He realized he was wrong! Completely wrong!

"No problem!" Song Ning replied.

Zhou Yuanhang went out to arrange their departure.

Song Ning turned to Professor Yang and said:

"Professor Yang, I'll give Elder Zhou another acupuncture treatment today, then write you a prescription! It'll help restore his health while I'm away, strengthening his constitution and replenishing his vitality while also easing his pain."

"Acupuncture treatments given too frequently can drain his vitality, too. A break might be just what he needs. By the time I return, he may be ready for the next stage of treatment."

"Good, good!" Professor Yang said happily. "That would be ideal!"

After finishing Elder Zhou's acupuncture treatment, Song Ning carefully checked his pulse, then picked up a pen and wrote a prescription.

Professor Yang looked at the prescription in surprise. After a long moment, he marveled:

"I never imagined you could write prescriptions as well as perform acupuncture! And what's even more surprising is... your handwriting is so beautiful!"

After leaving Elder Zhou's room, Song Ning went up to room 208 on the second floor.

The round trip to Shanghai City would take quite some time.

She wouldn't be able to give him acupuncture while she was away, so she at least needed to let him know.

But once again, Gu Zheng was nowhere to be seen.

He still hadn't returned to his room.

Song Ning also stopped by Lu Changqing's room.

Lu Changqing learned that she was leaving Rong City for Shanghai City, and that she was going with Elder Zhou's son.

He was astonished!

"You... you can actually help Elder Zhou's son?"

Song Ning didn't explain much. She merely told him, "I'm not sure whether I can help yet. I won't know until I get there!"

"Lu Changqing! I hope we can end our engagement as soon as I return! Honestly, I can't wait any longer! If you keep putting it off then, I'll go straight to Chief of Staff Xu!"

Unexpectedly, this time Lu Changqing readily replied:

"I understand! Go without worrying! I'll wait for you to come back! Since Elder Zhou's family has asked, help as much as you can!"

As Song Ning was leaving, Lu Changqing called her back:

"Song Ning! I might be discharged by the time you return! Um... you... you will come back, won't you?"

Song Ning kept feeling there was something behind his words. She frowned and said:

"Of course I'll come back!"

Lu Changqing said nothing more. He smiled and waved goodbye, even wishing her a safe journey!

As she walked out of the hospital, she happened to run into Wang Ze again.

Song Ning quickly told Wang Ze that she would be away for a while and asked him to help contact Gu Zheng.

Gu Zheng was, more or less, her "patient." She couldn't just leave without making arrangements for him.

There should still be enough time to check his pulse and leave him a prescription.

Wang Ze assured her that he would get in touch with Gu Zheng.

The interrogation room at the 7th Regiment headquarters.

Xiong Gang, captain of the Special Investigation Team's first squad, nudged Han Xiao's arm again.

"Hey! Can't you get Boss Gu out of here? Do these petty crooks really need him to interrogate them personally? He's already questioned them several times!"

Han Xiao curled his lip. "If I could get him to leave, would I have waited until now?"

Xiong Gang clicked his tongue. "The problem is, he won't leave! The crooks are having a miserable time, and so are we!"

Han Xiao shook his head. "Boss has been a little off these past few days! Not himself! Just try not to get on his nerves!"

Xiong Gang craned his neck to glance into the interrogation room, then lowered his voice:

"Off how? Tell me!"

Han Xiao lowered his voice too. "I think... it has something to do with a woman!"

Xiong Gang's eyes lit up, and he ducked his head farther. "Go on!"

Han Xiao lowered his head as well, his voice dropping even further...

"Think about it. Ever since Zhou Yunzhi was kidnapped, hasn't Boss been..."

When Gu Zheng came out of the interrogation room, he saw two grown men hunched over with their heads together, practically ducking under the table. Who knew what they were whispering about?

"Have you two got nothing better to do? Should I send you to North City to crack down on the gangs right now?"

The two gossiping men instantly sprang up like springs and stood ramrod straight.

"Sir! We... we..."

Fortunately, the outer door opened just then, and Chen Liang walked in.

"Boss! Wang Ze's on the phone for you!"

Gu Zheng let the two men off for the moment and went out to take the call.

Only then did Han Xiao breathe a sigh of relief. He patted Chen Liang's shoulder. "You're a lifesaver, buddy! Perfect timing!"

But Xiong Gang wouldn't let their earlier topic drop...

"Hey, hey! You didn't finish what you were saying! Didn't Boss barely give Zhou Yunzhi the time of day before? What... has he finally caught on?"

Han Xiao stroked his chin with a thoughtful expression and said:

"From what I've observed, yes! It's much easier for a woman to win a man over than the other way around. Maybe Zhou Yunzhi is just more persistent than the others!"

Chen Liang overheard them and gave Han Xiao a look as though he were an idiot, then turned and walked out.

Gu Zheng heard Wang Ze say that Song Ning was leaving on a long trip tomorrow and wanted to know whether she could see him.

He only said he understood.

He didn't say he would go, nor did he say he wouldn't.

After hanging up, he didn't return to the interrogation room.

He went to the training ground alone.

It wasn't training time, and the grounds were deserted.

He began jogging lap after lap around the expansive training ground.

He had enlisted at eighteen, been selected for the Special Forces at twenty-one, and spent four years in the most perilous conditions.

During those four years, he had crossed the border regions, survived hails of bullets, struggled through desperate situations, and faced countless brushes with death. Those darkest moments had tempered his will and forged him into a hardened soldier.

Later, he had returned with countless honors and severe injuries, and for a long time he couldn't readjust to ordinary life.

Others saw only a young man covered in honors and holding a high-ranking position.

No one knew that, for a long stretch, he had spent night after night unable to sleep and needed medication to keep his emotions stable.

Even now, the sound of firecrackers made him instinctively reach for the small of his back.

His mother was always complaining that she had arranged so many blind dates for him, yet he hadn't liked a single woman.

She said his standards were too high and his temper too bad.

At this rate, she feared he would grow old alone.

He didn't care in the slightest whether he would grow old alone.

For a soldier,

as long as the country remained safe and life stayed peaceful, simply living to old age was an immense blessing.

Besides, how could he be lonely?

His parents and relatives, his comrades and brothers, and all the families he protected-what a bustling, lively world this was...

How could he possibly be lonely?

His comrades who lay forever at the border had wished for nothing more their entire lives.

Gu Zheng lowered his head and lit a cigarette.

It wasn't that he rejected blind dates. He even longed for a normal relationship, to build a little home of his own.

He also very much wanted to follow his parents' arrangements and settle into an ordinary but warm daily life.

But... every time he saw those women, he felt as though mountains and oceans lay between them.

As though they lived in an entirely different world from his.

Perhaps his body had returned here, while part of his soul remained at the border.

That world made up of loyalty, sacrifice, death, and an absolute sense of duty.

For a time, he had wondered.

Was something wrong with my heart?

Would I never be able to open my heart and accept a woman I didn't know?

Was I simply incapable of falling for a woman, or understanding what love was?

To him, women had always meant trouble!

Unpleasant makeup and perfume, endless coyness and endless tears-in short, the sort of creatures that gave him a headache on sight!

Until last night-

The moment he had held Song Ning tightly in his arms...

He realized he was wrong!

Completely wrong!