Chapter 49: Physical Omens
September 1st, Sunday, cloudy. Besides taking a day off on her birthday, Jiang Yan spent most of the following days accompanying Jiang Yao.
In the past week, in order to improve Jiang Yao’s chances of promotion as much as possible, Jiang Yan had overloaded herself, extracting over five hundred milliliters of blood.
After mixing it with Jiang Yao’s blood, it became easy to input blood from other knights, and Jiang Yao’s peculiar initial blood dependency issue had a proper solution.
The actual results were impressive; Jiang Yao was about to break through to the knight realm, which opened the eyes of the mounted brawny men, since it had only been ten days.
Jiang Yan’s naive style naturally garnered praise from many young students of exaggerated age, and Xia Ai and Xia Dong, who usually didn’t like to speak, had started to chat with Jiang Yan occasionally.
Only Zhao Peng, while looking at Jiang Yan, occasionally exhibited a bit of a different meaning in his gaze.
After lunch, having confirmed Jiang Yao was safe, Jiang Yan once again picked up a tote bag filled with change of clothes for both of them and left the Golden River Club. She planned to visit the W District Children’s Welfare Institute first to complete this week’s volunteer activity before heading home to rest.
……
2 PM, W District Children’s Welfare Institute.
Since the emergence of heroes Sha Yan and Gu Yao from the W District Children’s Welfare Institute, the welfare institute’s reputation had soared over the past month. Not only had many overdue financial funds rapidly arrived, but there were also rumors that the welfare institute’s rank might also be upgraded, so everyone was pleased.
Today, senior staff members including Mu Han, Han Bi, and Han Jie appeared in the administrative building of the welfare institute, and all levels of department heads had gathered early this weekend, indicating there was something important to finalize.
In the staff meeting room, military and civilian personnel sat on opposite sides of the conference table, and the atmosphere was very pleasant.
“The W District Children’s Welfare Institute is an advanced unit for military support at the provincial and municipal levels, and also serves as a demonstration unit for military-civilian counterpart assistance. According to the proposal from the leaders, we will organize all staff members and all children of the welfare institute to hold an autumn camp activity for the new school season, scheduled from September 5th to September 12th.”
“The location will be the Patriotic Education Base in H City of S Province; it’s only a two to three hours trip by high-speed train, quite convenient for round trips. At that time, we will also arrange for everyone to study and investigate in the surrounding areas. All expenses during this period will be borne by the military; we just need to see if the director has any other opinions?”
Han Jie flipped through the documents in front of her with a serious expression while smiling at the older man opposite her at the conference table.
H City of S Province, the place where Han Gaozu rose to power, the origin of the so-called Land of Abundance, studying and investigating is not just talk;… what else is there to consider?!
The old director nodded repeatedly, seemingly recalling something, and quickly turned to the elderly Jiang Chunhua sitting beside him, revealing an obviously flattering expression.
Director Jiang is the gold signboard of the W District Children’s Welfare Institute; in just over a month, she had garnered many honors. Although now she was retired, a single “no” from her could mean that even the official director might not be able to sway her.
After the announcement of Sha Yan and Gu Yao’s sacrifices, Jiang Chunhua’s health and mood had been poor, and her presence today was largely due to the military’s passionate invitation.
“Great… for the children to have the chance to go out, it’s a good thing; so thank you to the military leaders. I’m older now, so I won’t bother you.”
Elder Jiang was smiling gently but exuded a warm approachability, speaking neither fast nor slow. With her approval, all the heads of the welfare institute could finally relax.
After exchanging a glance with Han Bi, Han Jie closed the folder as it was Han Bi’s turn to speak.
The beautiful female officer smiled slightly, took a document from her briefcase, and handed it to Elder Jiang Chunhua: “Grandma Jiang, there’s actually another important matter leading us to invite you today, which is to hope for your return to action.”
“New recruits will soon join the force in September; headquarters hopes you can go to a few border areas to give talks. This is very meaningful for our military-civilian cooperative efforts, and we will arrange the specific itinerary. The theme of the speech will be on the growth experiences of comrades Sha Yan and Gu Yao, to let more new soldiers know about the heroic deeds…”
At this point, Han Bi was a bit nervous, unsure if Elder Jiang Chunhua would refuse due to the topic being too sorrowful.
“Great… these are all good kids protecting the homeland, that’s wonderful…”
Seconds later, Elder Jiang Chunhua took out a handkerchief to wipe her eyes, but the smile remained unchanged, and her response was as simple as ever: “Great… it’s really good for more people to remember these two kids…”
Both Han Jie and Han Bi let out a breath. It seemed that a crucial step in the activity planning had been resolved.
Interestingly, throughout the discussion, Mu Han, sitting on the other side of Han Jie, had been completely ignored like air.
……
Outside the meeting room, Han Bi assisted Elder Jiang Chunhua in chatting about everyday life, while Han Jie curiously observed the architectural layout of the welfare institute’s administrative building, and Mu Han was somewhat distracted.
“Mu Ge, what’s wrong with you today?”
Han Jie noticed Mu Han had been lost in thought since arriving at the welfare institute, as if she was preoccupied with something else.
“Your Han family’s influence is really significant; the action plan just submitted to the headquarters the day before yesterday has been approved today…”
“Captain Han’s plan is well-done, but it requires a significant number of personnel from various squads to replace here’s staff… you all continue chatting; I’ll take a walk first.”
