Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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“Captain, Eighteen, are you all right?” Mu Xichi jumped out from the forest path, with a few drops of blood splashed on his face, which glowed strangely coldly under the light of the fire.
“Where are the others?” Shen Chengfeng looked at Mu Xichi who was alone, packed up his gun and put it on his shoulder.
“They are all resting in a burned-down homestay in the southwest. We encountered the Zhenghu Team, and General Xiao Zheng is injured.” Mu Xichi couldn’t help but glance at Xiao Jing as he spoke.
Xiao Jing’s expression was startled, and she asked hurriedly, “What happened to my third brother?”
“Perhaps the other side resisted too fiercely, so General Xiao Zheng was caught off guard and was hit by a bullet.”
“Let’s go over and take a look.” Shen Chengfeng walked straight in the direction Mu Xichi pointed.
The forest was a bit secluded, and after the rain, the ground was a bit slippery.
The homestay, with half of the house burned down, was also as quiet as if no one had left.
Xiao Jing pushed open the shaky iron door, and a smell of oil smoke mixed with traces of blood instantly hit her nose.
“Xiao Jing, you’re back.” Lin Qi hurriedly jumped down from behind the wall, looked at Xiao Jing who was safe and sound, and his heart slowly settled down.
There were loud explosions coming from a small town in the southwest. The raging flames enveloped the entire town like a python, and everyone was on high alert. This battle was not as simple as they had imagined.
Xiao Jing’s gaze passed over Lin Qi and fell directly on Xiao Zheng who walked out from behind him.
Xiao Zheng frowned, obviously not because of his injury. He looked at Shen Chengfeng with an expression more serious than ever before.
Shen Chengfeng did not shy away from his intense gaze. He raised his eyes and their eyes met. He said, “General Xiao Zheng seems to have something to say to me.”
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” Xiao Zheng asked back.
Shen Chengfeng nodded without comment, “Send a few people to keep a close eye on the surroundings and shoot immediately if there is any movement.”
After saying that, the two of them walked to the backyard one after the other.
The moonlight sparsely fell on the ground through the gaps between the trees, and a good house was separated into two halves, one half was unrecognizable and still burning with flames, and the other half was in a mess as usual. Obviously, the owner of the house fled in too much of a hurry.
“What does General Xiao Zheng want to tell me?” Shen Chengfeng looked up at the fruit tree that had already blossomed and borne fruit, his voice a little low.
Xiao Zheng leaned against the tree trunk and took out a cigarette with his trembling left hand. He lit it in silence, and after blowing out a puff of smoke, he said, “Why did you bring Xiao Jing here?”
“Why can’t I bring him here?” Shen Chengfeng asked instead of answering.
Xiao Zheng tightened the cigarette in his hand, stared expressionlessly at Shen Chengfeng, who did not take the situation seriously, and gritted his teeth and said, “You should know what kind of battlefield this is. She is just a new recruit.”
“From the day he joined the special operations team, he was no longer a rookie. What he needs is the courage to move forward at every risk of his life, not the excuse of being afraid of death.”
“But she has no experience. This is an SSS-level mission. If you bring her out, don’t you know she might end up dead in this wilderness because of a small mistake?”
“A soldier is never afraid of any difficulty. When faced with a mission, he has no right to refuse.”
“But you do. You have the right not to require her to participate, and you have the right to order her to stay in the camp temporarily.”
“Yes, I do.” Shen Chengfeng replied.
Xiao Zheng stomped out the cigarette butt with his foot, “You brought her out here on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Does General Xiao Zheng feel that he is not qualified to participate in this mission?”
“…” Xiao Zheng was silent. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to participate, but –
“I suddenly understood why he has been staying in the 525th Regiment. The Xiao family is indeed remarkable. All of their descendants are either generals or marshals, but Xiao Jing is a little special. After three years in the army, he is still a second lieutenant. I wondered if it was because he didn’t work hard enough or if he was not qualified. Now it seems that the Xiao family deliberately let him only be a second lieutenant.”
