“Jinya?” Shen Shanwu asked in confusion, as the boy described his height and build. It immediately dawned on him that it was the pervert who had been staring at him in the bathroom.
Seeing that Shen Shanwu looked completely lost, the boy deliberately emphasized his tone to scare him, saying, “He said that if you’re out here alone without any adults around, he’ll take you to a deserted place, where the heavens won’t respond to your cries and the earth won’t heed your pleas. He’ll make you cry and leave you with a big belly, your insides in chaos, and you’ll be covered and gagging on his stench.”
The boy’s tone was quite cheeky and vulgar, and combined with the disgusting, adult-themed content, it would be brave for any ordinary child not to cry in fear. But who was Shen Shanwu? A mutant who defied heaven and earth—if he actually encountered that pervert, it would be hard to tell who was more dangerous.
Of course, this assumption was based on him being desperate enough to consider taking a bite.
Shen Shanwu casually replied, “It’s fine, he wouldn’t dare. What I represent is obvious; if he tries to lay a hand on me, he’ll definitely meet a grim end.”
The boy’s expression grew cold, and he sneered, “If you don’t take it seriously, that’s on you. I’ve done my part; I owe you nothing more for your cookie.”
After saying that, he noticed someone approaching and quickly distanced himself from Shen Shanwu. He didn’t want to get involved with “the elite” and risk being ostracized by the regulars at the rest stop in the future.
Shen Shanwu understood this logic as well, so he deliberately shouted, “You idiot, if you steal from me again, I won’t let you off!”
“Jiang Tong?” Sister Xiaowen’s anxious voice came from behind him. Shen Shanwu took the initiative to run over and explained, “Sister Xiaowen, I just saw that thief who took my stuff, and I gave him a lesson.”
“Oh my, you scared me to death! I’m just glad you’re okay,” Sister Xiaowen sighed in relief, completely forgetting Jiang Tong’s tough persona as a wild child in the outer district. After saying that, her attitude suddenly changed as she scolded, “Where’s that little thief? Jiang Tong, if this happens again, don’t take matters into your own hands. What if you get hurt? Let your older brothers and sisters handle it. I’ll make sure he gets a good lesson!”
Captain Wang also chimed in, pulling Wang Yanyan along, “Exactly! Those regulars are fierce and reckless, Jiang Tong, you must be careful from now on. Don’t meet with them alone.”
Shen Shanwu couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “Thank you for your concern, Captain Wang. It’s fine, Sister Xiaowen. I scolded him, and he didn’t dare to say a word in response. Let’s hurry back.”
Xiaowen still felt uneasy and rambled on for half the journey. Although she hadn’t become a mother yet, she had already developed the habit of nagging. During the second half of the trip, Captain Wang began sharing his parenting experiences with Xiaowen, mentioning that Wang Yanyan had been raised without a mother and that he had been grooming her as his successor, always raising her in a tough and frugal manner. From the moment she could walk, she had been undergoing training.
He then hinted that, in times of turmoil, one must never spoil or be soft-hearted towards children, as it wouldn’t be doing them a favor but rather harming them.
Of course, Xiaowen picked up on the underlying message in Captain Wang’s words. She couldn’t help but recall how Yao Wuque vividly told her that when the captain first met Jiang Tong, he declared that all of his possessions would be unconditionally inherited by Jiang Tong after his death.
“Hmm, about that…” Xiaowen scratched her cheek, feeling embarrassed, and sighed, “In a post-apocalyptic world where we can’t even guarantee tomorrow, who knows what will happen? Under such difficult conditions, children are already struggling to get by; why impose even more pressure on them…”
Captain Wang shook his head disapprovingly but didn’t insist on pushing his views further. However, as the two groups parted ways, Wang Yanyan suddenly stopped Shen Shanwu, saying he needed to speak to him alone, sending Captain Wang and Zhang Xiaowen away.
“I saw you,” Wang Yanyan said, his face stern and filled with anger. Shen Shanwu had been wondering what this child wanted to discuss with him, but he was taken aback by his abrupt statement and asked in confusion, “Huh?”
