The little star from the Gobi Desert, handed over to the state, is hailed as a national treasure.

The logistics department had already received the notification and arranged for Shen Ruowen to be placed in the barracks area where female comrades were concentrated.

This place is divided into two small courtyards. One courtyard is where the female members of the research team live. They spend all day in the laboratory with irregular schedules. The other courtyard is closer to the research area and has a higher level of confidentiality.

Another female comrade from the civilian staff lived there. Since she wasn't involved in any core secrets, the living environment was relatively relaxed and more lively on weekdays.

This was also the first time Liang Zhe had ever set foot here.

In the small courtyard, barracks were neatly arranged, long clotheslines were hung with women's clothing, laundry basins were on the ground, and drought-resistant plants such as cacti and succulents were growing in cans. Beautiful songs were playing on the radio, and the graceful figures of women could be seen washing and grooming themselves in front of the open windows.

Liang Zhe stopped outside the courtyard gate and refused to take another step.

Not only was he embarrassed, but the women were also blushing and laughing non-stop.

"Commander Liang, come in! Weren't you here to see Reporter Shen off?"

"Yeah, what are you afraid of? We're not going to eat you."

Several older, bolder individuals, having been given the opportunity, naturally couldn't resist making some teasing remarks.

Liang Zhe had never seen anything like this before. He was usually strict and self-disciplined, and rarely even looked directly at the faces of female comrades, let alone in front of this courtyard full of beautiful women.

"Comrade Yang, could you call a few people to come and help?"

He was calling for Yang Jing from the performing arts troupe. She was usually warm, considerate, and generous, and had taken good care of Tian Tian.

But today, Yang Jing acted out of character. As soon as she heard Liang Zhe's voice, she turned around and went into the house, slamming the door shut behind her.

Liang Zhe was taken aback.

He then looked at Su Yuan'er in the accounting office, "Comrade Su, could you please..."

Su Yuan'er glared at Shen Ruowen, then, as if she hadn't heard him, she went back into the house without a word and slammed the curtains shut.

After being rebuffed twice, Liang Zhe was truly bewildered. These women were usually so kind and enthusiastic towards him; what was wrong with them today?

Li Guihua couldn't stand it anymore and stepped in to help: "Commander Liang, stop shouting. The logistics department has made arrangements. Reporter Shen will stay in a double room, sharing a room with Aunt Xing from the cookhouse. Aunt Xing is still busy in the kitchen right now, so just take her in. It's the leftmost room."

She suppressed a laugh and lowered her voice, "If you don't go in soon, there will be even more people watching."

Liang Zhe understood this principle, gritted his teeth, and nodded, saying, "Alright."

He carried Shen Ruowen on his back and braced himself as he walked into the courtyard. He immediately felt more than a dozen pairs of eyes appear in front of the door, behind the house, and by the windows, all staring at his back.

The gaze was scrutinizing, incomprehensible, and even more so, hostile and cold; it felt like a thorn in my side.

Shen Ruowen also felt this invisible pressure, but she was mostly pleased with herself, although she still looked weak and innocent on the surface.

Even more outrageous, she took the opportunity to bury her face in Liang Zhe's shoulder, eliciting a collective gasp from behind.

Liang Zhe finally stepped into Xing Sao's room. The barracks were simply furnished, with only two single beds, a table, and some personal belongings. He carefully placed Shen Ruowen on the empty bed by the window.

This tricky task is finally complete.

"Reporter Shen, you should rest well, I..." As he spoke, he straightened up, when a soft hand suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist tightly!

Caught off guard, Liang Zhe lost his balance and was pulled back to the edge of the bed by Shen Ruowen, where he ended up right next to her.

"Reporter Shen?!" Liang Zhe was taken aback and immediately tried to pull his hand away and get up.

Outside the window, more than ten pairs of eyes were fixed on the commotion inside. Upon seeing this, their expressions immediately changed.

Silent discontent spread like ripples through the courtyard.

Shen Ruowen seemed oblivious. She looked up at Liang Zhe's handsome face and said in a tender voice, "Commander Liang, thank you for your hard work. I haven't had a chance to properly thank you yet."

As she spoke, she took out a clean white handkerchief from her pocket, the edges of which were embroidered with delicate flowers. She gently handed it to Liang Zhe: "Your forehead is covered in sweat, wipe it off."