“That’s right. Our Xiao family has never lacked generals, elites, or talents. The only thing we lack is happiness and freedom. What I want to give her is freedom of mind.” Xiao Zheng stood up straight and looked up at the sky. “So I will try my best to get her out of the Tieying Team.”
Shen Chengfeng did not say anything else but stared at the figure in front of him. He suddenly felt that he might have missed something. Why did the Xiao family obviously value Xiao Jing, but make people feel that Xiao Jing was excluded?
As a result, for so many years, the fourth son of the Xiao family had never been mentioned by anyone, as if he only existed in the family roster.
“Eat something.” Lin Qi opened the biscuit and handed one to Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing took the biscuit but didn’t take a bite.
Lin Qi asked in a low voice: “What’s wrong?”
Xiao Jing put the biscuits on the ground, then she stood up and ran to the backyard. However, just as she stepped into the yard, she heard her third brother say that he wanted to take her away.
Involuntarily, she clenched her fists stubbornly.
“Captain, can I say something to my third brother?” She stepped forward and spoke to break the sudden silence.
Shen Chengfeng nodded, turned around and walked towards the hall of the house.
A breeze suddenly arose, and dark clouds slowly blocked the moonlight, making the whole yard much darker.
Xiao Zheng looked at the small figure one meter away from him without saying a word. For a moment, he felt like there was something stuck in his throat and didn’t know how to break the eerie silence.
Xiao Jing squatted down and looked through her belongings. She remembered that she had specially brought the medicine that her eldest brother had sent her before leaving.
After a while, Xiao Zheng planned to use a rough laugh to dispel the suffocating dullness, but before his voice could escape his throat, a hand reached out to him.
Xiao Jing said: “This is the medicine that my elder brother gave me. It is very effective in stopping bleeding.”
Xiao Zheng was stunned, “How do you know I’m injured?”
Xiao Jing walked forward in silence, and saw that his dark clothes were slightly wet, but there was no bright red. She said, “As long as your sense of smell is good, you can smell the blood.”
Xiao Zheng smiled and stopped being pretentious. He took off his coat and revealed the wound on his shoulder. The blood seemed to smell air and rushed out to see the light.
Xiao Jing opened the medicine bottle without saying a word and carefully poured some medicine powder for him.
The powder merged into the blood, and soon the blood stopped flowing, just like a tamer taming a stubborn prey.
Xiao Zheng laughed loudly, “It’s really worthy of Big Brother’s good medicine. The bleeding stopped immediately.”
“This is for you.” Xiao Jing put the medicine bottle away and handed it to him.
Xiao Zheng shook his head, “You keep it.”
“I have more.” Xiao Jing stuffed it into his hand stubbornly.
“…” Shouldn’t the eldest brother also think about giving this third brother a bottle of good medicine?
Xiao Jing lowered her head, looked at the shadows of the two people falling on the ground, and asked hesitantly: “Third brother, don’t you want to see me stay in Tieying?”
“Yes.” He replied without hesitation.
“Is it because Tieying and Zhenghu are in an antagonistic relationship?” Xiao Jing looked up with clear eyes.
Xiao Zheng frowned, “What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I don’t understand why you don’t like me staying here, or maybe you don’t like Shen Chengfeng, right? Because the Shen family and our Xiao family are two different factions, they are enemies, and if I stay here, I will be betraying the family, right?”
“No.” Xiao Zheng sighed. This girl had a very rich train of thought and he couldn’t find an excuse to refute her for a while.
Xiao Jing’s face was solemn, “Then why are you so opposed to me staying in Tieying?”
“Because he, Shen Chengfeng, is blind.” Xiao Zheng cursed indignantly.
“…”
“Xiao Si, we know you are used to the special forces. If you like the special forces, you can go to Third Brother’s Zhenghu, Xiao Wu’s Whale Wolf, or our Xiao family’s Xuefeng. Why do you insist on staying with Tieying and this living devil? He is a notorious tyrant in the army. If you follow him, you will only suffer and even face death.”
