Chapter 10: Stunning Inside Story

  The warm sunshine shines on this county town, without the sharpness of summer, the pride of autumn, or the laziness of spring. There is only a warmth that is full of tenderness and intimacy. Winter has come, can spring be far behind?

  Fang Xiaoqin walked onto the road, looking at Wu Xin beside her, and felt that this sunshine was really too good!

  When the two arrived at school, everyone was shocked! Classmates also heard about Fang Xiaoxin's "mysterious disappearance" and now saw her walking to school with Wu Xing, looking radiant and charming. They couldn't help but feel suspicious. Was this "mysterious disappearance" fake? But it didn't seem like it, otherwise why would her parents be so anxious to find Wu Xing? There was only one possibility: Wu Xing must have found her! Why could Wu Xing find her? No one knew, they just knew that the previously weak and incompetent Wu Xing had suddenly changed. He changed too fast, too surprisingly, and good luck always followed him. His brilliance in class became dazzling, he suddenly attracted everyone's attention, and he was really a bit magical!

  Huang Xiuying was overjoyed to see Wu Xin come to class, but when she saw Fang Xiaoqin's charming gaze fixed on Wu Xin behind him, she felt quite uncomfortable. After Wu Xin sat down beside her, Huang Xiuying softly asked, "You didn't show up all day and night yesterday, nothing happened, did it?"

  "Wu Xin said somewhat tiredly: 'Nothing! Fang Xiaoqin was kidnapped, I went to find her and brought her back! I'm very tired, so I rested at her place for a bit.'"

  "Kidnapped? What's going on?" Huang Xiuying was somewhat surprised.

  "That day she was walking to your house, and when she reached the intersection in front of the Municipal Hospital, she was knocked unconscious and taken away. She's been gone for several days now. I went and brought her back." Wu Xin said calmly.

  "Go home with me? Are you going to save him? Is he injured?" Huang Xiuying became anxious, and carefully looked Wu Xin up and down.

  "Wu Xing, how could he get hurt! With so many people around, he's not afraid of anything, let alone just over eighty people!" Fang Xiaoqin said with a hint of jealousy, noticing Huang Xiuying's concerned gaze.

  Huang Xiuying was shocked at once, more than 80 people, how could they let him go? It can only be a fierce battle, he didn't get hurt, they must... Huang Xiuying thought of the newspaper this morning. "Ah!" Huang Xiuying exclaimed, could it be that he did it? Her eyes were fixed on Wu Xin, not daring to believe.

  The classmates in the class were already stunned by the performance of these two girls, especially Fang Xiaoxin's words. Only more than 80 people! How can this be believed? They couldn't help but look at Wu Xin with strange eyes, feeling unbelievable! Immediately, several classmates surrounded them, chattering and asking questions.

  Wu Xin let out a wry smile, making up a story to explain himself while giving Fang Xiaoqin a stern glare. Fang Xiaoqin saw this and knew she was in trouble, hanging her head in shame as she said "Wu Xinge! I'm sorry...I..." Her eyes were already welling up with tears, her cheeks were starting to flush red, and her forehead was even beginning to sweat slightly.

  Wu Xin couldn't bear it, his gaze softened a lot, and he first explained to the surrounding classmates: "You heard wrong, don't misunderstand, hurry back to your seats... The teacher is coming!" After the classmates returned to their own seats, he whispered to Xiao Qin: "Don't think wildly! Study hard!"

  "Hmm!" Fang Xiaoqin immediately burst out laughing and said.

  Wu Xin silently accepted Huang Xiuying's kick, not daring to make a sound. Looking at Huang Xiuying's eyes filled with resentment, Wu Xin smiled lightly and whispered in her ear: "Good Xiuying! Your legs are getting stronger, we must check them out when we have time!" Huang Xiuying heard this, her face turned red with anger, and she said: "Fine! Today, I'll see how you explain yourself to me!" Wu Xin couldn't help but furrow his brow.

  Fang Xiaoxin saw him and was very unhappy. She said: "Wu Xing, brother! How about I invite you to lunch this afternoon?"

  Wu Xin listened and thought of last time's matter, couldn't bear to refuse, so said: "Alright! But don't invite me, I'll invite you instead, how about that?"

