Hearing Xu Ze point at Old Master Zhang and curse him out with “shut up” and “old bastard,” everyone in the hall shrank their necks… There weren’t many people who dared to curse Old Master Zhang to his face—in fact, there were very few, so few you could count them on one hand.
But Xu Ze had cursed him out, and he’d done it pointing right at Old Master Zhang’s nose…
Xu Ze was furious today. First, he’d almost had his girlfriend snatched away by this old bastard Zhang to become his grandson’s wife. Second, he’d almost been finished off by a shot from behind by someone from the Zhang family. Third, Qing Niao had taken a bullet for him while trying to save him…
For people who had deeply crossed his bottom line like this, Xu Ze was never polite. Although he couldn’t do anything to them due to their status, cursing out this old bastard who didn’t act his age and relied on his seniority to throw his weight around was still quite satisfying.
So in front of a crowd of dumbfounded dignitaries, Xu Ze pointed at Old Master Zhang and let loose…
“Who are you cursing, you little bastard?” Old Master Zhang stared at Xu Ze in utter disbelief.
“Cursing you…” Student Xu Ze pointed at Old Master Zhang with complete righteousness and said fiercely, “I’m cursing you, you old bastard who doesn’t act his age…”
Seeing that Xu Ze was really pointing at him and continuing to curse, those eagle eyes of his widened round as he glared at Xu Ze: “You…”
“You what you…” Looking at the old bastard’s huffing and puffing expression, Xu Ze said angrily, “You old reprobate, I’m out there risking my life for the country, and before I’m even dead, you bring your grandson to snatch my girlfriend, using both threats and bribes… Besides you, you old reprobate, who else could do such a thing…”
Hearing himself not only cursed as someone who doesn’t act his age, but now also as an old reprobate, Old Master Zhang was practically choking, unable to catch his breath: “You…”
“And… look at what kind of people your Zhang family are…” Xu Ze pointed with utter contempt at Zhang Yanzheng, whose pants were wet with embarrassment and whose servant was pressing a cloth to his wound, and sneered, “How old is your grandson? And he’s supposed to be from a military family—he peed his pants from a few gunshots…”
“And… your son here, he’s supposed to be a general… all he knows is having people fire sneak shots from behind… If I hadn’t been lucky today, he really would have done me in…”
At this point, Xu Ze sneered and pointed at Old Master Zhang, whose face was red with shame and anger: “See… this is all what you raised… As they say, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be too, isn’t that right?”
“I actually think the people in your family have the nerve to gang up on a young man in his twenties like me. I’ve been out there risking my life for the country, with thousands of enemies plus countless fighter jets and armored vehicles surrounding me… I wasn’t afraid… If I’d died out there, I would have felt honored. But do you know what I’m afraid of?”
Xu Ze glared furiously at Old Master Zhang and Zhang Yanzheng before him, roaring angrily, “I’m afraid of my own people shooting from behind… If I died here today, I’d feel wronged, I’d die with my eyes open… I’d rather be killed by the little Japanese devils or the Americans out there than die on my own soil, at the hands of my own people…”
“If you’d fought me fair and square, and I died, I’d accept it…” Xu Ze shook his head with a cold smile, turned around, pointed at the two guards lying outside the door, and continued, “Look… these are the soldiers your son trained, the orders your son gave—shooting people in the back…”
Xu Ze looked at Zhang Yanzheng, whose face was flushed red and who was about to speak, and snorted, “Don’t give me excuses like I trespassed, or that you didn’t know who I was… The thing I hate most in my life is two-faced people like that… A real man owns up to what he does…”
At this point, Xu Ze suddenly sneered again, then pointed at Qing Niao, who was still lying on the ground outside, and said coldly, “Zhang Yanzheng, your subordinates really are something… Do you know who this person is, who was almost shot dead by your subordinate and is wearing rags?”
Looking at Zhang Yanzheng, whose face had turned dark and cold from his words, Xu Ze laughed coldly, “I know you don’t know… To great figures with immense power like you, they really don’t count for anything…”
“But it’s them… these little people, who abroad, for the sake of the country, hide their names, live in constant fear day and night, receive only a small stipend and a bit of funding each year, can’t return home for over a decade, don’t dare contact their families… Just to get a bit of intelligence for the country, they risk their lives. Even if captured by the enemy and subjected to every torture, they won’t reveal a single secret of the nation…”
“For one piece of intelligence, he was caught by the little Japanese devils and endured torture for over a week, finally holding on until I rescued him… Now he’s back, back in the country, and all he thinks about is finishing his mission so he can go back and see his family, whom he hasn’t seen or heard from in ten years! But he remembered the debt of gratitude for me saving him, and to keep anyone from shooting me in the back, he dragged his wounded, unhealed body to hold off two guard soldiers… And your soldier just shot him with a simple bullet!”
