Feng Yanzhi came back to her senses and shifted her suspicious gaze from Hu Ding to Yu Hao, seeking confirmation: “You were high school classmates?”

Yu Hao nodded in agreement.

Feng Yanzhi asked further: “What’s his name?”

“Lu Huaizheng,” Yu Hao answered truthfully.

Ms. Feng narrowed her eyes and carefully went through all the academically outstanding male classmates in Yu Hao’s first-year class, only to discover there was no such person: “I only remember the best student in your class back then was a boy named Fu Donghui.”

“You even remember that,” Yu Hao was surprised by her memory.

In her early years, Ms. Feng had also been a top student with exceptional memory, not to mention Fu Donghui was the kind of exemplary student teachers always mentioned during parent-teacher conferences.

“He was from Class 8,” Yu Hao explained.

“Class 8?”

Feng Yanzhi recalled that when she attended parent-teacher conferences, she occasionally heard teachers mention that the boys in Class 8 had poor grades and were troublemakers, the rowdiest class in the entire school. Thinking of this, she became somewhat displeased. “He’s in the military now?”

“Yes.”

Feng Yanzhi’s face immediately fell, clearly dissatisfied.

Feng Yanzhi had never really interacted with actual soldiers. In her mind, soldiers were like the sergeants dispatched from local military units during new student orientations at the academy every year—ordinary-looking, deeply tanned, speaking with thick local accents. The most ridiculous part was when they shouted commands, turning “yi-er-yi” (one-two-one) into something that sounded like “yao a-yi” (want auntie). Every time she sat in her office and heard those loud, resonant accents, her temples would throb.

She would discuss with the other female professors in her office about what kind of people would choose to join the military.

After a heated discussion, they concluded: that probably a group of men who came from families without money, had poor grades, simple minds, and had well-developed limbs would join the military. Why would someone with good academic abilities need to do this?

One female professor suddenly said: “My Ranran dated a soldier before. His conditions were actually acceptable, and he looked decent, but he was just dull and couldn’t converse well. Do you know what he brought the first time he came to our house?”

The others were intrigued. “What? What was it?”

The female professor rolled her eyes: “Youth Treasure! Such poor judgment. I don’t even bring that when visiting my parents. And he couldn’t talk either, just stood there stiffly like a mute gourd, answering one question at a time. His words weren’t pleasant to hear, too direct. Didn’t know how to be tactful. People like them are somewhat disconnected from society, and uncomfortable to interact with. Anyway, Ranran’s father and I disapproved.”

Someone then asked, “If your daughter likes him, what can you do about it?”

At that time, Feng Yanzhi had quite sarcastically added: “Don’t set your standards so high. Let’s not even talk about your Ranran’s conditions… who knows, maybe he’ll become a commanding officer someday, and you’ll regret it.”

The two women didn’t get along well normally; the female professor loved to show off, especially to Feng Yanzhi. They had the kind of relationship where they’d feel itchy if they didn’t take jabs at each other every day.

The female professor replied with a sarcastic tone: “Yes, your daughter Yu Hao has good conditions. Make sure she never marries a soldier in the future.”

The two went back and forth, mocking each other, until finally Feng Yanzhi refused to back down: “Our Yu Hao has always had high standards, unlike your Ranran.”

Seeing that the two were about to fight, colleagues observing from the side suggested: “Why don’t you two make a bet to see whether Ranran or Yu Hao gets married first?”

The female professor retorted: “What’s there to bet? Yu Hao will be approaching thirty if she doesn’t get married soon. My Ranran is different—she’s still young and has options. But Yu Hao doesn’t have that luxury. She needs to hurry, or she’ll only have people choosing her instead. What good is being academically accomplished? For a woman, thirty is a watershed moment. It doesn’t matter who you are—even if you’re Zhang Manyu or Fan Bingbing, can you say goodbye to gravity?”

So during that period, Feng Yanzhi was stimulated and tried every means to arrange blind dates for Yu Hao, introducing potential matches and pressuring her to get married.

Later, during that weekend at the Yu family home, when Old Lady Yu tore off her mask in front of the entire Yu family and trampled her dignity, she realized that marriage wasn’t that important. What if she ended up with an Old Lady Yu 2.0? She didn’t want Yu Hao to follow in her footsteps.

