Arc of Fire

Chapter 75

Alexei Barfinovich was completely oblivious to the gazes of the crowd, his attention entirely focused on the girl.

Natalia untied the floral scarf from her head, letting her hair cascade under the moonlight, gazing at the boy with affectionate eyes.

She took the glass jar filled with baby's breath flowers and, in one swift motion, rushed into the boy's arms, the two of them embracing and kissing.

Wang Zhong, watching from the side, was stunned. So direct? Wasn't there supposed to be some intermediate steps?

He nudged the rookie in front of him: "Were these two already dating before?"

"No, Alyosha only took a liking to her yesterday. He secretly picked the flowers at night, planning to make a move during the day, but then the enemy showed up." The rookie explained without turning his head.

Wang Zhong was utterly shocked. This was their first date?

Is this what people do on a first date?

Amidst his shock, Wang Zhong suddenly thought of something and nudged the person in front of him again: "Isn't this Natalia from the field laundry team? Why is she at the front line position?"

If it were a girl from the field cooking team, it wouldn't be strange for her to be here, carrying a big pot of vegetable soup with a shoulder pole. But what was the laundry team doing up front? He hadn't heard of soldiers changing clothes before a battle was over.

The rookie explained: "The girl took a liking to Alyosha too, didn't she? What's so strange about that?"

At this moment, the kissing couple started doing things that couldn't be described, and Wang Zhong was even more shocked, continuing to nudge the person's back: "So fast? This isn't right, is it?"

After asking, Wang Zhong remembered that things seemed to move quickly in the West, like in 'Titanic,' where the two fell for each other, drew a picture, and then went to the garage.

In a foggy car, suddenly, slap, a handprint appeared on the window.

The first time Wang Zhong saw that scene, he was too young. He thought of 'The Shining,' imagining the scene of an axe breaking through a door, and burst into tears with a wail.

Wang Zhong had figured it out, but the person in front of him couldn't: "Why are you making such a fuss? Isn't this just like the coming-of-age party in the village, where if you fancy someone, you go to the haystack-I mean! General, sir!"

The rookie snapped to attention and saluted with a crisp sound, quick as a flash!

Wang Zhong was too close and got hit on the chin by the rookie's head as he stood at attention, letting out a yelp of pain.

As he straightened up, the person behind him took a direct hit and also cried out in surprise: "Hey? Alyosha, don't stand up so suddenly!"

Wang Zhong, rubbing his chin, heard the voice and turned around in confusion, only to see Lyudmila clutching her chest, clearly in pain from the collision.

"Alyosha?" A surprised exclamation came from behind Wang Zhong, likely from the girl from the laundry team.

Realizing the situation might turn into a misunderstanding, the Brigadier General shouted: "The one over there is also called Alyosha; we're not the same person!"

Lyudmila tilted her head: "I know, I saw the girl call the boy Alyosha."

At this point, the surprised rookies finally reacted, standing at attention and saluting: "Brigadier General, good evening!"

Wang Zhong waved his hand in return, then turned to Lyudmila: "Why did you come to the front line? You should be with the Divine Arrow company!"

Lyudmila pouted: "Deputy Knight Yatsemenko said there wouldn't be any reconnaissance tonight, so I could rest a bit. That's why I came! On the way, I even checked on your horse!"

Wang Zhong: "Oh, is Bucephalus doing alright?"

"He's fine... You only care about the horse and not about me?"

Wang Zhong: "Are you doing alright?"

"Yeah, the enemy aircraft bombings were far from us, so I'm fine." Lyudmila glanced at the awkward couple standing there and asked, "Are you... this free? Watching people on a date?"

Wang Zhong answered seriously: "I'm on patrol. If you don't believe me, ask Sergeant Major Grigori! Sergeant Major... huh?"

The Sergeant Major was nowhere to be seen.

Not only was the Sergeant Major gone, but the military academy cadets who had been saluting beside Wang Zhong just moments ago had also disappeared. Their ability to take cover was indeed that of professional soldiers.

Even the dating couple, holding hands, dashed off into the shadows.

In an instant, there was no one left in sight.

Wang Zhong: "Sergeant Major! Your duty is to protect me!"

A response came from somewhere unknown: "Don't worry, I'm here."

Great, now I'm the monkey being watched.

He looked at Lyudmila and said seriously: "I really am on patrol! I just happened to see them watching while I was on my rounds."

"So you decided to take a look too?" Lyudmila interjected.

"As a commander, I need to fully understand the lives of my soldiers!"

"And what about your life?" Lyudmila asked.

Wang Zhong didn't react immediately: "Huh?"

Lyudmila continued: "In the past, Alyosha, you needed seven or eight servants to take care of your daily needs. You couldn't even polish your own shoes."

Wang Zhong frowned: "Was I really that useless back then?"

Lyudmila shrugged: "Now, although you still don't polish your shoes, you handle everything else on your own."

Wang Zhong looked down at his dirty military boots.

He suddenly remembered that in foreign armies, polishing shoes was akin to folding tofu-block blankets in his own army.

As for Wang Zhong, let alone polishing shoes, most of his life before crossing over was spent not wearing leather shoes. He only wore them for interviews after graduating from university. Once he started working, it was all sneakers.

Now Wang Zhong thought to himself, good thing he crossed over into such a useless body; not polishing shoes didn't raise any suspicion.

