Life is Like a Journey – Chapter 79

Volume 2: Inheritance

Coward

I’m really… such a coward

The autumn night was bone-chillingly cold, with dampness seeping into the marrow. Qin Xuan, huddling by the fire wrapped in a white lab coat, was still shivering all over, and shuddered in her sleep.

            

Xiang Nanke held a woolen blanket in her hands, slowed her steps, and gently covered her with it. As she was about to get up and leave, she was struck by her clear and beautiful face illuminated by the firelight.

From the first time she saw her, she thought she was very beautiful, whether she was swaying through the world in high heels or lying quietly here like now, without makeup, with pale lips and a few cute little freckles on her face.

Among the people she had dated in the past, there were those who were cultured and refined, gentle and charming, lively and cute, but no one had ever made her feel such a strong desire to get close, to protect, to possess.

            

But she knew that there was an insurmountable gulf between them, not only a moral line but also a legal one.

She wouldn’t show mercy to Bao Fengnian, and given Qin Xuan’s personality, if she took action, the two of them would inevitably become estranged for life.

The police officer’s brow twitched, and her heart ached a little. She pressed her lips tightly and got up to leave, but was unexpectedly caught by her pinky finger.

            

Qin Xuan sat up from the makeshift sleeping bag, barefoot, with the blanket sliding off her: “Since you’re here, warm up my bed for me, I’m freezing to death.”

“Why are you gripping so tightly? Let go.”

Gu Yanzhi covered her collar, looking like a wronged little wife, determined to defend her dignity. Every time she thought about the embarrassing experience of helping her scrub her back last time, she wished she could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

            

Lu Qingshi got angry, slamming the tray in her hand heavily on the ground: “In such a harsh environment and climate, without being able to take a bath, if the wound isn’t thoroughly cleaned and bandaged, it will get infected. If it gets serious, it could develop into necrotizing fasciitis and then lead to amputation, and you won’t even have time to cry!”

Gu Yanzhi immediately felt overwhelmed, finally understanding why Yu Gui had fainted.

It turns out she hadn’t fainted from pain, but from fear.

            

The person who was usually open and aboveboard, with a clear and bright demeanor, always seemed a bit shy when alone with her. For example, right now, Lu Qingshi sat behind her, and with just a slight raise of her head, she could see her bright red ears.

Gu Yanzhi bit her lip: “How about… how about… you leave it here and I’ll do it myself”

“Why?” The doctor raised her eyebrows in surprise.

            

“Because…” Her head lowered more and more, her voice getting smaller and smaller, mumbling: “I’ll have a reaction”

Lu Qingshi didn’t hear clearly and leaned in closer: “Speak up a bit”

Gu Yanzhi simply gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and went for broke (idiomatic expression – to abandon all restraint): “I’ll have a reaction”

            

It took Lu Qingshi three seconds to realize what kind of “reaction” she was talking about. Her face flushed red with embarrassment and anger: “Gu Yanzhi, are you out of your mind?!”

With that, she threw down the tray and stormed out, lifting the curtain. Gu Yanzhi quickly pulled her clothes back on and chased after her: “Hey hey hey, I’m sorry, Qingshi…”

In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to be too harsh. After Gu Yanzhi’s persuasion, she followed her back to the tent.

            

This time, the person was more obedient, quietly taking off her clothes and exposing her lean back muscles for her to clean the wounds.

There were scratches from steel bars, abrasions from sand and stones, rope marks that had left bloody traces, and various other large and small wounds. They weren’t particularly severe, but they weren’t minor either.

Gu Yanzhi held a disposable paper cup in her hand, swallowing the antibiotic pills. The hot water warmed her body and also caused fine beads of sweat to appear on the tip of her nose.

            

She turned her head slightly, and Lu Qingshi pressed her shoulder: “Don’t move”

The cotton swab in her hand picked out small stones embedded in the skin, her movements careful and very gentle.

Gu Yanzhi swore that she had never been treated so gently by anyone in her life. In the military camp, everyone was rough, and even the few military doctors were indifferent to them. Their treatment of injuries was fine, but it lacked a certain warmth.

