Blue Tears, have you found them?

Three days later, Song Ning arrived in Rong City and was given a room at the military guesthouse.

The next day, Song Ning met Lu Changqing at the Military District Hospital.

When Song Ning entered the ward, Lu Changqing was lying in bed with one leg suspended high in the air, staring absently out the window. He had not noticed her.

He had changed into clean clothes, cut his hair, and shaved. Gone was his disheveled appearance during the disaster relief efforts. He looked clean-cut and handsome, with a scholarly air rarely seen in soldiers. He was quite a sharp, good-looking young man!

Otherwise, he would hardly have won the regimental commander's daughter's favor!

Only when Song Ning walked through the door did Lu Changqing abruptly come to his senses and greet her in a fluster.

"Y-you're here?"

Song Ning pulled out the chair beside his bed and sat down, saying calmly,

"Comrade Lu Changqing, hello. Let me formally introduce myself. My name is Song Ning. I'm from Hunan Province, and my grandfather was Song Huaide."

Unease and embarrassment flickered across Lu Changqing's face. For a moment, he seemed not to know what to do with his hands or feet.

"Song Ning, hello! I-I'm Lu Changqing. I'm very sorry. I never expected... that our first meeting would happen under those circumstances!"

Song Ning said, "Meeting that way was fine! Straight to the point! It saved us from misunderstandings caused by not knowing the situation. Comrade Lu Changqing, let's cut to the chase. How do you intend to handle this marriage arrangement between us?"

Before coming, Song Ning had fully prepared herself. She only wanted to know what terms Lu Changqing would propose for breaking off their engagement...

His answer, however, was rather unexpected...

He answered almost immediately, "Song Ning, don't worry! As soon as I got back, I submitted a marriage application to military headquarters and applied for family housing. Once they're approved, we... we'll get married!"

Song Ning was astonished. "Married? Us?"

"Yes! You may have to put up with staying at the guesthouse for a while, but ours is a special case. We should hear back within a week at most!"

Song Ning laughed. She took a moment to digest what Lu Changqing meant before speaking.

"Lu Changqing! First, you didn't come to marry me as agreed. You're two whole years late! Second, just a few days ago, you and another woman were calling each other family and claiming to be 'in love' right in front of me! Under those circumstances, you're telling me you want to marry me? Does that make any sense?"

"No!" Lu Changqing said anxiously. "Chen Yuting and I aren't in love. I told her long ago that I was engaged and had a fiancée! I've never promised her anything!"

Song Ning's expression turned cold. "Lu Changqing! This marriage arrangement held all my grandfather's trust and hopes for you! It also held every dream a girl cherished from the age of sixteen to twenty! I didn't come here to force you to marry me. I came because I hoped you could face this openly and give me a proper explanation!"

"Besides, we were only engaged, and we'd never even met! So even if you've fallen for another girl, it's not such a terrible thing. I only want you to settle things between us first! What you owe my grandfather and me isn't so much about you and that Yuting woman. It's about how you failed to keep your promise and betrayed his trust!"

"Song Ning! Whether you believe me or not, I never once thought of breaking off the engagement!"

Lu Changqing looked at Song Ning, his eyes pleading.

Song Ning had not expected this attitude from him. She gave a cold laugh.

"You never thought of breaking off the engagement, yet you kept putting off fulfilling your promise! You're not in love with Chen Yuting, yet you were willing to use your own military merits to offset her punishment!"

"Lu Changqing, if you could just admit it openly, I might think a little better of you! I honestly can't make sense of how you're acting now. Have you never considered what you'll do about Chen Yuting if you insist on marrying me?"

Lu Changqing answered at once, "It's not that I'm afraid to admit it. I truly have no feelings for her! Before, I overthought things and worried about hurting her pride. I was also afraid of leaving a bad impression on Regiment Commander Chen! That's why I wasn't firm enough when I rejected her. But I've thought it through now! I'll go and make things clear to her. What happened before won't happen again!"

Song Ning looked at Lu Changqing, her brows deeply furrowed...

Lu Changqing hesitated, then took the initiative to ask,

"Song Ning! I-I haven't had a chance to ask. Doctor Song... how is he now? Is he... well?"

Song Ning looked at him and said calmly, "Grandfather passed away three years ago! When he came back from that trip, he happily told me he'd found a dependable marriage match for me, and he could finally stop worrying! But it was also on that trip that he contracted an illness he never recovered from. His health kept getting worse, and he passed away about a year after returning!"

After hearing this, Lu Changqing's expression grew desolate. Yet he did not seem particularly surprised. He merely murmured,

"One year! He passed away even sooner than I'd imagined!"

Song Ning's expression changed, and she immediately asked,

"What do you mean? Explain yourself!"

Lu Changqing looked at Song Ning, but instead asked another question.

"Before Doctor Song passed away, did he mention me? Or leave any words for me?"

The doubts in Song Ning's heart grew stronger. Her grandfather had said little about what had happened on that trip, and even his account of arranging her engagement to Lu Changqing had been vague. But he had indeed left her a message before he died.

That was also one of the reasons she had not simply cut through the mess, called off the engagement, and left from the outset.

She had always felt there must be something more behind all this.

Song Ning looked at Lu Changqing and said, enunciating every word,

"Grandfather told me that when I met you, I must remember to ask, 'Blue Tears, have you found them?'"

Lu Changqing's eyes immediately reddened.

He covered his eyes with his hand. He wanted to cry, but no tears would come.

Song Ning watched him quietly. Only after he finally regained his composure did she speak.

"Lu Changqing, I'm waiting for your explanation!"

Lu Changqing took a deep breath, looked at Song Ning, and said,

"Song Ning! What I can tell you is that I haven't forgotten what happened back then for even a moment. Ever since Doctor Song and I parted, I've been working to fulfill the promise I made!"

Song Ning looked steadily at him and asked,

"What does Blue Tears refer to?"

That pleading look returned to Lu Changqing's eyes.

"Song Ning, I can't tell you! That's another of the promises I made. Doctor Song knew that too. Even he never told you, did he? Please believe me, Song Ning! This matter is even more important than our marriage!"

Lu Changqing's gaze was firm and sorrowful. Song Ning studied him carefully but could find no sign that he was lying.

Just then, footsteps sounded outside. The door opened, and a man in a hospital gown walked in with a nurse supporting him. He called into the room,

"Oh! Company Commander Lu! You've got a visitor!"