The younger sister mistakenly identified her brother when visiting relatives and was kissed by the c

Qiao Xinxin nodded with a smile, "Okay, it's settled then. It's getting late, you should go back to your unit. You have to get up early for training tomorrow. See you tomorrow night."

She turned around and walked towards the gate of the residential compound. After taking a few steps, she couldn't help but stop and look back.

Lu Baizhou remained standing still, like a poplar tree, quietly watching her back. When she turned around, he slightly raised one hand and waved it gently in the air, as if to say silently: Go in quickly, I'll watch you go in before I leave.

Qiao Xinxin withdrew her gaze and quickened her pace as she entered the gate of the residential compound. As she turned past the row of neatly trimmed holly trees in the yard, she couldn't help but steal another glance back.

Through the gaps in the iron fence, she could clearly see his tall silhouette, standing quietly under the dim streetlights, as if guarding some rare treasure.

At that moment, Qiao Xinxin felt an unprecedented sense of peace and warmth welling up inside her. It was like a ship that had been adrift for a long time finally finding a safe harbor, and everything finally fitting back into its proper place.

Qiao Xinxin tiptoed into the house. The house was quiet; Bai's parents were indeed asleep. Only a small nightlight with a very low wattage was left on in the living room, emitting a faint light.

Qiao Xinxin tiptoed to finish washing up, returned to her room, and closed the door.

She sat down at her desk, turned on the lamp, and opened the thick new medical book that Lin Zhengping had given her that day. Perhaps it was because she was in a particularly good mood today, but she felt that the prescriptions and combinations in the book, which were originally dry and boring, now seemed much more familiar and pleasing to the eye than they had a few days ago.

She lowered her head and carefully read a few pages. The pharmacological logic that she used to have to frown and repeatedly chew over in her mind to barely understand was now as if it had been instantly strung together by an invisible thread, becoming incredibly clear and well-organized. She read much faster than usual.

Meanwhile, on the other side...

Lu Baizhou watched Qiao Xinxin enter the family compound until she was out of sight before turning around. He didn't go straight back to his parents' house in the compound, but instead changed direction and strode towards the company's dormitory area.

Meanwhile, Zhou Liguang was all alone in the company dormitory.

For the first time ever, he didn't go to the training field for extra practice tonight, and after dinner, he didn't linger in the canteen with his comrades to chat. As soon as the whistle blew to signal the end of training, he went straight back to his dormitory and sat alone on the edge of his bed like a piece of wood.

Outside the window, the occasional sounds of soldiers returning late laughing and joking drifted in. But to Zhou Liguang, those sounds were muffled and indistinct, as if separated by a thick film of water, unable to penetrate his heart at all.

He slumped to the side, lying face up on the hard single bed, staring blankly at the yellowed wooden plank of the upper bunk for a long while.

The words Qiao Xinxin said to him in the park today felt like someone was carving each word into his mind with a carving knife, and they kept swirling around in his head.

She said she was now more inclined towards someone else.

She said that she felt at ease and secure when she was with that person, and that she didn't feel awkward even if neither of them spoke.

Those details, those qualities that made her feel at ease, Zhou Liguang knew them better than anyone. Because the person she was talking about was Lu Baizhou! The brother who had fought alongside him through thick and thin, through gunfire and countless battles, his comrade-in-arms whom Zhou Liguang had always considered the most trustworthy and reliable in his life!

Zhou Liguang lay on the bed and closed his eyes in pain.

How could he be so blind? If he had been quicker to confess his feelings to her when he returned from recovering from his injuries at the border, or if he had mustered the courage earlier, would he, Zhou Liguang, be the man standing rightfully by her side now, shielding her from the wind and carrying her things?

As he stared at the upper bunk, lost in thought, there was a sudden, two-knock knock on the dormitory door.

Zhou Liguang sat up abruptly, cleared his dry throat, and replied, "Who is it?"

A deep, familiar voice came from outside the door: "It's me, open the door."

Upon hearing the voice, Zhou Liguang's expression froze for a moment. He remained silent for a few seconds, took a deep breath, and then stood up, walked over, and opened the door.

Lu Baizhou's tall figure stood outside the door. He was dressed in casual clothes, and the dim streetlight at the end of the corridor shone from behind him, hiding most of his body in shadow.

The two of them stood silently facing each other through the narrow doorway. Neither of them spoke first, and an awkward and oppressive atmosphere filled the air.

Finally, Zhou Liguang made the first move. He stepped aside to make way for him and said in a slightly hoarse voice, "Old Lu, don't just stand there at the door, come in."

Lu Baizhou strode into the dormitory and closed the door behind him. Without any hesitation, he pulled out the wooden chair by the window and sat down. Zhou Liguang also went back and sat down on the edge of his bed.

The two sat facing each other across a small, low table, neither of them speaking to break the silence.

After a while, Lu Baizhou broke the silence first. He looked at Zhou Liguang and asked bluntly, "Did you meet with Xin Xin during the day today?"

Zhou Liguang raised his eyelids to look at him, and didn't beat around the bush: "She told you everything?"

Lu Baizhou nodded calmly: "Yes, she did. She told me that she has made everything clear to you today."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Liguang leaned back against the wall by the headboard, a self-deprecating bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth: "She's quite efficient. She just made things clear to me this afternoon, and tonight she can't wait to report back to you."

Lu Baizhou did not respond to his barbed words.

He looked at Zhou Liguang quietly. Zhou Liguang was leaning against the headboard, staring blankly into the void, as if someone had drained his energy, clearly exuding a sense of dejection and loss.

Lu Baizhou felt a very complicated mix of emotions.

He was a soldier, a regimental commander who had led troops in battle for many years. He knew all too well how to comfort a wounded or frustrated subordinate, and how to boost morale.

But at this moment, facing this brother who had shared life and death with him and fought alongside him in the same trench, all the platitudes and comforting experiences in his mind became useless nonsense.