[COD] Newbie's Rise to Power

The bathroom was filled with steam, and the water splashed loudly as it fell.

Behind him was Kruger's vicious coercion.

"Say it, say you like me, that you love me."

But you shook your head, stubbornly refusing to give in, determined to oppose me.

But you don't understand that your attitude will only excite the person who has already received your confession!

So Koenig, who was in front of you, smugly chuckled at Kruger: "Don't force her if she doesn't want to talk."

Finally, you didn't leave the room until the afternoon.

Feeling the discomfort in your lower back and abdomen, you sighed helplessly to yourself and began to believe what Blizzard had said.

Because of this experience, you've been instinctively avoiding or avoiding any of them lately.

Despite your deliberate distancing and busy schedules, you two have barely had any intimate contact for almost a month.

At most, you'll hug me; you'll even stop me from kissing you in time, for fear that things will get out of control.

This state continued until you noticed Wang Zhiqiang's abnormality.

You see him fiddling with his phone while eating, his brow slightly furrowed, and you feel a little strange.

These past few days, he's been constantly fiddling with his phone, seemingly very busy.

Because you are busy with training, you only have time to use your phones during meals and rest periods, and only then do you have time to handle work matters and documents.

So it's understandable that you're busy because of work or other assignments.

What could possibly keep you so busy with your phone for so many days? You've not even been eating properly, and you seem distracted when you talk to me.

"Brother, do you have any big missions coming up lately?"

You asked with some concern, worried that it might be some dangerous mission that made him go to so much trouble.

When Wang Zhiqiang heard you ask that question, he pursed his lips, looked at you for a few seconds, and then shook his head.

"It's nothing serious, I'll handle it."

You nodded, but still couldn't help but mutter a few words:

"If you have any worries, be sure to tell me. We can figure it out together. Don't make me worry about you."

He patted your hair and laughed heartily:

"So you were worried about me? It's nothing, just some family matters, nothing serious."

You responded with an "oh," and then didn't ask any more questions.

If he doesn't want to go into details about his family affairs, then so be it; even the closest people should maintain a certain distance.

After you finished eating, Wang Zhiqiang skillfully picked up your two plates.

"Sis, sit and wait for me. We'll go get our new training uniforms together later."

With spring approaching and the weather gradually warming up, the training base has prepared new training uniforms.

It arrived a couple of days ago, and many teammates have already picked it up or even put it on. People in the cafeteria are now wearing both types of training uniforms.

Because you've been quite busy, you haven't had time to pick it up. Since you have nothing to do today, you arranged to go pick it up with him.

You nodded and replied with a smile, "Okay."

Wang Zhiqiang, with a plate in each hand, turned and walked towards the tableware recycling area.

Your gaze is lowered, and you suddenly see the phone that he left on the table opposite you.

You didn't pay much attention at first, after all, this wasn't the first time this had happened. He wasn't someone who was always with his phone; when he was busy, he would often just leave it aside.

Just as you're about to look away, a message pops up, illuminating your dark phone screen.

An unfamiliar profile picture, an unfamiliar name, and a sentence that makes you feel instantly unfamiliar with words.

"Brother Qiang, our family is just worried, that's why they're urging us to get married soon, you..."

ch.302: The Sharp Stone of Emotion

What do you mean?

We got married...

You can't see what the other person says next, but that little bit of content alone is enough to shock you.

Surprisingly, my heart felt neither pain nor soreness at that moment.

It's not so much a feeling of emptiness, but a sense of emptiness, as if you've taken off your shoes and are sitting on the edge of a cliff, the cold wind howling over your feet, sending a chill down your spine...

You just stand there, staring blankly at your phone screen.

You didn't notice until it went out and you were plunged back into darkness, until Wang Zhiqiang returned to your side...

Or perhaps they've noticed, but they don't want to or know how to react.

What are you staring at?

Wang Zhiqiang sat down and waved his hand in front of you.

You slowly closed your eyes, and a faint breath escaped from your slightly parted lips.

Don't overthink it, yn.

Communication is essential between lovers. You can ask him first and listen to his explanation.

At the very least, we need to know the real situation before considering anything else...

"Brother, someone just sent you a message, I saw it."

When you open your mouth, your voice is hoarse.

Your state made him panic, and he quickly turned on his phone.

Upon seeing the latest unread message, he immediately reached out and grasped your hand, which was resting on the table.

