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

The private jet flew smoothly at an altitude of 30,000 feet, and the atmosphere in the cabin was very pleasant.

Vice Minister Li drank three glasses of champagne, his face flushed. He pulled his accompanying secretary, Xiao Liu, to repeatedly look through clips of reports from various countries' media outlets, slapping his thigh whenever he came across something he enjoyed.

"Look at this, a commentary personally written by the editor-in-chief of The Lancet! It says the 'Heart of China' procedure is the most important milestone in the field of cardiothoracic surgery in the second half of the 20th century!"

Xiao Liu kept dodging to the side after being slapped by him.

"Vice Minister Li, Dr. Ye is resting in the back."

"Yes, yes, keep your voice down." Vice Minister Li lowered his voice, but his mouth was still agape, and the words still escaped through his teeth, "Little Liu, you don't understand. For so many years, our country has been looked down upon in the international academic community. Today, with this award, we can stand tall! Completely stand tall!"

Xiao Liu nodded vigorously.

A small space was partitioned off in the rear cabin by a curtain. Ye Zhen leaned back in her seat, a thin blanket draped over her knees, her eyes closed as she rested. Her schedule had been packed these past few days—award ceremonies, banquets, media interviews, academic exchanges—she'd been working non-stop for almost a week. Even with her good health, the combination of several months postpartum and high-intensity business trips was taking its toll.

Gu Zheng sat next to her, looking very relaxed. His long legs were stretched out under the front seat, his right hand was on the back of Ye Zhen's chair, and his left hand was flipping through a Swedish travel guide he had somehow gotten his hands on—he couldn't understand it anyway, so he was just keeping his hand occupied.

But his mind wasn't on this manual.

Nine months ago.

The night before Wei Peng was to be executed, someone from the military law department called to say that the prisoner had specifically requested to see him.

Gu Zheng didn't want to go at first.

What's the point of seeing a dying madman?

But in the end, Gu Zheng still went.

The interrogation room in the military court was even more cramped than he remembered. The light bulbs hummed softly, and there were several gray marks on the white wall from the cuffs.

Wei Peng sat in the iron chair, looking even thinner than at the beginning of the year. Acute leukemia had tormented him for over half a year; his skin was sallow, his cheekbones prominent, and his lips were chapped and peeling. His wrists were handcuffed to the armrests, with a ring of purplish-blue bruises beneath the handcuffs.

He looked up and saw Gu Zheng push the door open and come in, and actually smiled.

His smile was awful; as the corners of his mouth were pulled upwards, his chapped lips bled slightly.

"Gu Zheng, you actually came."

Gu Zheng stood across the table without sitting down.

"Speak your mind."

"That gun," Wei Peng licked the blood from his lips, "wasn't something I got from the black market."

Gu Zheng's breath hitched for a second.

"I lied during the interrogation." Wei Peng's voice was as dry as sandpaper. "The gun was delivered to my door by someone. When he came to me, I already knew I wasn't going to survive. He gave me the gun and also gave me your whereabouts on the first day of the Lunar New Year."

"Who?"

Wei Peng tilted his head, and that smile reappeared on his face.

"He told me to call him—Sand Sparrow."

When those two words hit his ears, Gu Zheng's back tensed up.

Sand sparrow.

The code name that appeared in the Northwest Base case, the contact person that Ma Chenggui mentioned, the Jiayuguan Guesthouse, the gray hat covering his face, the southern accent—a mastermind who was never caught.

"What does he look like?"

"He was wearing a hat pulled down and sunglasses, so I couldn't see his face." Wei Peng shook his head. "But I remember his voice. He had a heavy southern accent and spoke slowly and steadily."

It was exactly the same as what Ma Chenggui had told him.

Gu Zheng clenched his fist, then relaxed it.

"Why are you telling me all this? What's your purpose?"

Wei Peng stared at the ceiling, his smile vanishing. After a long silence, he finally spoke, his throat feeling like it was blocked by a piece of rusty iron.

"I'm going to die tomorrow, so it doesn't matter to me. But I'm telling you this not to help you."

He tilted his head to face Gu Zheng.

"I just want you to know that someone has been watching you and your wife. You don't know who he is, where he is, or when he will make his move."

He grinned, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.

"Gu Zheng, from now on, you won't be able to sleep soundly for a single day."

After the interrogation room door closed, Gu Zheng stood in the corridor for a full five minutes.

