Spoiled by Love - Sweetheart, Don't Tempt Me - Chapter 130 - He's Still Alive, That's Wonderful!

The helicopter cabin was already cramped with a pilot, a military doctor, and Wei Litao. Yet, he decisively descended the ladder himself, making room for Zhan Niantong to come aboard.

At this moment, Commander Xia needed neither a doctor nor Wei Litao. What he needed most was his wife, the woman who had astonished everyone and earned their admiration and respect.

As Zhan Niantong painstakingly climbed up the swaying ladder into the helicopter, her eyes immediately fell upon her husband lying quietly on the stretcher. His body was covered in dried blood stains, and even his once handsome face was almost unrecognizable. His eyes were tightly shut, giving him an appearance of lifelessness.

Her feet felt as if they were weighed down by a thousand kilograms of lead, refusing to move. Tears, clear and sparkling, fell like broken strings of pearls, landing on his toes.

The coldness of the tears seeped through his skin, reaching his heart. As if sensing her presence, he slowly opened his eyes.

In his blurry vision, he seemed to see his wife, now a figure of tears. Unsure if it was a dream or reality, he weakly gasped for air, his parched lips moving slightly. Though no sound came out, Zhan Niantong understood from the shape of his lips that he was calling, “Wife…”

All the worry, fear, and dread transformed into tears at that moment. Zhan Niantong could no longer hold back; she moved closer, kneeling beside him, her trembling hands gently holding his blood-stained hand.

Afraid that his hand might also be injured, Zhan Niantong dared not squeeze too hard, only holding it lightly. Feeling the coldness of his large hand, her heart ached as if it would shatter.

Feeling the warmth of her palm, the coolness of her tears on his skin, and her familiar scent, Xia Zhennan was truly aware that his wife was right there beside him.

It wasn’t a dream!

He wasn’t dead; he was still alive.

At that moment, his heart was filled with joy. As long as he was alive, that was enough! As long as he could see his wife again, that was enough!

So, he weakly pulled at the corners of his lips and smiled.

“Silly!” Zhan Niantong tenderly stroked the only uninjured part of his cheek, unable to suppress a foolish smile.

He’s still alive! That’s wonderful!

“Wife…” He struggled to lift his hand to wipe away her tears, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t muster the strength to lift it.

“Don’t move.” Zhan Niantong understood his intention and stopped him from trying to raise his hand. She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand, her gaze tender and full of concern as she looked at Xia Zhennan. Her voice choked with emotion, she said, “Don’t say anything. I understand everything. Just listen to me.”

Xia Zhennan pulled at the corners of his lips again, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on her familiar features, unwilling to close his eyes even for a moment.

Zhan Niantong could see only him; she hardly noticed the doctor who was examining Xia Zhennan, administering blood transfusions and IV drips, performing the simplest of medical procedures. She wanted to pour out all her heart to him.

“Honey, you’re so annoying, hiding from us for so long like playing hide and seek. I almost couldn’t find you!” She tried hard to hold back her tears, sniffled, and continued with a choked voice, “Miqi and the others are so mean, keeping me from watching TV and going online. I had no idea you were playing hide and seek with us, and I didn’t come to find you sooner. Are you mad at me?”

Honey, I’m sorry! Actually, I’m the one who should be saying sorry!

Xia Zhennan’s fingertips moved slightly, his gentle eyes filled with compassion. Silly girl, how could I be mad at you? I’m too busy feeling sorry for you! If I had a choice, I would have kept it from you too! I wouldn’t want you to live in the torment of not knowing whether I was dead or alive.

“Honey, even though I didn’t know you were playing hide and seek, I felt it. You don’t know how restless I’ve been these past three days, anxious and frightened, having nightmares every night. The days without you were terrifying. Luckily, I found you. Otherwise, I don’t know if I could have kept going without breaking down or going mad… Honey, rest assured, I’m not mad at you, and I won’t make you write a self-criticism letter or a love letter. Instead, you’re my hero. Did you know that? Because of you, not a single person on the entire flight died. You didn’t just save their lives; you saved many families. You’re a national hero and my hero! Honey, I’m so glad you’re still alive…”

Looking at the world, so many plane crashes almost always result in casualties. While many passengers may get injured, some even emerge unscathed, the pilots in the cockpit rarely survive.

