Chapter 33 1/2

Jiang Li casually passed the topic without elaborating further.

On land, Lu Jing seemed to carry a painful and lonely burden. If one didn’t know his identity, he would appear as if he were a just-released ex-convict, holding a lunchbox with a bag by his feet, and his combat suit washed to a pale white, as if he had just finished serving his sentence and had nowhere to go.

Why didn’t the hunting star count as a prison? Lu Jing risked his life several times to be promoted to general, but chose the most difficult and remote hunting star.

Jiang Li couldn’t help but wonder: Was it because losing a child was so painful that they couldn’t be together? Many parents, when their children fall ill or face troubles, blame each other, attack, or even divorce. Does Jiang Wanlan feel pain when he sees Lu Jing, so he doesn’t want to see him?

Jiang Li lowered his eyes with a wounded expression and noticed that there were two extra pan-fried buns in the lunchbox.

Thumb-sized pan-fried buns were expensive and had a small quantity, so he bought two portions for Cen Lang. Why did Cen Lang give him extra? “There are two more.”

Cen Lang: “It’s nothing.”

Jiang Li ate two, and were there still some left? “Don’t you like them?”

Cen Lang replied, “No, I like them. I thought you must really like them since you went out early to buy them.”

Jiang Li was actually fine. After eating two, he suppressed the urge to eat more. He was a very restrained person. “I don’t particularly like them.”

Lu Jing moved the pan-fried bun box and chopsticks to one hand and reached into his pocket with the other, taking out a stack of banknotes. “No money?”

Cen Lang:

Yes, he was used to sharing food with Jiang Li on the warship and forgot that on Earth, he could buy another portion. He took Lu Jing’s banknote calmly and said to Jiang Li, “Wait for me.”

Cen Lang quickly bought a new breakfast, tossed a bag of pan-fried buns to Lu Jing, and bought purple rice porridge for Jiang Li. “Add something sweet.”

Cen Lang stuffed the remaining banknotes into Jiang Li’s coat pocket. “The banknotes he brought to the hunting star twenty years ago should no longer be in circulation if he doesn’t spend them.”

Twenty years of changes and stability led to a complete set of new banknotes, although not many people used them. People like Jiang Li, who had a bit of cleanliness and were reluctant to touch banknotes, usually used electronic payments.

Jiang Li hadn’t noticed before, but Lu Shang’s money was quite old: “This is someone else’s money.”

Cen Lang: “The surplus is called a service fee.”

Jiang Li: “…”

Lu Jing said, “Just spend it; I won’t use it.”

The Jiang family’s influence was concentrated in the peace zone, while Lu Jing went to the turbulent border areas on the hunting star. They searched for clues, and whenever there was a suspected child, they went to check. They often suspected each other of being child traffickers, leading to clashes between wary parents. During these times, Lu Jing didn’t fight back much but insisted on seeing the child.

On the way, he saved many children in the war-torn areas, but none of them were his or Jiang Wanlan’s. If one place didn’t have any leads, he moved on to the next with the remaining travel funds. They finally met in B9, representing that he and Jiang Wanlan had searched the Federation.

He couldn’t spend the remaining money.

He and Jiang Wanlan were done.

Five years after losing the child, Lu Jing enlisted in B9. Instead of inefficiently searching blindly, he decided to restore order, allowing Jiang Wanlan’s forces to continue searching.

During the chaotic times, not only were lost children unfindable, but those abducted might not grow up safely.

Jiang Li didn’t know that the money in his pocket was Lu Jing’s old travel fund. After finishing the purple rice porridge, he realized: Could Cen Lang earn a service fee just by putting it in his pocket?

They weren’t even family.

The Sanatorium faced the street.

Jiang Wanlan stood by the window, touching the frost on the glass. The sky gradually cleared, outlining the distant trees, houses, and streets.

Snap! The lights in the room were turned on, instantly brightening, and the outside world dimmed.

“Sir, is the heating broken? It’s so cold.” The person was Jiang Wanlan’s secretary. Seeing that the temperature in the room was freezing, she quickly checked the heating panel behind the door.

The panel wasn’t broken; it was just turned off. The secretary understood what happened, closed the panel, picked up a blanket from the sofa, and draped it over Jiang Wanlan.

Jiang Wanlan still wore yesterday’s white shirt and trousers. Although in the sanatorium, he treated it as an office and always maintained an elite and clear appearance. He even wore low-powered glasses, a rare sight.

The whole person seemed colder than winter.

Only a small number of people from the company could enter. All the Jiang family members, who had some distant relationship with their ancestors, were strictly kept out.

The average age of first marriage was approaching forty, and most people were cautious about choosing marriage and marking. Jiang Wanlan was still young. Jiang’s father couldn’t let go, hoping for a prestigious marriage to erase the shame of being laughed at in the past.

Jiang Wanlan simply started frequenting the hospital. He found the sanatorium quieter than any place at home.

The secretary had studied the investigation. Last night, someone appeared near the sanatorium. She immediately inquired about the security of the sanatorium, questioning why they allowed someone who looked like a criminal to stare at the sanatorium. Security, puzzled, said, “We checked; he has permission.”

Using binoculars, the secretary looked and saw—wasn’t that Lu Jing?

Lu Jing had been under the tree for a long time, and Jiang Wanlan had been standing for just as long.

Jiang Wanlan muttered to himself, “He has quite a reliable source of information.” He thought that the person would only appear when it became widely known that he couldn’t handle things anymore.

The secretary glanced under the tree and, though it was too far, vaguely saw three people having breakfast. She said, “The other two are Mr. Cen and his… lover?”

So, it was Cen Lang who told him. He didn’t check if Lu Jing’s warship had entered the port, estimating that he followed the White Flame warship back.

“Doesn’t it look like a family of three?” Jiang Wanlan saw Lu Jing giving money to Cen Lang to buy breakfast. Did Cen Lang still need Lu Jing’s money to buy breakfast? He actually accepted it.

The secretary didn’t know how to respond. “The pan-fried buns on the opposite side are delicious; I’ll buy you a portion.”

“No need.”

Jiang Wanlan closed his eyes. He had thought of making egg custard for the child as soon as he woke up, but now that he was awake, he couldn’t find him.

After breakfast,

Cen Lang took Jiang Li back. “General Lu, just to let you know, if you sit here, Jiang Wanlan can see through the window.”

Lu Jing visibly stiffened.

Cen Lang was afraid of missing Jiang Li on the subway, so they also took the subway. It was still early, and there weren’t many people on the subway. For the first time, they took public transportation together, looking like an old couple going out for breakfast.

Coincidentally, they sat opposite a middle-aged couple who seemed to have a good relationship.

Cen Lang observed Jiang Li and found that he was engrossed in his experimental plan, indifferent to the outside world. He only cared about the unfortunate couple.

Back at the hotel, Cen Lang carried Jiang Li’s luggage, and they went directly to the top of the dormitory building by helicopter. Most people didn’t know that Jiang was away on a business trip.