  Fang Xiaoqin listened and felt extremely pleased, laughing as she spoke: "No need! We can just go home to eat. I already talked to mom this morning. You know? My mom's cooking is the best, but she won't easily cook, usually it's dad who cooks. Since mom agreed, there will definitely be delicious food at noon!"

  Everyone sees "Erl Mei" being coy and charming to Wu Xin, sometimes laughing and smiling, and also being extremely clever. It's truly enviable and jealous. But who would have known that Wu Xin had already started worrying in her heart? She placated one person, but another became unhappy; she comforted another, but this one began to make trouble again. Just then, she received a kick from a powdered leg.

  Wu Xin had a bitter expression, thinking that the sentence "Ma Pi" was truly disgusting, and feared that he would have to endure even more in the future. He could only ignore everyone, lower his head and study quietly.

  At noon, Wu Xin went to Fang Xiaoqin's home for lunch. Fang's mother had indeed prepared a big table of dishes. This made Wu Xin feel both grateful and somewhat embarrassed, not daring to say anything wrong or make any incorrect moves, as Fang was treating him like a honored guest. Fang Xiaoqin, on the other hand, was very enthusiastic, constantly putting food into Wu Xin's bowl, making it impossible for him to refuse, and he ended up eating a big meal. In the end, when he really couldn't eat anymore, there were still many dishes piled up in his bowl.

  Wu Xin bitterly smiled and said: "Xiao Qin! I really can't eat anymore, I'm too full!"

  Fang Xiaoqin's face turned red as she said, "Sorry about that, I really like watching you eat, so I kept serving you dishes, hehe!"

  Wu Xin smiled and said: "Alright, I'm going back too. Thank you for the delicious lunch, it was really good! Look at me, I ate too much!"

  Fang Xiaoqin said: "Wu Xing brother, you don't have to go back. Anyway, there's class in the afternoon, why not rest at my place and then go straight to class!"?

  "Heh heh, no more, I haven't seen my mom for two days, I'm afraid she's worried, so I'll go take a look!" After saying that, he left.

  Fang's mom, Fang's dad and Fang Xiaoqin all came out to see him off. Fang Xiaoqin even saw him off for a long time, until they were hundreds of meters away before Wu Xin coaxed her into reluctantly returning home. Only then did Wu Xin feel comfortable and at ease! The previously solemn and oppressive atmosphere had finally dissipated.

  Returning home and taking a look, Wu Xin was greatly shocked, because Huang Xiuying was having dinner with his mother.

  Wu Xin's mother scolded, "You little brat, you've been gone for almost two days! If it weren't for your classmate accompanying me and telling me, I would have worried to death! What are you staring at? Come over and eat quickly!"

  "Wu Xin awkwardly said: "Mom! I'm already full! You guys eat!" and sat down beside them."

  "Wu Xin's mom took a look at Wu Xin and said to Huang Xiuying: "Xiuying! Look at our Xin'er, he's so silly. If only he had half of your intelligence, that would be great! You have to come over more often from now on! If you don't come, I'll think it's strange! And if Xin'er is naughty and disobedient in any way, tell me about it, and I'll deal with him. If he dares to bully you, just watch me not beat him to death!"

  Huang Xiuying listened and glanced at Wu Xin, saying: "Aunt! Which cat doesn't get dirty? He may be mischievous and disobedient usually, but his grades are not bad either. You don't have to be so particular about it. If he really bullies me, I'll definitely tell you." She said this while making a weird face at Wu Xin, especially when she said "Which cat doesn't get dirty?", she looked at Wu Xin with a smug expression.

  She said this to comfort Wu's mother, but in fact she scolded Wu Xing until he was speechless. Wu Xing was so angry that he couldn't say a word, and could only stand there with a foolish smile on his face.

  Madam Wu saw him and sighed, shaking her head: "You must remember what I said earlier, otherwise don't blame me for being impolite!" After finishing speaking, she didn't pay attention to Wu Xin, but instead chatted with Huang Xiuying about Wu Xin's childhood "embarrassing stories", making Huang Xiuying laugh uncontrollably. While laughing, Huang Xiuying kept giving Wu Xin flirtatious glances, making his heart flutter and his passion burn like fire, yet he didn't dare to express it openly.

  After the two finished eating, it was almost time. Wu's mother cleaned up and went to rest in the house, leaving Wu Xin to entertain Huang Xiuying. Wu Xin "invited" Huang Xiuying to his room, closed the door, and suddenly hugged her tightly, laughing: "Where are you going to run today?"

