Hello, Comrade. I'm Here to Marry You!

Chapter 40: Chapter 40: My Fiancé Is Amazing

Xie Huaizheng hadn’t expected Su Zhaozhao to be gone for so long.

"She’s still not back?" Zhang Jingshu was also a little surprised. "But she went to the city train station to see Qiaoqi off. The round trip by bus takes more than six hours, right? She’s probably still on her way at this hour."

Xie Huaizheng looked at the heavy rain outside, a faint sense of unease stirring within him.

But since Su Zhaozhao wasn’t back yet, Xie Huaizheng could only leave the items at the front desk.

"Excuse me, miss. Could I trouble you to give this food to her when she gets back?" Xie Huaizheng paused for a moment. "If she doesn’t come back, you can just do whatever you want with it."

With that, Xie Huaizheng turned and walked out.

Zhang Jingshu could tell that Xie Huaizheng was worried about Su Zhaozhao.

’It makes sense,’ she thought. ’It’s late at night and raining heavily. A young woman like Su Zhaozhao might run into danger, right?’

After leaving, Xie Huaizheng drove Jiang Manzhi back to the military base.

The two of them were silent, not saying a word.

It wasn’t until they were downstairs from Jiang Manzhi’s dormitory that she finally spoke. "You should go find Su Zhaozhao. It’s late and raining hard. It’s not safe."

Xie Huaizheng hadn’t expected Jiang Manzhi to say that and was stunned for a moment.

"Don’t look at me like that. I’ve already moved on. Xie Huaizheng, I wish you and Su Zhaozhao happiness." After saying this, Jiang Manzhi immediately closed the door.

Xie Huaizheng watched Jiang Manzhi’s retreating back, his thin lips pressing together. Then, he drove away.

’It’s good that Jiang Manzhi has been able to move on.’

As for whether he and Su Zhaozhao would be happy... even Xie Huaizheng himself didn’t know.

’But for him to go find Su Zhaozhao?’

He looked at the rain falling harder and harder outside and couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

’Where would I even go to find her?’

Just then, he saw many soldiers ahead, assembled and ready to depart. Two large military trucks were also pulling up.

Xie Huaizheng froze. ’I haven’t heard about any missions these past few days.’

He saw Xiao Yuanming and immediately went to ask him.

"About three kilometers away, a public bus has overturned. There are a lot of people on it. We received the report and are going to help with the rescue."

A muscle twitched between Xie Huaizheng’s brows. He said to Xiao Yuanming, "Get in the truck. We’ll go on ahead."

"Battalion Commander, aren’t you on leave? Your wounds haven’t even fully healed yet. Don’t push yourself too hard. We’re mobilizing a whole company to go over, which is more than enough."

They had already calculated it: there were at most thirty-some casualties over there. Their company had a total of 120 men, plus two squads of medics, which was another 30 people.

That many people was more than enough.

"I’ll go with you to scout ahead," Xie Huaizheng said. "Get in the truck, now!"

His tone was icy, carrying the weight of a command.

In the darkness of the night, his jet-black eyes were sharp and grim.

Xiao Yuanming didn’t dare say another word and immediately got in the truck.

’For some reason,’ he thought, ’the Battalion Commander seems really tense.’

"Where is it?" Xie Huaizheng asked Xiao Yuanming as he drove.

"It’s on the east side of Xinsha Town. Just keep driving straight down this road," Xiao Yuanming told him.

The rain was heavy, and visibility at night was poor. Even with the high beams on, the road ahead was still a blur.

The windshield wipers could barely keep up.

Xiao Yuanming couldn’t help but complain, "Brother Zheng, this rain is insane, isn’t it? I’ve been in West State for so many years, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen it rain this hard."

Driving in this was honestly a little terrifying.

This was also the first time Xie Huaizheng had ever encountered rain this heavy.

His jaw was clenched tight, his thin lips pressed into a firm line.

