The Home You Waited For

CHAPTER 15 - The Letter Never Sent

Few days later…

One early morning, Chenxi arrived at the medical tent earlier than usual, being careful not to intrude. Instead of pressing Jia with words, he quietly placed a small vase of wildflowers beside her workstation, which he had picked from the mountain trail near the camp. He also placed on the table a small basket containing Jia's favorite breakfast: steamed buns, dumplings, and a strawberry milk drink. He didn't expect a response. He only hoped she'd see the gesture, a silent message that he was thinking of her, even when words failed. After making sure the environment was safe, he left the tent and walked toward their camp.

Jia arrived at the main medical tent first. The surroundings were still quiet; only the chirping of birds and the gentle rustling of the wind on the tent canvas could be heard.

As she approached her workstation, she stopped. In the middle of the table, there's a vase of fresh flowers that weren't just picked from anywhere. They were clearly chosen carefully. Next to it is a basket of food. Each container was neatly placed, as if the person carrying them had ensured they wouldn't spill.

She noticed the small piece of paper tucked between the food containers. There's no signature, but she recognizes the handwriting immediately – the slight slant of the letters, the strong strokes. She didn't need to guess who those were from.

Don’t skip breakfast. I’ll see you later.

Jia secretly smiled – not because she was forced, but because the smiles naturally bloomed on her lips. And for an inexplicable reason, the pain she had been harboring in recent days seemed to have subsided. Before all her sulks had even passed, there was already a small fire that was warming her up again. Why is it that no matter how hard I try to distance myself from you, Lu Chenxi, you still find a way to reach me?

THE whole camp was already busy early in the morning. That day was exclusively for the SWAT team for their routine check-up. Inside the main medical tent, the line was noisy, but everyone was organized. Some were joking, laughing, and others were being playful while waiting. It can be noticed that the longest line is at Jia's workstation. Everyone is curious about the only woman their captain is paying attention to.

At the end of the examination table, Jia was sitting, wearing a mask and with a stethoscope around her neck, holding a clipboard and reading the patient's information sheet. Sometimes she would look up to ask the patient, who was often smiling too much and seemed overly excited to have a check-up with her.

“Doc, can you add vitamins to my prescription so I can get stronger?” One of the SWAT members joked, winking at Jia.

“Doc, can I have some extra minutes for my check-up?”

“Doc, can I also get a check-up even if I'm not sick?” Another person added, causing laughter in the line.

Jia just shook her head but couldn't help but smile slightly. “If you don't feel anything, don't waste other people's time. Next!”

Chenxi was just standing by the side of the tent, arms crossed, just watching. He didn't speak, but his posture was enough to send a silent "territorial" warning to everyone present. He knew it was just simple banter – SWAT camaraderie, harmless fun – but he couldn't help but frown as he watched them from the sidelines. But as he watched his men approach Jia one by one, especially when someone talked to her for a long time and tried to be cute, his jaw would automatically clench, and it seemed like his patience was being tested.

Another one of his comrades placed the stethoscope on his own chest and joked with Jia. “Doc, I’ll check my heartbeat myself—it beats faster whenever you’re the one checking on me.”

Chenxi then chimed in, his voice low and extremely serious. “If you're not really sick, go back to perimeter duty. This isn't a comedy bar.”

Suddenly, the line fell silent. Even the doctors and nurses nearby exchanged wary glances, unsure whether to move or speak. The air felt heavier, as if everyone sensed who had just arrived.

The man who had been joking earlier cleared his throat, forcing a laugh before nodding.“Y-Yes, Captain Lu… just a normal heartbeat.”

JIA pretended to be busy reading the medical chart, but she could feel Chenxi's tense presence at that moment. He's been subtly observing this since earlier. It's obvious from his appearance that he gets irritated with his comrades whenever they try to be cute to her. Just like now, his brow is still furrowed, and his eyes are squinting. Suddenly, his gaze turned to her, and even though he was very serious, he still managed to wink at her.

She quickly avoided Chenxi’s gaze, feeling her cheeks grow warm. Thankfully, the mask hid the faint smile tugging at her lips.

Main Tent – Midday Break

When Dr. Meng declared a break, the medical team returned to the barracks for food and rest. The SWAT team remained at the medical camp, alert and orderly, waiting quietly for the next routine check-up, the hum of activity around them softened by the brief pause.

