Chapter 216: Deng Hai’s Girlfriend
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Boss, ten buns, ten steamed buns, and four bottles of milk.”
This request came in Mandarin.
Outside a breakfast shop in Xi Guang, a small village located about 50 kilometers away from the Iron Bones Hero Regiment’s base, a person wearing a cap and clothes that didn’t quite match his age appeared.
Of course, the Lady Boss was swamped with work at the moment, so she had no time for this.
“Eighteen yuan,” she replied in a hurried manner.
She briefly glanced at Deng llai, then efficiently packed the items he desired into several bags and handed them over.
Deng llai produced the money to settle the bill.
After receiving her payment, the lady boss gave him his change. Deng Hai quietly lowered his head and turned away, clutching his breakfast.
Boss, how much does this map cost?”
Ten minutes later, Qin Li located the town’s bookstore.
He didn’t dare to go online, even though he was aware that small-town internet cafes didn’t require an ID card.
Nonetheless, he remained cautious.
Being a non-local, his Mandarin accent was quite prominent.
Therefore, he made every effort to minimize interactions with people.
In fact, he was even hesitant to take a car.
At this moment, he was filled with anxiety.
Despite the sorrow and indignation within his heart, his sole desire was to return.
However, the urgency of his return heightened his focus.
He knew that his departure would undoubtedly be discovered by the army.
Avoiding capture was his priority, so he had to be well-prepared.
In truth, he had contemplated his plan before leaving two days ago.
He had brought both his personal card and the one issued by the army.
The first thing he did upon leaving was to shed his military uniform. After concealing it carefully, he even acquired clothing from a local villager’s laundry line.
Then he made his way to the nearest town and withdrew all the funds from both cards.
He feared that the army would freeze his card once they realized he had gone AWOL.
Subsequently, he ventured up the mountain.
He had ventured beyond the mountain only once during their journey, and he hadn’t entered any cities. Instead, he had found a fellow villager’s house, purchased some food, and sought directions. Ultimately, he had returned to the safety of the mountain.
It wasn’t until today that he stumbled upon a nearby village, prompting Deng Hai to emerge from hiding once more.
In fact, there were soldiers stationed at the town entrance, manning checkpoints. However, the land was vast and thinly populated. Only a single car was stationed there, and a handful of people were conducting vehicle inspections.
Deng Hai had no intention of approaching the town entrance; he intended to retrace his steps up the mountain.
Along the way, Deng Hai retrieved the pepper powder he had purchased the previous day and scattered it on the ground and his person. He also took out a small bag of chili powder made from morning peppers and repeated the process.
During his time in the recruit company, he had learned about the military dogs in the army, so he had prepared accordingly for this escape.
Now that he had enough food to last the day, he was prepared to continue his journey through the mountains, following the directions on the map.
At this moment, he dared not take a vehicle or use the main road. He relied solely on his own feet to distance himself from the search area where he couldn’t spot any troop presence. Afterward, he planned to figure out a way to secure transportation.
“Company Commander, I think I should change my clothes. We’re attracting far too much attention.
Besides, our appearance is far too conspicuous. Even if Deng Hai does show up, once he spots us, he certainly won’t dare to come out!”
Wang Ye, standing on a street corner while eating breakfast, couldn’t help but voice his concerns to Wu Jianfeng.
In reality, Wang Ye simply couldn’t tolerate the excessive curiosity and scrutiny from onlookers.
The proprietor of the breakfast shop had even chased him for hundreds of meters.
It was incredibly embarrassing. He was a soldier, yet he had been pursued as if he had stolen something.
Wu Jianfeng, who was eating a bun, turned his head and looked over. He thought for a moment and nodded.”! didn’t think it through before. Indeed, we’ll go buy a set later and change into it before we go find someone!”
Half an hour later, two men with crew cuts and a somewhat peculiar gait climbed into a taxi.
“Driver, Liancheng Medical Academy,” Wu Jianfeng informed the taxi driver of their destination.