“If he dies today… his intelligence hasn’t been delivered yet, he hasn’t seen his mother… Then he’ll regret it for the rest of his life, and I’ll regret today for the rest of mine… And you will too…” Xu Ze waved his finger lightly, then said coldly, “I can safely entrust my back to comrades like this, but I will absolutely never entrust it to you… you people who, for personal gain, can act without any scruples…”
“If he dies for me today, then I can also risk my life for him… Those shots today wouldn’t have been fired into the ground…”
The hall was dead silent. Everyone looked on with shock at this wildly arrogant young man in the center, who was nonetheless full of passionate blood…
“I just want to say one more thing today… I can fight my way out of the African jungle, I can break through the encirclement of thousands of little Japanese devils… So I’m not that easy to kill. You can try to come after me again in the future… But never, ever target the people around me… Otherwise…” Xu Ze shook his head with a cold smile, then supported Old Master Li, and under the dumbfounded gazes of the dignitaries, slowly walked toward the outside.
When he reached the door, he smiled and extended his hand toward Sun Lingfei beside him…
Sun Lingfei shyly reached out and held Xu Ze’s hand, then turned her head and looked at Father Sun in the crowd, calling out pleadingly, “Dad…”
Father Sun had a strange expression on his face. Looking at his daughter, whose expression had gone from despair to utter happiness, pleading with him, he finally sighed and walked out.
Walking up to Sun Lingfei, he reached out and touched his daughter’s head with love and regret, saying, “Enough, enough… It’s your father who’s let you down. Go with him… Your affairs, you decide for yourselves. Your father won’t interfere anymore…”
“Dad…” Seeing her father finally agree to her relationship, Sun Lingfei threw her arms around him, her eyes finally showing excitement and happiness…
At this moment, several jeeps and ambulances finally rushed over from outside. Admiral Yang Guanglian jumped out of a vehicle with a group of people…
Seeing that Xu Ze was unharmed, Minister Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the two soldiers on the ground and Qing Niao, who was lying on the ground with a bullet wound in his chest and torn clothes. He quickly raised his eyebrows and waved to the medical staff behind him.
Several medical personnel rushed over, lifted Qing Niao, who was still looking at Xu Ze with amazement, onto a stretcher and ran toward the ambulance…
Minister Yang looked Xu Ze over carefully, then finally sighed and said, “Xu Ze… you little troublemaker, do you want to go to the hospital too?”
“No need… It’s just some old injuries…” Xu Ze smiled and shook his head, then said, “Minister… I’ve brought the person back for you… Next, you have to give me leave. I need to go home for the New Year…”
“You little rascal… sigh… Go on, go…” Minister Yang sighed softly, then looked at the chaotic scene inside, waved his hand, and said, “Go on… I’ll handle the cleanup here. We’ll deal with everything after the New Year…”
And so, under the murderous gazes of the Zhang family, Xu Ze supported the old master, held Sun Lingfei’s hand, and with Li Yue and his future father-in-law, got into a car and drove away…
Xu Ze didn’t know how Minister Yang handled the aftermath, but he knew this matter wouldn’t land on his head for the time being. Minister Yang was his superior, and he and Qing Niao had almost lost their lives here. Although he’d been a bit domineering… the minister would have to handle it regardless. This dispute with the Zhang family would drag on for a while…
Anyway, he’d come back having rendered great service again, so the minister would have to protect him. And since he’d almost been shot dead here, even if this was brought before the Chairman, it could be used to drag things out with the Zhang family for quite a while… At worst, he’d just give up his merit. Even if he kept it, he couldn’t get promoted anyway, and there was no way they could demote him further…
So Xu Ze spent the New Year very much at ease. Carrying a large pile of gifts that had been sent back from Japan long ago, he brought his current girlfriend—who had never shown her face in front of his parents—and future wife home for the New Year…
Before leaving, he’d also gone to the Three Services General Hospital to see Qing Niao, who had just finished surgery. Qing Niao was doing quite well now—the bullet in his lung had already been removed. But Xu Ze’s face was full of apology: “It’s all my fault. Because of me, you can’t go home for the New Year again…”
“Heh… What’s your fault? You saved my life, and I only took a bullet for you… Besides, I haven’t gone back for so many years, a few more days won’t matter…” Qing Niao laughed. “It’s quite comfortable here. I haven’t slept this soundly in ten years…”
“Mm… Rest well for a few days. When you’re better, I’ll take you back to see your parents…” Xu Ze smiled, then said, “Word also came back from Zuomu. The comrades over there are all fine, nothing went wrong… Don’t worry!”
