Lin Xiwei exchanged a look with her grandfather; the shock in their eyes was impossible to hide.
If this was really the case, Lin Haojie couldn’t be left unchecked—he had to be brought to justice as soon as possible.
This guy was a ticking time bomb. What if, under the cover of night, he sneaked into the house to kill someone?
“Lin Haojie, pretending to be clueless while fully aware—consider yourself exposed,” Lin Xiwei said, her words carrying a sharp edge.
Lin Haojie, ever the sly one, smirked in response:
“You wanted to marry Qin Nancheng, didn’t you? Just for that, you have to play along with me, pretending not to know.”
He was alluding to the political vetting issues.
Qin Nancheng’s status was special—any woman he married had to have an impeccable family background. Lin Xiwei’s status as a capitalist’s daughter already put her on the vetting radar. Add a close relative who had committed murder, and it became even harder.
The old master shot back first:
“You little brat, not even on the Lin family registry, how could you possibly affect Xiwei? Ha! What a joke!”
When it came to his granddaughter’s marriage, the old master had always been firm and unwavering:
“Also, Lin Chengyou, listen carefully—neither of your daughters is to even think about Qin Nancheng, hmph!”
Now that the cards were on the table, Lin Chengyou decided not to hide anything.
He slumped in his chair, squinting at his father:
“You were the one who abandoned me back then, letting me get sent down to the countryside. Do you have any idea how much I suffered in that godforsaken valley, the unfair treatment, the hardships I endured?!”
Lin Chengyou grew more and more agitated, his emotions extreme, shouting until his eyes nearly popped:
“You don’t know! You lived in the family mansion, feasting on delicacies, drinking the finest liquors, sheltered from wind and frost—how could you possibly understand my suffering?!”
The old master was momentarily speechless, his eyes instinctively avoiding his son’s gaze.
…
Lin Xiwei, far more aware of the full story than her grandfather, immediately struck back, exposing her father’s misdeeds:
“Enough! The reason you were sent down back then was because you were caught soliciting by government officials. Grandpa had to beg and plead with everyone he knew just to save your worthless life.”
“You…how do you know?” Lin Chengyou was left dumbfounded. “You were only one year old at the time…”
“I have ears,” Lin Xiwei retorted coolly, dodging with a twist of words, implying she had overheard others talking:
“I hadn’t even been weaned yet. My mother was also sent down because of you. You were the biggest scoundrel!”
Since her father wanted to play the victim and accuse the old master, Lin Xiwei would not back down:
“You’re shouting at your own father—have you looked in a mirror? Did you do right by my mother? Or by me?!”
Lin Chengyou was silenced, his head hanging low.
But Lin Xiwei wasn’t done. She pressed, sharp and relentless:
“And my mother? Was she killed by the scheming affair between you and Fu Cuilian? Speak!”
She subtly implicated Lin Chengyou and Fu Cuilian’s illicit relationship.
“No such thing,” Lin Chengyou replied, his voice lacking conviction, unable to even meet Lin Xiwei’s gaze.
The more he acted like that, the more Lin Xiwei was convinced something was amiss:
“Guilty conscience, huh? Dare not look me in the eye and answer—where exactly is my mother?”
Lin Chengyou kept his head down, muttering:
“How would I know where she went? Her legs were hers, I couldn’t control her.”
Lin Xiwei wished she could stab two holes in his chest with a carving knife!
Lin Haojie, who had been silently observing everything, suddenly spoke up:
“The villagers can all testify. That night, only your mother was in the cowshed. The fire broke out, the cows ran, the ropes snapped the wooden stakes, the shed collapsed, it burned all night. By morning, there was no body, no charred remains. In the police report, what else could they have written besides ‘missing’?”
Back then, Lin Chengyou and his wife were sent down. As the young heirs of a major capitalist family, and because of the scandalous charges, they were assigned to live in a cowshed to repent and start anew.
