Chapter 73 Zhai Xun x Si Ran 05

A farm in the Saar Federation.

Zhai Xun was wearing a dark blue work suit and his pants were covered in mud. He squatted next to the seed drill and explained to the farmers how to use the instrument.

"Everyone, take a look. This green lever is used to adjust the sowing amount. If you push it down a little, you will sow less seeds. If you lift it up, you will sow more seeds."

As Zhai Xun spoke, he stood up and helped the farmer next to him, Lao Zhou, adjust the height of the operating lever. "It's just like sowing wheat seeds in the past. You have to adjust it according to the dryness or wetness of the soil. Sprinkle less on wet soil and more on dry soil so that the seedlings will grow evenly."

Old Zhou tried it twice, and the seed drill finally spit out evenly distributed seeds. He smiled naively, "Mr. Zhai, I understand now! I never knew how to use this thing before."

"Take your time, and feel free to ask me if you have any questions." Zhai Xun said, and when he looked up, he saw a familiar figure in the distance.

His smile faded instantly.

Zhai Siran was wearing a neatly ironed white suit with a little mud on his trouser legs. He still looked arrogant and condescending, striding towards them with a cell phone in his hand.

He ignored the curious looks of the farmers around him and walked straight up to Zhai Xun.

His tone was deliberately gentle: "Dad, your phone was left in the rest area. My brother just called."

Zhai Xun didn't answer the phone. He continued to help Lao Zhou check the machine and asked casually, "Why are you here again? Doesn't the Free Alliance need you to handle matters?"

Seeing that the child had come to see his father, Lao Zhou took the initiative to say, "If you have something to do, go ahead and do it. We will study it ourselves."

"Well, thank you all for your hard work." Zhai Xun then stopped and took the phone.

The words "Wenxi" lit up on the screen. He paused and called back.

"What's up?"

"Uncle!" Zhai Wenxi's voice came from the receiver, with obvious impatience, "...I need your help. Can you come over when you have time?"

Zhai Xun rubbed his brows, his eyes swept over the farmers waiting to learn in the fields, and then glanced at Zhai Siran beside him, "I can't leave here for the time being. The seeds in the field have just been planted, and I have to watch them sprout. It will take at least a week before I can go over."

"A week is fine!" Zhai Wenxi agreed immediately, his voice a little relaxed. "Then I'll wait for you. Uncle, please be careful on the road."

After hanging up the phone, Zhai Xun put the phone in his pocket and turned around to continue working.

Zhai Siran came forward and stretched out his hand to brush the dirt off his shoulders, but Zhai Xun dodged sideways.

Zhai Siran's hands were frozen in mid-air, and the cuffs of his suit were stained with grass debris. He did nothing, just standing in the field, looking very out of place.

He looked at Zhai Xun's deliberately distant back, his Adam's apple moved, and his tone softened a bit: "Dad, it's past dinner time... and you haven't eaten yet. I personally cooked your favorite dishes. Let's go to the tent to eat."

Zhai Xun didn't turn around, but just instructed the farmers who had gathered around him: "Everyone, try it out as I just taught you. If you don't understand something, write it down. I'll come over to check it later."

He turned around after saying that.

His eyes swept over the food box in Zhai Siran's hand and he said coldly, "Don't worry about it. I brought my own food."

"Dad, I know you're still mad at me, but we have to eat." Zhai Siran stepped forward and handed the lunch box to him. "It contains your favorite seafood and stir-fried seasonal vegetables. I know you don't like oily food, so I specially asked them to use less oil and salt."

The surrounding farmers dispersed on their own accord. As Old Zhou passed by, he still managed to persuade them: "Mr. Zhai, if you have something to say, please talk to them nicely. Don't get angry with the child."

Zhai Xun didn't respond, but just stared at the food box in Zhai Siran's hand. Finally, he relented and said, "Let's go."

