Was she simply his responsibility?

“Zichen, I feel like no matter what I do, you treat me like I don’t exist, and no matter how anxious I get, I can’t seem to find a place in your heart.”

Qian Lan lay on the bed looking weak, but the pain on her body was nothing compared to the cold words from Mo Zichen.

Qian Lan couldn’t understand Mo Zichen. He gave her hope one second and then disappointment the next. And when she had completely given up hope, he suddenly reappeared and gave her warmth.

This made Qian Lan very tired.

“Sleep for a little longer. The anaesthetics just wore off, you’re going to feel a lot of pain soon.”

“Go home first. Your presence hurts me more,” Qian Lan said.

“It’s good that you know how to hurt,” Mo Zichen completely ignored Qian Lan’s request as he went to pack her things and prepare a tub of water for her to wash her face.

Qian Lan had no strength to argue with him. All she could do was close her eyes helplessly. But, that man kept walking back and forth in front of her, how was she to sleep?

Soon, the new recruits arrived guiltily at the hospital.

As soon as Mo Zichen saw them, he immediately asked, “Come back to visit her later. She just fell asleep.”

“I’m fine, come in,” Qian Lan had been tossing and turning for a while, unable to sleep. Since she had visitors, she decided that she might as well not sleep.

The new recruits approached Qian Lan guiltily and bowed to her, “Instructor Qian, we didn’t do it on purpose. We didn’t expect this to happen. Please forgive us.”

“I never blamed you,” Qian Lan replied. “I was a new recruit at one stage and I also made mistakes.”

“Instructor Qian, we will behave from now on and not cause any trouble.”

“Yes, Instructor Qian, I truly feel sorry.”

“If I were you, I would be applying for punishment instead of crying in front of Qian Lan,” Mo Zichen said after confirming that these were the punks that caused Qian Lan’s injury.

“Every army officer should treat their orders seriously, because their mistakes can implicate their own life and the lives of their colleagues, and may even determine the success or failure of a mission. Since you’ve done something wrong, you should accept your punishment.”

“Qian Lan’s been in the military for 5 years and hasn’t died on the battlefield while protecting our nation. In the end, she almost lost her life because of trash like you. Don’t make excuses with the fact that you’re new, all of you are mature adults, you should take responsibility for your actions!”

“Who are you? Why are you scolding us?”

The group of new recruits didn’t like being scolded by Mo Zichen, so one of them immediately questioned him. But, as soon as that particular recruit spoke, he was immediately kicked out of the room; no one even noticed Mo Zichen move, not even Qian Lan.

“I will be Qian Lan’s husband soon.”

As soon as the recruits heard this, they immediately looked surprised.

No wonder he was so angry…

“Aren’t you going to apologize? We almost cost Instructor Qian her life, it’s only right for her husband to be so angry.”

The recruits quickly bowed to Mo Zichen and disappeared from the room soon after. This made Qian Lan laugh, “Usually, when I try to scold them, it takes so much effort. I never knew that you were so powerful.”

“I’m going to use the hospital’s kitchen to cook you some food.”

“Zichen…” Qian Lan suddenly called him back. “Are you really willing to be my husband?”

“Whether I’m willing or not, aren’t we already like this?” Mo Zichen said as he left the room.

Qian Lan gave a smile, but eventually broke down in tears. For some reason, Mo Zichen always made her feel a complex mix of emotions.

Late into the night, Mo Zichen still remained in the hospital room. When Qian Lan saw Mo Zichen lay his head down on the bed, she quickly woke him up and said, “There are nurses around. You can go home and rest.”

Qian Lan worried that he may need to head out in the middle of the night.

“Sleep. I’ll leave soon,” Mo Zichen replied calmly.

“My body actually hurts a lot, so I can’t sleep,” Qian Lan wiggled uncomfortably. “My body’s getting stiff from lying here.”

After hearing this, Mo Zichen pulled his chair closer to the bed and began to massage her muscles for her.

“Are you only nice to me when I’m hurt?”

“Are you going to hurt yourself just so you can be treated this way?” Mo Zichen asked.

“I’ll try…”

Mo Zichen sighed and put down her arm as he covered her with a blanket.

“You will have another surgery in a few days. However, the injuries on your back were too severe, so it will definitely leave behind scars.”

“It’s fine. My back can match yours.”

“I don’t think anyone is as thick-skinned as you.”

Qian Lan did not say a word as she tried to hold onto Mo Zichen’s hand.

At first, Mo Zichen wanted to pull his hand away, but Qian Lan quickly pulled it back. Seeing this, Mo Zichen gave up fighting and let her hold on.

Qian Lan gripped Mo Zichen’s hand and placed it against her cheek appreciatively.

“If getting hurt means you’ll care about me, then I am willing to do that.”

After hearing this, Mo Zichen felt quite moved. After all, Qian Lan may have broken up with him 5 years ago, but she had never done anything to betray him.

Plus, she was being so submissive towards him. What else did he want?

His lover had returned to him after 5 years. Did he have to send her away with this attitude?

Mo Zichen remained still as Qian Lan held onto his hand and slowly fell asleep…

The next day, more visitors arrived from the army. This was when they all discovered that the fierce Qian Lan actually had such a handsome fiance. Yet, she never mentioned it before.

Mo Zichen had lectures during the day, so he had to step out for a bit and return to the hospital later in the day. While he was gone, the nurses helped take care of Qian Lan for him.

When her closest colleague came to visit and saw Qian Lan’s situation, she couldn’t help but ask, “So, the two of you are definitely together? How come I’ve never seen you contact each other?”

“Our relationship isn’t great…”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Everyone at the base has heard about how your fiance taught the new recruits a lesson. Don’t tell me that’s not a sign of concern?”

“If someone else had gotten hurt, would he be so angry? Did you hear that one of the new recruits suffered a broken rib?”

“But, his tone is really cold when he speaks to me,” Qian Lan said helplessly.

“My dear Instructor Qian, can you not be so shallow? Apart from looking at a person’s face, you need to look at their heart. Even outsiders can tell that he cares about you. How can you completely misinterpret his intentions.”

“If I was your fiance, I’d be furious!”

“I know this is a little off topic, but I’d like to say that your fiance is really handsome!”

Really? Was he concerned about her? Qian Lan wondered to herself.

The things he did for her, did he only feel hate when he did them?