The hands of her watch had already passed midnight, yet Meng Youyou lay awake in bed, not the slightest bit sleepy. She turned over again, her thoughts tangled in her mind.

“CY? Is there anyone in the unit with those initials?”

She thought about it… and then thought again.

In the end, she still called Doudou out. “Hey, can’t you give me a bit more of a hint? What’s the name of that woman who’s going to cheat on him later? I don’t even know her name—how am I supposed to figure this out? Am I just supposed to fumble around blindly?”

Doudou replied:
[Host, don’t you ever sleep? I already told you, system rules forbid it! I can’t say it! Can’t say it!! Can’t say it!!! You need to rely on your own intelligence and effort to complete the mission. You can’t depend too much on system cheats.]

Meng Youyou tried bargaining. “Come on, just this once! With how bad things are between me and him right now, the difficulty level of this task is way too high~”

Doudou rejected her immediately:
[You used the same excuse this afternoon. I already made an exception by telling you her initials. Don’t try that again. I’m going offline.]

With that, the system shut down without mercy.

Meng Youyou stared at the dark screen. “…Tsk. So stingy.”

The next morning.

On the training ground, Meng Youyou caught Zhong Heng in the middle of his workout and pulled him into a corner. Lowering her voice, she asked mysteriously, “I want to ask you something… um… your Battalion Commander Huo… does he have… someone he’s seeing right now?”

Zhong Heng’s eyes widened in shock. “Translator Meng, don’t tell me you’ve taken a liking to—”

“No way!” Meng Youyou cut him off immediately, her voice rising.

“I just… uh… have a friend. She really admires soldiers and wants to date one, so I’m just asking for her.”

“A friend?” Zhong Heng looked at her suspiciously.

“Uh…” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Cough… cough… I’ve been following our commander since I was a new recruit—about six or seven years now. As far as I know, he’s never been in a relationship.”

Meng Youyou thought to herself:

Not surprising. He totally looks like someone who’s never dated. Or maybe it’s just that personality of his—always wearing that cold face, and the way he talks, he could piss someone off in under three sentences. No wonder he can’t find a girlfriend.

But since he’s not seeing anyone yet, that makes things easier. Cutting things off at the source is way simpler than stopping it halfway.

She pressed on, “Then do you know what kind of girl your commander likes?”

Zhong Heng hesitated, glancing her up and down a few times before answering, “Probably… someone pretty? With fair skin?”

Meng Youyou looked disgusted. “Your commander is so shallow!”

Zhong Heng reacted quickly and added, “Educated! Right—he definitely likes educated women!”

Meng Youyou: “…”

“Oh right, where is your commander?” she asked, looking around. “He’s not in the office, and I didn’t see him on the training ground either.”

“Oh, he was just called to the infirmary by Medic Chu to change his dressing. They left a few minutes ago.”

Chu… Medic.

Alarm bells instantly went off in Meng Youyou’s head.

She quickly asked, “What’s Medic Chu’s full name?”

“Chu Yao.”

Chu Yao! CY! There it is—case closed!

“You keep training. I’ve got something to do—I’m heading off first.”

Zhong Heng watched her hurried figure disappear into the distance, deep in thought.

Could it be… the reason the commander treats Translator Meng so coldly is because… she likes him, but he doesn’t feel the same? One-sided feelings—so he’s deliberately keeping his distance to avoid misunderstandings?

At first, Zhong Heng was startled by his own bold guess. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. He even felt a little proud for figuring out what he thought was a huge secret.

Honestly, Translator Meng and the commander would make a great match—handsome man and beautiful woman. They’d look amazing together. It’s just a pity… why doesn’t the commander like her?

In the infirmary.

Today, Chu Yao had carefully put on light makeup. Two black braids fell over her chest, tied at the ends with pale blue ribbons that swayed gently with her movements, giving her a soft, delicate charm.

A faint blush colored her cheeks like peach blossoms in spring—fresh, soft, and endearing.

She looked at Huo Qingshan with watery eyes and said gently, “Battalion Commander Huo, your wound has split open again. Didn’t I remind you last time not to do intense exercise? It’ll affect the healing. Why won’t you listen?”

She smiled as she lightly scolded him. “If you keep this up, I’ll have no choice but to report you to Chief of Staff Lu.”

Huo Qingshan remained expressionless. “Thank you for your trouble, Comrade Chu. Please help me change the dressing again. I’ll be more careful. No need to trouble the Chief of Staff.”

It sounded polite, but there was no room for negotiation.

Chu Yao paused for a moment before quickly recovering. She wasn’t surprised—she had met him a few times in her previous life. His distant and indifferent attitude had always been the same.

After finishing the dressing, she walked to her cabinet and took out a thermos. Steam rose as she opened it, carrying a rich aroma. She looked at it with satisfaction.

Then she stepped forward, slightly shy, and held it out to him.

“Battalion Commander Huo, this is black fish soup I made this morning. It’s rich in collagen and helps with wound healing. I also added honeysuckle and red dates—honeysuckle helps reduce inflammation, and red dates nourish the blood.

“I made it especially for you. I was hoping you could recover sooner. It’s still hot—why don’t you drink it here before you go?”

Huo Qingshan lowered his gaze to the thermos but didn’t take it. “I appreciate the thought, Medic Chu, but there’s no need. Fish soup shouldn’t be cooked with red dates. Red dates are warming, and combining them with fish can upset the stomach.”

Chu Yao froze, surprised by his knowledge, and felt a flicker of embarrassment at her own oversight.

After a moment, he added, “Besides, we’re not close. It wouldn’t be appropriate for me to accept something you made. There’s no need to bring it again.”

Her heart sank instantly, but she still tried, “Battalion Commander Huo… I…”

When Meng Youyou rushed over, she saw a man and a woman standing face to face.

The man had his back to her, so she couldn’t see his expression.

The woman was holding a thermos, head lowered, looking shy as she softly called his name.

Mutual affection? No way! If she manages to give him that soup today, won’t everything be over? Like everything collapsing halfway through—absolutely not! I refuse!

But… that soup smells really good…

Meng Youyou’s mind started racing, thinking of how to stop things from progressing.

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