  Huang Xiuying's face turned slightly red as she smiled and said: "If you bully me again, I'll call Auntie, let's see how she deals with you!"

  Wu Xin didn't dare make another move and tentatively asked: "Do you really want to call?"

  Huang Xiuying smiled and nodded, but before she could say anything, her small mouth was covered.

  Wu Xin's tongue immediately extended to his own teeth, and Huang Xiuying felt a flush of shame. As soon as her teeth opened, the other person's tongue took advantage of the opportunity to drill in. The two began to kiss wildly, until Huang Xiuying couldn't breathe. Wu Xin saw that Huang Xiuying had already turned bright red from suffocation, so he withdrew his tongue and begged for mercy: "Good Xiuying!"

  Yingying was tormented by him and her mind was still reeling, she couldn't say a word.

  Wu Xin felt a bit tired, and seeing that Yingying was not quite adapting, he said: "Okay Yingying! You rest for a while, I'll call you later, then we can go to school together, okay?"

  Huang Xiuying could only nod lightly and then closed her eyes.

  In the evening, Wu Xin and Huang Xiuying arrived at the Huang's home together.

  Huang Shu Lang was also there and saw the two of them, saying: "Why haven't I seen you these past few days?"

  Wu Xin lightly told Fang Xiaoqin's story again, omitting some troublesome details.

  Huang Shu Lang also found it strange after listening, knowing that there was more to it, and asked: "What's your take on this matter?"

  Wu Xin didn't answer and instead asked: "Does Uncle Huang know how he got cancer?"?

  "How am I supposed to know?" Huang Shu Lang's face was full of confusion.

  Wu Xin glanced at Huang Xiuying and said: "The key lies in that piece of jade, the one you like the most!"

  "How is it possible! How can that be?! That piece of jade! Isn't it with Yingying now?"

  "Huang Xiuying exclaimed: "Ah! How could I have forgotten this?! Dad, Wu Xin told me about it before. But at the time, I didn't want to disturb you, so I didn't say anything. Later on, I gradually forgot about it. That piece of jade is fake! There's radioactive material inside, that's why you got cancer! Wu Xin also inferred from this that you had gotten cancer!"

  Huang Shu Lang's face turned pale, sweat dripping from his forehead as he muttered: "How is this possible? How can it be like this?"

  "Yingying! Who gave that jade to your dad?" Wu Xin asked quietly, seeing Huang Shu's shocked and pale face.

  "That was a gift from an uncle of mine. I saw him many times when I was young, but it's been a long time since I last saw him!" Yinyin said softly.

  The three of them didn't speak for a long time. Huang Shu Rang somewhat dejectedly said softly, "Wu Xin! Can you be certain that piece of jade is fake?"

  "Hmm! That piece of jade is not entirely fake, actually. It's made by combining two real pieces of jade. The front side we're looking at is a genuine artifact from the mouth of a skeleton from an ancient tomb, dating back to the early period of the Liangzhu culture in the Neolithic era. Although it's slightly rougher than the later products, there are very few of these discovered now, making them even more valuable. Moreover, after being left in the corpse's mouth for so long, the jade has absorbed the decaying aura of the body, also known as 'yin energy', which I can sense. On the other hand, the back side is a different piece of jade, with similar color and quality, but it's a modern product, feeling very 'hollow' inside, without any yin energy! The two pieces of jade are merged into one, but I'm not quite sure how they were combined. However, there's radioactive material embedded in the middle of the tip, which activates the jade, so even with just a little bit of light on the outside, it will absorb the light and cause the surrounding materials to emit red light." Wu Xin explained calmly.

  "So you think someone is trying to frame me!" Huang Shu Rang said. Wu Xin nodded.

  "Do you know who gave me this jade?" Huang Shu asked.

  "Isn't that Uncle Liu? I've seen him many times!" Huang Xiuying asked in puzzlement.

