My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Shi Nian couldn't bring herself to concentrate in class today. At least twice every five minutes, she would check her phone to count the time down until the class ended, which was disappointing because the more she wished time would go faster, the slower it became. Cupping her chin, she stared out of the window to the serene scene of setting sun, painted with streaks of purple and golden. The weather forecast predicted that a thunderstorm was coming late at night, much to Shi Nian's dismay. She didn't want the weather to go bad, not when it's the day when she was going to see Jiang Jinyan again after two months.

After the serial murder case concluded, it was almost impossible for Jiang Jinyan to return to university when his identity was already exposed in front of everyone. He wasn't a fan of crowded places to begin with and afterward, people kept seeking him out, either to snatch the opportunity to befriend him or to snap a few photos with him in the background.

Since he started attending university, many incidents kept happening one after another — heavily injured by gangsters, sick, kidnapped by Si Zhening and fell into a coma at that. In short, he skipped too many classes and his attendance percentage was too low, making him ineligible to go through with the examination unless he repeated a year and retook all the classes he had missed.

The subsequent event almost resulted in their first fight after becoming a couple. 

Jiang Huocheng wished to haul Jiang Jinyan away and made the latter learn the ropes for how to operate a company. What's the use of a Bachelor's Degree in History when he had a multimillionaire corporation to inherit? 

Alas, Jiang Jinyan insisted that he wanted to stay. The equally stubborn father and son clashed head-on yet again, causing the sparks and electricity to fly. None showed the intention to back down. Thus, the task of the peacemaker fell into Shi Nian's hands. 

In fact, Shi Nian knew why Jiang Jinyan was reluctant to go. Not because he didn't want to inherit Jiang Corporation — Shi Nian knew that he would be an amazing leader someday — but because he didn't want to leave her alone. Not when they had just reunited after going through a life-and-death incident. Not when he had just started to adjust with two sets of memories in his head.

Shi Nian was aware and thus, all the more reason for her to convince him otherwise. Jiang Jinyan certainly wasn't fated to be an ordinary person in this life, he should be more than that. He should stand at the top with people looking up to him, respected and revered. He was born to be the cream of the crop. Shi Nian didn't want herself to become the reason for Jiang Jinyan to hold back.

It's true that they almost fought. To be exact — it was the first time Jiang Jinyan lost his temper at her. The man naively thought that Shi Nian took Jiang Huocheng's side and the mere idea aggrieved him so. Why did she push him away when all he wanted was to stay by her side?

It took a lot of effort and coaxing from her part to finally change his mind at the last moment.

Shi Nian got the urge to smile everytime he thought of their first quarrel. It was both endearing and childish. But she was glad for it meant that Jiang Jinyan was showing his true feelings more and more. Shi Nian liked the idea of learning all about him, in and out.

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"That's all for today's class, students! Don't forget to review everything on page 67-150. We will have a quiz based on that next week." The teacher's voice snapped Shi Nian out of her stupor and she instantly gathered her things, ready to dash out as soon as possible.

"Shi Nian, where are you going?! You're not coming with us to check out the newly opened restaurant?"

"Sorry!" Shi Nian grimaced and waved to her friends. "I have something to do later! See you guys next time!" She ran out of Sangzhe University and climbed into a taxi, panting. "To the airport, please!"

The thunderstorm arrived faster than expected. Shi Nian arrived at the airport when it was almost 7 pm. By then, the downpour already started crashing down, drenching her hair wet even as she made her way in as fast as she could. The sudden change of temperature inside made her shiver. She rubbed her arms and wiped herself casually with tissues, checking her phone once in a while.

The airport was packed with people — those who tugged a suitcase behind them and those who waited outside the arrival terminal. Shi Nian tiptoed to discern her surroundings. If Jiang Jinyan's plane wasn't delayed, then he ought to arrive any minute now.

"Excuse me. Sorry, excuse me." Shi Nian agilely slipped through the throng of crowds to see the announcement board. A few seconds passed before she realized that Jiang Jinyan was riding on a private plane! So why the heck was she waiting here? Slapping her forehead, Shi Nian turned around and made her way to the VIP area. Immediately, the number of people decreased and she let out a huge sigh of relief.

Shi Nian scanned the arrival gate with anticipation, excitement and nervousness mixed into one. It had been two months since they last met. Two long months. Even though they kept in touch with messages and calls everyday, it just wasn't enough. Shi Nian missed him terribly to the point where she dreamt of him almost every night.

Where was Jiang Jinyan? Why hadn't he come out yet? Shi Nian deliberately didn't inform him that she was coming because she wanted to give Jiang Jinyan a nice surprise. But why did she get the feeling that everything wouldn't go the way she wanted it to be?

