After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

The roar of the jeep engines echoed through the empty streets, sounding less like they were looking for food and more like they were raiding spies.

Gu Zheng held the steering wheel with one hand, his eagle eyes, which could accurately lock onto moving targets hundreds of meters away on the shooting range, were now scanning every corner of the roadside with murderous intent.

"Gu Zheng, slow down." Ye Zhen sat in the passenger seat, still clutching the handkerchief she used to wipe her sweat, looking helplessly at the fleeting shadows outside the window. "I was just saying it casually, it's okay if you don't have it."

"no."

Gu Zheng answered decisively, without letting up on the accelerator, "I keep my word. Since I said I'd buy a whole truckload, not a single hawthorn seed less would be a sign of my incompetence."

Ye Zhen: "..."

Is this man channeling his competitive spirit in the wrong place?

After a sudden stop, the jeep came to a screeching halt and came to a complete stop at the street corner.

There, an old man in an old cotton-padded coat, his neck hunched, was preparing to pack up his stall. On the back of his bicycle, there was a huge bundle of straw stuck in it, with bright red candied hawthorns glistening temptingly under the streetlights.

"Creak!"

The car door was violently pushed open. Gu Zheng took a long stride, carrying with him a lingering chill and a sense of oppression, and strode up to the old man in a few steps.

The old man was so startled that his hand trembled, and he almost tipped his cart into the snowdrift. Looking at the burly, menacing-looking man in the military overcoat—a veritable "living devil"—he instinctively clutched his fanny pack and stammered, "Comrade...I...I have a license, I haven't been engaging in any illegal activities..."

Gu Zheng frowned, but before he could speak, the old man's legs went weak: "The money...the money's all here, take it, but don't hurt anyone!"

Sitting in the car, Ye Zhen couldn't help but burst out laughing.

The laughter sounded particularly crisp in the chilly winter night.

Gu Zheng's dark face stiffened for a moment. He awkwardly touched his nose, his hostility instantly vanishing. He reached into his coat pocket, pulled out a ten-yuan note, and shoved it into the old man's hand without a word.

"Who wants your money?" Gu Zheng pointed to the bundle of straw, his tone domineering. "I'll buy all the candied hawthorns on this cart. I'll buy the straw bundle too!"

The old man was stunned, looking at the ten yuan in his hand—that could buy three cars!

"Is that enough?" Gu Zheng asked impatiently.

"Enough! Enough! That's more than enough!" The old man was overjoyed. Afraid that this troublemaker would change his mind, he quickly took the whole bundle of straw off the bicycle seat, stuffed it into Gu Zheng's arms, got on the bicycle, and pedaled so fast that sparks flew from the chain.

This is the scene that Ye Zhen saw when she pushed open the door and got out of the car.

Commander Gu, who was usually imposing and feared by the enemy, was now standing solemnly in the snow, carrying a huge bundle of straw covered with hundreds of candied hawthorns in one hand, as if he were carrying a rocket launcher about to be launched.

Bright red hawthorns, a lush green military overcoat, and that incredibly cool and handsome face.

This striking visual contrast made Ye Zhen laugh so hard she couldn't straighten up. Her eyes crinkled into crescents, and her usually cool and aloof face was now as lively as spring water just beginning to melt.

"What are you laughing at?"

Gu Zheng strode over and slammed the huge bundle of straw on the ground, causing the sugar frosting on it to fall off in a shower. He plucked the largest, thickest-frosted bunch from the very top and held it to Ye Zhen's lips.

"I promised to buy you a car, but we're on a tight budget, so let's just buy you a target for now. We'll make up the rest later."

Ye Zhen took the heavy string of candied hawthorns, the smile still lingering in her eyes: "Young Master Gu, are you planning to give me diabetes from eating so much of this?"

Gu Zheng raised an eyebrow, glanced at the dense cluster of red berries, and then at Ye Zhen's slender figure; she was indeed a little worried.

Just then, a group of children who were having a snowball fight came running out from an alley not far away. They were wearing patched cotton-padded coats, their little faces were red from the cold, and they were staring longingly at the "candied hawthorn tree" and swallowing their saliva.

Gu Zheng shoved the bundle of straw into Ye Zhen's hand: "Wait here."

He turned and waved. The children were initially hesitant to move, until Gu Zheng shouted, "Attention! Come over here and get your mission!"

The children immediately gathered around, laughing and giggling.

A few minutes later, the bundle of straw was empty.

The street corner was filled with the cheers of children, each holding two or three strings of candied hawthorns, shouting "Thank you, Uncle PLA!" as they scattered and ran off.

The snow fell heavier and heavier.

As the noise subsided, only two elongated shadows remained under the streetlights.

Ye Zhen took a bite of the candied hawthorn in her hand. The cool sugar coating crumbled between her teeth, and the sweet and sour taste exploded on her tongue, dispelling the dizziness caused by low blood sugar after the surgery.

"Is it good?" Gu Zheng asked.

