My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

When Shi Nian went to ask Nurse Zhang about her bouquet, she was told that Jiang Jinyan was really not in good spirits these days. Nurse Zhang said, "Don't worry. Maybe something happened in his family. He will be okay soon."

But Nurse Zhang's words didn't prove true because Shi Nian saw that he was eating less and less. Sometimes, he didn't even eat. Shi Nian seldom saw him outside anymore. Jiang Jinyan holed himself up in his room, and she didn't have any chance to see him at all.

Thus, Shi Nian started to give him flowers every few days. Oftentimes, it would be daffodils, but sometimes, it was peony, because peony meant fortune, bravery and honor. She thought that it suited him very much.

But after she brought flowers a few times, the usual receptionist who received it suddenly rejected with an apologetic smile. "I am very sorry, Miss. But Mr. Jiang told us not to receive any flowers anymore. He said thank you and he received your good intentions already."

Shi Nian returned glumly to the fifth floor, dejected. Even her last means to cheer him up was cut off...

"What's wrong with you?" Xu Binchen asked, irritated. "You've been acting weird lately."

Shi Nian returned with a bouquet of peony that she had just put together. The sweet citrusy scent filled her nose, but it did nothing to lift her mood. She gave the bouquet back to Xu Binchen.

The man almost laughed in anger. "Now that your flower is rejected, you return it back to me?"

Then, what should she do? Shi Nian thought inquiringly. She couldn't have barged into his room to give it to him right?

She lowered her head sadly and pushed the bouquet back to Xu Binchen. [You can give it to whoever you like.]

Xu Binchen was so angry that steam almost puffed out of his head. He crushed the peonies in his hand and smiled coldly. "Thank you very much."

Shi Nian nodded absentmindedly, not noticing Xu Binchen's sarcasm.

Not long after they returned to Shi Nian's room, the elevator dinged open and a skinny man with rounded hat, checkered shirt and large sling bag came in. He looked around and sauntered past the nurse station with a wide smile. "Hello, good morning."

He had just wanted to get through but the nurse stopped him. "Sir, wait!"

His heart thumped and sweat formed in his forehead, but when he turned his head, there wasn't an ounce of nervousness within her eyes. "Is there something wrong?"

"No." The nurse smiled sweetly. "Are you visiting someone? Please come here to fill in the log."

"Log?" The man turned blank. "What log?"

Realization dawned on the nurse and she let out an 'ah!' "You haven't come by lately right? Now, the hospital has implemented a new system. Every single visitor must be recorded. It will not take long, Sir. Don't worry."

The man laughed dryly and approached the nurse. "This is my first time here. My apology, I never knew that there's a system like this. Is there something wrong with the hospital?"

"No," the nurse answered. "It's just a new security system." She pointed at the new line and handed the pen to him. "If you may."

The man's eyes darted back and forth and he decided to fill in the name of the person who hadn't gotten any visitors in a long time.

"Nan Xukun?" The nurse's expression turned strange as she looked at him upside down. "Are you a relative of Young Master Nan?"

The man thought 'Not good!' but his expression remained calm and composed. "Yeah, I am just his family's driver's son. Young Master Nan's parents are busy so they told me to come and visit him on my way home. Is there something wrong?" The man gave a faint, confident smile.

A hint of doubt popped up in the nurse's mind but she wasn't easily swayed. She was one of the people who had been educated by Detective Xu Binchen himself. It could be said that she had been enlightened. She picked up the phone receiver and pressed some numbers haphazardly. "Please wait a moment while I confirm it with Young Master Nan. Don't worry, this is just a new system." She smiled harmlessly. "Yes, Young Master Nan? This is the front station, do you have a relative called Mr. Fu—hey!"

The man saw the situation didn't fare well for him and turned his tail, running toward the elevator. The nurse dropped the phone and shouted. "Security! Security! There's someone suspicious!"

This was the floor which had the strongest defense in the entire hospital. Furthermore, Xu Yanluo—this King of Hell—was present himself. Just an ordinary person, how could he escape from a bunch of criminal investigators and police officers?

Five minutes later, the man cried with snot and tears on his face and pleaded guilty. "I am not a terrorist. Police officers, I am truly innocent!"

Xu Binchen's face was dark and somber. Even when he was just sitting there, he was able to exert mountainous pressure toward the poor skinny man. The police officers around him were checking the man's bag and ID Card. "Detective Xu," Their face wasn't good which made Xu Binchen's heart sink.

"What's wrong?" He received a badge from the man and his pupils dilated as he saw the identification on it. "You're a reporter?" He scowled. "What are you doing here?"

Xu Binchen's mind was working at a thousand megabytes per second speed. Were they finally discovered? No, it couldn't be. If so, then it shouldn't be only this scrawny man who came here. Furthermore, Wang Chengbing who was guarding the hot topic in Weib8 didn't say anything.

"I—" The man cried and spoke incoherently. "I am just here for news...Really, I didn't mean anything bad."

The other police officer typed his office in the search column and all of the information popped up. Jinghe Journalism Company. A third rate company which delved in tabloid and entertainment gossip. The company had been working for two years but so far, they hadn't published any good articles yet. Every single news was just the scandal of actors and which actress schemed against whom.

The police were done checking his bag which was filled with recording equipment and deemed that he was indeed a reporter. They didn't find any suspicious weapon on him either. But the word 'reporter' strung on their nerves and each of their faces looked ugly.

Xu Binchen put the laptop away and turned his gaze to the man whose name was Fu Lexiang, as shown in his ID Card. "What news can you possibly get from a hospital, Mr. Fu?"

Fu Lexiang's occupational habit kicked in and for a split second, he forgot his fear. "There's so many police officers here. Shouldn't there be some news worth reporting?"

Hearing his words, slowly, Xu Binchen curled his lips, but the coldness in his eyes didn't diminish so it created a terrifying image beyond description which caused goosebumps to break out along Fu Lexiang's arms. He shrank his neck fearfully and returned to being a crybaby.

"Disturbing public space, secretly gathering and illegally providing information and selling it to organization, institution or other personnel, personal info breach, all of those crimes above can cause you to be fined. Depending on the severity, you can also be jailed for a maximum of ten years—" Xu Binchen enunciated and leaned forward. His smile vanished and his eyes pierced into the poor man. "So, what do you have to say?"

In the end, Fu Lexiang was escorted to the police station for tea and his phone was confiscated by Xu Binchen. Based on the man's confession, Xu Binchen opened the forum in his history and entered an unknown website.

A red, glaring headline popped up in front of his eyes.

[Warning: Some Doubts Regarding City A's Safety!]