            

She looked almost greedily at her somewhat sparse eyebrows, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes, her very white skin, and her pupils that were so black they seemed to have a tinge of deep blue. Perhaps because of the dim light, she looked less stern and unapproachable than usual.

The gaze fixed on her was too intense for Lu Qingshi not to notice. She still kept her eyes lowered, giving no response. After doing everything she needed to do, she quietly closed the lid of the medical box.

“Alright, I’m leaving”

            

A hand reached over her shoulder and grasped her wrist tightly: “Qingshi…”

Lu Qingshi subtly pulled back: “What is it?”

Warm fingers slipped into her sleeve and pinched her undershirt. Gu Yanzhi was shocked: “Quick, take off your clothes!”

            

Lu Qingshi grabbed the tray and hit her on the head: “Gu Yanzhi, even when you’re being a pervert, there should be a limit!”

The firefighting instructor held her head, feeling wronged: “I just felt that your inner clothes were wet and wanted you to change into something else”

“…” Lu Qingshi kept a cold face without speaking, a vein throbbing at her temple.

            

Before she could get angry again, Gu Yanzhi quickly brought her own backpack, took out clean windbreaker and quick-drying underwear for her.

“Change into these, wearing wet clothes will make you catch a cold”

“No…”

            

Gu Yanzhi insisted on pushing them into her arms: “I’ll stand guard outside, I promise not to look, don’t worry”

With that, she lifted the curtain and stepped out.

In the distance, she saw flickering firelight at the tunnel entrance. Fang Zhiyou let out a sigh of relief, wiped the rainwater from her face, and quickened her pace.

            

The phone in her pocket vibrated. She opened it to see it was her mother and answered with some impatience: “What is it? I really can’t come back right now…”

The rain made her voice sound muffled. Mother Fang was furious: “Are you dead out there?”

Seeing that the medical rescue team’s camp was just outside, Fang Zhiyou didn’t want to argue with her: “I’m busy, I’ll call you back later”

            

“Hey?! Don’t hang up… Zhiyou…” Finally, Mother Fang called her nickname softly. She had never spoken to her so humbly before, but the call had already been disconnected. For some reason, she felt a bit empty inside. Looking at the camp less than 500 meters away, she barely composed herself and quickened her pace to run.

Gu Yanzhi, being someone who often worked in the field, was well-prepared with clothing. Not to mention sports bras, she even had disposable underwear, which made Lu Qingshi feel quite embarrassed.

Lu Qingshi looked at the tent entrance, all seemed calm, and she slowly unbuttoned her clothes.

            

When her shadow was cast on the tent fabric, even though she desperately told herself to remain calm, she still stared for a while.

Until her hand gradually moved downward, the firefighting instructor suddenly came to her senses, her ears turning bright red. She rubbed her head and took out a crumpled pack of Zhonghua cigarettes from her pocket, lighting one with trembling hands.

In the distance, she saw a figure walking towards her. Gu Yanzhi quickly stubbed out the cigarette and went to meet them, holding an umbrella.

            

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I brought you guys some more life detection devices” Hao Renjie indeed held two devices in his hand, peering over her shoulder.

“Is our boss with you?”

            

Gu Yanzhi scratched her head, stammering: “I guess… so…”

Hao Renjie became even more curious: “What’s she doing?”

“Ta… taking off her clothes…” The usually straightforward person looked a bit evasive.

            

Hao Renjie patted her shoulder meaningfully: “Impressive, Captain Gu”

“???” Gu Yanzhi was completely confused.

The other person had already walked away, shaking his head: “Don’t play too hard, we still need her to take charge tomorrow”

            

“????”

It felt like she had been misunderstood somehow.

Gu Yanzhi inched back to the tent entrance and called out in a pinched voice: “Qingshi, are you done?”

            

“I’m done” Lu Qingshi came out, lifting the curtain. The zipper of her windbreaker wasn’t pulled up yet, revealing the black tight-fitting quick-dry shirt she wore underneath. Her hair was hastily tied up in a high ponytail, unexpectedly making her look young and handsome.

Gu Yanzhi silently grumbled to herself, walking over to help her pull up the zipper: “It’s cold at night, let me walk you back”

“No need” Lu Qingshi picked up the umbrella placed nearby and opened it, stepping into the rain.