The fact that Lu Huaizheng had no mother meant there would be no mother-in-law conflicts in the future. Although it sounded heartless and inhumane, for her daughter who didn’t understand social niceties, it was a good thing.

But when Feng Yanzhi thought about that “Mom” from last night, her temples began to throb. How could such a foolish young man captivate her daughter with her impossibly high standards?

“So?” Feng Yanzhi looked over at Hu Ding, her gaze straightforward, indicating he should speak directly.

Their eyes met, and Hu Ding felt that Feng Yanzhi was very intelligent. She quickly realized that there was more to discuss than simply explaining why the person hadn’t arrived.

Hu Ding glanced at Yu Hao and explained his purpose to Feng Yanzhi: “Both children are not young anymore. Huaizheng left at five in the morning, in quite a hurry, but he mentioned this to me several months ago, saying he wanted to marry Yu Hao.”

Hu Ding proceeded step by step, first settling the marriage matter. After everything was finalized and the home front’s emotions were stabilized, they would wait for Lu Huaizheng to return from Tuslan and have face-to-face contact with Feng Yanzhi before gradually explaining the marriage registration in the most tactful way possible.

Besides, Yu Hao’s father wasn’t present today, and none of the important people were around. If he suddenly brought up this matter, it would likely cause a huge commotion.

“I’ll need to wait for Yu Hao’s father to return from his business trip. We need to discuss this thoroughly before giving you an answer, Mr. Hu, right? I’ve heard about you—you used to work for Yu Hao’s grandfather, didn’t you?” Feng Yanzhi deflected the topic with skill, neither showing her hand nor making a scene.

“Yes.”

“During Shenghua’s big shake-up, you contributed quite a bit of ‘effort,’ didn’t you?”

Hu Ding smiled. “That’s between me and Shenghua. You can’t hold that against these two children, can you?”

Lu Xin had heard Hu Ding talk about the Shenghua incident later and felt sorry for him. She wanted to explain: “Yu Hao’s mother, you might not know the full story, but Hu Ding never betrayed the old man…”

“Of course,” Feng Yanzhi said. “I don’t know the details of what happened back then, and it’s not right to hold grudges from older generations against the younger ones. My husband and I don’t have any issues. I’m more concerned about Old Lady Yu. The Yu family environment is complicated, unlike ordinary families.”

Hu Ding nodded, understanding completely. “I will explain to Old Lady Yu. I think what these two children care about most is your opinion. They’ve been through so much to get to where they are now, which wasn’t easy at all. I hope you can give them a chance. Also, my wife was pregnant last night, and we were celebrating, so we invited Yu Hao over for dinner. She accidentally drank too much, so I let her sleep at our place.”

Hu Ding, the shrewd operator, covered all bases so thoroughly that Feng Yanzhi couldn’t refute him.

After the two left, only Feng Yanzhi and Yu Hao remained, staring at each other.

Yu Hao sat obediently, eyes downcast.

Feng Yanzhi sat sideways, coldly watching her: “What did I teach you before? No matter how late you’re dating, you should always come home, understand? Otherwise, it will make men think you’re frivolous.”

“I was drunk,” Yu Hao followed Hu Ding’s excuse.

Feng Yanzhi scoffed: “You, drunk? If you can get drunk, your father can climb trees. Do you believe that?”

“Why are you insulting Dad in a roundabout way? Besides, weren’t you pressuring me to get married a while ago? Now that I’ve found someone, you don’t seem very happy.”

“How can I be happy when you’ve found someone so foolish?” Feng Yanzhi looked exasperated. “I’m not saying he needs to be like Xiao Shen, but at least find someone smarter. Do you know how that foolish boy reacted? Last night he called me ‘Mom.’ Isn’t that irritating? Isn’t that frivolous?”

Yu Hao remained silent, secretly amused.

Feng Yanzhi suddenly paused, looked at her calmly, and asked seriously: “Have you decided to spend your life with this man?”

Yu Hao nodded firmly.

Feng Yanzhi looked at her deeply, her eyes full of resignation: “You didn’t just pick someone randomly, did you? I really can’t believe you would fall for a soldier. I thought you’d prefer someone refined like Xiao Shen.”

