“Jiang Tong.” “Jiang Tong…”
Jiang Huan and He Jingyang called out his name at the same time. Shen Shanwu seemed to have received permission as he jogged a few steps forward, standing next to Jiang Huan. “I think I just heard my name mentioned?”
He looked up, glancing at Jiang Huan and then at He Jingyang. “Is there something going on?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Actually, there is something I need to tell you.”
Completely opposite answers rang out at the same time. Jiang Huan, slightly annoyed, reached for Jiang Tong’s hand, intending to take him away directly. However, the ever-curious child was inevitably drawn to He Jingyang’s words. Shen Shanwu released Jiang Huan’s hand and stepped forward to ask, “What is it, Captain He?”
“…” Jiang Huan never expected Jiang Tong would actually shake off his hand. This moment of distraction allowed He Jingyang to speak the next words. After that, Jiang Huan could still forcibly take Jiang Tong away… but that would be too sad.
“Jiang Tong, how about I show you a photo?” He Jingyang said, bending down with one hand on his knee. Shen Shanwu blinked, puzzled. “What photo?”
“Look…” He Jingyang took out the photo he had just shown Jiang Huan. “One of these is me, and the other one, does it look like you?”
Shen Shanwu leaned forward in surprise. “Isn’t this…”
The word “is” was about to come out with a faint ‘sh’ sound, but before his tongue could touch his teeth, he suddenly realized he had misspoken and covered his mouth through his helmet.
“Yes, who is it? Do you know Shanwu?!” He Jingyang exclaimed, his voice growing louder with excitement. Shen Shanwu quickly shook his head; before he could deny it, Jiang Huan forcibly turned him around. The latter also crouched down, urgently asking, “What were you about to say? ‘Isn’t this’… what is this?”
Perhaps Jiang Huan’s tone was too severe, and his fingers gripped Jiang Tong’s shoulders too tightly. Shen Shanwu panicked and began to struggle. “I don’t know, it hurts… I didn’t say anything.”
“Jiang Tong, Jiang Tong, look at me.” He Jingyang was overjoyed, holding up the photo directly in front of Jiang Tong. “This brother who looks so much like you is a good friend of mine, a very, very good friend. Look how close we are in the photo. Trust me, tell me everything you know, and I’ll help you with any problems. Is that okay?”
He then spoke from a position of authority, “Captain Jiang, you’re hurting him. Could you please step aside? I want to ask him a few questions.”
Jiang Huan’s body stiffened, and he immediately relaxed his grip, but he didn’t raise his head. His gaze remained fixed on Shen Shanwu’s face, unyielding and desolate. “You can ask him like this.”
“…” Shen Shanwu looked timidly at He Jingyang, his eyes still wary, but he wasn’t as frightened as before.
Shen Shanwu’s change in attitude gave He Jingyang more confidence. “You’re making Jiang Tong nervous… No, he shouldn’t be called Jiang Tong at all.”
He placed his hand on Shen Shanwu’s shoulder, his gentle smile shining in the sunlight. With his sharp brows, bright eyes, high nose, and thin lips, it was precisely this exterior of golden jade that had once made Shen Shanwu’s heart race. “Good boy, tell me your real name, okay?”
“…” Shen Shanwu didn’t respond immediately. However, his hesitation indicated the presence of a hidden truth and the possibility of a breakthrough. So, He Jingyang once again revealed the photo. Looking back, it was indeed the right choice to keep these memories with Shen Shanwu because of nostalgia and reluctance.
“Shen Shanwu has mentioned you to me… You’re his little aunt’s son, right? That means your mother and Shen Shanwu’s father are siblings, so you should call Shen Shanwu ‘cousin’…”
The boy’s gaze flickered, clearly shaken inside. Seeing him like this, He Jingyang felt even more determined, unable to hide his joyful emotions even behind his mask.
In contrast, Jiang Huan seemed to have completely lost his ability to speak, remaining silent throughout. Even the hand resting on Shen Shanwu’s arms had lost its strength; with just a light brush, it could be easily shaken off.
Seeing that the situation was nearly ripe, He Jingyang repeated the previous question: “Tell me, what’s your surname?”
After a long pause, Shen Shanwu finally spoke softly, “You won’t hurt me, will you?”
“No, of course not,” He Jingyang replied quickly, while Jiang Huan paused for a moment before saying earnestly, “Never.”
“…I,” Shen Shanwu licked his dry lips and lowered his gaze, “My surname is Shen, my mother’s surname is… my name is Shen Shanrong.”
Shen Shanwu and Shen Shanrong—anyone could hear that they were related.
