Chapter 76: Seeking Intoxication
The snow-white and glaring shadowless lamp filled the entire sterile operating room with a pale and cruel atmosphere. Lying on the operating table, Xia Yan quietly awaited the judgment of his fate.
Before the bone marrow transplant, there was a week-long chemotherapy to clear the marrow. No matter how strong Xia Yan was, for a twelve-year-old boy, it was a grueling nightmare that exhausted both body and mind.
Many children in the orphanage were abandoned due to some regrets from birth. Unfortunately, Xia Yan, who appeared healthy on the surface, was diagnosed with leukemia after the elementary school graduation exams, with bone marrow matching and transplantation being the only effective treatment method.
Perhaps it was the unexplainable coincidences thrown by fate: Xia Yan’s bone marrow match turned out to be Gu Yao, a boy just nine years old, an orphan abandoned by his biological parents due to congenital cleft lip and finger fusion.
Xia Yan was probably the only one who wouldn’t mock Gu Yao for the visible scars from his cleft lip correction surgery. From then on, Gu Yao became Xia Yan’s little sidekick, just like a younger brother.
But this time, it was Gu Yao who gifted Xia Yan a new life, a final return for Xia Yan’s kindness and friendship.
The doctor said that if the surgery was successful, Xia Yan could return to normal life in about a month, and afterwards, his blood type would be the same as Gu Yao’s.
At that time, they would probably truly be like brothers, right?
Rumor had it that to cover the costs of this operation, the entire orphanage’s meal standards had been lowered. The director, Granny Jiang, even started selling goods on the street to alleviate financial pressure.
The effects of the anesthetic quietly took hold, and Xia Yan’s consciousness fell into silence without any resistance.
…
October 16, Wednesday, dusk.
Still in that familiar staff break room, various medical devices were beautifully arranged all around. On the bed, Jiang Yao lay in a sleep that resembled deep hibernation, her face as pale as paper.
It had been three days, and Jiang Yao showed no signs of waking up. According to Xiao Dong, her wounds had roughly healed about one-third, and deep physiological self-repair was still ongoing. It would probably take at least another week before the visible recovery of the missing part of her chest and abdomen could be seen.
Xiao Ai and Xiao Ling were unwinding the bandages from Jiang Yao’s body, cleansing wounds that others could hardly bear to look at. Various expensive medications and nutrients were flowing through the IV into the fragile and weakened body of the blond girl.
Before the hospital bed, Jiang Yan hung her head low, her face ashen as she dared not glance at the treatment process of the injuries.
From time to time, Xiao Ai and Xiao Ling would sneak a look back at Jiang Yan.
The girl on the bed truly invoked their sympathy, while Jiang Yan beside the bed elicited deep fear amidst that sympathy.
Such a terrifying blood explosion injury would be a piece of cake for someone like Wan Yue, who was almost a viscount. Yet it was hard to imagine this was inflicted by Jiang Yan, who had just been promoted to a lower-level knight.
Even without Zhao Peng’s gag order, Xiao Ai and Xiao Ling probably wouldn’t have dared to inquire or spread rumors.
“This is a process of seeking the truth and understanding each other, but it is absolutely not your fault.”
Wan Yue entered, and Xiao Ai and Xiao Ling exchanged a glance before quickly exiting.
Although both Xiao Ai and Xiao Ling were Wan Yue’s trusted aides, as more and more horrifying events unfolded involving the Jiang sisters, they had become too afraid to listen in.
Once the door behind her quietly closed, Wan Yue gently placed her hand on Jiang Yan’s shoulder, her words laden with guilt: “I didn’t expect you could use Blood Explosion. I must have underestimated many things.”
“Wan Jie, what kind of monster am I and Xiao Yao… Why can I use Blood Explosion? Isn’t that an ability only barons possess?”
Jiang Yan raised her head and looked at the hyacinth leader before her with a pained expression, her eyes filled with yearning.
“I also do not know. We are all seeking answers. Still, the same saying applies: to gain true freedom, you must first know who you really are. Consider this the price you must pay.”
Wan Yue gently shook her head and sighed deeply: “The Engel family, the Hermit Alliance, the Fujiwara family in Japan, and possibly even the royal family, are all lurking in the shadows, watching you. I don’t know if they are waiting for some result as well.”
“Wan Jie, my only way out now is to continue growing, right? Until they fear me…”
Jiang Yan touched the face of the girl on the bed, a hint of coldness surfacing in her eyes.