Yu Hao laughed: “How do you know Lu Huaizheng isn’t refined?”

“If I heard correctly, Hu Ding just said he’s a special forces soldier, right? Refined? Come on, show me a refined special forces soldier. With your delicate frame, you two don’t match at all.”

In Feng Yanzhi’s mind, special forces soldiers were the muscular, fierce men seen on television.

“It’s not what you think. You’ll understand when you meet him.”

“No need. I don’t need to understand. If you truly like him, I can’t stop you anyway. Since you entered university, you’ve never listened to my opinions,” Feng Yanzhi suddenly sighed. “Men fear choosing the wrong career, women fear marrying the wrong man. I hope you consider it carefully. Marrying a man in this profession means you’ll have to endure more than anyone else. My only requirement is that you don’t make decisions you’ll regret, don’t make choices you’ll regret for life because of momentary impulse. There will be many more situations like today’s in the future. He can leave you behind at any time, anywhere. Out of selfishness, I don’t like such men. Moreover, Chinese marriages aren’t just unions between two people but also between two families…”

“Mom,” Yu Hao interrupted, lowering her head as if smiling slightly, her hands tightly clasped on her lap.

Feng Yanzhi stopped, and the room went quiet except for the sound of their heartbeats. Yu Hao took a deep breath, turned to look at her mother, and smiled somewhat resignedly. “I understand exactly what kind of decision I’ve made, I truly understand. Whenever the country needs him, he can leave me behind at any time, and I can’t be jealous, can’t be envious, can’t be unreasonable, can’t lose my temper with him. When we first met a few months ago, I hesitated for a moment about whether we had a future. If I could control myself not to love him, we wouldn’t have ended up like this. He may seem carefree usually, but when he’s serious, he’s incredibly captivating. I truly love him very much.”

“So sickeningly sweet it’s giving me goosebumps. Fine, we’ll discuss it when your father returns.” Feng Yanzhi knew her daughter wasn’t good at expressing emotions. Because she wasn’t articulate, she feared people wouldn’t understand her roundabout expressions, so sometimes she would blurt out whatever came to mind, which might sound affected or awkward to others.

It was just her direct way of expression, which Feng Yanzhi understood.

Feng Yanzhi relented, the initial battle plan was achieved, and Yu Hao began counting on her fingers how long it would be until Lu Huaizheng returned.

Tuslan.

The plane arrived at the Tuslan International Conference Center that afternoon. Lu Huaizheng and Sun Kai went in to negotiate. The other party stated that local negotiation experts had already gone to talk with the armed militants that morning, but it hadn’t worked.

Sun Kai was impatient. “Where are the hostages being held?”

The other party said: “We don’t know where they’re being held. The experts negotiating with the militants haven’t managed to find out yet, but there’s a good chance they’re in the church. The town isn’t large, and the church is the most likely place to hold hostages.”

Lu Huaizheng: “How many churches are in this town?”

The other party: “Two—no, three. A new one was recently renovated, but that church isn’t completed yet; it’s still half-finished. Please give us more time.”

Because it involved diplomatic issues, Lu Huaizheng couldn’t take direct action. After negotiating with the conference chairman, he reported back to Li Hongwen.

“Wuchakemu Town is two hundred kilometers from here. If the local government won’t allow us to proceed, I’m afraid the longer we delay, the more danger Professor Liang and the others will be in.”

Li Hongwen cursed something on the other end, then gritted his teeth and said: “Take direct action! Make sure to bring Professor Liang and the others back safely!”

“Yes, sir!”

He suddenly stood at attention and promised.

Lu Huaizheng ended the call and left the conference center with Sun Kai. They jumped into the waiting armored vehicle, and Chen Rui immediately approached asking, “How did it go?”

Lu Huaizheng removed the communication earpiece hanging at his ear and plugged it into the vehicle’s system. Leaning back in the passenger seat, he turned to tell them: “The local government wants us to give them more time.”

Before he could finish, Chen Rui had already cursed, “Damn, how many hours have passed? Still waiting?”

Lu Huaizheng glanced at him, turned back, looked ahead, and continued calmly: “But this situation is special. High command says to take direct action, don’t mind them.”

“That’s how it should be!!!”

Everyone erupted in excitement, cheering.

