Chapter 107: I Will Be With You
Su Zhaozhao was stunned, but on second thought, it made sense. After such a major incident, it would be difficult for the organization to account for it.
"That’s probably the best news I’ve heard all day." Su Zhaozhao smiled, leaning her head against Xie Huaizheng.
Li Xiuhong would get what she deserved, and that scumbag would have to pay the price too.
Su Zhaozhao had woken up a little early this morning. Now, sitting in the car and leaning against Xie Huaizheng, she unknowingly drifted off to sleep.
Xie Huaizheng turned his head and saw the girl’s serene, sleeping face.
She was so beautiful, with skin as fair as snow and lips a rosy red.
Even without makeup, nothing could hide a single trace of her beauty.
Xie Huaizheng gazed at her and couldn’t help but lean closer.
This close, her beauty was breathtaking.
A few fine, soft strands of her hair brushed against his neck. It tickled, but he didn’t want to move.
He was afraid he might accidentally wake her.
’She seems really tired. She probably didn’t sleep well last night.’
Xie Huaizheng didn’t know how much the incident with Wang Dahua had affected her, but when it happened, he had sensed that something was wrong with her.
He knew Wang Dahua had been her patient. Once, Su Zhaozhao had thought she could save her.
But in the end, she had to watch helplessly as the woman jumped to her death right in front of her.
It was just like back then, when he had thought he was so skilled—the top soldier in his regiment.
He was even ranked in the top five in the entire Northwest Military Region.
But even so, his lack of real combat experience meant he could only watch helplessly as his teammates died one after another.
That directly caused his severe psychological trauma.
It was Su Zhaozhao who had helped him open up his heart, little by little.
’I have to help her too.’
Even though he knew she had studied psychology and was a professional in the field.
’But a healer cannot heal themselves.’
That was why he had specifically taken leave today to take Su Zhaozhao on a trip to the city.
Just then, the car ran over something and suddenly jolted.
Su Zhaozhao’s head slumped to the side. Xie Huaizheng immediately and carefully steadied her head, resting it back on his shoulder.
The girl’s brow furrowed, but she didn’t wake up.
Xie Huaizheng breathed a sigh of relief.
He then tilted his head and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead.
An unknown amount of time passed before Su Zhaozhao was woken by Xie Huaizheng’s voice.
She was still groggy from sleep. When she opened her eyes, she saw everyone else getting up and leaving.
"We’re here?" Su Zhaozhao couldn’t help but yawn.
She was adorable even when she had just woken up, her eyes hazy and her expression dazed.
’It’s like if I were to whisk her away right now, she would follow me obediently.’
’Good thing Su Zhaozhao is usually very smart and level-headed. She was probably only able to sleep so soundly because I was by her side.’
Otherwise, Xie Huaizheng really wouldn’t have been comfortable with her coming to the city by herself.
After getting off the bus, Su Zhaozhao asked Xie Huaizheng, "Are you familiar with the city?"
Xie Huaizheng shook his head. "I only come a few times a year on average."
"Only when I’m on leave, or if I need to buy something."
The rest of the time, he was on the military base.
"In that case, I might know it better than you," Su Zhaozhao said to Xie Huaizheng. "I’ve explored quite a few places around here."
"Then why don’t you show me around?" Xie Huaizheng raised an eyebrow.
"Okay! Let’s get something to eat first." She hadn’t even had breakfast and was already starving.
The two of them ate first, then Su Zhaozhao led Xie Huaizheng to the busiest and most bustling street in the city center.
’It’s a bit like the pedestrian malls from my time.’
’It’s just not as crowded, and nowhere near as prosperous.’
But there were shops, restaurants, clothing stores, and even a movie theater.
There were also quite a few people with stalls set up here.
All in all, it was a pretty nice place to stroll around.
On her previous trips, Su Zhaozhao had actually just been scouting for products, comparing prices, and figuring out how to run her own business before setting up a stall to sell things.
She had never strolled around and looked at things in such detail as she was today.
Xie Huaizheng walked beside Su Zhaozhao, keeping her company as she browsed.
Whatever caught her eye, he would buy for her.
Su Zhaozhao waved her hand. "No, it’s fine. I’m just looking."
"Zhaozhao, are you still being formal with me?" Xie Huaizheng bought the hair oil that Su Zhaozhao had picked up to examine.
Su Zhaozhao was speechless.
Actually, she wasn’t being formal with Xie Huaizheng; she was just curious about the things from this era.
’Everything has such a retro feel, it’s quite interesting. It reminds me of things my mom used to have. It’s the scent of my childhood, I guess.’
She hadn’t expected that just by looking at something for a few extra seconds, Xie Huaizheng would be ready to pay for it.
Su Zhaozhao grabbed Xie Huaizheng’s hand. "Don’t just spend money recklessly. I know things aren’t easy for you right now."
’He still has all those family debts to repay. If he keeps buying things for me, what about the money he owes?’
But Xie Huaizheng didn’t seem to care at all right now.
"Worried about me?" Xie Huaizheng smiled faintly and pinched Su Zhaozhao’s cheek.
’Now I can pinch her cheeks whenever I want. This is great.’
"I’m just worried you’re under too much pressure and working too hard."
"Don’t worry. It’s only natural for a man to earn money for his woman to spend."
Su Zhaozhao didn’t know why Xie Huaizheng was putting on such a brave front, but he really did seem to have a strong sense of pride.
He had clearly been under a lot of pressure before, but he wouldn’t tell anyone.
’It’s a good thing I’m here now. I can help him work through it, step by step.’
If Xie Huaizheng knew what Su Zhaozhao was thinking right now, he would probably die of frustration.
He wasn’t short on this little bit of money at all.
Without realizing it, they had walked to the entrance of a movie theater. Su Zhaozhao looked up at the sign, which read: West State People’s Cinema.
She turned to Xie Huaizheng and said, "Hey, why don’t we see a movie?"
She had never seen a movie from this era and was a little curious.
The movie theaters of this era didn’t have modern digital displays; they just posted the titles of the films showing that day at the ticket window.
There were very few choices. Su Zhaozhao picked a romance film that seemed to be the most popular movie at the moment.
Just the other day, she had overheard Yu Huijun talking about it, saying she had taken half a day off just to come and see it.
The tickets were twenty cents each. Xie Huaizheng paid for them, bought two bottles of soda, and took the tickets to enter the theater with Su Zhaozhao.
Inside the auditorium, a good number of people had already arrived. Many were cracking sunflower seeds and chatting, while the fans on the ceiling whirred overhead.
Because Xie Huaizheng and Su Zhaozhao bought their tickets right before the show started, only the last-row seats were left.
Su Zhaozhao didn’t mind. She looked around at everything with curiosity, finding it all novel.
’It’s completely different from my time.’
Xie Huaizheng noticed her observing everything. The man turned to her and smiled. "Never seen a movie before?"
Su Zhaozhao shook her head. "Nope."
’I’ve never seen a movie from *this* era,’ she thought.
An inexplicable ache blossomed in Xie Huaizheng’s heart. For people like them, the children of Beijing’s elite, this sort of thing was commonplace.
The army even showed movies regularly on base, but he never bothered to watch them.
But he never imagined that this girl had never experienced any of it.
He couldn’t resist patting her on the head. "It’s okay. We’ll take our time. From now on, whatever you want to do, as long as I’m free, I’ll do it with you."
He still had a lot of vacation days he hadn’t used, because he never felt the need to before.
But now, he thought, he finally had a reason to use them.