Huo Rou then remembered that Zhao Wen had indeed invited her to a gathering before.
She had left abruptly, not thinking much of it at the time, but now, looking back, she felt it was a bit improper.
Leaning against a pillar by the door, Huo Rou asked, "Then what was the surprise you mentioned last time?"
"It's Si Nian, Commander Si," Zhao Wen said. Mentioning Si Nian reminded him of the urgent calls from noon today. He hadn't intended to disturb her so abruptly.
"Captain Huo, is today okay?" Zhao Wen confirmed again. He had been persuaded by An An with just a few words last night, and only realized it when he went out to reply to Si Nian.
This time, he needed a definite answer.
Huo Rou thought for a moment; she had no other plans for today. She nodded, "Sure. Just send me the time and address later."
"Go back quickly. Work diligently and carefully, don't disgrace us at Fenghuo."
Receiving Huo Rou's instructions, Zhao Wen's heart swelled, as if returning to the days at Fenghuo. Every time they set out, Huo Rou would give them such a remark or encouragement.
He saluted, held his head high, and strode away.
Huo Rou watched his retreating back, and in a daze, she was transported back to her days in the military. With a single command, soldiers marched in unison.
Now that her poison had hope, those days were gone forever.
She opened the box in her hand. She recognized the scent of the pastry – ginseng cake.
"The ginseng yield has increased, and it's not that cheap anymore. This person, honestly..."
Huo Rou murmured to herself, leaning by the door and slowly eating the cake. A part of her heart gradually warmed.
She seemed to have comrades now.
Wasn't the project team her other battlefield? As long as she had the strength, she could fight.
Now her comrades cared about her, and someone still needed her. Wasn't it the same as before?
Huo Rou thought about things while eating the cake by the door, drawing the attention of passersby.
"Is a celebrity filming here? Why is such a beautiful person eating cornbread outside?"
"This seems to be some kind of laboratory. Someone works here!" someone countered, though the beautiful girl outside was indeed eating cornbread like a celebrity.
Hearing the passersby's chatter, Huo Rou found it extremely amusing. Just as she was about to turn back, she keenly sensed a sharp gaze fixed upon her.
She narrowed her eyes to look.
There was nothing at the corner.
"Ah! That look scared me to death. As expected, the more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it is." The onlookers, their hearts struck, quickly regained their senses and continued walking, not daring to glance at Huo Rou again.
Huo Rou trusted her instincts. Someone was definitely watching her from the corner, and it wasn't the kind of casual observation from onlookers.
She walked quickly to the corner but saw no suspicious individuals. Her intuition wouldn't be wrong.
Huo Rou thought of the people following her and called out, "Someone."
Rustle—
People suddenly surrounded her.
Huo Rou showed a look of "as expected" and calmly surveyed the people who had appeared around her and formed a circle.
The three groups, with their entirely different styles and auras, exchanged glances, then looked at Huo Rou.
Huo Rou offered no explanation, merely asking her question, "There was a suspicious person at this corner just now. Did any of you see them?"
With so many people, complete concealment would always have variations in proximity and direction…
Hearing that she was inquiring about the situation at the corner rather than having encountered danger, they tacitly took a step back, allowing Huo Rou to breathe a sigh of relief.
Someone silently raised their hand, "I was over here. I only saw a car stop here earlier. The window wasn't rolled down, so I couldn't see the whole vehicle."
His reply was stiff, but inwardly, he was secretly shocked.
That car had stopped there, and he had observed it for a while without noticing anything unusual. However, after Huo Rou came out to eat cornbread and looked over, the car quickly drove away.
Could it be that there was indeed a suspicious person loitering in front of him that he had overlooked?
The previous group protecting Huo Rou had been incapacitated by a suspicious person and, after recovering, had gone back for retraining. They had only just started their duty, would they be taken off it so soon?
He tentatively asked, "There was something wrong with that car, wasn't there?"
Huo Rou nodded. She was certain that someone in the car had been watching her. She was very familiar with such gazes. How many times on the battlefield had she evaded swords and blades based on such intuition?
"Did you remember the license plate number?" Huo Rou pondered for a moment, observing the surroundings. It happened to be a blind spot for surveillance.