CHAPTER 289: CHAPTER 289: THE CAPTAIN IS STILL THE BEST

"Xiuxiu, I’m sorry, I had no idea it was Yuanying’s doing, that rascal. Please don’t be mad at me," Song Yuanhuan said ingratiatingly, and then, as if to cheer Xu Xiuxiu up, he finished his meal heartily without her having to remind him, and even took it upon himself to drink down the large bone soup with audible gulps.

He’d always thought broth and soups were for women, because women were made of water, but after being watched by Xu Xiuxiu drinking big bone soup for several days, he now felt like he was emanating the scent of it. However, he had just angered his wife, so his apology had to be sincere, naturally making him more conscientious about things like drinking soup.

"Mhmm," Xu Xiuxiu nodded, then began tidying up, looking pleased.

The hospital room was very quiet. Song Yuanhuan, holding Little Baby in his arms, silently fixed his gaze on Xu Xiuxiu’s back, thinking hard about what to say to break this eerie atmosphere between them.

"Yuanhuan, your right leg has a comminuted fracture. The chances of recovery are extremely slim, and even if you do recover, you won’t be able to walk normally," Xu Xiuxiu didn’t know where she found the courage to speak those words. She felt like an executioner – cruel and heartless.

After speaking, she didn’t even dare to turn around to see the expression on Song Yuanhuan’s face.

After a long silence, "I know," Song Yuanhuan’s voice was tinged with resignation. It was his leg, after all, and he was quite aware of the reality of his situation.

Xu Xiuxiu turned around in surprise and saw a rare look of despondency on Song Yuanhuan’s face. It was the first time Xu Xiuxiu had ever seen such an expression on him since she’d known him – a look so forlorn it made her heart wrench.

Indeed, even the most iron-willed and powerful men have their moments of weakness.

"If I’m discharged from the army and become disabled, and our future life depends on you, would you despise me?"

"I wouldn’t despise you," Xu Xiuxiu responded, shaking her head as her eyes reddened.

"As long as you don’t despise me," he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Did she really seem so unreliable in his eyes? So unreliable that she would despise a hero like him who was injured?

"I’m afraid I’ll be a burden to you," Song Yuanhuan looked at Xu Xiuxiu seriously as he spoke his mind. As a soldier, he had never considered leaving the military, not even when Xu Xiuxiu was pregnant with their second child, boy and girl twins. He’d only mentioned transferring to settle Xu Xiuxiu’s heart.

But as a soldier, especially one fighting on the dangerous front lines, he’d made more mental preparations than most soldiers. He’d considered that he might be sacrificed, and also thought that one day he might have to leave the military, like the comrades he’d personally seen off, due to injuries. But no matter how much he’d prepared mentally, when the day actually arrived, he found himself at a loss.

He belonged to the military, or so he’d always felt.

But now, it seemed he was about to leave the military, which inevitably saddened him. Those comrades who’d left didn’t have it easy because they lacked work experience and due to their straightforward nature, most had a difficult life after being discharged and transitioning to civilian life. He wasn’t afraid of living a hard life, but he dreaded subjecting them, his mother and the three others, to hardship. His only pride was his military uniform; if he could no longer wear it, what was he to do?

"I’m not afraid of being a burden," Xu Xiuxiu said with unwavering certainty.

"..."

"If you discharge from the military to pursue a civilian career, that would be great. Then you wouldn’t be so busy, and I could work while you take care of the kids." If she started from this point, she wouldn’t have to worry about whether Song Yuanhuan would get injured one day, and his discharge wouldn’t be so upsetting for her. So, she tried to comfort him.

Just then, there was a knock knock knock...

The door to the hospital room was knocked, as Zheng Guohui and Fu Guanglei, followed by several soldiers in green uniforms and carrying fruits and flowers, came to visit Song Yuanhuan. The group entered the room after knocking, instantly enlivening the quiet space.

"Captain." The first thing everyone did upon entering the room was to salute Song Yuanhuan.

"Find yourselves seats!" Song Yuanhuan, holding Little Baby in his arms, said, "Some of you haven’t seen my daughter and son yet, have you? Look, this is my daughter, and this is my little son." Song Yuanhuan gestured to the visitors, particularly close to Zheng Guohui and Fu Guanglei, telling them to make themselves comfortable and then started talking to the other comrades who hadn’t yet seen the boy and girl twins.

"Captain, your little girl is so cute, and it’s a good thing she doesn’t look like you." One of the young soldiers, perhaps because of his age, wasn’t at all slick and instead had an honest demeanor. Seeing Song Yuanhuan’s enthusiastic introduction of his children, this lad stepped forward, looked at the delicate and adorable Little Baby seriously for a moment, and then cheerfully began to speak.

"Watch your words, will you? If the captain’s little girl doesn’t look like him, who would she resemble?" Another soldier immediately rebuked him, nudging his shoulder as a reminder to be careful with his words, then hurriedly put on an ingratiating smile, afraid of angering Song Yuanhuan, "The captain shouldn’t mind. He meant to say your daughter looks like your wife, not because he thinks looking like you is bad. Just look, even her little mouth is exactly like yours." Right, this was also someone who didn’t know how to phrase things carefully but thought he did.

"Pfft." No sooner had he finished speaking than successive laughter erupted throughout the room.

"What, what’s wrong? Didn’t I speak the truth? The little mouth really does resemble the captain!" The second soldier, sensing the mocking mood of his comrades, immediately replied with an innocent frown.

"There’s nothing incorrect about that," Zheng Guohui said earnestly, patting him on the shoulder, "But we don’t agree with your comment about our captain being unattractive. Just look, our captain is so handsome and dashing."

"I agree that the captain is handsome, but I never said the captain was ugly!" he explained, yet ended up making an inadvertent dig.

You haven’t said it yet? Pfft! Everyone seemed to hear the sound of a bloody, stabbing knife, crisp and clean-cut.

"Alright, stop teasing Muduo, he’s just like that." In the end, Song Yuanhuan couldn’t stand by and not help Muduo out of the encirclement. As the captain, he had grown accustomed to Muduo’s straightforward nature.

"Our captain is the best," Muduo, whose name was called, immediately beamed with a bright smile, flashing white teeth. Then the guileless, robust man gleefully moved closer to the bed to play with Little Baby, "Captain, please recover quickly! Otherwise, they’ll all bully me. You’ve got to teach them a lesson."

"Alright," Song Yuanhuan replied with a smile, then joined Muduo in playing with the Little Baby in his arms.

"You heartless thing, still saying the captain is the best, yet you were complaining when he was training you. I don’t know who exactly it was that referred to him as the ’Devil Instructor’ behind his back." As soon as Muduo’s flattery came out, the room was filled with laughter and teasing, unhesitatingly revealing each other’s shortcomings.