My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

"The last few questions are super hard." Shi Nian babbled as she wiped Jiang Jinyan's fingers one by one. "In the end, I got five B's in a row. How could it be possible? I must have made a mistake somewhere for sure. By then, only twenty minutes remained. You can't imagine how nervous I was but fortunately, everything went well. I made a miscalculation in the limit theory we have discussed before. It's so difficult, no matter how many problems I did, I would always make the same mistake." 

She lifted Jiang Jinyan's hands in front of her and smiled proudly. "Done, now you're all clean and fresh." Shi Nian lifted her head, eyes landing on his sleeping visage; sharp eyebrows, curly eyelashes that could make every girl envious, straight nose. He was as beautiful as he was fragile. Just in the span of three weeks, his cheek had sunken in and the weight he had put on lately vanished in a flash, making him look especially gaunt and thin. It reminded Shi Nian very much of when she first met him in City A's hospital.

Her eyes watered. She brought Jiang Jinyan's hands to her lips, kissing his knuckles one by one almost piously. Not feeling enough, she moved his palm to cup her cheek, feeling the cold surface of his skin against her.

"Jinyan…when are you going to wake up? Christmas is already over but you still haven't received my gift yet. I planned to make it a surprise. But then, who would have known that this was going to happen?" She gave a hoarse laugh and nuzzled her head onto his palm, eyes closing gently.

The first few days after the incident seemed like a neverending nightmare. Qiang Fei was moved into the ICU, unconscious whereas Jiang Jinyan suffered from severe injuries. When he slipped off the cliff, Nan Xukun was firmly holding on his arm, intending to take Jiang Jinyan down with him. 

The area they were at was the other side of the mountain where Shi Nian was found a year ago. It used to be a popular place for mountain climbers and hikers. However, the unstable state of the land rendered it prone to landslides. The mountain has been pretty much abandoned thus no one could have expected that there was a private condo atop of it. 

The house was already more than twenty years old and had been refurbished many times. When the mountain was crowded, the owner opened a cafe for the climbers to rest. However, when people stopped coming there, the cafe shut down and the building was put on sale.

Disregarding the precarious landscape, who would want to live in the middle of the mountain where there's nothing around except for trees and wild animals? 

It was also that exact reason that the police haven't been able to find out the serial killer's hideouts. From outside, the house looked like a dilapidated haunted house, covered in overgrown vines, moss and lush. The location itself was almost hidden by the dense forestation, making it a perfect place to execute his killings.

If it wasn't for the fire which almost burned down half of the mountain and Shi Nian's statement, they wouldn't be able to find out about the house. 

"They have found all of the evidence under that basement." Shi Nian told Jiang Jinyan in a soft tone as if singing a lullaby. "Fortunately, everything hasn't been burned down yet. There are a few body parts belonging to the victims there, the blood evidence on it, and also weapons and drugs Nan Xukun had used on them. Detective Ke said that Nan Xukun won't be able to evade punishment. Just that…it's frustrating how he hasn't regained consciousness yet, just like you."

"Hey, Jinyan…" A droplet of tears slid down Shi Nian's cheek to his palm, then followed by another, and another. "When your heart stopped beating for a few seconds, I thought to myself that I would be satisfied enough just to see you alive. However, now that you're like this, I really wish to see your eyes open once again. I want you to look at me, I want to see your smile and hold your hands. I also want to feel your arms around me. I miss you. I miss you so, so much... Tell me, is that too greedy of me?" 

She pressed her forehead on his palm, sobbing. "What should I do without you…?"

Intermittent sobs and sniffles echoed in the room, accompanied by the monotone beep of the heartrate monitor. It wasn't until a few moments later that Shi Nian managed to regain her composure.

Lifting her head, she put on a smile and wiped her damp cheeks. "Sorry, I've told myself countless times not to cry again in front of you and look at me now. Just don't call me a crybaby when you wake up, okay?"