“Mm…” Hearing this news, Qing Niao nodded with relief, then just sighed and said, “It’s a pity they can’t go home for the New Year… sigh…”
Xu Ze nodded slightly, then said, “They should have a better New Year this year. I made a million US dollars in Japan this time. Yesterday I had the Third Bureau transfer it over… I hope they’ll be happy when they see it…”
“Mm…” Qing Niao grinned happily, a man in his late twenties smiling like a child…
On New Year’s Eve, the Xu household was especially lively this year, because for the first time in twenty years, there was an extra person at the family New Year celebration—and she was a beautiful, lovely girl, the future daughter-in-law of the Xu family.
Mother Xu kept putting food in Sun Lingfei’s bowl, her face full of joy. Her son had finally brought a girlfriend home this year, and this girlfriend was so beautiful, lovely, and sensible…
Father Xu was also all smiles. His son was now successful, and even had a girlfriend. Maybe before long they’d have a grandchild…
As for Xu Qing’er and Xu Hao, they’d naturally met their sister-in-law before. Now that their big brother could bring her home, it meant the matter was basically settled… This also put their minds at ease…
Xu Hao still occasionally felt a bit of fear toward his brother. His butt still had marks from that belt whipping back then, but their closeness was naturally still the same. Recently, he’d also been very good at home, much more sensible, which made Father and Mother Xu very gratified…
Xu Hao was also very happy now. Ever since he’d sold his laptop, he’d felt empty inside, always feeling like something was missing.
But this time when his brother came back, after hearing his parents praise how much more sensible he’d become, his sister-in-law brought over a new laptop that had been prepared in advance, which absolutely thrilled him to death…
That evening, Mother Xu had originally cleaned out a room specifically for Sun Lingfei to stay in. But Sun Lingfei had never stayed alone in an unfamiliar place before. She’d originally planned to decline and room with Xu Qing’er. But just as she was about to refuse, Xu Ze stepped on her foot several times under the table.
Mother Xu, of course, noticed her son’s little movements. She laughed to herself but said nothing…
After the New Year’s Eve dinner, tiny snowflakes began to drift down from the sky. Xu Ze pulled Sun Lingfei along and brought Xu Hao and Xu Qing’er out to set off fireworks…
Liuhe City was world-famous as the hometown of fireworks, so there were naturally plenty of them. Although the Xu family didn’t make fireworks, by year’s end, the fireworks and firecrackers sent over were too many to count—most were from patients Father Xu and Xu Ze had treated over the years…
Xu Hao excitedly carried two boxes of fireworks behind his big brother. They went out past the town entrance, found a spacious spot, and prepared to set them off.
Sun Lingfei had grown up in Yanjing. Although she’d played with some fireworks before, she’d never seen the variety the Xu family had—from handheld sparklers to spinning ground flowers… and high-altitude display shells. She was absolutely thrilled…
Watching Sun Lingfei laugh with utter joy, her silvery, cheerful laughter ringing out continuously, Xu Ze smiled gently beside her, silently vowing in his heart: “I will make you happy forever…”
Later that night, after midnight, after staying up to see in the New Year, once the family had all gone to sleep, Xu Ze indeed sneaked into Sun Lingfei’s room. Sun Lingfei hadn’t turned off the light. Seeing Xu Ze come in, she blushed and hid under the covers.
Xu Ze chuckled, turned off the light, and slipped under the covers. He reached out and pulled the warm, soft Sun Lingfei into his arms, gently breathing in her faint, alluring fragrance, and said contentedly, “In the future, if I can have you in my arms like this for a lifetime, I’ll be satisfied…”
“Mm… Ze, you have to stay with me like this for a lifetime too… You’re not allowed to like anyone else…”
“Of course… I’ll only love you for a lifetime…” After saying this, Xu Ze finally found those warm, soft, sweet lips and gently kissed them.
After the New Year, Xu Ze quickly took Sun Lingfei to Xingcheng to pay New Year’s respects to Old Master Tang. Old Master Tang naturally knew about the trouble Xu Ze had stirred up at the end of last year. Although it was the start of the new year, he still gave Xu Ze a good scolding, then gave Sun Lingfei a big red envelope.
Hearing that Xu Ze had come, Tang Guorui also specifically brought his son Gua Gua and daughter Bao Bao, who had just returned from abroad, over for a meal.
The two Tang children were a year or two older than Xu Ze, both still studying abroad, and had only just returned before the New Year…
Tang Guorui knew Xu Ze definitely had a boundless future. Although the Tang family didn’t care about such things now, and Xu Ze had an extraordinary relationship with the Tang family, that was the previous generation’s connection. The next generation still needed more contact, so he’d specifically called his two children back from abroad for a meal together.
Gua Gua and Bao Bao looked at Xu Ze, who was younger than them but already a Senior Colonel, and were both greatly shocked, filled with admiration for Xu Ze.
