Chu Yaozu was the first to spot Chu Yao standing frozen outside through the crack of the door.

“Sis—why are you here?!”

His voice was filled with unmistakable panic.

Chu Daqing and Liu Xiuying also turned to look at her. The moment their eyes met, a trace of malice flashed across both their faces.

Snapping back to her senses, Chu Yao slammed the door shut and ran downstairs as fast as she could.

When she married Xu Penggang, he had been extremely generous—giving the Chu family an apartment as part of the bride price. The entire family moved into the city and began living in a building.

But Chu Yao had only just been discharged from the hospital. Her injuries hadn’t fully healed, and she was no match for the three of them chasing her.

In the end, she was caught and dragged back to the Xu household.

From then on—

The tragedy repeated itself day after day.

She couldn’t escape the nightmare.

Until, in the end, she met the same fate as Xu Penggang’s previous three wives.

Chu Yao’s miserable life came to an end.

…

Sounds finally came from the corridor outside the duty room.

Chu Yao steadied herself and walked toward the door.

Sure enough, she saw Huo Qingshan and the others approaching from a distance.

Having witnessed the true nature of the Chu family in her past life, she now understood—

Even if she hadn’t agreed to the marriage back then, they would have found other despicable ways to force her into it.

So now—

Before Chu Yaozu’s business completely collapsed—

She had to secure a way out for herself.

In her previous life, she hadn’t interacted much with Huo Qingshan.

But now, having lived once already, she knew—

This man would rise to great heights in the future, holding power and status.

And more than that—

Though he appeared low-key, he came from a powerful military family.

Generations of service. Distinguished achievements in wartime. Connections in the capital. Influence.

Among everyone she could reach—

He was her best option.

Loyal, decisive, trustworthy, upright, unafraid of authority—

And most importantly—

Capable of protecting her.

If she could get close to him—

Better yet, if he agreed to marry her—

Then this life, she could avoid Xu Penggang and the Chu family entirely.

She would not repeat her past.

By the time Zhong Heng dragged Huo Qingshan into the duty room, Chu Yao had already composed herself and returned to her seat.

She looked up calmly, her voice gentle:

“Chiefs, what brings you to the infirmary today?”

A soft, sweet smile curved her lips. She looked like a blooming spring flower—gentle and pleasing.

Zhong Heng spoke first:

“Medic Chu, our commander was injured during a mission a few days ago. Could you help change his dressing?”

“No problem. Battalion Commander Huo, please follow me to the treatment room.”

After Huo Qingshan removed his outer jacket, faint bloodstains could already be seen seeping through the back of his training shirt.

Zhong Heng suddenly understood.

No wonder he’s been wearing a jacket every day in this heat…

So that’s why.

Good thing Chief Lu forced him here—otherwise no one could’ve made him come.

At this rate, he probably would’ve just ignored the wound altogether…

What a ruthless man.

With his back to her, Chu Yao examined the injuries.

Across his broad, wheat-colored back were crisscrossing wounds that hadn’t fully healed. Some scabs had split open, fresh blood seeping out.

The surrounding skin was red and slightly swollen—clearly inflamed from lack of proper treatment and continued intense training.

She couldn’t imagine how he endured such pain while still training every day.

Taking a quiet breath, she steadied herself and carefully cleaned the wound with disinfectant.

With every touch, she could feel his muscles tense slightly—

Yet he never made a sound.

After applying ointment, she began wrapping the wound with clean gauze.

At that moment, a clear female voice came from the next room:

“Huh? Why is no one in the duty room?”

Zhong Heng found the voice familiar and quickly peeked out.

Sure enough, it was Meng Youyou.

“Translator Meng, over here! The medic’s in this room!”

She spotted him and walked over.

At the doorway, she glanced inside.

Huo Qingshan stood there, half-turned, pulling on his army-green training shirt.

The shirt was already halfway on—

She caught a glimpse of gauze wrapped around his waist—

But in the next second, he was already putting on his jacket.

It happened so quickly that she wasn’t even sure if she had seen it correctly.

Is he injured?

How? When?

Questions flooded her mind.

She shook her head lightly, pushing the thoughts away.

Soldiers got injured all the time—it wasn’t unusual.

And judging by how he moved, it probably wasn’t serious.

She quickly refocused on why she came.

“Comrade medic, does the infirmary have any medicine for scar removal?”

“Scar removal?” Chu Yao blinked, momentarily thinking she misheard.

She looked Meng Youyou up and down.

The woman before her was strikingly beautiful—her skin smooth and fair like jade.

“Who is it for?”

“For me,” Meng Youyou replied, pointing to herself.

Then she lifted the leg of her linen pants.

All eyes followed her movement.

A slender, fair leg came into view—

Marked with several noticeable red scratches.

Against her pale skin, the marks stood out sharply.

Zhong Heng quickly looked away, pretending to admire the scenery outside.

Huo Qingshan, however, couldn’t help recalling that night at her dorm—

He didn’t remember seeing those marks then.

Perhaps he hadn’t looked closely.

Or perhaps…

His attention had been elsewhere.

The thought made him inwardly criticize himself.

So I’m no better than anyone else…

He clearly remembered things he shouldn’t have noticed—

Yet had missed something so obvious.

“I got them that night—when I was dragged through the forest,” Meng Youyou explained.

Chu Yao frowned slightly.

Looking at her outfit and appearance, she formed a quick judgment.

Another pampered girl from the central government, probably here just to pad her résumé.

After a moment, she answered calmly:

“The medical resources here are limited. The pharmacy mainly provides treatment supplies—we don’t have anything specifically for scar removal.”

To be fair—

Chu Yao simply couldn’t relate.

Since childhood, she had worked in the fields.

Scratches from branches, stones, and tools were common.

Even deeper cuts during harvest weren’t unusual.

Compared to the injuries she had suffered—

These were nothing.

Not to mention the years she had worked in the infirmary—

She had never encountered anyone asking for scar removal.

“Oh… I see…”

Meng Youyou immediately looked disappointed.

She muttered to herself,

“Then what should I do… I don’t want scars…”

Then sighed deeply.

“Sigh…”

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