Chapter 236: Chapter 219: In the End, It Became a Poison 2
Shan Mingxu looked up, meeting Yin Shixiu’s nearly unwavering gaze, his heart skipped a beat, and then...
"Uncle, you overthink it, the selection process takes three months to complete."
"Does it?"
Yin Shixiu asked meaningfully.
"Of course!"
Shan Mingxu’s firm eyes seemed to radiate a brilliant light.
Yin Shixiu glanced at him, then chuckled softly, "Before you return to the troops, spare some time to have a drink with your uncle?"
"Uh..."
"Don’t pretend, you’ve been secretly swapping Coke for red wine since you were fourteen, right?"
"Hehe, okay."
Shan Mingxu nodded.
Yin Shixiu patted his head, "Good, then I’m off."
"Mm, take care, Uncle."
Shan Mingxu watched Yin Shixiu and Su Xiaomeng get in the car, the silhouette of the car slowly disappearing from sight.
He breathed a sigh of relief, those radiant eyes were clouded with a layer of melancholy light...
In fact, what was the point of putting on a front in front of Uncle? Even if he shouted until he was hoarse, he wouldn’t believe a word.
No matter how hard he worked in the troops to become an outstanding soldier, no matter how many marks the Special Forces selection training left on him, no matter how resiliently he pulled through...
In his uncle’s eyes, he’s just a kid.
A kid who can be seen through at a glance.
But even though those hawk eyes dissected him like X-rays from head to toe, he couldn’t see through Yin Shixiu at all.
So he knew he passed the Special Forces selection, but he couldn’t be sure how Yin Shixiu would react if he confessed.
Would he immediately turn around and go inside to tell his parents, his grandparents...
Would he confine him at home from then on? Keep him away from the troops?
That day the captain talked to him and asked him one question,
Your grandfather is Yin Shaohui, you were born with a silver spoon, do you think your life is more precious than others?
At that moment, he knew that his grandfather knew he was participating in the Special Forces selection.
He didn’t think about how his grandfather would react, but he was sure... his grandparents, Dad and Mom, and that silly brother would be very worried about him.
But, was the honor he defended with his life ultimately to become a heavy burden weighing on his family’s hearts...?
The military uniform was like a swamp, the deeper he fell...
He had struggled, but the struggle brought him no achievement.
So... not only did he stop struggling, but he also willingly entrusted his life to it.
He didn’t have lofty ideals, nor noble aspirations.
He just wanted to know... when live ammunition grazes past his head, would he raise his gun to retaliate, or wet his pants.
Officially, the selection training is said to last three months, but in reality, it ended after a month and ten days. Of 107 people, only 15 remained in the end.
The final 15 were each taken into a sealed black room, with only limited rations and water...
Once the door closed, there was nothing left.
No one told them what to do, no one told them how long this state would last...
No day and night, no sense of time, gradually, some pleaded for mercy, went insane, their spirits collapsed...
The best among them, after coming out, spent three days in the hospital, accompanied by a psychologist throughout.
During those three days, he only spoke once, only asked the captain one question, what date is it today...
Afterwards, he knew he’d stayed in that black room for twelve days, with no distinction of day and night.
Twelve days... it felt like his entire life, as if he’d walked from Genesis to the end of the century.
The captain asked him, "You’ve passed the selection, now it’s your turn to choose, stay or go home?"
"I was almost tortured to death by you guys! You want me to go home?!"
Then the captain started laughing, laughing so much Shan Mingxu wanted to strangle him.
Later, a comrade asked him, those twelve days, what were you thinking?
Twelve days, he mainly thought about two things:
First, if he admitted defeat, would he never become someone like Uncle?
Second, if he couldn’t make it through... what about that foolish brother?!
Probably because he’s still young, his capacity for thoughts is limited, many people endure all the rigorous physical training and even the cruel dangers of survival in the wild, yet they can’t endure the complexities of their inner world.
It’s been such a hard journey to get here, he didn’t want to give up.
If it was because he himself couldn’t hold on, he’d admit he’s a coward.
But if he gave up because of other external factors, he’d never be content in this life.
"Bro! What did Uncle talk to you about?"
Ming Lang patted his shoulder and asked.
Ming Xu turned his head towards Shan Minglang, then said, "Was it you who leaked the secret about me having a girlfriend?"
Shan Minglang swallowed hard, silently turned around, and bolted away.
"Idiot."
Shan Mingxu couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the rabbit-like figure darting off, uttering those two words.
After the New Year, Su Xiaomeng returned to school, with the help of Housekeeper Lin, Ah Su, and Nanny Wang, she really saved a lot of hassle.
Yin Shixiu, on the other hand, had been busy day and night since the New Year.
Su Xiaomeng heard Yin Shixiu say there was an international big project partnership that they must secure.
He personally led the team, overseeing reviews, calculations, writing proposals, bidding cases, every step needed his personal attention...
While she was preparing for IELTS and TOEFL exams.
Spring in Beijing was always fashionably late, not really warming up until the start of April.
With the change in seasons, influenza became a challenge for many.
