178 Returning to Base

Then, everyone kept staring as Xia Zhe continued to hug Qiao Mei without letting go. Given that so much time had passed, he should be able to let go now.

"Um… Big brother, can you come out now?" Zhuang Hua touched his nose and reminded Xia Zhe embarrassedly.

Xia Zhe immediately came back to his senses and helped Qiao Mei up. The medics went forward to check them for any obvious injuries and carefully examined the joints of their limbs to make sure that there were no problems before leaving.

Xia Zhe got out of the pit first and then reached out to Qiao Mei.

When Zhao Wu saw what Xia Zhe did, he hurriedly jumped into the pit to give Qiao Mei a push. Seeing that, Xia Zhe frowned slightly and pulled Qiao Mei into his arms.

Qiao Mei looked at the jealous Xia Zhe and could not stop smiling.

"How are you acting like a child," Qiao Mei said.

Xia Zhe took Qiao Mei's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze to express his displeasure.

As they made their way down the debris, Xia Zhe kept asking about Qiao Mei's well-being. He held on to Qiao Mei all the way down and kept asking her if it hurt, if she was tired, and even wanted to carry her.

Zhao Wu, who was next to him, was unhappy when he saw this. Earlier, Xia Zhe had clearly despised the girl for getting too close to him. He could not understand why Xia Zhe seemed like a different person after coming out from under the wreckage.

Xia Zhe was a married man! It was not proper for him to have his hands over a girl like this!

Moreover, Xia Zhe's wife was always very concerned about Xia Zhe and often wrote him letters and cooked a lot of delicious food for him. Everyone in the camp envied Xia Zhe for having such a virtuous wife.

"Apart from us, how are the rest of the people?" Xia Zhe asked Zhao Wu as he held on to Qiao Mei's hand.

"We… We don't have any serious injuries or fatalities among us. There are five soldiers who have some minor injuries and the rest are fine," Zhao Wu said.

Although Zhao Wu was very displeased with Xia Zhe's actions, he was a soldier after all, so he still earnestly answered Xia Zhe's question.

"It's good to know that there are no major casualties. The replacement team must continue to search this area and we must not leave anyone behind," Xia Zhe said with a serious look on his face.

Qiao Mei could not help but stare at the serious-looking Xia Zhe. He looked so handsome like that.

"Yes!" Zhao Wu replied.

Zhao Wu accepted the order but did not take any action. Xia Zhe had just taken two steps when he realized that Zhao Wu had been staring at Qiao Mei and her hand that he was holding.

Xia Zhe frowned slightly and pulled Qiao Mei behind him before asking, "Is there anything else?"

Zhao Wu came back to his senses and leaned close to Xia Zhe and said, "Big brother, isn't it not good for you to behave like that?"

"Not good? What's not good?" Xia Zhe asked in confusion.

"It's… it's just that it's not good for you to hold on to a young lady like this. Why not you go and carry out the search and rescue mission while I send her back to the base," Zhao Wu said seriously after thinking.

Xia Zhe immediately pulled a long face. He kicked Zhao Yong's leg and said, "Hurry up and start the search and rescue mission! What nonsense are you spouting!"

After Xia Zhe finished speaking, he grabbed onto Qiao Mei and walked towards the base. Along the way, he took care of her in every way. The soldiers around him were all dumbfounded, but given that it was the battalion commander's own matter, no one dared to ask about it.

Later on, Xia Zhe even carried her in his arms. She refused but it was useless. He insisted on carrying her all the way.

What was going on?

Could it be that Xia Zhe took a hard knock to the head in the wreckage?

Zhao Wu looked at the departing figures of Xia Zhe and Qiao Mei in confusion. At the same time, he felt that Xia Zhe was being unreasonable. He was the one who had taken a fancy to the young girl first so how could Xia Zhe turn the situation to his advantage now.

Zhao Wu was so angry that he did not care anymore and went straight to carry out the search and rescue mission. He turned the anger in his heart into motivation and focused on the rescue efforts.

Xia Zhe carried Qiao Mei back to the base under everyone's gaze. Qiao Mei lay against Xia Zhe's arms, her soft bosom pressed against Xia Zhe's chest as her sweet voice rang in his ears.

"Put me down quickly, your comrades are all watching!" Qiao Mei said as she pouted.

Xia Zhe could feel his passion rising as he recalled that night when Qiao Mei had moaned softly under him. That coquettish voice…

Xia Zhe's ears were red, but his expression remained unchanged. He only put Qiao Mei down when they reached the base's rest area.

Even after he put her down, he still held on to her hands. He also hugged her in an unobvious manner.