Chapter 66

Qiao Yufei only learned about Jiang Hao’s arrest three days later.

It seemed like fate. On the day it happened, she was having lunch with Ruan Nianchu, and just after leaving the hotel, she received a call from her father. He told her that her grandmother had a sudden heart attack and was in critical condition at their hometown hospital, so she needed to go back immediately.

Qiao Yufei booked an afternoon flight and flew back to her hometown of Baicheng.

Fortunately, after the surgery, her grandmother was out of danger. Unfortunately, just as she returned to Yun City, she learned that Jiang Hao had been detained by the police on charges of attempted murder and endangering national security.

It was a devastating blow.

Qiao Yufei couldn’t believe it. The Jiang Hao she knew was honest, straightforward, attentive, and considerate, an ordinary young man who couldn’t possibly be connected to such serious crimes.

In her bewilderment and despair, the first person she thought of was her close friend, Ruan Nianchu. She called Ruan Nianchu for help, stammering, “Nian Nian, did you know? Jiang Hao was arrested by the police… They say he’s suspected of attempted murder and endangering national security. There must be a mistake. You know people in the police department, don’t you? Please help him, I beg you.”

By the end, she was almost pleading.

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“Ebyv yal usw vyzjkdt ycswv? Zsw jdlo ycswv Kkydt Tys’p pkvwyvksd?” Ckys Zwqlk oyp pvwddle, bla byde valxczkdt yp pbl blze vbl rbsdl. “R esd’v clzklhl kv. R’x tskdt vs qkde bkx yde tlv vs vbl csvvsx sq vbkp aktbv dso!”

Swyd Lkydnbw prsjl pvladzu, “Uyzx esod!”

Mbl svbla lde sq vbl rbsdl qlzz pkzldv.

Swyd Lkydnbw’p hsknl psqvldle, “Mbkp pkvwyvksd kp hlau nsxrzknyvle. Nlv’p xllv yde vyzj, sjyu?”

Gqvla y zsdt rywpl, Ckys Zwqlk qkdyzzu alrzkle, “Xjyu.”

Swyd Lkydnbw ypjle, “Eblal yal usw dso?”

Ckys Zwqlk’p xkde oyp cwggkdt, bla hkpksd czwaale. Fbl vwadle bla blye yde alyzkgle pbl oyp dlya y nsxxlankyz ekpvaknv nzspl vs bla bsxl. Mbl pvallvp olal cwpvzkdt okvb rlsrzl, nbyvvkdt yde zywtbkdt yp vblu oyzjle rypv, cwv pbl qlzv wvvlazu elpszyvl yxkepv vbl nasoe.

Qiao Yufei closed her eyes tightly, her voice hoarse, “I’ll wait for you at the Starbucks near my house.”

“Okay. Wait for me.” Ruan Nianchu hung up and quickly grabbed her bag, rushing out the door.

About twenty minutes later, they met at Starbucks.

Qiao Yufei pushed a coffee she had ordered in front of Ruan Nianchu and looked at her, trying to stay calm. “Tell me, what exactly is going on?”

For a moment, Ruan Nianchu found herself unable to meet Qiao Yufei’s eyes. She looked down, biting her lip hard before speaking. “Jiang Hao is a spy from a foreign armed criminal group, placed by your side. His relationship with you was only a means to get close to me and then to Li Teng, to achieve an ulterior motive.”

Qiao Yufei’s eyes widened in shock for a moment, then she laughed self-mockingly, “It seems life can sometimes be more dramatic than movies and novels.”

Ruan Nianchu remained silent.

Qiao Yufei leaned closer, “You knew about Jiang Hao’s situation for a while, didn’t you?”

Ruan Nianchu gripped her coffee cup so tightly her knuckles turned white. After a long pause, she nodded with difficulty.

Qiao Yufei’s eyes turned red, and her gaze towards Ruan Nianchu was filled with a mix of unfamiliarity and complexity. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I couldn’t.” Ruan Nianchu’s voice choked. She looked up, fighting back tears. “This matter involves too many things. There are parts I don’t even know about, and what I do know, I can’t tell you.”

“You don’t have to say it, I can guess.” Qiao Yufei smiled bitterly. “It’s because of Li Teng, right?”

Ruan Nianchu’s nose stung with emotion. “Not entirely.”

“You broke up with Li Teng, and then Jiang Hao got into trouble.” Qiao Yufei frowned, vaguely recalling some suspicious points, then realizing, “This was your plan. These events and the people involved were all part of your plan? You were deceiving me the whole time?”

“No.” Ruan Nianchu’s tears finally fell. Panicked, she grabbed Qiao Yufei’s hand on the table. “I only found out not long ago that Jiang Hao was a bad person. Yufei, you know me. If there was another way, I would never have kept this from you.”

Qiao Yufei turned her head away, falling into a long silence. After a while, she finally said, “I understand everything you’ve told me.”

Ruan Nianchu held her hand tightly, “I’m sorry.”

Qiao Yufei lowered her gaze, “There’s no need to apologize. You just chose a path you believed was right, and you didn’t wrong anyone.” She sighed deeply, “It just means we’ve really grown up.”

