One of the doctors gestured for the soldiers to pipe down. Then he said, "We removed five bullets from Colonel Li''s body. The good news is that most of the bullets didn''t cause much damage on their own. The bad news is that a couple of them tumbled, and tore through several vital organs. We got to him in time, but he''s in aa. We don''t know if he''ll regain consciousness. It all depends on his will to live. We''re taking him to the ICU."


    Everyone fell silent after the doctor was finished talking. ''It all depends on Wesley''s will to live...''


    Wesley was wheeled to the ICU. ir silently followed the group of nurses and doctors.


    She saw him lying motionless in the bed with an oxygen mask on, face drained of all color, as if he were already dead.


    The heartbreaking scene stirred up her emotions again. She tried her hardest to fight down her sadness and managed to collect herself. She trusted Wesley; he promised toe back and protect her. He never lied. He was going to make it.


    Since Wesley''s condition was severe, the soldiers had no choice but to let his parents know. Baldwin and Cecelia hurried there, but Wesley was still unconscious.


    Cecelia had seen her son wounded many times. The bandages, casts, slings and so forth were just part of the job. But seeing him lying in the ICU, covered in tubes and wires made her sob uncontrobly.


    ir held back her tears all this time. However, Cecelia''s cries opened her floodgates as well. She covered her mouth and ran to thedies'' room, crying at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face.


    She remembered how energetic and healthy he usually looked. This was the first time she saw him hurt, and it was a serious injury to boot. His life hung in the bnce.


    A dozen soldiers were wounded in varying degrees; Wesleyy in the ICU, motionless, covered in tubes and wires; Cecelia cried hysterically in Baldwin''s arms. As these scenes reyed in her mind, ir suddenly understood the reason why Wesley didn''t want to get married.


    If she were Wesley, she might do the same. No one wanted to make their loved ones worry every day and suffer sleepless nights.


    But the country needed heroes like Wesley. Wherever the fight, whoever the enemy, the country would send their best. He followed a different path from others, a path of sacrifice, a path of service. He stood ready


    ne as she remembered how she tried to flirt with Wesley back then. ''I guess I got off easy, '' she thought.


    "I bet that girl hates Wesley now," shemented.


    "No." Talbot shook his head. "She vowed to win our chief''s heart. She found his WeChat ount and sent messages to him every day. But our chief never wrote back. He had her ount deleted. She got to Lenard for help. So Lenard asked our chief why he deleted the girl''s ount. Do you know what he said?"


    "No. What did he say?"


    "Chief said...Ahem..." Talbot cleared his throat and imitated the way Wesley spoke. "I''ll delete anyone I don''t like. Any other dumb questions?"


    ir was amused by Talbot''s funny expression. She asked with augh, "Anything else?"


    "No, so much for this story. By the way, are you two really living together?"


    ir was surprised by his sudden change of the subject. She rolled her eyes at the nosy boy and said, "Wesley doesn''t reallye home that often. It doesn''t make a difference whether we live together or not. Besides, we sleep in separate rooms."


    "What? You two sleep in separate rooms?" Talbot was disappointed. "Wow. I wonder if he''s impotent?"


    A scene popped up in ir''s mind. Her face blushed as she stammered, "Ahem... How...would I know that..." She knew if he was impotent. He didn''t seem to have any problem getting an erection. But she wasn''t about to tell Talbot.


    Talbot left the ward without noticing the man in the bed had opened his eyes. Neither did ir. She turned on herptop and was about to trante a document from herpany.