Chapter 82 Romantic Surprise, Tough Guy's Tenderness
The deep yet clear words, "I'm proud of you," pierced through the smoke and distance, like the warmest sunshine, completely dispelled the last trace of gloom and anxiety in Su Wanqing's heart. She held the receiver, listening to the busy tone, unable to recover for a long time. Tears flowed uncontrollably, but the corners of her mouth curled up, her heart filled with immense happiness and a sense of security.
He knew! He knew her efforts and her honor from such a faraway and dangerous place! And he personally affirmed her!
This recognition, coming from the person she cares about most, makes her feel more excited and satisfied than any honor or achievement.
In the days that followed, Su Wanqing seemed infused with new energy. Her complexion glowed, and even the lines on her design drawings seemed to become more fluid and inspired. She remained busy with her studio and military affairs, but the calm and confidence between her brows was now tinged with a softer glow nurtured by love and recognition. She no longer simply waited patiently; instead, with a sweet anticipation, she counted the days until he might return.
Assistant Chen's news grew increasingly positive—"Progress is going smoothly at the front," "Obstacles have been largely cleared," and "The commander is doing well, but... he's a little anxious to get back." Assistant Chen said the last sentence hesitantly, but with a smile on his face.
Su Wanqing's face flushed red as she heard this, feeling incredibly sweet. Would he... also be in such a hurry to come back? For her?
This thought made her heart beat faster, and she began to look forward to what he would be like when he came back? What would the situation between them be like?
The days passed in anticipation. Su Wan calculated the time, feeling a mixture of excitement and a strange nervousness as his return approached. She quietly prepared, cleaning his favorite tea set, fluffing up the cushions on the sofa where he often sat, and even... secretly drawing a new painting as a surprise for him.
It was an ordinary Wednesday afternoon. Su Wanqing had just returned from the service center, carrying some fresh ingredients, thinking of making something simple for herself tonight. She walked to the door, took out her key, and was about to open the door when she suddenly felt something was wrong.
The door was ajar.
Her heart suddenly tightened! Could a thief have broken in? The security in the compound was excellent, so this kind of thing was almost impossible! Or... Assistant Chen came?
She cautiously pushed the door open. The living room was quiet and empty. Everything was as usual, with no signs of anything unusual.
She put down her things in confusion, changed her shoes, and walked in carefully.
At this moment, her eyes were attracted by something on the coffee table in the living room——
It was a familiar, dark green, rectangular, military flat can. This type of can was the most common type of can in military field rations, plain and unpretentious, even a little rough.
How did it get here? And why was it placed so awkwardly in the middle of the coffee table?
Su Wanqing's heartbeat inexplicably accelerated. She walked over and picked up the can with trembling fingers. The box was very light and there didn't seem to be anything inside.
She gently opened the lid of the box.
There was no food inside, nor any instructions, just a folded, slightly rough piece of brown paper.
She held her breath as she carefully took out the paper and unfolded it.
There are no words on the paper.
There was only a map, carefully drawn in pencil, a little clumsy but extremely clear!
It was a hand-drawn map of the compound marked with simple coordinates and landmarks!
The map's starting point was their building. Then, a red arrow clearly marked a winding route: go downstairs, turn left, walk a hundred meters along Ginkgo Avenue, turn right into the small garden, and look for the next marker under the third bench...
Like a... treasure map?!
Su Wanqing's heart began to beat wildly, and an incredible thought suddenly struck her! She raised her head abruptly, looked around the empty living room, and tentatively called out, her voice trembling with disbelief, "...Tingxiao?"
No one responded.
But her intuition told her, he's back! He did this! This is a surprise for her?!
A huge joy and excitement exploded in her mind like fireworks! She could no longer care about anything else. She clutched the map tightly, followed the arrows, and rushed out of the house like a little girl!
She went downstairs, turned left, and hurried along the avenue covered with golden ginkgo leaves, her heart pounding, her cheeks flushed with excitement from running. Passing military families looked at her in surprise, but she was completely oblivious.
Turning right into the small garden, she found the third bench. She took a deep breath, squatted down, and groped in the gap under the bench with trembling fingers...
Sure enough! She touched another flat can of the same kind!
When I opened it, there was another brown paper map and a... yellow bullet shell with a cold glow?
The map points to the next location: the fourth window recess on the back wall of the compound library.
Su Wanqing picked up the bullet casing, and the cool touch made her feel incredibly hot. She continued running, following the clues, like a treasure hunter given a mysterious mission.
In the recess of the library windowsill, she found a third can, which contained another map and... a small piece of very smooth shell casing with a unique pattern?
The map points to the next location: at the feet of the stone lions at the entrance of the Veterans Activity Center.
Just like that, one after another, Su Wanqing followed this unique hand-drawn map and ran across half of the compound. Each treasure spot had a military can, which contained not only the next section of the map, but also an extremely special little "gift":
A bullet casing with traces of gunpowder;
A smooth stone from a special region;
A flattened, withered, yet intact poplar leaf;
There’s even a… slightly rough yet sparkling “star” carefully polished from a bullet shell?
These seemingly insignificant little things all bear the strong imprint of military service and the atmosphere of the battlefield, as if they were the unique "souvenirs" he carefully brought back for her from that distant and dangerous world.
Su Wanqing's heart was filled with an indescribable feeling of being touched and sweet. She couldn't imagine what the cold and majestic Commander Huo, who was always so capable of commanding the battlefield, was thinking as he secretly arranged such a childlike and thoughtful "treasure hunt" for her in the huge courtyard.
This is so unlike him! Yet... so like him! Using his most familiar method, expressing the most clumsy yet most sincere romance.
The last map pointed to a small birch forest in the deepest part of the compound, where few people usually went.
Su Wanqing ran into the woods, panting and full of anticipation, holding a handful of "trophies" she had collected in her hand.
The afterglow of the setting sun shines through the sparse branches, casting mottled light and shadows on the clearing in the woods.
There was a man standing in the open space.
He stood with his back to her, his figure erect as a pine tree, dressed in a perfectly tailored uniform, his epaulettes gleaming softly in the setting sun. At his feet, carefully arranged into a simple arrow, using all the "gifts" she had collected along the way—shell casings, stones, leaves, shell casings, stars... and, finally, the map—pointed to him.
Hearing her approaching footsteps, he slowly turned around.
The setting sun outlined his cold yet softened profile, the stubble on his jawline was neatly trimmed, and there was a barely perceptible hint of fatigue between his brows, but deeper still was an expression of gentleness and concentration that was almost overflowing.
He just stood there, looking at her deeply, looking at her cheeks that were flushed from running, looking at the "clues" he had left along the way that she was holding tightly in her hands, and looking at the incredible surprise and excitement in her eyes.
Their eyes met, and the air was filled with an extremely quiet and extremely sweet tension.
Su Wanqing stopped and stared at him blankly, her chest heaving violently. Thousands of words were stuck in her throat, but she couldn't say a single word.
Huo Tingxiao looked at her, and the corners of his hard lips rose very slowly but very clearly, revealing a genuine, unreserved, and even somewhat relieved smile.
That smile, like the melting ice and snow and the sunshine, instantly lit up his entire face and also instantly struck Su Wanqing's heart!
He stretched out his hand towards her, palm facing up, and quietly lying in the palm of his hand was a ring... a ring made by carefully grinding and polishing the bottom of a bullet shell, extremely simple yet shining with a unique metallic luster.
There is no brilliance of diamonds, no gorgeous shapes, only the most primitive, unique promise with the smell of gunpowder and steel.
His voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of subtle tension, but it echoed clearly in the silent birch forest:
“I picked up the materials on the road and ground them myself.”
"It's a bit rough."
"But... unique."
He paused, locked his gaze into hers, and asked solemnly, word by word:
"Comrade Su Wanqing,"
"Will you... wear it all the time?"
There was no kneeling on one knee, no sweet talk, only the most "Huo Tingxiao" style, clumsy, direct, yet weighty proposal.
Su Wanqing's tears instantly burst forth. She gazed at the bullet-shell ring, gleaming with a simple light in the setting sun. She looked at the man who had surprised her in the most special way, creating a unique token of love for her. She saw the undisguised anticipation and deep affection in his eyes...
All the waiting, all the worries, all the longing and grievances, at this moment, all turned into the most surging love and happiness!
She nodded vigorously, tears blurred her vision, and her voice was choked and almost broken: "Yes... I do!"
She reached out her hand and placed it tremblingly in his palm.
Huo Tingxiao held her hand tightly, his fingertips slightly cool, yet filled with an incomparable strength. He carefully placed the rough yet meaningful ring on her ring finger. The size was just right.
The ring felt cool against her skin, yet it felt as hot as lava, burning deep into her heart.
He lowered his head, resting his forehead lightly against hers, their breaths blending together, his voice low and satisfied: "I'm back."
"Hmm..." Su Wanqing choked, stretched out her arms, and hugged his strong waist tightly, burying her face deeply in his chest with a faint scent of soapberry, feeling his real heartbeat and body temperature, and her tears soaked his clothes.
As the sun sets, the two hug each other tightly in the birch forest.
On the ground, those "gifts" from afar, bearing traces of war, quietly flickered in the afterglow, witnessing this unique romance of iron and tenderness.
He did not bring flowers and diamonds, but he brought the uniqueness of the whole world.
She didn't hear any vows of love, but she got the most important promises.
A tough guy with a soft heart, extremely romantic.
Nothing more than this.
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