When they were young, they were naive and thought they were the most important part of each other’s lives. As they grew older, they realized that in life’s long journey, there’s never a “most,” only a “more.”

Qiao Yufei knew that Ruan Nianchu had truly grown up. This usually silly, scatterbrained friend of hers had found something more important than personal feelings.

Ruan Nianchu looked at her seriously and said, “No matter how much we grow up, you’ll always be my best friend.”

Qiao Yufei smiled, “Isn’t that obvious? Just because people grow up doesn’t mean they stop needing friends.” She’s human, of course she felt hurt and sad, but it wasn’t enough to shake the eight-year friendship between her and Ruan Nianchu.

It was Jiang Hao who betrayed her. This incident once again proved the saying “men are like clothes, friends are like hands and feet.” Over the years, her boyfriends had come and gone like fish in a river, true love always seemed far away, but Ruan Nianchu had always been by her side.

Qiao Yufei could imagine and understand Ruan Nianchu’s difficulties.

“You’re not mad at me anymore?” Ruan Nianchu asked.

“What’s the use of being mad at you? I can’t bear to end our friendship. If I fight you, I’m afraid your man will come after me for revenge.” Qiao Yufei rolled her eyes, “Who told you to find a man who’s a special forces officer? Being a military wife isn’t that easy.”

Hearing this, Ruan Nianchu’s tightly wound nerves finally relaxed, and she laughed, “I’m glad you’re not mad.”

Qiao Yufei also smiled, “Let’s consider this matter settled. Nianchu, I still want to ask you for a favor.”

Ruan Nianchu nodded, “Just say it. As long as I can do it.”

“During pre-trial detention, suspects are usually not allowed to meet outsiders,” Qiao Yufei said, “but there are some things I need to ask Jiang Hao. I want to see him.”

Ruan Nianchu thought for a few seconds, then said, “Okay, I’ll try to find a way. But Jiang Hao is a serious offender, so I can’t guarantee you’ll be able to see him.”

The officer in charge of Jiang Hao’s case was Lei Lei. Officer Lei was known for her strict adherence to the law. When she heard that Jiang Hao’s girlfriend wanted to visit him, she immediately refused.

Seeing Lei Lei’s firm attitude, Ruan Nianchu didn’t press further and asked if she could help Qiao Yufei deliver something to Jiang Hao instead.

Lei Lei agreed.

What Qiao Yufei wanted to give Jiang Hao was a small note. That afternoon, Lei Lei handed the note to Jiang Hao in the detention center.

With handcuffed hands, Jiang Hao unfolded the note.

The handwriting on the paper was neat and strong, showing the writer’s deep anger and sorrow as they wrote the few words: “Did you ever really like me?”

Jiang Hao looked at the words and suddenly smiled. That woman was five years older than him, yet she had a special fondness for melodramatic romance dramas. This line was the epitome of cliché and melodrama.

But he could imagine Qiao Yufei’s pain as she wrote those ten words.

After staring at the note for a while, Jiang Hao borrowed a pen from Lei Lei and wrote a reply. Lei Lei then handed the note back to the two women waiting outside the detention center.

Qiao Yufei unfolded the note, glanced at it, and laughed. She casually tossed the paper to the roadside.

Ruan Nianchu didn’t ask anything, she simply linked arms with Qiao Yufei and walked away.

The detention center was left far behind.

A breeze blew, lifting the note—

“Did you ever really like me?”

“Take care of yourself.”

*

The love story between Qiao Yufei and Jiang Hao ended just like that, with a beautiful beginning, a romantic process, and an extremely dramatic conclusion.

That night, Ruan Nianchu accompanied Qiao Yufei to an izakaya to drink.

“True love, lifelong companionship, that’s all stuff from the old days. Nowadays, if people want true love, they can only dream!” After three rounds of drinks, Qiao Yufei started drunkenly lecturing Ruan Nianchu, “I’m telling you, all men are the same, they’re all bastards!”

“Yes, you’re right.” Ruan Nianchu agreed while taking the bottle away from her and calling for the waiter to settle the bill, “Check, please!”

The fact that her supposed true love was a criminal was a heavy blow to Qiao Yufei. When she was sober, she could force a smile, but when drunk, she cried until her makeup was smeared. Ruan Nianchu half-dragged, half-carried her, and with great effort, managed to get her into a taxi and send her home.

After all the commotion, by the time Ruan Nianchu returned to her dorm at the military district, it was nearly eleven at night.

As she got out of the taxi and walked towards the building, she thought about what Qiao Yufei had said earlier. Jiang Hao’s betrayal had shattered Qiao Yufei’s belief in true love, hence her declaration that true love was just a dream.

There was some truth to that.

In ancient times, carriages and horses traveled slowly, letters took a long time to arrive, and a lifetime was just enough to love one person. In modern society, with various messaging apps and instant replies, adults often engage in casual relationships, and few people speak of “love” sincerely anymore.

Genuine marriages for love are becoming rarer, while more couples are settling for convenience.

