Xiao Jing will never forget this day. She was carried back to the dormitory by two non-commissioned officers, much like a hero who returned from a bloody battle. The place where they passed by was actually where the impassioned teammates of the 525 group gather.
However, why does it seem like she was ignored?
Xiao Jing could only roll her pair of eyes inside the pitch-black room.
After the two small officers put her on the bed, they quickly slipped away.
Shouldn't they serve her tea just like waiting upon a hero and be there at her beck and call? Xiao Jing couldn't help but complain in her mind.
The room was quiet. It was so quiet that her heavy breathing could be distinctly heard.
Xiao Jing's mouth is very parched and due to her being exposed to the scorching sun, her lips also cracked. She used her tongue to lick her lips and felt her whole mouth tastes like rust.
"Indeed, you have exceeded my expectations." The deep and low man's voice rang from the chair not far-off behind her.
Xiao Jing sat up her rigid body as a conditioned reflex, and then twisted her neck to look at the person behind her.
When did this man come in? Was there someone inside the room when they entered?
Shen Chengfeng sat on the chair, propping up his face as he leaned on one side. His lazy stance is casually displayed in front of the restless Xiao Jing.
Xiao Jing was extremely thirsty and continued to swallow her saliva. Her hands are very sore, her waist is very sore, and her whole body appeared to be in a dehydrated state.
Shen Chengfeng pointed at the teacup in front of him and asked, "Want to drink water?"
Xiao Jing nodded. She believes, from the bottom of her heart, that this man who looked as cold as ice on the outside must also be warmhearted in the inside. Seeing her so pitiful, she is certain that this man will be kind enough to hand herself a cup of water.
Shen Chengfeng picked up the teacup and drank it so cleanly in one gulp.
"…"
Xiao Jing goggled at the man who drank the only cup of water inside the room, without a blob of water left inside it. Xiao Jing intensely pressed her lips together. "What should I do??? I really want to beat him… beat him to death!!!
Shen Chengfeng put down the teacup and his gloved hand gently slid over the mouth of the cup as he spoke, "This is a society where the weak are prey to the strong. If you want to take something that you need away from my hands, then your only means is to defeat me!"
"Sir, are you deliberately toying with me? How can I possibly defeat you with my current skills?" The corner of Xiao Jing's mouth felt a wisp of slight pain that still lingers as she spoke. 'Who wouldn't want to say such big words? When I have that ability someday, let alone defeat you, I will definitely bite your neck, suck in your blood, and make you dress like a girl in front of this uncle!'
"It's quite a pity that there won't be a day." Shen Chengfeng stood up and threw a bottle of water in front of her. "Have a good rest tonight. Tomorrow, we'll set off."
"Wait a minute!" Xiao Jing's brains momentarily paused. "We'll set off tomorrow? To where?"
Shen Chengfeng did not reply to her stupid question. His eyes merely flickered in an instant and then gazed at her. Being stared at by those pair of unfathomable eyes, Xiao Jing felt weak in the deepest part of her heart.
Xiao Jing coughed a little and stammered to speak, "I, I didn't –"
"Did you think that I will just comply with the orders from the top and casually choose a person to bring back so as to make up with the numbers?" Shen Chengfeng bent over in front of Xiao Jing and by doing so, the two pairs of eyes met, staring intensely at each other, like two tigers fighting.
Xiao Jing blinked her eyes. In the dimly lit room, she couldn't even see a tiny shadow of her reflection inside the other guy's pupils. She only felt that there was a whirlpool in those pitch-black pupils, and she had unknowingly sucked herself into it.
"The person I picked out is never a waste." His tone, without wind nor waves, was calm when he spoke these words.
Ever since she was born up to the present, in the past 25 years, Xiao Jing always felt that her existence was undesired. For her mother's sake, she had to lower her head in the Xiao Family. Due to her body's problem, she had no choice but to behave in a low-key manner. She had never tried to conduct herself with integrity. But now, a strange man, unexpectedly recognized herself and her abilities.
Somehow, Xiao Jing suddenly wanted to hold his thigh and tell him: 'Great God, I am willing to follow you!'
The light sound of the closing door pulled Xiao Jing's soul back to reality. She reclined back on her bed and looked straight at the ceiling. The room, once again, restored its usual silence.
Moments later, there was a sound of knocking on the door which was then pushed open by a certain person.
Lian Qing personally went to the dining hall to pack a serving of plain rice congee. He sat on the bedside while sighing. "Say, your appearance is too weak to even stand up to the wind, how could you do that and risk your own life?"
Xiao Jing looked at him with bitterness in her heart.
'If not because of you, old man, who acted on your own initiative and reported my name to the senior officer, will this ever happen to me?!'
Lian Qing awkwardly coughed a little before saying, "Your body is dehydrated. Drink some congee to replenish your physical strength a bit."
"Captain, I want to eat meat." Xiao Jing held the congee which has no other ingredients in it and stared at her captain more resentfully.
"Got it, got it. Wait for me to pack you up a red braised pork." Lian Qing rubbed Xiao Jing's head. "I suddenly somewhat regret letting you leave with them."
Xiao Jing pulled his hand off and ate her own bowl of tasteless congee without care.
Lian Qing sighed, "Look at you now. The good cabbage that I have grown with great care will have to leave the basin of cabbages, where it took its roots, one day."
"Have you ever raised me?" Xiao Jing questioned.
"This bowl of congee is what I bought for you."
"Is this even worth mentioning?" Xiao Jing was displeased and annoyed. Xiao Jing glanced at him and handed the dishes over. "Drinking plain boiled water is more delicious than this bowl of congee."
"Tsk, so fast to forget the old love because you have a new one? Don't think that I don't know, this bottle of water was given to you by that extraordinary senior officer."
"Captain, don't you know his identity too?" Xiao Jing asked.
Lian Qing ate the rice in his lunch box until not a grain is left before throwing it into the trash bin and nodded, "I heard that Major Mu calls him captain, so his identity should not be beneath him."
"So, what kind of troops is the special forces team?"
"You want to know?" Lian Qing asked back.
Xiao Jing nodded. She only knew that Xiao Ye is the captain of one of the detachments [1]. The captain of one detachment is a Major General in rank. If the individual concerned is the leader of the team, then would that mean that each and every one in his team are all the cream of the crop?
{T/N: [1] detachment (Official definition of the United States Department of Defense) – (a) A part of a unit separated from its main organization for duty elsewhere; (b) a temporary military or naval unit formed from other units or part of units. Also called DET. — For this novel, the first definition (a) fits the context well.—}
"This is a team that belongs to the top secret of the country. Each team member is a carefully selected person from each camp. Even if one was selected into the special forces team, he still needs to undergo from one assessment to another and in the end, with a ten to one ratio, the best of the best shall remain. The special forces teams are divided into levels. From the lowest level S to the highest level SSS. This time, the SS501 team came, This is the current second-level special forces team. Presumably, their captain should also be in the rank of a Major General."
"A Major General!"
"It is possible that his rank could be higher."