Chapter 32: She Is a Burden and a Tail

Shen Jin glanced at the dial of his Breguet watch on his wrist; it was almost six-thirty in the morning.

Soak up what sun?

Jiang Yu had lived in the damp, rain-soaked city of Yangcheng for years, making her skin extremely delicate. How could she possibly handle the merciless, scorching heat of the Nada Bay Desert? Out of goodwill, he called out to him, “He Lian!”

He Lian had just stuffed Jiang Yu into the passenger seat of the Jeep and was fastening her seatbelt.

Assuming Shen Jin was worried about safety, he raised his voice without even looking up: “It’s fine! I’ll take her myself!”

Shen Jin: “…”

Whatever. It’s him who’ll be heartbroken when Jiang Yu gets sunburned anyway.

Having rested for less than an hour back at the main barracks, the screech of brakes echoed from the courtyard. He Lian, bare-chested with his clothes draped over Jiang Yu, came rushing into the house carrying her in his arms.

“Medic! Where’s the medic?!”

Shen Jin heard his booming voice from afar, curling his lips as he crossed his long legs.

Told you she’d get sunburned.

This beast really thinks Jiang Yu is as tough and rough-skinned as he is.

The team members training in the courtyard turned to look upon hearing the commotion. Li Meng and Ye Xun exchanged a glance, jumped down smoothly from the high bar, and entered the barracks alongside the medic.

Stepping inside, He Lian shoved Shen Jin straight onto the floor with one hand, gently set Jiang Yu down, peeled back her clothes, and asked with immense concern, “A-Yu, does it hurt?”

Jiang Yu felt a bit nauseous from being jostled around. Lowering her head, she lifted her arm—it was only slightly red. Just as she reached out to scratch it, her wrist was caught in a broad, warm grip.

“Don’t.”

He Lian turned his head, his brows knit tightly into a knot. “Hurry up!”

Muttering curses, Shen Jin stood up from the floor, dusted off his clothes, and leaned over to take a look.

“…”

It isn’t even as red as a light slap mark.

Panicking as if his own father just died.

However, as his gaze shifted downward, Shen Jin caught sight of an old scar on the left side of He Lian’s back—a mark left by a bullet entry. If it had been just two centimeters closer, that heart would have stopped beating forever.

He subtly shifted his eyes away.

The beast who almost shot himself dead.

A simpleton.

A lunatic.

The future of the Fortress Camp sure looks completely pitch-black.

Carrying his medical kit, the medic squatted beside Jiang Yu, cradled her arm to examine it, and thought to himself: There’s nothing wrong here. Any normal person’s skin gets a bit red after sitting in the sun for a while.

Jiang Yu simply had exceptionally pale skin, which made it stand out far more.

“Commander, she’s fine, please don’t worry,” the medic said. “Applying a cool towel for a while will do.”

He Lian: “Will her skin peel?”

Shen Jin scoffed disdainfully, “What, do you think she’s a snake, peeling her skin?”

Standing off to the side, Li Meng and Ye Xun couldn’t help bursting into snickers.

Still unable to set his mind at ease, He Lian turned to glare at the two of them. Li Meng quickly ran to wet a towel and handed it over to him.

Taking the towel, He Lian applied it with extreme care to Jiang Yu’s arm. The icy chill soothed the mild stinging sensation. Jiang Yu lowered her head, and her knitted brows relaxed slightly.

Unable to watch any longer, Shen Jin dismissed the other three before sitting back down. “I say, He Lian, can you stop treating her like a child? Jiang Yu isn’t stupid; she can take care of herself.”

He Lian flipped the towel over: “I don’t see it.”

Jiang Yu: “…”

Mr. Shen, please be sure to say a few more words.

Leaning his arms back, Shen Jin raised his foot and delivered a hard kick to He Lian’s side waist as he knelt. However, the man didn’t budge an inch, while Shen Jin himself reeled back awkwardly from the force.

Dammit, this beast is built like a brick wall!

“I looked over the medical report. Jiang Yu’s mental disorder might be due to paternal genetics,” Shen Jin said. “On top of that, after being brought to the Song family, she suffered long-term abuse and had no contact with the outside world.”

“She isn’t stupid. She’s just emotionally closed off and doesn’t talk much.”

He Lian turned his head, keenly catching the key word: “Genetics?”