Jia was left behind, still sorting through some paperwork. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Chenxi standing near the entrance of the main tent, quietly watching her. After a while, she set aside the papers and casually picked up the food basket she hadn’t touched—the one Chenxi had given her. She caught the slight lift of his eyebrow as he saw her carrying it.

“Jia,” he called to her softly, but with a hint of tenderness and pleading. “Come with me to the SWAT camp. We need to talk. Now.”

She stopped. She had been avoiding Chenxi and this kind of opportunity for several days, but something in the tone of his voice stopped her. It wasn't an order; it wasn't a plea, but a desperation she hadn't heard in many years.

She nodded silently in agreement.

SWAT Camp – Private Quarters

When they arrived there, Chenxi made sure there was no one else around. He took an old and slightly faded envelope from his uniform pocket. “I've wanted to give this to you for a long time,” he said, handing it to Jia.

Hesitantly, she opened the letter – and there, the letter was revealed, clearly showing traces of tears in the ink.

“I wrote that ten years ago,” Chenxi whispered. “But I never sent it to you. I was scared… and I didn’t want to hurt you anymore.”

Jia —

I’m leaving, but not by choice. I can’t tell you where, or when I’ll be back.

You deserve more than silence, but silence is the only thing that won’t put you in danger.

There are things I’ve done — things I’ll be asked to do — that don’t belong near you.

But if I had one choice to keep… I’d stay.

I’d find you.

I’d be yours.

I’m sorry I can’t.

I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye.

— Chenxi

Jia quietly read each line, and with every word, the weight she had long carried in her chest began to lift. As her eyes moved across the letter, she felt even more deeply how much Chenxi loved her—a love that hadn’t faded, even after all these years. And she realized the same was true for her: no matter how hard she had tried to avoid him in the past few days, her love for him had only grown stronger.

“Why did you only give me this now?” she asked, her voice trembling.

“Because this is the first time I’ve held you again. And I’m ready to make up for all the years we’ve lost.”

"Chenxi..." She called out to him softly. “I want to hear it from you yourself. What really happened ten years ago? Why did you suddenly disappear, leaving me without any explanation?”

She stared into his eyes, filled with pain and longing. “For ten years, I’ve asked myself where I fell short, why you didn’t fight for us. Surely, I deserve an explanation now that you’re here.”

“JIA...” Chenxi took a deep breath first. “Ten years ago, I didn't just choose to leave you. I didn't run away from you, but from the situation. My father was one of the leaders in capturing a major drug syndicate at that time. Because of that, our family was threatened. Danger is always lurking in every move we make. And if I stay close to you, you'll surely be affected too. So, I forced myself to leave—even though I felt like my heart had been torn apart.”

He looked up, struggling to hold back the tears that had been threatening to fall. He sighed and turned to her.

“We were forced to stay under the protection of higher-ranking officials. And when I finally got out, almost at the same time, I was inducted as a new recruit into SWAT. Even though I was just a rookie, I was immediately thrown into dangerous missions—operations that could have killed me in an instant. That’s another reason why I didn’t show up. Because what if one day… I can’t come back? And even now, I still regret not telling you the truth. It wasn’t you I left, but my own desire to stay by your side.”

JIA froze, as if her chest suddenly felt heavy with everything she had heard. She was momentarily speechless and just stared at Chenxi. She closed her eyes and wiped away the tears that fell one after another.

“If you had just told the truth back then. If you had just shared a little, the years without you wouldn't have been so painful. But now I understand. You chose to keep me away from danger. You chose to get hurt rather than involve me. And that was the Chenxi I knew back then. He prioritizes the well-being of others over his own.”

She looked at Chenxi again, and despite the pain, there was a trace of understanding in her eyes. “It still hurts... but thank you, because now I know the truth.”

CHENXI couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He slowly approached Jia, gently cupped her cheek, and gazed at her with complete affection—as if he wanted to imprint in Jia's heart that he was still the home he had long been searching for. Then he hugged her tightly, with all his might, as if promising that he would never let them be separated again.

He felt Jia’s arms tighten around him in return, accompanied by her soft sobs against his chest. Chenxi closed his eyes and whispered softly, “I won't let you go again, Jia, no matter what happens. I won't leave you again.”

And with those words, the weight of ten years that had separated them seemed to gradually fade away.

He slowly stepped back a little, caressed Jia's cheek again, and whispered with a gaze full of longing and loneliness, “Jia...”