“You weren’t really scolding that thief; you gave him a piece of your biscuit!”
“Oh, you saw that, huh?” Shen Shanwu shrugged. He had indeed noticed Wang Yanyan’s gaze watching him somewhat intently, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it. He was careful to avoid letting others see him giving food to the boy, but he hadn’t considered someone like Wang Yanyan, who could fend for himself.
“Why did you give that bad kid something to eat?”
“Shh.” Shen Shanwu quickly motioned for him to lower her voice. “I happened to have extra biscuits, and he was nearby with no one watching, so I gave him one.”
“But he’s a bad person.”
Shen Shanwu couldn’t help but be amused by Wang Yanyan’s righteous tone. “A bad person? How bad? He’s just stealing a little; it’s not some unforgivable crime. He’s just trying to survive.”
Shen Shanwu himself had done his fair share of petty theft, but what mattered was that the boy had also subtly reminded him to stay safe and not wander away from adults, indicating that he wasn’t truly a bad person.
“You…” Wang Yanyan was at a loss for words against him and exclaimed in anger, “Anyway, he’s a bad person! You shouldn’t sympathize with him; you should have compassion for the real victims out there!”
“Who is the real victim?” Shen Shanwu’s playful expression faded as he was unexpectedly lectured by a child. “And I’m not being compassionate; I just happened to have an extra cookie.”
He lifted his gaze, his eyes sharp as he looked at Wang Yanyan. “In this day and age, compassion is a luxury. It can easily harm both yourself and others if you’re not careful. If you don’t have enough ability, I advise you not to speak recklessly.”
Wang Yanyan’s face turned red, and he was nearly choking with anger. He didn’t understand him, but the more he didn’t understand, the more he hated such pretentious talk. “You, you’re just spouting nonsense! You’re… you’re uncivilized! You’re helping the wicked!”
“…” The phrase “helping the wicked” made Shen Shanwu surrender on the spot. “Okay, okay, you win. I’m at a loss for words. I’m going to sleep now. Bye-bye.”
“You, come back!” Wang Yanyan stomped his foot in frustration, but with no way to counter him, he returned, fuming with nowhere to vent his irritation.
Meanwhile, after brushing his teeth and washing his feet, Shen Shanwu couldn’t escape the fate of being stuffed into a sleeping bag by Xiaowen. He thought it over—after all, he was a virtuous man, like Liu Xia Hui1Liu Xia Hui is a well-known historical figure, also known as “Liu Bei” (刘备), in this context, it refers to a gentlemanly character often associated with moral integrity and chastity. He is often depicted as a virtuous man who valued integrity and propriety., and importantly, he was a staunch gay man; even sleeping next to a young woman wouldn’t make him hard.
Then Xiaowen snuggled in, gently wrapping her arms around Shen Shanwu, making him acutely aware of what it felt like to be enveloped by someone’s chest, a sensation that felt quite suffocating.
“…” Shen Shanwu struggled to tilt his head back to breathe. “Sister Xiaowen, I can’t catch my breath…”
“What’s going on? Move up a bit.”
“I—I slept too much during the day and I’m not tired. You go ahead and sleep; I’ll come over later.”
“Stop talking nonsense and just sleep.”
“…But didn’t Captain Jiang stay up all night too?”
“The captain is on night watch; he won’t sleep at all.”
“Well, he must be really bored. I’ll go keep him company.”
“The captain hates being disturbed when he’s alone. Hurry up and sleep; don’t bother him.”
Shen Shanwu didn’t care whether Jiang Huan liked it or not; he only knew he was very unhappy with the current situation. Using both hands and feet, he finally broke free from Xiaowen’s grip. Like a monkey, he scrambled out of the sleeping bag, put on his shoes, and ran toward Jiang Huan as if Xiaowen behind him were a man-eating beast.
At nine o’clock, to save energy, all the lights in the rest stop turned off promptly. The only light in the area came from a lantern beside Jiang Huan, who had dimmed the brightness to leave just enough light for reading.
