Flowers Blooming in the Cracks

[Update note: Updates are all revisions, so multiple revisions may not match pirated copies. My new story next door, Losing to You, is now live. Please check my author page, thank you!] A riot breaks out in the market of Mucal. Chu Yinuo is dragged into an alley by an Asian man, who shields her just as a stray bullet tears through the spot where she had been standing. He glances outside, leaving her with the sight of his smooth, sharply defined jawline. Then she looks into his dark eyes and sees the cold vigilance there. "Chinese?" "Chinese soldier." They meet again at a negotiation, facing down a group of rioters. Chu Yinuo recognizes Gu Yao. "I know. Chinese soldier." The corner of Gu Yao's mouth lifts. "Good memory." Chu Yinuo: "Likewise." Then they meet yet again, this time at a matchmaking date in Yujiang. Unaware of what's going on, they're both hauled in by their superiors for a date. The official excuse is that the military and the police are one big family. Gu Yao is direct. "Looks like we're both here against our will. Shall we just go through the motions?" Chu Yinuo smiles. "Or should we give this a proper try?" "You really..." Gu Yao leans back in his chair, looking at the young woman across from him with a meaningful smile. "You've got your eye on me." Later, while Chu Yinuo is on a date with someone else, the man who has rushed back, travel-worn, stuffs her into his car. Chu Yinuo struggles in the passenger seat. "Captain Gu, it's very rude to interrupt someone else's date." Gu Yao pins her shoulders with both hands. "Teacher Chu, you've moved on pretty fast." Chu Yinuo has never lost a negotiation in her life, yet she loses to Gu Yao. Gu Yao has been searching for someone for twenty years. Then one day, he sees the scar on Chu Yinuo's shoulder blade. When the flowers bloom, a flower blooms between the stones. Gu Yao, I've waited for you. * A negotiation expert who's exactly as she seems x a special forces captain who's not what he seems * Slow burn, both are virgins * Note: The countries, cities, and other settings in this story are mostly fictional, with no real-life models. Any original additions are there to serve the plot. Theme: Love and peace