"I've already figured out what to do about this."
"You want to retire from the army?" Zhao Jun's expression turned serious. He simply couldn't believe that Xue Yanchen, who was known as the "Desperate Saburo" in the army, was always the most fearless of hardship and fatigue, and was the best fighter in the entire army, would have such a thought.
Xue Yanchen didn't speak or say anything. He stared blankly at a certain spot and then nodded.
"You..." Zhao Jun's emotions were clearly agitated. "I truly never imagined that one day you would have such thoughts. We enlisted together, and I saw how hard you worked and how much effort you put in. You said, 'A true man who doesn't serve his country and his people is not worthy of being a hero.' Back then, you were full of passion, and every time I saw you, I was infected by your fervor. Not long after you joined the army, some girls liked you and chased after you, but you were always cold and never gave them a kind look. I felt that romantic feelings were the least likely thing to interfere with you, which made me admire you even more. Even though we were both green recruits back then, I already regarded you as my role model. Later, seeing you earn merits time and time again and get promoted time and time again, I was certain in my heart that you would be the youngest, fastest promoted, and the youngest person to become the highest-ranking officer in our army. It seems that I won't live to see that day."
Xue Yanchen must have gone through a very intense and agonizing internal struggle to make such a decision, and it's uncertain whether there will be any room for maneuver.
"Brother Chen, I want to ask you, how much longer will it take for us to fight side by side together?"
Xue Yanchen was silent for a while again: "I don't know, let's see how fate works."
"Does Luo Zhiqing know your profession now?"
Xue Yanchen glanced at him sideways: "Zhao Jun, I can still distinguish between private matters and public matters. You're treating me like a tyrannical ruler from ancient times."
Zhao Jun: He actually really wanted to tell Luo Jingyan that she was a "disaster to the country and the people".
"I'm sorry, I was overthinking it. I shouldn't have doubted your commitment to principles."
"This is our military secret, I haven't told her. She'll find out when the mission is over and we're ready to go back. But don't worry too much. Leaving the army is just my worst-case scenario. I'll submit my marriage application to the military and try to get their approval. If they ultimately refuse, then I'll have to make an exception. Although giving up on ideals is difficult, there are always other paths in life. Even if I choose another profession, I can still shine and contribute to the country, right?"
"But my favorite profession is still being a soldier."
"Zhao Jun!"
"Okay, I won't say anything more. I think those old guys will probably not let you go once they know you retired to get married."
"They have to let me go, whether they want to or not. This is my personal matter, and they can't control it."
Zhao Jun patted him on the shoulder: "I hope those old guys will take your past merits into consideration and give you the approval to marry Luo Zhiqing."
"Um."
It was already noon. Luo Jingyan had finished cooking in the kitchen, including Xue Yanchen's portion. She hadn't seen Xue Yanchen at the educated youth settlement, so she went outside to look for him.
As soon as she stepped out of the gate of the educated youth settlement, she saw Xue Yanchen and Zhao Jun in the grove of trees opposite the settlement, and walked towards them.
Xue Yanchen and Zhao Jun were both facing away from her, still talking, when they heard the rustling of dry leaves on the ground. Their conversation stopped abruptly, and they turned around at the same time to look at the person behind them. When they realized that the person was Luo Jingyan, their expressions became slightly unnatural.
Luo Jingyan smiled and said, "What secrets are you talking about? You all stopped talking as soon as I arrived. If I can't listen to what you're saying, then I'll excuse myself for a moment, and you can continue your conversation."
As she spoke, she made a move to leave.
"There's no secret. I was just talking to Zhao Jun about some things from my hometown," Xue Yanchen said.
"Oh, is that so?"
But when she looked at Zhao Jun again, she noticed that his gaze was different from before. She couldn't quite put her finger on what that gaze meant; it was complicated and left her puzzled.
Could it be related to his conversation with Xue Yanchen?
What exactly did they say?
She said to Xue Yanchen, "I just finished cooking and realized you weren't at the educated youth settlement, so I came out to look for you. Let's go back and eat together."
Speaking of food, Zhao Jun was also there, so he said, "Zhao Zhiqing, come along too. I cooked some noodles, and if I cook a little more, it will be enough for the three of us."
Zhao Jun felt embarrassed to trouble Luo Jingyan any further: "No, I have my own food at the educated youth settlement, I'll just eat there."
The three of them walked together toward the educated youth settlement. Luo Jingyan was filled with doubts and somewhat absent-minded along the way.
When they returned to the educated youth settlement for a meal, she finally couldn't contain her curiosity and asked Xue Yanchen.
"Were you and Zhao Jun talking about me outside just now?"
Upon hearing her question, Xue Yanchen immediately stopped picking up food from his plate with his chopsticks, then looked up at her and said, "Why do you ask that? Didn't I just tell you that we were just talking about some things back home?"
"You really didn't mention me at all, not even a little bit. You just talked about some things from your hometown?" she asked, looking into his eyes.
"I did mention it," he said with a smile. "It was just some trivial stuff, like when we're going to get married and have kids."
Luo Jingyan's face flushed slightly. "You two are even discussing having children together as a couple?"
"He didn't say much, just mentioned it casually. I told him that our marriage and having children had nothing to do with him, and that he should worry about his own affairs. I was afraid you would hit me if you heard this, so we didn't say anything more since you were there earlier."
Luo Jingyan still felt that Xue Yanchen hadn't told her the truth. She was puzzled. Did Xue Yanchen lie to her too? Why wouldn't he tell her the truth?
Should she continue to trust him?
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just afraid you'd talk badly about me behind my back."
Xue Yanchen smiled and said, "If Zhao Jun dares to say bad things about you, I'll be the first to beat him up."
"Alright, alright, eat up."
Luo Jingyan had been planning to build a house and move out after the weather warmed up since last year, but she needed to secure the land for the house first.
At the foot of the mountain not far from the cowshed, there was a flat open space. Luo Jingyan thought it was a good place. It was usually quiet, and most importantly, it was convenient to visit her parents at the cowshed and deliver supplies to them.
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