Returning to the temporary residence of the Shanhai Battle Unit, Shen Shanwu discovered that about ten more people had settled nearby. They were also wearing combat uniforms and masks, suggesting they belonged to another battle team from a different base.
Jiang Huan and the lieutenant were standing in the center area, engaged in casual conversation with the captain of this other team. From Jiang Huan’s occasional utterances and his more respectful attitude towards the opposing captain, it was evident that the Shanhai Battle Unit held a higher status and possessed greater combat strength.
The lieutenant noticed Shen Shanwu had returned and waved to him with a smile. Jiang Huan also turned around and succinctly called out, “Jiang Tong, come here.”
The captain of the other team, surnamed Wang, looked to be around thirty-five years old. Upon seeing Shen Shanwu, his face broke into a kind smile as he praised the boy for being quite handsome. He then turned back and called out loudly to his own team, “Xiao Yan, come here.”
Before long, a little boy, drenched in sweat, ran over. Captain Wang introduced him, saying, “This is my son, Wang Yanyan.”
Jiang Huan then put an arm around Shen Shanwu’s shoulders and said, “This is my adopted son, Jiang Tong. Jiang Tong, this is Captain Wang of the Cobra Team from Wuyou City in the south.”
Wuyou City was the place where the Wolfdog wanted to visit the nightclub owned by its residents. It was the most affluent area, but its military reserves were indeed not as strong as those of the eastern coastal bases, where the leaders placed greater emphasis on personal enjoyment. Thus, it was inevitable for teams from Wuyou City to bow their heads to teams from the coastal bases.
Shen Shanwu didn’t act awkwardly in front of others and didn’t pull any childish stunts like saying, “I’m not really your son, hmph!” Instead, he respectfully bent forward to Captain Wang and said, “Hello, Captain Wang.”
“Hello, hello.”
Wang Yanyan was panting heavily as he scanned Jiang Tong from head to toe without any politeness, revealing his displeasure in his gaze. He thought he was hiding it well, but he didn’t realize that the adults present had all taken note of his behavior.
Captain Wang immediately gave Wang Yanyan a merciless slap on the forehead and said, “What are you dawdling for? Greet your uncles and brother! How did your father teach you?”
“Hello, uncles… hello, brother.”
“Well, if that’s all, we’ll be on our way. It’s getting late; you should get some rest too, Captain Wang.” As soon as Wang Yanyan finished speaking, Jiang Huan immediately offered his farewell, not waiting for Captain Wang’s reply. He simply took Jiang Tong’s hand and turned to walk back to the Shanhai Battle Unit’s accommodation.
Captain Wang felt quite embarrassed as he exchanged farewells with the lieutenant. Turning back, he twisted Wang Yanyan’s ear and whispered fiercely, “Little brat, what kind of look was that? He’s the son of the captain of the Shanhai Battle Unit!”
Shen Shanwu perked up his ears, ready to eavesdrop on the gossip.
“I just can’t stand his spoiled, pampered appearance,” Wang Yanyan protested. “Just look at his clean face and hands; not a hair is out of place! I could even smell the scent of his moisturizer!”
“What of it?”
“I’m younger than him! You make me do this and that all the time, and I have to carry all that heavy luggage myself…”
“Jealous of him? If you’re jealous, go be Jiang Huan’s son! Go on!”
“I’m not…”
…Tsk. Shen Shanwu rubbed his ears, wondering why he was so annoying. A stranger’s first glance at him was filled with hostility; it turned out to be jealousy because he was just sitting around doing nothing and waiting for handouts. How pointless, really pointless.
When he focused back on what he could hear, Shen Shanwu also overheard a conversation between Zhong Yin and Yao Wuque. To his surprise, he discovered that they were secretly talking about him behind his back?
“Why hasn’t that little brat said a word since he came back from the bathroom? He looks so downcast. What did you do to him?”
“Who would I dare to offend? We saw several pregnant little girls on the way; it’s truly tragic. I don’t know how those scumbags could do that… Jiang Tong wouldn’t be reminded of himself by seeing them, would he?”
“It’s possible. Maybe he was worse off than those girls before.”
“He wouldn’t have been bullied by a pervert, would he? Although his personality isn’t great, he really is quite handsome. That probably attracts those old perverts with special interests. When old perverts get weird, they don’t discriminate between men and women.”
“…Keep your voice down; don’t let the captain hear, or he’ll definitely fly into a rage and bloodily cleanse the outer district of the Central Alliance.”
Bored, Shen Shanwu flipped through the illustrations of Journey to the West, thinking that the tragedy surely belonged to those little girls. Aside from dying once and having his heart broken twice due to his inability to read people, his life experiences weren’t particularly troubled… At least he had never been pregnant, and certainly, he had never been bullied by old perverts.
With this thought in mind, Shen Shanwu couldn’t help but raise his head and look at Jiang Huan, who was sitting alone in the corner, lost in thought. One of his heartbreaks was entirely thanks to your good captain.
The overhead light cast a shadow over Jiang Huan’s straight back and slightly bent long legs, and that indescribable sense of depression and restraint always lingered around him like a shadow.
“Little Jiang Tong~” Xiaowen suddenly approached with a beaming smile, startling Shen Shanwu. He noticed that Jiang Huan seemed to be directing his gaze over, so he quickly averted his eyes, feeling a bit guilty. “What’s up, Sister Wen?”
“It’s like this… We forgot to prepare a sleeping bag for you.” Xiaowen exchanged glances with the lieutenant, who immediately clasped his hands together in apology towards Shen Shanwu. “So how about you sleep with your sister tonight?”
Shen Shanwu: “…”
Shen Shanwu decisively refused, saying, “That’s not a good idea. I’d rather sleep with Yao Wuque.” What a joke! He was a thirty-year-old man in the prime of his life, and his… function was not quite normal.