His words fell like crystal-clear dewdrops from the tips of leaves into the soil: invisible on the surface but enough to seep into the deepest layers. For a long time after that, the surroundings were silent except for the sound of heavy, hurried breathing. He Jingyang’s chest rose and fell with excitement, while Jiang Huan remained still as a statue, not moving at all.
Not hearing a response, Shen Shanwu continued quietly to himself, “The person in the photo is my cousin. He found me a few years ago… He told me his situation is quite special, and there are many people outside who want to harm him. I might get implicated, so he told me not to reveal my real name to anyone.”
“Harm him?” Jiang Huan furrowed his brows slightly. It was true that many enemies targeted the mutants, and there were certainly not a few who wanted to harm Shen Shanwu. Jiang Tong… Shen Shanrong’s words were very reasonable.
“Yeah.” Shen Shanwu nodded, carefully lowering his head. He raised his eyes, glancing at the two, and bit his lip for a moment. It seemed he had made up his mind as he spoke, “My cousin said something about being betrayed by his girlfriend, so I must be careful…”
Saying this, he smiled at He Jingyang, his eyes curving like a crescent moon, with well-shaped, slender eyebrows. However, there was a coldness in his gaze that was entirely unlike that of a child. “Since it’s a girlfriend, then the bad person must be a woman. Captain Jiang and Captain He are both men, so they definitely wouldn’t be the bad people who harmed my cousin.”
The child still maintained an innocent smile, using a simple and crude logic to draw a mistaken conclusion. But the expressions of the two adults in the room changed in an instant.
Shen Shanwu liked men; he wouldn’t have any girlfriends, only boyfriends.
Jiang Huan immediately wrapped an arm around Shen Shanwu, clearly a protective and defensive posture. He Jingyang’s breathing quickened, and he practically turned red with urgency beneath his mask. “Shanrong, are you sure that’s what your cousin said? Think carefully again.”
“That’s right.” Shen Shanwu tightened his grip on Jiang Huan’s arm and winked at him before turning back to He Jingyang, saying confidently, “Cousin Shanwu told me exactly this. He said his girlfriend betrayed him, giving his secret to the bad guys, which led to him being hunted down everywhere. He said that woman is as ugly as an old witch, like a rat from a sewer, like a turd with maggots, and like the rotten, stinking guts of a zombie. He told me to remember that if anyone claiming to be his girlfriend comes to find me in the future, I must never believe her.”
“This… there must be some misunderstanding,” He Jingyang said, his face turning pale from being insulted. He hurriedly looked up at Jiang Huan, trying to argue his case. Because of Shen Shanwu’s comments, their identities and positions had suddenly reversed; now it was He Jingyang who needed to explain urgently, while Jiang Huan stood tall and innocent.
Seeing the duck he had almost caught fly away1the benefits on hand are unexpectedly lost, He Jingyang was filled with frustration. “Captain Jiang, after all these years, Shanrong likely misunderstood. The authenticity of what he said needs to be investigated further…”
“Hmm, I will naturally investigate,” Jiang Huan said dismissively, no longer wanting to waste words with him. He Jingyang had no right to linger on this matter. All he wanted was Jiang Tong; as for the others…
If Shen Shanwu were here, Jiang Huan might have taken the initiative to get to know Shen Shanwu’s friends and integrate into his circle. But with Shen Shanwu absent, Jiang Huan only wanted to keep everything about him private, especially Jiang Tong’s face, which almost laid bare his heart to the public. “Jiang… Shen Shanrong, let’s go. Get in the car.”
Shen Shanwu felt an inexplicable joy. Although he thought he hadn’t done well enough, that his insults weren’t harsh enough, as ‘Jiang Tong,’ who had never received an education and lacked culture, he could only resort to metaphors and parallelism to reach this level of insult. He waved his hand to He Jingyang with great flair. “Goodbye.” Never. Again.
“Shanrong.” He Jingyang was still unwilling to let Shen Shanwu’s cousin leave like this. He desperately needed an opportunity to meet Shen Shanwu again. Eight years ago, he had been too shortsighted, allowing himself to stand on the opposite side of Shen Shanwu for the sake of a position as a concubine.
Nowadays, the third-largest mercenary group in the northern frontier, Anping, had long since declined, and he had transformed from an inconspicuous lover into the captain of a major battle team in the northern region—one could see just how hard the journey had been.
Because of Shen Shanwu, he kept a close eye on all news related to mutants and learned many secrets that ordinary people didn’t know, such as the nature of mutants, their intelligence, and certain abilities. However, the more he understood, the more he regretted that if he still held the identity of Shen Shanwu’s lover and could gain the support of the mutants, the path upward would have been much smoother.
