Chapter 64: Xie Huaizheng’s Past
"I’ll take the exam, but I’ll have to wait until next year."
It was already July, so it was too late to take this year’s college entrance exam.
She’d heard that the college entrance exam in this era was much harder than in her time. The universities hadn’t expanded their enrollment yet, so the competition was fierce.
Besides, the textbooks from this period were different from the ones she was used to.
This meant she would probably have to study hard...
’I have to make money and study at the same time. Why does it feel like this era is even more of a grind than my own?’
After all, back in her time, she focused on her studies first and only started making money after she was done.
But now, things were different.
"By the way, want to get something to eat?" Lin Shumo asked Su Zhaozhao with a smile.
"No, thanks." Su Zhaozhao thought of the hospital food, which didn’t suit her taste at all. "I think I’ll go find my fiancé and eat with him."
Hearing this, Lin Shumo kept the smile on his lips. "It sounds like you two have a good relationship."
Su Zhaozhao shook her head. "Not really."
’I just don’t like the hospital food. Besides, something seems off with Xie Huaizheng. I’m a little worried about him.’
However, when Su Zhaozhao went to look for Xie Huaizheng, she ran into Zhou Xiaoyun.
Zhou Xiaoyun was waiting for her right at the hospital entrance.
The moment she saw her, she grabbed her hand. "Zhaozhao, are you off work?"
Su Zhaozhao nodded.
"Huai Zheng suddenly received orders and had to leave for a mission. He won’t be back until the day after tomorrow. He told me before he left that you should come to my place for meals for the next few days."
’There he goes again, leaving so suddenly.’
At this thought, Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but sigh. But she also understood that his profession was incredibly demanding.
They had to leave at a moment’s notice, sometimes without even enough time to pack a bag.
’I wonder how Xie Huaizheng is doing.’
’But he’s so good at hiding things, no one would ever know...’
Su Zhaozhao went with Zhou Xiaoyun to her home. On the way, Zhou Xiaoyun said, "I’ll make some stir-fried pork with chili peppers when we get back. I also have a soup simmering. When Huai Zheng left, he stuffed some money into my hand and told me to prepare a few extra dishes. Zhaozhao, don’t be fooled by his cold and indifferent exterior. He’s actually someone who quietly does a lot for others."
Of course, Su Zhaozhao knew. Xie Huaizheng was just tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
’He’s not a bad person, just a bit infuriating at times.’
He didn’t have time to say goodbye to her, so he probably found Liu Guosheng, told him about the situation, and asked the couple to look after her.
It was just like last time. The last time Xie Huaizheng left, he had also asked Zhou Xiaoyun and her husband to take care of her.
"I know. He’s a very good person," Su Zhaozhao said with a gentle smile.
She looked up at the sky. It was dark, and stars were scattered across the expanse.
This was a starry sky she could never see back in the modern era.
In the city, the lights were too bright, and the pollution was so severe that it had been a long time since she had seen such a pristine sky.
’Xie Huaizheng... he’s probably looking at this same sky, isn’t he?’
At that very moment, the man sitting in the military truck turned his head to look at the stars in the sky.
This mission was urgent. A village more than a hundred kilometers from West State had been hit by a landslide after days of torrential rain. They were being sent as reinforcements to rescue the people trapped there.
The orders had come down so suddenly that he didn’t even have a chance to say a word to Su Zhaozhao.
At this thought, Xie Huaizheng pressed his thin lips together, recalling how he had taken the initiative to propose marriage to Su Zhaozhao that afternoon.
She didn’t trust him, so she was unwilling to marry him.
Although she seemed soft and had a gentle personality most of the time, the moment you crossed her line, she was like an angry kitten, baring her fangs and claws.
Thinking of this, the man’s hands, resting on his knees, involuntarily clenched into tight fists before relaxing again.
’I’m such a goddamn bastard, thinking of ruining a girl like her.’
’She’s so wonderful, while I’m stuck in a dark hell. I’m no good at all.’
’And I still thought about dragging her down with me...’
He suddenly realized that now, he actually had someone to worry about.
How long had they been apart? Yet his mind was constantly filled with thoughts of her.
...
At the dinner table, Su Zhaozhao told Zhou Xiaoyun and Liu Guosheng about how she was helping out at the hospital.
The two of them were full of admiration for Su Zhaozhao. "Comrade Su, I’m proud of you!"
Liu Guosheng was the first to speak.
"Zhaozhao, you’re so knowledgeable! And you’re so beautiful, and you can even treat psychological illnesses. I’ve never really known much about that kind of sickness before."
"Yes, I’m quite interested in the subject, so I’ve read a lot of books about it," Su Zhaozhao said. "Actually, mental illness is just another way the body gets sick, the same as a cold or a fever. If left untreated, it can be fatal."
She knew that in this era, many people didn’t take mental illness seriously, often dismissing it as people just complaining about nothing.
This led to many people’s mental health issues being ignored, which in turn resulted in tragic consequences.
She didn’t want to see that happen.
"Mm, you’re right."
"By the way, I wanted to ask, did something happen to Huai Zheng in the past?" Su Zhaozhao inquired. "I feel like he’s a bit strange sometimes."
She asked the question with feigned casualness. Since Xie Huaizheng wouldn’t open up about it, perhaps she could find out from someone else.
It seemed like Xie Huaizheng had a pretty good relationship with Liu Guosheng and Zhou Xiaoyun.
Hearing Su Zhaozhao’s words, Liu Guosheng couldn’t help but furrow his brow. "Zhaozhao, do you sense that he has a psychological illness too?"
Su Zhaozhao said, "I’m not entirely sure."
"To be honest, I’ve always felt that Huai Zheng has been pushing himself way too hard all these years. I’ve more or less watched him grow up, and his rate of advancement is unmatched in the entire Northwest Military Region."
’It was obvious Xie Huaizheng was a hard-charger; he even became a regiment commander later on.’
"It must be very hard on him then, right?"
"It is." Liu Guosheng sighed.
"So, has he been through anything... difficult over the years?"
"Of course. He’s nearly died several times," Liu Guosheng said. "He’s incredibly reckless when he’s on a mission. With his skills, he shouldn’t have to put himself in such dangerous situations. But he always insists on making sure his teammates get out unscathed. On every mission, he guarantees everyone’s safety, and he’s always the one bringing up the rear."
Su Zhaozhao fell silent for a moment. ’So that’s why Xie Huaizheng is always getting hurt?’
She thought of that man, who always had a lazy, roguish charm but was always so gruff with her.
But in reality, on the inside, he was completely different.
Completely and utterly different...
"Um... I was wondering, when was the first time he encountered danger on a mission?"
Liu Guosheng narrowed his eyes. "The first time? It was his first year here. He and a few others formed a small team to take on a mission against a very dangerous criminal organization. In the end... out of a team of seven, only three came back."