"Sis...Baby, let me explain!"

You looked at him calmly and said, "Okay, go ahead."

Wang Zhiqiang noticed that you weren't in a good mood, so he gently comforted you:

"Let's find a convenient place, and I'll explain it to you slowly, okay?"

You nodded and tried to pull your hand away, but he held it even tighter.

Finally, behind a deserted fir tree, you are held tightly in his arms with your back to him, and you hear his gentle voice in your ear.

It turned out that he was being pressured to get married again when he spoke with his family on the phone on New Year's Eve.

He's 27 this year. He used to have a stable and secure job, so his family wasn't in a hurry. At most, they would just verbally urge him.

But ever since he 'gave up' his military identity and came abroad alone to work as a contract worker, his family has been worried about him, fearing that he might encounter some danger outside, die without a wife or children, and that no one would visit his grave in the future!

So this year, his aunt forced him to be introduced to a girl.

The girl and he had known each other since childhood and had each other's contact information, but they didn't keep in touch much.

So when he heard that his aunt had already gone to see the other party, he immediately took the initiative to find the girl and explain to her that it was not his intention.

But the girl said she didn't mind; she was being pressured by her parents to get married anyway, and she was just trying to get by.

"Then she said she used to like me and really wanted to try developing a relationship with me."

You lowered your eyes and asked in a low voice, "So, you agree?"

Wang Zhiqiang immediately denied it!

"How could that be! I immediately told her I had a girlfriend!"

As he spoke, he turned on his phone, and after the screen lit up, he entered the password: 5252

Upon entering the page, the first thing you see is a photo of you and him.

He quickly opened the girl's chat window, scrolled through the chat history in front of you, and showed you what he had said.

As you stare at the screen, just as he said, he directly told the other person that he already had someone he liked and did not intend to accept the blind date arranged by his family.

The girl asked him if he was a foreign girl, but Wang Zhiqiang did not answer her question. Or rather, he rarely answered her questions afterward, and even when he did, they were only brief and polite responses.

"I don't want to reveal too much about myself to someone I don't know well, nor do I want to talk to her about too many topics."

The girl didn't pester him relentlessly, but she didn't give up either.

Instead, I used a gentle and measured approach, sharing some small things from home with him to start a conversation.

At first, Wang Zhiqiang didn't respond much, but when the girl mentioned that his grandmother had fallen but chose to hide it from him so as not to worry him, Wang Zhiqiang started talking to her more.

Elderly people are inherently fragile; a simple fall or a minor cold could be fatal! Moreover, his grandmother had pre-existing conditions, which made him extremely worried.

Because he was abroad and couldn't go home, and his family was keeping the matter from him, he could only ask the girl to check on his grandmother more often. As a result, their conversations gradually became more frequent over the past few days.

The girl also began to mention his family's friendly attitude towards her and their expectations for him to marry her.

"Brother Qiang, your family is just worried, that's why they're urging us to get married soon. When are you going to bring your girlfriend home to meet them?"

I'm just not sure if your family can accept a foreign girl; your grandmother seems to value that aspect quite a bit.

Scroll to the bottom of the chat history; these are the girl's two latest messages, which you haven't finished reading.

For various reasons, most people prefer to marry locals, and older people are especially traditional. Moreover, his grandmother was a veteran who had fought in wars; while she supported his freedom to choose his spouse, she still harbored some reservations about foreigners.

Wang Zhiqiang never mentioned you to the girl in detail, which led the girl to subconsciously think that he liked a foreign girl.

Wang Zhiqiang put his phone back in his pocket, tilted his head and kissed your cheek, then whispered in your ear.

"Baby, look, I didn't lie to you, don't be angry, okay?"

But instead of hugging him back as he expected, and playfully expressing your jealousy and how much you care about him, you didn't do it.

Instead, she lowered her head, her voice restrained and indifferent: "I need some time to think."

Wang Zhiqiang tightened his grip on your waist, and he retorted somewhat flusteredly:

"Why should I consider it? What do you need to consider! I have nothing to do with her. I even give her a tip when I ask her to visit my grandma. She knows I have a girlfriend! I only did it because I don't have any friends to help me..."

As a soldier, his close friends were all working in the military and couldn't easily visit him, and his ordinary friends didn't have a deep relationship with him, so there was no reason for them to keep visiting his elderly parents. Moreover, his family wouldn't reveal too much to strangers.