My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Shi Nian's first thought was; it couldn't be Xu Binchen right? It hasn't even been five minutes yet, how can he be so fast?

Then she thought that the footsteps didn't match. Xu Binchen's footsteps were swift, distinctive and heavy. He had long legs and he walked fast too. Sometimes Shi Nian had to pull on his shirt for him to slow down.

But this one…it was airy, light and almost silent.

If she didn't strain her ears, maybe she couldn't have heard it too.

Her heart jolted and she didn't know why, but goosebumps rose along her arms. The person had been standing on her door for a while. Shi Nian could see that person's shadow formed beneath the slight gap of the door.

Who was it?

Nurse Zhang? No, it wasn't Nurse Zhang's shift today.

Doctor Chun? It couldn't be. Doctor Chun always returned home when his shift ended.

So, who could it be?

Shi Nian gripped on her blanket and she almost had difficulty in pretending to be asleep. She swallowed hard and heard the door softly slid open. It glided on the floor smoothly followed by a series of soft footsteps.

The presence of the person was getting closer and closer.

It definitely wasn't the nurses or Doctor Chun! Her heart sank to the pit of her stomach and she tried to calm herself down. Maybe she was only being paranoid. Yes, she must be. There were Xu Binchen's people patrolling outside, how could anyone enter her room casually?

Shi Nian pretended to turn over and the person's footsteps halted.

There was even no breathing detected. The silent and tense atmosphere continued and Shi Nian felt that she was going to have a heart attack from this. She tried to smooth her breathing to resemble a heavily asleep person and in a split second, cracked her eyes open by a bit.

Instantly, her blood ran cold.

The light from the hallway illuminated the person's shadow. That person was tall and well built so it must have been a man. But the thing which terrified Shi Nian was the thing in the man's palm. Even if he tried to hide it, the light reflected the flat, sharp and shining surface.

It's a small knife!

Cold sweat broke out in Shi Nian's back and she waited for a full two minutes until the man started to move again. His footsteps were so soft, light, almost unheard. Shi Nian tried to use the darkness to move her fingers and pressed on the emergency button under her bed, but she could feel the man getting closer and closer, confirmed that she was indeed asleep.

Her whole body froze and she couldn't find the emergency button. Shi Nian was filled with terror. First, it was a nightmare and now this. She couldn't afford to care anymore and flung the blanket as hard as she could toward the man's direction! Using the split second when he was caught off guard by the assault, Shi Nian scrambled off the bed and dashed toward the door, her heart exploding within her chest.

The door banged open loudly. In the middle of the night where it was silent all around, it was especially glaring to the ears.

Tears blurred her eyes and fear eroded her senses. Intense panic and anxiety pushed her body forward. She wanted to scream for help but couldn't make any sound, all of it was strangled down within her throat.

She couldn't afford to think of how there was no one outside and ran out as with her life on the line!

A low curse sounded behind her and she looked behind her back.

Her eyes and the man's met in midair. Just a split second and Shi Nian continued to run away. The man was covered from head to toe, wearing a turtleneck shirt and cotton black trousers. He was wearing a mask and glasses, but the eyes that looked at Shi Nian were especially cold as if he was looking at a corpse.

From the moment she escaped until when she reached the end of the hallway, it was only five seconds. She gasped, her throat was hurt from the lack of air and tears ran down her face. She turned into a corner and almost collided with a man in a wheelchair.

Jiang Jinyan's eyes widened in shock. "Miss…Shi?"

As she caught sight of the general's face which was very dear to her heart, Shi Nian's knees buckled and she collapsed under his feet. She clung to him, grasping his trousers as if grabbing a life straw and burst into tears, one which didn't make any sound, but her face turned red in a blink of an eye from difficulty breathing.

Jiang Jinyan couldn't sleep, so he rode on his wheelchair and came out of his room. It was silent and tranquil on the fifth floor, all of the patients were deeply asleep and even the nurses were dozing off in their station.

He spent some time in daze as he looked out of the night sky, feeling the coldness of the rain slamming onto the glass window as if slamming onto his own body. He had contemplated his life for these past few hours but couldn't think of anything to do. Today, he made a very big decision. From now on, the athlete Jiang Jinyan was no more. The gold medalist who was everyone's hope was no more.

Depressed from the biting coldness and bitterness in his heart, he had just wanted to return to his room when he met Shi Nian who was obviously not in the right state.

"You—" He was shocked to find the girl crying her heart out so wretchedly and pitifully. "What happened—" Jiang Jinyan stretched his hand out to support her and his whole body ended up leaning forward.

And then, he saw it. A man walking down the hallway with his back to them.

He had quite long hair, loosely spread out on his shoulder, his gait was steady and calm. Then, as he half turned his head, Jiang Jinyan caught sight of a weird mark on his neck. Then, the man turned into another corner and disappeared from his sight.

Shi Nian grabbed his hand tightly and felt his warmth. Relief flooded her entire being and strength seeped out of her body. She could even feel her legs trembling violently. Hot tears dripped onto Jiang Jinyan's palm, snapping him out of his thoughts and he turned to the girl. "Miss Shi…what's wrong?"

Shi Nian mouthed again and again. "General…General…" She cried as she stared at the unfamiliar look on his eyes, silently whimpering and pleading. "I am scared…"

He frowned as he read her lips. "What are you scared of?" Then, he grabbed her icy cold hands and patted it. "Wait for a moment."

Once again, he came to her rescue as he shouted for the nurse.

His loud voice created some commotions. The nurses were jolted awake and hastily approached them, Xu Binchen's underling who had just returned from the toilet because of stomachache was also running to them in panic.

But Shi Nian grabbed him, clinging onto him so tight that no one could pry her off.