"Mm." Ye Zhen nodded.

The two walked side by side on the crunching snow. Gu Zheng walked on the outside, his tall frame shielding her from most of the wind and snow.

"If the surgery had failed, would you have been scared?"

Gu Zheng suddenly spoke, his voice low and muffled by the wind, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

Ye Zhen paused for a moment while chewing the hawthorn.

She stopped, looked up at the swirling snowflakes, and her eyes regained their usual calm and clarity: "Fear."

She turned to look at Gu Zheng: "I'm afraid of ruining the reputation of the main hospital, afraid of implicating Uncle Zhang, and also afraid... of disappointing you."

This is the truth.

Although she possessed technology far ahead of her time, medicine is never 100% accurate. In that operating room rife with political maneuvering, a mistake could cost not only Commander He's leg, but also the futures of countless others.

Gu Zheng didn't speak.

He suddenly squatted down in front of her, his broad back like a silent mountain.

"Come up."

"No need, I can do it myself..."

"Get on!" Gu Zheng emphasized, his tone carrying an unquestionable command. "If you say another word, I'll carry you away. You choose."

Ye Zhen looked at the broad back, hesitated for two seconds, and finally obediently knelt down.

Gu Zheng stood up easily, supporting her knees with both hands, and even bounced her up a little, as if he thought she was too light.

"Ye Zhen, you'll remember this."

Gu Zheng took a step, walking steadily. His voice, transmitted through his tightly pressed chest, carried a burning vibration that struck Ye Zhen's heart.

"On the operating table, you are a general, a knife, and you are invincible."

"But once you step off the operating table, you'll be my wife."

"If the sky falls, the tall guys will hold it up; if the road is slippery, I'll carry it. Even if the surgery fails and leaves a hole in the sky, I can fix it for you. You just need to focus on saving lives; I'll take care of the rest."

Ye Zhen's cheek pressed against the collar of his rough military overcoat, where there was a faint smell of tobacco and his body warmth.

My vision suddenly became a little blurry.

Memories of my past life flooded back without warning.

It was a winter night when she died suddenly on the cold operating room floor after working for twenty consecutive hours.

It was three in the morning. There was no applause, no flowers, and no one even knew she had collapsed. Only the operating lights buzzed, coldly watching her body gradually stiffen.

That bone-deep cold and loneliness was what she once thought was her destiny.

But now, in this backward 1980s, amidst the swirling snow, the back of the man beneath me is frighteningly hot.

The heat emanated from her relentlessly, as if it were melting away the ice deep within her soul.

Ye Zhen sniffed, and her arms involuntarily tightened, wrapping around Gu Zheng's neck.

"Gu Zheng".

"Um?"

"Am I that delicate?"

"You do," Gu Zheng chuckled. "Who was it that said they were hungry in the car just now? What a spoiled brat."

Ye Zhen's lips curled into a mischievous smile.

She held out her half-eaten candied hawthorn, waving it in front of Gu Zheng: "Here's a bite for you, you spoiled brat. It's pretty sweet, want to try some?"

Actually, the hawthorns on this candied hawthorn skewer weren't chosen well; they were extremely sour. The first bite almost made Ye Zhen's teeth ache from the sourness.

Gu Zheng tilted his head slightly and, without any precaution, took a big bite of her hand.

next second.

Commander Gu's handsome, cold face instantly twisted, his features became disorganized, and his sword-like eyebrows furrowed tightly together.

That sour taste went straight to the top of my head, even more so than the pickled cabbage we ate on the march.

"How was it?" Ye Zhen whispered in his ear, suppressing a laugh, her tone innocent, "Sweet?"

Gu Zheng's Adam's apple bobbed as he forced down the mouthful of sour hawthorn.

He stopped and turned his head.

Their faces were so close that their breaths mingled. Gu Zheng's deep eyes looked especially dark in the night, as if they wanted to suck people in.

He suddenly opened his mouth and took the finger that Ye Zhen was holding the candied hawthorn into his mouth.

Hot and humid, rough.

The tip of the tongue gently rolls over the remaining frosting on the fingertips, carrying a highly aggressive implication.

Ye Zhen felt as if she had been electrocuted; her fingertips trembled. She was about to pull her hand back when he fixed her in place with his wolf-like eyes.

"sweet."

Gu Zheng released her fingers, a wicked smile curling at the corner of his lips, his voice hoarse beyond belief.

"Sweeter than candied hawthorn."

Ye Zhen's ears turned bright red instantly, like the remaining red berries on the bunch.

"Gu Zheng! He's still on the street!"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Gu Zheng started walking again, in high spirits. His military boots crunched under his feet on the snow. "We're licensed to work. Honey, hold on tight, let's go home."

The wind and snow continued, but the northern city was no longer cold that night.

only……

I was so busy buying candied hawthorns that I forgot to leave a message for guard Xiao Wang, who's still standing in the cold wind outside the hospital.

Forget it, this kid's tough and thick-skinned, he's resistant to the cold.