Chapter 134

"Aren't you Zhu Ning's friend?"

"Yes, but I don't think you're as bad as Zhu Ning said. After all these things, I think you're much better than he described."

"On the contrary, I still hate you just the same, even now."

"Why!?... Uh, okay, I admit I was a bit hostile towards you at first, and I can apologize for that."

"If that's what you mean, then I forgive you."

"It's that simple?!"

"Otherwise what?"

"..."

Arno moved the hoe slowly, almost like a statue, his movements were really too strange. Jiang Wenxing scattered a large handful of leaves as fertilizer, bent down and looked at his face: "Strange, you look like I hurt you."

“No,” Arno rubbed his eyes, trying to feign innocence, but he failed. He mumbled, “I’m just disliked by you, no one hurt me.”

Jiang Wenxing said "oh" and turned to continue working. If he took good care of them and the leaves fermented well enough, they would act as a warm bed, allowing the vegetable seeds to grow soundly.

He guessed Arno would be unable to resist asking, so he counted one, two in his mind.

"Can I ask why?"

Jiang Wenxing, holding a winnowing basket, sprinkled the sifting water as he spoke, "What do you think of Zhu Ning?"

This was the first time they had discussed this issue. Arno felt there must be a trap in what he said, but if Jiang Wenxing wanted to talk to him, he had better tell the truth: "He... is very good to me, but his evaluation of you is very negative. He is an easily extreme person, and may even be a bit despicable. For example, he said a lot of bad things about you to me, which made me think you are a very bad person. He is also somewhat powerful, but not in a way that makes him unlikable."

Jiang Wenxing scattered leaves like he was scattering paper money. He watched the leaves fall to the ground and covered them with soil: "Do you know that you're talking badly about him now?"

"Aren't we talking? You're the one asking me for my opinion on Zhu Ning!"

“I was talking, but I thought you would say more about his good points, but you only summarized it in one sentence and then focused on his bad points. From the beginning, you thought he was not someone worth being friends with.”

"What you're saying... Am I not telling the truth? Besides, I thought you'd want to hear his opinion of you."

"Oh, you don't need to say that. He made it very clear when we were arguing: I'm selfish, arrogant, hypocritical, and annoying."

"These can't be real!"

"How do you know? I've known him for over ten years, but how long have I known you? Are you sure you know me well?"

Arno opened his mouth, then suddenly said angrily, "Fine, I know what you mean. You've known each other for over ten years. I flirted with him and then turned around and talked bad about him to you. I'm the one with a problem! Okay, fine!"

“Why are you angry?” Jiang Wenxing walked up to him. “It’s funny that you’re getting angry at yourself.”

Arno threw down his hoe: "Jiang Wenxing!"

Jiang Wenxing smiled slightly. He suddenly felt that expressing himself was a wonderful thing, and at least he felt much more at ease.

He never wanted to talk about these things with others because he always felt that his own affairs were boring, embarrassing to talk about, and that he would be looked down upon by others. Over time, he became a lonely person.

He repeatedly reminded himself of the significance of climbing higher, being overly proud because it made him feel better, but at the same time it was also very hurtful.

Jiang Wenxing bent down to pick up Yano's hoe and handed it to Yano: "Zhu Ning was the best and kindest person I met when I was a child. You could say he took me in, even though I'm older than him."

"We survived together, awakened together as guides, and went to university together. He accompanied me on every step of the way to school. As a former best friend, I can't recount all the good things he did for me."

You know what? When we were little, he was worried I'd abandon him, so he specifically asked me, "What if we fight and we're no longer friends?" Like broken steel, I said I'd go find him and weld us back together with molten iron.

"But in fact, I didn't go to see him again."

“We used to be very good friends. Although he would suspect me when he lost something, he would join in on my bad points to join a new group, and then come back to me when he failed.”

But he also faced immense temptation and resolutely chose me—it was a temptation you can't even imagine. I felt I was doomed, so I told him not to choose anymore, I was leaving. As I walked home alone, he suddenly hugged me from behind and said he wanted to go home with me.

“He will protect your self-esteem, consider your future, and praise you. He is not perfect, but he is good enough. It’s just that I may not have given him the courage to make a second firm choice.”

“I hate it when he talks badly about me, every single time, but maybe there are some things I really did do.”

“Arno, he’s very good to his friends. If you choose him firmly, he won’t abandon you. If you don’t want to believe it, you can think of him as a little mercenary. He’s made a huge investment in you; you’re the only one he can choose.”

Arno felt speechless. He looked at Jiang Wenxing with an incomprehensible, silly puppy-like gaze.

Jiang Wenxing smiled. He felt he had been smiling too much lately. Was it because he had once again been firmly chosen and repeatedly told that he couldn't regret it?

Cough cough.

Jiang Wenxing bluntly stated, "I don't want to steal Zhu Ning's friend, even though I dislike him."

Arno pouted: "Don't you remember all the bad things he did to you? I can name several."

Jiang Wenxing said, "You remember it even more clearly than I do?"

If there's anything you don't understand now, Arno felt that all those words were praising Zhu Ning. Okay, thinking about it carefully, Zhu Ning really was good to him, and he'd been rather cold to him these past few days... But...

Arno glanced at Jiang Wenxing, gripped his hoe, and whispered, "Can't we be friends too?"

Jiang Wenxing said, "This is a child's problem. You are a soldier, but... let me check it out."