Shen Jin: “Her biological father was a lunatic.”

“Schizophrenia.”

“Her mother insisted on marrying her father back then, only to end up being beaten to death when he found out she cheated. Jiang Yu was locked in a dog cage by her father for half a year. Honestly… if it weren’t for the Song family, she wouldn’t have survived until now.”

“Even though that group did it for the inheritance, it was technically a blessing in disguise that saved Jiang Yu’s life.”

He Lian’s hand resting on Jiang Yu’s arm trembled, his eyes clouded over by a dark haze. “A dog cage?”

Shen Jin nodded.

He Lian turned back. Jiang Yu sat upright, her small face betraying no reaction whatsoever. She merely lowered her delicate eyelashes, ignoring the man’s soft calls as if her mind had drifted far away.

Within Jiang Yu’s field of vision…

Numerous hideous, grimacing faces were laughing at her. Twisted lines squirmed and crawled across the floor, the walls, and everywhere around her.

He Lian gritted his teeth: “Shen Jin, don’t ever say these things in front of Jiang Yu again!”

Shen Jin thought for a moment: “Whatever. Come down to the basement later.”

He stood up and left.

He Lian let out a heavy breath. After taking a few seconds to compose his emotions, he called out softly to Jiang Yu, who was still staring blankly into space.

“A-Yu? Jiang Yu?”

The foul visions before her eyes were shattered by the man’s gentle voice, and the faint, unsettling noises around her vanished in an instant. Returning to tranquility, Jiang Yu lifted her head in confusion.

It seemed her mind wasn’t built for heavy thinking; whenever she recalled the events of those years, those horrifying, contorted lines would intertwine with pain and surface before her eyes.

Song Xueyan had relied on stealing her artistic spirit to acquire those paintings and make a grand name for herself in elite circles.

Jiang Yu stared at the man before her. The worry in his deep, defined eyes did not seem fake.

Fiddling with her fingers, she knew He Lian was currently infatuated, at the peak of his novelty with her soul-baring shell.

She wasn’t sure how long this infatuation would last.

Jiang Yu hesitated, feeling that the time wasn’t right yet.

She was a useless burden to the Fortress, a mere weight and a tail attached to He Lian.

Yet He Lian was the blade she wished to borrow.

This blade hadn’t been sharpened enough.

The Song family was undoubtedly trying every possible means to drag her back. Living here, she couldn’t gather any useful information, and a centuries-old prominent family in Yangcheng couldn’t be uprooted on a whim.

She didn’t believe that if He Lian knew the truth right now, he would recklessly wipe out the Song family for her sake.

She wasn’t that important to him yet.

There was even a chance that if He Lian discovered he was being used, he might snap her neck in a fit of rage.

He Lian was simply keeping her around for fun right now.

No different from raising a pet cat or dog.

She needed to wait a bit longer.

She would test his attitude using Song Xueyan first.

Jiang Yu’s face remained expressionless and somewhat pale. Just as she was about to say she wanted to paint, she heard He Lian ask in a very soft voice, “A-Yu, do you want to paint?”

Jiang Yu froze slightly.

She hadn’t expected the man to guess her thoughts.

Squatting in front of her, He Lian observed her carefully: “How about painting?”

Terrified that Shen Jin’s words had triggered Jiang Yu again, he wanted to use something she loved to divert her attention.

With mixed feelings, Jiang Yu nodded.

Relieved, He Lian called Zhuang Yumian over to purchase brushes, drawing boards, and other art supplies. He then brought Jiang Yu up to the second-floor bedroom and waited until she fell asleep before going downstairs.

Exiting the main barracks, he walked down the path toward the basement, lost in deep thought.

Locking the little simpleton in a dog cage.

Dammit.

Even more of a bastard than his own father!

However, he was so deeply absorbed in thought that he failed to notice the person following closely behind him.

The team members training in the courtyard turned back curiously, noticing Jiang Yu walking briskly with quick, small steps, almost at a jog. Yet the commander’s stride was too wide, and he turned the corner in just two or three steps.

Jiang Yu hurriedly ran after him.

Someone on the high bar chuckled and muttered softly,

“Hey, look, a little tail just grew behind our boss.”

“Yeah, but isn’t the boss heading down to the basement? Can that place… really be shown to her?”

“Won’t it scare the little tail to death?”

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