The pushover offended a top-tier boss

Inside the helicopter, Ye Zhenzhen nestled in Zhou Huaijin's arms like a frightened cat that had finally found its den, curling up in a ball with her face buried in his chest.

His arm was around her shoulder, his palm resting on the back of her cold hand, gently stroking it.

"It's all your fault!" she sobbed, accusing him, "You wouldn't come on the boat with me!"

"Arrest all those bad guys and shoot them all! Beat them to death! Let them stop harming people!"

As she spoke, her eyes reddened again, and her voice trembled with tears: "If Zhizhi hadn't woken up halfway through, we might have all been tortured... Waaah..."

Zhou Huaijin looked at the fierce, aggrieved, and frightened little woman in his arms, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

He placed his large hand on the back of her head, his fingers running through her disheveled hair and gently stroking it.

"They will be punished by law."

However, he knew perfectly well what was going on in his heart.

In the end, this matter will most likely only result in a few scapegoats being brought to justice. The undercurrents at the border cannot be resolved in a day or two. Every year, double-digit numbers of undercover police officers are killed on the border alone.

Unless there is a firm order from above, multi-departmental coordination, and international cooperation, it is impossible to truly suppress this undercurrent.

But he didn't say these words.

Even if I explained it to her, she wouldn't understand, and even if she did, she would only be more frightened.

It took Ye Zhenzhen quite a while to calm down.

Then, curiosity began to surface.

She peeked half her head out from his arms, looking left and right, her eyes darting around.

The cabin wasn't large, but the various dials, displays, and joysticks inside dazzled her.

Outside the porthole was a thick, impenetrable night, with only the occasional flash of lights on the ground.

"Boss, where is this?" she whispered in his ear.

Zhou Huaijin glanced down at her, his thin lips slightly parted: "The border area between Myanmar and our country."

He paused, then added, "Geographically speaking, we are now in Myanmar's airspace."

Ye Zhenzhen was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened suddenly.

Although she didn't know much about international law, she knew that it was a serious matter for armed helicopters to enter another country's airspace without permission.

To be able to fly in, I wonder how many connections were used.

A sudden surge of indescribable emotion welled up inside her, a bittersweet feeling that choked her throat.

She glanced furtively at the back row again.

Lin Zhi and Chen Yu sat there, a seat apart, neither of them looking at the other.

Lin Zhi tilted his head and looked at the night sky outside the porthole, his face seemingly saying "Don't touch me."

The two returned to their ambiguous relationship, as if the kiss on the helicopter was just Ye Zhenzhen's hallucination.

Ye Zhenzhen's curiosity began to stir again.

She turned her head and asked Zhou Huaijin in a low voice, "Boss, where did this helicopter come from?"

Zhou Huaijin glanced at her, his face expressionless.

"Stolen."

Ye Zhenzhen: ? ? ?

She had no idea how many connections Zhou Huaijin and Chen Yu had used, or how much manpower and resources they had mobilized, to rescue them. From local police to border troops, from the provincial level to higher authorities, dozens of phone calls were made, even alerting Zhou Huaijin's father.

Ye Zhenzhen's eyes lit up again as she looked at the equipment in the cabin.

"Hey, where's my phone?" She started rummaging through her pockets and bag. "I need to take a picture to remember this; I've never been on a helicopter before!"

Now I'm not afraid anymore.

Zhou Huaijin frowned slightly, looking at her "posting on social media after surviving a disaster" expression. He moved his lips, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.

What time is it? Why are you still filming?

Forget it.

Talking too much will only make me cry.

Back at the hotel, Ye Zhenzhen rushed into the bathroom.

She only felt truly alive again when the hot water was poured over her.

Her body was covered in mud and leaf debris, and her arms, legs, and neck were covered in red, swollen mosquito bites, some of which she had scratched until they bled.

She took almost an hour to shower before coming out wrapped in a bathrobe.

As soon as she came out, she started crying again.

"We were terrified hiding in the banana grove," she said, her voice tinged with grievance as she walked toward the bed. "There were so many mosquitoes inside, buzzing around us and biting us in droves."

"We were afraid snakes would come out and bite us, so we didn't dare move. It was really awful—"

Zhou Huaijin looked at the person who kept talking incessantly.

Ye Zhenzhen was still recounting her miserable situation, embellishing it as if she wanted to number every single mosquito.

Suddenly, a large hand rose up and gently covered her hair.

The movements were very gentle, as if soothing a cat with its fur standing on end.

Ye Zhenzhen paused for a moment.

He might have been genuinely frightened, or it might have been a rare moment for him to show such tenderness.

And then, that's it?

Hmph! He can't even say a single comforting word!

She angrily threw the comfrey ointment for reducing swelling and itch into his arms.

"You apply it for me!"

Zhou Huaijin looked down at the tube of ointment, then looked up at her.

This Ye Zhenzhen is becoming increasingly lawless.

Now they dare to order him around.

Ye Zhenzhen stretched out her arm and added confidently:

"It's all your fault. If you had come with me on the boat, would I have gotten into this mess? I wouldn't have been bitten like this."

Although she didn't really want to hang out with him in the first place, she asked him before boarding the boat, and he refused, so the blame falls on him.

Zhou Huaijin frowned slightly as he looked at her aggressive and menacing demeanor.

It was indeed his oversight today.

He didn't say anything, but unscrewed the cap of the comfrey ointment, scooped out a little with his fingertip, and found the pale green ointment had a cool minty scent.

Her skin was very white, as white as porcelain. The mosquito bites were particularly noticeable, red and swollen, scattered on her slender arms, calves, and even the back of her neck.

He lowered his head and painted each one individually.

His fingertips, coated with a cool ointment, were carefully spread inch by inch across her skin. His movements were measured, neither too light nor too heavy, neither too fast nor too slow, as if he were performing something that required utmost care.

Ye Zhenzhen sat on the edge of the bed, looking at him.

She suddenly felt at peace.

It gives you the illusion that your boss is treating you like a slave.

However, having survived the ordeal, the tension that had been gripping her gradually eased.

She looked at the man in front of her, who held a high position and was always serious and never bowed his head, but now he was bending down and carefully applying the ointment to each of her mosquito bites.

He saved himself twice.

Once in Nanjing, once here.

She couldn't tell if it was attraction or emotion, nor could she distinguish whether she relied on him as a person or on the sense of security brought to her by the power and aura behind him.

But one thing she was certain of was that being with this person turned her life into an adventure she had never imagined.

Ye Zhenzhen had been working herself to the bone that day, and her body was already operating beyond its limits.

Perhaps because she was in a safe environment, or perhaps because this person was beside her, she fell asleep while sitting.

Zhou Huaijin did not sleep.

He gently laid her flat on the bed and covered her with a blanket.

Then he closed the bedroom door and stood by the window.

The night outside the window was dark.

He picked up his phone and dialed a number.

It rang twice before the call was answered.

"Thank you, Dad. We've found the person."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"It's good that you found it." Zhou's father's voice was calm and deep, revealing neither joy nor anger. "You must keep your promises."

"clear."

Zhou Huaijin hung up the phone, stared at the night outside the window, and remained motionless for a long time.