“Is death scary?” Xiao Jia asked again.
“It’s not scary, but what’s scary is…” Xiao Zheng stroked his forehead, “We all hope you stay in the 525th Regiment, why don’t you listen?”
“I want to be able to hold my head high and be proud when I go home.”
“The Xiao family doesn’t need so much glory.” Xiao Zheng gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “Xiao Si, the Xiao family has never lacked this glory. You don’t have to force yourself to work hard and fight for those false titles.”
“But I need these honors.” Xiao Jing’s eyes were red. “Since I was a child, the Madam never allowed me to call her grandma. I understand that she doesn’t like my mother and the cowardly me. If one day I can go back with my head held high like my eldest brother, second brother and third brother, I think the Madam will be satisfied and take my mother back, instead of abandoning us mother and son in Cangshan for more than 20 years without asking about us.”
“You are so confused. If she doesn’t want to admit it, then she doesn’t have to.” Xiao Zheng looked at the liquid flashing in her eyes, and hesitated. He took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the tears from her eyes, and whispered, “Xiao Si, besides the madam, there is also father and us in the family. What if she doesn’t admit it? We are still a family, right?”
“Third brother, can it be the same?”
“Why is it different?”
Xiao Jing lowered her eyes, looking so cautious as if she was afraid that the treasure in her hand would be snatched away by someone suddenly.
Xiao Zheng came forward, lifted her drooping head, and said seriously: “Third Brother never asks you for anything, but this Tieying is really not suitable for you.”
Xiao Jing did not reply.
“You also know that Shen Chengfeng has a special body. He is not a normal person.”
“How can he not be a normal person?” Xiao Jing asked back, “In your mouth, he is not normal, but he is normal to me. So, he and I are the only ones of the same kind, right?”
“…” He was speechless at this logic.
“Third brother, the captain is a very good person. He treats me very well and takes good care of me. I like the atmosphere of the special operations team. I like the high-intensity rhythm of sweating every day. I like to follow him and fight side by side through life and death. I really like Tieying.”
“…” Since you like it so much, do we dare to keep you here?
“Third brother, I am an adult and I can make my own decisions. The captain sincerely wants to help me and train me. Only he made me realize that I am not a cowardly waste.”
Xiao Zheng raised his head, high up. He needed to calm down, really calm down.
“Although the captain is very special, his body and his skin are nothing special to me. I can touch him, and he is just an ordinary person to me. Maybe because of his special body, he is a little mentally unbalanced. I need to stay here to save him.”
“Enough.” Xiao Zheng clenched his fists, and the dark clouds dispersed, revealing the protruding blue veins on his fists.
Xiao Jing blinked, not understanding why her third brother was so angry.
Xiao Zheng’s eyes were sharp, and he carefully chose his words. He asked, “Just because you can have free contact, I’m afraid he—”
“Why are you afraid of him?” Xiao Jing asked in confusion.
“I’m afraid that he will suddenly become beastly and have some bad thoughts about you.” Xiao Zheng blurted out.
“…” The night wind picked up again, blowing through the dead leaves on the ground. The surroundings were bleak and the whole yard was suddenly dead silent.
“Do you want me to explain it clearly?” Xiao Zheng took a breath, probably because he had been holding it for too long.
Xiao Jing stood there in a daze, speechless.
“I didn’t want to break this paper, but now it seems that I have to break it. Xiao Si, although you are a boy, you are so good-looking and immune to him, so it is inevitable that he will think of something wrong. He might think that he will have no children anymore, so what’s wrong with finding someone of the same kind?”
“…”
Xiao Zheng placed his hands heavily on Xiao Jing’s shoulders, his eyes solemn, “Third Brother doesn’t dislike you staying in Tieying, but he is worried that this guy will lose his mind. When did Shen Chengfeng take such good care of his soldiers? Have you ever seen him follow other soldiers closely when he is on a mission?”
