News from the Capital– Looking for Missing Persons

Since Mo Wenyang turned up, he had been cursing non-stop before he left. He complained about "home-guarding best", and Yun Che nearly felt guilty. Chu Haoling and Zhou Zeyu, however, couldn't stop laughing. What they did every day was to fight against zombies or collect material resources for a long-time battle. Such a chance of laughter and jokes was rare, and all of them itched to have great fun!

Those who knew Mo Wenyang said, the more he cursed, the less he cared for that. As a solider, he got exceptionally promoted as a major general even after the doomsday, yet he, himself, didn't look like a serious solider at all. Instead, he looked indolent, rascally and cynical, unlike any other serious soldier. Even Gu Mingxuan said, Mo Wenyang wouldn't have joined the army if he weren't born in a military family.

If it made you think he was an unqualified general, you would be absolutely wrong. Mo Wenyang didn't usually behave like a solider. Yet in terms of important things, he always knew how far he could go. In the last ten years since he joined the army at the age of 14, he had never made any big or essential mistake! He had miraculously accomplished every task he was assigned, hard or easy.

Possibly because they were of similar age, many people liked to compare Xing Feng with Mo Wenyang. There was no doubt that Xing Feng was better than Mo Wenyang. However, Xing Feng once dissed a man who flattered him in public and disrespected Mo Wenyang, there he asked if the man had seen the real Mo Wenyang. Obviously, people could only see the part Mo Wenyang showed them. No one could see the part he hid from everybody else. And that was, nevertheless, his real personality.

After dinner, Yun Che saw Mo Wenyang off and collapsed in the chair on the terrace of the second floor, holding his iPad.

"Wenyang is different from Wei Kan and Wang Wei. You shouldn't have tarred him with the same brush," said Xing Feng, as he walked up and sat down beside Yun Che, reaching out to take the cigarette end out of the latter's mouth.

"Are you defending him?" asked Yun Che, looking up from his iPad.

"Don't get me wrong," replied Xing Feng, "You know what I'm talking about."

There were good people and bad people in every industry. It went the same with soldiers. Xing Feng didn't want Yun Che to hold extreme views. He couldn't always judge properly unless he treated everything with calmness.

"Don't bother to teach me," murmured Yun Che, "I know what I'm doing. When he left, I asked my sister to give him a bag of fresh fruits, didn't I? He just turned up at an awkward time, anyway."

Waving impatiently, Yun Che lit another cigarette and smoked. If Mo Wenyang had turned up before this afternoon, he wouldn't have been punched so hard. Unfortunately, the military upset Yun Che! Besides, he didn't know that was General Mo Wenyang, who later took command of the entire southwest base.

"You do everything only based on your likes and dislikes. I'm so curious to see how you look when you comprise."

"Oh, I think I'll let you down," said Yun Che, "There is no such word as comprise in my dictionary."

"Ah oh…"

Xing Feng couldn't help laughing. He liked the way Yun Che was, arrogant, confident and annoying. He asked, "Oh, what's your relationship with Zhou Zhijun?"

The smile on Yun Che's face suddenly disappeared. Within seconds, he turned cold and gloomy, asking, "What's up?"

"When I contacted people in the capital this afternoon, I heard the head of Zhou family, Zhou Zhijun was looking for missing people in the capital base, with a huge reward. His family rose rapidly after the doomsday. And he's looking for Yun Yao, Yun Che, Yun Cheng and Zhou Zichen. But there's no explanation about your relationship on the notice. I didn't ask, either." explained Xing Feng, as he realized something was wrong with Yun Che. Xing Feng didn't use to care for such insignificant things. Even if the Zhou family rose rapidly, they were not worth mentioning, to old families like the Xing family that came down as early as the epoch of revolution.

He only asked about it, upon hearing Yun Che and Yun Yao.

"You didn't tell anyone where we were, did you?" asked Yun Che.

The same thing happened just as in the previous life. Zhou Zhijun handed out a lot of notices, looking for them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have run all the way to the capital base and then lost his life.

"Don't think that I'm stupid, all right? I haven't told anyone about you yet. What's going on?" asked Xing Feng.

Seemed like Zhou Zhijun had a deep connection with them. All at once, an idea crossed Xing Feng's mind. He narrowed his eyes when he finally got to the point. Zhou Zichen? Could it be Chenchen? If so, Yun Yao was Zhou Zhijun's wife, wasn't she?

Thinking of this, Xing Feng couldn't help cursing himself for being too careless. How could he miss such an obvious clue?

Well, he wasn't to blame. All the time, everybody called the little boy Chenchen or fatty boy. Who could connect him to Zhou Zichen? Anyway, no one could tell from the notices that Zhou Zichen was a little boy.

"You must have figured out who we are, haven't you?" asked Yun Che.

Rapid change in Xing Feng's eyes told Yun Che that he had realized the truth. Yun Che put aside his iPad and leaned back. He stretched out his legs and cocked them up on the tea table, crossed. He explained, "Zhou Zhijun is my brother-in-law and Chenchen's biological father. My parents died when I was ten. At that time, my sister Yun Yao was only 16. To raise my twin brother Yun Cheng and me, she dropped out of school and went out to work. Our uncle, thinking we were young, tried to forcibly occupy the house left by our parents. Yun Yao asked the village committee to sell the house at a low price. In case our grandparents might strive for the money, she took us to the city that every night."

Yun Che continued, "Since then, we settled down in the city. Yun Yao was young, and not very cultivated. She could do limited work, I mean, mostly labor work with a rather low salary. After she came back home from work, she also did some hand-made work for extra hours at night. That was how she brought up Cheng and me. I still remember what she used to tell us. 'When you grow up, you will raise me. I'll then live a rich life and no longer…' You can't tell, can you? She looks weak and beautiful. But deep in her heart, she's the strongest."

