0099 Survival (1)

Surviving (1)

"Sir, the tea is getting cold."

Inside the cabin, a subordinate placed a white porcelain cup filled with strong tea on the table in front of his seat. Wan Qibo's rare moment of distraction was interrupted by his subordinate, but he quickly regained his usual cold and serious demeanor.

He nodded to signal the other person to step back. Perhaps it was because the bloodshot eyes from his two sleepless nights were too glaring, but his subordinate, who was usually very tactful, rarely spoke up.

"You should take a rest."

Seeing that he did not react for a long time, the subordinate finally withdrew.

The cabin was quiet. The strong tea always had a slightly bitter taste. It wasn't high-quality tea; it was just some cheap street tea I'd bought for a few dozen yuan a pound through my secretary when I was stationed in Chongqing, but it was very effective at keeping me alert.

He has been busy with work since adulthood. He developed the habit of drinking tea to relieve fatigue when he was young. Influenced by his father's generation, before he met Xu Yi, although he was unruly, he always believed that a person's energy should be endlessly dedicated to the motherland and career.

Thus, even after marrying Xu Yi—the person he loved to the extreme—he rarely violated military regulations to reunite with his family, except for the occasional longing for his wife and children.

Ah Yi would repeatedly remind him that strong tea was bad for his health, so he quit, only to relapse after his wife left.

Perhaps only in the deepest, most painful nights after his wife's death will he realize how much of a failure he has been as a husband in his own little family.

His father was upright and incorruptible throughout his life, rarely using his connections with subordinates, yet he contacted him late at night using encrypted lines.

Perhaps he panicked at that moment, which is why he lost his composure in front of his subordinates.

His little brother... his little brother with Ah Yi, he had tormented him to such an extent.

He was heartbroken.

Fifteen years ago, when his wife and second son had an accident, he was devastated and even considered ending his life to follow in his wife's footsteps. It was his father's words that brought him back to his senses.

It took him many years to accept that his wife was gone, but his father's conversation with him reminded him in that instant that he was still a father of two.

Xiao Yao is still receiving treatment in the hospital, while the Xu and Si families are eyeing her with predatory intent. Former in-laws have suddenly turned against each other.

Perhaps misfortune never comes singly, as it coincided with that political upheaval. They barely managed to weather the storm thanks to my father's presence.

Human nature is unpredictable. The struggle between the Wan and Xu families was about to drag his son into it. Perhaps it was at that moment that he realized his wife's death was just a trigger. And all those kinship ties and flesh and blood were merely pawns in a political game.

They actually wanted to ask him for Xiao Yao!

He was furious and flustered.

He always knew that Xu Er was unhappy that Xu Yi had given up his career for him, so he secretly nurtured A Zhan after A Zhan was born, and might take him away before he even came of age.

He didn't care, because that was his son, and Xu Er was his son's uncle; back then, that was all he thought about. But now, they're using A-Zhan's departure to pressure him into letting Xiao Yao live in the Xu family home—do they think he's a fool?

He really wanted to shoot his brother-in-law. They wanted to use Xiao Yao to control the Wan family, but he, Wan Qibo, would not be so cowardly as to use his son as a hostage.

He asked his former comrade-in-arms to send Xiao Yao to D Province overnight. He thought he could finally rest easy, but he didn't even need to see Xiao Yao in person. Just hearing his tearful voice on the other end of the phone broke his heart.

Even the usually ruthless father was furious when he learned that he had sent Xiao Yao to the south, and couldn't understand why he was so heartless.

He never regretted it.

His son with Ah Yi can grow up on his own and be tempered into steel, but he must never become a pawn of the enemy and suffer a life of injustice.

But his father only needed a few words in the encrypted call to shatter the strong walls that had been built up in his heart over the years.

Fuze is seriously ill; return home quickly.

He didn't even have the courage to ask his father how serious his youngest son's illness was, let alone how serious it was that required his immediate return.

He could only ask himself at this moment: if he had been willing to compromise a little and send Xiao Yao to the Xu family during those years when his son left City B, would he have suffered so much?

Xiao Yao had been away from home to D province for many years. The first time he was brought home was during the Spring Festival, a time he still remembers vividly.

Although he is a boy, Xiao Yao is just as thoughtful and sensitive as A Yi.

When he returned home that day, his father called him to the study for a talk, and Wan Qibo was unusually distracted.

Although he was unruly in his youth, he always treated his elders with respect because of Wanqi Shouque's beatings, especially since the person in front of him was not only his father but also his former superior.

But he couldn't help missing his child.

When he saw Xiao Yao in D province, his heart broke...

The child was intelligent and sensible from a young age, with bright and beautiful eyes, just like Xu Yi. He had once been afraid to see his son's eyes, as they would remind him of the unbearable pain of his deceased wife. But when he saw those eyes light up the moment they saw him, he felt as if his heart had been torn apart by the child.

What a cruel heart...

He has a truly ruthless heart.

His father cursed him as a bastard for daring to abandon his own son, who was still so young, in such a place... He couldn't talk back, but his father's angry scolding made him feel a little better and more at ease.

Would you like to see Xiao Yao?

During the conversation, he asked his father, "Xiao Yao seems to miss you very much."

His hand trembled slightly as he said this.

He was afraid his father would refuse, but even more afraid his father would agree.

In fact, he had already discerned his father's attitude from the subtle hint given by the bodyguard at the door.

The old man in front of me hesitated for a long time before finally uttering two words: "I won't see you."

good.

He nodded and left.

My father was always decisive and ruthless, with the air of a general, yet I still couldn't understand why he would so cruelly harm his son.

"Not seeing" means "unable to bear it".

He stepped out of the room and was shocked to find himself drenched in a cold sweat. Seeing Xiao Yao looking dejected in the tea room on the first floor, he felt a pang of fear that he couldn't face her alone...

Ah Yi, if you were still by my side, would you forgive me for hurting our son to this extent...?

Even now, the pain is still excruciating.

Fifteen years ago, he was no match for natural disasters and man-made calamities.

Fifteen years later, all he wanted was to see a healthy little one.

P.S.: The story, which spans 23 years, has finally come to its final chapter, "Survival." Thank you all for your support.