At this moment, Lyudmila looked at the sky: "I wonder if Misha and the others survived."

Huh? Misha? Who?

Wang Zhong speculated it might be someone familiar, so he tried to act like he knew them: "They'll definitely..."

"You don't even know who I'm talking about! You've never remembered the names of servants, have you?"

Ah, so that's how it is.

Good thing he crossed into such a heartless character.

Wang Zhong simply asked: "So who are you talking about?"

"Misha, your maid, and old man Mendeleev, your steward. They both stayed in Ronezh."

"Ah, oh, them." Wang Zhong tried hard to say something, but after witnessing the atrocities of the Prossenian forces, words like "They're definitely fine" couldn't come out of his mouth.

Lyudmila looked at Wang Zhong: "After arriving in Loktov, I finally managed to write a letter home, telling them we're still alive and that you've become the White Horse General. But I haven't received a reply yet."

"But given the current situation, it's normal not to get a reply."

Wang Zhong: "Don't worry, the Crown Prince knows our situation and even sent us B4 howitzers. He'll definitely look after our families."

Lyudmila smiled: "Him? Though it's disrespectful, I think he's not thoughtful enough for that. I bet he's currently boasting about your achievements as if they were his own."

"Sending artillery over is also to make you achieve even greater combat results."

Is... is that so?

The image of the Crown Prince suddenly became vivid!

At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly remembered a question that had been troubling him: "What exactly is Lyudmila to me?"

Judging by the name, they couldn't be siblings since their surnames and patronymics were different.

And she was so close to him, even reporting to his family on his behalf-that could only mean she was his fiancée.

Having such a beautiful fiancée felt pretty great, especially with Lyudmila's silver hair and her chest-perfectly hitting Wang Zhong's sweet spot, right in his strike zone.

Though a voice in his head said, "Now's not the time to think about this," Wang Zhong couldn't help but want to confirm if Lyudmila was indeed his fiancée.

At this moment, Lyudmila said: "Walk with me for a bit. I'm already here anyway."

"Sure." Wang Zhong nodded and made a gesture of invitation, "This way. I've finished checking the posts over there, so walking with you will let me check the other posts along the way."

Lyudmila: "You never used to be this diligent."

"I've now developed the awareness of a commander."

Lyudmila just smiled.

Then she naturally linked her arm with Wang Zhong's, not minding at all that her chest armor made intimate contact with his arm.

With this level of closeness, she must be his fiancée, right?

Just as Wang Zhong thought this, Lyudmila said: "Your father said he'd propose to my father this October. Now that the war has started, I wonder if that promise can still be kept."

Great, so she's a "prospective" fiancée.

Wait a minute, I have a father in this timeline? Damn, calling a stranger 'Dad'-I can't do that...

Lyudmila: "My mother always looked down on you, saying even for a political marriage, there could be better options. Now she probably has no objections."

At this moment, Wang Zhong suddenly thought of something. Lyudmila, such a beautiful girl and a noble, must have had plenty of suitors. How did she fall for the original owner?

So Wang Zhong asked: "Do you have no objections to me?"

"I... I've always seen you as a little brother, since I've been cleaning up your messes since we were kids. Over time, I just... got used to it. And besides you, your family is pretty nice."

Lyudmila looked at the ground.

"But after the war broke out... you changed... became like a hero from the stories, and you love riding a white horse... I..."

Her face was already bright red, so Lyudmila leaned directly on Wang Zhong's arm, using this to block his view of her face.

Unfortunately for her, Wang Zhong had an overhead perspective and could adjust the angle to see the girl's face!

What does this mean? My heroic actions maxed out the girl's affection meter? She likes the current me, not the useless guy from before?

At this moment, Wang Zhong thought of the inappropriate behavior of "those two" from earlier.

Now it seemed like if he just hugged her and started kissing her, it wouldn't be a problem. It's their custom, after all!

A certain part of Wang Zhong's body started shouting: "Go for it!"

The only thing holding Wang Zhong back now was a Chinese man's sense of restraint. If he could just let go of that restraint...

At this moment, a new thought entered Wang Zhong's mind.

What if I die?

Though I've survived many extremely dangerous situations up to now, the fact that I'm constantly dancing with death hasn't changed.

An old song started playing in Wang Zhong's ears:

Perhaps I'll say goodbye and never return-

Do you understand, do you know?

Perhaps I'll fall and never rise again.

Will you still wait for me forever?

......

At this moment, all vulgar thoughts filled with carnal desire vanished, and only an unshakable conviction remained in Wang Zhong's mind.

I shouldn't let the one who loves me wait forever.

I shouldn't let a child be born into such a hell.

Not until the day I've destroyed the cruel and evil enemy, not until the day the smoke of cooking fires returns to my homeland, and angels can dream peacefully again.

Only then can I embrace the girl without any reservations and build a future with her.

So Wang Zhong suppressed his impulses.

"Lyudmila," he said, "I will defeat the enemy as soon as possible, defeat the Prossen Empire, and then formally give you my response."

Lyudmila smiled: "The way you talk, it's as if you're a grand marshal who can decide the course of this war. You're still the same old you, already getting cocky as just a Brigadier General."

As she spoke, the girl playfully punched Wang Zhong's shoulder a few times.

(End of Chapter)