In the Turbulent Spring of Youth, Only You Captivate (4) Part 1

On the ride back to the Border Defense Station.

Sun Kai, Zhao Dailin, Chen Rui, and Wu Heping all got into Instructor Tang's car.

Tang Mingliang opened the passenger door, looked at the four people sitting primly and properly in the back seat, and was stunned for a moment. Then, he came to his senses, shaking his head with a smile. "You guys are the clever ones."

As for Lu Huaizheng and Yu Hao's matter, among the remaining few, only Wu Heping was still a bit in the dark. But Wu Heping had seen it just now; Captain Lu was clearly injured himself, yet he turned back to comfort Dr. Yu. From that, he could more or less understand something. Before he could carefully savor the meaning behind it, Chen Rui grabbed him by the collar without another word and shoved him into Instructor Tang's car.

Halfway through the drive, Wu Heping couldn't help but ask, "Captain Lu and Dr. Yu are really a thing?"

Sun Kai and Chen Rui both knew the inside story. Their expressions were inscrutable as they exchanged a look that spoke volumes. Sun Kai then slung an arm around Wu Heping's neck, pulling him closer. "Believe it or not, this time he was the one bitten. If Dr. Yu had been bitten, your Captain Lu would have gone crazy today."

"For real?" Wu Heping tilted his head and looked at Sun Kai in disbelief. "I can't believe a tough guy like Captain Lu is such a romantic. With his usual ferocity, I thought he was the same with women."

Sun Kai chuckled, wearing an expression that said, "You have no idea."

"That ferocity is for you guys. You don't know about the way he looks at Dr. Yu. I've known him for seven or eight years, and I've never seen him look at a woman with that kind of gaze." Sun Kai retracted his arm and patted Wu Heping's shoulder, saying earnestly, "Besides, there's something you don't know. All men are born romantics. It's just that some seeds aren't lucky enough to find good water and never get to sprout."

Hearing this, Zhao Dailin, who was squeezed into the very edge of the seat, expressed her disdain with a soft snort.

Sun Kai heard the sound and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. "You disagree?"

Zhao Dailin rolled her eyes and ignored him.

Sun Kai hissed, sucking in a sharp breath. "About what happened today, I haven't even settled the score with you yet, and you're the one getting huffy? What did I tell you before we left?" He paused, his tone sarcastic. "At first, I thought since you're a bit older than Yu Hao, you'd be more sensible. I didn't expect you to only grow in age, not in brains."

Zhao Dailin knew she had been foolish today and didn't try to defend herself. Since she was young, she had accepted this principle: everyone makes mistakes, and when you're wrong, you admit it. You take your punishment standing straight.

"I was pretty foolish," she murmured in a low voice.

Repeating it over and over in her heart.

Her usual sharp tongue was gone, replaced by a quiet head bowed in remorse. The self-deprecating smile in her eyes truly shocked Sun Kai. He was used to bickering with her and spoke without thinking, but he had forgotten that she was, after all, a girl. She had probably never seen a scene like today's in her entire life.

Tang Mingliang, however, was frowning, his expression heavy. He hadn't said a word since getting in the car.

This matter was thorny.

Lu Huaizheng was an Air Force Captain, and he might even be promoted to Major by the end of the year. His future in the military and political circles was boundless. If something like this happened under his jurisdiction, he would face an endless stream of reports in the future.

As long as Lu Huaizheng was fine, the reports didn't matter. As a soldier, even dying on the battlefield was nothing. But if it ended like this, it would be a real pity. He knew this man too well; Lu Huaizheng would never say anything out of fear of worrying others. He shouldered everything himself.

Now, facing Yu Hao, he would probably just try to gloss things over.

The thought was vexing.

Tang Mingliang turned his head and asked Zhao Dailin, "Was that person really an AIDS patient?"

Zhao Dailin nodded, her voice growing softer. "This is actually my fault. If I hadn't been so impulsive, none of this trouble would have happened."

Hearing that, Sun Kai couldn't help but chime in, "You've been acting tough too much, haven't you? So you just treat everything we say as hot air. We told you not to go out, but you didn't listen, did you?'

Zhao Dailin looked sincere and apologized seriously again, 'I'm sorry."

Sun Kai felt her apology was not sincere at all, as if she were deliberately trying to choke him up, and it left him speechless.

Instructor Tang couldn't watch anymore. He shot Sun Kai a glare and told Zhao Dailin to continue.

Zhao Dailin recounted, "After you left, Yu Hao and I happened to be talking about an old case. Yu Hao suddenly connected it to today's case and found that it also made sense. Then, while we were checking past records and realized the criminal's target might be everyone in town, you guys didn't have your phones, so Yu Hao ran out to find you. Yu Hao told me to stay and contact his mother, since his mother might be the criminal's only weakness. But in the process of contacting her, I found out his mother had already died when he was seven, from AIDS. Later, I had someone check the CDC's records and found that he was also an AIDS patient."

Sun Kai asked, "She had a child while having AIDS?"

