I put you in charge of those rebellious female soldiers, how come they all became top special forces

On the way back, the four of them squeezed into a taxi.

Chen Zheng sat in the passenger seat, An Ran sat in the back by the window, and Li Yue and the keyboard were sandwiched in the middle.

The car was unusually quiet.

The taxi driver glanced at the back seat in the rearview mirror and silently turned up the radio volume by two notches, trying to break the awkward silence.

An Ran leaned against the car window, watching the street scene rushing past outside, her mind filled with Chen Zheng's words.

We'll talk about it when we get back.

What to say? How to say it?

What exactly is he trying to say?

An Ran's fingers unconsciously twisted together.

She secretly glanced at the row in front.

Chen Zheng held the thermos, unscrewed the lid, and took a sip.

Then he twisted it on, placed it on his knee, and after about ten seconds, he unscrewed it again and took another sip.

Is he nervous too?

Upon realizing this, An Ran quickly shifted her gaze back to the window, her ears starting to burn again.

In the middle of the back row, Li Yue and Jianpan remained silent, displaying remarkable tacit understanding.

But their phone screen brightness was all turned down to the lowest setting, and their WeChat chat windows were refreshing like crazy.

Li Yue: He said he'd talk about it when we get back! Talk about what when we get back?!

Keyboard: Calm down. Based on my years of experience watching anime, the phrase "we'll talk about it later" carries a lot of information.

Li Yue: Then why don't you analyze it?

Keyboard: Two possibilities. First, go back and scold her. Second, go back and confront her.

Li Yue: Which one do you think it is?

Keyboard: Judging from the instructor's personality, it's most likely the third scenario—he'll go back and remain silent for three hours, drink two pots of goji berry water, and then say "I'm going to sleep."

Li Yue almost burst out laughing, and quickly covered her mouth with her fist.

An Ran turned her head sharply and glared at her.

Li Yue immediately sat up straight.

The car drove for twenty minutes before stopping in front of the guesthouse.

The four people got off the bus one after another.

Chen Zheng walked in front, pushed open the door of the guesthouse, and went straight upstairs.

Anran followed behind, slowly but firmly.

Li Yue and Jianpan walked to the lobby on the first floor and exchanged a glance.

Suddenly, Keyboard spoke loudly and deliberately, "Hey, Li Yue, I just remembered, shouldn't we go to the supermarket and buy some instant noodles?"

Li Yue immediately replied, "Yes, yes, yes! I'm hungry too! Let's go!"

The two of them turned and ran out the door.

Chen Zheng didn't even turn his head. His voice came down the stairs: "Go straight to your room after you're done shopping. Don't wander around."

"Received!" they both replied in unison, then pushed open the door and slipped away.

After leaving the guesthouse and turning the corner, the two of them squatted down behind the flower bed downstairs.

Li Yue asked in a low voice, "Are you really going to buy instant noodles?"

The keyboard rolled its eyes, pulled out a laptop from its bag, and skillfully turned it on.

"Why buy instant noodles? We need to get down to business."

"What important matter is it?"

The fingers were already flying across the keyboard.

"I casually glanced at the guesthouse's system today, and a batch of rooms are being checked out tomorrow. Do you know what that means?"

Li Yue pondered for a moment.

"Does this mean the captain and instructor can't switch rooms?"

"If there are too many vacant rooms tomorrow, the front desk might not agree to collude with us..."

"So," Keyboard pushed up his glasses, "I have to lock down the status of these rooms, even if they don't necessarily want to share a room, I have to create good conditions for them!"

Li Yue stared wide-eyed as she watched the keyboard clatter away, and the status of several rooms on the screen changed from "awaiting check-out" to "under system maintenance" for tomorrow.

"Won't this...won't we be discovered?" Li Yue asked somewhat guiltily.

He closed the laptop and smiled slightly.

"If it were a regular hotel, it would definitely have been discovered."

"But this is a guesthouse within the system!"

"The lady at the front desk only handles check-in and account reconciliation. She won't even glance at a few rooms that are under maintenance in the system."

"Within the system, everyone does less and makes fewer mistakes. Trust me, I'm reliable."

"Even if they find out, with their capabilities, they won't be able to trace it back to me. At most, they'll just think they accidentally made a mistake."

Li Yue stared at the keyboard for a long time with her mouth agape, then gave a thumbs up.

"Keyboard Girl, you're awesome."

The two exchanged a tacit high five.

Guesthouse: Please enter text.

Third floor, room 314.

Chen Zheng pushed open the door and went inside.

An Ran followed behind, paused at the door, took a deep breath, and stepped inside.

The door closed behind me.

The room was getting dark, and the evening sun shone in through the window.

Chen Zheng did not sit down.

He walked to the window, placed the thermos on the windowsill, and stood with his back against the window frame, backlit.

Anran sat down in the chair at the table and looked up at him.

The setting sun shone down on him from behind, making it difficult to see his expression; all that could be seen was a dark shadow.

There was a table and a thermos between the two.

An Ran's heart was pounding, and her palms were sweaty.

She was fully prepared.

She was scolded, and that was that.

She accepted being ignored.

Even if she were sent back to the Southwest Military Region, she had already made up her mind.

At worst, I can go back and continue leading the team; I'll just treat this trip to Beijing as a dream.

Chen Zheng spoke first.

"I know you've been unhappy these past few days."

An Ran's body visibly stiffened.

"I also know that this is not entirely because of Qin Hong, nor entirely because of the Phoenix team."

He paused for a moment, seemingly considering which words would be more appropriate for the current context.

An Ran clenched her hands on her knees.

he knows.

He knows everything.

"Anran," Chen Zheng's voice came again, unusually gentle, "I am Mulan's instructor."

"You are Mulan's captain."

"Given these two identities, there are some things we cannot do."

An Ran paused in breathing for a moment.

She understood.

This is not a rejection.

This is the first time he has openly acknowledged this matter.

There was no feigned ignorance, no evasion, and no attempt to gloss over the situation.

Instead, they took it seriously and discussed it openly.

Chen Zheng sighed and looked out the window.

"In the long run, Mulan is thriving now, and everything is moving in a positive direction."

"To put it simply, Lan Meng's research has just begun, and Li Yue's father's matter has only just started."

"At a time like this, we cannot..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

But the meaning is already quite clear.

An Ran's eyes immediately reddened.

It's not because I'm sad.

It was because this man, who never spoke softly, expressed his concerns to her for the first time.

It's not that he doesn't understand.

On the contrary, he knows everything.

There are just too many things to consider.

An Ran bit her lip, desperately trying to hold back her tears.

She didn't want to cry in front of him.

Captain Mulan, don't cry.

After a long silence.

An Ran stood up and took a deep breath.

"I understand."

Chen Zheng finally turned his head and glanced at An Ran.

An Ran didn't cry, but her eyes were red, her lips were slightly bitten, and her chin was slightly raised.

This girl is still so stubborn.