“Perhaps. I cannot find a more correct direction than this. The hyacinth will eventually become everyone’s target.”
Wan Yue took out a cigarette but, looking at the debridement being carried out on the bed, put it back in her pocket and smiled gently at Jiang Yan: “You haven’t slept in days. Go home and take a good rest; no need to work. This is left to Xiao Dong. She is a clinical surgery doctorate holder, and don’t underestimate a knight’s bodily recovery capabilities.”
…
It was unclear when it happened, but Jiang Yan was left alone in the room, sitting dumbly at the edge of the bed, staring blankly at Jiang Yao’s pale face.
“Jie, you should rest. I will keep an eye on things. You’ve not slept for two days and nights…”
A lower-level maid who rarely interacted with Jiang Yan walked in, holding a lunchbox, cautiously persuading her: “You’ve also gotten your period recently. If you keep tormenting yourself like this, you’ll have problems.”
“Thank you, please take care of Xiao Yao for me. I’ll go lie down for a bit.”
After glancing at the lunchbox in the maid’s hands, Jiang Yan forced a smile, then got up and exited the room, finally locking herself in a resting place deep in the employee passage.
Locking the door tightly and surveying the surroundings, Jiang Yan suddenly grabbed a wooden stool and smashed it brutally against the wooden stairs of the double bed.
The powerful impact caused the stool and wooden stairs to splinter simultaneously. With another push, the bed collapsed instantly.
Every metallic, plastic, glass, and wooden item in the room became a victim of Jiang Yan’s inner turmoil, leaving everything unrecognizable within minutes. It wasn’t until her palms were oozing blood that the girl weakly knelt on the floor.
Turning her head, she noticed that her phone had somehow slipped out of her jeans pocket and fallen to the floor, the screen shattered.
Slowly picking up the phone, she tore off the broken screen protector, accidentally touching the messages icon, revealing an unread message from a month ago.
The sender was Meng Huai: “I’ve gone to the capital, goodbye.”
Perhaps due to his quirky personal lifestyle, Meng Huai had never used social media, which led to both of them exchanging phone numbers during their acquaintance yet never having called each other even once.
Meng Huai was in the third stage, forcibly sent to the capital headquarters for treatment by higher-ups… Haha, he’s still only in acute liver failure, but as time passes, more organs will also begin to fail. Can he endure this?
No matter how tough his exterior, how strong his will, or how cold his disposition, his fate was even more fragile than Xiao Yao’s.
Jiang Yan felt her head pounding, her mind ignited with a surge of negative emotions, almost uncontrollably wanting to smash her phone.
Her raised hand paused in mid-air for several seconds before she ultimately restrained her inner fury. Jiang Yan brought the phone back to her face and opened the message once more, staring blankly.
Moments later, she quickly typed: “Safe travels, take care of yourself, and wish for a speedy recovery.”
After hesitating for a long while, Jiang Yan pressed the send button and suddenly let out a dry, self-deprecating chuckle.
Jiang Yan understood Meng Huai’s personality; it was likely that even in a month or two, he wouldn’t see this message. Because she, too, was replying now, a month after he sent his previous message, meaning they were equally unresponsible.
This was the absurdity between two ridiculous acquaintances, where a seemingly reachable reality of greetings existed on opposite sides of the mirror, separated as if by light-years.
…
Dark Arrow Western Inspection Area, Xuanyan Team Base.
Despite having been granted an indefinite leave of absence and special autonomy by Dark Arrow headquarters, Meng Huai still returned to C City, retreating to the personal break room of the base.
The Xuanyan team had long since ceased combat readiness per orders from their superiors, shifting to routine training. Although they remained orderly, the former tension was absent.
With day-by-day internal audits underway, all team personnel fell into a strange anxiety. Now, this unease grew even more puzzling with Meng Huai’s sudden return.
Meng Huai’s name did not appear on the internal audit list, yet no one knew what Meng Huai’s current position was.
There were rumors of internal transfers, retirement, and even forced discharge. But whatever the scenario, none clarified what Meng Huai should be doing, could do, and mustn’t do.
On the wall of the captain’s break room, several pieces of paper were posted, detailing information from the Fujiwara family to the Zhong’s Pharmaceutical Group, from the Hekai Consortium to Hekai Miyako, and finally to Hekai Seika, each paper recorded Meng Huai’s collected information to date, more or less.
Meng Huai himself didn’t know how many times he had seen this information since returning to the base, how many peculiar associations had unfolded, and how much inspiration he had gained.
