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The pirate leader’s name was Geng Hu. He used to be a patrol officer in San Lorenzo.
Later, because of Godwin Reinis’ nepotism, the position of captain was snatched away from him. He had no one to turn to for help and was instead ostracized and humiliated at the police station.
Even his life was affected in every aspect.
Out of anger, he simply resigned and came to the sea.
The other brothers were in similar situations, all being persecuted to varying degrees by the Reinis family. They had no choice but to leave their hometowns and drift at sea.
In recent times, there had been major changes in the federal government, with the president being arrested, and the names of Mo Xin and Liang Qiuchi frequently appearing in the media. It was clear to anyone with eyes that they had played a significant role in Reinis’ downfall.
“In any case, with Reinis’ downfall, the brothers are all very happy and grateful! We really apologize for what happened just now! Can I kneel down and pay my respects to my two idols?”
Geng Hu said, about to kneel down, but Liang Qiuchi helped him up.
“No need, let’s just consider this a chance encounter.”
Geng Hu scratched his head awkwardly, waved his big hand, and asked his brothers to quickly clean up the mess in the cabin and hand over everything they had looted.
Liang Qiuchi and Mo Xin stood silently on the deck, watching a group of big men with guns clean up their yacht.
Geng Hu felt a bit guilty and warmly invited them to visit the port where they were stationed. Liang Qiuchi knew Mo Xin probably didn’t want to go, so he politely declined.
The sky had completely changed.
Under the dark night sky, Geng Hu felt increasingly embarrassed for disturbing them for too long.
Ignoring Liang Qiuchi’s refusal, he ordered his men to fill up the yacht’s fuel tank before leading them back to their respective ships, one by one.
Before leaving, Geng Hu patted his chest and assured the two of them, “You guys enjoy yourselves. This area of the sea is under my protection. No one will dare to disturb you.”
Standing side by side on the yacht under the deep blue night sky, watching the white waves churning on the dark sea, the two men remained silent for a moment before smiling at each other with a sense of understanding and helplessness.
Their nice dinner was disrupted.
However, the clean and tidy cabin, and the refilled fuel tank somewhat compensated for the inconvenience.
They thought the matter was over, but the next day, nearing noon, Geng Hu returned, filled the yacht’s refrigerator, and waved goodbye.
Mo Xin couldn’t help but wonder, “Is he really a pirate?”
Liang Qiuchi chuckled, “He’s a kind-hearted pirate.”
Two days later, while Liang Qiuchi and Mo Xin were chasing dolphins, Geng Hu returned once again, this time with drinking water.
Liang Qiuchi couldn’t resist his hospitality, so after discussing with Mo Xin, they decided to leave this area of the sea.
After drifting at sea for almost half a month, they replenished their resources at a nearby port. Coincidentally, they ran into Geng Hu unloading cargo from a fishing boat.
There were probably hundreds of kilograms of sea fish, and Mo Xin asked with a smirk, “Where did you rob these from?”
Geng Hu smiled sheepishly, his sun-darkened skin making his teeth look particularly white. “General Mo loves to joke. These are from the neighbor’s fishing boat. I’m just helping out.”
“Oh,” Mo Xin asked again, “Doesn’t your neighbor know about your profession?”
Geng Hu replied seriously, “A rabbit doesn’t eat its nest grass. That’s our rule.”
This encounter was like delivering themselves to him. Liang Qiuchi and Mo Xin couldn’t refuse Geng Hu’s invitation again and ended up staying in this small port for almost a week.
When they bid farewell and sailed the yacht back to the small town where they had previously stayed, more than a month had passed since they left San Lorenzo.
Their phones had previously run out of battery at sea. After being fully charged and turned back on after many days, a series of notification sounds rushed in, overwhelming them.
Even Mo Xin, who usually had little social needs, had a full inbox of missed calls and unread messages.
They each replied to messages and made calls. Wu Yahui asked Liang Qiuchi to turn on the speakerphone and scolded him along with Mo Xin for two minutes.
“What did I say before? Keep your phones on! On! Do you two not understand the meaning of ‘on’?! Damn it, I almost sent reconnaissance drones to find you both!”
Liang Qiuchi quietly lowered the volume of the speakerphone.
Mo Xin replied to his brother’s messages while chuckling softly.
Liang Qiuchi, knowing he was in the wrong, could only soothe the person on the other end of the line in a gentle voice, “I was wrong, I made you worry , next time I…”
“Next time? Do you even want there to be a next time?! I’ll tell you what, let’s not contact each other in the future. Since you can’t even remember me, is there any point in communicating?”
Wu Yahui’s anger seemed to almost burst out of the earpiece.
She took a deep breath and then adopted a business-like tone, “The federal investigation team announced preliminary investigation results yesterday. Look at the specifics yourself. Bye, blocked.”
Listening to the busy tone, Liang Qiuchi looked at Mo Xin helplessly, “Jie is really angry.”
Mo Xin lowered his head, absentmindedly swiping on his phone, and uttered a distracted “Hmm.”
Then he turned the screen of his phone toward Liang Qiuchi, “Take a look.”
Seeing his serious expression and thinking about the notification from Wu Yahui earlier, Liang Quichi’s breath involuntarily hitched.
He suppressed his smile, focused his gaze, and saw on the screen a report published on the official website of the Federal Security Bureau.
The title read: “Investigation Report on Former Deputy Minister of National Defense Liang Yi’s Smuggling of Arms and Sale of Intelligence.”
