Chapter 109: In Cahoots

Although Zhong Xiao herself was not afraid in the least, Song Tingshen’s words still warmed her heart.

Especially in a setting like this, with everything hanging in the balance, for someone to be willing to gamble away his own future in order to stay with you was, in itself, a kind of sincerity.

On the ride back by car, Song Tingshen and Zhong Xiao sat in the last row, while the escort officer, Wang Meng, sat in front.

Song Tingshen had kept a tight frown the entire time, staring out the window. Compared with him, it was obvious that the more nervous one was not Zhong Xiao.

Perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps simply to ease the tension that seemed to have settled over Song Tingshen, Zhong Xiao suddenly turned and asked him, “Song Tingshen, why me?”

He froze for a moment, then slowly turned back to look at her.

There was a half-smile, half-not expression on Zhong Xiao’s face as she looked at him and asked again, “You come from such a good family, you’re handsome, tall, and imposing, and you became a regimental commander at such a young age with a boundless future ahead of you. Why, of all people, did you choose me?”

As he listened to her calmly and earnestly recite all those words of praise, a faint blush crept over his somewhat dark cheeks, and even his brows and eyes looked slightly unnatural, though he hid it well.

He gave a light cough and said, “Why ask why... You’re very good too.”

“Of course I know I’m very good,” Zhong Xiao said, raising an eyebrow. Then she clicked her tongue and went on, “What I mean is, even though I’m good, there are still plenty of people who have better conditions than I do, or who are more suited to you. I...”

“You are you. Even if you had no advantages at all, even if you were not suited to me, I would still only choose you.”

Suddenly, Song Tingshen, who had been silent until then, said this.

Zhong Xiao was caught off guard by the sudden confession and turned to look at him. He was not looking at her, only gazing steadily ahead, his eyes unwavering.

Yet if one looked closely, the faint ripples in the darkness of his pupils were still visible.

Perhaps because he had never said such words before, his expression, under Zhong Xiao’s gaze, was visibly a little tense. The weather outside was hot, and the slanting light of dusk shone through the window across his face, making his eyes seem even clearer.

Zhong Xiao smiled in confusion, her soft laugh sweeping through Song Tingshen’s chest like a plucked string, sweet as honey.

Three hours later, the group returned to the military district, showed their credentials, and the vehicle drove inside the compound.

Song Tingshen first had Wang Meng take Zhong Xiao back to the Song family home. Before leaving, he said to Zhong Xiao, “Don’t worry. Stay at home and wait for me to come back. While you’re there, think about what style of clothes you want to make with the fabric we bought today, and think about what dishes we should have when we get married. Don’t think about anything else.”

Zhong Xiao nodded obediently and answered with a soft “Mm.”

When Song Tingshen saw how she was, his gaze softened a little. Only then did he get back into the car, and Wang Meng drove toward the headquarters office building.

Five minutes later, Song Tingshen indeed met the great leader who had come down from Zhou Province: Lou Huaijin, secretary of the Zhou Province Party Committee and commander of the Southwest Military Region.

The moment he saw him, Song Tingshen immediately removed his cap and saluted him respectfully.

“Commander Lou!”

Lou Huaijin was just over fifty. He stood straight as a pine, unmoving in the wind, unshaken by any storm. His shoulders were broad, but because he was tall, he did not look especially bulky. He was not in uniform at the moment, but in a dark gray everyday suit. The cuffs had worn slightly white, yet the clothing was clean, with not a speck of dust on it.

His hawk-like eyes rested on Song Tingshen, studying him from head to toe. Only after several passes did he break into loud laughter and say in a deep voice, “I heard Lao Song’s youngest son was wounded and lost his memory on a mission, so how is it that he still recognizes me?”

Even Song Qingfeng and Liu Guangmin present had found that a little odd just now.

At first, they had meant to introduce Lou Huaijin to Song Tingshen.

They had not expected Song Tingshen to greet him directly.

Faced with Lou Huaijin’s question, Song Tingshen replied, “I did lose my memory, but I saw your photograph at home. There’s a picture of you and my father from when you went on a mission together in 1951. My father has always kept it in the most prominent place in the house, so I see it every day.”

Lou Huaijin laughed again and turned back to look at Song Tingshen.

“Lao Song, you really do put on a front while being secretly honest, don’t you? Didn’t you say you disliked me the most? Yet you still hung my picture in your house. How disgusting!”

Although Lou Huaijin was now the commander of the Southwest Military Region, and his rank and status were far above Song Qingfeng’s, the two had once been comrades for nearly ten years. If it had not been for that accident before, which had brought down a severe punishment on Song Qingfeng, the two of them would already have been equals.

So there were not so many formalities between them.

At first, Song Qingfeng had still minded the difference in rank and position, treating Lou Huaijin with courtesy. But hearing him say this, he stopped pretending altogether and snorted coldly.

“I hung up the photo of our 180th Division! It wasn’t just yours alone. What are you showing off for?”

Lou Huaijin only laughed harder.

He had powerful lungs, and his laughter was hearty as well. That was the wild, unrestrained spirit of a man from the army.

Seeing old comrades again stirred a deep nostalgia, but Lou Huaijin’s trip to Taizhou Island was not merely a social visit; he had come with orders.

At last, he got down to business with Song Tingshen.

“Tingshen, our organization values you very highly. Do you understand?”

Lou Huaijin’s tone turned serious at once.

Of course Song Tingshen understood, but since Lou Huaijin did not go on, he could only follow the line of the conversation and say, “Thank you for the organization’s trust. I will never let you down!”

“You won’t let us down, I know that,” Lou Huaijin said. “But a soldier’s family, just like a soldier, must also go through strict organizational review. You know that too, don’t you?”

Song Tingshen pressed his lips together and said nothing.

Lou Huaijin continued, “The Zhong family is quite fine. There’s nothing that touches the bottom line. The only issue is the surname Zhong. In Yuecheng, that name carries more weight than even my own name, Lou Huaijin. And you know why, I think.”

The Zhong family was a century-old prominent household in Yuecheng. How many tracts of land, how many factories, had once belonged to the Zhong estate?

It could be said that among the old people of Yuecheng, half of them had eaten the Zhong family’s rice.

Even though most of the Zhong family’s assets had later been handed over to the state without compensation, the foundations were still there. The Zhong family was, after all, a family of capitalists through and through.

For a so-called red capitalist family like that, the higher authorities would not have done much as long as the Zhong family kept their heads down and behaved themselves.

But if the Zhong family were to become connected to military cadres, then the authorities had no choice but to take notice.

“...In that case, Song Tingshen, do you understand that if the common people were to learn that the daughter-in-law of the great Commander Song Qingfeng of the Taizhou Island Military District, the wife of Song Tingshen, commander of the Third Regiment of the Taizhou Island Military District Artillery Corps, was a capitalist, would they not feel uneasy? Would they not think that our military cadres are in league with capitalists?”