From a drawer, he retrieved a document personally issued by the headquarters chief, his eyes slowly scanning the extremely oppressive inquiries on it.
“Meng Huai, are you absolutely loyal to our country and people? Will you bear endless grievances and discrimination, even sacrificing your life without hesitation? Will you give up this world, abandon everyone you love and who loves you, and be fine with it?”
After reading it again, three figures appeared simultaneously in Meng Huai’s mind: one was his father Zhong Hai, one his mother Meng Xiang, and the last was a blurry but still a woman.
Taking a deep breath, Meng Huai picked up his phone, preparing to dial the special number at the bottom of the document.
“Eh?”
Meng Huai noticed the red circle with the number “1” on the messages icon of his phone, indicating new content.
Jiang Yan: “Safe travels, take care of yourself, and wish for a speedy recovery.”
Glancing at the message from Jiang Yan, which was a month late, Meng Huai’s lips curled into a slight smile. After thinking for several seconds, he slowly typed: “I’m fine, back in C City.”
His emotions seemed to be influenced by the message, and the impulse to dial the mysterious phone number was temporarily suppressed. Meng Huai returned the secret document to the drawer, planning to grab a bite at the base cafeteria.
Ding-dong! Another new message arrived.
Jiang Yan: “Come out for a drink, Yushui Street, at the place I used to run.”
Meng Huai was taken aback, glancing at the time. This reply came merely a minute after his, almost too quick to believe.
Without further deliberation, he stood up, grabbed his military uniform hanging on the coat rack, but seconds later loosened his grip, opting for casual clothes instead.
…
Autumn night, cool and pleasant.
At the old street corner from months ago, the atmosphere was still lively, with small eateries, hair salons, and auto repair shops, all bustling with business.
When Meng Huai arrived at the old street corner, he had yet to catch sight of Jiang Yan.
Without hesitation, he chose the shop where he and Jiang Yan first met. The sign still read “Cold Drink Cup,” but the owner had changed.
Meng Huai removed his suit jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair, sitting up straight at a small outdoor table, not glancing away. His stern demeanor momentarily made the staff hesitant to serve him.
Minutes later, from the end of the street, friendly greetings from several shop owners reached him.
“Ha ha, it’s Xiao Jiang! It’s been four months, hasn’t it?”
“Yo, Xiao Jiang, you look even prettier after a few months. Come by to check on my hair salon when you have time!”
The big brother from the auto repair shop and the sister from the hair salon warmly greeted the approaching girl, to which she smiled and nodded repeatedly.
Jiang Yan wore a snow-white short-sleeve shirt paired with a dark green suspender skirt, a college-style bow tie at the collar, her long hair straight back, a red headband adorning her head, white sneakers on her feet, and a simple canvas bag slung over her shoulder, appearing like a university student returning home.
Spotting the tall figure of Meng Huai, she walked straight over, unbuckled her shoulder bag, and sat down opposite him.
“I haven’t eaten, how about you?”
Jiang Yan didn’t look much at his face but rather lowered her head to pick up the menu and the order sheet.
“Same, you order.”
Meng Huai gazed at the girl’s outfit across the table, feeling a wave of relaxation wash over him, even managing to smile slightly.
“I shouldn’t have sent you a message… We agreed not to meet.”
Jiang Yan, focused on filling out the order sheet, suddenly said in a low voice: “But if I want to drink, I can only find you.”
“Hmm… I’m good with alcohol,” Meng Huai nodded gently.
“You came out to drink alone. Where’s your sister?” Meng Huai, unsure of what to say, tried to find an easy topic: “Is she still dating my brother?”
Jiang Yan paused, and tears began to flow uncontrollably. As she continued to select dishes, she hurriedly reached to wipe her face, but the more she wiped, the wetter it got.
A stack of tissue was extended in front of her, and as Jiang Yan slowly looked up, her tear-streaked face stared blankly at Meng Huai.
“If Zhong Jing dares to misbehave, I’ll break his legs!”
Meng Huai frowned, seeming to gather an understanding from the streaks of tears on Jiang Yan’s face, his expression instantly darkening.
“It’s not what you think… Let’s drink, white spirit, beer, I’ve ordered it all.”
Jiang Yan didn’t reach for the tissues, just used the back of her hand to wipe her face one last time and then raised her hand to signal the shop owner.
The food had a nice flavor, spicy and fragrant, a true taste of C City, perfect for drinking. Meng Huai and Jiang Yan each had a bottle of white spirit, drinking in silence, merely clinking their bottles together.
