Chapter 93

The bus drove into Anzhou City. Along the way, everyone wore a mask. The whole city was dead silent, and the people walking back and forth did not have the air of life.

This is the current Xia Kingdom.

Fluorescent disease is still rampant, and the concentration of miasma in the air increases as you get closer to the city center.

Amidst some anti-government rhetoric that the Xia Kingdom would eventually be destroyed, a large number of people, even the elites, abandoned the land, leaving only the unenlightened masses to guard this territory.

An Jing looked at them silently. He straightened his body. Almost at every corner, there were people kneeling on the ground begging. It was obvious to the naked eye that some of them had healthy hands, while others were disabled children.

Their bus fell into silence.

Until Liu Li broke the silence and asked, "Why are the people here like this?"

"This is what happens to a nation without backbone," An Jing said suddenly. "More than thirty years ago, Xia was the world's largest country, but it has been on the decline since the Yingzhi Incident."

Lao Huang: "So, don't think you are living in a peaceful era. No, we are just living in a peaceful country."

Liu Li watched and even took out her bracelet to take a couple of pictures, but was stopped by Bian Lu, who interrupted her, saying, "There's nothing worth taking pictures of here, Sister Li, please put it away."

"Oh, okay." Liu Li smiled awkwardly.

Similarly, An Jing noticed with his sharp eyes that a street vendor had a notice clearly stating that they were selling fruit cigarettes and poetry powder. A thin man with sunken eye bags rushed to buy them despite the woman's dissuasion, looking like a late-stage drug addict.

"..." An Jing suddenly felt sad. He covered his eyes with one hand, and his nose felt sore, and he felt very uncomfortable.

What was he sad about? An Jing couldn't explain it clearly at the time, but many years later, he called it pity, a kind of empathy and sympathy for the tragic experiences of his fellow human beings.

Looking back, the bus drove into the city center gymnasium. From a distance, we could see a banner hanging: Warmly welcome leaders from Blue Continent at all levels to visit our gymnasium to guide our work!

"Haha, that's so impressive." Liu Li said casually.

When Bian Lu heard these words, he couldn't help but feel excited and an indescribable sense of pride and honor.

Only An Jing was different. He noticed the security guards at the gymnasium entrance were dressed in military uniforms and performing the standard salute. He wondered if there was some important person inside. They couldn't have come here just to wait for us.

The occasion was solemn. The bus stopped steadily in a passage and colleagues got off the bus one after another until An Jing. As soon as he got off the bus, he was warmly shaken by the newcomer's hand before he even recognized himself.

"This must be Mr. An Jing'an, right?" the man with thick Mediterranean glasses said with an apologetic smile, "I'm Liu Zhongshi, your father's former friend from Xia Country."

Here it comes again, An Jingxin thought, it's everywhere.

"Hello to you too, Teacher Liu." An Jing bowed respectfully to this elder who looked older than him.

"Well, welcome everyone to Xia Country," Liu Zhongshi said to An Jing, and even took the initiative to act as a tour guide. He said, "We'll have a quick meal first, and then we'll talk about the sports social this afternoon. What sports do you all like?"

An Jing nodded to him, smiled and said, "The guest should follow the host's wishes."

The group entered the gymnasium, which was an indoor basketball court. Many young and energetic male college students were playing basketball. On the other hand, the referees were all tall and straight women.

The atmosphere in the entire venue was warm and energetic.

An Jing frowned, remembering that Xia Country’s current Prime Minister, Lin Zhengen, was a woman.

Sure enough, she was sitting in the first row of the audience, wearing a suit, a jewel brooch, with kind eyes, staring at the boys playing on the court and smiling.

"Is that the big shot of Xia Country?" An Jing was stunned for a moment, and Bian Lu followed up from behind and whispered to him.

At the same time, the white-haired Lin Zhengen turned around and walked straight towards An Jing, saying, "This must be Chief An's son, An Jing, am I not mistaken?"

An Jing was inexplicably nervous and said, "Yes, Ms. Lin."

Lin Zhengen: "I've made all the necessary preparations for today's meeting. These people are all from major sports universities in our country. How about a friendly sports match with you this afternoon?"

"It's my honor." Professor Huang, the team leader, finally responded.

After saying that, Lin Zhengen returned to her stands and applauded the players who scored on the field like a kind old grandmother.

-

A group of seven or eight of them were led by Liu Zhongshi to a large conference hall. The place was magnificent and luxuriously decorated, especially the large round table placed in the center, which exuded a luxurious glow and looked very much like golden nanmu. In short, it exuded high-end and class everywhere.

