My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Xu Binchen saw her expression change abruptly and knew that his guess was right.

Shi Nian's fists above her thigh clenched as she recalled how she had used this same hand to slap her General's face. She didn't mean to do that. It's just…she wanted to stop him from talking in that kind of depressing manner, as if he was repulsed by the whole world, as if he was unloved, abandoned...

How presumptuous of her.

Shi Nian was so upset that she didn't dare to face him.

In a timely manner, Xu Binchen's phone atop of the dashboard rang. The man didn't even turn his head as he demanded. "Pick it up and put it on speaker."

Shi Nian nodded and the call was connected.

"Hello?" Xu Binchen said. "This is Xu Binchen speaking."

"Hello, Mr. Xu?" A nice, gentle voice of a woman sounded. Shi Nian thought that the voice sounded kind of familiar. It wasn't until Xu Binchen said the woman's name—Feng Changjia—did she remember that it was the apartment's receptionist lady. 

"Is something the matter?"

"Sorry to disturb you, Mr.Xu, it's like this." Feng Changjia said carefully. "We have received the same complaint from tenant in room 1802 three times."

"Complaint?" Xu Binchen was surprised. He had been the landlord for years but never received any complaints before. "What is it about?"

"They said that they heard loud, thumping sounds from upstairs. At first, they thought that it was just new people moving in, but the sound has been repeating again and again for days, mainly at midnight or early in the morning."

Xu Binchen frowned in displeasure. "Where is the manager? Should you ask him about this kind of problem?"

"Yes, I know." Feng Changjia laughed wryly. "It's because the manager has taken a leave for this week so we have no choice but to call you. How should we proceed, Mr.Xu? I recalled that you were together with the tenant from 1902 on a few occasions. So maybe you can help with this?"

Before Feng Changjia even finished her sentence, Shi Nian's back straightened stiffly and her eyes widened in shock. The tenant above room 1802—room 1902, that was Jiang Jinyan's room!

Evidently, Xu Binchen realized it too. He had a slight frown on his forehead as he said. "Okay, you can leave it to me. I will give him a call."

The car stopped again at the red light and Shi Nian used the opportunity to type. [It's Mr.Jiang's room!]

"I know." Xu Binchen rolled his eyes as he searched for Jiang Jinyan's number. "Why do you look so worried? Would something have happened to him?"

Shi Nian didn't know. But when she recalled Jiang Jinyan's bleak and desolate eyes, a trace of fear made its way to her heart. She looked anxiously at the phone in Xu Binchen's hands. The waiting tone that was less than 20 seconds seemed to stretch for centuries until the call was finally connected.

"Detective Xu?" Jiang Jinyan's voice rang out, slightly deeper and hoarse.

Shi Nian's heart thudded inside her chest for some reasons she wasn't aware of.

"Mr. Jiang, there's something I want to ask." Xu Binchen went straight to the point and forwarded what the receptionist lady had said before.

There was a pause before Jiang Jinyan answered. "It's my fault. I have noted it down. My apologies, Detective Xu."

Xu Binchen's eyes met Shi Nian's anxious ones and he continued to ask. "Do you need help with something, Mr. Jiang?"

"No, I don't." he answered succinctly.

Xu Binchen had already got his answer and Jiang Jinyan wasn't willing to divulge anything so the call ended after that. He raised his brows as if asking, "Are you satisfied?"

Shi Nian bit her lips, she kept on feeling that there's more than what meets the eye. However, Jiang Jinyan's answer was impeccable and even Xu Binchen didn't find that there's anything wrong with it. She could only nod and set her perilous thoughts aside.

***

Xu Binchen dropped her off and directly turned around to return to the police station. As she walked in, Shi Nian grabbed the strap of her backpack as she notified Qiang Fei. [I have returned safely. Work hard, mama ^^]

Ever since she returned from the gate of death, it had become a habit for her to inform Qiang Fei everytime she arrived safely. Shi Nian's heart felt distressed. It wasn't just her who suffered, but the people around her also developed a kind of psychological trauma and the only thing she could do was to keep herself safe and showed that she could walk out of the darkness alive.

She rode the elevator with a heavy mind.

It had been a week since the last event and she still hadn't decided with what expression she should face him. On the other hand, Jiang Jinyan's words kept on repeating inside her mind. "Even if you pour your best effort into me, you will only be disappointed!" Everytime she recalled it, her heart would twinge in pain. 

Shi Nian looked up at the ascending number until it stopped at 20. The elevator door dinged open and she stepped out.

However, she had just walked halfway when she changed her mind and turned to the emergency stairs.

Her steps were cautious and hesitant at first, then it turned rapid until she was practically running to Jiang Jinyan's door. 

What was she scared of? Why was she hesitating? Wasn't her goal this life was to accompany him, to stay by his side just like how she did in their past lives?

A man like the General, who sliced through enemies' throats was also the same person who put on a fragile look when he talked about his death. Such a powerful yet delicate man was the one who compelled her to accompany him through thick and thin.

If she wasn't there with him, would he be afraid? Would he shut himself off again? Only dared to show a rare moment of weakness with the help of strong liquor?

Shi Nian arrived at his door, panting. She recomposed herself and took a deep breath. Her eyes shone in a determined light as she pressed on his doorbell.

In the middle of waiting, numerous scenes flashed through her mind like a fast forwarded movie. Kaleidoscopes of glasses spun amidst the sea of memories, all of them showed only a single person.

The way he stretched out her hand for her on the execution ground, his tall figure wrapped in black armor, the blood flowing through his wound and his dauntless smile.

And then the scene gradually disintegrated to pieces, superimposed by his gloomy and thin figure sitting on a wheelchair. The pained look he showed when he forced himself, the unreconciled look on his eyes, the fragility that he carefully hid beneath those hard armors.

He was just like a rose. Charming, beautiful yet deadly. Sharp and poisonous thorns surrounded his body, letting him grow tall and high, undeterred by wind and storm. Yet it was also because of that, no one dared to get close because a single prick from him was enough to scare everyone away.

Exquisite and lonesome at the same time. 

No one knew that if they just braced through the thorns, what they would find was a rare and unique flower, an irreplaceable existence in the whole universe.

The door swung open and Jiang Jinyan's pupils trembled as he saw who stood behind it.

Shi Nian's lips curled into a dazzling smile, faint layer of tears glistened her eyes, making those golden pupils shone brighter than ever.

She had decided.

She would be the one to brace through the thorns and embraced the rose.

.

.

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A/N: en, en, the initial turning point of their relationship is here!

At the beginning, Shi Nian was too immersed in the memory of her General. Remember that she used to be his servant and it was blasphemous for her to stand on the same ground as him, let alone touching him. That's why she hesitated even though she promised she would accompany him, literally.

Jiang Jinyan's question of "What exactly do you want?" and her answer "I only want to be good to you" has woken her up. In modern life, how many people will be kind to another for no reason?

It's no longer about the formidable General Jiang but now, it's the depressed, disabled Jiang Jinyan. 

This is one of the most important chapter in MDG that marks the event of Shi Nian acknowledging the current Jiang Jinyan as well as the subtle shift of her feeling. I hope I deliver it nicely (≧ω≦)

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