Chapter Eighteen: Silent Moistening

  From the moment he received the war report, Tan Xiao changed.

  Afraid of exposing his emotional tendencies, he didn't dare to behave differently from usual, so he appeared in the office on time every day, watched training sessions on time and participated in training, but he didn't know that it was this kind of rigid behavior that made people feel different from him: He lost his usual smile, lost his usual interesting conversations... Even, he stopped socializing, leaving the arms dealers in the old city, and spent every day in the military camp.

  He didn't want to see Rong Hui, who was always on his mind, just like a wounded boy didn't want to show weakness in front of the one he loved; He didn't want to go to Wu's house for dinner, afraid of seeing Wu Deqian, just like an unlucky man didn't want to lose face in front of the one who loved him!

  In the morning, he had to use self-hypnosis to stabilize his emotions. At night, as soon as he closed his eyes, he saw Director Liu of the base in the afterlife, and those who came to visit, study, and affectionately interact with him, the old chiefs and cadres... For two whole days, he didn't know how he got through it, but his obvious weight loss made everyone notice that something was off!

  He Shaotang didn't know what was going on with his sworn brother, so he called Tan Xiao's driver and orderly Tang Fan to ask him questions. After half a day of interrogation without getting any leads, Tang Fan hesitated and said: "The commander seems to have fallen in love with the woman brought by the French arms dealer..." It turned out that he was troubled by love! He Shaotang secretly smiled in his heart, deciding to help his brother, helping him ask for Rong Hui's hand in marriage.

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  "That instructor seems to have really fallen for you, my little treasure!" Eric Beddington smiled with great satisfaction - his hand grasped a man-killing weapon of infinite power!

  "Maybe it was a misunderstanding, after all, I was the only girl there that day, no... " She recalled the details of that day - obviously, it was that telegram! But she didn't say it out loud. "I'll go see him anyway," Rong Hui thought to herself, unaware of the contents of the telegram.

  "Remember to ask about the next cooperation between Germans and Chinese, don't just focus on flirting." Eric gently walked over, lightly kissed Yvonne's cheek, but met a cold response.

  Tan Xiao finally walked out of the military camp because He Shao-tang told him that Bai Deng was about to leave and hoped to meet and talk.

  The meeting place was not in Tan Xiao's office at Yi Shi University, but in a British-owned coffee shop nearby.

  Far away, separated by the raindrop-covered glass, Rong Hui had already seen Tan Xiao walking towards her. No umbrella, no military uniform, just a snow-blue Cheongsam. His originally straight waist was slightly bent, as if he couldn't bear the weight of his shoulders, which were slightly heavy from being soaked in the rain. A faint layer of sorrow covered his face, and his eyebrows were lightly furrowed, just like those lovelorn male leads in the popular new romance novels on Shanghai Bund. Suddenly, Rong Hui was enchanted.

  Soon, Tan Xiao walked through the rain alley with sparse pedestrians and arrived at the entrance of the coffee shop, also temporarily leaving Cong Hui's line of sight. Cong Hui somewhat shyly withdrew those attentive gazes, subconsciously using her fingers to smooth out the soft hair by her temples, then elegantly began to gently stir the coffee in front of her, waiting for Tan Xiao's approach.

  It would be great if we had met six years ago! Rong Hui sighed sorrowfully in her heart: The Tan Xiao who just walked in the rain was exactly the Prince Charming she dreamed of when she was lost in thought during her innocent years!

  "Hi." A soft, low-pitched voice with a hint of huskiness, and a somewhat absent-minded smile, surprisingly in English, greeted Tong Hui in the way he had fantasized countless times about dating girls in his afterlife.

  "Ah...... here you are......" Rong Hui seemed a bit distracted, and also slightly at a loss: "Sit down, you... got wet, why didn't you bring an umbrella?" As she spoke, she naturally took out a handkerchief and gently wiped Tan Xiao's face.

  The office only had military raincoats…… Tan Xiao thought that as he took the handkerchief from Rong Hui, they had a light touch, and an electric current-like feeling quickly engulfed both of their bodies. In that brief moment, Tan Xiao's pale face had a hint of redness, and his eyes also showed an unusual sparkle.

  In silence, everyone didn't speak, and at some point, the two sat down. His icy hand tightly grasped hers, his head lowered, with one hand deeply buried in her somewhat disheveled hair, freely revealing the sorrow in his heart.

  She didn't know why he was sad, but she was willing to accept the tough guy's weakness in front of her; She wanted to hold his sorrowful head in her arms and comfort him with her femininity, with her motherhood; Her gentle eyes were telling him that she was willing to listen to what he wanted to say.

  After a while, he slightly raised his head, and his somewhat narrowed eyes looked dazed. He gazed into her eyes, imperceptibly shaking his head, with no distrust in his gaze, only attachment... But he couldn't say it, all the pain he could only bear alone.

  She nodded slightly, she understood, and her other hand also reached out to gently cover his cold one.

  It's raining outside, I don't know if it's morning or dusk, time seems to have solidified.

  The door finally closed, and the lights in the house lit up immediately. The warm light seemed to be illuminating Tan Xiao's way back... The warmth that seeped out of the window seemed to have a lingering meaning - on a cold early spring rainy night, a cozy little house can make all lost souls find their haven.

  Tan Xiao stood stupidly outside the door, Rong Hui had gone in for a while, but he couldn't take his feet to leave.

  Rong Hui had just entered the door, her left hand flipped on the light in the small hall, and she slid down to the carpet by the tightly closed door.

  When she arrived home, at the moment they were about to part ways, she saw his fervent gaze, and she gently met his eyes, encouraging him... She was already prepared to face those surging...

  The rain stopped secretly, a quiet night, so quiet that they could hear each other's heartbeat.

  "Wouldn't you like me to come in and sit down?" She heard his magnetic voice whispering in her ear.

  But in the end, he didn't say anything...

  Before leaving, he gently lifted her hand and kissed it lightly, not a Western-style courtesy, but full of tender feelings, respect, reluctance to part, and attachment...

  She knew what he wanted, but she also knew he wouldn't dare, so she turned around and went into the house alone.

  The lights went out, she collapsed softly, knowing he was still outside the door, and even now she could feel his heartbeat outside. Unable to bear it any longer, hot tears burst forth, and she let them flow freely across her face. For how many years had she been dead inside, a tool and plaything for the man who had brought her into high society? Even that man shared her body with others, taking pride in it.

  Before she left to meet Tan Xiao, Bei Dong gave her a letter to pass on to Tan Xiao: Dear Tan, I have an urgent matter to attend to in Hong Kong, please take care of Rong Hui as if she were a princess... He once again pushed her into another man's arms, but this time she didn't comply, she didn't hand over the letter to Tan Xiao. What Tan Xiao wanted was her, not someone else's plaything!

  The man standing outside the door would not allow anyone, even himself, to profane her! But at this moment, she really felt that she was too dirty, and she feared that she would tarnish his purity. She also feared that he would know everything about her past, and now, she feared losing him, for he made her feel alive!

  Outside the door, he hadn't left yet, unbuttoned his collar and let the damp air extract his heat. When he felt the chill of the night, he knew he was still alive, just before coming to see her, even he thought he was a dead man.

  Taking a long breath, the fervor in his chest condensed into white mist in the cold and damp air. "Yes, I'm still alive, I still have a passion, I still have many things to do!" Tan Xiao said to himself, his icy face suddenly revealing a long-lost smile: "Thank you, my love, you brought me back to life!" He devoutly cast a thick smile at the window that radiated warmth, "Goodnight, my love!" Then, he stepped forward towards the road he came from. The snow-green Cheongsam suit still looked elegant even in the darkness of night...

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  Knife-like eyebrows, knife-edge eyes. When Tan Xiao stood on the training ground watching the soldiers train for the second day, he looked no different from the previous two days. But strangely, everyone felt less chill when facing him now.

  In the afternoon, Tan Xiao invited the British man Xie Te.

  "Friend, I think I've done my best, but there's no way to help you." Tan Xiao said: "You know, the National Army has always used Mauser rifles or various copies of Mauser rifles, but this kind of rifle is not available in your country, so I have no way to help you get any business in this army-wide reorganization plan." Tan Xiao shrugged: "I really can't persuade them to use Lee-Enfield!"

  "Reorganize the entire army!?" Xie Te wasn't Xiaobei, he didn't understand some things.

  "Yes, last time, you know, Chiang Kai-shek came to inspect, and those two Germans also came. I knew they were peddling Mauser guns to the Chairman, that Mauser 1924, and even the 1913 model or older ones." Tan Xiao was somewhat indignant: "Why not exchange K98k for tungsten ore? The Mauser 1913 is actually trying to be valuable, I think their Mauser 1924s used by farmers are not as good as the American Springfield 1903!" Tan Xiao looked at Xie Te to see if he had any reaction to the words "America" and "Springfield 1903".

  "Wait a minute! ... As far as I know, there's nothing that the British Empire can't produce. The Springfield 1903 is no exception. Let me tell you a secret: Tan, later on the Americans thought their Springfield rifle was no good, so they switched to another type designed by our great British Empire. Yes, Britain also has a Mauser-style model, with several versions, commonly known as P-14 or..."

  "Wait a minute, I know this gun!" Tan Xiao said: "But what I've seen is produced by the American Remington company, how did it become a British gun?" Tan Xiao thought to himself: "Actually starting to slander and vilify Americans, Americans are not dissatisfied with Springfield!"

  "Right, Remington in the US did produce them, but that was under British license! You see, during the big war with Germany, our ordnance factories were overwhelmed, so we had three American companies do it for us. But the guns are British, designed and patterned by the British! No matter who produced them, just like you, Tan, no matter where you were born, New Delhi or Chicago, you're still Chinese, aren't you?"

  The little fat man was very pleased with himself: "I can also tell you a secret: in the warehouses of the British Empire, there are at least over 150,000 P-14s sleeping in grease! Tan, if you're interested, I can make a call to Enfield factory first. You know, they're eager to replace those stocks with new Lee-Enfields, and if someone is willing to buy those P-14s, they'd be delighted! Let's work together, how about it? Just like we dealt with those six-pounders!"

  The fish is hooked, a very greedy fat fish!

  The meeting with Shyue-tze was pleasant - the equipment and installation of the munitions factory built with interest-free loans, as well as technical training personnel, are all ready to depart from India. Moreover, the third batch of 500 six-pound cannons and 100 40mm anti-aircraft guns shipped from the UK mainland is also being loaded. The British can still be trusted sometimes, especially when they have received enough money - Chiang Kai-shek's check has been cashed, and most of it has been handed over to Shyue-tze.

  After seeing Xie Te off, Tan Xiao left the living room and returned to his office. On his desk, he saw a stack of documents waiting for his approval. He picked up the first one and took a look, his face twitching involuntarily - it was a plan for re-examining personnel at the Tongren Chenjiawan battlefield!

  In Tan Xiao's Field Army Drill Regulations, there is a provision: for bivouac sites and battlefields where battles have taken place, all fortifications on one's own side should be demolished as much as possible when withdrawing. However, if conditions permit, personnel should be organized to return to the scene to restore and reenact the battle, as a summary for participating troops and practical explanation for non-participating troops.

  However, Tan Xiao, who had just awakened from that shadow and hadn't fully recovered yet, was asked to conduct a battle replay commentary. No, even being an onlooker would be a psychological torment he could hardly bear!

  In an instant, Tan Xiao seemed to fall back into that psychological quagmire, and the suffocating oppression came again with great ferocity!

  He suppressed the pang in his heart and finished reading the application plan: unexpectedly, he found that the number of people who wanted to go for observation and learning was as high as over a thousand! Including all combat staff officers from the General Staff Department and all deputy battalion commanders above from the entire Field One Brigade, as well as an honor guard battalion composed of training model soldiers recommended by each department. Obviously, the entire Field One Brigade was excited about the brilliant battle achievements they had achieved in their first battle - except for their brigade commander, Tan Xiao! However, the end of the application plan read: The entire observation and learning team unanimously requested that the brigade commander personally analyze the war situation and give personal guidance!

  Tan Xiao wanted to tear the report into shreds or crumple it up and throw it fiercely into the wastebasket! But in the end, he put it back in the pending approval file column and left the office.

  Tan Xiao wanted to go out for some fresh air, without a specific purpose, just wanting to leave the wild department where everyone built their happiness on his pain! At this time, he saw Wu Sheng walking towards him.

  Regarding Tan Xiao's abnormal behavior over the past two days and his recovery today, Wu Sheng has been quietly paying attention. He also knew that Tan Xiao went to see Rong Hui yesterday and didn't return home until late at night. He is very worried: he thinks Tan Xiao's abnormal behavior is all because of Rong Hui! Tan Xiao is his future son-in-law, and Tan Xiao used to be a playboy, even among their elders! But that was in the past, now Tan Xiao has fallen in love with a woman, which is very dangerous - - - - for his daughter!

  Wu Sheng himself had six wives, and he didn't expect Tan Xiao to be his only daughter for the rest of her life. However, bringing back a beautiful woman he liked wasn't a big deal, but deeply loving another woman would make his ninth child very uncomfortable. His ninth child, Little Jiujiu Wu Dezhong, was his most beloved daughter, so he decided to take the initiative.

  "Feng Sheng, it's been a long time since you came home for dinner. Tonight, the old man has prepared some good dishes, let's go back and have a few drinks!" Wu Sheng saw Tan Xiao was about to delay again, so he hastily added: "There are also some important matters to discuss!"

  Then he lowered his voice and said: "Those Germans are interested in cooperating with us to open a firearms factory!"

  Tan Xiao couldn't help but leave.

  In fact, this is true: the German Kuz last time was through Wu Sheng's relationship to get the opportunity to negotiate with Tan Xiao, so when Tan Xiao put all the military merchants aside for two days, he found Wu Sheng. He brought a very important message to Wu Sheng: The German Elma Ordnance Factory has sent a working group of engineers, carrying a batch of experimental submachine gun samples along the Far East Railway, and will arrive in Lingling in the shortest time to meet with Tan Xiao and discuss the design issues of the new submachine gun. Since he knew that Tan Xiao had always been very concerned about military ammunition production, he also threw out a bait: Elma may set up a factory in Lingling!