  "Yingying, you're wrong! The person who really gave me the jade is someone you've never met!" Huang Shu Rang cleared his throat and continued: "When I was young, my family was very poor and couldn't afford to send me to school. But I wasn't willing to give up! I wanted to go out and earn money to support myself in school. So one day, I and another partner from the same village went out to work together. I was only 7 years old at the time, and he was a year older than me, named Kong Wu, so I called him Big Brother Wu. The two of us arrived in the county town, but because we were too young and too thin, after several days, we still couldn't find work, and the money we brought with us was all spent. We were cold and hungry, so we had to huddle together for warmth. Later, Kong Wu said why don't we just rob someone, it's unbearable. So I followed Kong Wu around, looking left and right, but didn't find a good target. When we arrived at the outskirts of the county town, we saw three little boys who were as poor as us, wearing tattered clothes, staring greedily at a small shop. The shop was very small, only selling snacks and daily necessities, and business wasn't very good. At that time, it was already late at night, and there were few pedestrians. We saw them, and they saw us too. Then they beckoned to us, and we went over. Then we discussed working together!"

  Huang Shu Lang spoke up to this point, paused for a moment and said to Wu Xin and Huang Xiu Ying: "At that time it was really very cruel! When people are cold and evil, they feel like their body is not their own. So at that time I only knew to follow Kong Wu, maybe there would be something to eat, maybe I could sleep well, nothing else mattered."

  Then we took action, two people watched on the side of the road, and three people went in to take action. I was too young, so I was sent to watch outside. Kong Wu and the other two men went in to rob. We succeeded! The three of them each brought out a lot of things and a lot of money. Then we five ran to a small forest on the outskirts to divide the spoils. As we were dividing, Kong Wu said: "Why don't we five become sworn brothers? If there's trouble, we'll face it together; if there's fortune, we'll share it." The three of them thought for a moment and agreed. So the five of us became sworn brothers. I was the youngest, ranked fifth, and Kong Wu was ranked second. The oldest was called Xiao Fei, so we called him Big Brother Xiao.

  Huang Xiuying didn't expect that her father would have such a complicated story, and he even used to be a robber. Her eyes widened as she stared at Huang Shurong: "Dad! Is this true? Didn't Mom always say you were rich when you were young?"

  "Ah, yes! Dad indeed has a not-so-glorious history. I didn't want to bring it up originally, but I'm worried about you all. This not-so-glorious history might affect our current lives, so that's why I mentioned it. Don't rush into anything just yet, listen to me finish."

  "So the five of us went to find work together, and if we couldn't find any, we would go rob some! Nothing really happened though. Gradually, I realized that every time we took action, it was always me and another boy about my size who stayed outside as lookouts, while only the other three actually went in. So gradually, our relationship became especially good. That boy also liked reading books just like me. We made a pact that when we had money, we would read together and see who was more capable! The boy's name was Jiang Tao!"

  "A year later, Jiang Tao and I brought some money back to our hometown to study. From then on, we lost contact! But Kong Wu was very good to me, he would come back several times a year, every time he would find me and give me a large sum of money to read books. I was very grateful to him, he didn't say much, just said: 'This money isn't mine, it's what you should have gotten, don't let others take advantage of you. Studying is great, actually I envy you, you're my only brother, remember to make a name for yourself and me too.' So I worked even harder because of his words. By the fourth year, he gave me over 100,000 yuan at once. You know how valuable money was back then, pork was just over a dollar per pound, and we called the richest families 'ten thousand yuan households', but I got so much in one go. So my family suddenly became wealthy. Not only that, he also bought many books for me from other places, he traveled to many places, and every time he would bring back local books and specialties for me. The number of books at home kept increasing."

  "So from that year on, my family became wealthy and your mother was also a book lover, so she often came to my house to read books."

  Huang Shu said with a light smile, and I fell into deep thought. Then, as if muttering to myself, I said: "Years later, I never saw him again! I don't know if he's still in this world... With this money and books, I became even more determined, then went to university, and finally graduated at the age of 26 to teach at a university. From then on, I devoted myself to teaching, not caring about anything else, and taught for over a decade! At the age of 42, I was commended by the provincial leaders for writing many things and receiving numerous awards. On the day of the commendation ceremony, I met someone, and we were both shocked!

  Huang Shu finished speaking, his face turned somewhat pale, his body trembling, and he took a slight rest.

  Wu Xin heard something unusual and said: "Could it be that Uncle met an old friend?" Huang Shu Lang nodded.

  "And it should be Jiang Tao!" Wu Xin asked.

  "Not bad! It's really him, although it's been so many years, I still recognized him at a glance. And he changed his name..."

  "His surname is Jiang, a high-ranking official in the province, Jiang... Ah! Could it be him!?..." Wu Xin exclaimed.