His dark eyes were fixed on the road ahead as he tried his best to drive both quickly and steadily.

The three-kilometer stretch of road wasn’t long; normally, it would only take about ten minutes to drive.

But because of the rain, the gravel road had turned completely to mud, and the wheels struggled to gain traction.

Xie Huaizheng had to force his way through for over half an hour.

Soon, the silhouette of a large bus appeared before them.

The bus was lying on its side, severely damaged.

There were many people on the side of the road, and they immediately started waving when they saw Xie Huaizheng’s truck.

Xie Huaizheng pulled the truck over, stopped, and got out.

Xiao Yuanming quickly shouted, "Brother Zheng, no! Your wounds haven’t fully healed yet. If you go out in this rain, they’ll get infected again!"

But Xie Huaizheng paid him no mind. He slammed the truck door shut and began scanning the crowd.

"Help! Help us!" People in the crowd were shouting constantly.

"Don’t worry, don’t worry! The troops are right behind us. We just came ahead to check on everyone’s condition," Xiao Yuanming said, reassuring the injured crowd as he started helping them.

In his hands, he held a single first-aid kit that he had just grabbed from one of the medics.

He could only tend to the most severely injured people first.

However, the rain was too heavy, making it incredibly difficult to do anything.

He looked up and saw his Battalion Commander pacing back and forth, as if looking for someone.

’Who is he looking for? Does Xie Huaizheng know someone here?’

Rainwater streamed down Xie Huaizheng’s cheeks, and his wounds began to ache faintly from the downpour.

But he didn’t care. He raised a hand to wipe the rain from his eyes and continued to search desperately.

’Su Zhaozhao, are you here or not?’

This was the last bus from the city to the military base.

’If she isn’t here, she must have stayed overnight in the city. But she should have come back.’

Just then, a voice came from nearby. "Please wait, everyone. I’ll get to you after I finish bandaging this aunty’s wound. Don’t worry."

In the cold, rainy night, the girl’s sweet, gentle voice seemed to amplify endlessly in Xie Huaizheng’s ears.

Xie Huaizheng’s breath hitched.

He saw a group of people huddled together under an umbrella not far away.

In the center of the crowd was a girl, soaked to the bone. But her small face was clean and bright, and her dark eyes shone with the tranquil light of a placid lake.

She held a roll of bandages, wrapping the wounds of those who were bleeding heavily. "Don’t worry," she said to the people around her. "We’re only a few kilometers from the military base. Since we’re so close, they’ll definitely come rescue us right away. If you’re feeling tired or sleepy, there’s some candy over here. I just bought it today. You can have some. Just don’t fall asleep, or you’ll catch a cold."

"There are also a few cookies, but please don’t take too many. I didn’t buy a lot; they were originally for my fiancé. But you can have them now. One per person, and make sure others who need them get some too."

Seeing that such a delicate-looking young woman wasn’t the least bit afraid and was even comforting them, the crowd’s initial panic began to subside.

When the bus first overturned, they had all been disoriented. After things quieted down, it was Su Zhaozhao who had frantically called out to them, pulled them out of the vehicle, and was now treating their injuries.

The woman holding the umbrella next to Su Zhaozhao was Zhao Shuqin, who had been sitting beside her on the bus. She was also one of the people Su Zhaozhao had single-handedly rescued right after the disaster struck.

She was slightly injured, but the child in her arms, protected by both her and Su Zhaozhao, was completely unharmed.

Someone asked Su Zhaozhao curiously, "Miss, is your fiancé a soldier on the base too?"

Su Zhaozhao’s eyes crinkled. "Yes, he is. He’s amazing. I’m sure he’ll come and save us."

As soon as she finished speaking, she seemed to sense something and looked up, her gaze falling upon Xie Huaizheng standing not far away.

The man was soaked through by the heavy rain, water from his short hair trickling down the high bridge of his nose.

His jet-black eyes seemed to slice through the rain and dense fog, landing on her with a startling brightness.