Chapter 286: Chapter 284: Overlooked and Rejoining the Team

Geng Wei finally got out of the field hospital and returned to the unit. The first thing he heard about was the rocket soldier selection. He immediately grabbed the company commander to demand an explanation: “My shooting skills rank high in the entire company, right? How can I be left out of the rocket soldier selection?”

Ling Chengyan’s gaze fell on the large hand grasping her sleeve. Geng Wei immediately let go as if he had been burned, hastily retracting his hand and awkwardly hiding it behind his back.

Li Ming, standing behind him, couldn’t bear to look, turning his eyes away: Normally, the platoon leader was quite manly, but as soon as he faced the company commander, he became meek. Alas! Maybe during the time he was injured, the company commander was too kind.

Ling Chengyan said calmly, “If you want to participate, sure. First, carry twenty kilograms and run a thousand meters. We’ll talk if your score is satisfactory.”

Geng Wei’s face lit up with joy, and without hesitation, he was about to head to the training ground. After taking two steps, however, he was stopped by Li Ming: “Platoon leader, did you forget the doctor’s instructions when you were discharged?”

Although the snake venom in Geng Wei was cured, his organs were still damaged due to the delay when he was first poisoned. Upon discharge, the doctor advised him to avoid high-intensity training for the time being to prevent further damage to his organs.

Geng Wei wanted to shake off Li Ming’s hand. He was there to kill enemies and earn merits. How could he miss the chance to be a rocket soldier?

If they had rocket launchers, combined with the superb stealth training of their Special Service Company, defeating the enemy would be as easy as cutting vegetables. Even if the enemy was hiding in bunkers or caves, a single rocket could take them out. Just thinking about it was as satisfying as eating ice cream in the scorching summer. It was wonderful!

Watching Geng Wei and Li Ming pulling at each other, Ling Chengyan sighed, patted Geng Wei on the shoulder, and said, “I know what you’re thinking, but rushing won’t help in matters like these. You first need to undergo recovery training. Once your body is fully healed, I’ll arrange it for you.”

Geng Wei’s eyes flickered, but he still stared at Ling Chengyan and said, “Then I’ll make sure to recover quickly.”

Ling Chengyan glanced at him sideways: “I believe you know what to do.”

Geng Wei withdrew his gaze, hung his head, and agreed.

This time, they not only acquired the M40 rockets but also two sniper rifles. They had only briefly encountered these in Huicheng and didn’t have the conditions to equip them, but now, they fortunately managed to secure them both.

Ling Chengyan mentioned it briefly, and Li Ming, the clever little guy, quietly intensified his shooting practice.

…

Yang Hua also finally got out of the hospital and returned to Huicheng after several months of absence.

When he left, it was still the chilly spring, but upon his return, the autumn leaves were already falling.

Returning to the Special Service Company, the instructor Xu Dong, who stayed behind, personally drove to the station to pick him up. Upon seeing Yang Hua’s empty pant leg, even though he was mentally prepared, Xu Dong couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain in his nose, yet he forced a smile as he walked up: “Welcome back to the team.”

After shaking hands, Xu Dong naturally stepped aside to allow Yang Hua to get in the car on his own, slowly starting to talk about the exam preparation: “The company commander instructed before leaving. The teachers we’ve arranged for you from District No. 1 High School have years of experience teaching graduating classes and are very experienced.”

Yang Hua laughed cheerfully and said, “I was afraid I’d come back too late, but it seems I still couldn’t escape the company commander’s grasp.”

Xu Dong jokingly said, “You should just accept it, study well, and do your best in the exam.”

The car drove all the way back to the Special Service Company. Yang Hua declined anyone’s help and carried his own luggage to the dormitory. The dormitory conditions here were good, with single rooms for company-level and two-person rooms for platoon leaders.

Yang Hua shared a dormitory with Geng Wei. Since Geng Wei went to the front lines, the dormitory had become his alone.

Standing at the dormitory door, Yang Hua remembered his previous rivalry with Geng Wei, neither willing to give in, and sighed: he got injured, and Geng Wei went to the battlefield… ultimately, they were not on the same path.

The door suddenly opened from the inside, startling Yang Hua. He instinctively stepped back but almost fell due to his leg.

A pair of hands quickly moved forward and supported his arm.

Yang Hua did not raise his head. His eyes stayed fixed on those white, delicate hands, his eyes instantly stinging and turning red. The veins at his temples bulged, gripping his crutch so tightly his knuckles stood out, yet he dared not lift his head.

Behind him, Xu Dong and the others, who had come along with Yang Hua, looked at the sky and the ground before turning and heading to the stairway corner.

Frozen for a moment, Yang Hua tried to pull his hand away, but those slender white hands held on tightly. Yang Hua applied a bit of force, causing the owner of those hands to stumble. Yang Hua ignored his own leg and instinctively dropped his crutch to support the person.

This caused Yang Hua’s body to sway forward. The woman quickly exerted herself to hold him up.

Yang Hua’s expression turned very grim as he pushed the other away: “Don’t do this. It’ll harm your reputation if people see it.”

The owner of those hands, Tang Weiwei, who had once confirmed a romantic relationship with Yang Hua, hearing this, didn’t retreat but instead moved forward, directly reaching her arms out to wrap around Yang Hua’s waist. Her whole body leaned against him, holding him tightly as tears streamed down her face: “Don’t push me away. I won’t leave! Even if you push me, I won’t go!”

Yang Hua’s crutch lay abandoned, and standing on one leg was very precarious. One hand supported against the wall, the other held high to avoid her body, almost as if he wanted to hold her but didn’t dare.

“Wuuu…” Tang Weiwei’s sobs weren’t loud but extremely restrained and aggrieved, “You promised me that when you came back, you’d come home with me. Then we’d get engaged and married… You don’t keep your promise, you big liar! You big jerk! Wuuu…”

Yang Hua’s hand hovered, wanting to push but reluctant, yearning to hold but afraid…

After a long time, hearing Tang Weiwei’s sobs slightly abate, he finally looked up, sighed softly, and said quietly, “Stop crying. My leg ended up like this. I… I can’t drag you down.”

Hearing this, Tang Weiwei’s sadness subsided, replaced by a raging fire. She tightly grabbed Yang Hua’s clothes, lifted her small face from his embrace, and looked up at him, articulating each word: “In your eyes, in your heart, am I such a person? Because you’re hurt, I’ll despise you? Well, if I’m hurt, if I’m old, would you abandon me too?”

“Of course not.” The words slipped from Yang Hua’s mouth naturally.

As soon as he spoke, Yang Hua realized he said the wrong thing. Embarrassed and dejected, he turned his head away. Upon closing his eyes, tears he’d held back for so long finally trickled down his face.

This girl was someone he noticed at first sight. He had already planned in his heart how to earn merits and let her live a good life.

He hoped to see her wear a wedding dress and marry him, becoming his bride. In the future, the two of them would stay together for a lifetime.

But, he never expected that saving someone would cost him a leg.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep