"My God! I can't believe my eyes!" Wang Wei rubbed her eyes, looking at Li Deren with an incredulous expression.
Li Deren's mouth dropped open as he stared at Wang Wei, looking utterly incredulous. "Commander, he kissed the hummingbird?! I—"
"Yes. To be precise, it seems to be the forehead."
Both of them confirmed what they had seen through each other's words, and found it even more incredible.
"The commander has really heavy tastes! He actually likes middle-aged women." If this person wasn't Hummingbird, Wang Wei would definitely have said it was a middle-aged aunt, but since it was Hummingbird, he couldn't bring himself to say anything unpleasant.
Li Deren agreed, but said aloud, "They're not that much older! Maybe they're soulmates, spiritually compatible. Otherwise, why would the commander be so indifferent to other women?"
If Wu Sicheng knew that his two comrades were belittling him like that—no, they were belittling An Moxue—he would definitely drag them into the training field and scold them until they regretted ever knowing him, until even their own parents wouldn't recognize them.
At this moment, he was completely focused on An Moxue, and had no idea what kind of people they were.
“Wu Sicheng, I still have the strength to swim back by myself,” An Moxue said, looking at Wu Sicheng who was pulling her towards the shore.
“I know you can, but I want to save you some energy. Mo Xue, it’s so good to see you alive and well!” Wu Sicheng said, his voice choked with emotion. An Mo Xue didn’t see the tears that rolled into the river.
"Yes, I'm so happy to see you so soon after I came out." She was in a great mood as soon as she saw the bright sky and Wu Sicheng coming to find her. The corners of her mouth were upturned and her eyebrows were curved.
"Conserve your energy, we'll talk again once we're ashore," Wu Sicheng said.
Although he really wanted to hear her talk right now, anything would do, but this wasn't the time. Getting ashore safely was the most important thing; they would have plenty of time later.
The two of them said nothing more and continued swimming towards the riverbank.
Not far from the riverbank, Wu Sicheng shouted towards the shore, "Wang Wei, Li Deren, I order you to go and gather some firewood and find some food. Now, go immediately."
Just as Wang Wei was about to say something, Li Deren dragged her away.
Wang Wei struggled and questioned, "Li Deren, why are you dragging me away? We have to wait until Hummingbird and the regimental commander are safely ashore before we go get the stuff!"
Li Deren asked with exasperation, "You blockhead! Hummingbird is a woman, and the regimental commander is here! Are you sure we should wait on the shore?"
Wang Wei stopped struggling and walked forward quickly. "Oh! I forgot about that. Okay, let go of my hand, let's go find something together. Although the temperature here is okay, it's winter after all, and it must be very cold after being in the water for so long."
Wu Sicheng looked at the two people who had left, and his expression softened considerably. He was no longer the stern man he had been when speaking to Wang Wei and Li Deren.
An Moxue chuckled softly, "Our Comrade Wu is so thoughtful."
Wu Sicheng swam with her towards the shore. Listening to An Moxue's words, a smile welled up from his chest, and then this joy spread throughout his body. Even An Moxue next to him could feel his good mood.
"So happy?" An Moxue asked suspiciously; she hadn't said anything!
"Mmm," he responded softly, nothing could make him happier than finding her.
However, he didn't say much. These days, he only ate and drank a little food and water. Going into the water would be very physically demanding, and he had to make sure that An Moxue was safely brought ashore. He needed to speak less to conserve his energy.
Wang Wei and Li Deren had already disappeared from sight. Wu Sicheng and An Moxue had also reached the shore. He said, "Moxue, I'll lift you up, and then I'll get ashore."
"good."
An Moxue got ashore first. Being suddenly out of the water, she shivered from the cold.
Wu Sicheng also went ashore and pulled An Moxue along. After walking a distance, he picked up his bag from the ground and said, "Moxue, find a place to change your wet clothes first. We can dry them after they come back from gathering firewood." As he spoke, he took out a set of clothes from his bag and handed them to An Moxue, urging, "Hurry up, you're shivering."
An Moxue took off the bag from her back and said, "I have dry clothes in my bag, so it's not wet. This bag is waterproof."
As An Moxue spoke, she opened her bag to show Wu Sicheng what was inside, saying, "Look, it's all dry. I'm going to change my clothes, you should go too."
Only then did she notice that Wu Sicheng looked dejected, with sunken eyes, bloodshot eyes, a unkempt beard, and had lost a lot of weight.
"Wu Sicheng, you—" The words he was about to say rolled around on his lips, but then he swallowed them back down. In the end, he only said, "Go quickly, come back and get me something to eat. I'm starving." Then he took his backpack and went behind a tree.
When she came out again, her hair was half-dry. Wu Sicheng was standing in the shallow water by the river, holding a wooden stick with a dagger tied to one end.
An Moxue saw that he had changed into dry clothes and was spearing fish, so she didn't disturb him. She found a suitable place and washed her clothes.
When they returned after washing, Wu Sicheng had already speared two fish and was cleaning their internal organs.
She squatted down beside him, watching him do his work. "There are plenty of fish in this river, and many of them are big! The water is so clear, the fish must taste delicious."
"If you like them, I'll catch a few more later. Are you alright?" He looked at her, waiting for her answer.
"No, I hid in the underground river and escaped. It was just a bit of a hassle to get out."
He looked at her and saw that she didn't seem injured. After hearing her say it herself, his worries completely subsided.
Wu Sicheng smiled gently and said, "That's good. I've found you. When Wang Wei and Li Deren return, I'll have them go back and report. That way, Captain Xu and Political Commissar Zhang won't worry. Oh! By the way, this time it was the Xiongshi Independent Regiment that came. The entire regiment was mobilized, and the mission was successfully completed."
An Moxue asked excitedly, "Really! Uncle Zhang is here too."
Then came the question: "He hasn't been on a mission for years, why is he here this time?"
"This may involve the follow-up investigation of the case and the stability of the local government, after all, he is in charge of ideological work and will have to stay here for a while."
Once Wu Sicheng explained, An Moxue understood that the investigation was key to this case, and the follow-up handling was of paramount importance.
Wang Wei and Li Deren returned carrying two bundles of firewood and two rabbits. Just as they were about to greet An Moxue, Wu Sicheng stopped them, saying, "Alright, you've completed your mission. Go back and report to Captain Xu and Political Commissar Zhang that you've found the hummingbird. We'll be back a little later."
Just as Wang Wei was about to say that saying hello wouldn't take much time, Li Deren grabbed her and pulled her away, saying as they walked, "Commander, we've found the hummingbird, so there's no rush. You guys take your time going back; we'll head back first."
Wang Wei said reluctantly, "No, I, we, hummingbird, at least say hello! We haven't even met face to face! We've only seen your back."
"Hurry up and go! How can you be so clueless! How come I never noticed before! Do you think you're not superfluous enough? Why are you causing trouble for the commander?! Let's go!"
Wu Sicheng watched the two walk away, their words carried on the wind, and smiled happily.
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