Remembering that arrogant man, I felt a chill and quickly moved away from the car.
What if he impulsively decided to run me over!
Many years later, someone would say to me: I really wanted to drive a car and hit you! Turn you into a vegetable and leave you in bed!
I asked: Do you hate me that much? Want me to be neither alive nor dead?!
He said: It’s not hate, it’s love.
That night outside the hospital room, I told myself: This woman is mine. No matter the means, even if she’s just a shell, I must keep her by my side.
If any other man said this, I would dismiss him as a daydreamer. But coming from Ye Zhengchen, everything was different. He was my fate.
Fate mocked me relentlessly, even when I found refuge; it would use a storm to destroy it.
Yin Zhongtian was taken by a special task force for corruption. I learned this after coming down from the operating table and couldn’t believe it. Yin Zhongtian, cautious in everything, couldn’t possibly have engaged in massive bribery. If he had such funds, why would we pool money to buy a house?
Yet the facts left me no choice but to believe.
At the entrance, a black Hummer was parked near the gate. An armed police officer ran over upon seeing the license plate and saluted. The driver’s door opened, and a young soldier stepped out, bowing to open the rear door with his hand on the roof. A man walked down from the car, exuding the presence of a leader without affectation. The armed police officer stepped back, saluted again, and cleared the way for him to enter.
That person did not go in, but turned around and looked at me. In front of the solemn Committee gate, he turned slightly, sunlight falling on his indifferent handsome face, his faint gaze landing on me. I stepped back, feeling the dazzling sunlight making me dizzy, the gold buttons on his dark green military uniform blinding me.
Ye Zhengchen! I blinked, confirming I had not seen wrong. The man before me, wearing two bars and three stars on his shoulder, was indeed Ye Zhengchen! What did this mean? He was a soldier?! He had said he was not a soldier, had never served, and his father was a businessman. How could a doctor who just returned from Japan transform into such an imposing military officer? Was this the reason he married Yu Yin, exchanging a loveless marriage for today’s glory? Or had something happened in these three years?
I looked at him with uncertain eyes. His sharp gaze did not move from my face, seemingly waiting for my reaction. Momentarily unsure how to respond, I slightly bent my body as a greeting. Ye Zhengchen moved his lips, about to reciprocate the gesture, but suddenly remembering something, he straightened and whispered something to his driver before striding confidently through the gate. This Ye Zhengchen was too unfamiliar to me, and I didn’t know how to face him.
Suppressing my impulse to chase after him for an explanation, I was about to leave when the driver approached me. Without Ye Zhengchen’s imposing presence, this tall and handsome young man still exuded an oppressive aura. I noticed his shoulder insignia—apparently an NCO, probably Ye Zhengchen’s orderly.
“Miss Bao,” he said respectfully, “The Staff Officer would like to invite you to lunch.” It was a statement with no room for refusal.
“I’m sorry, I have something to do,” I politely declined. Social meals weren’t typically significant, but a meal with Ye Zhengchen was different. The recent international hotel meeting had taught me that there was nothing he couldn’t do. This dangerous man was best kept at a distance.
Before I could turn, the young orderly blocked my path. “Miss Bao, please wait.”
“Is there something else?” I asked.
He replied decisively, “The Staff Officer’s words are military orders.”
“I’m not a soldier.”
“But I am!” He stood at attention, resolute and unmovable. The military spirit within me emerged, and I felt a solemn respect for him.
Seeing my hesitation, he made a gesture of invitation. “Please get in the car. The Staff Officer is just checking on something and will be out soon.”
With that, I guessed Ye Zhengchen was here about Yin Zhongtian’s case and no longer refused. Walking to the Hummer, I remembered having seen this car before, noting the opaque window glass.
Three nights ago, it had been parked below the hotel where I was staying.
I sat in the back seat, and the young orderly handed me a newspaper – the Morning News. “Thank you!” I took it, forcing myself not to think and patiently read the newspaper. After about half an hour, the orderly opened the car door.
Ye Zhengchen stood outside and glanced at me before sitting beside me. The vast olive green of his uniform mixed with his unique scent. I hurriedly lowered my head, creating some distance and breathing deeply to calm myself.
Throughout the journey, Ye Zhengchen was unusually silent. I focused on the newspaper, struggling to read each sentence as the text swayed with the car’s movement.
“No questions for me?” he finally asked calmly, without a hint of his previous playfulness.
I glanced at his neat uniform. Of course I had questions! Why was he wearing this uniform? Why was he in such a high military rank? However, this was not my concern. His past and present had nothing to do with me since the day I left Japan. What I should care about most was Yin Zhongtian’s case.
I cleared my throat and asked, “How is my fiancé’s case progressing?” A chill seeped into my skin as I looked up to meet his cold gaze, waiting for his answer. “The case is still under investigation, with no results yet.”
“Has he confessed?”
tYe Zhengchen thought for a moment. “Regardless of whether he confesses or not, he cannot escape responsibility for this case.” t”I understand.” As the secretary to the vice mayor, he might not have been complicit, but he must have known and not reported. Under the current circumstances, it was fortunate that Ye Zhengchen could save his life. I had no other requests. t”Can I see him?” I asked tentatively. tHe took a deep breath, seemingly finding his collar too tight. “When the results come out, they will let you see him.” t”Can you pass a message to him?” t”What message?” tI said word by word: “Tell him to confess everything. No matter how long he sits in prison, I will wait for him!” tThis message was less about telling Yin Zhongtian and more about informing Ye Zhengchen: I gave him what he wanted, and beyond that, he would get nothing else!
Ye Zhengchen stopped talking, pulling away the newspaper from my hand and reading it without paying attention to me. tThe driver looked at me several times through the rearview mirror, filled with curiosity. tI looked out the window, where his blurry shadow was reflected on the glass. He had an inviolable solemnity and clearly embodied the disciplined demeanor of a military officer. If not for that face I would recognize anywhere, I might have suspected I had mistaken the person.
The car drove beyond the Fourth Ring Road and stopped beneath an upscale residential complex. I stiffened, looking at the surrounding mansions. “Aren’t we going to have lunch?”
“There’s a good private kitchen here,” he replied, noticing my nervousness, a hint of a smile flashing in his dark eyes.
Just as the driver opened the door, he moved closer to me, his tone calm: “Don’t worry, in this uniform, I wouldn’t dare do anything.”
I let out a cold snort. “You’ve done everything you’re not supposed to do.”
The driver rang the doorbell, and by the time we reached the door, it was already open. Ye Zhengchen led me to the second floor, where a young female staff greeted us with a surprised smile: “Captain Ye, please come in!”
When she noticed me, her joy faded. The service staff led us into a private room. Unlike other restaurants, the decor was simple and elegant, without any trace of smoke or alcohol, carrying a warm, homey fragrance.
