Dragon Street in Section D.
Jiang Shang's brother, Jiang Yi, was young but short-tempered. Jiang Guohao did not explain the reason, and he stood there like a statue, which left Jiang Guohao with an urge to slap him. Jiang Shang, who was sitting in the car and had seen what was happening, remained quiet and there was no apparent expression change on his face. He just calmly watched the father and son like an outsider.
"Don't overthink it. You've still got us. Let's get off first."
Reaching over to hold Jiang Shang's hand, Ye Xingchen leaned over and gave a peck on his cheek, not caring if others would see it. Not surprisingly, Jiang Shang's attention was instantly drawn back, "Okay, Senior, I'll listen to whatever you say."
Actually, he did not think about anything at all because he had long been accustomed to it. This attitude of his families was the one he was familiar with so he didn't feel it was a big deal. If he had to face the thrilled and exited Jiang Guohao like earlier, he would really be at a loss as to how to deal with him. After all, Jiang Guohao like that was a total stranger.
"Good boy!"
Jiang Shang was as obedient as a large tamed pet, and Ye Xingchen dotingly rubbed his head. Then he let go of his hand and turned to open the car door. Seeing this, Jiang Shang, who was sitting on the driver's seat stretched out his legs, "Make way, please."
Jiang Guohao and his son were blocking the car so he had to ask.
"I'll talk to you later when I have time. Now, let your brother out first."
Remembering that they had again ignored Jiang Shang while he was present, Jiang Guohao looked at Jiang Shang embarrassedly and then pulled his younger son to side. Looking at the tall and strong body of his older son, Jiang Guohao sighed in his heart. But when he saw that his son was dressed in simple and elegant outfits, and was in good spirit and the car he drove was clean and brand-new, he was really happy for him. At least it showed that Shang hadn't suffered much in the doomsday and he was leading a pretty good life.
"Jiang, come over and give me a hand."
"Okay."
Ye Xingchen's voice came from behind. Jiang Shang nodded at his father and turned around to stride towards the back of the car. At the same time, Jiang Guohao also pulled his younger son to follow. But when they saw what Ye Xingchen and Jiang Shang were taking out from the trunk, they could not help but be dumbfounded, especially the team members who heard that the elder son had returned and came out with them to greet them.
Ye Xingchen first moved out a large basket of fresh vegetables, with the bottom paved with cucumber, eggplant, green pepper and other hard vegetables, and the top filled with cabbage, lettuce and other greens. Then he took out a basket of fresh fruit, which was still paved with apples, pears on the bottom, with grapes, cinnamon and bananas and other fruits that would be squashed if not careful on the top. After that, he took out a basket of fresh seafood and aquatic products, and finally a few live chickens and ducks. These things were so ordinary before the doomsday and one might be mocked if he returned home with these as gifts. But now they were in doomsday, and every of those things were extremely precious. Even though they were first-ranked superfunction squad in Section D, it was impossible for them to have fresh fruits and vegetables. At most they were able to keep a large number of grains in storage.
"Shang… this…"
Pointing at those things, Jiang Guohao's eyes widened. He knew that his son was doing well in the doomsday from his appearance. But was 'doing well' a bit of understatement? After seeing these things, Jiang Guohao was unsure. His son being able to offer these things meant that Jiang Shang must be living a life ten times better than he had imagined, right? And he believed that even the army were unable to offer so many fresh fruits and vegetables now.
Jiang Shang blinked, as if he did not perceive these things to be precious. After all, these were what they consumed for every meal of every day. But Ye Xingchen smiled and replied, "Sorry Captain Jiang. This is our first visit, so we were not sure what to bring you here as a gift, so we just bring some supplies. I hope you do not mind."
He acted calmly, but in fact he had a momentary daze when he saw those things. Then he couldn't help but smile, secretly marveling that Yun Che was indeed thoughtful.
"You are… Ye Xingchen?"
After all, he once invested in a film and television company, and later Jiang Shang was basically Ye Xingchen's exclusive scriptwriter, so Jiang Guohao recognized him at first glance. But he was a bit confused as why he was with Shang and came visiting with Shang.
"This is Senior, my husband. We got married."
The next moment, Jiang Shang directly told him the answer, and took Ye Xingchen's hand to show them their wedding ring, not minding at all what they would think. If he could, Jiang Shang would love to tell the whole world that Ye Xingchen was his and his alone.
"…"
Jiang Guohao was struck dumb but then he quickly replied, "Good, good for you. In today's world, it's not easy to find someone who is truly in love with you. It's nice for you two."
"Thanks."
Hearing these words, a bright smile spread on Jiang Shang's face, and then as if realizing he had made it too simple, he added, "Thanks, Dad."
"Well…let's talk inside."
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to see his son smiling at him, Jiang Guohao was so thrilled that his hands started trembling, and he immediately invited them to go inside first. Before they left, he didn't forget to instruct, "Move these things into the kitchen, and inform the captains of squads that we are having a dinner together and I want to introduce Shang to them."
These were all gifts from his son. Regardless of Jiang Shang's attitude towards him, Jiang Guohao was exhilarated.
"Yes, Captain."