"Before we grew up, she met Zhou Zhijun who was two years older than her. He treated her nicely as his princess. Cheng and I thought he loved Yun Yao. She was such a good girl. What kind of men would be rude to her? Yun Yao had planned to get married after Cheng and I went to college. But women in southeast mostly got married at a young age. Anyway, a woman grows old quickly. Cheng and I promised to her again and again that we would take care of ourselves, and we wouldn't go to any college in a faraway city. Then she said yes when Zhou Zhijun proposed to her, but…"

Speaking of this, Yun Che stopped to catch his breath. Then he lit another cigarette and had a few puffs. Xing Feng reached out quietly, holding Yun Che's hand. When Yun Che didn't shake his hand off, Xing Feng even crossed his fingers with Yun Che's. Knowing Xing Feng was trying to comfort him silently, Yun Che held his hand back tighter. He took out the cigarette with the other hand and continued, "The Zhou family was rich and powerful in that city. Not to mention orphans like us, they didn't even like ordinary well-to-do families. Zhou Zhijun's families didn't allow him to marry Yun Yao. They took turns to come to us just like what happened in a soap opera. They tried to persuade us with money and also threatened us."

"I guess Zhou Zhijun really loved Yun Yao at that time. Under such pressure, he still applied for marriage and stole the household register. At last, they got married. In case Yun Yao might be bullied by his families, he bought an apartment to live in with her. But he had families, anyway. Yun Yao didn't want him to break up with them. Every time Zhou Zhijun came back from military for vocation, they lived in the Zhou's villa for days. She always told us the Zhou family gradually accepted her. But we knew she lived a miserable life in the Zhou family. "

"Years passed and Chenchen was born. I didn't know when, but Zhou Zhijun went back to his family. As he was transferred to the capital, he had planned to take Yun Yao with him. But his families persuaded him to give up, with the excuse that Chenchen was too little and life in the military was hard. Meanwhile, Yun Yao didn't want to stay far away from Cheng or me. Maybe because he felt guilty to his parents, Zhou Zhijun finally gave up taking Yun Yao with him. Before the doomsday, we both thought Zhou Zhijun loved her. Even if they didn't meet often, their hearts stuck together at least."

If Yun Che hadn't revived and learnt a lesson in his previous life, he would have still believed that Zhou Zhijun truly loved Yun Yao. He handed out so many notices in the capital, looking for her. Looked like an affectionate husband, didn't he?

Yun Che went on with this story, "But when Yun Yao needed him most, he wasn't there. And no calls could reach him. Moreover, when I got to his house, his families, who had arrived before me, didn't open the door and they didn't allow Yun Yao to open it for me. When I stood out there, I clearly heard Zhou Zhijun's mother cursed Yun Yao as a bitch, and I heard the slapping sound from time to time. When Yun Yao ran into my arms, Chenchen told me how his mother was bullied and I saw her swollen face, how I wished I could kill all of them!"

"But I couldn't. At that time, Yun Yao hadn't experienced the doomsday. She was kind and pure. If I killed the Zhou families in front of her, she would be mad. I didn't want to be estranged from my sister, just for some fucking guys from the Zhou family! In the end, I took her and Chenchen away. If a man really loved her and cared for their family, how could he not be reached at such a critical moment? Yun Yao said Zhou Zhijun called his families before the doomsday. Then why didn't he call her, too? How much time could be wasted for a mere call? The doomsday was coming. Didn't h fear his wife and son would be eaten by zombies?"

"His mother always called Yun Yao a bitch, and she even suspected if Chenchen was the son of someone else, who hooked up with Yun Yao. Didn't Zhou Zhijun know about that over so many years? If he ignored his wife so much, how could he say he loved her? Whatever Yun Yao is thinking about, I will never allow such a man to come to her again. When I'm strong enough, I'm going to the capital. I will get back whatever they owe us!"

Finally, Yun Che finished. Blue veins stood out on his temples. Fervent hatred burned in his eyes. He didn't tell Xing Feng what happened in the previous life. He couldn't, of course. But he would never forget that. He would go and take avenge on Zhou Ting and Han Mingzhe who killed him, and all the other members of the Zhou family!

"You know, I'm glad if you want to use me," said Xing Feng seriously, as he threw an arm around Yun Che's shoulders.

Since he knew Yun Che, he only believed half of whatever he said. But the story he just told… He totally believed it. Also, he supported Yun Che to take revenge on the Zhou family. Yun Che was his man! How dared the Zhou family to bully him?

Yun Che was touched, upon hearing what Xing Feng said, and all the negative feelings disappeared in a flash. "What?" he teased, "Are you really going to be my guardian beast?"

He heard a lot about the "guardian beast" from Zhou Zeyu, anyway.

"Sure, if you want it," replied Xing Feng.

"Home-guarding beast" and "guardian beast"… They made a perfect couple, weren't they?

"Fine, I'll think about it," said Yun Che. This time, he didn't refuse. He sounded like he was joking, but Xing Feng knew he was serious enough. Again, they held hands tightly.

As they talked, they had no idea that someone was in the corner to terrace. It was Yun Yao, bathed in tears. She had come to ask Yun Che about patients living next door, only to hear their conversation. It was then that she got to knew Yun Che had been worrying about her. As his elder sister, she failed to help any. What was worse, she became his burden. And Zhou Zhijun no longer loved her. At this moment, she was finally willing to believe it.

Thais night, Yun Yao destroyed everything related to Zhou Zhijun, dashing the last glimmer of hope in her heart! She had lost her love and husband. But her brothers and son were still around her. From then on, they would be the only treasure of her life! As for Zhou Zhijun… Fuck him!