Next came tactical guidance. Perhaps because it had been too long since they had fought side by side in actual combat, the soldiers in the vehicle were full of fighting spirit and confidence.

Lu Huaizheng assigned tasks, his slender hand pressing on the thin map paper against the armrest, lightly tracing across it.

“We’ll stop fifty li from Wuchakemu Town at Wulan Town, then split into two groups. Sun Kai, you lead a team to flank from behind Wulan Town. The hostages should be held in St. Bie Church in the town. Follow this line from Wulan Town, find high ground, set up a sniper position, and wait for my signal.”

Sun Kai, holding the steering wheel, asked: “How do you know they’re in St. Bie Church? Not the other two churches?”

“Because of Xu Yanshi.”

The cryptic response left Sun Kai puzzled.

Lu Huaizheng loosened his cap strap and explained: “He has a tracker on him.”

Sun Kai asked suspiciously: “GPS?”

This was something he had only learned the night before his return to China.

The positioning system that Xu Yanshi’s company developed in collaboration with Professor Liang was originally intended for the ‘Black Hawk’ stealth aircraft project. Currently, all positioning systems are monopolized by GPS. Like the reporter’s question that day, some people believe developing such projects is meaningless. But as Xu Yanshi said, if war ever broke out, the other side could shut down all of China’s positioning systems, putting China at a disadvantage.

At the very least, for combat and national defense, China needed its system.

So Xu Yanshi used this exchange activity to quietly test the positioning system abroad for the first time. Before departure, he contacted Xu Yanshi’s company through Li Hongwen and traced the positioning system to the location shown by the red dot earlier—St. Bie Church.

Lu Huaizheng didn’t elaborate further, and Sun Kai was very discreet. What Lu Huaizheng didn’t explain was naturally subject to confidentiality principles, so he didn’t ask more and focused on the operation.

“Knowing the location makes things easier. What about you?”

Lu Huaizheng’s gaze returned to the map. “He Lang and Wu Heping will provide external support. I’ll take Chen Rui through the front, and look for an opportunity to rescue the hostages. If we’re discovered, no matter what happens inside, you take Professor Han and Xu Yanshi and leave first, don’t wait for us.” His hand pointed to the mountainous area behind Wuchakemu Town. “Here, see this? This is the border of the Republic of Mabuqi. Pay attention, don’t take the wrong route. This border absolutely cannot be crossed. Don’t involve a third country and create difficulties for the Foreign Ministry, understand?”

Everyone straightened up and shouted in unison: “Understood!”

After arranging all strategies, Lu Huaizheng fastened his cap again, sprawled his legs out, and leaned back in the passenger seat to rest with his eyes closed. His thin chin, with the tightly wrapped military helmet, accentuated his sharp features, with a hard jawline and faint stubble.

Sun Kai turned to ask him, “What’s wrong, didn’t rest well?”

Last night, he’d waited for two hours outside S University but never saw that guy appear. When he got home, Lu Xin kept him up half the night, and he received a call from his mother-in-law. He had promised to bring Yu Hao home today but was assigned an emergency mission and stood up to his mother-in-law. Whether he could even see Yu Hao when he returned was questionable.

This heart-stopping night was so unbelievable that no one would believe it if told.

“Only slept for two hours,” Lu Huaizheng grunted, too lazy to even lift his eyelids.

Sun Kai chuckled and lowered his voice: “Don’t be so indulgent right after getting married. Even if you’re made of iron, you can’t handle this pace. Take it easy. Your wife’s small frame can’t withstand being taken apart like that. Don’t treat yourself like a pile driver.”

Lu Huaizheng still had his head against the cabin, not bothering to argue with him, lazily laughing and cursing: “Get lost.”

Plans can’t keep up with changes.

After the armored vehicle had been bumping along the road for fifteen minutes, the flying sand and yellow earth seemed to make the ride even rougher than before. Ahead was a small dirt mound with connected ravines. Sun Kai crushed through the coarse sand and stones, noticing something wrong: “Damn! It shouldn’t shake this much!”

Lu Huaizheng laughed: “If your driving skills are bad, just admit it. Don’t make excuses. If you want, get out, and I’ll drive.”

“Bah!” Sun Kai, unwilling to concede, stepped on the gas. This time, the wheels skidded directly, spinning rapidly in the air like propellers, sending sand and stones flying. Lu Huaizheng was furious: “Are you playing around?!”