Those who were with him also smiled brightly, because some of them were captains of those squads that were not out on a mission. The captain had always been generous to them, but they did not expect him to share those precious supplies given by his older son with all of them. This meant that they could have a feast today.
It might be because there was no hostess in the Jiang Family, the villa where Jiang Guohao resided was concise. No, correctly speaking, there was basically no decoration except for the necessary furniture, unlike their home that was decorated by the skillful hands of Yun Yao and the others, where they felt warm and comfortable. Jiang Guohao happily led them to sit down in the living room, and the others left consciously, leaving only Jiang Guohao and his son as well as Ye Xingchen and Jiang Shang.
"Where's mom?"
After coming in for a while and not seeing mom, Jiang Shang could not help but ask in confusion. However, Jiang Guohao stiffened when he heard the word mom, his face distorted with pain, and Jiang Yi, who was sitting next to him was the same. As astute as they were, Ye Xingchen and Jiang Shang surely guessed what this meant. After a while of silence, the two could only sigh. In the doomsday, death was the most common thing.
"Your mother she…she was among the first ones to be infected. We were all at home then. She…she was still thinking of you before she passed away."
There were no words to describe the chaos at that time, so Jiang Guohao could only omit it. He and his wife were child lovers and they had always been intimate with each other. Otherwise, for someone with his status before doomsday, after his wife gave birth to an autistic son like Jiang Shang, he might have had affairs. Affairs were prevalent among rich people. His wife's death was a big shock to him, and the disappearance of his elder son required him to toughen up, and he immediately gathered people to take charge of the company's transfer warehouse located in the capital, and then assembled a squad and take them on missions to improve their levels and collect supplies. In those months, he was so busy that he simply did not have time to grieve, and when Dragon was on track, the sadness had long been diminished because of the reality. His only remaining wish was to find his elder son, and entrusted Dragon to his two sons so that they could have a good life even in the doomsday.
"My condolences!"
After looking deeply at him for a long time, Jiang Shang only calmly said these two words. Jiang Yi abruptly stood up, pointing at him furiously, "She is your mother, too, and this is how you react? My condolences? My condolences my ass. Have you ever seen her as your mother?"
Jiang Yi's eyes became red. He was five years younger than Jiang Shang, only eighteen this year. When he grew up, his brother had already moved out. The only thing he knew was that his mother and father had been very concerned and worried about his brother, and he didn't have the slightest idea how they treated Jiang Shang when he was a child. Therefore, he felt extremely angry and couldn't accept how he treated their parents. Maybe he was also disappointed. After all, now was the doomsday, when no could can guarantee they would still be alive the next day. Now that mom was gone and they were the only ones left, but Jiang Shang treated them as a complete outsider, so how could he not be disappointed or angry?
"Yi!"
Seeing this, Jiang Guohao hurriedly stood up and pulled him, but Jiang Yi shook off his hand and roared angrily, "Dad, don't stop me. He is simply ridiculous. Have you ever heard a son say my condolences when he hears about his mother's death? He doesn't treat us like family at all…"
Having said that, the young Jiang Yi couldn't help but cry, tears trickling down. Before his brother came back, he had always hoped, just like his father, that he would return home safe and sound and that the three of them would stand by each other in the doomsday. Even though as the doomsday prolonged, and there was little hope that his brother would survive, he still firmly believed that he must still be alive and they must be able to reunite, but… Why was his brother nothing like what he thought he would be? Why?
Faced with his brother's irritated and sad accusations, Jiang Shang would be telling a lie if he said that he felt no emotion fluctuation at all. No matter how he thought of his parents, he had always loved his brother in his heart. Even now he still remembered how cute his brother was when he was a kid, especially when he called him brother in his milky voice. But he was never good at words, and now he was even more perplexed as to what to do, his brows tightly knitted
"When you accuse Jiang, you should first ask how your parents treated him when he was a child."
Jiang Shang was hesitant, but Ye Xingchen would not be. He felt sorry for Jiang Shang. If they cared about Jiang Shang a little bit more, then he would not become more autistic or less talkative at such a young age. If they did not hurt him by keeping Jiang Yi away from Jiang Shang just because they were afraid that his brother would be infected by his autism, how would he become like this now? They he wouldn't' have lacked the affection and respect he should have for his parents.
"What do you…what do you mean? Mom and dad have always been…"
"Stop it, Yi, he's right. It was me and your mother who hurt Shang first."
Jiang Yi was stunned, then he wanted to retort, but Jiang Guohao grabbed him first and stopped him. Looking at his older son who was frowning, and then at his younger son who was still in tears and still looked shocked and uncomprehending, Jiang Guohao forced him to sit down, "Your brother, since he was very young, he has been…."
Since things had come to this point, even if his reputation would be ruined, he still had to tell the truth. No matter what, he did not want his two sons to fall out, especially in such a chaotic world.
However, when Jiang Yi heard that they were afraid because Jiang Shang's autism had not been getting better, and they ignored his brother after he was born, his watery eyes widened. What his father was telling him now had completely overturned his perception of his parents, and even more that of his brother. It was hard for him who had been pampered by his parents since childhood to imagine what kind of painful disappointment his brother had grown up with. Ignored by his biological parents and even treated as a source of infection, he… Why was the reality like this?