Chapter 280: Chapter 280: A Wife Only in Dreams

Even staring down the cold, menacing barrel of a gun, Lu Cheng didn’t panic. His mind raced, formulating a plan.

The bandits held two old-fashioned bolt-action rifles. These guns were cumbersome to operate; after every shot, one had to work the bolt to eject the spent casing and then chamber a new round.

Factoring in the time to aim, it took about seven or eight seconds to get off the next shot.

The last weapon was a revolver in the leader’s hand.

During the earlier chase, he’d faintly heard the revolver go off four or five times. That meant it had two bullets left at most.

If they could just dodge the next four shots, he and Jiang Peng would have a chance to escape with their lives.

Just as Lu Cheng was meticulously laying out his plan, BANG! BANG! BANG! Several shots from a hunting rifle echoed through the woods.

Of the four bandits confronting Lu Cheng, two collapsed instantly.

Both sides were stunned by this sudden development.

The leader on the other side was a ruthless man. Seeing things go south, he raised his revolver and fired at Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng instinctively started to dodge but remembered Jiang Peng was right behind him.

In that brief moment of hesitation, a bullet struck him just below his left ribs.

Just then, two more shots from a hunting rifle echoed through the forest, and the opposing leader collapsed.

With that, all three armed bandits were down.

The last bandit standing froze, bewildered. A moment later, he turned and fled.

With the danger passed, Lu Cheng’s taut nerves finally relaxed. The searing pain from his wound washed over him, and a low grunt escaped his throat.

Only then did Jiang Peng notice he was wounded. "Brother-in-law, you’re hurt!"

Lu Cheng opened his mouth to speak, but everything suddenly went black.

Before he passed out, he vaguely saw two figures running toward them.

...

Gazing at the unconscious Lu Cheng on the hospital bed, Zhong Weiguo turned to the doctor. "It’s been two days and two nights. Why isn’t he waking up? Shouldn’t you examine his injuries more thoroughly?"

The doctor explained, "The patient’s injuries aren’t serious. He’s unconscious because of extreme fatigue. His body is healing itself through sleep. He’ll be fine once he wakes up naturally."

"But if he keeps sleeping without eating or drinking, how is he supposed to heal?"

As he spoke, Lu Cheng opened his eyes.

Zhong Weiguo was overjoyed. "You’re finally awake, kid!"

Lu Cheng opened his mouth, his voice weak and raspy. "Even if I didn’t want to, you’ve certainly woken me up now."

Zhong Weiguo paid no mind to his complaint, instead grinning so wide his gums were showing. "You’ve been asleep for two days and two nights! Any longer and you’d have turned into a vegetable!"

Lu Cheng closed his eyes briefly. "What about Jiang Peng?"

"He’s fine, just some scrapes on his hand. He’ll recover after a while."

After seeing the doctor out, Zhong Weiguo closed the door to the room, pulled a stool over to the bedside, and started debriefing Lu Cheng on the mission.

"Dr. Gu lost a lot of blood, but we managed to save him. The data is safe, too. That batch of research is incredibly valuable to the nation. You’ve performed a great service this time!"

Lu Cheng turned his head to the side. "Did all the soldiers make it back safely?"

The cheerful look on Zhong Weiguo’s face faded. "Ge Jun was killed in action. We still have no word on Zhang Jia Ming or Tang Yuan. The rest made it back safely."

Lu Cheng explained in detail how Zhang Jia Ming and Tang Yuan had risked their lives to deliberately draw the enemy away.

Zhong Weiguo said, "I understand. I’ll send a team to find them."

After a pause, Zhong Weiguo added, "We’ve already notified your family, so just focus on your recovery."

’My wife knows I’m injured?’

’Is she worried about me?’

’I want her to care about me, to think about me... but I don’t want her to worry too much.’

Lost in these thoughts, he drifted back to sleep and began to dream.

He dreamed that his wife came to visit, throwing herself into his arms with tear-filled eyes as she poured out her heart. He held her soft, fragrant body, feeling utterly blissful.

A smile involuntarily touched Lu Cheng’s lips.

Seeing that he had fallen asleep, Zhong Weiguo didn’t stay any longer. He went out to find the nurse assigned to Lu Cheng and instructed her to prepare some nutritious, easily digestible food for him.

The nurse readily agreed, then subtly tried to find out if Lu Cheng was married.

After Zhong Weiguo left, the nurse turned to two of her colleagues and whispered:

"See? I told you he was married. You all didn’t believe me."

"But he’s been here for two days and nights, and not one family member has shown up?"

"Who knows? But this Camp Commander Lu is really something else. He’s so young and already a camp commander, and I hear he just earned another major commendation. I can’t imagine how lucky you’d have to be to marry a man like that."

"A blessing you’ll certainly never have."

Staring at the female soldier standing before them, Wei Huihui asked hesitantly, "And who are you?"

Qiao Wenjing’s gaze swept over the young nurses. She pulled out her military credentials and showed them to Wei Huihui. "Take me to Camp Commander Lu’s hospital room."

Wei Huihui sized Qiao Wenjing up curiously as she led the way to Lu Cheng’s room.

"Comrade Qiao, what is your relationship to Camp Commander Lu?"

"That is not your concern."

Rebuffed, Wei Huihui didn’t dare ask any more questions.

After leading Qiao Wenjing to the hospital room, she returned to the nurses’ station to gossip with her colleagues about the newcomer’s identity.

"What do you think? Could that Comrade Qiao be Camp Commander Lu’s wife?"

"Most likely. Did you see the way she looked at us? It was like she was afraid we’d do something to Camp Commander Lu."

Qiao Wenjing entered the hospital room and saw Lu Cheng was asleep. She quietly closed the door, placed some canned fruit and nutritional supplements on the cabinet, and then carefully observed his condition.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that all his limbs were intact.

Noticing his stubble and remembering that he was normally a man who took great care with his personal hygiene, Qiao Wenjing went to borrow a razor from one of the nurses.

She had just lathered soap onto Lu Cheng’s chin when the door was pushed open from the outside.

"Brother-in-law—"

Seeing Qiao Wenjing in the hospital room, Jiang Peng froze for a second before exploding.

"Who are you?"

When Qiao Wenjing saw Jiang Moli behind Jiang Peng, her heart skipped a beat.

’But then again,’ she thought, ’I’m just here to take care of Lu Cheng to repay a debt of gratitude. I have nothing to feel guilty about.’

With that thought, she explained to Jiang Moli, "I came to look after Camp Commander Lu. Please, don’t get the wrong idea."

"Does he need you looking after him? What, is my sister dead?"

Hearing Jiang Peng’s furious retort, Qiao Wenjing finally understood who he was.

Jiang Moli motioned for Jiang Peng to be quiet and walked over to the hospital bed.

The man’s face was haggard and pale, but his breathing was steady.

Having been left untended, the stubble on his chin and jaw had grown out nearly half an inch, giving him a scruffy appearance.

Perhaps sensing her gaze, Lu Cheng slowly opened his eyes.

Seeing Jiang Moli, he didn’t speak, merely blinking over and over.

’I must be dreaming,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, how could my wife be here?’

’My wife only appears in my dreams.’

With that thought, he closed his eyes again.

But when he closed them, he couldn’t see his wife anymore, so he quickly opened them again.

Jiang Peng said, "Brother-in-law, are you feeling better? Look, my sister rushed all the way here to take care of you."

The fog in Lu Cheng’s mind gradually cleared, and his eyes lit up with joy. "Moli? It’s really you! Why are you here?!"

Jiang Moli gave him a faint, teasing smile. "Should I leave, then?"

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