He knew the outcome would be tragic, but he chose to do it anyway.

She didn’t know what drove him to make such a decision, nor did she know if she had been on the plane, how she would have reacted-whether she would have nobly let him go or selfishly clung to him, refusing to let him leave her side.

She didn’t want to think about these questions anymore because her husband was still alive!

As long as he was alive, that was all that mattered to her. As long as he was alive.

Thankfully, he was still alive.

What she didn’t know was that ever since Junqiang’s accident, he had been cherishing his own life exceedingly and had become very afraid of dying because his life was given and belonged to Junqiang; he had no right to throw it away.

But the moment he realized the plane was going to crash, he remembered a scene from four years ago. If he had been the one to pilot the fighter jet back then, Junqiang could have survived.

All these years, he had lived with an irremediable regret, so when faced with a similar situation again, he couldn’t help but apologize to Junqiang; he couldn’t ignore the lives of so many others. He had made a mistake once before; could he afford to make another?

Thus, he decisively headed to the cockpit.

He had prepared himself for the ultimate sacrifice, but as the plane plummeted from the sky, he saw the sinkhole and suddenly remembered his wife. In that instant, he no longer wanted to die. Amidst his dilemma, he remembered a newly developed technology from the agency, which had just successfully passed experimental trials.

That night, he shared many things with his wife but chose to hide one particular aspect-that after leaving the troops, he had established an agency dedicated to researching fighter aircraft technologies. Just recently, they had developed a new technology that, had it been available four years earlier, might have saved Junqiang’s life.

Although a passenger plane differs from a fighter jet, the principles are largely the same. At the critical moment, he decided to take a risk.

Fortunately, he succeeded. He managed to land the plane in the safest possible manner and escaped unscathed, preserving his life to see his wife again.

The plane rushed towards the military hospital in G City. Before arriving, the military doctor on board had already conducted a preliminary checkup on Xia Zhennan.

“How is it?” Zhan Niantong asked, her heart sinking as she saw the serious expression on the doctor’s face, anxiously awaiting any potentially bad news.

The doctor looked grave but spoke conservatively, “We’ll need to conduct more tests at the hospital to be certain.”

Sometimes, evasiveness serves as a form of communication. The doctor’s grave demeanor and his vague replies only deepened her worries, “What can you determine from the preliminary checkup?”

Feeling guilty for his inability to help more, Mr. Wu, the military doctor, hoped that the hospital’s tests would not reveal results worse than what he had found: “Commander Xia has multiple fractures. As for his organs and head, we’ll need detailed examinations at the hospital to know if there’s any damage.” He hadn’t revealed everything, though. Commander Xia’s left leg might be beyond saving-his knee shattered into pieces, and there were fears of necrosis in the ankle.

Since it was just fractures, it wouldn’t endanger his life. As long as his life wasn’t at risk, there was less cause for concern, “That reassures me.”

Reassured? Mr. Wu looked at her surprised, his eyes filled with confusion.

“As long as he is alive, nothing else matters.” She would stay by his side through thick and thin, through poverty or wealth, in sickness and in health, loving, cherishing, and understanding him until the end of their days.

She looked at her dear husband, gently cleaning the blood from his arm with a cotton swab, and asked softly, “Honey, do you feel the same way? If it were me lying here today, would you abandon me?”

He weakly nodded, then shook his head, his eyes tenderly deep like the vast sea, drawing her in.

The bond between the couple was evident as they exchanged looks and slightly curled their lips into smiles, exuding nothing but happiness on their faces.

Mr. Wu finally understood-this was a profoundly sincere love! In that moment, he was moved, filled with confidence and strength, “Don’t worry, I believe Commander Xia will, for you, strive to recover fully and create another miracle.”

Where there is love, miracles can happen. Nothing is impossible. Commander Xia had already achieved so many miracles; one more was certainly within reach.