Chapter 1767 - 1766: Come See What This Is
Qin Jian tightly held An Hao’s hand, a surge of inexplicable emotions welling up in his eyes.
An Hao seemed to have already become an inseparable part of his life, like a part of his own body.
If one day, he were to truly lose An Hao, he wouldn’t be able to bear it.
"Do you remember now?" Qin Jian’s gaze locked on him.
"Mm." An Hao nodded slightly.
"Say it out loud. Let me hear your voice!"
"I remember." An Hao buried his head in Qin Jian’s chest, feeling the heat of his skin and the strong rhythm of his heartbeat, "Don’t worry. For you and the child, I will take care of myself from now on. Qin Jian, thank you! Thank you for saving me!"
"What? Thank me?" Qin Jian lowered his head to look at An Hao after hearing these words. "Say that again?"
"What’s wrong? Is there something wrong with what I said?" An Hao looked at Qin Jian, bewildered.
"There’s nothing wrong!" Qin Jian’s rough fingers hooked her chin as he spoke, "Is your gratitude just going to stay on your lips?"
An Hao slowly smiled, her bright eyes rippling with affection: "Then, please tell me, Captain Qin, how would you like me to thank you?"
"If it’s gratitude, then show some sincerity." Qin Jian pointed at the corner of his mouth, his deep gaze softening.
"Alright. How about offering myself to you?" An Hao said with a grin, wrapping her arms around Qin Jian’s neck. She stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
The night grew deep, and the autumn wind turned chilly.
Silvery-gray moonlight streamed through the window, casting a gentle glow. In that glow, a pair of young silhouettes ignited their youth and romance with passion.
..................
Early the next morning, Qin Jian drove to the division headquarters to report to work.
Bright and early, as he entered the office, he saw Zhang Jianguo smoking.
"Commander, you look like you have something on your mind?" Qin Jian smiled as he greeted him.
"Yeah, a little worried!" Zhang Jianguo exhaled a couple of puffs of smoke before replying, "This last exercise was a complete humiliation for us. Our division’s equipment is considered top-notch, and we’ve run many simulations of combat scenarios before. Yet this time in the opposing-force exercise, we barely put up a fight before the Red Team flattened us... The casualty ratio was as high as nine to one! During the military meeting this time, my reputation as a commander is going to be in tatters."
Qin Jian knew Zhang Jianguo was referring to the incident where their tank regiment had been taken out by a few Red Team special forces operatives.
"Commander, the Red Team’s special forces are much better trained than us. Besides, this failure was entirely accidental. If it weren’t for Colonel Wu getting injured and us being so focused on the rescue, our command post wouldn’t have been taken so easily."
"Alright, no need to console me." Zhang Jianguo sighed, "Even though I feel unjust about this loss, no army wins every battle."
"Since you already understand, Commander, I won’t say anything further." Compared to Zhang Jianguo, Qin Jian maintained a much calmer attitude.
To win without arrogance and to lose without despair—these two principles weren’t just words to him.
He practiced them in action.
"Ha, your mindset is far better than mine, huh? Qin Jian, Qin Jian, sometimes I even wonder if you’ve ever been young! Your composure outpaces even this old man here!"
"Commander, are you praising me or teasing me?" Qin Jian responded with a faint smile.
"Praising you! I admire this steady temperament of yours." Zhang Jianguo took one last puff of his cigarette, extinguished the butt, and then opened a drawer to pull out two photographs, handing them to Qin Jian. "Enough with the chatter. Take a look at these."