She slipped his hand into the blanket and pulled it higher to his chest. Afterward, she combed her fingers through his hair and dropped a feathery kiss on his forehead. "Next, I only have to wait for the university entrance examination result so I have a lot of free time in my hands. I will visit you again tomorrow, okay? How about I bring you a bouquet of roses? Do you like them?"

A faint ruckus outside drew her attention away. Faintly, she could hear the bodyguards greeting, "CEO Jiang." The door slid open at the same time when Shi Nian straightened up. Her eyes met with Jiang Huocheng's across the room.

"Uncle Jiang." Shi Nian took the initiative to greet the man and bowed politely. "Good evening."

Jiang Huocheng looked taken aback as if not expecting to see someone else in Jiang Jinyan's room, making Shi Nian feel awkward all over. She still hadn't forgotten how severe Jiang Huocheng's expression was when he caught sight of Jiang Jinyan who had just been pushed out of the operation room. 

At that time, Jiang Jinyan had barely managed to escape from critical condition. Intense observation was needed to see how well he would fare.

A violent storm of guilt overwhelmed Shi Nian to the point where she didn't even dare to look Jiang Huocheng straight in the eye. It was because of her that Jiang Jinyan landed in this situation, she brooded over and over again. 

Jiang Huocheng didn't even need a second to smooth his expression. Nodded curtly, he stepped into the room. His first sentence instantly made Shi Nian's heart sink. "You don't need to come here again."

Shi Nian clenched her fists, swallowing hard. "I'm sorry, Uncle, but…I don't think I can do that."

As expected, Jiang Huocheng must have hated the sight of her. It was no wonder, considering how many times Jiang Jinyan had gotten himself injured because of her. If she was in his shoes, she would consider herself an eyesore too.

"I mean, you don't have to come here every single day." Jiang Huocheng sighed, his face haggard with exhaustion. "The nurse will give you a call when he wakes up later. This boy has unexpectedly gotten too weak, just that little bit of injuries rendered him bedridden for three weeks."

Shi Nian almost couldn't believe what she had just heard. Concussion, multiple bone fractures, severe blood loss, deep skin traumas and prolonged starvation was called 'a little bit of injuries'?

"I…" Shi Nian was struck speechless. Even more so when she looked into his eyes and found no hatred or animosity there, only placidness and vicissitude of a person who had gone through so much. She couldn't help asking. "Uncle…don't you blame me?"

Her question made Jiang Huocheng's brows knitted deeply. "It's a twisted notion to blame the victim for an unfortunate incident. Moreover, I'm sure that headstrong son of mine readily plunged into danger to save you. I have nothing to say regarding the decision he made himself as long as he was prepared for the consequences. And in this case, I'm sure he knew better than anyone what he has gotten himself into."

The man's tone didn't fluctuate nor was there any sympathy or pity. But still, Shi Nian's throat choked up badly and the eyes that had just recovered reddened once again. She exerted all of her willpower so as to not embarrass herself by crying in front of Jiang Jinyan's father. "T—Thank you, Uncle…"

He couldn't imagine how those words had lifted half of the burden off Shi Nian's shoulder, bringing to her a breath of fresh air she very much needed at the moment. As she expected, Jiang Huocheng was a very good father. 

Jiang Huocheng averted his gaze and cleared his throat. His expression turned even more somber and stern."I dropped by just to see how he's doing. Now that he is still alive, I will take my leave."

Shi Nian only recovered her senses by the time Jiang Huocheng reached the door. "Wait, Uncle!" She hastily reached for her backpack and chased after him, grinning ear to ear. "Uncle, have you eaten yet? If you haven't, mind if I join you?"

The two walked side by side down the hallway, one was a middle aged man in a suit emanating low pressure from his body while the other was a girl in school uniform, looking all cheerful and happy. They had no similarity at all, yet somehow the air between them was exceedingly heartwarming and harmonious.

Beyond the closed door they had just come out from, Jiang Jinyan's fingers twitched ever so slightly, a fluctuation turned up amidst the monotone heart rate diagram on the monitor.

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A/N: soon hehe