At this point, Wang Ye turned to glance at Wu Jianfeng.
Throughout the journey, Wang Ye had refrained from asking about where Deng Hai’s girlfriend was at.
Back when they were in Class 5 and shared close bonds, Deng Hai had been exceptionally secretive, almost as though he feared that everyone would attempt to seduce his girlfriend.
Consequently, Wang Ye remained unaware of what Deng Hai’s girlfriend did until now.
Keeping his thoughts to himself, Wang Ye remained silent.
The Medical Academy was also situated in Liancheng.
If Wang Ye’s memory served him correctly, it was a vocational school of sorts.
In essence, judging by its name, it could be categorized as a nursing school.
However, nursing schools typically enrolled students from middle school.
This particular vocational college, on the other hand, admitted high school graduates.
Of course, junior high students were also accepted.
Regardless of the students they accepted, in Wang Ye’s perception, such schools tended to be chaotic.
The academically inclined students typically pursued high school or a reputable university. As for nursing schools and vocational institutions, in contemporary times, students who hadn’t performed well in middle school or the college entrance exam often found themselves there, as their families aimed to provide them with a practical skill.
Under these circumstances, these schools were often associated with disorder.
Certainly, there were undoubtedly some outstanding students among them.
However, the proportion of underperforming students tended to be high.
In any case, Wang Ye didn’t find it surprising that Deng Hai’s girlfriend had broken up with him less than three months after he joined the army.
The taxi journey lasted for over half an hour before coming to a halt at the school gate.
The school’s name sounded prestigious, but the gate itself was rather old and modest in size.
Just take a small path to come to the country of Qin.
Although it was past eight o’clock in the morning, one would expect classes to be in session. However, a considerable number of students were gathered at the school gates. Furthermore, most of them were paired off in male-female duos…
The gate’s security guard seemed ineffective. The gate was open, and an elderly man lay inside with his eyes closed, listening to opera. He paid no attention to the students coming and going, even allowing Wang Ye and the others to enter without any hindrance.
“Company Commander, what’s our plan? Are we going to directly search for his girlfriend?” Wang Ye asked.
No, let’s inquire first. We’ll start by visiting their school administrators!” Wu Jianfeng suggested, then turned to Wang Ye.
Wang Ye met his gaze.
Wu Jianfeng elaborated, “We only managed to gather his girlfriend’s name and the fact that she’s studying nursing here from Deng Hai’s family inquiries with his former classmates. However, we don’t know her class or much else. So, our best bet is to ask the school administrators for assistance in locating her!”
“Alright then,” Wang Ye agreed.
Seeing that Wu Jianfeng was still scrutinizing him, Wang Ye grasped the situation. As another couple approached, Wang Ye promptly approached them.
“Excuse me, may I ask you something?”
The man and woman had actually been eyeing Wang Ye and the woman standing by the roadside. After all, the two of them stood out significantly.
They not only sported tanned complexions but also had crew cuts.
In an era where most people flaunted flashy hairstyles, it was somewhat common for a boy with a buzz cut to appear at this school.
However, the two of them were a bit conspicuous.
What’s more, Wang Ye’s appearance managed to catch the woman’s attention. She even had the urge to nudge the man beside her and approach Wang Ye to ask for his QQnumber…
At that moment, Wang Ye initiated a conversation with her. The girl with the unconventional hairstyle immediately released the boy’s hand and sweetly inquired of Wang Ye, “You’re not from our school, are you?”
Despite the grandiose name of the medical professional college, it wasn’t much different from a nursing school in reality. While there were male students, their numbers were quite limited. To put it bluntly, even an average-looking guy could cause a stir, let alone someone as good-looking as Wang Ye.
To exaggerate a bit, if Wang Ye were truly a student here, he’d likely be the heartthrob of the school, the kind of guy every girl on campus would know.
Of course, many guys who appeared on the premises weren’t actually students of the school. The girl’s question was simply a friendly way of engaging with him.