Except for An Jing, almost everyone had a look of surprise and astonishment in their eyes, as if their hearts were shocked by such luxury.

After everyone took their seats, Liu Zhongshi called out using his pager. The people who came in were all girls in their twenties, all with simple makeup but still innocent. They lowered their brows and carried their plates, placing the dishes one by one on the revolving table.

Even the girl serving the food was so pleasing to the eye.

Bian Lu secretly sent a message to An Jing through his bracelet: "I have opened my eyes. Is this the happiness of you Tianlong people?"

This was a very amusing scene, which caught Liu Zhongshi's attention and made him smile meaningfully.

An Jing didn't react at all, just stood there in a daze, then sat down and waited patiently for the meal to be served.

He seemed to have seen it a lot, so he didn't take it seriously.

But for Bian Lu, it was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. Although he didn't show much reaction on his face, he had indeed never seen the food, drink and other expenses. He even carefully took the handkerchief handed to him by the waiter to wipe his hands, thinking it was something new.

"He's here to wipe your hands." Professor Huang reminded the terrified Bian Lu.

Bian Lu made two "oh" sounds and smiled awkwardly, then wiped his hands with it.

"Prime Minister, would you like to join us?" When Bian Luduoxin heard this, he was immediately frightened, and his eyes changed slightly when he looked at the Mediterranean through thick glasses - what a grand occasion, letting the Prime Minister have dinner with small people like us.

Of course, in the eyes of the top leaders of Xia State, An Jing is indeed worthy of generous treatment.

Liu Zhongshi nodded. Someone brought another set of tableware over. If An Jing was not mistaken, the tableware he used should be blue-and-white crackle porcelain.

"How is your father's health?" asked Liu Zhongshi as he sat down.

An Jing came to his senses and replied, "I'm fine. I often say I can do this for another ten years."

"Hahaha, is that so?" Liu Zhongshi nodded and said, "Then why don't you come visit our Xia Country more often? Our chairman also said that the famous dishes that Chief An brought last time were also very flavorful. I hope that the two sides can exchange and communicate more."

"When did he come to Xia Country?" An Jing laughed heartily, then realized belatedly and said, "Oh, General Cheng is here. I'll tell my dad, Uncle Liu...don't worry."

After a few polite exchanges, the meal was finally over.

-

They agreed to play a friendly basketball game in the afternoon. After lunch, everyone went their separate ways, leaving An Jing alone in the locker room before the game with a serious expression on his face. He stared at himself in the mirror, lost in thought.

The door was pushed open. An Jing thought it was Bian Lu. Because of the message he sent to him, he just opened his mouth and said, "Can you please stop calling me Tian..."

It turned out to be Lin Mosheng.

An Jing: "Why are you here?"

"I came to Xia Country a while before you did." Lin Mosheng was tossing an orange in his hand. He said, "I heard you were here for a friendly ball game, so I sneaked in to play. Have you forgotten? I was an exchange student from Xia Country for a while."

"I'm going to beat you up on the court later." Lin Mosheng said.

An Jing turned his face away, as if he was extremely unhappy with his inexplicable hostility.

Yes, they are not familiar with each other at all in Anjing.

Just as he finished speaking, the door rang twice and Bian Lu reappeared at the door. He seemed confused about the situation and reminded, "The audience is here and they are warming up outside."

Lin Mosheng saw him stunned. After a long while, he regained his composure and asked, "Bian Lu, what's wrong with you?"

"Do you know each other?" An Jing asked.

"He and I were classmates in high school. He had very good grades back then." Lin Mosheng smiled happily and went up to him to bump into his arm, as if he was being very intimate, but was rejected by Bian Lu.

"Do you know each other?" Bian Lu asked An Jing and Lin Mosheng again.

An Jing: "He and I were college classmates. Because of my dad, I have some business dealings with his family."

"..." Lin Mosheng's expression became subtle, as if he was embarrassed because he failed to get close to the two and was ignored by them.

Bian Lu understood what was going on, so he said to Lin Mosheng with a stern face, "Then can you please leave? I have something to say to An Jing."

"Yeah." An Jing also nodded.

Lin Mosheng was amused. He hummed, spread his hands out of boredom, and then walked away in boredom.

After the others left, An Jing re-examined Bian Lu and said, "I think you should clarify your identity. I don't like others calling me a Celestial Dragon."

Correct your own identity?

Oh my God, what a bureaucratic statement, as if they were in a relationship of superior and subordinate.

