CHAPTER 208: CHAPTER 122: THE PRICE OF ESCAPE (PART 2)

"The writing isn’t even on the wall yet, look at you, all dumbfounded, don’t tell me you haven’t even touched the girl’s hand or kissed her," Ren Bonian is also from a military background, even though the assassination attempt four years ago left him much weakened, and it’s difficult for him to stand on his legs now, and his throat can’t stand a breeze, coughing severely when he raises his voice, but when he yells, it still carries a bit of volume.

"Grandpa, please keep it down," Ren Minghang decided to take Ren Bonian out to the grassland outside when he saw the nice weather today, as the mid-October sun was warm without being dry. This rehabilitation center for officers is specially built for retired and high-ranking military veterans, with security and medical facilities that are top-notch globally. These former officers, who used to be stoic and focused on their duties, are now free of such burdens but have become busybodies with their mouths and ears.

Ren Bonian is also one of the ringleaders; his shout really had the air of his days in the Third World War, when with one call to arms, hundreds of ships would respond. Several acquaintances who also knew Ren Minghang and were close by urged their attendants to come over to eavesdrop on the excitement.

"Silly boy, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, don’t think just because I’m old, in our days, we the post-90s generation were known for our bold style, I managed to get both your grandma’s hand and her kiss on the first try, don’t let me down. Women are like that, they say no with their mouth, but their hearts are more than willing," Ren Bonian said, laughing and bantering with a few old officers nearby.

"Grandpa. Minghang." Just as Ren Minghang was thinking of an excuse to get away, his savior came along: a man who seemed a bit more mature than Ren Minghang and a bit more scholarly, along with a young woman carrying a three-year-old child.

Ren Minghang’s brother and sister-in-law are both high-ranking staff officers in Hua Country. His relationship with them is a bit like that of a cat and a mouse. When he was about to graduate, they didn’t hesitate to corner him and talk about securing him a mid-level staff officer position, wanting him to join the staff department for a united family effort. But Ren Minghang insisted on staying at Longzhi Academy, and in the end, they let him have his way.

It was somewhat of a sensation in the Ren Family when Ren Minghang, who had never asked for family help, suddenly turned to his brother Ren Mingxuan with a "little trouble" his friend had and needed his elder brother’s intervention. Seizing the opportunity, Ren Mingxuan brought up the old matter, and this time, after only one night of consideration, Ren Minghang agreed.

Although Ren Bonian doesn’t like his eldest grandson and his wife that much, he adores his great-grandson with the tigerish vigor and ignores the brothers’ warnings to take the little boy onto his lap, letting the child climb all over him.

Ren Mingxuan asked his wife to keep watch and pulled Ren Minghang aside.

"I really appreciate your help with my friend’s situation, big brother. I’ll hand over my work at Longzhi this week and then report to the staff department," Ren Minghang always kept his word, with no ambiguity when he made a promise.

"If I remember correctly, that man in trouble wasn’t really related to you; you wouldn’t exert such effort without a reason," Ren Mingxuan, as the elder brother, had to inquire about the context since Ren Minghang, consistently upright in his actions, was now involved with such a gangster.

"This... He’s my good friend’s brother," Ren Minghang said, feeling awkward. Since his relationship with Xia You wasn’t confirmed yet, he could only use the term "friend" as an excuse. In fact, he was achieving multiple objectives at once and had inadvertently revealed too much in front of Ren Bonian. He feared that in less than ten minutes, his grandpa would spill the beans to his sister-in-law.

"With those people in your social circle, you wouldn’t need to step in if there was trouble," Besides the fact that Ren Mingxuan chose a different academy from Ren Minghang, their schooling, and growth experiences, including their circle of friends, overlapped. The principle of ’like attracts like’ was very apparent at their level of society.

"It wasn’t them, it’s a new friend I’ve made," Ren Minghang said, his eyes shifting uncomfortably to a nearby deciduous Chinese parasol tree, watching an ant colony bustling up and down preparing for winter.

"Your friend is Xia You, isn’t she? If grandpa knows you’ve taken a fancy to someone from the Rand Military District, he would certainly be very happy," Ren Mingxuan, being responsible for resolving the issue, had obviously done thorough background checks. Once he obtained Simon’s file, Ren Mingxuan was sure his brother wouldn’t be associating with such a person and then acquired the file of the female Junior Sergeant from the Rand Military District who might have connections with Ren Minghang, having previously trained at Longzhi Academy.

"You’ve checked Xiao You’s background?" Ren Minghang spoke with displeasure, although he was prepared for Xia You to be thoroughly investigated by his family.

"Joining Rand and rising from a Private to a Junior Sergeant in just over three months, and under the notoriously strict Lin Yi at that, your Xiao You is either truly exceptional or there’s something suspect about her relationship with Lin Yi," Ren Mingxuan watched as his brother’s face shifted from shock to a brewing storm and couldn’t help but feel that once his brother fell for someone, he was indeed deeply smitten.

"Big brother, same old, thanks again for resolving that issue last time. However, I don’t want you to speak ill of Xiao You in front of me ever again," Ren Minghang affirmed, knowing full well there was nothing between Lin Yi and Xia You, otherwise, he wouldn’t have introduced Xiao You to him.

"Mom and Dad are also aware of the matter, bring her home this Saturday night, and as long as we approve of her, I promise never to speak ill of her in front of you," Ren Mingxuan spoke exactly according to the wishes of the Ren Family’s parents. (To be continued... If you enjoy this work, please vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), and your support is my greatest motivation.)