient was Cheng Mengzhi.
“Well? Speak up!”
Cheng Mengzhi stared at the woman. The doctor was wearing a pair of pearl earrings, a blue midi dress, and a pair of small leather shoes. Her features were delicate and pretty, and even without a scrap of makeup, it was clear she took meticulous care of her skin. Standing around 170 centimeters tall with a well-proportioned figure, she looked like a walking fashion model.
“Sis… can you check her out?”
At the word sis slipping from Xu Jingyun’s lips, Cheng Mengzhi nearly leaped out of her seat in shock. In the original novel, Xu Jingyun’s older sister, Xu Fengsheng, was a doctor right here in the military unit.
“Um… I… I’m totally fine, I really… don’t need—” Humiliation was one thing, but she couldn’t possibly let herself lose face in front of his family!
Panicking, she tried to stand up and leave, but Xu Jingyun stepped forward, shut the door, and pulled her back down.
“Sis, we’re together now, and she’s not feeling well. Can you please help examine her?” As Xu Jingyun spoke, his expression grew awkward, and a distinct flush crept up his cheeks and tips of his ears.
Blood rushed to every corner of Cheng Mengzhi’s body. Her face turned an alarming shade of red, instantly shifting several gradients darker. Overwhelmed by guilt, she didn’t dare utter a single word.
Xu Fengsheng was completely taken aback by her younger brother’s blunt confession. Recovering from her shock, she looked them both over carefully and, upon closer inspection, spotted the faint marks lingering on their necks.
The two of them squirmed under her sharp gaze.
Reaching out, Xu Fengsheng grabbed Xu Jingyun by the arm, dragged him straight to the door, shoved him outside, and slammed the door shut before drawing the privacy curtain closed.
She turned her gaze back to Cheng Mengzhi.
Cheng Mengzhi had already begun anxiously swallowing dry spit.
“Take your pants off and lie down on the table.” Xu Fengsheng spoke with absolute professional detachment, her expression completely neutral.
Cheng Mengzhi nervously twisted the hem of her shirt. “Can… can you just prescribe some medicine and I… I’ll apply it myself back at the dorm?”
“Take them off and lie down. I’m a doctor; I have professional ethics,” Xu Fengsheng repeated firmly.
Why were this pair of siblings so fond of forcing people into things against their will?
Under that piercing gaze, Cheng Mengzhi didn’t dare refuse. Steeling herself, she climbed onto the examination table and pulled her trousers down past her knees.
“Done!” As that single word slipped out, her entire body felt like it was burning up. This was practically no different from being subjected to death by a thousand cuts. What an absolute sin! She squeezed her eyes shut, too mortified to face anyone.
During the examination, Cheng Mengzhi bit down hard on her lower lip.
“I’m going to get the medicine.” Xu Fengsheng turned around, stepped out of the room, and locked eyes with her younger brother’s anxious face.
“Sis, is she okay?” Xu Jingyun asked worriedly, his voice sounding a little strained.
Xu Fengsheng shot him a look that could kill. Making sure no one else was lingering in the hallway, she lowered her voice and hissed:
“You’re being completely reckless! How could you let yourselves… do that before marriage?!”
“You’re about to be promoted to political commissar, yet you pull a stunt as stupid as this. If anyone finds out…” Seeing someone walk past in the distance, Xu Fengsheng cut herself off. Glaring at her brother, she took a deep breath and ordered, “Stand guard. Don’t let anyone in.”
As Xu Fengsheng headed toward the dispensary, Xu Jingyun caught her by the wrist. “Sis, we can’t have a child right now. You’re a doctor—can you prescribe some contraceptives so it won’t be found out?”
As the words left his mouth, Xu Jingyun felt like an absolute scoundrel. Meeting his sister’s gaze, he felt intensely guilty.
Frowning deeply, Xu Fengsheng demanded, “Are you trying to shirk responsibility?” She glared fixedly at her brother. If he dared utter a single affirmative word, she was going to march right up and slap him across the face.
“No, I plan to submit the marriage application tomorrow. But the administrative process takes time, and we can’t afford a premarital pregnancy.” They had taken precautions before things happened, but he had no idea if those medicinal measures had any adverse effects on health—what if they accidentally conceived and the child turned out abnormal?
“Knowing that logic, you still dared to—” Xu Fengsheng gritted her teeth. “Don’t you know how important a girl’s chastity is?!” Jabbing a finger at her brother, she scolded under her breath, “You absolute jerk!”
Shaking off his hand, she hurried off to fetch the medicine.
Inside the room, Cheng Mengzhi had just pulled her trousers back up and walked over to the door, where she had vaguely overheard Xu Jingyun getting chewed out by his older sister.
She calmly walked back and sat down on the stool as if nothing had happened.
When Xu Jingyun walked back in and closed the door, the atmosphere turned thick with awkwardness.
Lowering her gaze, Cheng Mengzhi began picking at her fingernails.
“Um… let’s talk. Right now, getting married is definitely our best option,” Xu Jingyun ventured.
In his worldview, once intimacy occurred with a young woman, marriage was mandatory, and he had to take full responsibility for her.
“No need,” Cheng Mengzhi countered. “I’ll take care of contraception. After today, we can just pretend nothing ever happened.”
“Absolutely not!”
“Why not?”
While Xu Jingyun reacted with vehement objection, Cheng Mengzhi shot right back with a challenge.
Just then, a nurse pushed the door open, arriving precisely in time to catch the tail end of the conversation: Absolutely not, why not?!
All three of them froze in awkward silence.
“Ah… I’m here to see Dr. Xu,” the nurse said, her eyes gleaming as she caught the unmistakable scent of gossip.
Clearing his throat to break the tension, Xu Jingyun offered an explanation. “My sister went to grab some medicine; she’ll be right back.”
The nurse nodded quickly, casting one more awkward, curious glance between the two of them. “Is Comrade Cheng injured?”