The simple tent was set up next to the farm. There were still mud spots on the canvas from the rain a few days ago. There was only a folding table and two plastic chairs inside.

Zhai Siran put the food box on the table. When he opened it, it was still steaming and the aroma of food spread instantly.

But Zhai Xun just sat on the chair, took out a wheat cake from his canvas bag, broke off a piece and put it in his mouth.

"Dad, why are you eating this?" Zhai Siran handed the chopsticks to him. "This wheat cake is so hard. Eating too much will hurt your stomach."

"I'm used to it."

Zhai Xun chewed his wheat cake, his voice flat, "You may have forgotten that during the war in the Saar Federation, the refugees were extremely hungry..."

He deliberately shook the wheat cake in his hand and said, "But people would kill for a piece of cake the size of a palm."

Zhai Siran's hand paused, a trace of panic flashed across his eyes, but he still forced himself to speak, trying to change the subject: "Dad, you look thinner and darker. It's been very hard for you recently, right?"

"...I'm not busy with work lately, so how about I help you? I've learned to use a seed drill, I know a little bit about harvest statistics, and I can even help you keep an eye on the irrigation..."

Zhai Xun finally raised his eyes: "No need."

"Dad." Zhai Siran wanted to continue speaking but was interrupted by Zhai Xun.

His eyes were filled with mockery. "You're a core member of the Free Alliance, always busy with all sorts of affairs. All major matters in the Saar Federation must be approved by you. It's really condescending for you to farm here with a commoner like me."

"Dad, I'm a little sad when you say that."

Zhai Siran lowered his voice, his fingertips clenching the tablecloth, "I just feel sorry for you and want to help you share the burden."

"Hmph." Zhai Xun suddenly laughed, then put the wheat cake in his hand on the table, and the crumbs were scattered all over the table.

"Excuse me, what are you helping me share? Sharing... the bombs you approved during the Freedom Alliance rebellion? Or sharing the lives of the innocent people you killed?"

The wind outside the tent brought in the smell of earth, and Zhai Siran's face turned pale instantly.

Zhai Siran's eyes suddenly showed some grievance, and he explained, "This is not my fault. The Saar Federation Government has been rotten for a long time! Those unfair social systems, the serious class differences... Even if I wasn't there, someone would stand up and overthrow it! I just added fuel to the fire."

"What did you say?" Zhai Xun pointed at the backs of the farmers outside the tent, his voice trembling. "Where are those innocent people? What have they done wrong?"

"They were already middle-aged, their families separated in this war, and they even lost their homes... Problems always arise in the course of history. For a country to develop and society to progress, continuous reform is needed to improve real life, not to start a war just because you feel dissatisfied."

"But I just want to be with you!" Zhai Siran's eyes turned red instantly.

"We're not even related by blood, so why wouldn't the Saar Federation government allow us to be together? They say this kind of relationship is shameful, 'immoral,' and 'incestuous.' Even when we went to the market together to buy things, we were questioned by the police for ages! I overturned their claims just to be with you openly. What have I done wrong?!"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Zhai Xun smiled, his eyes tearing up. "Your love is boundless, while theirs is lowly and humble, so they deserve to have their families torn apart!"

"Then what are you doing here with me? Are you begging for my forgiveness? Or are you planning to keep me captive and let me do whatever you want?"

"I..." Zhai Siran opened his mouth but no words came out.

He knew he was in the wrong, but he was unwilling to admit it.

If he admitted it, it would be equivalent to denying all his insistence and admitting that he was no longer qualified to stay with Zhai Xun.

"Dad, I know I was wrong."

His voice softened, tinged with tears. "I can quit my position in the Freedom Alliance and never get involved in those things again. I'll help you farm and take care of these farmers. I'm willing to do anything, as long as you don't kick me out."

Zhai Xun looked at his red eyes and shook his head helplessly.

Before the war came, he believed that his son was kind, but had gone astray because of his paranoia.

