Chapter 1702: Fed Up and Fooling Around
"Zhao Dong! Are you a dead man or something? Walking around without making a sound!" Qin Jian growled.
"I did make noise! It’s the commander who’s too focused, okay?" Zhao Dong gave Qin Jian a glance, covered his mouth, and pretended to talk on the phone, imitating Qin Jian, "Honey, I’ll miss you!"
"Zhao Dong! Are you seeking death!" Qin Jian raised his leg and kicked towards Zhao Dong, "I think you’re just full and bored!"
Zhao Dong swiftly dodged Qin Jian’s attack and immediately struck a sultry pose: "Husband, I’ll miss you too!"
Qin Jian was both annoyed and amused by Zhao Dong: "You’ve been watching too many Hong Kong movies, huh? Do that impression again, and I’ll throw you out tomorrow to shout it out in front of all the officers and soldiers!"
"I’ll shout it out! Who’s afraid? It’s your face that’s on the line, not mine! Let all the officers and soldiers see just how cheesy the commander and his wife can be..." Zhao Dong chuckled mischievously.
"Hey! It looks like you’re the type who won’t behave until you’re disciplined every three days, isn’t that right?" As soon as Qin Jian finished speaking, he swung his iron fist towards Zhao Dong’s face.
Stirred by excitement, Zhao Dong dodged the punch but didn’t expect Qin Jian to sweep his feet out from under him, knocking him solidly to the ground.
"Ouch!" Zhao Dong clutched his knee, pretending to be in pain.
"Stop faking it! You fell backwards; no way you could hurt your knee! Get up!" Qin Jian stood with hands on his hips, looking down at him.
"Hey! Then give me a hand!" Zhao Dong reached out his hand to Qin Jian.
"Tsk!" Qin Jian reached out to pull him up, but Zhao Dong gripped his hand tightly, trying to pull him down.
But Qin Jian was ready for that. Zhao Dong tried pulling twice without success, so he got up honestly, dusting the dirt off his butt: "Enough fooling around! Commander, shall we go outside for a break?"
Their tent was pitched on the edge of the training field. Stepping out, they could see the deep blue sky dotted with twinkling stars above, with the dark undulating mountains below. The cool breeze from the mountain pass blew away the last traces of autumn’s heat.
In the distance was a shimmering body of water with a few fishing boats moored, gazing over at them from afar!
Qin Jian and Zhao Dong sat side by side not far from the tent entrance. Zhao Dong took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and offered one to Qin Jian.
"I don’t smoke. You know that," Qin Jian said.
"Commander, keep me company for one cigarette, will you? I’m feeling a bit annoyed," Zhao Dong said.
Qin Jian nodded, and, holding the cigarette in his mouth, lit a fire and took a deep drag, "I’ll allow you to feel annoyed this time. But once the real military exercise starts, you’re not allowed to get upset. You have to give it your all!"
"Understood!" Zhao Dong took a drag, smiling, "The boss sure knows how to pick a location, right by the mountains and waters! Are we also doing a joint forces exercise?"
"Who said anything about a joint forces exercise?"
"Wasn’t it mentioned before?" Zhao Dong asked.
"Did you take a leave before the exercise and come back an idiot? If it were a joint forces exercise, wouldn’t the Central Military Commission come down? And we should be heading to the Taiwan Strait for that! Originally, there were plans for a joint exercise, but after some consideration, the higher-ups canceled it. This time we’re just doing a drill at the border, involving only the Army! Our entire army group!" Qin Jian felt like knocking sense into Zhao Dong. How had he turned into such a daft soldier after just a short time away?