Chapter 1509: Chapter 1528: Freezing Ti
Gongxi Yunqi’s strong arm didn’t wrap around Nan Fei’s waist but rested gentlemanly on her shoulder instead. His striking appearance, coupled with his cautious protectiveness over the woman in his arms, drew the attention of Chen Jing and Ding Jiaqi, who stood outside the barbed wire fence. They couldn’t help but glance over at him again.
Ding Jiaqi stared blankly at the man before her, watching the tender way he shielded the woman in his embrace. For reasons she couldn’t quite articulate, she felt a twinge of discomfort in her heart.
It was envy. If only Huo Beijiang would treat her like that soday.
But Ding Jiaqi quickly brushed the thought aside. She firmly believed that day wasn’t far away. She didn’t need to envy anyone.
“Let’s go!” Ding Jiaqi lightly patted Chen Jing’s shoulder. “Let’s head back for dinner! I’m starving—since coming to Kannaya, I’ve already dropped several pounds.”
Chen Jing remained rooted to the spot, not moving an inch. Instead, her gaze was fixed on the gloomy barbed-wire enclosure, where two n stood intertwined under the stark white lights. As if led by so inexplicable impulse, she unhooked the cara hanging from her neck and captured the mont with a crisp click, freezing it in ti forever.
Ding Jiaqi smacked Chen Jing loudly. “What are you doing? Are you crazy? Taking photos here is prohibited! If soone catches you, and your cara gets confiscated again, there’s no way I’d be able to help you get it back a second ti!”
Chen Jing had always been assigned certain logistical duties within their original team, such as taking photographs and preparing supplies. Now, everyone else had already been relocated, but Chen Jing had stubbornly stayed behind out of concern for Ding Jiaqi. The previously confiscated cara had only been returned thanks to Ding Jiaqi pleading for Lu Jin’s help.
But all the pictures inside had been erased, and she’d been sternly warned never to take any more photos.
Still, Chen Jing hadn’t forgotten that warning. Yet the scene before her filled her with heartbreaking warmth—a warmth so overwhelming she almost couldn’t hold back her tears. She had been stationed here for quite so ti now, the mories of her ti at the refugee camp etched deeply into her mind. She had endured hardships she’d never before experienced. But the reality of this prisoner camp was sothing far grimr.
Chen Jing shot a peculiar look at Ding Jiaqi, her heart stirring with unease. She had saved people, yes, but now she stood by helplessly, watching so many innocent civilians be rounded up and thrown into captivity. Why? She hadn’t done anything to stop it—was she truly indifferent to their fate?
Jiaqi was so kind-hearted; she’d defied Burbank’s orders to protect strangers. How could she not foresee the consequences?
And perhaps these civilians were being imprisoned precisely as retaliation for Jiaqi’s defiance of Burbank’s commands earlier in the day.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ding Jiaqi squird under Chen Jing’s unwavering gaze, her tone slightly guilty. “Why are you staring at like that?”
“Jiaqi, we…” Chen Jing tried her best to tamp down her emotions, careful not to accuse her friend outright. She didn’t want to disrespect Jiaqi like that. “Are we really just going to leave like this? Isn’t it… wrong?”
Her implication was subtle.
“Wrong? What’s wrong with it? If we don’t leave, do you want us to stay here all night or sothing? Co on! I’m starving, and I haven’t seen Huo Beijiang in three days. All I ever hear is how busy, busy, busy he is—I don’t even know what he’s so busy doing.”
Chen Jing thought bitterly: You really don’t know what Huo Beijiang is busy doing? Even an idiot would know—the second-in-command is surely plotting a ruthless crackdown on the rebels. The situation in Kannaya has spiraled completely out of control. She had co here fueled by fiery resolve, determined to help the war-torn civilians devastated by the chaos. But in following Ding Jiaqi, she had found herself swept up into the political and military entanglents of battle.
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