Couple? The two dim-witted people clinking bottles and downing spirits didn’t resemble a warm date at all.
Siblings? Even less so; no real siblings would sit there silently necking spirits like that, would they?
Surrounding diners stared at the dashing youth and the tall, beautiful girl with bewildered expressions, as if they had witnessed something strange.
“I’m witnessing your alcohol tolerance for the first time; it’s not worse than mine, but it shows on your face.”
Within ten minutes, both had emptied the white spirit bottle in front of them, Meng Huai’s face was fine, merely tipsy, but Jiang Yan had flushed red, her previous cool demeanor completely hidden.
“I used to drink like this only when I made mistakes.”
Meng Huai set down his empty bottle, murmuring: “Now that I think about it, punishing myself with alcohol seems too hypocritical, doesn’t it?”
Jiang Yan froze, slightly bowed, gently rubbing her aching lower abdomen during her special period.
“Are you uncomfortable? Do you want to drink…?” Meng Huai expressed some concern.
“Owner, another bottle!”
Jiang Yan immediately did not want to say any more, turning to raise her hand toward the inside of the shop again.
A minute later, Jiang Yan lifted a new bottle of white spirit, offered a slight salute to Meng Huai, and starting drinking nonchalantly.
Meng Huai picked up some peanuts, confusion deepening in his eyes, yet he didn’t stop her, instead opening a beer and taking small sips.
At the drinking table, one always needed to maintain clarity; this was Meng Huai’s drinking principle.
Aside from Zhao Fu team leader and Xia Yan, or occasionally drinking alone to drown sorrows, Meng Huai rarely joined others in social drinking over the years.
“Owner…”
A few minutes later, Jiang Yan signaled again.
“Owner, I’ll settle the bill. Get me a bottle of sour plum juice.”
Meng Huai frowned deeply, directly reaching to stop the girl’s arm, considering how to help her with sobering up.
“Just eat your food; why do you care about me… Meng Huai, aren’t you good with alcohol? Why aren’t you drinking?”
Jiang Yan’s upper body was starting to sway slightly; the effects of alcohol were beginning to show.
Her cheeks and ears were reddened; her big eyes were teary, her luscious red lips slightly pulling at her facial muscles, twisting into an awkward, stiff smile.
“You’ve had too much to drink, or you’re on an empty stomach.”
Meng Huai pulled his chair over beside Jiang Yan, blocking her hand trying to reach for the beer bottle, while also bringing the sour plum juice to her lips: “Drink some sour plum juice; it can ease the effects.”
The world before her was chaotic, various things, near and far, were distorting in her swaying vision, even Meng Huai before her seemed to morph into a distorted figure as if caught in a funhouse mirror.
Jiang Yan tilted her head to look at Meng Huai, glancing at the sour plum juice in his hand; the sparkle in her eyes gradually dulled, then she suddenly bent over, holding her chest and abdomen.
Meng Huai reacted swiftly, quickly pushing aside his chair to support Jiang Yan’s body, preventing her forehead from crashing onto the dining table.
A large volume of pale vomit, smelling heavily of alcohol, erupted, splattering all over Meng Huai’s shirt, the violent retching drawing the gazes of surrounding diners, who cast mocking looks their way.
Just the right angle, all vomit was met directly by Meng Huai’s body, not a drop falling on Jiang Yan.
“My stomach hurts… Meng Team… I’m a monster.”
After vomiting, Jiang Yan held her abdomen, mumbling incoherently, her whole body weakly leaned back against the chair, curling up.
“Could you please get me a T-shirt from that shop, any price will do.”
Meng Huai spoke to the shop owner rushing over to clean up the mess while carefully adjusting Jiang Yan’s position, then removing his wine-stained shirt and tie, revealing powerful, well-defined muscles that drew glances from nearby women.
Minutes later, wearing an ill-matched T-shirt, Meng Huai hailed a taxi, hoisting Jiang Yan inside. After a moment’s hesitation, he gave the driver the address of Jinyu Club.
She called me Meng Team? Hmm, I should have heard that at the First People’s Hospital when Tao Qiao Er called me that…
It seems I’ve encountered a similar situation with Xia Yan, where he got drunk and I had to carry him back to the base like a dead pig, after which he never dared challenge my drinking again.
The taxi sped through the sparkling night, and in the front passenger seat, Meng Huai stole glances at Jiang Yan sprawled in the back, a rare bitter smile appearing on his face.
