Chapter 18 What do you mean

　　In the afternoon. 　　Stella returned to her office after completing the surgery. 　　Jasper was leaned against the wall of her office. 　　Stella was shocked seeing Jasper outside her office, because she thought that the director of the hospital would have come out to welcome him, given his current. 　　Stella wondered how he could wait outside her office without anyone noticing. 　　Stella walked towards him, observing the bandage on his wound. She criticized that the military doctor was not skillful enough. 　　Jasper glanced at Stella. The nurses in the military infirmary were all distracted by his figure when he had gone there for treatment. He was irritated by their behavior and hence, did the bandaging himself. 　　As he thought about this, he locked his eyes on her lips, his pupils contracting. 　　She had bite marks on her lips, he then used his fingertips to rub her lips, as if to wipe off something on them. 　　Stella felt a little numb where he touched her, so she pulled his hands away, and took a step back. 　　Jasper then asked," What happened to your lips?" 　　"It was an accident." Stella said shamefully, she walked past him into her office. 　　Stella then took out some bandage from her drawer, changing the topic, and said, "Let me help you with your bandage." 　　Jasper then sat opposite Stella and placed his arm on the table. 　　Stella gently opened up the bandage and reminded him not to allow his wounds to come in contact with water, else they may get infected, and cause fever. "Do remember to wait till the wounds form a scab." 　　However, Jasper was only concentrating on the mark on her lips, he was obviously not paying attention to what she had just said. 　　Jasper also realized her face was slightly swollen as he looked closer. 　　"Were you beaten?" Jasper guessed. 　　Stella paused, with tears in heart, and said softly, "It will never happen again, it's over." 　　"What do you mean?" Jasper was dumbfounded. 　　Stella shook her head, refusing to continue with the topic, while Jasper turned his head away, he was frustrated. 　　When he saw that the bandaging was almost done, he stood up and said, "Let's go, Lieutenant Johnson is waiting for us outside." 　　He did not allow Stella to reject him, and all she could do was to follow. 　　As they arrived outside, she noticed that the car was now a private Rolls-Royce. 　　Lieutenant Johnson opened the door for them, and said to Stella:" Were you busy earlier, Dr. Stella? Our chief was waiting for you for two hours." 　　"Oh my." Stella blushed awkwardly, and explained, "I was in surgery, so sorry for that." 　　"It's OK, I should have called before coming over," said Jasper calmly, and they hopped on his Rolls-Royce, Stella sat next to him. 　　Jasper was a fairly tall man, he had a pair of long legs and they bumped into her occasionally while seated. 　　Stella was a little nervous, and asked:" Where are we heading to?" 　　"COS Mall, we'll do some shopping." said Jasper, he peered at Stella and asked casually, "What do you want to eat? Asian or Western cuisine?" 　　"I knew of a nice restaurant, let me foot the bill," said Stella happily, her eyes smiling. 　　Jasper sat silently, not saying a word. 　　In no time, they arrived at a French Restaurant located on the fifth floor of COS Mall, Lieutenant Johnson left them. 　　The waiter served poured out some complimentary lemon tea while handing out menus to them politely. 　　"I would like to have a French Meal set, with freshly squeezed watermelon juice." Stella returned the menu. 　　"I'll get the same," said Jasper, and returned the menu. 　　"Have you arrested the shooter on the motorcycle?" asked Stella, she still could not believe what had actually happened. 　　"It was all well-planned, by the time we caught up, the motorcycle was there but not the shooter," said Jasper 　　His voice was so deep, sounding like notes from a double bass. It was quite soothing to listen to. 　　"Is your job always that dangerous? I noticed that most people of your rank are protected by guards, but you are always alone," asked Stella. 　　Jasper smiled gently, and he looked extremely handsome with the smile on his face! With his eyes shining brightly, he asked:" Are you concerned about my safety?" 　　"We've been through life and death twice, it's hard for me to not be concerned," said Stella casually, and took a sip of the lemon tea. 　　Jasper's eyes softened, and he explained:" The identity of members of the special forces are top-secret, apart from specific groups of people, nobody would know my true identity. Plus, I don't like to be followed by people, it gives me no freedom." 　　"Huh. It seems like you're quite…" Stella could not find a proper word to depict him, and hesitated, she continued, "What I mean is, your behavior does not seem to match your stern demeanor." 　　"Are you trying to say that I'm a rebel?" asked Jasper. 　　Stella felt she had said something wrong, and said, "People who choose freedom are admirable. We should drink to that!" She then clinked her glass of lemon tea on his. 　　Jasper took a sip. 　　On his off days, he seemed very casual, he did not put up his usual cool demeanor, and his warmth seemed to give off comfort to the people around him. 　　The waiter served their meals, it came with foie gras, a juicy steak, red wine, and a crunchy salad. 　　"The military is looking for a doctor, are you interested to give it a try?" He gracefully took a sip of red wine and softly put down the glass. 　　"Are there pregnant women in your military force? The job doesn't seem to be suitable for me though." She smiled lightly, also taking a sip of the red wine, slowing savoring every drop of it. 　　Jasper bowed his head, slicing his meat gracefully, "It was because of the lack of an obstetrician in the military, that dangerous missions like the other day had to befall on our citizens." 　　"If I were to join the military, I will die with nothing to do in the camps. I might even forget how to perform surgery." Stella teased. 　　"An obstetrician should also have knowledge on bandaging, emergency first aid, removing bullets. It is not an easy job, and it might even be busier than a regular hospital doctor's job," said Jasper. 　　He secretly hoped for her to join the military. 　　"Whoa, I never thought that it would be so busy. I had better not join then, I prefer an easy life," said Stella. 　　"...", Jasper was speechless, he was disappointed that Stella rejected his offer to join the military. 　　"What a coincidence," said Katty, appearing in front of them. She glared at Stella, then looked at Jasper. 　　Jasper continued chewing on his steak without any expression, ignoring Katty. 　　Katty said happily, "Jasper, I have good news, I'm now officially the new military doctor, looking forward to working with you." 　　Jasper frowned. He looked at Katty calmly and said, "Your application needs my approval. You will not be able to get in if I do not approve." 　　Katty smiled with a sense of victory, "I knew you would say so, Uncle Milton had already approved my application." 　　"So what?" Jasper replied coldly. 　　"So..." Katty looked at Stella triumphantly, provoking her," I will not let her off so easily, I'll never give up, if there's a will, there's a way!"