“Yes, I’m here to find someone. Could you tell me which building houses the teachers’ offices in your school?”
Most schools had maps, but Wang Ye couldn’t be bothered to search for one. He simply needed to locate a specific person.
Just like now, he swiftly obtained the information he needed.
Naturally, the girl didn’t actually ask for Wang Ye’s contact details.
Beside her, her boyfriend still eyed her unhappily with the one eye not obscured by his hair.
“Captain, that building!”
Wang Ye rejoined Wu Jianfeng and pointed towards a building on campus.
“Alright, let’s go!”
With Wu Jianfeng’s status as a military officer and the school administration’s cooperation request, the Director of Studies was more than eager to assist with their investigation.
“Jiang Ting, I found it, Class 172!”
The information was soon retrieved, but the student in question had kept their phone off the entire time.
The Director of Academic Affairs could only request that Wang Ye go with her to the classroom.
However…
It proved challenging to locate the classroom.
A large classroom accommodated between forty to fifty seats, but less than half of them were occupied.
Initial inquiries from students yielded no results.
However, when the Director of Academic Affairs inquired with a serious expression, she learned that Jiang Ting had gone out the previous day and hadn’t returned to the dormitory overnight. No one knew her whereabouts.
The situation had hit a dead end.
Wang Ye and the others were equally perplexed.
Nonetheless, they managed to glean some information from female students in the same class.
Jiang Ting, Deng Hai’s former girlfriend, had started dating someone else last semester.
Her new boyfriend happened to be a military training instructor employed by the school.
This development brought a glimmer of hope.
The dean mentioned that the school’s military training instructors had contracts with a training institution. They were retired soldiers, not currently serving in active duty. It should be feasible to contact them.
Finally, returning to the administrative office and conducting a brief search, they obtained Jiang Ting’s boyfriend’s phone number.
Wu Jianfeng immediately dialed the number.
The first call went unanswered.
He tried twice more…
“Who’s this?”
The voice on the other end sounded groggy and irritated.
“I’m Wu Jianfeng, Commander of the Fourth Company of the Ironbones Heroes!”
Wu Jianfeng introduced himself.
If the other party hadn’t been a retired soldier, Wu Jianfeng might not have been so direct.
However, given die other person’s military background, Wu Jianfeng had to be straightforward.
“Hmm?”
The person on the other end of the line appeared visibly taken aback.
Then, he inquired, “Chief, what’s the reason for your call?”
This time, it was Wu Jianfeng’s turn to be slightly surprised. He knew this individual didn’t seem to have served under Old Lu’s command, but he had no reason to doubt his words now.
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Do you know about our group, the Ironbones Heroes? From your girlfriend?”
Wu Jianfeng asked directly.
There was a moment of hesitation before the person on the other end responded, “Yes, Chief!”
“Brother Feng, who’s on the line?” A languid and alluring female voice suddenly emanated from the phone.
Wu Jianfeng felt a shiver down his spine.
Because this woman had just referred to him as “Brother Feng.”
Indeed, he already knew the man’s name was Yi Feng, and his own name also contained “Feng,” but he hadn’t anticipated the woman on the other end to casually call him “Brother Feng.”
“Cut the chitchat. I ll fill you in later!”
The man on the other end of the line continued, “Chief, my girlfriend mentioned that one of her classmates enlisted in the military. She even contacted him and mentioned that the unit he joined was called the Iron Bones Hero Regiment. That’s why it rang a bell when you brought it up. Is there something amiss with her classmate?”
“Classmate?”
Wang Ye was momentarily at a loss for words.
Although lie hadn’t been particularly close to Deng Hai, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for him now.
This is the girlfriend you cherished so dearly?
She had a thing for men in uniform. You enlisted in the army for her, and once you joined, she promptly found herself a military instructor.
Furthermore, she told others you were just her classmate?
In reality… she was probably referring to a male classmate who had been pursuing her.
To become a deserter for a woman like that?
It truly wasn’t worth it!