Su Miaoyan nodded, "Yes, it's a secret that no one knows. Since it's a secret that no one knows, it must be done behind people's backs, so no one will know."

Gu Shanqing seemed to be deep in thought.

The meaning was quite clear: if they hadn't stumbled upon this place by chance, they might never have seen these two people.

Gu Shanqing asked, "Su Miaoyan, what are your thoughts?"

Su Miaoyan walked forward, "I wasn't close to them at the time, and my hat was covering my eyes, so I didn't see what they looked like clearly. Today... let's just pretend nothing happened."

His sixth sense told him that those two people were not ordinary.

Gu Shanqing took Su Miaoyan's arm: "Okay, now... shall we go back first?"

Su Miaoyan glanced at the time on her wrist; Lu Ting should be finished with his training by now.

She nodded.

Hearing that the two were going back, the swarm of bees buzzed and followed behind them, trotting along happily.

Su Miaoyan stretched out her hand, and the bees, as if summoned, all landed on her hand.

Gu Shanqing then voiced her doubts, "Su Miaoyan, are these bees... sentient beings? I feel like they can understand human speech."

Of course!

They collected nectar from the flowers in her yard.

Su Miaoyan said, "I don't know if it has become a spirit, but it is true that it can understand what we are saying."

Gu Shanqing wondered, "If cats and dogs can understand us, I don't think there's a problem, but bees..."

This was the first time she had encountered something like this.

Su Miaoyan pretended not to know anything and chimed in, "It is indeed unbelievable, but it is quite interesting that we can encounter such a thing."

Gu Shanqing nodded emphatically.

Some things simply cannot be explained by science.

Seeing the bees landing gently and harmlessly on Su Miaoyan's hand, she also reached out her hand.

Bees tentatively circled around her, seemingly sniffing her scent.

Gu Shanqing patted Su Miaoyan's shoulder, "Su Miaoyan, why do the bees only land on you and ignore me?"

Su Miaoyan glanced at her indifferently and gave her a smile. "Perhaps it's because they are bees in my yard."

"Oh, okay."

Gu Shanqing withdrew her hand. "If you didn't know better, you'd think you were a beekeeper."

Su Miaoyan smiled but didn't say anything, pulling her towards her own courtyard. "When you first came, you said you were here to schedule a time to plant trees?"

Gu Shanqing's attention was indeed drawn to these words. "Yes."

Su Miaoyan said, "Now that the weather is hot, didn't we change the tree planting time to prevent accidents?"

The original time was set for the afternoon because there would be sunlight then, and although the temperature would be high, the lighting would make planting trees very efficient.

There is no lighting at night, and supplies are scarce, so most people use kerosene lamps.

Kerosene lamps cost money, so considering the cost, the trees were planted during the daytime.

But now that summer is approaching, the daytime temperature in the Gobi Desert is frighteningly high. If we still plant in the afternoon as before, we might collapse before we've even planted a few trees.

Gu Shanqing had been staying at home these past few days listening to Wang Xiuzhen and Chief Gu's nagging, so naturally she wasn't well-informed.

She said "Oh," and then asked, "So when was the new time?"

Su Miaoyan shook her head. "I don't know."

Neither Commander He nor Deputy Political Commissar Qu had spoken to her openly about it.

That means it's still under discussion and hasn't been finalized.

Gu Shanqing thought to herself that it made sense; no one had been notified yet, so how would they know?

They were all terrified after just escaping.

Gu Shanqing rubbed her stomach and led Su Miaoyan around the corner at the entrance of the residential compound. "I'm hungry, Su Miaoyan. Let's go to the cafeteria to eat now. It's on me!"

She, Gu Shanqing, could afford to treat him to a meal.

Su Miaoyan glanced at her, her gaze meaningful.

Gu Shanqing thought she still remembered the tree planting incident, and her face flushed red instantly.

Hesitantly, she said, "Let me tell you, ever since you saved me that day, I've considered you a friend, Su Miaoyan. I admit what I said that day was very hurtful, but I want to apologize to you. Look how sincere I've been these past few days..."

Su Miaoyan coughed twice. "I didn't take that day's incident to heart."

Gu Shanqing breathed a sigh of relief, then realized what was wrong, "Then why?"

After thinking for a moment, Su Miaoyan finally spoke the truth, "I want to have dinner with Lu Ting."

Gu Shanqing: ...

Why didn't she think of that?!

Gu Shanqing let go of her hand, and was about to say that she should go first, but then her eyes darted around and she changed her words to, "Then I'll go with you."

Su Miaoyan smiled and said, "Don't you feel embarrassed?"

Gu Shanqing shook her head, then nodded. "It's awkward, but I'm still curious about how Lu Ting treats you. If he doesn't treat you well, I can stand up for you."

It's true that Gu Shanqing had feelings for Lu Ting before.

But she definitely didn't like Lu Ting.

Rather, it is a desire for conquest stemming from a sense of self-respect and a reluctance to have one's dignity trampled upon!

Because of her status since childhood, who wouldn't like her? Even if they didn't, they wouldn't directly refuse her, but would do so in a tactful and subtle way.

Therefore, when she encounters a man like Lu Ting who is different from others, she feels a sense of frustration.

She had never been treated like this before.

However, after meeting Su Miaoyan, she looked down on Lu Ting.

Because she felt that Su Miaoyan was a very good person, in every way.

Ugh... Anyway, it's just a feeling I can't quite put my finger on. I don't know why, but whenever I get close to Su Miaoyan, I always feel a sense of closeness to her.

Therefore, Lu Ting is not allowed to treat Su Miaoyan badly!

Su Miaoyan was amused by Gu Shanqing's words. She felt that Gu Shanqing, a truly upright and well-bred young lady, was also a bit adorably arrogant.

If it weren't for the inappropriate timing, she would have liked to pinch the other person's cheek.

Su Miaoyan thought that since they were going the same way anyway, she simply nodded and agreed, "Okay, then you can come to the cafeteria with me."

Gu Shanqing raised her head. "That's more like it. This is the first time I've invited someone to dinner. Even though you're my savior, I still hope you'll give me this face."

Su Miaoyan smiled and said, "Alright, I'll give you face. Let's go, let's go quickly."

"Um!"

The two walked towards the cafeteria.

At this moment, Lu Ting did indeed finish training. Almost the instant the whistle blew, all the soldiers, who were exhausted and covered in sweat, collapsed to the ground.

He was panting heavily.

Sure enough, the commander is still the same familiar commander. This training method, this feeling after training, it's so damn familiar!

Several soldiers, having recovered their senses, were about to go and talk to Lu Ting when they saw their usually unflappable regimental commander walking quickly toward the training ground exit.

Looking at their backs, it's as if they wish they could sprout wings.