Tears welled in Lin Xiwei’s eyes, but she lifted her chin stubbornly, refusing to let them fall:
“Ah, a fire in the cowshed, and only my mother was inside. So tell me, Lin Chengyou, my ‘good’ father—where were you that night?!”
Lin Chengyou, knowing he was in the wrong, could only lower his head even further.
Ever since being sent down, the pampered and spoiled Lin Chengyou had been secretly meeting with Fu Cuilian every now and then. He couldn’t stand living in the miserable cowshed, so every night he would sneak into Fu Cuilian’s room.
…
Outside, Qin Nancheng stood under the ginkgo tree with his men, smoking and relaxing.
There was no need to keep up appearances in front of Lin Xiwei anymore; his team was starting to show their true colors. They lounged around, lighting each other’s cigarettes, barely acknowledging Qin Nancheng, who they had just been calling “Commander” with utmost respect. Men had an uncanny talent for acting casual around other men while chasing women.
A H-6 bomber was never flown by just one person; it required a crew of 4–6:
pilot, co-pilot, first navigator, second navigator, radio operator, and gunner. Depending on the mission, sometimes the second navigator and gunner were not assigned.
The gunner, Batulu, was a tall and imposing Mongol man with a booming voice:
“Commander Qin, the Miss Lin situation is really complicated!”
The co-pilot, Zhang Long, taking a couple of puffs, squinted one eye and teased:
“Miss Lin is delicate and charming, like a proud white peacock. She looks young—Batulu, she might even be younger than you.”
Batulu looked a bit older than his age, a twenty-year-old with the face of a forty-year-old, especially with that thick beard. He had been a pilot with excellent physical fitness, but because he was too large to fit in a fighter jet, he had been assigned to the bomber crew.
Batulu was already capable of leading a transport crew on missions. Hearing that Commander Qin was coming to meet someone, he quickly disguised himself as the gunner to come watch the show.
Most of the other crew members were in similar situations—all officers.
The group started chatting among themselves:
“That girl is really beautiful, and her aura is special—better looking than any movie star.”
“Damn, after training on Phoenix Island for years, forget women, even the sea turtles that come ashore to lay eggs… they look more refined than most humans.”
“Beast! How dare you look at a turtle that way? I’d shoot you dead!”
“Nonsense! You’re the beast! Your whole team is a bunch of beasts!”
A bunch of rough, macho guys joking and teasing without restraint.
Qin Nancheng hadn’t even lit his cigarette yet; he just held it under his nose, inhaling slowly, eyes lowered, lost in thought.
Zhang Long walked over and offered to light his cigarette, asking:
“Boss, are you worried about Miss Lin’s background?”
Qin Nancheng frowned tightly, shook his head, and took a puff, using the Zippo lighter in Zhang Long’s hand.
Zhang Long pressed: “Then why the frown? Afraid Miss Lin will think you’re an old man chasing a young girl?”
“Shut up! (ノ｀【emote】)ノ” Qin Nancheng kicked his foot, sending Zhang Long hopping out of the way with a grin.
“What? Don’t let people talk? The girl just came of age, and look at you—almost thirty! Calling you ‘uncle’ wouldn’t even be an exaggeration, hahaha!”
The rest of the brothers immediately joined in, teasing:
“Just came of age? Wait another two years, and Miss Lin can register marriage with the boss.”
“Two more years of effort, and the boss can hold the baby.”
“Oh wow! By then, the boss will be pushing forty!”
“Not just old man chasing young girl, boss—you’ll still be trendy with a late-in-life child, hahaha!”
Qin Nancheng yanked his belt from his waist, scaring the whole group of brothers into squeals as they scrambled away.
Qin Nancheng didn’t even crack a smile. He had enlisted at sixteen, was now twenty-eight, and had twelve years of service. Years of high-intensity flight training had left that part of him… essentially nonfunctional.
In other words, Qin Nancheng was infertile.
This unmentionable pain—he didn’t know how to bring it up to Lin Xiwei.