Chapter 18 Contradiction

Seeing this, Zheng Xianghong took a slight breath of relief, while Li Shengmei was utterly infuriated. She wanted to express her dissatisfaction with He Hongjun, but since they were in public, she was aware that He Hongjun cared about his reputation. Although He Hongjun was almost completely obedient to her, when he became fierce, even Li Shengmei was frightened. Therefore, at this moment, Li Shengmei could only endure it, though she kept glaring at Zheng Xianghong with sharp looks.

Zheng Xianghong pretended not to notice and, seeing her own two promising sons and then observing the utterly infuriated Li Shengmei, felt completely relaxed.

He Hongjun looked at Gao Guoqiang and said, "Guoqiang, I see you are also a courageous man. Why don't you let your two sons join the army? Their martial arts skills are good, and their fundamentals are solid, so it appears you have trained them well. My two boys have been in the army for a year now, and still haven't been able to beat your sons. It seems your sons are naturally cut out for the military."

Gao Guoqiang was silent for a moment, slowly shook his head, and sighed, "Ah, I'm old now. I've just wanted a peaceful life all my life. Now I understand it's better to let go and keep the children by my side."

He Hongjun said nothing more. Indeed, he had sent his two oldest sons to the army, while the youngest stayed with him. He Hongjun hadn't considered sending his youngest son to the military either, just hoping he would get an education and later arrange a career for him.

However, what surprised He Hongjun was that Gao Guoqiang's two sons were so outstanding, and yet neither wished to join the military. He didn't think Gao Guoqiang was someone who could be influenced by Zheng Xianghong.

After hearing Gao Guoqiang's words, Zheng Xianghong looked at the two sets of brothers competing in a circle. There were tears in her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.

In the arena, the two sets of brothers, Gao Jiazhi and Gao Jiaxing, He Xuexiang and He Xuebing, fought fiercely and indecisively. Gao Jiaxing, in particular, struck very swiftly and ruthlessly, almost savagely, causing He Xuexiang and He Xuebing to take quite a beating. Li Shengmei shouted in alarm repeatedly, her heart aching; she was so distressed she wanted to rush forward and help her son defeat the Gao brothers.

"They're too sneaky." Li Shengmei watched how Gao Jiazhi helped Gao Jiaxing, their brotherly cooperation both tacit and sly, which further fueled her rage.

Zheng Xianghong, seeing Li Shengmei in her fury, felt secretly delighted. Over the years, she had suffered a lot from Li Shengmei. Leveraging her seniority and her good relationship with Old Lady Gao, Li Shengmei had made Zheng Xianghong suffer quite a bit.

But Zheng Xianghong had endured it all. Having no parental home and always feeling somewhat guilty in front of Gao Guoqiang, she had borne everything, just hoping her two children would be well—she was content with that.

Soon, the fight ended in a draw, but He Hongjun was not happy. He knew his sons had been at a disadvantage, and that achieving a draw was the Gao brothers' doing.

He Hongjun looked deeply at the Gao brothers, Gao Jiazhi, and Gao Jiaxing, astonished that Gao Guoqiang could hold back from sending such outstanding sons to the military.

It truly was incomprehensible; it seemed he was really scared by the death of Gao Lao Da, Gao Laoer, and Zheng Xiangwei.

As the He family of four left, Gao Guoqiang did not leave but allowed the annual meeting to continue with performances.

Meanwhile, Zheng Xianghong went to see her two sons; seeing that they weren't seriously injured, she also breathed a sigh of relief.

But both sons wouldn't even look at her, and seemed even slightly upset. Following Gao Jiazhi and Gao Jiaxing, Zheng Xianghong said, "Anyway, I won't let you guys join the army. Just give up on that idea."

Seeing them, Xia Xiao stepped aside and then heard Zheng Xianghong say, "It's useless to protest by talking about your education. Even if you don't study, I won't let you join the army, unless I die. If I'm dead, you can do whatever you want."

"Mom, why say such things?" Gao Jiaxing frowned.

"I'm not saying you would listen to me, but I know you all blame me. However, I am your mother, and I would never harm you," Zheng Xianghong's voice choked up a bit.

She truly wished for her children to excel, but joining the military meant going to the battlefield, which was a matter of life or death. The constant fear and anxiety, having experienced the pain of losing loved ones, she couldn't go through that again. She was indeed horrified and couldn't bear any more loss.

"Education is also a way out. After high school and college, you won't have to worry about finding a job." At this point, Zheng Xianghong said, "Jiazhi, I've always hoped you could become a teacher, respected by others. You're already in your first year of high school, so just continue studying. How could you think about dropping out? Being defiant with me like this is only harming yourself."

Xia Xiao shuddered upon hearing this. Being a teacher wasn't much now, but it would be a challenging role in a few years. It was indeed a pity that Gao Jiazhi had dropped out in his second year.

There was still the possibility of attending college at this time, with five more years before the college entrance examination would be canceled.

"My grades aren't good; continuing is just a waste of money," Gao Jiazhi shook his head.

"It's because you're not applying yourself. All you think about is joining the military, but there's really nothing good in the military. I followed your father in the military, so I know more about it than you do," Zheng Xianghong earnestly advised. She had high hopes for Gao Jiazhi, who had always excelled in his studies as a child and even talked of attending a military academy.

Zheng Xianghong had been horrified when she heard this, immediately refusing and even making her son swear off the idea, which caused him to lose interest in his studies thereafter.

At the end of the year before last, when the He family's two sons joined the military and even their youngest son wanted to alter his age to enlist, Zheng Xianghong had resisted to the point of threatening her own life to prevent her sons from joining.

Gao Jiazhi protested and dropped out directly.

Their youngest son also wasn't focusing on his studies, constantly skipping classes and getting into fights, leaving Zheng Xianghong with a heavy heart and no solution.

"Mom, I can't stand it anymore. We're grown up; why do you still need to control what we want to do? Aren't you tired of this?" Gao Jiaxing complained, feeling resentful.

Gao Jiazhi silently protested.

Because of their father's military service, the Gao brothers revered soldiers and had always dreamed of joining the military, but their mother consistently opposed them violently.

Gao Jiazhi hadn't refrained from secretly trying to enlist, but because Zheng Xianghong had attempted suicide, that plan came to nothing.

At that moment, Zheng Xianghong suddenly clutched her chest, struggling to breathe. Xia Xiao, also startled by her reaction, quickly rushed over and said, "Auntie, take deep breaths, relax. Please, sit down and relax."

Xia Xiao helped Zheng Xianghong sit on the ground, gently patting her back and chest until she began to recover.

"Mom, I'm sorry," both Gao Jiazhi and Gao Jiaxing were shocked.

With tears slowly streaming down her cheeks, Zheng Xianghong sobbed and said to Gao Jiazhi and Gao Jiaxing, "I'm okay, you guys go ahead and play."

Gao Jiazhi and Gao Jiaxing did not leave, and Xia Xiao said, "Auntie, let me help you go back and rest."