Side Story 1: The Three Crises of Young Luo Jianhua
Even in his old age, when Ronaldo recalls all the storms he has weathered, the most memorable are still the three life crises he experienced during his youth.
The first time was when I was in junior high school. My family became rich almost overnight because my dad's business was growing bigger and bigger. We bought a big house in the city and the whole family moved there.
Although the conditions in the city are much better than in the countryside, I don't like moving there. Yes, the house is bigger, but it's also more empty. My dad is often away from home socializing, and my mom is busy following him around, keeping an eye on whether he's seeing other women. Arguments are inevitable.
Grandma didn't have to worry about them so much when she lived in the countryside, since she only saw them once or twice a month. Now that they live together, she has secretly shed tears countless times because of their problems.
I don't really like staying at home. I often think about the times I spent with Xiaoming and the others. Those were such happy days. I knew what I should and shouldn't do, and what would make Xiaoming happy. Although there were some things I didn't like, like going to class or early morning self-study, riding my bike with Xiaoming to school was still quite fun, especially the envious looks from those little rascals. It was like a breath of fresh air, hehe...
New school, new classmates, I just can't muster the energy to interact with them. They're all so childish and superficial, especially the girls. During breaks, they're excitedly discussing hair accessories and other things that Xiaoming has been using for ages. It's really... there's no limit to how stupid people can get.
The boys... most of them were as skinny as chickens, their arms and legs so thin they looked like they'd be crushed with a single kick. They were even less energetic when playing ball, unable to withstand any impact. Seeing the somewhat frightened looks in their eyes, I actually quite enjoyed it, hehe...
The girls were all afraid of me. It seems that in rural schools, only the girls were afraid of me. Only Xiaoming wasn't afraid of me much. She always made me do things. If it weren't for Grandpa Cheng's sake, and the delicious food she would bring me every now and then, and... Actually, she was quite nice to us, so helping her out wasn't a big deal. I was just killing time anyway.
That's when I met Geng Xinyang. This guy wasn't exactly a good person either; he was rather lecherous, although it seems like not many guys aren't.
This guy's situation is a bit more serious. The sister of a local thug is quite pretty and also studies at our school. She doesn't seem like a decent person either, and she's hooked up with this guy, Geng Xinyang. One of the thugs, who also seemed to have his eye on the girl, found out and brought a few guys to ambush Geng Xinyang on his way home from school and beat him up. I didn't want to get involved in this mess, but those guys who beat him up got themselves into trouble and started yelling at me. I kicked them to the ground, and now Geng Xinyang treats me like his savior. It's really unbelievable.
I didn't take this matter too seriously at first, but it almost cost me my life. The girl's brother brought a group of thugs to find me and Geng Xinyang. The scene was chaotic. I don't know how many people I hit, and I was hit by bricks several times. The only thing that almost killed me was the dagger in my abdomen. I took it for Geng Xinyang, and he owes me for it for the rest of his life. Although later, Xiaoming said that he wished I hadn't taken that hit for him. He had never felt so bad in his life. A beautiful flower was placed in front of him, but he didn't dare to reach out. It was torture.
At that moment, I really thought I was done for. I was bleeding a lot, and Geng Xinyang's leg was also seriously injured, so we couldn't count on him at all. The group of people also staggered away, dragging their injured bodies. I was taken to the hospital by the police. Lying on the cold operating table, it felt like my soul had left my body. I couldn't feel any pain at all. I thought I might die.
I cherish this world. I used to think that life was really meaningless. Like my parents, they bickered every day. They were quite casual about spending money and didn't care much about the children and the elderly at home. The kind of affection that you only see in Xiaoming's family, I couldn't find in my family. Apart from my grandmother, there was really no place that made me feel at home.
But now, I feel like I'm going to die. I'm suddenly very scared. I used to think that I should grow up quickly so that I could pursue Xiaoming and then we could get married and live a happy life like her family. But now, am I going to lose my chance?
But thankfully, I didn't die. The surgery was successful, and I recovered quickly. I've never been so afraid of dying before. A week later, I secretly ran away from the hospital, took a taxi to Xiaoming's house, and stayed there for a day. I only saw Xiaoming taking Li Lianhui's car to school in the morning, and at noon she went out to the stall outside the school to buy a small bowl of cherries. She ate one, and it was so sour that she frowned, but she still ate a few more with a grimaced face. I really don't know what she was thinking. Why did she eat it if it tasted so bad? Was she just really craving it?