Old Master Tang lectured them from the side: “You two little things, all you care about is the splendor of the West. You’re this old and haven’t made a single contribution to the country. Look at Xu Ze… younger than you, and he’s been out there achieving merit after merit. He’s now our country’s youngest Senior Colonel. In a few years, he’ll be a general… You should learn from him…”
“Yes… Grandpa…” Tang Bao Bao pouted, then pulled Sun Lingfei aside and whispered with a grin, “Lingfei, your man is about the same age as you. He looks pretty handsome, but he’s as proper as my dad. Doesn’t that make him boring?”
Hearing Tang Bao Bao’s words, Sun Lingfei glanced at Xu Ze with a suppressed smile, then leaned close to Tang Bao Bao and said, “Hehe… Him? Don’t let him fool you. In front of adults, of course he’s well-behaved… Hmph… You haven’t seen him in private. He’s no different from a kid, and he’s a lot of fun…”
Although the two spoke very quietly, how could it escape Xu Ze’s ears? Hearing this, Xu Ze wore a wry smile…
Meanwhile, Gua Gua was pestering Xu Ze with questions, asking about his adventures in Africa and Japan… Xu Ze told him a little, but said nothing about anything classified.
After all, some things couldn’t be spoken of. Even the revelations Old Master Zhang had angrily exposed last year—afterward, the General Staff and the National Security Bureau had issued gag orders to everyone involved…
Seeing the young people getting along so well and chatting so enthusiastically, Old Master Tang and Tang Guorui nodded with satisfaction…
After staying one night at the Tang household, Xu Ze took Sun Lingfei and rushed non-stop to Yanjing, visiting the Sun and Li families along the way.
Sun Rui, seeing Xu Ze now, was naturally no longer as he’d been before. The father-in-law and son-in-law were quite harmonious. Xu Ze accompanied his future father-in-law for a few drinks. Although he’d previously somewhat disdained his father-in-law’s character, he also knew that Father Sun had shouldered the burden of supporting the family alone, and sometimes had no choice but to do certain things. And that day, when Father Sun, in front of so many people and under those circumstances, had been willing to completely tear ties with the Zhang family, making them lose face, and had protected both Sun Lingfei and him by publicly saying he’d entrust Sun Lingfei to him—this made Xu Ze let go of all past grievances.
Sun Rui had actually been doing quite well these days. Old Master Li had specifically spoken with him on the 29th before the New Year; even Old Master Tang had personally called Father Sun afterward. This finally set Father Sun’s mind at ease. With the Li and Tang families behind the Sun family, they would naturally be secure.
Having gone where he needed to go, Xu Ze still had to brace himself to visit the Li family. He’d been so domineering with the Zhang family that day—surely the old master would have a thing or two to say.
But when he went, Xu Ze was extremely surprised. Old Master Li didn’t scold him at all. Instead, he was full of joy. Not only did Sun Lingfei get a red envelope, but even he, this little rich man, received one… Only afterward did the old master call Xu Ze into his study…
“Kid… you’ve got guts…” Old Master Li gave Xu Ze a thumbs-up, then sighed, “After all these years, it was you cursing them out that day that felt the most satisfying to me…”
Hearing Old Master Li’s words, Xu Ze felt proud inside. Cursing the three Zhang grandfather and grandsons into that state that day had indeed been a huge relief.
“But… you little rascal… Originally, I might have been able to go directly request a Major General rank for you… But now it’s impossible…” Old Master Li said with a sigh.
“Major General?” Xu Ze raised an eyebrow, then looked at Old Master Li curiously, “Didn’t Minister Yang say before I left that this merit could only be recorded… no reward?”
“Hmph… You did beautifully this time, kid. That Yang Guanglian last time was forced by me to agree that if you brought the person back, he’d make an exception and give you a Major General…” Old Master Li sighed with regret, then said, “Originally, if he spoke up, plus my influence, and you genuinely rendered such great service, the Chairman would have signed the promotion order… But the Zhang family matter has caused too big a stir. I’m afraid there’s no hope this time…”
“It’s fine… Grandpa Li, I’m still young anyway. There’ll be plenty of chances in the future…” Seeing Old Master Li’s regretful expression, Xu Ze quickly consoled him.
“Mm, mm… That’s true. A couple years’ delay won’t hurt…” Seeing that Xu Ze didn’t look very regretful or sorry, and instead was comforting him, Old Master Li nodded with relief.
While the two grandfather and grandson were lamenting, Minister Yang Guanglian of the General Staff only began reporting the matter from before the New Year to the Chairman several days later. At the time, Minister Yang had suppressed the matter… But how exactly to decide it hadn’t been fully settled yet.
Who would have thought that right after the New Year, the Chairman summoned him, brought up the matter… and questioned him in detail… which made Admiral Yang Guanglian’s heart race with unease…
