After a few weeks living in the camp, Shu Qin got to know more people. People respected her, and among her followers included the other captains and the soldiers she was in charge of. Everyone thought that she was strong, intelligent, and, though it didn't really  matter, quite good-looking. Rumor was that, already, a dozen girls from the area have had their families ask for a marriage, but they've all been rejected. What was even more surprising, for the other soldiers and captains, was that the Beauty of the South, Ling Ye (叶玲), was rejected too. (Shu Qin nearly giggled herself silly over this discovery that men were as interested in gossip as women were.) In addition to this juicy tidbit, the captains and soldiers also found that Captain Wen could stomach more wine than any other man in camp, despite "his" slight figure. However, as Shu Qin's popularity grew, so did her risks of getting discovered for being a girl. Even though there was no written law that stated that a woman couldn't join the army, everybody agreed such an event would be indecent and scandalous.

          Shu Qin and Ming Jian gradually became the unofficial leaders of the camp. Every single man looked up to them, and strived to be as strong and confident as they were.

          One day, when Shu Qin was taking a stroll towards the edge of camp, she saw a little boy walking by with his mother.

          "Mother, are we going to see father?" the young boy asked, looking at his mother with large, innocent eyes.

          "Yes, sweetheart." The mother looked tired, but she still smiled and patted the little boy's head.

          "Mother, why must father stay here though?" The little boy pulled on his mother's skirt, wanting more answers.

          "Sweetheart, you're father is here so that he can protect you!"

          "Protect me?"

          "Yes, because you are his precious child, and he will do anything to make sure that you are safe and happy." Then, the lady bent down and hugged her son tightly.

          Shu Qin stopped in her tracks. She remembered vaguely that those were the exact words that her mom told her when her father had jumped into the river to save her from drowning, even though he nearly drowned himself. Shu Qin blinked, and tears leaked out of her eyes. She suddenly realized that she still wanted to go home, even though she would have to face that dreaded marriage. Life here was carefree, but she missed her mother, and father, and younger brother, Mu Cong, her friends, her teachers...

          A few minutes later, Ming Jian stumbled over Shu Qin's shaking figure sprawled out on the ground.

          "What happened, Wen Tai?" Ming Jian kneeled down next to her.

          "I--" Shu Qin tried and failed to speak. She missed home, she hated having to bind her chest every morning (which made it hard for her to breath), and worst of all, she was scared of what would happen if she really got killed.

          "Seriously, stop crying. It's scaring me." Ming Jian shifted uncomfortably.

          Which only brought on a fresh wave of tears and sobs. Slowly, Shu Qin was gasping for breath. The chest bindings were too tight...

          "Hey, Wen Tai, are you okay?" Ming Jian looked somewhat frightened.

          Shu Qin could only gasp. The lights dimmed, and Ming Jian slowly disappeared into the darkness...

          When Shu Qin woke up, she was on her bed in her room.

          Strange. She distinctly remembered being in the woods near the edge of camp... and she fainted... before she blacked out, though, she became delirious, and thought she saw

         As Shu Qin slowly struggled to sit up, Ming Jian turned around from the window to face her.

          "You're a girl." Ming Jian's eyes were unbelievably cold. Shu Qin felt Goosebumps all over herself.

          "How did you know?" Shu Qin looked down at her chest. The binding was gone... Her cheeks burned with embarrassment.

          "What are you doing in this camp?" Ming Jian glared at Shu Qin, completely unperturbed by the fact that she was almost half naked.

          "None of your business. You wouldn't understand anyway." Shu Qin felt like crying again. "Does it even matter? I'm still the same person."
          "But you're a girl." Ming Jian was as cold as ice. "And I hate girls."

          "What are you going to do?" Shu Qin felt anger rising inside her. How dare he say that he hated girls!

          "Nothing." Ming Jian turned to face the window again.

          "Excuse me?" Shu Qin blinked.

          "I'm going to do nothing. As much as I hate you, I still need a person to be my second-in-command." Ming Jian turned to walk out the door.

          "You said that you wanted to be friends." Shu Qin was on the verge of tears. Not tears of sorrow, but rather tears of anger.

          "Friends don't lie to each other."

          "I didn't lie to you!"

          "You've been hiding the fact that you are a girl and you say you aren't lying?" Ming Jian turned and glared coldly.

          "You never asked!" Shu Qin glared back, but she could barely keep her eyes open with all those tears dripping down her face.

          After a long silence, Ming Jian replied, "Fine."

          After another long silence, Ming Jian asked: "If you aren't Tai Wen, then who are you?"

          Shu Qin laughed. "Well, I guess I can't blame you for forgetting. But I'm Shu Qin Wen."

          Ming Jian couldn't hide his surprise. "You're who!?"

          "Hey, you can't blame me for having such a horrible memory."

          "No wonder your fighting style was so familiar."

          "So, Mr. General, what are you going to do to me? Are you going to tell everyone in camp that I'm a girl? Or are you going to help me keep it a secret?" Shu Qin frowned. If would be hard for her to stay in camp if everyone knew that she was a girl.

          "I'll keep it a secret. I don't want any trouble for you or me. Now, get up and get dressed. We have a meeting in half an hour at the headquarters." Ming Jian turned to walk out of the room as Shu Qin scrambled out of bed.

          As Ming Jian approached the door, he turned around. "Oh, and Tai-- I mean, Miss Shu Qin?" A jeering tone penetrated his voice.

          "Hey, don't call me that! What if someone hears you!?" Shu Qin glanced around hurriedly, just in case...

          Ming Jian smirked, and it was a smirk that chilled Shu Qin even more so than the cold glares. "Fine. Tai Wen. Anyways, don't bother putting on the stupid chest binding. It won't make a difference." And he left, leaving an infuriated Shu Qin standing in the middle of the room, her retort stuck in her throat.