  Huang Shu's pale face slightly improved as he said: "You're very clever, it's indeed him, Jiang Zuoming!"

  Huang Xiuying was also shocked at this moment: "The Provincial Party Secretary Jiang Zuoming is actually Jiang Tao! It's unbelievable! Too surprising!"

  "Yes! I was also very surprised at the time. He just smiled slightly and said, 'I really didn't expect it! Huang Shu Lang is actually you!' Actually, I had changed my name too! When I was a kid, I was called Huang Yan, but later when I went to school, I started calling myself Huang Shu Lang. So neither of us expected this. During the meeting, I kept thinking about what I should do next. Later after the meeting, he found me and whispered, 'Teaching at university is not good, why don't you go teach in a basic place instead? Make more contributions to the country!' I understood his meaning, so I said I wanted to go back to my hometown's small town to teach. He looked at me with a smile and kept saying it was okay. We then parted ways!"

  Huang Xiuying didn't understand what was going on and asked, "Dad, why did you have to leave your good teaching job at the university to come teach in a small town? Can teaching in a small town really make more contributions to the country?"

  Wu Xin looked at Huang Shu and said, "Yingying! Don't you understand? If you were the provincial party secretary and someone knew about your unsavory past, what would you do?"

  Huang Xiuying suddenly realized: "I know! Is this similar to the calabash monk in Dream of Red Mansions?"

  "You finally understand a little bit!" Huang Shu Lang said: "Later, on my 43rd birthday, which was 7 years ago, that Uncle Liu sent over the jade and said it was Jiang Zuo Ming's intention. I accepted it, thinking he still had some lingering feelings and wanted to compensate me a bit, but I didn't expect it to be like this." Huang Shu Lang sighed: "Your mom doesn't even know about this matter, I don't want her to worry!"

  "Didn't your mom ask you when you suddenly transferred from university to teach at a junior high school?" Huang Xiuying asked lightly.

  "No! Your mother is a very good woman! At that time, she just lightly said 'Have you decided?' and didn't ask anything else!" Huang Shu Rang said.

  Wu Xin sank into deep thought for a long time, then suddenly said: "Actually, I think Auntie already knows something! Moreover, when you got cancer, Auntie also knew about it early on. She just didn't say anything!"

  Huang Shu Lang listened and looked at Wu Xin: "Really? Why didn't I know?"

  "It's hard for those in power to know!" Wu Xin said lightly.

  "Not bad! I actually knew it all along!" Huang's mother suddenly walked in from outside, her eyes filled with tears, and said softly: "I think you must have your reasons for doing this! I believe you. And that so-called 'Liu Bo' is actually the third of the five brothers, right?"

  Huang Shu Lang did not expect his wife to understand everything, and calmly said: "I didn't want you to know either, I was worried about you! Didn't you just say you were going to a classmate's house? How come you're back again?"

  Mom Huang smiled and said: "It's just that I heard you tell a story, no need to be so petty, right? My classmate had something going on, so I only sat for a bit before coming back."

  "Now you all know, we five brothers, the eldest is Xiao Fei, the second is Kong Wu, the third is Liu Ze Lin, the fourth is Jiang Zuo Ming, and I am the fifth!"

  Wu Xin thought for a moment and suddenly said: "Oh no! You might be in trouble soon!"

  Huang Shu Lang said, "I think so too! Kong Wu must be dead, or else he would have come back to see me. How did he die? He was still so young! So it must be one of the five of us who is behind this. Who is it? Jiang Zuo Ming has the possibility, but we can't rule out the others either. So I don't know anything and am at a disadvantage. That's also why I'm telling you this story!" Huang Shu Lang looked at Wu Xin with a very serious expression and continued, "Wu Xin! Can you promise me to take good care of Yingying?"

  Wu Xin listened and knew it was a serious matter, so he didn't dare to be careless. He said: "I'm the only one who can do it, I'll definitely succeed!"

  Huang Xiuying's face turned red with anger and she said: "What are you doing? Treating me like a plaything? I won't listen to you!"

  "Huang Shu said: "Yingying! Your mom and I are of the same age, we're not afraid of anything, just worried about you. Don't be naughty anymore, listen to Wu Xin's words from now on."

  Huang Xiuying was taken aback and said: "I'm afraid of him, what if he bullies me?"

  Several people burst out laughing.

  Chapter 10