The sound of the piano by the river played a few notes, while Meng De slowly walked toward the end of the staircase. Today, Meng Ge seemed to have some problems with the spacing and rhythm of his steps… watching the distant figure of the team leader of the Xuanjia team, Han Jie felt there was something slightly out of sync. As for the sensitive comment he made earlier, he didn’t dare express any opinions.
“Xiao Kong, the weather is nice today; let’s go walk outside with Grandma Jiang and watch the kids!”
Behind, Han Xiao’s voice called out, prompting Han Jie to turn back quickly.
……
On the small playground of the welfare institute, a black-haired girl in a pure white tracksuit was whistling with a smile, teaching a group of five- and six-year-old children to do radio calisthenics.
Even with the stretchy and loose-fitting tracksuit, it couldn’t conceal Jiang Yan’s slender and graceful body curves; stretching her arms, bending down, and puffing out her chest while drawing in her abdomen, every movement was precise and aesthetically pleasing.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in her peripheral vision. Jiang Yan slightly turned her head and noticed that familiar tall young man standing under an old tree not far from the playground, quietly watching her.
Jiang Yan raised one arm and waved lightly.
Meng De smiled slightly and walked over slowly.
“Wow, uncle, we want to shoot guns!”
The appearance of a young man naturally excited a group of little boys, instantly erasing all traces of the radio calisthenics as they flocked around Meng De.
“Call me brother!”
Jiang Yan chuckled, patting several little rascals on their heads.
“I didn’t bring guns today; I’ll show you how to punch instead.”
Meng De’s smile blossomed wider as he pulled off his necktie and unbuttoned his military uniform jacket. As he extended his hand, Jiang Yan was involuntarily caught off guard.
Stretching his legs and bending his knees, he performed blocking and striking moves.
With precision, power, and grace flowing through his movements, sometimes fierce and sometimes soft. Meng De’s balanced and well-built physique appeared even more heroic and handsome during this set of moves, naturally earning a round of applause from the group of little rascals.
Suddenly, a twinge of cramping pain shot through his abdomen, quickly spreading to his waist, then climbing along unfamiliar meridians to his back, bringing Meng De’s movements to an abrupt halt at a certain moment.
“Not feeling well?”
Jiang Yan immediately sensed something was off and quickly stepped forward, hesitating for a moment before gently placing her hand on Meng De’s back.
“It should be due to not warming up…”
Feeling the pain becoming more pronounced, Meng De frowned slightly, but his expression remained relatively calm.
“Then let’s take a break; please keep an eye on the kids while I go get some water.”
Without thinking too much, Jiang Yan turned and walked toward the playground. After taking a few steps, she froze. Because she spotted the person she had most wanted to see over the past few months: Grandma Jiang.
Han Jie and Han Xiao were accompanying Elder Jiang Chunhua for a walk, their attentive expressions resembling those of family members.
“You’re here to volunteer again today?”
Han Xiao also noticed Jiang Yan, leaving Elder Jiang Chunhua’s side to walk a few steps toward her. Turning her gaze, she indeed found Meng De, her eyes flickering with a hint of displeasure.
“Yes, the weather is nice today, so I brought the kids out to play.”
Jiang Yan paid no attention to the other person’s expression but stared intently at Elder Jiang Chunhua, who was about seven or eight meters away.
Grandma Jiang has aged again; is she still worried and saddened for me… Watching her full head of white hair, Jiang Yan felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.
“Don’t you remember?”
Seeing that the other party seemed distracted, Han Xiao muttered beside her.
“Oh, I recognize her… but I’ve only seen her a few times in the news; she is Elder Jiang, right? What a kind-looking grandmother…”
Jiang Yan quickly lowered her head, took a deep breath to avoid showing any emotions, and interestingly, you both were at this level of conversation without asking each other’s names, “you” became a form of address between you.
After speaking, Jiang Yan quickly wiped her eyes when the other person wasn’t paying attention and then took out her phone: “Can I take a photo with the elder?”
Han Xiao smiled and walked back to Elder Jiang Chunhua, muttering a few sentences before the elder turned to Jiang Yan with a warm smile.
Jiang Yan and Han Xiao stood with the elder, one on the left and one on the right, while Han Jie held Jiang Yan’s phone, framing the trio of women in the shot.
“Meng Ge has been coming here these weeks; I heard you know him?”
While handing the phone back, Han Jie casually struck up a conversation with Jiang Yan.
With no substantial ground for small talk, and with only politeness and caution, Jiang Yan’s cold temperament quickly made Han Jie realize he should withdraw from the conversation.
Han Xiao had left with Elder Jiang Chunhua somewhere. While Meng De and Jiang Yan continued to play with the children or quietly chat with each other.
“Interesting, Meng Ge seems to connect well with this type of woman… poor my third sister…”
After glancing at Meng De’s slightly awkward stature, Han Xiao shook his head with a bitter smile, took out her phone from her pocket, and walked behind a flowerbed.
“Third uncle, oh no… sir, Meng De’s body has shown signs… um, I can tell he’s just putting up a brave front.”
“Understood. I will fully participate in the operations in the western inspection area this time. I hope the new plan won’t fall through; otherwise, it would be quite the joke.”
After a two-minute simple communication, Han Jie hung up the phone, then wore a peculiar smile as she kept her gaze fixed on Meng De’s figure.
