Extra Story - Ji Lu Unparalleled: The Distance and the Anchor

Chen Lei looked at Ji Wushuang, the tenderness in his eyes almost overflowing.

"Your life is your own."

"Go live the life you want."

"Don't compromise yourself for anyone."

"I'll keep an eye on things at home."

"No matter how far you go."

"This place will always be your home."

"You can come back anytime."

After saying this, he turned and walked away without looking back.

His figure soon disappeared into the darkness.

Leaving only Ji Wushuang standing alone in place.

The night wind blew past.

It felt somewhat chilly.

For the first time, she felt the chill of a Tangzhou night.

She had always thought she understood Chen Lei well.

He was dull, honest, kind.

A good man you could trust with your back.

But only at this moment did she realize she had never truly understood this man.

He was far more perceptive than she had imagined.

And loved far more deeply.

His love was not about possession.

It was about fulfillment.

It was about letting go.

In his own way, he had given her the ultimate freedom.

Ji Wushuang raised her head, looking at the few sparse stars in the night sky, her eyes growing warm.

The next day, early morning.

Ji Wushuang dragged her suitcase out the door.

Her mother stood at the entrance, holding her hand, eyes red, repeating her advice over and over.

Her father stood to the side, silently smoking a cigarette.

Partings are always like this, filled with unspoken sorrow.

Ji Wushuang walked downstairs.

She saw Chen Lei already waiting below, leaning against a somewhat old fuel-powered car.

"I'll drive you."

He said calmly, as if nothing had happened the night before.

Ji Wushuang nodded.

"Okay."

The car was quiet on the way to the high-speed rail station.

Only old love songs played on the radio.

"Take good care of yourself."

Chen Lei suddenly said as they neared the station.

"Mhm."

"Eat on time."

"Mhm."

"Don't work too hard."

"Mhm."

Ji Wushuang kept nodding all the way.

She found she didn't know what else to say besides "mhm."

The high-speed rail station soon arrived.

Chen Lei helped her get her luggage out.

He walked with her to the entrance gate.

"I'm leaving."

Ji Wushuang said.

"Okay."

Chen Lei looked at her.

Then, he suddenly opened his arms and gave her a light hug.

His embrace was broad and solid.

"Ji Wushuang."

He whispered in her ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear.

"Live well. Live for yourself."

Then, he released her, took a step back, and waved his hand at her.

"Go on."

Ji Wushuang looked at him.

Looked at his eyes, bloodshot yet still clear.

She nodded gently, then turned and walked through the ticket gate.

She did not look back.

The high-speed train slowly started moving.

Tangzhou outside the window sped backwards.

Those grey tube-shaped apartment buildings.

Those towering chimneys.

All became a blurry backdrop.

Ji Wushuang leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

Her heart was very calm.

……………

……

Time rushed by.

Two years passed quickly, yet also slowly.

In Country T.

The seawater desalination plant was built.

The first batch of clean drinking water flowed from the pipes.

Local children gathered around the faucet, cheering and jumping for joy.

Their faces were splashed with water droplets.

Like the most sparkling diamonds.

Lu Qianqian stood among the crowd, a smile on her face.

Ji Wushuang stood behind her, watching all this.

Her heart was very calm.

This was the first achievement of "The Distant Horizon."

In Country F.

Their mobile clinic convoy encountered a roadside bomb.

The explosion flipped the lead vehicle, throwing the convoy into instant chaos.

Gunfire erupted from all directions.

Ji Wushuang's reaction was faster than anyone's thoughts.

She quickly pressed Lu Qianqian behind the cover of an armored vehicle.

"Don't move."

She only said two words.

Then, she rushed out like a ghost.

Her gun fired.

Each gunshot represented a threat neutralized.

The fight lasted less than ten minutes before silence returned to the surroundings.

Ji Wushuang returned to the vehicle.

Her combat uniform was stained with blood.

Some from others, some her own.

Her arm had a gash from shrapnel.

It wasn't deep, though.

Lu Qianqian looked at her, her eyes showing no panic, no fear.

"Casualties?"

Lu Qianqian asked, her voice steady.

"The driver is seriously injured, two security personnel have minor injuries."

Ji Wushuang replied.

"The medical supplies?"

"The supplies are fine."

"Good."

Lu Qianqian nodded.

She stood up and walked towards the injured team members and the frightened personnel.

She began to methodically organize the aftermath and the next steps.

"Treat the wounded, inventory the supplies, rest here."

"Our mission is not yet complete."

Ji Wushuang looked at that back, calm and composed amidst the smoke of gunpowder.

She knew the porcelain doll that needed her protection had completely shattered.

What rose from the fragments was a true warrior.

Night.

In the temporary camp.

The campfire crackled.

Lu Qianqian was treating Ji Wushuang's wound.

Her movements were gentle, focused.

"Does it hurt?"

She asked.

"No."

Ji Wushuang said.

"Sister Wushuang, you saved me again."

Lu Qianqian said softly.

"We are comrades-in-arms."

Ji Wushuang replied equally softly.

Lu Qianqian looked into Ji Wushuang's eyes, the campfire dancing in her pupils.

Lu Qianqian smiled brightly and said,

"Yes, Sister Wushuang, we are comrades-in-arms."

Yes.

They were comrades-in-arms.

Comrades who could entrust their backs to each other in life and death.

Comrades fighting side by side for the same distant ideal.

These two years.

Their footprints covered the most barren and dangerous corners of the planet.

The name "The Distant Horizon Foundation" began to gain a reputation internationally.

It wasn't like those large, bloated charities.

It was small and elite, like a sharp scalpel, precisely cutting into wounds the world had forgotten.

Lu Qianqian became a unique symbol of the era.

The media called her, "The Most Beautiful Princess of Xia."

She rarely returned to her home country.

Most of her time was spent on the road.

And Ji Wushuang was always by her side, like her shadow.

...

Chen Lei's life returned to its quiet rhythm.

Work, home.

Taking care of both sets of parents.

The parents of the Ji and Chen families, seeing their children already past thirty, grew anxious.

But they did not pressure them.

They respected their children's choices.

Ji Wushuang occasionally received messages from Chen Lei.

They were short.

"The weather's turned cold, wear more clothes."

"It's the Winter Solstice today, remember to find a way to eat some dumplings."

"Your father's back is much better, don't worry."

These clumsy greetings from her hometown were like an invisible thread.

One end tied to that grey tube-shaped apartment building in Tangzhou.

The other end, passing through mountains, seas, and war, was tied to Ji Wushuang's heart.

Letting her know she had a place to return to.

That there was someone waiting for her.

Chen Lei became a solid anchor point in her life.