“Yao Wuque is 1.8 meters tall and has a big build; a sleeping bag wouldn’t fit both of you. Just look at your Sister Wen; she’s so small and doesn’t even reach 1.6 meters. We definitely won’t be cramped sleeping together.”
“Then I don’t want a sleeping bag.”
“That won’t do. The temperature will only be 10 degrees Celsius at night. Do you want to catch a serious cold? Be good and listen, okay~”
“Sister Wen, I’ve told you not to treat me like a child.” Shen Shanwu straightened his face and said seriously, “You’re a woman, and I’m a man. It’s not appropriate to sleep together.”
“…” Xiaowen was taken aback for a moment before bursting into laughter. “Yes, yes, yes, little man! Come on, let’s go brush our teeth and wash our feet before sleeping. It’s getting late.”
Shen Shanwu: “…” Can you not understand human language?
After exhausting all his efforts but still being unable to refuse, Shen Shanwu had no choice but to follow Xiaowen to the washing area to brush his teeth. There was hot water available here, provided in limited quantities for a fee and at a slow pace. Those who came here to use the facilities were not lacking in resources. Even so, when they encountered Xiaowen and Shen Shanwu, who were wearing the Shanhai Battle Unit insignia, everyone else lowered their heads and made way for them.
Instead, Xiaowen acted as if their team was upright, organized, and disciplined, absolutely incapable of cutting in line. She patiently queued up at the back of the water line.
Coincidentally, Captain Wang brought Wang Yanyan over to fetch water at the same time. He pushed Wang Yanyan towards Shen Shanwu and stood behind Xiaowen, taking the opportunity to chat with her while waiting in line.
Wang Yanyan wore a face of reluctance. Even though his father had nearly yanked his ear off, he still displayed a boyish disdain. He had just been following that little brat earlier, and this boy didn’t even bother to carry a water bottle for that sister. He really was spoiled to the point of being unbearable.
If Shen Shanwu had known the reason for the disdain directed at him, he would probably be speechless. However, he was currently standing to the side with a towel, bored and yawning, too lazy to spare even a glance at the “cynical” little boy beside him.
After a while, he suddenly noticed a figure squatting in the shadow of a wall not far away, poking something on the ground with a stick. He watched curiously for a moment and saw the person poke out a small, black bug from the ground, wipe it on their clothes, and then nonchalantly pop it into their mouth without a hint of disgust.
Shen Shanwu: “…”
The boy licked his lips after finishing the bug, looking quite unsatisfied. Shen Shanwu recognized his face; it was the same boy who had bumped into him earlier while trying to steal something from him. The boy was oblivious to Shen Shanwu’s gaze and continued poking the stick deeper into the shadows, searching for more “food.”
Shen Shanwu quietly glanced at Xiaowen and saw that she was laughing at something Captain Wang had said, completely focused on him and not on Shen Shanwu at all. So, he took two cautious steps back and silently slipped into the shadows as well.
The boy digging for bugs sensed someone approaching and turned his head. He saw a boy with red lips and white teeth, dressed neatly. He remembered this person and also recalled that the adults around him were formidable and not someone he could provoke.
Although they were roughly the same age, their statuses were worlds apart—one in the light and the other in the dark. Just by looking at each other, the boy felt a genuine sense of inferiority and anger rising from the depths of his heart.
The boy silently stood up, his gaze fierce like that of a hungry wolf. He thought to himself that if he was called a thief, he would just bear it, but if he was hit, he would run away quickly.
However, he saw the other boy smile at him, then pull a small square wrapped in paper out of his pocket and offer it to him.
The sandpaper that Yao Wuqie had left for Shen Shanwu to wipe himself had no other use, so Shen Shanwu decided to wrap a block of compressed food in it. After thinking for a while about how to make this thing disappear completely without wasting it, he finally resolved to secretly give it to a fated person.
Before he even began searching, the fated person came right to him; after all, even a twisted fate is still fate.
The boy received the piece of paper that inexplicably came his way. He felt that the texture was off, paused for a moment, and looked back at Shen Shanwu, only to see that the other boy was still smiling brightly. He quickly unfolded the paper and was surprised to discover that inside was actually a block of compressed food.
He had never eaten this thing before; he had only seen it from a distance in the hands of team members who came to stay, hearing that just a small piece of it could keep someone from being hungry all day.
The boy quickly rewrapped the paper, looked around to make sure no one was watching, and then glanced back at Shen Shanwu, gritting his teeth as he said, “What, are you pitying me and giving me a handout?”
Why am I so unpleasant that even when I give someone something to eat, I get scolded? Shen Shanwu sighed helplessly and replied, “If you really think of yourself as ’pitiful’ and can’t accept food that’s given for free, then help me with something.”
“What is it?”
“…I haven’t thought of it yet.”
“…” The boy was silent for a moment before shoving the entire block of food into his mouth. He didn’t care whether Shen Shanwu was seeking revenge on him, whether it had been stepped on, covered in boogers, or even urinated on; it was all irrelevant. He hadn’t eaten in two days and was almost starving mad.
The way he chewed the whole block of dry food all at once made Shen Shanwu feel anxious for him. Fortunately, the boy’s esophagus was wide enough, and he was bold enough to swallow it down, his face turning bright red as he managed to do so.
Impressive, Shen Shanwu admitted. “Was it good?”
The boy didn’t taste any traces of dirt or urine and didn’t see any grime, so he confirmed that it was a perfectly intact block of compressed food. With a haughty snort, he replied, “I’m not taking your food for free; I’m telling you some news—Jinya has his eye on you. I heard him say behind your back that you’re prettier than those little girls and that he wants to sleep with you.”
The author has something to say:
35: You hurt me and still laugh it off.
Huan: ???