  Tan Xiao arrived at the Wu family garden, which was still early - Wu Sheng's design: he wanted to give Tan Xiao and Wu Dezhong some time together. He thought that the reason why Tan Xiao would suddenly fall in love with another woman was because that woman named Rong Hui was very beautiful, really too beautiful! But more importantly, it was because he and Wu Dezhong didn't have enough time together: because Tan Xiao was still in a one-year mourning period, Wu Sheng, who had always been strict about etiquette, didn't let Wu Dezhong see Tan Xiao as casually as before. Even when Tan Xiao came home for dinner, Wu Dezhong would hide, and they could only meet briefly when serving dishes at the table. Now he changed his mind and wanted to give them more opportunities to interact.

  Tan Xiao's impression of Wu De Xuan, since crossing over to this world, basically came from his host - that Tan Xiao who originally did whatever he wanted. Then, it was the astonishment at Wu De Xuan's exceptionally peaceful and quiet beauty, as well as his culinary skills that could rival any master chef in Lingnan. This is their first close encounter today.

  "Feng Sheng, it's been a long time since you came to my garden. Look, that water jar tree you dug up from the mountain and planted is now as tall as a three-story building!" Wu De pointed at a huge tree by the pond that was indeed about three stories high.

  "Yes, little Jiujin has grown up so big, and the little tree is not to be outdone!" Tan Xiao just casually responded. Now, in his feeling, Wu Deqiang was more like a little sister - a very beautiful, lovely and heart-wrenching little sister.

  She slightly furrowed her brow and pouted: "When did Brother Fengsheng start talking like an old man..."

  "Ah, have I grown old? I thought I was still so young!" Tan Xiao hurriedly made himself look younger.

  "Look at that willow tree. You and Eighth Brother fought before and pulled it out to use as a stick, but now it has grown into a big tree."

  "Was I really that fierce when I fought with Xiao Ba Ge? How come I don't remember it?" Tan Xiao pretended to be innocent, but in fact, he really couldn't find any relevant information in his original memory.

  "Hmph! Don't pretend, Feng Sheng Gege, I know you're embarrassed." Wu De Xuan said: "Are you intentionally pretending to forget? Don't want to mention that matter?" Wu De Xuan's face turned crimson.

  It's all over, that guy has already... this little sister too... This bill will be counted on my head! Tan Xiao's heart is bitter.

  "That time, you pushed me into the pond and stood by the side laughing. Later, Eighth Brother found out and fought with you. Do you know? Later, Father scolded Eighth Brother severely and then told me... " Wu De's face turned even redder, his voice as small as a mosquito: "Father said, from now on you will be my husband, if you bully me, I can only endure it..." The last few words were almost inaudible, his face had turned red like an apple.

  Alas... Tan Xiao suddenly came to a realization: under Wu Sheng's education, in Wu De Xuan's world, the meaning of his future life would all revolve around Tan Xiao. For such a simple and delicate little sister, he really didn't want to cause her any harm.

  But then Rong Hui appeared in his mind - the goddess in his heart! Just half a day of silent confrontation had brought him back to life. Yes, she was his god!

  "What are you thinking about? Feng Sheng Gege, you're not going to dress up as a ghost and scare me again, are you?" Wu De Xuan said with a proud and innocent face: "I'm not afraid now!"

  "Oh? When did Xiao Jiujiu become so bold?" Tan Xiao replied perfunctorily.

  "There was a time when I was really scared, even in broad daylight, I didn't dare to get close to those fake mountains..." Wu Dezhong was somewhat immersed in his memories: Perhaps at that time, she even hated Tan Xiao, who had bullied her. But this is fate, Tan Xiao is her husband. With some resentment, she continued: "Later, Eighth Brother told me that if I didn't want to be afraid of the fake mountains having ghosts, I should go and stay in those fake mountains every day...and eventually I wasn't afraid anymore..."

  Suddenly, it seemed as if a flash of lightning had struck Tan Xiao's mind: If you're not afraid that there are ghosts in the fake hills, then go stay in those fake hills...

  Tan Xiao suddenly remembered the application report that he had suppressed with great pain when he came out! Perhaps, only by being in the place where the martyrs died and telling them with his heart and soul, telling them about his own helplessness and mission, can he truly free himself from self-blame and extreme pain.

  Thank you! Little Jiǔ! Tan Xiao suddenly had a feeling of self-upliftment!

  (The author: I finished writing this and sent it to an old friend for preview, the next day he replied saying: You have more prospects in writing about love... speechless)