Xiao Jing swallowed and said, that’s not the case.
“His purpose towards you is like a mirror. You can’t see clearly in it, but we bystanders know it very well. He definitely has a purpose. His purpose is obvious. If you don’t believe me, go ask your comrades to see if Shen Chengfeng treats you differently.”
“Third brother, you really know how to joke.” Xiao Jing pushed his hand away guiltily and deliberately took two steps back to keep a distance.
Xiao Zheng shook his head. “Third brother is just afraid that you will fall into his trap. After all, in a place like the military camp, you won’t see a woman for several years. The nights are long, and no one can guarantee that you will not sleep together.”
“Third brother.” Xiao Jing emphasized, “You may have misunderstood. You really misunderstood.”
“If you don’t want me to continue to misunderstand you, stay away from Shen Chengfeng. The best way is to leave Tieying and leave him.”
“We are originally a pool of clear water, but you are trying to muddy it. Third brother, I have finished what I want to say. I will stay here no matter what.” After saying that, Xiao Jing turned around and trotted into the house.
Xiao Zheng looked at the back of the person who left with a guilty conscience and could not help but let out a long sigh. There were some things he really didn’t dare to say, but he wanted to say them. How should he say it? How could he make it clear that you are my sister, you are a girl? How could he say this out loud?
Seeing Xiao Jing running back in a hurry, Lin Qi hurried forward and asked nervously, “What’s wrong?”
Xiao Jing pulled him to a corner, her eyes flickering as she looked at Shen Chengfeng, who was sitting on the ground eating biscuits. She deliberately lowered her voice and asked, “Lin Qi, I have something to ask you.”
Lin Qi nodded, “You talk, I’m listening.”
Xiao Jing pondered her words and asked cautiously, “What do you think, is the difference between the captain’s attitude towards me and towards you?”
Lin Qi didn’t think much about it and said directly: “He takes good care of you.”
“How is he taking care of me?” Xiao Jing asked again.
“The team leader and I were originally in the same group, but he switched us.”
“Does it make any difference?”
“Maybe he’s worried about you, just like I am worried about you. So he always thinks it will be safer if you follow him.” Lin Qi scratched the back of his head naively. For some reason, he indeed felt a little shy.
Xiao Jing blinked awkwardly. She then mustered up the courage to look at Shen Chengfeng again but found that he had been staring at her intently. In a panic, she leaned her head stiffly against the wall and pretended to sleep.
“It’s shift change.” Shen Chengfeng stood up, and before he finished speaking, he had already walked out of the house with his service pistol.
Lin Qi poked Xiao Jing’s shoulder and said, “Are you tired? If you are, I’ll take your place.”
Xiao Jing sat up, looked at the back of the person who ran out without waiting for a reply, held her chin with one hand, and fell into deep thought.
Did the captain really have any special thoughts about her?
But she didn’t have any thoughts about him. How could he have thoughts about her?
“Do you feel that Xiao Eighteen’s eyes are looking at our captain differently?” Jiang Xin leaned close to Mu Xichi’s ear and whispered softly.
Mu Xichi narrowed his eyes and nodded, “We don’t understand their world.”
“I think Xiao Eighteen seems to have some intention. I bet a chicken leg that he will rush out soon.” Jiang Xin said bluntly.
“I bet two chicken legs, you are thinking too much.” Mu Xichi poked his head away.
Jiang Xin snorted coldly, “Just wait until you give me the chicken leg for every meal from now on.”
“Stop it, he’s coming.” Mu Xichi raised his head and smiled at Xiao Jing who was walking towards them.
Xiao Jing got straight to the point: “Major Mu, didn’t you keep saying that the captain loves you so much? From now on, we will switch teams, and you will follow your captain.”
“Why?” Mu Xichi asked in surprise.
“You don’t love your captain anymore?”
“Love.”
“Then go ahead.”
Mu Xichi leaned on the side of Jiang Xin’s head and muttered, “Why do I feel like there’s something wrong with his brain?”
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