Just as he finished shouting, the command channel transmitted an urgent message: “0203xx, this is the command center.”

“Received,” Lu Huaizheng replied, holding the earpiece wire while leaning in the driver’s seat.

“Tuslan has experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake!! Repeat, Tuslan has experienced a 7.2 magnitude earthquake!”

Sun Kai and Lu Huaizheng were stunned and then exchanged glances. Lu Huaizheng, holding the earpiece wire, asked: “Casualties?”

The reply came: “Unclear, but all roads are cut off, including the road to Wuchakemu Town! The embassy’s phones are being flooded with calls!”

“Damn! Could our luck be any worse?!”

Sun Kai cursed.

They were in open ground, so the tremors weren’t very noticeable. Only when the vehicle reached a small town ahead did they see people continuously running out amid rolling sand, making them realize the severity of the earthquake?

Lu Huaizheng immediately asked the command center: “How many overseas Chinese are in the towns near Wulan and Wuchakemu?”

They quickly replied: “Not many. There are five small towns there: Wulan, Wuchakemu, Wumubula, Lanaeluosuo, and Suteka. The total number of Chinese citizens is less than a hundred.”

He made an immediate decision: “In that case, we’ve already reached Suteka. We’ll be responsible for evacuating the overseas Chinese from Suteka to Wuchakemu. Leave Tuslan to you.”

“What about Professor Liang?”

“We’ll figure something out. We’ll arrange to send these expatriates and Professor Liang back to the port, and you send people to receive them.”

The moment the earthquake struck, some local overseas Chinese uploaded videos of the earthquake to Weibo, quickly gaining tens of thousands of reposts.

In an instant, the top trending topics were flooded with news of the Tuslan earthquake.

Yu Hao was buried in writing her thesis when she received a call from Zhao Dailin in the afternoon. “Did you know there was an earthquake in Tuslan?”

Yu Hao’s heart trembled. “Tuslan?”

Zhao Dailin said: “Isn’t Lu Huaizheng in Tuslan? He said he was going back to take care of something this morning.”

“How did you know? He told me this morning he was going back to handle something.”

“Sun Kai went too.”

“You and Sun Kai…”

“It’s like that. I heard the situation is very serious—a 7.2 magnitude earthquake. Sun Kai left at five in the morning, but the earthquake happened at 2:30 in the afternoon. It’s strange timing. Did they know in advance that Tuslan would have an earthquake and went for rescue? Even earthquake experts aren’t that accurate. Or were they handling other business and happened to be caught in it?”

If it was the latter, they could be in danger. Even if it was the former, danger couldn’t be avoided.

However, as a military wife who had been indoctrinated by Lu Huaizheng, Yu Hao felt like a veteran in front of Zhao Dailin and believed she should set an example. So she said: “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

After hearing this, Zhao Dailin couldn’t help but look at her with new respect: “You’re impressive now. Not worried?”

“He promised me he would come back.”

Yu Hao said.

Zhao Dailin suddenly fell silent. After a long while, she spoke through gritted teeth: “When Sun Kai returns, I’m going to drag him to get our marriage certificate! Damn it.”

“I support you,” Yu Hao said, waving her little fist.

After hanging up, Yu Hao searched Weibo for news about the Tuslan earthquake. By now, it had exploded across the entire platform. Nearly a thousand Chinese citizens were stranded at Tuslan Airport, with both the port and airport packed to capacity.

The moment the earthquake struck, the local anti-government forces suddenly entered a state of inexplicable excitement. They began looting with guns and even launched an unprecedented massacre, showing contempt for the government and authorities, and unleashing all their hatred for society in that instant.

Watching these people scurrying away with their heads down, they inexplicably felt a thrilling sensation rise in their hearts. Machine gun bullets sped through the city, cold-bloodedly penetrating the foreheads of passersby. A fallen mother tightly embraced her child, holding on desperately while the child sat on the ground wailing—shrill and desperate.

The situation at the airport was even more chaotic. Everyone was frantically calling the embassy, but the lines were constantly busy.

Hands shook while dialing the numbers. They only hoped that a plane would quickly come to take them away, to escape this living hell, because no one knew when the anti-armed militants would reach the airport.

