Upon seeing that fellow appear at the doorway, Lin Yu experienced a surge of surprise, which was immediately followed by a wave of apprehension.
Her surprise stemmed from the fact that he had actually come to find her, while her apprehension arose from the utter uselessness of his visit.
“Ah, you really are here…”
“Shh! Don’t speak!”
Her mind, rapidly assessing the situation, swiftly constructed a potentially effective counter-plan. She then instructed the fool to remain still, cautioning him, “I’ll be out in a moment. Don’t say anything, and pretend you didn’t hear a thing, no matter what you overhear.”
Without waiting for his affirmation, Lin Yu swiftly retreated to the kitchen, reassuming her position behind Commander Yang.
“Who is it? Who are they looking for?”
He had already begun slicing meat on the chopping board, the flames of the magic stove dancing beneath the pot, casting the second source of light besides the mana lamp overhead.
Outside, the sky had already darkened.
“They’re looking for me,” Lin Yu uttered, speaking the only half-truth, before recklessly fabricating, “There’s an emergency on the front lines, and I need to return immediately.”
He seemed unconvinced by her explanation. “Isn’t Nangong Yun there?” he questioned. “Why would they seek you out? It would be much closer for her to go, wouldn’t it?”
Commander Yang’s quarters were situated within the logistics area, while Nangong’s medical tent was stationed outside, closest to the trenches.
It would take several minutes to walk from the medical tent to his location; thus, if there truly was an emergency, she should be prioritized over Lin Yu.
Such thoughts ran through Commander Yang’s mind as he voiced his skepticism; however, Lin Yu possessed more than just one countermeasure.
She continued her fabrication. “Nangong has already gone,” she insisted, “but they’re still short-handed.”
Deceiving him in such a manner was wrong, bordering on insubordination.
However, Lin Yu cared little for loyalty or duty; since Commander Yang dared to extend his ruthless hand towards her, she dared to fabricate lies on the spot to escape.
Between keeping the medic to finish dinner or sending her back to tend to the wounded, the last shred of conscience within him compelled him to choose the latter, thereby allowing Lin Yu to depart.
“…Well, then, until next time,” he said, waving the spoon in his hand as he bade Lin Yu farewell. “I’ll definitely find an opportunity for you to taste my cooking.”
‘May we never meet again in this lifetime,’ she thought, silently fuming.
Without uttering a single word, she swiftly packed up the items she had brought, stuffing her changed dirty clothes into her backpack as well.
Lin Yu returned to the doorway and, without a word, dragged “Corpse Number One, also known as Mr. Idiot,” towards the medical tent.
He had obediently stood outside the door, waiting for Lin Yu to re-emerge, without saying or asking anything throughout.
He remained just as compliant when she dragged him by the sleeve all the way to the medical tent.
****
A light glowed within the tent, casting human-shaped shadows upon its white canvas.
Nangong should still be inside, not having left.
“Nangong, are you in there?”
Lin Yu’s voice carried into the tent, promptly receiving a reply from within. “I’m here… why have you suddenly come to find me…?”
A familiar white figure soon emerged from the tent, standing before the two visitors.
Perhaps owing to the recent lack of casualties on the front lines, Nangong’s face today lacked the weariness that typically shadowed it.
“And who might this be?”
Nangong shifted her gaze to the young man behind Lin Yu, then naturally lowered it, noticing Lin Yu’s hand gripping his sleeve.
“Nangong, you have to help me!”
Lin Yu released his sleeve, stepped forward, and linked her arm with Nangong’s right arm. “I’ve been discovered by Commander Yang! He… he just… just now…”
Nangong quickly deciphered Lin Yu’s meaning from her stammered words, then clasped her hands. “How could you be so careless?”
Finally, she raised a hand to smooth the strands of hair falling across Lin Yu’s forehead. “Were you discovered while bathing?”
Lin Yu immediately shook her head like a rattle-drum. “How could I possibly let him into the bathroom? No, it wasn’t during a bath. It was much earlier, during the time I was taken away by the military police for investigation.”
Her voice trembled slightly, all the grievances she had suffered under Commander Yang now bursting forth, tears threatening to spill from her brown eyes. “He went directly through my files, that’s how he found out. And then… then he said…”
“What did he say?”
Nangong brushed Lin Yu’s damp hair aside, then gently pinched her cheek.
“He said he likes me…”
A blush spread across the spot where her cheek had been pinched, though it was likely not due to the pinch itself, but rather from the shame she felt regarding the confession.
Although she no longer held any favorable feelings toward Commander Yang, the mere mention of such a topic involuntarily reminded her of the things the senior medics had done with him.
Each time she considered the possibility of becoming one of them herself, a blush would inexplicably appear on her face.
“What should I do, Nangong? That perverted Commander Yang has set his sights on me! How can I escape his grasp?”
She had only met a handful of people in the military; her seniors were out on missions and hadn’t returned, Lieutenant Xia was far away in the trenches, and the idiot behind her was utterly useless.
The only person close enough to her who could offer advice was Nangong.
Lin Yu gazed at Nangong’s pensive face, hoping she would point her towards a clear path.
“Frankly speaking, accepting Commander Yang’s affections would be a good thing for you.”
“Nangong!” she cried out anxiously, desperately hoping Nangong would retract her words. “That’s not what you said at first!”
If even Nangong believed that becoming the fifth concubine of that perverted Commander Yang was a good thing for her, who else could she turn to for help? That idiot behind her, whose mind was filled only with the Emperor?
“It was just a joke!” Nangong said with a smile, ruffling her hair one last time. “How could I ever let you be taken by such scum?”
“For this situation, I can offer a suggestion,” Nangong continued. “As long as you already have a ‘lover,’ you won’t have to worry about Commander Yang stealing your heart.”
‘…What a foolish suggestion. It was as idiotic as saying, “If everyone just dies directly from gunshot wounds, there will be no casualties on the battlefield.” This was entirely unlike anything Nangong would normally say.
“Th-this isn’t right, is it? Why do I absolutely, absolutely have to find someone else…”
To escape the clutches of Commander Yang, must she first step into the clutches of another?
Failing to receive the help she had hoped for from Nangong, Lin Yu’s mood immediately soured considerably.
At least it wasn’t as bad as being around Commander Yang. Commander Yang coveted her body, while Nangong merely regarded her as a junior needing guidance.
Occasionally, that guidance failed, as it did now.
“Do you intend to stay single forever? Don’t be silly; you’re not some young widow. One day, you’ll marry someone splendidly.”
Nangong began to lecture her with the nagging tone of an elder, intending to correct Lin Yu’s unconventional thoughts. “Even widows, you know, they found husbands back in the day; they didn’t stay single until old age.”
As she currently observed, the Lanforthians’ views on marriage and relationships were quite primitive. Such nagging would typically come from family, relatives, or friends, and if one’s reputation in this regard spread far enough, even strangers might offer subtle criticisms.
“But we’re still at war now, it’s not the time to consider th—”
“Exactly!” Nangong suddenly interrupted Lin Yu loudly. “That’s it! If he makes any strange demands, that’s your answer. Last time, when Liang Yu brought you food and talked about Lieutenant Xia, wasn’t that the reason you gave to refuse him?”
“…Huh?”
Just, just refuse him like that?
“Sometimes I don’t know whether your little head is overly clever or utterly foolish.” Nangong gently flicked Lin Yu’s forehead, this time softening the force so it didn’t hurt too much.
“Commander Yang is your superior; you have a superior-subordinate relationship, not a master-servant one. If he makes any excessive demands, you are entirely within your rights to refuse.”
Lin Yu had already deeply pondered this issue when she was