As long as Zhai Siran lowers his head a little, he will do everything he can to cover for him.

He just regarded Zhai Siran's ridiculous behavior as a sign of unclear cognition. He was still young and would grow up eventually.

Therefore, during those months of imprisonment, he tried to use his father's role to influence a misguided and rebellious son.

But later, he found out that he was wrong. Some people are born bad, and it has nothing to do with others.

"Don't come next time. Just focus on your work."

Zhai Siran couldn't bear to see his indifferent look. He almost protested: "Those people are just victims of war. It's the inevitable result of history! Dad, you are always like this. You only see others and never see me! I do all this for you!"

"For me?" Zhai Xun stood up, his eyes full of disappointment. "If you really want this for me, then don't show up here again. Don't disturb my life with your 'guilt' anymore."

Zhai Siran stared at Zhai Xunman's back. Suddenly, repeated double images appeared in front of his eyes, and the words "Don't appear here again, don't appear here again..." kept echoing in his ears.

In the end, the accumulated grievances and paranoia instantly broke through reason.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and bloodshot eyes flashed, like a trapped beast that had been provoked.

He began to mutter to himself, "For you... I'd even give up my position in the Freedom Alliance, even my reputation, and yet you told me not to come? Do you hate me that much... Why, why, why wouldn't you just stay with me?"

Zhai Siran took out a prepared injection from the inside pocket of his suit. The liquid in the syringe was light blue and had a strange luster in the dim light of the tent.

He took a step forward, grabbed Zhai Xun's wrist, pressed the back of his neck with his other hand, and inserted the needle into the gland on Zhai Xun's neck.

Zhai Xun's pupils suddenly shrank, and he wanted to push him away, but he felt a numbness quickly spreading through his glands to his whole body.

His pheromones became disordered instantly and began to leak out diffusely, but were quickly suppressed by the effects of the injection.

His eyes went dark and he fell into Zhai Siran's arms.

Zhai Siran hugged Zhai Xun's limp body, and tears finally fell, but he did not feel any regret, but instead had a twisted sense of satisfaction.

This way, his father won't chase him away anymore.

He picked up Zhai Xun, walked out of the tent, ignored the surprised looks of the surrounding farmers, stuffed him into the car, and drove to the private hospital of the Saar Federation.

…

When he woke up again, Zhai Xun was lying on a clean white hospital bed, his wrists fixed with soft restraints, and he felt a tingling pain in his glands.

Zhai Siran was sitting on a chair beside the bed at this time, staring motionlessly at the liquid in his infusion tube.

"Awake?" Zhai Siran's voice was hoarse. He reached out to touch his forehead, but Zhai Xun turned his head away.

"You did it!" Zhai Xun's voice was cold. He did not have any doubts but questioned affirmatively.

The stinging pain in his glands and the lingering effects of the injection told him the answer.

He struggled to sit up, but found that his body was still a little weak. "What did you inject me with?"

At this time, the door of the ward was pushed open, and a doctor in a white coat walked in. When he saw Zhai Xun woke up, his eyes were obviously panicked.

The doctor first glanced at Zhai Siran, then said to Zhai Xun, "Mr. Zhai, are you awake? You had a sudden pheromone disorder earlier, which caused acute glandular failure. You need to rest well..."

"Acute glandular failure?" Zhai Xun sneered. "Do hospitals these days just take money and cheat patients? Where are your medical ethics as doctors?"

Suddenly, the alpha pheromone broke through the suppression of the drug and surged out.

The doctor was instantly pinned to the spot by the suppressive pheromones, his face turning terrifyingly pale.

"I'm asking you, what's wrong with me?" Zhai Xun's tone was fierce, and the concentration of his pheromones was getting higher and higher. "Tell the truth, or I will make sure you can never hold a scalpel again."

The doctor's knees went weak and he almost fell to the ground. He subconsciously glanced at Zhai Siran.