No, what do you mean he's someone who hasn't had much schooling?
"If I remember correctly, I already have a junior high school diploma. The organization even recommended that I go to night school for further studies, right?"
"I'm much better than you, someone who barely studied in elementary school, right? How come in your eyes I'm someone who hasn't had much schooling?"
"Oh, oh, oh, you're angry now? Taking it seriously proves you care. Tell me, whose girl is that?"
"What do you mean 'whose'? That's my sister, what's wrong with that?"
Seeing that the team had begun to assemble, Zhou Xing scoffed at him and quickly ran away.
Yang Chen was left bewildered as he chased after them to ask.
"Your sister? Stop talking nonsense! Everyone knows you only have a younger brother, where did you get a younger sister? Don't you even bother to think before you lie!"
...
After Tang Cuimei was taken to the hospital, she learned that three of her female classmates were seriously injured, while two male classmates and she sustained minor injuries.
There were eight people, four men and four women, who went together. When they came back, six of them were sent to the hospital. The military region sent them directly, and even the experts they invited were from the military region. They did their best to save them, since it was a gunshot wound. However, one of the female students was injured in the heart and ultimately could not be saved.
Even Tang Cuimei hadn't expected this outcome. She sat blankly on the hospital bed, her high fever caused by a cold seeming insignificant at this moment.
There was no time to discuss how they were abducted, how many shots the kidnappers fired, or which direction they ran in. In that situation, all you could think about was yourself.
But how could they be separated by death just because of this one time?
When she struggled to get out of bed to visit her classmate and see her one last time, the nurse gently shook her head and refused.
"The military has taken over, saying that until the matter is fully investigated, even the body... but her family has already been notified to come over."
Tang Cuimei thought of Cao Limei, the girl who came from a remote mountainous area to Beijing and was always sunny and confident, and suddenly felt a lump in her throat and tears streamed down her face.
Cui Mei thought they were sent to this hospital because it was close by, but now it seems that it was not because it was convenient for them to be isolated and interrogated.
She didn't know what they were investigating, but the fact was that she was interrogated three times during her recovery and twice more after she recovered.
No wonder she had never seen any of her classmates other than herself. There were eight of them, and even the deceased Cao Limei was isolated separately.
It wasn't until a week later that she was allowed to return to school. As soon as she got off the bus, she saw Zhou Xing standing not far away in his military uniform, looking dignified and awe-inspiring.
He even walked over to greet the soldiers who had escorted her back, offered them cigarettes, chatted quietly for a few words, and then watched them leave.
Then, regardless of Tang Cuimei's willingness, he looked at her slightly pale face and said, "Walk a few steps with me?"
Tang Cuimei pursed her slightly dry lips and followed behind him with her head down.
"I'm so sorry I couldn't rescue all eight of you safely. I heard that girl is not even twenty years old."
Cui Mei felt a pang of pain in her heart, but she forced herself to suppress the bitterness in her heart.
"If this is all going to be blamed on you, then shouldn't we blame ourselves for going to Hanseok Bridge, where the criminals were headed, of all places that day?"
Zhou Xing turned around and looked at the girl in front of him, who seemed calm but actually revealed a sense of sorrow, and felt a pang of heartache for her.
Are you alright?
His voice was deep and tinged with concern. Tang Cuimei looked up in surprise and realized that the boy she used to know was now more than a head taller than her. "When did you grow so tall?"
Zhou Xing listened to her seemingly lighthearted joke and returned her cheerful greeting.
"Didn't you also secretly grow taller and bigger without my knowledge? I remember we were about the same age? I was born in 1939, how about you?"
Tang Cuimei pursed her lips: "Four years old? How are you about the same age? You're five years older than me!"
"I always thought you were still a kid, but your textbook-perfect on-the-spot reaction that day really blew my mind!"
"Maybe I'm a bit introverted. I only trust myself and not anyone else, especially since my life is in the hands of a criminal. No one knows his true situation better than me, even if the people standing in front of me are you!"
"Your clean and efficient reaction isn't from being autistic, it's from training, isn't it?"
"Yes, the school offers boxing and martial arts classes, and I've practiced them when I have free time."
"No wonder. Your skills are something that ordinary people can't do. Even if it's unintentional, you can't keep up with the movements, and you'll suffer a great loss if you're not careful. But I still want to remind you that professional things should be left to professionals. Hey? Where did the scar on your face go?"
As Zhou Xing got closer, he noticed that the burn scars under Tang Cuimei's bangs were gone. Her fair skin and exposed, slender neck made him subconsciously look away, and he awkwardly reached out to wipe his nose.
Upon hearing his question, Tang Cuimei subconsciously touched her face before casually nodding.
"I found an ancient remedy myself and removed the scars on my face. How about that? You can't see them at all, can you?"
"Your scar removal is really effective. No wonder Yang Chen kept asking me for your contact information, wanting to date you. Looks like he's interested in you. So, how about it? Interested in dating my comrade?"
He hadn't noticed before that the scars on Tang Cuimei's forehead and face were gone. Mainly, it wasn't appropriate for a grown man like him to stare at a girl's face all the time, and besides, he and Tang Cuimei hadn't really exchanged more than a few words.
Today was the first time in his life that he had been so close to a girl and talked so much with her. After he finished speaking, he immediately scratched his head awkwardly.
Tang Cuimei was amused by his embarrassed expression. "Then you might be disappointed. I'm not interested in dating right now!"
Born in 1944, Tang Cuimei is only seventeen years old this year. She is mature in her mind, but not in her real age.
Moreover, medical students simply don't have time to date; this trip with their classmates is just for fun.
The feelings between them only existed in normal communication between classmates, and even when they went on picnics, the boys and girls would gather separately.
In a time when the separation between men and women remains a sensitive issue, if Zhou Xing and she weren't quite close, that one sentence would have been considered a breach of boundaries.
Tang Cuimei's refusal was decisive, and Zhou Xing didn't dwell on the matter too much. After all, soldiers also have their pride, don't they?
Especially when Tang Cuimei mentioned her age, Zhou Xing belatedly realized that his younger sister was not yet an adult!
He's really asking for trouble, talking about dating with a minor. I need to change the subject.
"Sorry, I got so excited that I forgot your age. Okay, just pretend I'm rambling on!"
Are you hungry? Shall I take you to eat roast duck?
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