âEi? In the time I went to get some rice wine, little lass Jian came home.â Outside the unlocked door came Principal Chenâs jubilant laughter, âTonight little lass Jian will accompany Old Uncle and I as we drink some wine and celebrate a Spring Festival of reunion!â
Since the moment Ye Jian1 had graduated from junior high, they hadnât had a reunited New Year. In the past, she was training even in the first month of New Year and only rushed back on the last day before school reopens. Her training that spans from the start of the year till the end of the year, occupied most of her time during her last four years, and her studies had instead become a secondary objective.
The alcoholic fragrance of rice wine mixed with the fragrant spice from the dishes. Tonight had become the night when Ye Jian smiled the most and when she was the happiest. To say something that would incur internal damage to Major Xia, she was much more happier than spending time with him.
Ye Jian didnât drink too much; she drank less than one shot before the two elders urged her to get some early rest. Training for twenty-two consecutive days, no matter which unit she was placed in, still counted as a high-intensity training session, and she should get some well-needed rest.
Her emotions fluctuated hugely when she returned; she also drank some alcohol; after spending two hours chatting with her two dearest family, Ye Jian, who was extremely happy to the core, naturally obeyed their wishes, after brushing up, she really got into bed and fell asleep.
She fell asleep. Inside the living room, Principal Chen poured Old Uncle Gen a warm cup of rice wine; after clinking their glasses together, he said: âFrom what I see, the things Uncle want to say shouldnât be mentioned for the time being, why donât we wait till after Gaokao before we bring it up again?â
âThereâs not too much time before Gaokao, letâs have her finish the exams peacefully. The military is also waiting for her Gaokaoâs results to be published, and is waiting for her to officially start her military journey. At this important crossroad, Uncle Gen, Iâm scared things would go wrong.â
If Ye Jianâs Gaokao was affected just because of Ye familyâs darned matters, then thatâs not worth it at all!
Old Uncle Gen sipped on his cup; he let out a long sigh, âThat Ye familyâs old woman is going crazy, indulging that son-in-law of hers to act so lawlessly. Iâm scared heâll bring trouble to the school, and little lass Jian wouldnât be prepared.â
âWhat Old Mrs. Ye is doing is really inappropriate, and also her son-in-law, I donât quite understand why they want you to step in, to persuade Ye Jian to meet with them? Also, that night, I also heard Old Mrs. Ye mention something about a âjade pendantâ. While listening to her, I have a feeling that it has a very important relationship with Ye Jian?â
âThereâs also something I wanted to ask you that night. Since Uncle knew Sun Yaozu was a wanted criminal, why didnât you contact the police to take him away? Leaving him alone till now, he had just turned into a huge scourge.â
This time when Principal Chen went back to pick up Old Uncle Gen to the provincial city, that same night, he saw Old Mrs. Ye bringing her son-in-law and daughter in tow as they walked in with an extremely confident air around them, he wanted to come out to stop them, but was stopped by Old Uncle Gen and was asked to stay in the room, for Ye Jianâs sake, he mustnât show himself.
Though he didnât show himself, he did hear quite a lot of things, one of them was about a âjade pendant,â the other was news that Sun Yaozuâs wanted criminal status had turned from criminal to innocent!
After he finished his questions, the living room fell into silence once again; after a good while had passed, Old Uncle Gen spoke: âItâs not something that can be told clearly in a few words, but I did regret not telling the police about it.â
âAbout that jade pendant, actually, little lass Jian knew about it, you can also consider it a memento of her motherâs, however I advised her not to take back that disastrous thing.â
Principal Chenâs hand that was grabbing for peanut kernels paused, âIâm a bit confused by Uncleâs words, since itâs a memento of the Fallen Hero Sun Xueqing, why did it suddenly become a disastrous thing?ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âAfter she got her hands on that piece of jade, she returned in a tiny box, she was gone, turned into dust.â Mentioning Ye Jianâs mother, every wrinkle on Grandpa Genâs face was seeping with seriousness, âShe also mentioned this to me, if one day she died out there, it most likely has something to do with that piece of jade.â