The sweat on Liang Zhe's forehead wasn't from exhaustion; it was mostly from the embarrassment of the series of awkward situations. He slightly turned away from the handkerchief, his tone calm: "Reporter Shen, you don't need to be so polite. It's what I should do. You should focus on recovering; the commander will arrange everything else for you."

He tried to get up again.

"Wait a minute!"

Shen Ruowen grabbed his sleeve again, this time with less force, but with an undeniable persistence.

"Is there anything else?"

Liang Zhe's face darkened, but he tried his best to ask patiently.

Shen Ruowen looked embarrassed, her voice unconsciously lowering: "My foot... won't heal anytime soon. I'm unfamiliar with this place, and many things are inconvenient. Could... could you please find me a walking stick?"

She looked at him with sparkling eyes and added, "Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to go to the bathroom..."

This request was reasonable, and Liang Zhe could not refuse it.

He nodded: "Okay, I'll go to the clinic and ask Dr. Sun if they have any."

"Thank you so much." Shen Ruowen breathed a sigh of relief, her tone apologetic. "Commander Liang, the Commander kindly took me in, but in this base, you and he are the only people I know. I'm sure I'll cause you a lot of trouble in the future."

Then, as if remembering something, she naturally changed the subject, "By the way, where is your lovely daughter? Shouldn't she be in the army too? I haven't seen her."

"The child is still young, and other comrades are helping to take care of her." Tian Tian was still at the experimental site, but Liang Zhe was even less willing to talk about her.

But he didn't want to talk about it, but Shen Ruowen deliberately asked, and not only did she ask, she asked in an innocent and natural way.

"Where is the child's mother? Didn't she accompany the soldier?"

The room suddenly fell silent.

The whispers outside the window vanished instantly.

Liang Zhe's face stiffened, and he turned his head away.

A deep-seated heaviness, buried beneath his resoluteness, flashed in his eyes, carrying an unspeakable pain.

Shen Ruowen remained silent, seemingly oblivious to the change in atmosphere. "What's wrong? Did I ask something inappropriate?"

But a strange sense of pleasure welled up inside her—she wanted to tear open his wounds and see the vulnerable side of this tough guy.

Fortunately, Li Guihua walked in at that moment, breaking the almost tense silence. "Commander Liang, you're still here? I just received a notice that the commander is calling an emergency meeting and wants you to go immediately!"

She turned to Shen Ruowen with a beaming smile, "Reporter Shen, you haven't had breakfast yet, have you? I asked the cooks to save some porridge and pickled vegetables for you. I'll bring them to you right away."

Shen Ruowen immediately put on a grateful smile: "Big sister, thank you so much. I traveled all the way to the Gobi Desert yesterday and haven't eaten anything yet. You've really gone to a lot of trouble for me."

"No trouble at all, it's nothing," Li Guihua said, giving Liang Zhe a "hurry up" look.

Liang Zhe understood, nodded to Shen Ruowen, and got up to follow Li Guihua out.

Upon seeing this, the women in the courtyard quickly moved aside, making way for them.

Li Guihua addressed the curious onlookers, saying, "Don't gather here anymore, go do what you're supposed to do, and mind your discipline." Then she said to Liang Zhe, "Commander Liang, I've been feeling really bad about Tiantian running away the other day. Is she alright? Was she frightened?"

"Sister Li, you're too kind. It's not your fault." Liang Zhe shook his head and briefly explained Tian Tian's situation. "This time, we owe a great debt to Tian Tian. If she hadn't run to the experimental field to warn us, there might have been serious danger later on."

Upon hearing this, Li Guihua finally felt a huge weight lifted from her heart, and a relieved smile appeared on her face: "That's good, that's good. Tian Tian is such a lucky star."

"Sister Li," Liang Zhe hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I only met this reporter, Ms. Shen, by chance. I brought her back today on the commander's orders. The comrades at the base might misunderstand, so I'd appreciate it if you could help clarify things and stop people from making wild guesses."

He didn't want Shen Ruowen's arrival to cause misunderstandings that he had other intentions, and he was even less willing to get involved with this unpredictable female reporter.

Li Guihua immediately understood what he meant and nodded seriously: "Don't worry, Liang Tuan, I know what to do. I'll go find Director Feng of the Women's Federation in a bit, explain the situation, and ask her to help you."

"Then I'll have to trouble you." With this promise, Liang Zhe was no longer worried and turned to walk quickly toward the conference room.