And then they kissed—not gentle or careful, but fierce, igniting the long-suppressed longing between them.

IN the heat of Chenxi's kiss, Jia was once again pulled back to the night their love had first been truly felt—the night Chenxi first claimed her, the first man to possess her entirely. She remembered the day they had skipped class to hide in the old library, laughing as he held her hand, as if daring anyone else to come near. She remembered the night she had rested her head on his shoulder on the bus, convinced there was no safer place in the world.

Now, Chenxi pressed her closer, tighter, as if letting go had never been an option. She responded to every movement, every silent plea, desperately trying to reclaim the time they had lost, the words they had left unsaid, the moments they had missed.

They only stopped when their breaths came in ragged gasps. Forehead to forehead, eyes closed, bodies still trembling, they clung to each other, suspended between the past and the present, as if letting go would erase everything they had ever shared.

"I won't let you go anymore, Jia,” Chenxi said firmly. “No matter what happens.”

And for the first time since their reunion, Jia smiled—a quiet, trembling smile brimming with hope, with a love that had long slept in silence but was now fully awake.

JIA closed her eyes quietly and could still feel Chenxi's heartbeat, which seemed restless.

“I've wanted to do this for a long time,” he whispered to Jia, his gaze fixed on her as if she were the only thing that had ever mattered.

She smiled even though there were still tears in her cheeks. “You waited ten years just to do that?”

“Hmm,” Chenxi nodded, then winked and wiped the tears from her cheek with his thumb.

“Ten years... three months... eighteen days.”

Jia laughed and lightly pushed his chest. “So, you're a countdown calendar now?”

“No,” he smiled, a little arrogantly. “Just a photographic memory when it’s about you.”

Jia sighed, but she could no longer hide that smile, as if no matter how hard she tried to suppress it, it would come out on its own.

“You're crazy.”

“Only for you,” Chenxi replied quickly, pulling her in for another hug.

And in that embrace, they both knew there was no turning back. They will no longer return to being strangers.

THE sun was still shining brightly when Chenxi and Jia returned to the medical camp. At first glance, it seemed nothing had changed—they were both well-dressed, still busy with their respective duties. But behind these simple gestures, there is an unconcealed light of newness between the lovers.

Chenxi, who used to be quiet and always had a serious demeanor, is now moving more lightly. There was a slight smile on his lips even as he reviewed his people's reports. His gaze wasn't as sharp as it used to be, but rather had a strange calmness that his companions hadn't seen before. Meanwhile, Jia was back to taking care of the SWAT members for their routine check-up, but her every action seemed more lively, more lighthearted.

Jia’s fellow nurses were secretly whispering, noticing the slight blush on her cheeks and the uncontrollable smile even though nothing funny was happening.

The two's secret glances didn't escape the eyes of the SWAT and medical team either. Every time their eyes meet—even in the middle of work—there's a warmth they can't hide. Some of the staff shook their heads and smiled secretly, as if they had witnessed a confirmation that they had long wanted to answer.

“Captain Lu, there seems to be a strange glow about your aura today,” one of his comrades remarked, handing him the clipboard. Chenxi didn't comment anymore, just smiled slightly and coughed, but that was enough to make the people around whisper even more.

Amidst all that hustle and bustle, everyone knew something had happened. No need to ask. The weight that once hung between

Chenxi and Jia had vanished, and in its place, a new beginning was slowly taking shape around them.

WHILE Jia was busy applying a new bandage to the wound of a trainee, a hand suddenly approached holding a bottle of white peach-flavored sparkling water.

“Here,” Chenxi's voice was cold but gentle as he handed it to her.

“Thanks,” Jia replied, reaching for the drink without hesitation and taking a sip before returning to her task. To them, the gesture was perfectly ordinary, as if it had always been part of their rhythm. But to those around them, the quiet tenderness in their exchanged glances was impossible to miss.

A nurse paused slightly and blinked, then smiled secretly. While some trainees looked at each other, some subtly sighed or quietly joked, “Confirmed.”

Although they didn't openly admit it, everyone felt that Chenxi and Jia could no longer hide the truth. With every simple gesture—a natural reach for water, a glance full of warmth—it was abundantly clear that the two had reunited.

Amid the heat and fatigue of the medical camp, a peculiar energy seemed to ripple through the air. It wasn’t just between the two of them—somehow, the entire group felt the pull of that newfound brilliance.