"..." Only then did Bian Lu realize that An Jing obviously did not consider himself to be on the same level as him.

He privately thought that he had bound An Jing's heart with love, but he didn't know that in the eyes of such an absolutely rational person, love was dispensable and marriage was the bond that maintained a more loyal relationship.

"You...haha." Bian Lu laughed bitterly, looking at An Jing with a bit of melancholy in his eyes. He asked, "You just want to play with me, right?"

"What about you?" An Jing narrowed his eyes, a hint of sadness in his eyes, and said, "Isn't it because I'm the leader's son that you keep coming up to me again and again? Otherwise, would you have forgiven me for skipping your work?"

"I really thought you were a little pregnant..." Before Bian Lu could finish his words, An Jing came up and kissed him. He put his arms around the back of Bian Lu's head and gave him a long, deep kiss.

Then they separated and said, "I kind of like it."

Bian Lu's expression became one of scrutiny and assessment. After all, a kiss was so cheap. But An Jing's eyes were bright, his amber pupils like lost stars, and combined with his face, they were particularly moving.

Bian Lu softened his heart again and thought, forget it, something is better than nothing.

An Jing explained, "I'm a very self-centered person with a set of universal values ​​centered around myself. Anyone who infringes on them will be disliked and alienated by me. — Do you understand? I hope we can get along well."

I can't tell, Bian Lu sighed. He really couldn't tell whether this person was sincere or not. But it was precisely this twisted emotion of wanting to love or not that poisoned Bian Lu and made him addicted.

Bian Lu then suppressed his emotions and asked softly, "I saw you suddenly wiping away tears in the car today. Why?"

"Ah, what?" An Jing seemed to be unexpectedly asked this question. Feeling a little embarrassed and a little angry, he subconsciously rubbed his eyes and said in resistance, "I didn't."

Bian Lu: "In the car, before entering the stadium, did you see anything or think about anything?"

"Okay, yes." An Jing sighed. He frowned and said in an annoyed tone, "But why should I tell you the reason?"

Still the same, he doesn't treat me as his own at all.

Bian Lu released his embrace, growing impatient. He picked up someone's clothes, tore them into strips, and slammed them hard on the stool. He said, "I just realized, I just realized today, that you've never looked at anyone with an even eye. An Jing, you said you don't like political struggles, but to me, you're nothing but a political machine. You're so nice to everyone, so appropriate to everyone, like central air conditioning!"

An Jing froze and thought to himself, do I have it?

"Why do you think so?" An Jing twitched his lips, looking unhappy. He quickly walked towards Bian Lu, his boldness and impatience in his voice, and said, "I just hope you can have a certain sense of boundaries when talking to me. Be polite, do you understand?"

"Is calling you a Tianlong person rude?" Bian Lu laughed dryly and said, "I thought I was joking with you."

"I don't like jokes!" An Jing shouted, then swallowed it back and explained, "The people around me, and my family, don't like to joke. I can no longer tell the difference between joking and joking. If I lose my way, I'll go crazy!"

"What do you mean by that?!" Bian Lu also said anxiously.

"It's about values ​​and thoughts! In my eyes, everything should be done in accordance with the rules and have cause and effect." An Jing scolded, "Otherwise, it's a provocation to me!"

Bian Lu frowned: "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You don't understand, you don't understand what I've been through. The education I received since childhood and my real life are so disconnected." An Jing said as he changed into casual clothes and was about to pick up his bag to go out, but was grabbed by Bian Lu's arm. An Jing was about to lose his temper.

Bian Lu squatted down and tied his loose shoelaces. He sighed and said softly, "You have a very strange temper. To be honest, sometimes I can't tell whether you are happy or sad. It seems that your expression changes faster than turning the pages of a book. Tell me, how did I offend you today?"

This action seemed to touch An Jing again, making him feel loved, and his expression softened.

"No." An Jing sat down and said, "You didn't offend me. I just acted like myself in front of you."

Bian Lu looked up, but An Jing took a deep breath and said, "I thought I was a talkative person, but in fact, I don't like dealing with people, so I am not good at any close relationship."

Bian Lu: "You know everything."

"But I don't know anything." An Jing was dejected.

Bian Lu took his hand, conveying warmth, smiled patiently, and replied, "You are capable of many things: a giant in philosophy and a child in life."

"Really?" An Jing was stunned, then finally smiled, as if he was floating in the air. He stood up suddenly, as if happy, and said to Bian Lu, "Let's go, let's play the friendly game."

Bian Lu thought he was in a good mood, so he followed him.