Liang Qiuchi took the phone and read through the report word by word, from beginning to end.
By the time he finished reading, tears were streaming down his face.
“Quichi ge…” Mo Xin hugged Liang Qiuchi’s shoulder, his voice choked, “It’s all over.”
Liang Qiuchi stared at the final result in the report, as if not believing his eyes, tremblingly asking Mo Xin for confirmation, “Is it true what’s written here? The charges are dropped…”
“It’s true,” Mo Xin held him tighter, “You’ve cleared your father’s name. All the accusations were malicious framing.”
For nearly nine years, Liang Qiuchi had endured this journey alone, in immense loneliness and pain.
Now that there was finally a resolution, he couldn’t find any joy in it.
A sense of indescribable heaviness burdened his chest, with a mix of complex emotions colliding within him, desperately needing an outlet.
Mo Xin sat up straighter, holding Liang Qiuchi’s head, pressing it against his chest.
“If you want to cry, cry. I’m here with you.”
Liang Qiuchi buried his head in Mo Xin’s neck, his hands tightly wrapped around Mo Xin’s waist. Without shedding tears, his trembling body and stifled sob revealed his inner vulnerability.
Coincidentally, in just another week, it would be the anniversary of his father’s death.
With such high efficiency in handling the case this time, the Federal Investigation Team announced the preliminary investigation results just in time for this crucial moment, clearing Liang Yi’s name. It was probably also an attempt to salvage some government image.
Nine years.
Finally, he could openly lay flowers at his father’s grave.
Liang Qiuchi and Mo Xin left the seaside town, drove to the nearest airport, and bought two tickets back to San Lorenzo.
On the day of tomb-sweeping, Liang Qiuchi wore a neat black suit and brought a bouquet of flowers to his father’s grave.
Mo Xin was also dressed formally, standing quietly by his side.
The tombstone was clean, with no weeds around it. Liang Qiuchi understood that it had been Mo Xin taking care of it these past few years.
He clenched Mo Xin’s hand and recited the delayed investigation report to his father’s photo on the tombstone.
“Dad, you always valued personal reputation above all else. Now I’ve reclaimed what you treasured most. You can rest in peace now.”
Liang Qiuchi pulled Mo Xin closer. “This is my boyfriend. He’s amazing and adorable. If you were here, you’d definitely like him. With him by my side, you can rest assured.”
Mo Xin didn’t know what to do, so he just held Liang Qiuchi’s hand tightly, bowed to the photo on the tombstone, and softly called out, “Dad.”
Liang Qiuchi smiled and continued to tell his father about his life over the past few years. The man in the military uniform in the photo had a stern expression, his gaze unwavering and warm, untouched by the storms of life.
As they left the cemetery, they unexpectedly ran into a figure in plain clothes wearing sunglasses—Chellensee.
He held a bouquet of yellow and white flowers, obviously here to pay his respects.
Seeing Liang Qiuchi, Chellensee took off his sunglasses, his smile somewhat melancholic. “Long time no see, Qiuchi.”
“Uncle,” Liang Qiuchi nodded to him, “Long time no see.”
Chellensee looked him up and down, muttering “Not bad” under his breath.
Liang Qiuchi wasn’t in the mood to chat with him. He said he had something to do and wanted to leave with Mo Xin. Chellensee hurriedly stopped him, awkwardly holding onto the wrapping paper of the bouquet.
“Do you have time to talk? I’ve always wanted to explain things to you face-to-face…”
“Uncle, the past is in the past. Ultimately, it wasn’t your fault, and you don’t need to blame yourself anymore. I really do have something to do, so I’ll leave first.” With that, Liang Qiuchi pulled Mo Xin away.
As they walked away, Mo Xin glanced back. Chellensee was still holding the bouquet, looking in their direction.
Remembering Chellensee’s performance in the council earlier, Mo Xin couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on?”
Liang Qiuchi said, “Remember I gave the evidence against Reinis to someone who was close to my dad?”
Mo Xin nodded understandingly. “It’s related to Chellensee.”
“A little bit,” Liang Qiuchi said. “Tang Yunli is Chellensee’s brother-in-law. My dad got to know him through Chellensee’s introduction.”
Mo Xin understood.
“Chellensee has always felt guilty because of his brother-in-law’s betrayal of my dad. He’s contacted me privately over the years, wanting to invest to help me establish myself in Lugo, but I refused,” Liang Qiuchi sighed. “He really doesn’t need to blame himself, and I don’t want to involve him.”
“Alright,” Mo Xin glanced at the time and asked, “Still early, should we go see Xiang Bei again?”
Liang Qiuchi nodded, of course they should.
Xiang Bei was buried in another cemetery. When they arrived, Xiang Bei’s older brother and father were also there. Liang Qiuchi went over alone, exchanging pleasantries with them.
Mo Xin placed the bouquet of flowers in front of Xiang Bei’s grave, deeply looked at his photo, nodded to his family, then silently walked to the side to wait for Liang Qiuchi.
When Liang Qiuchi bid farewell to Xiang Bei’s family, he turned around and saw Mo Xin sitting under a tree, looking down at his phone. He quickly walked a few steps and came to him.
Seeing Mo Xin frowning, he asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
Mo Xin looked at his phone for a few more seconds before lifting his head.
His expression and tone were very serious.
“My brother… announced that Danga is declaring independence.”
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