Chapter 54 – The love song ends

The military has always been efficient . Within half an hour, Xiao Chen returned with a thick sheaf of doc.u.ments and the transfer certificates .

Commander Ye reached for the stack but Xiao Chen kept it out of his reach . “ The attending doctor is not yet here . I am looking for the Dean . I have completed the procedure and he can be discharged from the hospital now . ”

“What are these papers? “ the commander asked .

“This is a copy of the medical reports . ”

This time Commander Ye again  indicated with his fingers that he wanted to see them . Xiao Chen had no choice but to hand it over to him .

“ Book five tickets to Beijing and ensure the PLA General hospital is kept informed . ”

“ Yes!”, Xiao Chen looked at me . I knew what he was asking for and I handed over my ID card .

He took it and immediately went out of the room to book the tickets . Ye Zhengchen’s father sat on the sofa and carefully went over the case reports .

I wasn’t sure if he understood it . I could only see his eyebrows scrunched together . From time to time, he looked up at me . His expressionless face gave me no clue to what he was thinking .

The ward was so quiet that I could hear the sound of my own breathing . His eyes were like lasers, burning a hole within my soul .

Since I would have to speak to him sooner or later, I summoned the courage, “ Uncle, Aunty, do you want some breakfast? I just bought some porridge . ”

“ We had something on the plane” . Mrs Ye smiled kindly at me .

Ye Zhengchen pulled  at my hand and whispered, “ Aren’t you hungry? Please have something . ”

I shook my head silently . Under the current circ.u.mstances, I was even having trouble breathing . How would I eat?

“ I am hungry . Give me something to eat . ” he said .

“ Oh , sure!”

I served the porridge and handed the bowl to him . He dipped a spoon and placed it near my lips . He was smiling, a tender expression on his face .

Somehow, my heart calmed down when I saw the love and tenderness on his face .

“ I really don’t want to eat . ”

“ Just see if it is still warm enough to eat . ”

A strict father and mother were in the same room where these words were uttered . his parents and I stared at each other at the same time .

The look of incredulousness on their faces was proof enough that they had never seem Ye Zhengchen like this . This special, sweet Ye Zhengchen was just for me .

I opened my mouth . The porridge was still warm and melted in my mouth .

“ It’s not too hot . Just right . ”

He dipped the spoon I had just used in the porridge and ate it with relish “Mmmm, Delicious!”

I took out another snack from the bag and handed it to him, “ Taste this, it’s really good”

He took a bite and looked at me, ‘ What is this?”

“ Jujube” . I noticed that his expression turned a bit weird so I asked him, “Don’t you like it?”

He didn’t answer but continued to eat

“ He is a very picky eater . He doesn’t like Jujube . ” This fact was supplied by his mother in a completely neutral tone .

“ In fact, he doesn’t eat any stuff that’s been crushed into a paste . ”

I groaned, “ You mean he doesn’t like bean paste?”

“ Nope . Not at all!”

I looked at Ye Zhengchen awkwardly . When we had started dating, Mrs Feng had taught me how to make fried snacks stuffed with bean paste in the Tianjin style . I had ended up making a  whole bunch , and since I could not finish it myself, I had sent some to Ye Zhengchen . He had begged me to spare him the trauma of eating it . I had tugged at his collar and sternly told him, “If you don’t eat this, I wont allow you to sleep in my bed . ”

The wolf’s eyes had been shining brightly when he replied, “ So that means if I eat it now, I can sleep with you right now?”

The wolf’s eyes had been shining brightly when he replied, “ So that means if I eat it now, I can sleep with you right now?”

I was speechless .

In the end, he had succ.u.mbed to my coercion . Ofcourse, he had been compensated as promised .

Seeing my face darken, Ye Zhengchen patted my hand . “The fried snacks with bean paste stuffing were delicious . After you left, I would often ask Mrs Feng to make it for me . ”

I didn’t know how to react to this sentence when his parents were watching us . I understood the underlying message he was trying to communicate, that he hadn’t forgotten me even once during the last three years .

“If I get the chance, I will make some for you again . ”

“The conditions for eating them have to be the same as last time!”

I blushed, but unfortunately had to hold my tongue in front of his parents .

Xiao Chen came back to report that the tickets had been booked . At four o clock in the afternoon, the discharge procedures would be completed . An ambulance was arranged to transport us from the hospital to the airport .

I wanted to pack his things but realised all of it had already been completed .

I looked at my watch . It was nearly ten . I whispered to Ye Zhengchen, “ Brother, I’ll go home now and inform my parents . I’ll also pack some clothes . ”

“ I am coming with you”, Ye Zhengchen said .