Shen Shanwu jogged over and lowered his head to find that Jiang Huan was reading ‘Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales.’ Was this person completely out of his mind? He’d give a ten-year-old boy ‘The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government’ and then secretly read fairy tales in the middle of the night himself?
Hearing the sound, Jiang Huan looked up, and in the dim light, he saw Shen Shanwu’s face. For a moment, he felt a bit dazed, questioning whether everything was just a dream. But the moment of bewilderment passed quickly, as fleeting as the thought of “what day is it today,” so brief that Shen Shanwu didn’t even notice.
“What’s wrong?” he asked in a low voice.
Shen Shanwu plopped down next to him and responded in a quiet voice, “I slept too much during the day and can’t fall asleep at night. What are you reading?” He didn’t forget his persona as a person who couldn’t read and deliberately ignored the large title of ‘The Red Shoes.’
Not far away, Xiaowen propped herself up and kept apologizing for not being able to control the child. Jiang Huan waved his hand to indicate that it was fine, then slightly pressed his palm down, signaling her to go back to sleep. He would take over the troublesome child.
Around them, the sound of snoring filled the air. The mercenaries of the team generally had good sleep quality; they could fall asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow and would wake instantly when called, without even stretching.
Jiang Huan glanced down at Shen Shanwu’s bare feet, noticing that the kid wasn’t even wearing socks. He was standing on his heels, exposing his ankles and half of his feet to the air. “Aren’t you cold?”
“Hmm?” Shen Shanwu belatedly realized he should feel cold. He awkwardly rubbed his feet and looked around for any clothing to wrap his legs in. Jiang Huan opened the zipper of his sleeping bag beside him. As the captain on night watch, he was also mindful of keeping warm. He had previously kept his lower body wrapped in the sleeping bag while draping a cloak over his upper body. Now, by unzipping the sleeping bag, it was clear he intended to share it with Shen Shanwu.
So how was he supposed to crawl in? Shen Shanwu pondered as Jiang Huan closed the book, wrapped his arm around Shen Shanwu’s waist, and had him sit on his lap. With one hand, he easily grabbed Shen Shanwu’s feet, the warmth of his palm touching the ten cold, round toes. He carefully warmed them with his body heat before tucking them into the sleeping bag.
Seated on Jiang Huan’s lap, Shen Shanwu leaned against the other man’s solid, warm chest, while two muscular arms enveloped him. The cloak draped down, effectively locking him firmly in Jiang Huan’s embrace.
Not bad for a little guy, Shen Shanwu thought instinctively as he shifted around, finding a comfortable position against Jiang Huan. A few years ago, he was just a little weakling who couldn’t even hold a gun steady, and now those two pectoral muscles were so well-defined that he felt like reaching out to touch them.
“Can you write your own name?” Jiang Huan asked, leaning close to Shen Shanwu’s ear. The warm breath made Shen Shanwu instinctively shrink his neck. He couldn’t help but grab Jiang Huan’s arm to shift away, complaining, “Don’t tickle me.”
Jiang Huan didn’t respond. He picked up a notebook and a pen, flipped to the last page of the notebook, and wrote two strong, bold characters: 江桐2Jiang Tong.
The characters were indeed nice-looking, but even if he wrote them, his mother wouldn’t recognize them. The strokes looked like 氵 (water) written like 讠(speech), with three bizarre, twisted lines inside. Shen Shanwu could tell what the two characters were, but could Jiang Tong? Jiang Huan really didn’t know how to teach a child; he couldn’t even teach him to read.
The pen was handed to Shen Shanwu, and Jiang Huan first corrected his grip on the pen, then gently said, “Give it a try?”
Shen Shanwu unceremoniously returned a ‘讧木囘’3Hòng Mùhuí; doesn’t form a coherent phrase or standard term in Chinese; used humorously or playfully possibly to indicate Shen Shanwu’s attempt at writing something that doesn’t make sense or is incorrect back.
Support me on ko-fiʚ(*´꒳`*)ɞ Also check out another novel translation of mine: Raiders Counterattack [Quick Transmigration]