After school that evening, they rode home in Li Lin's car. Two boys deliberately cut them off with their car, but they were scared away by Li Lianhui, Xiao Hei, and Xiao Huang, who caught up with them.
When I returned to the hospital that evening, my parents were there anxiously waiting for me. Suddenly, I realized that maybe they weren't completely without feelings for each other; at least for this moment, they still had a lot in common.
Being alive might not be so bad.
The second time was after I got married, when I was a sophomore in college. Because I represented the school in a competition for college students in the public security system and performed outstandingly, I was selected to carry out a special mission: to disguise myself as a delinquent teenager and infiltrate a drug trafficking gang.
This mission was unavoidable; the task assigned from above was to take down a major city in the south. Apparently, a high-ranking official was coming to inspect the city soon, and before that, they had to dismantle this drug trafficking gang with organized crime connections. This group was already quite rampant in the city, but their organization was tight-knit, and their protectors were powerful, making it impossible for local authorities to take action. Therefore, a group of police officers from other areas were transferred to infiltrate them through various channels.
The mission went relatively smoothly. I'm extremely familiar with these kinds of scoundrels; I've seen far too many of them since I was a child. I can judge their thoughts and mentality from their every move and word, so I'm almost always sure of success.
Just when everything was going smoothly, and within a few months, various departments worked together to wipe out the gang with overwhelming force, a few escaped. They were all desperate criminals with more than one life on their hands.
The leaders were all on edge. A few others and I were sent to protect the leader who was conducting a low-key inspection. Based on my intuition, I spotted the thugs mixed among the workers and saw the black muzzles of their guns hidden under their coats. In that instant, I thought of many things: Xiaoming and the children. But I also quickly realized that if the mission went wrong, my children would be disgraced for life for having me as their father. So without hesitation, I stood in front of the leader. When the bullet entered my body, I knew I could be saved, and I had to be saved. I had just defended my family's honor with my life, and now I had to live for my family.
The last mission was one I chose voluntarily. Because of my relationship with the leader, I had more freedom to choose than others, but I still chose to go.
If the second time I gained honor and a network of connections for future development, then the third time was to gain capital for future development. I have never been a person with lofty ideals; I just want to live a comfortable life with my wife and children.
However, I know that my life will be different from that of my parents and even everyone I know, including people of high status like Ding Hong.
Xiaoming made money buying stocks. If it weren't for my relationship with the boss at the time, her easy and precise way of making a fortune would have attracted attention or even led to an investigation. And with money, things are hard to predict.
However, thanks to our powerful backer, we escaped danger and from then on, no one dared to have any particular ideas.
At that moment, I realized that I was the protector of my family, and I had to protect them so that they could continue to live happily and carefree.
I don't need to worry about money. Xiaoming has had a natural sense of money since he was a child and can make money easily, so I really can't muster any interest in money, nor am I interested in my dad's company business.
So this time I must go, and it will be the last time. From now on, I should rely on my own abilities to make achievements in my work, and my achievements will definitely not be buried. I'm just afraid I won't have the opportunity.
This time, it was because a coastal city was going to be returned to China, and they were dealing with a social force with bad tendencies. The situation was very complicated. I wasn't the only one who went, and the timing was different. I heard that some people had been in there for more than two years and had gained some status, at least they had gained the trust of the other side.
As for me, to put it bluntly, I'm just a desperate criminal who's had a bad life in the mainland and has a criminal record. The reason I was chosen is supposedly because my image and temperament fit this role, which is really speechless. How did I become that kind of villain? In all honesty, I've never done anything heinous.
Later, Xiaoming said, "I've had this wicked quality since I was little." -_-|||
The mission went relatively smoothly, but I was shot while covering a comrade at the end. Our car also crashed into a speeding truck. Although we barely avoided a head-on collision, the car still overturned and we were thrown into the air. Just when we thought we were really done for, with our serious injuries, reinforcements arrived. I passed out peacefully, knowing that my future was beckoning me. I would not die with regrets.
I haven't let Xiaoming and the children down. We will definitely live happily ever after.
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