Xiao Meng unfortunately caught a cold, but fortunately this happened after she finished her IELTS and TOEFL exams.
She took two days off to rest, took medicine but didn’t get better, so she went to the hospital for IV treatment for two days...
Meanwhile, Yin Shixiu went to the United Kingdom for a project bidding conference.
She was afraid the children would catch it, so she asked Housekeeper Lin and Ah Su to take Shuangshuang and Huang Huang back to the Yin Mansion, so the elders of the Yin Family could look after them for a couple of days.
Xiao Meng was tormented by the cold and felt dizzy for several days.
Yin Shixiu called back, she said she was almost better, for fear he’d worry and it would disrupt his work.
The cold came and went, medicine was taken three times a day, the IV treatment was done as required, but after more than a week, she had still lost some weight.
Fortunately, the team brought by Yin Shixiu finally secured the contract.
This event even made it onto the TV news, and Su Xiaomeng leaned on the sofa watching the TV host praise how remarkable Yin Shixiu was, feeling very proud.
It can be seen that this truly is a very high-profile project.
She sent Yin Shixiu two text messages, then called Mrs. Yin to ask about Shuangshuang and Huang Huang, before preparing to rest.
Took a bath, came out, and the phone rang again, Su Xiaomeng saw the caller ID, it was a number she hadn’t contacted in a long time.
"Hello?"
"Xiao Meng?"
"...Nn. Senior Brother Huang."
"Haha, I thought you might have forgotten Senior Brother Huang!"
"...How could that be?"
Huang Xinjue was a year ahead of Su Xiaomeng, when she first entered the key high school, her mind was slow to react, she couldn’t keep up with everyone’s study pace.
Even though Ren Yixuan would tutor her, she was still struggling.
At that time, the school had a one-on-one peer tutoring club, and she casually mentioned it to Ren Yixuan, and he dragged her by the neck to sign up.
The one paired with her then was Huang Xinjue.
A cute, kind, and righteous chubby senior brother.
"You’re quite the busy person now, still busy lately?"
"Hmmm... How could I be?"
Su Xiaomeng scratched her hair, vaguely guessing why the senior brother called...
After graduating high school, almost every call was about the same thing, not hard to guess.
"Tomorrow evening at six, high school reunion in Beijing, if you refuse again, we’ll cut off our sibling bond."
Indeed.
Su Xiaomeng sniffed pathetically, "Senior Brother, I’m sick..."
"What sickness? Terminal ailment?"
"...Senior Brother!"
Su Xiaomeng was speechless.
"Haha, should Senior Brother pick you up in the car tomorrow?"
"...I’m really sick, caught a cold... can’t eat this, can’t drink that, why should I go? It’ll just dampen your spirits."
Su Xiaomeng instinctively didn’t want to attend these gatherings.
"Xiao Meng, don’t worry, if anyone tries to make you drink alcohol or anything, Senior Brother will stand up for you, you just need to show up, how about it?"
Su Xiaomeng hesitated, reluctant to return.
"Back then, when you dragged me to help you with physics problems until midnight, have you forgotten?"
"...No."
Xiao Meng traced circles on the bedding with her index finger, pursed her lips... here it goes again.
"I suppose you’re not one to be ungrateful, so it’s settled then, I’ll send you the time and place."
Su Xiaomeng thought about it, Huang Xinjue always liked lively events, reunion activities, he always initiated and organized them.
It’s not good to keep rejecting him, besides, the children are with the Yin Family, Shixiu isn’t home...
"Then Senior Brother, if I leave early tomorrow, you can’t stop me."
"Alright, alright. Just one sentence."
Hung up the phone, Su Xiaomeng didn’t think much more, closed her eyes and slept.
The next evening, Su Xiaomeng called the Yin Family, saying she was going out to meet some old classmates that night.
Mrs. Yin advised her to come home early, barely recovered from illness, the evening weather outside changes frequently, don’t let the sickness worsen.
Su Xiaomeng agreed, then calculated the time on Yin Shixiu’s side, it should be noon.
She called Yin Shixiu...
The phone rang for a long time without being answered, Su Xiaomeng then called the secretary Yin Shixiu took to the United Kingdom.
But the secretary’s phone also went unanswered...
Su Xiaomeng felt a bit anxious, sitting on the sofa, continued to dial Yin Shixiu’s number.
This time the call went through, but the person who answered wasn’t Yin Shixiu, it was —
"Hello?"
A voice that sounded familiar...
"Huh, isn’t this Yin Shixiu’s phone? I’m looking for him..."
"Oh, it’s... Su Xiaomeng, right?"
"...Nn."
"Don’t remember me?"
The voice on the other end remained alluring, alluring enough to make one’s skin crawl, and with Yin Shixiu’s phone in the hands of such a woman, Su Xiaomeng’s heart dropped at five centimeters per second.
"Who are you..."
"Luo Feiya."
Su Xiaomeng furrowed her brows, "Where’s Shixiu?"
"Asleep."
Su Xiaomeng’s face stiffened, then instinctively said, "Wake him up."