The next day, two specially trained soldiers entered the northern part of the city under different identities. One was assigned to the entrance of an alley near the Gu family's residence, using a bicycle repair stall as cover; the other appeared at his post in the intervention building as a newly recruited logistics staff member of the main hospital.

In addition, he specifically spoke with the old man and arranged for the guards at the old house to put on an extra night shift.

During the period before and after Ye Zhen gave birth, he hardly slept a wink, not entirely because of taking care of her during her postpartum period—a large part of his mind was outside the courtyard wall.

He had every alley and every entrance within 500 meters of the house thoroughly investigated twice.

There was nothing there.

Clean and tidy, quiet and peaceful.

The sand sparrow seemed to have evaporated into thin air.

No, that's not right. Such people don't simply vanish.

The quieter he is, the more he is hiding his true intentions.

This thorn has been stuck in Gu Zheng's heart for nine months; he can't pull it out, and he can't find its end.

He turned to a page in the travel brochure, which featured color photographs of Stockholm's Old Town. He didn't read a single word.

One question kept swirling in my mind—who exactly was Sha Que? In Ma Chenggui's case, the rendezvous point was Jiayuguan; but with Wei Peng, the person had directly infiltrated a semi-basement in Beijing. His activities spanned most of China, his whereabouts were elusive, and he never acted personally, always finding someone to use as a pawn.

He was clearly professionally trained; he must have been angry that his wife had saved the expert and ruined his plans!

"What are you thinking about?"

Ye Zhen's voice rang out from the side.

The travel brochure in Gu Zheng's hand almost flew out of his hand.

He turned his head and saw that Ye Zhen had opened her eyes and was looking at him sideways.

I thought you were asleep.

"I can't sleep." Ye Zhen pulled the blanket up a bit. "You were frowning for ages, you even forgot to turn the pages of your book."

Gu Zheng was stunned for a moment, then quickly wiped the expression off his face and put on his standard roguish smile.

"It's nothing, I'm just thinking about something important."

"What's the big deal?"

"When we get back, let's talk about complementary foods for our son and daughter." Gu Zheng said seriously, "That kid Gu Lin isn't getting enough from just drinking milk, we need to add egg yolk, right? I asked the doctor, and she said we can start at four months, but the feeding guide you wrote before said six months—"

When did you read the feeding guide?

"I went through it before boarding the plane." Gu Zheng patted his head. "My memory isn't good, so I don't remember some of the data accurately. Could you explain it to me again later?"

Ye Zhen stared at him for several seconds.

This person spoke eloquently, but the way he frowned just now didn't seem like he was thinking about when to start adding egg yolks.

"Is that all?"

"It's really just this little thing." Gu Zheng reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, gently pinching her earlobe with his fingers. "Wife, you're a Nobel Prize winner. I can take care of all the other trivial matters. You just need to focus on your scalpel and the two kids."

Ye Zhen hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions.

"What are the arrangements for Vice Minister Li?" she changed the subject.

Gu Zheng breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair.

"After landing, I'll go straight back to Beicheng. Vice Minister Li said the ministry is going to hold an internal celebration symposium, nothing fancy, just a few former leaders and people from the main hospital for a simple meeting. The date hasn't been set yet, but it's estimated to be around New Year's Day."

"I can attend the symposium, but it can't last too long."

"Don't worry, I've already spoken with Vice Minister Li. It'll be two hours at most. If it goes over time, I'll flip the table."

Ye Zhen gave him a sideways glare.

"Try flipping the table at the Ministry of Health, and see if Grandpa doesn't teach you a lesson."

At the front of the cabin, Vice Minister Li finished flipping through the last newspaper, leaned back in his chair with satisfaction, and casually picked up the half-empty glass of champagne.

"Xiao Liu, do you think we'll be on the front page of the newspapers when we get back?"

"Absolutely, Vice Minister Li. This is the country's first Nobel Prize. Not to mention the front page, the editorials will have to run for three days straight."

Vice Minister Li nodded with a smug look on his face, then suddenly remembered something and asked in a low voice.

"By the way, what are Xiao Ye and his wife talking about in the back?"

Xiao Liu glanced back at the curtain.

"It seems like they're discussing...when to introduce egg yolk to babies."

Vice Minister Li's expression froze for two seconds.

"...won the Nobel Prize and discussed egg yolks."

He shook his head and downed the champagne in one gulp.