Some people muddle through life, getting a marriage certificate, raising children, dealing with daily chores, and never really understanding what true love is.

In contrast, Ruan Nianchu suddenly felt very fortunate. Her true love didn’t let her life remain lonely for long; he appeared in a brilliant way when she was nineteen.

As for the seven years of struggle, perhaps they were just to ensure that when they reunited, they would meet each other at their best.

Thinking this, she reached her front door.

There was no light seeping through the door. Ruan Nianchu guessed that Li Teng was still out, so she took out her key and unlocked the door without much thought.

The house was pitch dark.

She closed the door and reached for the switch on the wall. With a “click,” the light didn’t turn on.

“…Strange,” Ruan Nianchu frowned, muttering to herself as she groped in the dark to change into her slippers, “The light was fine yesterday. Why is it suddenly broken?”

At this moment, a voice sounded from the center of the living room, calmly saying, “The light isn’t broken. There’s a power outage.”

“Ah!” Ruan Nianchu screamed in fright.

Immediately, other voices followed.

“Brother, you scared our sister-in-law.”

“Mind your own business,” someone else scolded the previous speaker, “Who told you to speak up?”

Ruan Nianchu’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, and she could vaguely see several tall figures standing or sitting in the living room. She reached out, feeling the air, and softly called, “Li Teng, is that you? Where are you?”

As soon as she spoke, a small light appeared in the darkness.

Following the light, she saw Li Teng sitting on the sofa, holding a lighter in one hand, wearing a military cap, and dressed in a dark blue uniform. The faint light illuminated his stern and well-defined features under the brim of his hat.

She glanced around in surprise, “He Hu? Shitou? Zhao Xiaowei… you’re all here too?” The others in the room were actually several main members of the Falcon assault team.

“Yes.” Stone’s expression was a bit heavy, “We heard that Team Leader Yang was injured, so we rushed over from the base overnight.”

“Fortunately, Brother Li said Team Leader Yang is tough and should be fine. He really gave us a scare.” He Hu smiled, continuing, “It’s a pity that we can’t visit him due to closed treatment. We probably won’t see him this time.”

Ruan Nianchu understood, thinking that Li Teng must have deliberately concealed the true condition of Yang Zhengfeng to prevent them from worrying. She followed with a smile, “Yes. Team Leader Yang has always been in good health. He’ll recover soon.”

“Exactly.” He Hu laughed, “Although we didn’t see Team Leader Yang, knowing he’s not seriously hurt, we can be more at ease.”

Ruan Nianchu nodded. After a moment, she remembered something, “Oh right, you guys sit down first. I’ll make some tea.”

A young soldier stopped her, smiling, “Sister-in-law, no need to trouble yourself. Making tea would be too formal. We’re not outsiders.”

She smiled, “Even family needs to drink water.” Then she turned towards the kitchen.

Li Teng raised his head and called her name, “Ruan Nianchu.”

She paused and turned back, “What is it?”

Li Teng’s dark eyes fixed on her, “Don’t run around.”

“I’m not running around,” she chuckled, “Just because you’re being silly doesn’t mean I should be silly too. It’s rare for the brothers to come over, and I can’t even make a cup of tea?” She turned to leave again.

Li Teng frowned, “I told you to stand there and not move. Didn’t you hear me?”

“…” Ruan Nianchu was speechless, frowning, “You’re acting strange. Why do you want me to stand here like a wooden post?”

Li Teng was silent for a few seconds, then took a deep breath and nodded slightly towards He Hu and the others. The soldiers understood, taking identical military lighters from their pockets and lighting them up with a “whoosh.”

A row of flames dispelled the darkness, illuminating the entire living room.

Ruan Nianchu’s eyes glimmered.

Shitou clutched his chest, whispering, “I suddenly feel very nervous.”

He Hu glared at him, “Brother Li is proposing, not you. What are you nervous about?”

Li Teng stood up, straightened his military cap and collar, then picked up a bouquet of rice flowers from the table and walked straight towards her. He was as upright as a poplar tree in his uniform.

Even if Ruan Nianchu was slow, she could guess what was happening, her eyes widening slightly.

He stopped in front of her and smiled, “You weren’t satisfied with the previous proposal, so we’ll do it again today. These are my comrades who’ve been through life and death with me, my good brothers, and they’ll be our witnesses.”

Ruan Nianchu didn’t speak; at this moment, she couldn’t say anything.

The next second, Li Teng knelt on one knee, looking up at her, and in the most solemn and gentle tone, he said, “Ruan Nianchu, I may only say this once in my life, so remember it well.”

Her eyes blurred, and she responded, “Okay.”

He said, “You are the best girl I’ve ever met. Once I’ve chosen you, I won’t change my mind. Half of my heart is for my country, the other half for you. I’ll spend half my life for my country, and the other half for you. Ruan Nianchu, will you marry me?”

---

Sansukini: Simple but sweet proposal. Sometimes I found ostentatious proposals in novels a little too cheesy. Mostly, I don’t like the long cheesy lines, too long winded.

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