After being separated from my family, I became a darling of the military region thanks to my medical

She didn't sleep well that night.

The discomfort from the indigestion had long since been soothed by the two pills, but her mind was clearer than ever before. Lying on the soft bed, eyes open, she calmly reviewed the whole incident in the darkness.

After the bombing attempt failed, the people behind Qian Weiguo chose the most direct and bloody method. This shows that they couldn't wait any longer, or rather, they were driven to desperation.

Just as she had analyzed a complex surgery in her past life, she constructed a portrait of the enemy in her mind: capable of obtaining military-grade nerve agents, having channels to issue bounties on the black market, and feeling a great threat because of her existence.

The scope is shrinking.

As for Gu Zheng... his placement of her here was less about protection and more about firmly holding her, the most crucial "bait," in his hands.

Ye Zhen twitched the corners of her mouth, and in the darkness, a hint of cold mockery flashed across her eyes, which were like cold stars.

That's fine. She never minded being a pawn, as long as she could eventually be the one to overturn the chessboard.

These days passed by seemingly uneventfully amidst the aroma of three meals a day.

Gu Zheng executed his "close protection" and "feeding plan" meticulously. He had to go to the military base to handle official business during the day, but he always managed to arrive at the kitchen on time, like a dutiful animal caretaker, carrying various ingredients.

Ye Zhen's health was indeed improving at a visible rate. Her previously pale face was now flushed with a healthy rosy glow, and the occasional dizziness caused by low blood sugar had disappeared.

That evening, when Gu Zheng came home from get off work, he didn't carry groceries as usual, but instead carried back a heavy iron object.

With a loud thud, he placed the object in the center of the living room, causing the floor to tremble slightly.

It was an old-fashioned scale, the kind used in hospitals, with a sliding weight that could move up and down, exuding a cold, metallic feel.

Ye Zhen had just finished reading a medical journal and came out of her room when she saw this scene and stopped in her tracks.

Gu Zheng patted the weighing scale tray, raised his chin at her, and wore a serious expression as if he were waiting to inspect the weapon's performance.

"Dr. Ye, it's been a week. It's time to test our initial operational results." His tone wasn't joking; it sounded more like a progress report from a military exercise. "Physical fitness is the foundation of everything. With your frail body, you'd be blown away by a gust of wind. You couldn't handle the enemy, let alone a long surgery."

Ye Zhen looked at him expressionlessly, then walked around the imposing scale and headed straight for the kitchen, intending to boil water for herself.

Completely ignored.

Gu Zheng wasn't angry. He leaned his tall frame against the scale, crossed his arms, and said lazily, "If you don't want to be weighed, that's fine too."

He paused, his tone taking on a roguish air that left no room for argument, "Then I'll have to use the old method. I'll carry you up myself, and then I'll lose my own weight. It might be a bit of a hassle though."

As he spoke, he even pounded his "injured leg," which he could have easily walked on, but was now pretending to be injured.

Ye Zhen stopped pouring water.

The image involuntarily surfaced in her mind: the man lifting her up with his iron arms, strong enough to easily break a person's neck, and placing her on a scale like a weightless doll. Their bodies were pressed tightly together, and she could clearly feel the heat of his chest and his strong muscles. The hormonal scent mixed with the smell of tobacco emanating from him would completely envelop her...

Her ears inexplicably felt hot.

Damn it, what is she thinking?

Ultimately, absolute reason prevailed over that ridiculous sense of embarrassment. She took a deep breath and slammed the water glass down on the table with a loud "bang." Rather than let him take advantage of her, she decided to end things quickly.

She walked up to the scale, decisively took off her slippers, and stood on it barefoot with her small, fair feet.

The cool metallic touch from the soles of her feet made her involuntarily straighten her body, her toes curling slightly.

Gu Zheng's gaze lingered on her delicate ankles for a second before he crouched down, his long, slender fingers carefully manipulating the slider like a meticulous researcher. The crisp metallic clanging was exceptionally clear in the quiet living room, each sound striking Ye Zhen's heart.

"Ninety-one pounds," he announced, looking up at her with a gleam in his dark eyes, like a soldier who had won a battle and was waiting to be rewarded. "Not bad, you've gained three pounds. Dr. Ye, we've exceeded our target for this phase."

After he finished speaking, he stood up, and naturally raised his hand to rub her head.

His hands were large and warm, calloused from years of holding guns, and somewhat rough to the touch, but his movements were gentle. The heat, transmitted through her hair, went directly to her scalp, carrying a powerful yet irresistible warmth.

Ye Zhen's body froze completely in that instant.

This action...

From the depths of my memory, a blurry image was forcibly pulled out.

That was when she was still living with the Lin family, around ten years old. She won first place in the city's math Olympiad. Her adoptive father, Lin Weiguo, also said this with his broad, kind hand, stroking her head and saying with a face full of pride, "Our Zhenzhen is amazing. She'll definitely be more successful than her father in the future."

At that time, Lin Weiguo was just an ordinary chief physician, and his eyes were full of love and expectation when he looked at her.

But later, all the warmth and praise that belonged only to her was given to her younger sister, who could get the whole world just by crying. After that, Lin Weiguo's eyes were filled with only disappointment and impatience when he looked at her, and he didn't even say a word when she was kicked out of the house.

The chill of the memory, like a venomous snake, climbs up my spine, threatening to instantly dispel the remaining warmth above my head.

Ye Zhen lowered her eyes, concealing the turbulent emotions that flashed across them. Just as she was about to take a step back to avoid it, the hand had already been withdrawn.

Gu Zheng turned and walked towards the kitchen, humming an off-key military song in a very good mood, his voice loud and clear.

"To reward our excellent 'feeders,' we'll have an extra treat tonight: sweet fermented rice balls that you said were pretty good last time."

Ye Zhen stood alone in the middle of the living room, raised her hand, and gently touched the spot where he had just rubbed her. There, the warmth of his palm and a faint smell of tobacco still lingered.

A warmth that is unfamiliar, yet incredibly real.

What she disliked most was this kind of tenderness that reminded her of the past and made her seem weak. But this time, the sharp pain in her heart seemed to be enveloped by this warmth, becoming much less intense.

She was lost in thought when a steaming bowl of sweet fermented rice balls was handed to her.

White glutinous rice balls float in the sweet fermented rice soup, garnished with a few bright red goji berries. The aroma fills the nostrils, warm and sweet.

"What are you thinking about?" Gu Zheng's voice rang out above her. He noticed her somewhat unfocused gaze and frowned slightly. "Eat it while it's hot."

Ye Zhen looked up and saw that he was holding a bowl in his hand and wearing an apron with big red flowers on his body. The bright apron was incongruous with his tough military demeanor, making him look comical, yet strangely harmonious.

The warmth before my eyes is so real, so tangible.

It forcefully squeezed into her cold memories, diluting many of those unpleasant past events.

Ye Zhen took the bowl, scooped up a dumpling with a spoon, and put it in her mouth.

Soft, chewy, and sweet.

"I'm going to the General Hospital of the Military Region tomorrow." Gu Zheng sat down next to her, poured himself a bowl, and his tone returned to its usual seriousness. "Dean Zhou asked me to go and follow up on Qian Weiguo's case. Stay home by yourself, lock the door, and don't go out unnecessarily."

"Mmm," Ye Zhen responded softly.

"Tomorrow is the weekend," Gu Zheng said, as if remembering something. He took two tickets out of his pocket and placed them on the table. "Let's go see a movie tonight."

Ye Zhen glanced at them and saw two movie tickets with "Romance on Lushan Mountain" printed on them.