He closed his eyes, then opened them a moment later, and said regretfully, "I'm sorry, the spots are full unless you kill one of Ilya, Aguz, Squad Leader Xiong, Alena, Director Liu, the military doctor, or their spiritual entities."

Arno: "Ah, why is Director Liu allowed inside?!"

When Alena returned, the atmosphere seemed strange. Why did Jiang Wenxing appear cheerful, while Yano looked depressed? Did they fight while she was away?

How did Jiang, with his weak physique, manage to win?

Alena was puzzled and surprised, but she had something on her mind and things to do.

With a hoe wielded with great skill, each stroke seemed to usher in a new spring. Jiang Wenxing gave her a thumbs up for her efficiency, and didn't forget to use her other hand to diligently fertilize the soil in the greenhouse.

Alena said smugly, "My dear Alena, I'm the best farmer here!"

After working all afternoon, Jiang Wenxing was covered in mud. He was wearing his work clothes, which were so worn that even a louse couldn't stand on them.

There was no way around it; the water in Kush was too cold in late autumn.

Fortunately, seeing Alena and Yano's expressions, Jiang Wenxing realized that all living beings are equal under the earth, and he felt at ease carrying his hoe back to his dormitory.

"Director Jiang! Congratulations!"

"Guide Jiang, this is a gift from me. I'm taking over the patrol shift from the sentry company. Congratulations, Comrade Jiang!"

"Comrade Guide, these are eagle eggs I just retrieved from the tree this morning. Congratulations, Comrade Guide!"

"Comrade Jiang, we don't have anything good here, just some ant-tribe eyeballs. These things glow at night and can be used as half a light bulb, but they're a horribly green color... Here, take them!"

From the moment the first person on the road greeted Jiang Wenxing, more and more people came as he passed the training ground, and each person was carrying something in their hands.

Jiang Wenxing had just said no when all the food and supplies were already in his hands. And what's going on? All the sentries wanted to shake his hand. Good heavens, the leaves he scattered were covered in pig manure.

Jiang Wenxing hurriedly pulled his hand back, trying to cover it tightly, but the next sentry warmly grasped it.

He looked at her for help and realized that Alena had already been pushed outside.

Jiang Wenxing was flustered and even dropped his hoe: "Congratulations for what? What do you mean? Explain yourselves."

The sentry grinned, revealing his bright white teeth. "We all know. You and Captain Ilya, well, you know, you went to Kinlana together, and you even wore flower wreaths."

Jiang Wenxing suddenly turned his head: "Alena, you big mouth!!!"

Alena cried out in horror, "No, I didn't say anything! I didn't utter a single word!"

Jiang Wenxing: "Who else could it be but you!"

The sentries were very enthusiastic, and they all came to congratulate Jiang Wenxing. But Jiang Wenxing wished he could disappear into the ground. Couldn't they have come at a time when he wasn't still covered in the earth after hoeing?

His clothes, his hands, his face.

Jiang Wenxing's cheeks were flushed as he kept trying to pull his hand back while attempting to quickly escape back to his dormitory.

When I finally reached the dormitory entrance, I found all sorts of gifts laid out there, and many sentries who had just returned from their patrols were enthusiastically carrying large bunches of wildflowers.

The guide's dormitory was bustling with activity, and a familiar loud voice said, "Put everything here, hey, don't knock over the old ones."

Jiang Wenxing squeezed his way out from behind the tall, long-legged sentry. Squad Leader Xiong was standing with his arms crossed, giving instructions: "Don't put them anywhere haphazardly. Put dried fruit, peanuts, and wild persimmons on the left, and flowers, grass, and scraps of cloth on the right. Put them side by side."

Jiang Wenxing: "...Squad leader" This utterance of "squad leader" was filled with a complex mix of emotions, including three parts astonishment, three parts shame, three parts disbelief, and one part tears.

The words "I'm not a big mouth" still echo in my ears, but reality is such a cruel slap in the face.

Jiang Wenxing felt out of place with his rustic aura, but fortunately, at that moment, that familiar voice broke through the encirclement and came to his side.

What are you doing?

"team leader!"

"Team... Captain!"

Ilya had just finished his patrol mission, having been on the move all night and all day. His face looked tired and weary. He looked at Jiang Wenxing's pleading expression, chuckled almost imperceptibly, and then said with a serious face, "What nonsense are you talking about? Go back."

Squad Leader Xiong: "Sigh, I'm leaving too."

Ilya: "You stay."

Squad Leader Xiong: "..." You're going to die.

Ilya walked over to Jiang Wenxing and saw that he looked tired, dejected, and red-faced. He understood what was going on and pushed him into the house, saying, "Wait for me a moment."

Jiang Wenxing quickly washed his face and hands as soon as he entered the room. He was halfway off his dirty clothes when Ilya came in. Jiang Wenxing's pants were stuck on his thighs, so Ilya tossed him a piece of clothing: "Turn around first."

The room was dark, the lights weren't on, and Ilya's expression was inscrutable. After a while, he said, "Want to go to the waterfall to wash up?"

Jiang Wenxing's ears burned: "Ilya!"

Ilya moved closer, his eyes bright, allowing Jiang Wenxing to see his sadness and reluctance: "After winter comes, the mountains will be snowbound, and I will probably have to live on the mountain and won't be able to see you often."

Author's Note: