The temporary command center was so simple that it was almost shabby.
A rough wooden table was piled with maps and telegrams. In the corner stood a few ammunition boxes, which served as storage shelves. Bandages, medicine bottles and hard buns were piled cluttered on them. On the top shelf was a kerosene lamp with a fine crack on the glass cover, and flames leaked through the crack.
Zheng Wanqing's eyes fell on the iron stove in the middle of the room. The charcoal fire in the stove was dying, with only a few dark red sparks still struggling.
Xie Yun walked quickly past the door. The sound of his military boots hitting the ground woke up the messenger who was napping in the corner. The child stood up suddenly and almost knocked over the telegraph machine on the table.
"Take a rest." Xie Yun waved his hand, squatted down, skillfully added a few pieces of pine wood into the stove, and moved it with tongs.
The firewood crackled, and soon the flames jumped up happily, lighting up the room. He turned and waved at Zheng Wanqing, the fatigue between his brows softened by the firelight: "Come over and warm yourself up."
Zheng Wanqing walked to the stove and sat down on a broken stool. When she stretched out her hands to warm the fire, her fingertips were still a little stiff and pale, almost transparent.
Xie Yun glanced at her, frowned, and directly pulled her hands into his palms. He lowered his head and blew a breath of hot air, then rubbed them vigorously.
"Why is it still so cold after having hot food?" He said in a reproachful tone, but he couldn't hide his heartache.
Zheng Wanqing let him warm her hands and whispered, "It's okay."
She looked around, feeling sad. Her eyes fell on the wooden bed in the corner. The bed board was bare, with only a thin mattress on it, and mud stains on the edge. The pillow was a rolled-up cotton coat. She pursed her lips, "Do you usually...sleep here?"
She knew that conditions at the front were tough, but she had never expected it to be like this, without even a decent bed.
Xie Yun followed her line of sight and smiled disapprovingly: "It's good enough to be able to lie down. There's no room for choice."
Zheng Wanqing didn't respond, but gently broke free from his hand, walked over to sit on the bed, and pressed her palm against the bed board, which was hard and uncomfortable.
"This place is small, I'm sorry to bother you." Xie Yun glanced at Zheng Wandan's thin figure, turned around and continued to knock on the furnace wall with the fire tongs. The charcoal ash that fell covered the dark red flames. "You sleep here tonight. I'll squeeze in with Zhou Lin and the others."
"Can I chase the young commander away as soon as I arrive?"
"This bed is so small, I'm afraid..." He smiled bitterly, the hem of his military uniform sweeping across the ground, raising fine dust, "Besides, there may be emergency reports at night."
"Xie Yun." Zheng Wanqing rarely called him by his full name, her voice was light but firm, "Why do you think I'm here?"
Just as Xie Yun was about to reply, Zheng Wanqing had already stood up, walked in front of him, and looked up at him. The light from the fire reflected in her eyes, which was surprisingly bright, and her eyelashes cast a subtle shadow on her cheeks.
"Yumin," she called him softly, her fingertips touching the dark circles under his eyes, "I heard that you haven't slept for three days."
Xie Yun held her wrist and smiled helplessly: "How can it be so exaggerated? She even squinted for a while in the middle."
She didn't believe it, and she traced his thin cheeks with her fingers. He looked much more haggard than the last time they met, his jawline became sharper, and there were even tiny cracks on his lips. She couldn't tell whether it was frostbite or lack of water. She only knew that he was extremely tired.
"It's no different if I squeeze in with them, so why can't I sleep with me?" she said stubbornly.
Xie Yun looked at her stubborn expression, and finally gave in. He sighed, "Okay, I'll listen to you." He paused, and suddenly remembered something. He turned around and went to the corner, dragging out a bundle of hay from behind the ammunition box. "But I have to put a layer of hay on you first. This bed is too hard, and you can't sleep on it."
Zheng Wanqing was startled: "Where did the hay come from?"
"It's evenly spaced in the stable." He squatted down, spread the hay on the bed, and then spread the thin blanket over it, patting it. "Although it's still not as good as the bed at home, it's better than sleeping on the wooden board."
Zheng Wanqing's eyes were hot, and she whispered, "It's not that troublesome..."
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