Su Tang plunged headfirst into that embrace filled with the smells of gunpowder and the dust of the high plateau, burying her face deep into his firm chest.
The familiar taste instantly put her at ease, and all the pretense and strength she had put on over the past few months crumbled in that moment.
All the words in the world eventually turned into a tight hug, a hug that seemed to want to meld the other person into their very bones.
Qin Ye hugged her tightly, his rough hands gently stroking her back.
He said nothing, but simply rested his chin on the top of her head, greedily savoring the real, soft warmth in his arms.
A heart that had been tense for months on the battlefield, ready to face life and death at any moment, finally settled back into its cavity at this moment.
"I'm back." His deep voice carried a hint of hoarseness and weariness.
"Mmm," Su Tang responded sullenly, without looking up, clearly unwilling to let go.
After a long while, the two slowly separated.
The afterglow of the setting sun cast their shadows long and thin on the ground, intertwining intimately.
Qin Ye naturally took her hand, their fingers intertwined, the warmth of their palms comforting each other.
The two walked slowly into the house, hand in hand.
"Oh my! Isn't this Commander Qin back!" A familiar voice rang out. Li Xiumei, carrying a vegetable basket, brightened up as soon as she saw the two of them. "You're finally back! Our Team Leader Su has been waiting for you for so long!"
Qin Ye nodded to Li Xiumei as a greeting.
Back in the warm little house, the door was closed, isolating me from everything outside.
Su Tang immediately let go of Qin Ye's hand and pulled him towards the bedroom: "Stand still, take off your clothes, let me check."
The tone of the command left Commander Qin, who had just returned from the battlefield, somewhat amused and exasperated. He felt a warmth in his heart, but muttered, "What could possibly happen to me? It's just a few minor scratches."
"Stop talking nonsense." Su Tang glared at him and started to unbutton his military uniform. "Am I the doctor or are you the doctor? I don't treat minor injuries."
Qin Ye couldn't persuade her otherwise, so he had no choice but to raise his hands and let her "do as she pleased," like a soldier waiting for inspection.
Su Tangzai examined him carefully, and when she saw the new, scabbed abrasions and large, horrifying bruises on his back and arms, her heart still clenched uncontrollably.
Without saying a word, she turned to get the first-aid kit, quickly brought over a basin of hot water, dipped a clean towel in it, and gently cleaned his wound and changed the gauze.
The room was quiet, with only the faint sound of a towel touching skin.
Qin Ye looked at her focused profile. Under the light, her long eyelashes cast a small shadow, and her usually cold and sharp eyes were now filled with heartache.
His heart softened, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his deep voice broke the tenderness: "When I came back, I ran into Wang Fengxing at the gate of the courtyard. He said that while I was away, someone bullied you."
His tone was calm, as if he were saying that the weather was nice today.
But Su Tang knew him too well; beneath the calm surface lay a volcano about to erupt.
Without stopping her hands, she dipped a cotton swab in iodine and carefully applied it to his wound, casually recounting what had happened at the research institute and Zhou Huai'an's affair.
From how they found the kaolin and captured the Russian enemy agent, to how Zhou Huai'an used official documents to intimidate people, and finally how he exposed the other party's conspiracy to tamper with the coal in public, every detail was explained clearly.
She spoke of it as if it were something trivial.
But the more she acted this way, the uglier Qin Ye's expression became.
When Qin Ye heard that Zhou Huai'an had actually tampered with the coal to embarrass Su Tang in front of the entire military region, the atmosphere around him instantly plummeted to freezing point.
A strong sense of self-reproach welled up inside him.
Qin Ye was fighting desperately against the enemy outside, protecting his country, but his wife suffered such a terrible injustice right under his nose.
This was more painful for him than being stabbed in the back.
“It’s all in the past.” Su Tang felt his body stiffen, put down the cotton swab, and grabbed his tightly clenched fist. “Look, he’s been arrested, hasn’t he? Evil people will be punished by heaven. I’m not missing a single hair.”
To distract him, Su Tang took the red velvet box from the bedside table and opened it in front of him.
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