Chapter 23: The Lone Wolf Heartthrob

Bathing! This girl really speaks boldly!

Gu Han Chuan’s ears turned red, and he averted his gaze.

“Commander, why are you blushing? It’s not like I said I’d help you bathe. Just look at you—your hair is so thick I can hardly see your real face. Besides, since we’re not dying anytime soon, it’s better to be clean and refreshed. Otherwise, if you let it drag on, you’ll end up with bedsores.”

Gu Han Chuan replied, “No need for you to worry. I’ll think carefully about what you said. But I don’t need your help. You’d better leave while you can.”

His tone was no longer as hostile as before.

Qian Lai understood—he simply didn’t want to implicate innocent people. He had no confidence in his own future and didn’t want her to waste her life caring for him.

“Commander, why do you always want to send me away?”

Gu Han Chuan looked up at her, his expression saying, “Isn’t it obvious?”

“You need someone to look after you now, and I am that ‘chosen one.’ Isn’t it so? The moment I opened my eyes in this world, it was decided. I was selected by your unit, your organization, and your family. What’s rare is, I’m wholeheartedly willing to care for you. A person so carefully chosen, in all three ways, and you want to send her away so easily? You’d be disappointing everyone, comrade.”

“And besides, I’m not leaving. I’ve told you—don’t waste your breath. Just think of it as me using your status to throw my weight around for a couple of days, enjoying what it’s like to be close to the commander. Is that so bad?”

Qian Lai didn’t play by the rules, her tone lively and playful.

Why did he find her so interesting?

Perhaps he was just too lonely; he actually found her storytelling earlier quite amusing.

He had to admit, her way of persuading him was different. It moved him more than the advice of his previous leaders, comrades, even his own family. She was truly trying to solve his predicament from his standpoint.

She even tried to figure out how to make those “diapers” for him.

He felt a bit of anticipation, and a bit of curiosity.

He looked up at her. When she smiled, her eyes and brows curved beautifully, her every gesture radiating confidence and ease.

It was precisely the state he yearned for most at that moment.

Could it be that there was still hope for him?

If he followed her advice… would he really be able to control those embarrassing issues?

“Since you’re so set on staying, we’ll need to establish three rules.”

Oh? That meant he was agreeing to let her stay.

Qian Lai inwardly chuckled. “Go ahead.”

“First: To outsiders, you’re a distant relative, my younger sister. I don’t want to bind anyone with marriage. You’re free at any time.”

Qian Lai: Perfect, I never planned on marrying you anyway.

“Agreed.”

Gu Han Chuan: She agreed so easily?

“Second: You can’t make decisions about my life on your own. Where I go, whom I see, what I do, all must have my consent.”

Qian Lai: I’ll handle things as needed; you won’t be able to resist anyway.

“Agreed.”

“Third: I won’t have you serve me for nothing. Each month, my allowance and subsidies go to you. Half is your wage, the rest covers daily expenses. But for large expenditures, you need my approval.”

Qian Lai: These aren’t rules, they’re heaven-sent benefits.

“Deal!”

She laughed gleefully.

This kind of carefree, genuine laughter was something Gu Han Chuan hadn’t experienced in what felt like a century.

“Commander, since that’s settled, today we’ll cut your hair, shave your beard, and give you a nice hot bath, all right? Commissar Huo is here—he said he’ll personally help scrub you down.”

Her voice was sweet, as refreshing as a mountain spring. When she grinned, the playful hint of a little tiger’s tooth flashed from time to time.

Gu Han Chuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed. After a long moment, his lips moved and he managed a single word: “Alright.”

Out in the corridor, Huo Guanghui and Tan Yunhai had been eavesdropping at the door so long their necks stiffened. Hearing Qian Lai’s laughter from inside, Huo Guanghui rubbed his neck and grinned. “There’s always someone who can keep another in check. It’s settled—Old Gu is going to live. Hahaha.”

Qian Lai never expected that this bath would last until evening.

When Gu Han Chuan was wheeled back to his room by Huo Guanghui and Xiao Li, Qian Lai had already replaced every sheet, quilt, and pillow with new ones. She’d even lined the bedding with waterproof pads she’d brought from her own supplies.

On the windowsills and in the corners of the room, white gardenias filled the air with fragrance, masking the sharp odor of disinfectant. The summer breeze drifted in through the gauzy screens, sweeping away the day’s heat and leaving the room feeling fresh and cool.

“Wow, while we were washing up, Comrade Qian turned the ward into a flower room!”

Sitting in his wheelchair, Gu Han Chuan’s face showed no emotion, but he quietly surveyed the room.

“Help me back to bed.”

He didn’t ask anyone to remove the flowers—surely that meant he approved of her arrangement?

Qian Lai guessed as much.

“My, who would have thought my commander is such a wild wolf type—so handsome!”

With his hair trimmed neatly and his beard shaved, Gu Han Chuan’s strong and striking features were fully revealed. She’d dressed him out of his hospital clothes and into a military-style tank top; his broad shoulders and firm chest silently declared his former king-of-soldiers aura. Even just sitting upright, his tall, commanding presence was unmistakable.

Only now, the confidence had faded from his gaze, replaced by a touch of melancholy.

“Wild… wolf type?!” Xiao Li was utterly lost.

“It means a tough guy—an impossibly handsome soldier,” Qian Lai replied, admiring him like a masterpiece painting, her gaze lingering. “Tsk tsk. Truly, ‘Do not say there is no beauty on the battlefield—the general’s brow is sharp as a blade.’ What a domineering military king.”

It was the first time in Gu Han Chuan’s life that anyone had described him like this.

Before his injury, he’d had plenty of admirers, but now, as half a man, to be praised so openly for his looks by a young woman stirred something unspoken inside him—he even blushed.

Huo Guanghui stifled a laugh behind his hand, thinking, “Now I can rest easy. Old Gu has found a home.”

Xiao Li only half understood and scratched his head awkwardly. “Sister-in-law, you’re really cultured.”

“Comrade Xiao Li, don’t call me sister-in-law from now on. Just call me Qian Lai or Comrade Qian.”

What?!

Huo Guanghui and Xiao Li were both dumbfounded.

What did she mean by that? Wasn’t she just complimenting his looks? Why would she now refuse the match?

Gu Han Chuan understood their confusion. “That’s my decision. We’ve agreed to keep things as siblings for now. Commissar Huo, please be our witness. I don’t wish to tie anyone down, least of all with marriage. Comrade Qian Lai is absolutely free. She can leave anytime, and I won’t complain. I also ask the organization not to make things difficult for her.”

Huo Guanghui: Huh?!

Xiao Li: Huh?!

After a pause, he continued, “Also, even if in the future Comrade Qian Lai and I do not marry, I want her to have all the bride price and wedding gifts. No one—especially my family—has the right to stop her or demand their return.”