Chapter 3420: Combustion (9)

Wu Jing understood very well that Song Yi didn’t like her.

All her wishes revolved around stopping Song Yi from marrying Wu Xianrou, not about being with him herself.

She knew Song Yi didn’t like her.

If there was no spark, then there was no spark. Some things simply couldn’t be forced.

Zhu Yi said, “We’ve all got blood on our hands. Political Commissar Wu’s daughter is pure and untainted. People are drawn to that. You’ve got no chance.”

Ning Shu glanced at Song Yi, who was lying with his back to them, pretending to sleep. She tapped Zhu Yi’s plastered leg with her finger and said, “Everyone else knows the score—why are you the only one mouthing off like this? You think I don’t know he doesn’t like me? I like him, yes, but more than that, I want what’s best for him.

“I don’t think Wu Xianrou is a good match for him. She’s someone the heavens and earth have favoured. Everything comes easily to her. My worry is that if something ever happened to her while he was out on a mission, he might abandon the mission for her.”

Zhu Yi looked sceptical. “Surely it wouldn’t come to that? She might be a bit of a pampered princess, but she can’t be that unreasonable. Don’t forget. We’ve got millions of people standing behind us. If we falter or retreat…”

Ning Shu replied airily, “In some people’s minds, love is everything. Parents’ deaths? They can survive that. Struggle and hardship? They can get through it. But get dumped by a lover? Suddenly the sky’s falling, life isn’t worth living, cue the waterworks. Hormones completely take over the brain, and it’s all downhill from there.”

Zhu Yi blinked. “You really think the squad commander would go that far off the deep end?”

“I’ve no idea,” Ning Shu said bluntly.

Love, at its core, required a whole, independent person with dignity and self-respect.

Not someone who blindly indulged the other person.

Not someone who would abandon all sense of right and wrong.

When love became warped, it would turn into indulgence, but that wasn’t what it should be like.

Ning Shu said all this on purpose, knowing full well that Song Yi wasn’t asleep.

She had a feeling this mission was just… tricky. Fate wasn’t something you could take lightly.

And there were so many external pressures pushing Song Yi towards marrying Wu Xianrou.

Wu Xianrou herself wasn’t willing to marry some stranger she had no feelings for.

After they married, she threw tantrums for ages. However, Song Yi wasn’t the type to bicker and fight with a young girl.

Eventually, though, the two of them slowly grew closer, and then fell in love. It was a classic case of marriage first, love later, and one that was surprisingly sweet as well.

And so Wu Xianrou began her life of being a pampered freeloader.

Song Yi simply couldn’t bring himself to treat his delicate little wife the same way he trained his subordinates, with discipline and strict standards.

He couldn’t bear to be too harsh with her.

Ning Shu had analysed the storyline, and she still couldn’t figure out why Song Yi always seemed to lose his footing around Wu Xianrou.

As for Wu Xianrou, she seemed to carry an inexplicable sense of superiority over him. She had said more than once that she didn’t want to marry ‘that military brute’ Song Yi.

She went around doing nothing all day, constantly stirring up resentment. She acted as if the whole world’s women were envious of her, if not outright hating her from the get-go.

And Song Yi? From an elite special forces soldier, he was reassigned to a ‘firefighter’—putting out figurative fires every day.

No one knew how long he could keep enduring it.

He seemed to think that just because a girl who’d never suffered before had married him, he ought to dote on her. He wouldn’t even show her his own injuries out of fear that he might frighten her.

Ning Shu: Oh, for fuck’s sake. Since when has ‘never suffered’ become a virtue? What, she’s never been through hardship and now the world owes her? Just because she’s soft, the rest of us have to give way to her?

Song Yi risked his life for his country. He fought for his nation. He should be able to stand tall with pride in front of Wu Xianrou.

Someone as precious and pampered as Wu Xianrou ought to be thrown straight into a battlefield—to feel the searing pain of a bullet ripping through flesh, to taste the fear of death.

In the face of survival, all that fussiness and drama wasn’t worth a thing.

Ning Shu sighed, a little despondently. “I think our squad might be on the verge of disbanding.”

Zhu Yi was taken aback. “Where’s that coming from? Are you planning to leave?”

“No, of course not. I’ve still got the rest of my life to devote to the country. I just mean—if the squad commander really marries Wu Xianrou, our squad’s missions will definitely start thinning out. We’ll probably be reassigned somewhere else.”

Ning Shu spoke plainly, with no intention of sparing Song Yi’s pride.

“It’s just marriage. You make it sound like the end of the world,” Zhu Yi said while shaking his head. “The squad commander is the squad commander. He’s not the type to put personal feelings before duty.”

Ning Shu curled her lip. She thought, ‘Just wait. You might be in for a shock.’

She said coolly, “I’ve watched Wu Xianrou. She’s the sort of girl who throws little tantrums. If the squad commander is constantly away on missions, she’ll definitely kick up a fuss. She’ll try to force him to choose. ‘Do you want your job or me?’ That kind of emotional blackmail, just to prove his love.”

Zhu Yi hesitated. “Er… are you sure you’re not just biased? You’re painting Miss Wu in a pretty bad light.”

Ning Shu: …

“Do I seem like that kind of person? I’ve no reason to smear her. I’m simply making a reasonable deduction. And if I’m wrong—if Miss Wu turns out to be generous, sensible, and self-aware, I’ll apologize. I’ll kneel down right in front of her and say sorry.”

From the next bed over, Old Two spoke up. “I agree with Little Ten. Miss Wu’s lovely, but she’s not cut out to be a military wife.”

Ning Shu smiled. “See? Even Brother Two agrees with me.”

Old Two was the oldest member of the squad, and second in authority only to Song Yi. The others generally respected his opinion.

Zhu Yi shrugged. “Well, say what you like. If the squad commander really likes her and insists on marrying her, what can any of us do? It’s his personal life.”

Ning Shu pressed her lips together and fell silent. That was true. If he wanted to get married, it wasn’t like anyone could stop him.

And yet… it was so warped. One person giving endlessly, always accommodating. The other constantly demanding, taking more and more.

And somehow that was supposed to last?

This whole task felt truly baffling to her.

Ning Shu stayed at the hospital to look after her three injured fellow squad members.

To her surprise, Wu Xianrou actually came by every day, bringing flowers and fruit.

However, she always looked thoroughly impatient, like someone being forced to fulfil a duty she wanted no part of.

“If it weren’t for my dad making me come, I wouldn’t bother,” Wu Xianrou told Song Yi. “When are you going to tell him we’re not getting married?”

Song Yi gave a helpless sigh. “Can’t you at least let me get better first?”

Wu Xianrou was momentarily lost for words. Her impression of him dropped another notch, and a tight, frustrated feeling lodged in her chest.

“Then hurry up and tell him, and I won’t come bother you again.” Wu Xianrou muttered. She knew she wasn’t in the right, but still spoke with a petulant tone that, unreasonably, made her seem quite endearing.

Ning Shu spoke up, “Why don’t you tell your father yourself, Miss Wu?”

Wu Xianrou turned and gave her a once-over. Her eyes scanned her from head to toe.

Ning Shu was in full camo gear, wearing dark green army boots. Her hair was tightly secured, as letting it hang loose would’ve obstructed her field of vision.

She looked every bit the unfashionable, plain soldier. Her skin was tanned, and her expression serious. She was certainly not what anyone would call pretty.

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