“ What? “ I thought I must have misheard him .

“ I should come and make my intentions clear to my future parents in law . Otherwise, they may think I eloped with you . ”

Someone coughed in the room, indicating his unhappiness with this comment . Ye Zhengchen turned a deaf ear to the signal and got out of bed .

I stopped him . “ You’re injured . The doctor won’t allow you out of the hospital . ”

“ He has only warned me against any ‘intense’ physical activity . . ”

He deliberately emphasized  the word ‘intense’, his eyes widening . If I weren’t worried about my image in front of his parents, I would have kicked him .

“ It hurts more to say bye to you and wait for you to come back” . These cheesy romantic lines were clearly said for his father’s benefit . Then he continued, “ My injury is fine . I can even go back and join the army . ”

“ It hurts more to say bye to you and wait for you to come back” . These cheesy romantic lines were clearly said for his father’s benefit . Then he continued, “ My injury is fine . I can even go back and join the army . ”

His father stared at him for a while and visibly swallowed .

“ First, get your injury healed in Beijing .  Then we can find some time to come back and meet her parents in Nanzhu formally . ”

“ Aren’t you very busy ?  I won’t bother the commander in such minor matters . ”

When the commander heard his son address him by his military rank, he was livid . He pointed his finger at Ye Zhengchen and shouted, “ Who are you talking to! Calling me Commander Ye!”

I could not figure out this love-hate relationship between father and son .

Ye Zhengchen hit back,“What do you think I should call you ? Dad? Am I your son? You have to approve who I hang out with, you have to approve which university I study in . Where I work has to be approved by you . Even who I date has to be approved by you . I am not your soldier . I am not my brother!”

This was the first time I had ever heard Ye Zhengchen mention his brother . The expression on his parent’s face changed completely . The grief I saw on their faces chilled me to the bone

Ye Zhengchen’s mother’s eyes had teared, and her hand was shaking .

His father turned to look out of the window, his eyes glaring angrily .

I silently walked up to Ye Zhengchen and pulled at his shirt . He raised his face and I frowned at him . He moved his gaze away in answer

I felt helpless . I bent forward to take my bag, and then turned to leave . Ye Zhengchen suddenly reached out and grabbed my wrist .

“ I’m sorry Dad . . ”

His father sighed and softened his tone as well .

“ Ok . Since we have come this far, then Miss Bo, why don’t you ask your parents to join us for lunch today?”

“ Oh, okay . ” I thought about it . I worried about my father’s condition and the commander’s explosive temper . “Uncle, my father isn’t well . He shouldn’t be over-stimulated . ”

“ Understood . ”

“ In that case, I will book a restaurant . ”

“ No, let Xiao Chen do it . ”

“ In that case, I will book a restaurant . ”

“ No, let Xiao Chen do it . ”

“ This is our home town . We should be the hosts . ”

I booked the most renowned restaurant in Nanzhou and ordered all their famous dishes .

I wasn’t a person who frequented luxury hotels, or one who appreciated the more expensive aspects of life . I was a very ordinary person who lived a very ordinary life . But for the sake of my family’s pride, I realised that we had to be a bit more extravagant . I only hoped that we could afford this .

When a group of people unfamiliar with each other gathered around to discuss a special relationship, it was quite awkward and embarra.s.sing .   I was experiencing this for the first time in my life .

Fortunately, Ye Zhengchen was there and he was trying to lighten the mood from time to time .

After a few drinks, we had exhausted all the questions related to age, health and city of residence .

After that, we embarked on sensitive questions about the family .

While talking about what each of us did, Ye Zhengchen’s mother was quite candid . Very casually, she replied, “ Commander Ye is the commander in the Nth military region . I was with the army earlier . I used to be a nurse, but I quit after I had children . ”

As soon as they heard the word ‘ Commander’, my parents were stunned .

While our southern state was relatively small, we had our own share of senior government figures . Their children were usually uncouth, morally corrupt and arrogant .

Worried, my mother asked, “ Do you have any other children?”

I panicked when I heard the question and pinched my mother to keep quiet .

“ By the way”, Ye Zhengchen hurriedly tried to change the subject, “ Uncle and Aunty, you must travel to Beijing when you are free . I can show you around . ”

But his father suddenly spoke before my parents could respond .

“ We did have an older son . When he was a child, he once secretly went into the army base to look for me . He had… an accident . This is why I have always been overly strict with Ye Zhengchen . He has also always been a very spirited fellow…”

A pall of gloom settled on the entire party .