"... In short, that's the result. You're dead, I'm dead, and the special forces unit led by Shen Qianshan was completely wiped out."
A crackling sound came from the other end of the phone. Feng Yuan leaned against Shen Qianshan, and for a moment neither of them spoke.
"It may sound absurd, but it's true."
"I remembered it the day after I met Wen Jiu. When he said he'd seen him before, I thought he was out of his mind."
The young man on the other end of the phone gave a brief laugh. "Perhaps it's all predestined."
In his previous life, K Wen Jiu. That scene under the moon not only became Gu Xun's old ailment, but also left a burning scar on the heart of the cold-blooded and ruthless K.
This is precisely one of the key reasons why K switched sides at the last minute and made a completely different choice.
The other was his partner with whom he had fought side by side for two lifetimes.
"I don't want to see you die; that would be too unfair to you." K kicked a pebble at his feet and looked up at the distant mountains. "It's fine as it is now."
Feng Yuan was silent for half a minute, then said softly, "Thank you."
"You're welcome." K scoffed and chuckled, "The capital is nice, but it might not be right for me. I'll come visit you again after you get married. I'll be going now."
Feng Yuan: "Are you going back to the Country M?"
"The world is vast, and the four seas are my home."
The young man completely shed his K disguise, revealing the bright smile that belonged to the young Yan Ke, "I'll come back to the capital to see you during holidays."
Feng Yuan noticed his choice of wording: "Returned" instead of "came."
This shows that he considers this place his second home.
A smile spread across Feng Yuan's eyes, "It's a deal."
After hanging up the phone, Feng Yuan rolled over and sat on Shen Qianshan's lap, lazily rubbing her forehead against the other's neck.
Shen Qianshan skillfully placed his arm around his lower back.
The two lingered in this intimate position for a moment, as if by telepathy, one looking up and the other looking down, gazing into each other's eyes.
"Although the process was a bit tortuous, the result was fortunately not bad." Feng Yuan hugged the person and kissed them, his blood-red eyes slightly curved. "Please guide me from now on, Captain Shen."
The title "Captain Shen" was now perfectly accurate, but Shen Qianshan detected a hint of mockery in it. He returned the kiss, saying, "I don't have anyone as disobedient as you in my team."
After saying that, he glanced meaningfully at his restless hand and gave a concise evaluation.
"Insubordination."
"Then what should we do?" Feng Yuan smiled like a vixen who only sucks people's life essence, panting as she whispered in his ear, "Does Captain Shen want to use military law, or family law...?"
Captain Shen gripped his lower back tightly, cradled the back of his head with one hand, and suddenly flipped him over, pinning him to the bed. All sounds were swallowed up in the tender, passionate kiss.
☆
Let's rewind to three days ago.
The decision regarding Feng Yuan was personally conveyed by Old Master Shen.
Many years later, the old man and the young man met again. The old man's hair had turned gray, and the young man was no longer naive.
Only the graying silver hair and the fine lines around the eyes and brows bear witness to this glorious period.
"You've grown up." Shen Henian slowly rose, leaning on his cane, and patted Feng Yuan's shoulder across the table. "Your frame has become much stronger."
Finally, he sat back down, took off his reading glasses and wiped them, as if chatting casually. "You've lost weight."
"I've eaten a lot, but I just can't gain weight." Feng Yuan sat on the sofa, chuckled softly upon hearing this, and said, "It's due to my constitution."
"Nonsense." Old Master Shen put his cleaned reading glasses back on, but they fogged up again in no time. He simply stopped wearing them and put them in the box in a huff.
His expression remained calm, but his hands, covered in wrinkles and scars, trembled slightly uncontrollably. "Go back and ask Qianshan to give you a proper treatment."
"Then I'll have to record it and let Qianshan hear it."
Feng Yuan a grudge. Upon hearing this, he reached for his phone to complain to his parents, "You promised to make me sweet and sour pork last time, but it went bad in the fridge."
Old Master Shen scolded with concern, "You brat! I'll teach him a lesson!"
Shen Qianshan outside. "..."
Feng Yuan burst out laughing.
The two chatted for a long time until the people outside got impatient, at which point Shen Henian slowly tapped the floor with his cane.
Shen Qianshan had no choice but to walk away, leaving them some space.
Shen Henian: "Two pieces of news."
Feng Yuan straightened his posture and said seriously, "Please speak."
"If you're willing to come back, we'll grant you special permission to join Shen Qianshan's unit; if not, we'll also arrange everything for you in the capital, allowing you to retire and settle down there."
Feng Yuan couldn't control his expression for a while, looked up, and his eyes showed astonishment.
"I..." He seemed to have returned to his youth, to the state he was in when he first met this old general, who was also the patriarch of the Shen Family. He pursed his lips slightly, a little reserved, and hesitated, "My hands are stained with a lot of..."
"You have indeed stained your life with blood, and killed many people who, in principle, should not have been killed."
Old Master Shen interrupted reluctantly, his voice low but firm, "But these people were also soldiers, and you didn't let their sacrifices be in vain—even though the messages and spoils that were sent back might have been tainted with Malice."
Old Master Shen paused for a moment, then continued, "Those people tried to smear your achievements and exploits with their blood, but they will never understand that when a soldier's blood is spilled on the land of the nation, it is inherently hot and red."
Your contributions should not be erased, nor should their sacrifices be tarnished.
"I'm old, and those who knew back then are old too."
Old Master Shen's face remained stern, his voice still authoritative, "But we're not blind yet."
Feng Yuan listened to him in a daze, and in a daze, he seemed to see Shen Henian sitting in front of a group of high-level leaders ten years ago, speaking for him with a serious expression.
That resolute and gentle face is now etched with the marks of time, but when he looks over with red eyes, it seems as if nothing has changed.
"Child, the fault is not yours."
Feng Yuan's eyes instantly reddened.
"Of course, I think if we're going to buy a place to live, we won't need firewood, rice, oil, or salt. Qianshan won't let you move out of the Shen Family."
Old Master Shen changed the subject, smiling, and said, "I'll leave the house there for you for now."
Feng Yuan buried her face in her palms, and after a while, her voice returned to normal. "No need."
Old Master Shen fought back tears and looked at him calmly.
Feng Yuan stood up, straightened his collar and sleeves, his slender and resolute figure overlapping with that of the boy from ten years ago. He then raised his hand in a salute.
The voice was soft yet firm.
"I choose to rejoin the team."
--No, I choose to go undercover.
--No need, I choose to rejoin the team.
Shen Henian gave him a loving smile and asked the same question he had asked ten years ago, even though he already knew the answer, "Are you sure?"
Feng Yuan: "Confirmed."
See, Qinglan, no matter how many years pass or how many times you ask, this child will still give the same answer.
In retrospect, that single word "no" could pierce through hell and blossom into a profusion of flowers in the summer ten years later.
---For background information, please see the author's notes.