She bit her lips anxiously and after a short consideration, started to make her way to the information center. 

However, she hadn't taken more than two steps when a pair of arms suddenly circled around her tightly from behind. Shocked, Shi Nian struggled by reflex until the other person's familiar cologne and the warmth seeped into her senses, melting all of her fear and panic away and replacing it with a flood of relief and longing. Her tense nerves loosened and her body instinctively leaned back into the embrace that she had yearned for days.

"Shi Nian..." The man's deep voice whispered into her ears, tinged with a bit of helplessness and amusement. "Why are you here?"

Her eyes felt hot all of a sudden. Turning around, she quickly buried herself into Jiang Jinyan's embrace, arms hugging around the man's waist, inhaling deeply. "Jinyan...Jinyan, I miss you so much…"

Jiang Jinyan returned the hug with the same intensity. His voice contained a strained hoarseness. "Then you shouldn't have sent me away, dummy."

Shi Nian snapped her head up and pouted. "I knew it! You're still angry that I told you to go!" It had been two months! Exactly for how much longer did he want to hold onto the grudge? As much as she wanted to look menacing, Jiang Jinyan was just too dashing for her to do so. She had no idea whether it's because they hadn't met for long or it was the distance that made the heart grow fonder, but he looked more attractive than usual, even with the dark circles around his eyes and the evident fatigue between his brows.

Feeling his heart ached, Shi Nian tiptoed and caressed the bottom of his eyes. "Are you very tired? Is it exhausting?"

"Very much." He clasped her hand and kissed her palm. "But as soon as I see you here, all of my fatigue disappears in an instant. Shi Nian, you have no idea how much I missed you…"

Shi Nian's heart skipped a beat. How could someone look so handsome just clad in a simple T-shirt and jeans? Sometimes, she still couldn't believe that such a captivating man was all hers.

"Anyway, I am not angry." Caressing her hair, he frowned yet his tone was still as gentle and patient as ever. "But you shouldn't do it again next time. Do you know how shocked I was to find you here? What would you do if we missed each other? It's raining so heavily outside. What if you got sick?"

Shi Nian grinned. "I asked Uncle Jiang about your flight schedule because I want to give you a surprise. How is it?"

This time, his face truly darkened. "That old man…" He gnashed his teeth. But when he turned to Shi Nian, the irritation was replaced by a fond helplessness. "Yeah, it's a great surprise. I was so surprised that I almost got a heart attack."

Shi Nian's eyes flew open wide. "Is that sarcasm I am hearing in your voice? Did you mingle too much with Binchen gege that you picked up his bad habit?"

Jiang Jinyan simply harrumphed and cupped her cheeks, pressing exasperatedly. "How many times do I have to tell you not to say another man's name in my presence? Shall I remind you of that?" His narrowed eyes and the hint of danger in his tone reminded Shi Nian of a certain situation the last time when she babbled too much about Xu Binchen and Lei Liqiu's enigmatic relationship. 

She could feel flush spread across her cheeks and the way Jiang Jinyan held her close by hips didn't help either as images after images of that day started to surface in her mind, making her look as red as a tomato. 

"You—" Shi Nian's tongue weighed a ton. She peeked toward the man through her eyelashes shyly, reluctant to admit that the man's threat didn't scare her in the slightest. Instead, she felt a kind of thrill and anticipation, knowing how Jiang Jinyan's hands, mouth and body could do wonders to her own. She licked her dry lips and the man's eyes snapped down to follow the movement. From such a close distance, she could see his eyes darkening to a few degrees.

O-oh. That's not good.

"I—It's raining so heavily!" Shi Nian suddenly exclaimed with too much enthusiasm to cover her fluster. 

Jiang Jinyan raised a brow. "So?"

"It's cold and...and," She looked away for a split second due to the twist in her stomach she usually got from staring at Jiang Jinyan for a prolonged period of time. "Aren't you hungry? You haven't eaten yet, have you?! After that, you should get some rest after a long day!"

The corner of Jiang Jinyan's lips raised and Shi Nian hung her head lower, mortified. Somehow, she felt as if Jiang Jinyan could easily see through her mind, to find out those embarrassing thoughts and fantasies that she kept only to herself. "Now that you said it, I am quite hungry indeed."

Shi Nian nodded again and again. "So where should we eat?"

Jiang Jinyan brushed her dampened bangs and gave a smile that sent shivers down her spine and made her scalp tingle— in an unspeakable, sinful way. "You should hop into a hot bath as soon as possible lest you catch a cold. Food can wait after that." Then, he started to pull her ahead, his steps firm and casual yet still contained an undeniable pressure that bore no rejection. 

"W—Where are we going?" Shi Nian gulped.

He turned sideways and smirked.. "You'll see."