CHAPTER 6

Gu Changfeng’s injuries were far worse than I had originally imagined.

The bullet had grazed the bone; if it had been off by even a fraction of an inch, his arm would have been rendered completely useless.

After he regained consciousness, his unit honored him as a hero. As it turned out, during their field training, they had been hit by a sudden flash flood. He had saved a new recruit, but was struck by a rolling boulder, causing his gun to discharge and critically wound him.

A district-wide war hero—it certainly sounded grand, but looking at him pinned flat to his hospital bed… well, the halo was a bit too blinding for comfort.

Visitors dropped by in a constant stream, but he used his need for rest as an excuse, sending Zhang Hao to turn every last one of them away. The only person he kept by his side was me.

In the quiet hush of the hospital room, he would often gaze at me in silence, sometimes without blinking for half a day.

He didn’t speak a word, but his inner thoughts were blasting like a loudspeaker:

*She’s so thin, and those dark circles under her eyes make her look like a panda… she must have been worried sick about me.*

*I’m so useless, failing to protect her like this.*

*Her hand is so soft, so warm… I just want to hold it for the rest of my life.*

I peeled an apple, listening to his frantic mind while the corners of my lips curled up into a smile.

“What are you smiling at?” he asked, instantly on guard.

“I’m smiling at what a dork you are.” I pressed a slice of apple against his lips. “Almost dying, and you’re still worrying about everyone else.”

He froze, a light flush rising on his cheeks. “I… I’m not.”

Inside his head, total chaos erupted:

*How does she know? Could she… be reading my mind?! No way! There’s no such thing in this world, she must just be guessing.*

Watching his “the more I deny it, the more obvious it gets” act, I decided to twist the knife a little further: “When you were unconscious, you kept calling my name… and saying how much your heart ached for me.”

The result? His face turned red as a ripe tomato—a deep crimson spreading from his cheeks down to his neck, all the way to the tips of his ears.

“Nonsense! I did no such thing!” His mouth remained stubborn, though his eyes darted everywhere to avoid mine.

Meanwhile, his internal broadcast raged on:

*Damn it, did I really say that out loud?! It’s over, I’ve completely lost face! What kind of man says such sappy things?! But… now that she’s heard it, does she hate it, or is she… happy?*

Watching him write and direct a full romantic drama in his head, I decided to deliver the final blow.

I set the knife down, sat right up close to the bed, and looked straight into his eyes.

“Gu Changfeng… have you known me for a really long time?”

He went instantly rigid. The blood that had just drained from his face rushed back all at once, his eyes swirling like a tangled ball of yarn.

*How does she know… Did Grandpa slip up? No, Grandpa promised to keep it a secret…*

He fell silent for a long time, so long that I almost thought he was going to play dead again.

Finally, his voice came, soft as a gentle breeze: “Yes. Eight years ago. That day, I followed Grandpa to your house. You were sitting under a pear tree, playing the piano.”

Eight years ago? A pear tree? A piano?

A long-buried fragment of memory suddenly rushed back—I was sixteen, my parents hadn’t met their tragic fate yet, and our courtyard was covered in white pear blossoms. I was playing *Für Elise* as sunlight filtered through the branches, and a young man in a crisp white shirt stood listening, looking as pure as a painting.

So… that was Gu Changfeng!

“You…” I choked up.

“Ever since that day, I couldn’t get you out of my mind,” his voice trembled slightly. “Later, when tragedy struck your family and you were sent off to the new economic zone, I kept trying to find you… but…”

He trailed off, but I understood. As a military officer, his background was far too sensitive; he had no choice but to bury his feelings deep within his heart for eight whole years.

He hadn’t married me out of an arranged agreement or a sense of obligation.

It was all because of that fleeting glance under the shade of a pear tree, eight years ago.

An eight-year secret love, finally breaking into words.

Tears spilled down my cheeks in torrents.

*Oh god, she’s crying again! Did I say something wrong?!* Flustered, he tried to reach up and wipe my tears, only to pull at his wound.

I caught his hand, pressing it against my cheek so my tears soaked into his skin.

“Gu Changfeng…” I looked at him, enunciating every single word clearly. “You really are a massive idiot.”

Then I leaned down and kissed him.

It was no longer a quick, fleeting touch, but an answer eight years in the making.

Inside his head, a giant bomb went off:

*She… kissed me!!!*