At this point, Zhao Dailin's gaze paused. She looked out the window and said, "No, he was infected later."

"What do you mean?" Sun Kai asked.

Zhao Dailin explained: "He wasn't born with AIDS. He was infected when he was sexually assaulted by a man in town at the age of four. That man who assaulted him was Zaza's father. That's why he went crazy when he saw Zaza's father just now and fired so many shots. Because of this, thinking about the clue Yu Hao gave earlier—that his illness was already in the late stages—I was afraid something else might happen. I didn't think it through and wanted to go find you. I was ambushed by him as soon as I stepped out."

At that moment, Zhao Dailin didn't know what had gotten into her. After getting the news, she just rushed out without a second thought.

She thought.

"I hope that idiot Sun Kai doesn't get himself into trouble while trying to catch the guy."

But Sun Kai felt something was off. "But just now, when Yu Hao mentioned contacting his mother...his reaction wasn't like his mother was already dead..."

Chen Rui chimed in, "That's right."

Zhao Dailin: "I don't know about that, but his mother is indeed dead. The death certificate from Kunming has been sent to me." She passed her phone over; it was indeed his mother's death certificate.

"There's another possibility," Zhao Dailin conjectured. "PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder."

Hearing this, Sun Kai subconsciously glanced at Zhao Dailin. Their eyes met unexpectedly. Zhao Dailin was the first to look away, turning to Instructor Tang. She said, "PTSD happens when a patient suffers extreme trauma and doesn't receive timely psychological intervention. They remain immersed in past suffering, with images of the trauma replaying in their mind. Perhaps he has always believed his mother isn't dead. When his mother was mentioned, his entire mind seemed to be dissociated."

Sun Kai suddenly realized, "Then Zaza's father is also an AIDS patient!?"

Zhao Dailin nodded. "According to the records, Zaza's father was infected later. Ma Zhiming's mother used to work as a prostitute in the "Red-Light Street" in her early years. I suspect that Zaza's father was infected by Ma Zhiming's mother, and out of revenge, he sexually assaulted her son."

"Then why is he still alive?" Wu Heping asked, confused.

"It's a matter of individual physique. The incubation period for AIDS can be as long as twenty-some years. Also, from what I know, Zaza's father has been taking medication regularly."

...

Yu Hao and Lu Huaizheng got in the car. The car moved in silence. No one spoke to break the dead silence.

Lu Huaizheng was thinking about how to coax her.

Yu Hao was thinking that among Professor Han's friends, there seemed to be someone who specialized in AIDS research.

But she couldn't recall whether AIDS could be transmitted this way.

She only knew it couldn't be transmitted through saliva, but the other person's gums were ulcerated and bleeding. Had there been cases of infection through such a route?

The more she thought, the more her head ached. What on earth had she studied? How was it that at such a critical moment, she couldn't help at all?

As soon as the car stopped at the Military Region Gate.

Yu Hao sprinted back to the dormitory at the fastest speed of her life.

She was someone who got breathless after running fifty meters, but strangely, that day she rushed up four flights of stairs without even panting. With trembling hands, she picked up the phone by her bed and searched through her contacts for Professor Han's number.

When she got to 'H', a teardrop splattered onto the phone screen, instantly magnifying the font. She paid it no mind, wiping it away carelessly before dialing the number and holding the phone to her ear.

The moment Professor Han picked up, she suppressed the tremor in her chest and asked through clenched teeth, 'A late-stage AIDS patient with ulcerated, bleeding gums—if someone is bitten by them and bleeds, is there a possibility of infection?'

Professor Han was stunned for a moment. Hearing the strange tone of her voice, he took off his glasses and quickly asked, "You were bitten?"

"It was Lu Huaizheng."

She lowered her head. As she said those three words, her voice choked with a sob. She finally couldn't hold it back, and her nose stung.

She sat on the edge of the bed, feeling as if the warmth from his kiss last night still lingered beside her. She had been hoping that after tonight, everything would be alright. She still had so much to say to him, but now it was like this again. She couldn't help but bury her head and sob.

She had a cool temperament since childhood. After transferring schools and following Professor Han, she had slowly learned to accept the world. But reality always gave her a heavy blow when she least expected it, like a warning bell.

Her cries were muffled, not like a typical girl's coquettish whimpers, but a pure release. The tears wouldn't stop. She didn't wipe them, but when she tried, she found they only came faster. So she just let them flow, her voice choked as she haltingly told the person on the other end of the phone what had just happened. She must have been truly frightened, as her words were chaotic.

Her mind was a mess.

She couldn't continue speaking and held the phone in a daze for a while. Then, she looked up and saw Lu Huaizheng leaning against the doorframe.

She was startled and quickly turned her head away, subconsciously covering her eyes with her hands.

Lu Huaizheng walked over slowly, squatted down in front of her, hitching up his pants. He rested one hand on his knee, tilting his head up slightly. With his other hand, he took her wrist and pulled her hand away, revealing her swollen, teary eyes, which filled him with a deep sense of guilt.

He asked her to give him the phone.

Yu Hao obediently handed it over.