            

Gu Yanzhi followed closely. She found it amusing: “It’s just a few steps, I’m not a child anymore”

Of course, she knew that. A child wouldn’t have such a good figure. Thinking of this, the firefighting instructor’s face reddened slightly again.

“You’re not a child, you’re the person I want to take care of”

            

Lu Qingshi chuckled, the two of them each holding an umbrella, walking side by side in the wind and rain.

“I’m older than you, if anyone should be taking care of someone, it should be me taking care of you”

“But you can’t cook, and you don’t do much housework. I’m an all-rounder, from changing light bulbs and wiring to fixing pipes and unclogging drains…”

            

Lu Qingshi held her forehead: “Things that can be solved with just a phone call…”

“I’m free and available anytime”

“You really are…” The doctor stopped walking, the smile on her face fading a bit.

            

“Really what?” Gu Yanzhi pressed.

Lu Qingshi shook her head, refusing to say more: “Thank you, I’m here. You should go back”

As the doctor was about to lower her head and bend down to enter the tent, Gu Yanzhi took two more steps forward and called her name softly.

            

“Qingshi”

“Hmm?” The other person turned back, quietly looking at her through the rain.

Gu Yanzhi’s palm clenched into a fist: “I… never mind, it’s nothing. Get some rest early”

            

Lu Qingshi nodded and ducked into the tent, only then letting out a long breath, slightly closing her eyes.

Fortunately, she didn’t say it.

Back in her tent, Gu Yanzhi curled herself into a ball inside her sleeping bag, tossing and turning, unable to get comfortable no matter how she lay. Finally, she simply lay flat and let out a long sigh.

            

She really was… such a coward.

“Move aside, let me in”

“Eh? You can’t go in, this is the medical station”

            

The effects of the anesthesia wore off, and Yu Gui hazily turned over, vaguely hearing Fang Zhiyou’s voice. She listened intently for a moment, suddenly sat up, pulled out her own IV, and limped out.

“Zhiyou! Why are you here?!”

Seeing her standing there unharmed, Fang Zhiyou stood stunned in disbelief, her suspicious gaze scanning her up and down. Tears welled up in her eyes as her gaze fell on her foot, tightly wrapped in bandages and suspended. She bit her lower lip hard, rushed forward, and without a word, slapped her across the face.

            

As if doused with a bucket of cold water, Yu Gui was stunned by the slap. She had never treated her like this before, and immediately burst into tears.

“Zhi… Zhiyou… I’m sorry…”

Fang Zhiyou steeled her heart and turned to leave. Yu Gui threw away her crutches and rushed into the pouring rain, limping into her arms.

            

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry…” She kept apologizing. The heavy rain soaked her bangs, and the person before her looked thin and sallow, with injuries on her body.

Fang Zhiyou’s hands, which had tried to push her away several times, finally landed on her back.

Lu Qingshi rolled over, burying her head in a damp-smelling blanket, still unable to block out the sounds of the couple next door being lovey-dovey.

            

From the initial “I’m sorry Zhiyou, please forgive me” to the eventual “I was really worried about you, I love you, I don’t want to lose you,” it developed into some extremely ambiguous sounds.

Lu Qingshi sat up with a stern face, put on her jacket, and lifted the curtain, intending to go check on the patients. Before she had taken two steps, there was a thunderous boom from the mountain. Half of the mountainside slid down and crashed into the surging river. The muddy water level, which had already passed the warning line, surged up, with waves crashing against the shore. Thunder roared, and the bridge shook violently. Lu Qingshi grabbed hold of the tent frame.

Someone let out a scream, and immediately the entire camp was in an uproar.

            

“Mmm…” Qin Xuan opened her eyes, still glistening with tears, her wet gaze still filled with resentment: “Xiang Nanke, I’ll f*ck your mother!”

The police officer put on her uniform without a word, got up, and rushed out of the tent.

Gu Yanzhi stood in the gray light before dawn, braving the heavy rain. Her face, which had always remained calm in the face of any danger, showed a hint of panic for the first time.

            

“It’s… a barrier lake…”

Standing beside her, Lu Qingshi shivered violently.

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