They were now like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.

They continuously posted messages on Weibo, begging for help, each word written in blood, each line piercing the heart.

“Save us!!!! Please save us!!”

“I want to go home, I want to go home.”

“Oh my God!! Someone else died!!!! I’m so scared!!”

“This could be my last Weibo post at any moment. Mom, I love you, I’m sorry!”

When everyone’s hearts were in their throats, even moved to pain by their every action, suddenly, the Chinese Embassy responded!!!!

Chinese Embassy: “Please hold on, Chinese soldiers are coming to take you home!”

Netizen replies: “God, I’m crying!!!!” “Raise our national prestige!!!!!” “Thank you, China!!!!!!!!!” “Chinese soldiers are mighty!!!!!!!!!”

As soon as Lu Huaizheng’s vehicle reached Wulan Town, the command center sent news.

“A wave of anti-government forces is rioting in Tuslan, currently looting a small town about ten kilometers from the airport. Their next target is the airport, where six hundred Chinese people are trapped. You may need to help them evacuate first. Professor Liang seems to have something they need, so he shouldn’t be in immediate life-threatening danger. The peacekeeping forces will arrive soon, and the local government forces are also negotiating with them. We can delay a bit longer. You might need to go to the airport first.”

“Understood.”

Lu Huaizheng spun the vehicle around, immediately changing direction. Then he told Sun Kai, who was in the vehicle behind: “There’s a riot at the airport, six hundred people are trapped. We need to go there first. The peacekeeping forces will arrive soon. Have Chen Rui and Wu Heping stay here to provide support. We’re heading to the airport now.” Then he told Chen Rui and Wu Heping: “There’s a government military camp ahead. You two stay and keep watch. If the government forces can’t negotiate a resolution, once the peacekeeping troops arrive, don’t wait for them—charge in directly to save the people. Contact us immediately if anything happens.”

Sun Kai and Chen Rui: “Understood!”

The two armored vehicles immediately thundered away.

At Tuslan Airport, someone shouted, the sound reverberating throughout the hall.

“The embassy responded!! Chinese soldiers are coming to take us home!!!!!!!!”

In an instant, all the noisy clamor quieted down, followed by erupting cheers and shouts, louder and louder. All the suspended hearts suddenly relaxed when they heard about the Chinese soldiers.

At that moment, everyone seemed to receive God’s judgment, gaining freedom. Everything seemed to brighten, and strangely, it made these Chinese people suddenly unite.

The previously dispirited atmosphere suddenly rose at that moment, and people began to care for their fellow Chinese compatriots.

“Would you like some water? I still have mineral water.” “Are you hungry? I have some compressed biscuits.”

An elderly man sat on a bench with his head down, not speaking.

A young man sat next to him, consoling him, “We’ll be able to go home soon, don’t worry. Our motherland is coming to take us home.”

The old man wasn’t as happy as expected. He suddenly covered his eyes. “My wife… is still in Wuchakemu.”

The young man comforted him, “Tell me the address, we can ask the embassy for help.”

Hearing this, the old man’s eyes brightened despite his tears. “Is that possible?”

“Of course!” The young man smiled. “Give me your wife’s information and address. I can contact the embassy. If your wife isn’t among the people evacuated from Wuchakemu, we’ll look for her. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine.”

The old man seemed somewhat comforted.

The woman next to the young man also passed a cup of water to the old man. “Have some tea.”

“Are you all Chinese?” A blonde, blue-eyed foreigner nearby asked in English.

The young man replied fluently, “Yes.”

The foreigner smiled and gave them a thumbs up: “The Chinese government is very effective. Being born in such a country is a blessing.”

Just as the young man was about to respond, suddenly—

A bullet broke through the window, shattering this peaceful atmosphere—

Several people looked outside and saw four or five Tuslan men with headwraps, aiming rifles at them!

The crowd fell into chaos again!

Everyone suddenly scattered, running for cover with their heads down, screaming in fear!!

However, in less than a second.

Another bullet shot from a distance, unhesitatingly piercing the back of one militant’s skull.

Turning their heads, everyone saw a figure in Chinese army green crouching on a high platform nearby.

Someone exclaimed: “It’s the Chinese soldiers!!!!”