Chapter 214: Meeting
The days trickled by as Su Zhaozhao waited for Xie Huaizheng.
But as time went by, Su Zhaozhao’s worries clearly grew.
During this time, she had gotten to know all the relatives on her maternal grandparents’ side.
She would occasionally bring them gifts, bake delicious afternoon tea desserts, and cook meals, all of which made them grow fond of her.
But for Xu Yingmin and Li Chunhong, their feelings for Su Zhaozhao were more akin to heartache.
"Zhaozhao, how do you know how to do everything? You’re so worldly-wise, but you’re still so young. Just how much did you suffer before?"
They felt increasingly guilty. They constantly took Su Zhaozhao out to buy all sorts of delicious food and fun things, wishing they could make up for everything she had missed over the years.
This, in turn, made Su Zhaozhao feel even more guilty.
After all, she had only transmigrated here a short while ago. The one who had suffered all those hardships was the original owner of this body.
She had only felt the hardship right after she arrived, before she’d had a chance to get her bearings.
But after that, she’d made a run for it.
Su Zhaozhao felt that, all things considered, she had enjoyed a pretty good life.
However, since she had inherited the original owner’s body, she figured she might as well use it to accept all this happiness on her behalf.
These were blessings from the original owner’s family.
’Of course, they’re my family now, too.’
Su Zhaozhao counted the passing days, praying in her heart. She hoped that Xie Huaizheng was safe, and that the comrades on the mission with him would also return unharmed.
Time flew by, and soon only two days remained of the promised half-month.
Su Zhaozhao was both excited and apprehensive.
She had never felt this way before, and at times, even she was surprised by it.
’What it feels like to love someone... it’s truly a unique feeling.’
Previously, Su Zhaozhao had always found love-addled people incredibly annoying, the kind who thought of nothing but their significant other all day long.
But now, she felt she was becoming a bit love-addled herself.
And sometimes, she would also think about what Xu Jiaming had said.
It was so strange how he had suddenly asked about those things that day.
’It probably wasn’t true.’ But once the seed of doubt had been planted, she couldn’t stop her mind from racing.
Now, more than ever, she wished Xie Huaizheng would return quickly. With him by her side, her imagination wouldn’t run wild.
「At Jiang City People’s Hospital」
Xie Huaizheng was wrapped in layers of gauze. The doctor had urged him to stay in the hospital for one more day to make sure his wound wouldn’t start bleeding heavily again.
But Xie Huaizheng paid him no mind.
"I’m being discharged today."
The doctor looked at Xie Huaizheng helplessly. "Comrade soldier, you’re even more stubborn than this old codger. You just won’t listen to reason."
He had already managed to keep Xie Huaizheng here for two days, but today, there was no persuading him.
Xie Huaizheng glanced down at the thick layer of gauze on his body. "A long illness makes a doctor of the patient," he said. "I have a pretty good idea of what my wound is like. As long as I’m careful, it won’t bleed again. You can rest assured, Doctor."
"Fine, fine! I can’t persuade you. Go on, get out of here!"
The doctor shook his head, sighed, and turned to leave.
"Thank you, Doctor," Xie Huaizheng said politely, even offering the doctor a smile.
Beside him, two soldiers looked at Xie Huaizheng with concern. "Brother Zheng, are you sure you don’t want to stay for one more day of observation?"
"No. I have something more important to do," Xie Huaizheng said.
"But if your wound gets infected, we’ll be in serious trouble."
Xie Huaizheng had gotten injured while covering for them, taking on the criminals head-on. Seven or eight men had surrounded him, and he’d taken a nasty slash in the process.
While it wasn’t life-threatening, he had lost a frightening amount of blood.
"I’ll be fine." Xie Huaizheng patted one of their shoulders. "You two should hurry back and rejoin the main unit."
He had already requested leave from Li Jian Country during the mission, applying for a week off once it was completed.
Li Jian Country knew he was going to see Su Zhaozhao’s family, so he had readily granted the leave.
After they left, Xie Huaizheng picked up his luggage and walked out of the hospital.
He walked to the bus stop, looked at the route map, and recalled the place his mother had told him to visit.
He had an excellent memory. Even without it written down, he remembered the details Huang Jiqin had given him about the person he was supposed to visit—the address and even the name of the nearest bus stop.
It was an old man with the surname Shu. Huang Jiqin had told him he was a comrade-in-arms of Old Sir Xie.
’He really hadn’t expected it. That hot-tempered old man actually had so many close comrades? He’d never heard of this one before.’
Soon, his bus arrived.
Xie Huaizheng boarded the bus and headed for Old Sir Shu’s home.
When the bus stopped, he got off and went to a department store to buy a few things.
He knew a thing or two about social etiquette.
As he passed a shop window, Xie Huaizheng caught his reflection in the glass.
He wasn’t in uniform, but was wearing a black training shirt, dark green combat trousers, and military boots.
However, the huge, army-green pack on his back still gave away his profession.
Many passersby stopped to look at him.
Xie Huaizheng pressed his thin lips together, grabbed his things, and headed for the Shu family’s home.
The Shu family home was located down an alley. It was a quaint, traditional house, but the exterior had been renovated. With its fresh coat of white paint, it looked clean and tidy.
Xie Huaizheng knocked on the door.
After a moment, the door opened from the inside.
A middle-aged woman stood there.
Her eyes landed on him and paused for a second. "Are you here from the province to pay respects?"
Apparently, she had mistaken him for one of the soldiers sent to pay official visits to old veterans.
Xie Huaizheng shook his head. "Hello, Ma’am. I’m looking for Old Sir Shu."
"And you are...?"
The woman sized up Xie Huaizheng. The man was exceedingly handsome, but his expression was somewhat sharp. Even with the polite smile now playing on his lips, she still found him to be a cold person.
His gaze, in particular, was like a hawk’s, sweeping over her as if it could see right through her.
She knew he wasn’t sizing her up intentionally; it was simply a force of habit.
"My grandfather is Xie Lingyue. I’m Xie Huaizheng," he introduced himself. "I was recently on a mission nearby, and when my mother heard, she asked me to come and pay you a visit."
"You’re Old Sir Xie’s grandson!" The woman’s eyes widened as she looked at Xie Huaizheng, giving him a thorough look-over.
’Xie Huaizheng is so handsome. So this is the boy from the arranged engagement.’
A wide smile immediately spread across her face. "Come in, please! Oh my, you must be exhausted, coming here right after a mission. You haven’t had much rest, have you?"
Xie Huaizheng followed the woman inside, taking in his surroundings.