Chapter 106: The Strange Comrade Ji
“Xiyue, hurry back! There are two wounded people waiting at the clinic,” Li Xiuxiu shouted as she grabbed Ning Xiyue and pulled her along while explaining the situation.
When Ning Xiyue arrived, she immediately saw some familiar figures.
“Comrade Ning, thank goodness you’re here!” Gangzi’s face lit up the moment he saw her. “Please, check on our company commander — he’s injured all over, and his arm is especially bad. Fortunately, the medicine you gave us before stopped the bleeding.”
Ning Xiyue quickly stepped inside, pulling medicine out of her bag as she walked. “Xiuxiu, bring me that tray.”
“Okay!”
Because Comrade Ji and Gangzi’s identities were special, Li Xiuxiu handed her the tray and left. They only trusted Ning Xiyue at the moment.
“Sorry to trouble you, Comrade Ning,” Ji Yanming said with a stoic expression. He didn’t utter a sound, but the sweat on his forehead betrayed how much pain he was enduring.
“Mhm.”
Ning Xiyue glanced at Ji Yanming. There was a large wound on his leg, along with many smaller cuts and abrasions. His arm also appeared to be slightly fractured.
“Gangzi, help him take off his clothes so I can examine him properly.”
“Got it.” Gangzi immediately moved to undress him, then stood guard by the door.
Ji Yanming’s face flushed red. Sitting shirtless before Ning Xiyue made him extremely uncomfortable — he didn’t even dare look at her.
Although Comrade Ji was in great shape, with defined abs, Ning Xiyue saw none of that. All she could focus on were the fresh and old scars crisscrossing his body, and her heart filled with respect.
Comrade Ji was one of those people silently carrying the burden for them all.
The fracture in Ji Yanming’s arm and the major wounds had already been treated by a comrade in his squad with some basic medical training. The situation wasn’t too bad, but their medical supplies were limited, and Ji had too many injuries. They also needed to stay in the mountains for an extended time. Since Ning Xiyue’s medicine was more effective, they had come down specifically for her treatment.
It was also fortunate that the fracture wasn’t severe and there was no bone displacement — otherwise, he would have had to go to the town hospital.
“If your broken arm were any worse, I wouldn’t be able to do anything. Consider yourself lucky.”
The brigade clinic had no medical equipment and lacked the conditions for complex treatments. Barefoot doctors like her could only handle minor illnesses and injuries. Serious cases had to be sent to the town or county hospital.
Thankfully, her medicine worked quickly and effectively.
After applying medicine to his arm, Ning Xiyue found two clean wooden boards to immobilize it, then tied it securely before beginning to treat his wounds — starting with the major ones and moving to the minor ones.
There were so many injuries that she had to get close while treating them. Ning Xiyue was focused entirely on her work, but poor Ji Yanming — who had begun to harbor certain feelings for her — was suffering.
He could feel the warmth of her breath against his skin and the faint scent of her drifting to his nose. His whole body broke out in goosebumps, his hair standing on end. It was torture — worse than any mission.
The tips of Ji Yanming’s ears turned crimson. He clenched his teeth, face flushed, and turned his head away — embarrassed, shy, and deeply attracted to Ning Xiyue. He was beginning to have feelings for his comrade’s younger sister.
Ning Xiyue assumed he was reacting to the pain from the medicine and didn’t think much of it.
Seeing him shiver, she asked, “Comrade Ji, are you cold? Hang in there — I’ll finish applying the medicine quickly.”
“Mhm.” Ji Yanming felt even more embarrassed.
At that moment, he began to reflect. As they’d spent more time together, he realized that his feelings for Comrade Ning were far from pure.
At first, he had only looked after her because she was his comrade’s sister. Then, after admiring her actions on the train, something began to change. He found himself unconsciously searching for her figure, watching her movements, thinking her expressions were cute when she watched others.
By the time they were in the mountains, every one of her smiles and frowns drew his attention.
Gradually, imperceptibly, this clever, bold, and spirited girl had carved out a place in his mind — and in his heart.
He admitted to himself:
Ji Yanming, you’re done for!
You’ve already fallen for the girl sitting in front of you.
Having understood his recent behavior, Ji Yanming accepted it calmly. After all, he was already twenty-one — it was perfectly normal to want a wife.
He opened his eyes and looked at Ning Xiyue carefully treating his wounds, her expression focused yet gentle. A smile crept into his eyes. Surely, she must have some feelings for him too — he’d never seen her treat anyone so tenderly.
The little turtle floating in the air watched Ji Yanming’s shifting expressions with confusion, scratching its head with a claw. “What’s wrong with this Comrade Ji? His face keeps changing — I can’t tell what he’s thinking. So strange.”
If Ning Xiyue knew what was going through Ji Yanming’s mind, she’d simply say, “Imagination is an illness — and it needs treatment.”
But she had no idea. The turtle couldn’t understand, and she was utterly oblivious — her eyes saw nothing but wounds, treating Ji Yanming like a puzzle to be solved, clearing away injuries one by one like playing a “match and eliminate” game.
After a long time, she finally cleaned and medicated every single wound.
Ning Xiyue set down the ointment, clapped her hands, and admired her work with satisfaction. “All done. Let the medicine absorb a bit before putting your clothes back on.”
“Thank you, Xiyue.” Ji Yanming looked at her gently and deliberately switched to calling her by name.
Ning Xiyue noticed but didn’t mind. People who were familiar with her often called her that. She waved her hand. “No problem. Sit tight, I’ll call Gangzi in and treat his wounds too.”
Gangzi only had a few scrapes on his arm, and Ning Xiyue treated them just as carefully — cleaning, disinfecting, and applying medicine.
But when Ji saw Gangzi receiving the same treatment — the same care and gentleness — his smile faded slightly. So, in her eyes, they were no different.
After finishing Gangzi’s treatment, Ning Xiyue packed up the tweezers and turned to Ji Yanming. “Comrade Ji, you can get dressed now. Once I put these away, I’ll help you with that.” (Since Gangzi’s arm was treated, she would have to help him dress.)
Hearing this, Ji Yanming’s mood instantly brightened again. See? He was different from Gangzi.
“Mhm, sorry to trouble you.”
His voice was softer than ever, and the corners of his mouth curled into a wide smile.
Ning Xiyue gave him a puzzled look. What’s Comrade Ji so happy about?
She called out to the little turtle in her mind: “System, did something good happen to Comrade Ji while I was outside calling Gangzi?”
The little turtle shrugged. “I don’t know either. This Comrade Ji is so strange — his moods change constantly, his expressions shift every second. I can’t read him at all.”
Moody? Was the Ji they were both seeing even the same person?
Both the girl and the system were utterly confused and couldn’t make sense of it.
Forget it — no need to waste brain cells thinking about it.