He Jingyang didn’t know if it was too late, but he was determined to fight for it, to make amends.
“Shanrong, do you want to come with me?” He Jingyang shouted, “I’m your cousin’s childhood friend. We grew up together and know everything about each other… I will treat you like my own brother and fulfill all your requests.”
“…” Shen Shanwu hesitated for a moment, but it was just that—brief, almost like an illusion. Then, without looking back, he followed Jiang Huan and left, without a trace of hesitation or reluctance.
Inside the off-road vehicle, Lieutenant Xu had already been waiting for Jiang Huan for quite some time. Yao Wuque was beside him, whispering with Zhong Yin about why it was taking so long. As soon as Jiang Huan got into the car, Xu Ye immediately stepped forward and said, “There’s a woman from the Bellona team who wants to get in our car to go to the coastal base.”
Jiang Huan now felt a headache at the mention of the name Bellona. He removed his mask, his brows and eyes showing clear impatience. “What does that mean?”
“That lady’s name is Xu Honglin… Yes, she’s actually a distant relative of mine.” Xu Ye hesitated for a moment but quickly got back on track. “She seems to be the daughter of a high-ranking official in Wuyou City. This time, she paid to ride with Bellona’s team to explore the Anping northern frontier. But along the way, she felt it wasn’t safe to stay with Bellona anymore, so she wants to switch to our team to go to the coastal base. We just need to escort her to the entrance of the coastal base; she said she could handle the rest herself.”
After summarizing the situation, Xu Ye subtly made a gesture. “She’s offering this amount. As long as we agree, she’ll give half of the deposit upfront.”
Shen Shanwu tilted his head in confusion, only to hear Yao Wuque behind him whispering, “Rich ladies’ supplies are really easy to profit from.”
“You handle it,” Jiang Huan said dismissively, waving his hand. He had more important matters to attend to and couldn’t afford to focus on these side issues. The attentive and capable lieutenant immediately gave an “OjbK”2a phonetic abbreviation derived from the phrase “OK” or “Alright,” combined with “jb,” which can stand for “就这样” (jiù zhèyàng), meaning “that’s it” or “that’s the way.” gesture and happily went to accept Xu Honglin’s request, turning this into a profit that was practically free.
After sending off that little interlude, Jiang Huan sat down beside Shen Shanwu, lowering his gaze as if he were brewing some emotion. After a long while, he finally let out a deep sigh. “Shanrong, there’s something I must tell you, which is about your cousin…”
“Pfft…” Shen Shanwu laughed. He had been curious about what Jiang Huan had been holding back for so long, only to find that the earlier hint he had given by winking went completely over Jiang Huan’s head. “What Shanrong? Shen Shanrong is a name I made up! I don’t have a cousin; I’ve already told you I’m an orphan!”
Jiang Huan was genuinely shocked this time; the light in his dark eyes flickered as he struggled to piece together a complete sentence, “Then you…”
“Oh, when I called out to you earlier, I heard you discussing me, saying something about Shen Shanwu, cousins and brothers. I saw that you were at a disadvantage, like you couldn’t argue against that person over there, so I quickly made up a story to help you out,” Shen Shanwu said with a sly smile, resembling a child who had just pulled off a prank, his mischief so charming that it was almost endearing.
But in reality, he was cursing Jiang Huan in his heart, thinking, “What an idiot! Trying to act all cool? Can’t he speak? Doesn’t he know how to talk Chinese? He can’t even string together three words! He used to be so articulate as a child, but now he’s become so stingy with his words. While He Jingyang is practically flaunting his authority over you, you’re over there weakly saying, ‘Don’t talk nonsense~’ It’s infuriating!” Shen Shanwu shrugged off Zhong Yin and ran toward the “Captains’ Debate Stage.”
Jiang Huan could lose, but He Jingyang had to die.
When Shen Shanwu first heard that He Jingyang was considering adopting Jiang Tong, he thought that the guy had some serious nerve, but he didn’t think much of it beyond that. After all, Jiang Huan would never agree. Even if Jiang Huan hesitated and came to ask for his opinion, all he had to do was firmly refuse, and what could He Jingyang do about it?
But he didn’t expect that He Jingyang would become increasingly outrageous, even having the audacity to bite back at his own good deeds, placing the blame on Jiang Huan. Did he really think that those who knew the truth were not around and that he could just spew nonsense?
Sorry, the person involved is right here and has heard everything.
The author has something to say:
A long time later, after gaining the title of the main wife, Jiang Huan sees He Jingyang again: Heh (with a smile that doesn’t reach the eyes).
He Jingyang: … (very upset but still trying to maintain a smile).
