Chapter 92: Why Did Comrade Ji Turn Paler?
Ning Qingzhi glanced at his silly younger brother and waved his hand impatiently.
“I didn’t ask you to speak. Go stand over there.” — So talkative.
Ning Qingyuan silently carried both his sister’s and his own basket and moved aside. As he walked, he wanted to pull Ning Xiyue along with him, but one sharp glare from Ning Qingzhi made him stop.
Retracting his gaze from his foolish brother, Ning Qingzhi turned to Ning Xiyue with a smile and praised her:
“Sister, you’re amazing. You’ve inherited Grandpa’s talent — you’ve learned to make medicine and protect yourself. Well done. You even know how to use it wisely. You deserve praise. I hope you’ll keep your guard up in the future. Your second brother is not someone you can rely on.”
“My second brother takes good care of me,” Ning Xiyue spoke up in defense of her brother.
The pill in her hand was taken by Ji Yanming, who handed it to one of the comrades behind him for a routine inspection. Only after confirming there was nothing wrong did they feed it to the unconscious comrade.
Ji Yanming explained to Ning Xiyue, “Please don’t mind. It’s our protocol — all medicines must be inspected.”
“I understand, I don’t mind,” Ning Xiyue shook her head indifferently. Of course, she didn’t mind — she knew about such procedures. It would be strange if they didn’t check it. It was just official duty, nothing to take personally.
But something else caught her attention.
Wait a second — why did Comrade Ji’s face look much paler than the last time she saw him, especially in the areas without disguise makeup?
As expected, when a person gets paler, they become more attractive. His features now looked much sharper — sword-like brows and starry eyes. The slight upward tilt of his eyebrows added an aura of pressure and authority, almost like those regal, commanding princes in novels.
She, on the other hand, had tanned considerably after the autumn harvest. Her once fair face had turned a shade of wheat, forming a stark contrast with the parts of her body still covered by clothes — several shades darker.
But Ji was a soldier, always training hard and going on missions. How had he become paler? It made no scientific sense.
Ning Xiyue really wanted to ask if he had some secret skincare technique to turn fairer in such a short time.
With that thought, she quietly moved next to her eldest brother and, making sure no one else heard, whispered, “Brother, do you know why Comrade Ji suddenly turned pale? Did he put something on his face? Can you get me some? Look — the color difference between my hands and my face is huge. I don’t even know when they’ll even out again.”
She genuinely wanted to know how to fix her “yin-yang skin tone” as soon as possible.
“Pfft—hahaha!”
Ning Qingzhi burst out laughing when he heard that.
“Stop laughing. Did I press your ‘laughing acupoint’? Want me to press it again to stop?” Ning Xiyue joked, poking him twice on the body. “There — laughing point sealed. Stop.”
Playing along, Ning Qingzhi forced himself to stop laughing.
On the side, Ning Qingyuan watched his siblings interact with a sour expression. He knew that once his big brother showed up, he became invisible. Hmph!
When he turned his head, he noticed Ji Yanming was also looking their way, which annoyed him even more. He snorted coldly and deliberately moved his basket to block Ji’s line of sight, standing right in front of him.
Ji’s sword-like brows furrowed, his gaze sharp and pressuring. Ning Qingyuan glared back stubbornly — he wasn’t afraid. Though, his hand inside his pocket trembled slightly against his will.
The two stared each other down for a brief moment before one of the comrades, unable to stand the tension, called out: “Captain! Gangzi’s awake!”
The moment Ji Yanming turned around, his expression softened. There was even a faint smile at the corners of his eyes. How amusing.
Meanwhile, Ning Qingzhi, watching from the side, pulled Ning Xiyue aside and whispered with a grin, “Ha, let me tell you a secret — Comrade Ji is basically a pretty boy.”
He glanced behind him to make sure Ji Yanming was busy and not paying attention before continuing, “You don’t know this, but when we were all rookies, Comrade Ji had red lips, white teeth — his face was paler than the female soldiers next door! Everyone mocked him for it, but he beat up every single one of them so badly they never dared tease him again. Later, for convenience, he deliberately tanned himself. But his skin has a personality — as soon as he stays out of the sun for a few days, it turns pale again. Haha!”
Ning Qingzhi chuckled as he spoke. “So, little sis, even I can’t get his secret. Just wait — when I get my allowance this month, I’ll buy you some clam oil (cosmetic).”
“Ohh, so that’s why. No wonder Comrade Ji turned pale again.”
Ning Xiyue was quite envious of Ji’s skin.
“But brother, you don’t need to buy clam oil. I’ll go home and experiment with some herbs myself. Worst case, if I just stay covered through the winter, my skin will go back to normal.”
She decided to start researching skincare-related herbal formulas as soon as she got home. She wanted to make practical daily-use remedies — especially with winter coming, skin could easily get dry, cracked, or frostbitten. She couldn’t let herself look older and rougher than a tree stump just because she was working in the countryside.
“Oh right, brother, did you receive the letter I sent? There was also a thank-you letter in there for the soldier who saved my life.”
“I did. And look — that guy is the one who saved you.” Ning Qingzhi jerked his chin toward Ji Yanming.
“What?”
Ning Xiyue was stunned. It was him? And Ji hadn’t said a word about it! She had even asked him to help deliver the letter to the unit. If she had known he was that soldier, she would have just given it to him directly!
Ugh. Thinking about how she had written two thank-you letters with almost the exact same content to the same person made her feel a little embarrassed — and she’d wasted a few stamps, too.
“You didn’t know?” Ning Qingzhi asked, puzzled.
Then he added, “Well, that’s typical. Old Ji isn’t the type to go around talking about that sort of thing. Don’t worry about it. I’ve already thanked him on your behalf.”
Ning Xiyue smiled. “Then thank you, big brother.”
“Old Ning, let’s go. Time to regroup.”
Ji Yanming’s voice came from ahead.
“Eh, coming,” Ning Qingzhi replied, then turned to Ning Xiyue. “Come on, sis, let’s move.”
Ning Xiyue followed, slinging on her basket and pulling her second brother along as they joined the small unit led by her eldest brother.
After walking for a while, two more people joined them — both were carrying unconscious men in their hands.
Seeing this, Ning Xiyue realized her brother was on a mission — capturing spies, the kind who specialized in stealing important things.
She and Ning Qingyuan remained silent the whole way, not daring to look around too much.
Ji Yanming eventually walked up beside Ning Xiyue. The two walked side by side, both with serious expressions.
“Comrade Ning,” Ji Yanming said, “hello. There’s something I’d like to ask for your help with.”
Ning Xiyue was startled. “Comrade Ji, you’re being too formal. Just tell me. If I can help, I will.”
Ji Yanming spoke plainly and earnestly. “Then I’ll be direct. Could you trade me a portion of your knockout drug and its antidote?”
“That’s all?” Ning Xiyue smiled and pulled out a small jar of medicinal powder and a single antidote pill from her bag.
“Here, take it. I made these myself. No need to trade anything. I haven’t even properly thanked you for saving my life yet.”
