Song Wei’s stealth was so adept that Lin Zhen couldn’t help but stare at her with a strange expression.
She immediately noticed. “What’s with that look?” she whispered, glaring at him.
Lin Zhen took a deep breath and lowered his voice. “Promise you won’t get mad if I tell you.”
Eyes fixed on the herd of goats ahead, Song Wei responded, “Go on.” She instinctively felt he wasn’t about to say anything pleasant.
And sure enough, Lin Zhen admitted, “The way you move—it’s not something an ordinary person could master. For a while, I even suspected you might be a spy.”
Song Wei didn’t even turn her head before swinging a punch straight into his face.
Lin Zhen winced, clutching his cheek. Her seemingly soft fists were unexpectedly solid.
“It’s my fault for thinking that,” he conceded, “but your skills really seem like they came from specialized training. I couldn’t just ignore what I saw, could I?”
Song Wei scoffed but didn’t seem genuinely angry. One punch was enough to settle her annoyance.
“So, what now? Do you still think I’m a spy?”
Lin Zhen sighed and came clean. “I did a little investigation into you. I asked someone to look into your background. While your personality has changed a lot compared to what they found, everything else checked out. There’s no chance you’re a spy.”
Song Wei raised an eyebrow. “And if I were? What would you have done?”
Lin Zhen hesitated, his voice dropping even further. “If you were… I’d have to arrest you.”
Though he sounded unsure, his determination was evident.
“China has been through too much to get to where it is now. I couldn’t ignore a threat to the country just because of personal feelings. I’m a soldier, first and foremost.”
After a pause, he added, “But I’m relieved you’re not.”
Lin Zhen explained that he’d asked his former commanding officer—a trusted connection—to conduct the investigation discreetly. Only a select few knew about it.
“I had to be sure,” he said. “When soldiers marry, background checks are standard. Even though I’m retired, it was something my former leaders could still help with. Aside from your uncle’s past incident, everything else was perfectly normal.”
Her uncle had once been a researcher, contributing significantly to the country. But due to the current environment and certain individuals’ targeting, he had been unjustly detained.
Lin Zhen’s voice softened further. “Would you… would you think less of me for being so harsh? Would you not want to be with me anymore?”
His fists clenched tightly at his sides, betraying his nervousness.
Song Wei, her usually calm face revealing no anger, looked at him with cool eyes.
“Not even a little white lie to make me feel better?”
“I won’t lie to you,” Lin Zhen replied earnestly. “My mother always said that if you truly want to build a life with someone, you should never deceive them.”
Song Wei smiled, reached out, and gently squished his face until it turned red.
It wasn’t just his cheeks that turned crimson—his ears did too.
“I don’t blame you. You made the right choice,” she said. “If you were willing to cover for a spy, I’d lose all respect for you. Life can involve love, but it shouldn’t revolve solely around it. That kind of life lacks balance.”
“I’ll tell you more about me later,” she added, her tone brisk. “For now, we’ve got goats to catch.”
Lin Zhen nodded, keeping his distance to observe while she got to work.
The more he watched, the more awestruck he became. Even with his military background, he wasn’t sure he could outmatch her in skill.
Song Wei waited patiently, then lunged at her target: a well-fed billy goat.
Her timing and technique were flawless. Capturing and killing a grown goat in one swift motion should have been no problem.
But something completely unexpected happened.
As she pounced, a full-grown tiger leaped out simultaneously, heading for the same goat.
Man and beast locked eyes mid-air, both equally startled.
In a split second, the tiger clamped its jaws around the goat’s head while Song Wei grabbed its legs.
The rest of the herd scattered in panic.
Lin Zhen’s expression turned grim. “Watch out!” he shouted, already rushing toward her.
Who could’ve predicted that a tiger would appear out of nowhere?
Tigers are apex predators. When hunting, they can move silently, hiding their massive bodies in the foliage and masking their scent with the wind.
Song Wei’s stealth might have been impressive, but the tiger’s was equally so. Neither had detected the other.
Unfortunately, they’d both set their sights on the same target.
By the time Lin Zhen reached them, Song Wei and the tiger were already fighting.
The tiger made the first move.
It couldn’t believe this tiny human dared challenge it for its prey. Did she have a death wish?
Still holding the goat in its jaws, the tiger swiped a massive paw at Song Wei, fully confident it would crush her in one blow.
But Song Wei was faster. She bent backward, dodging the swipe, and yanked hard on the goat’s legs.
Caught off guard, the tiger stumbled forward slightly. Its teeth lost their grip, and Song Wei pulled the goat away.
The tiger blinked in disbelief.
Impossible!
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