Campus life was peaceful and monotonous, and the campus scenery in the autumn and winter seasons was also dull and uninspiring. For the younger sister, it was sothing she was used to, but for Luo Zheng, it was refreshing. Not having attended university was Luo Zheng's biggest regret in life; experiencing the campus atmosphere beca a wish. Two hours later, the younger sister took Luo Zheng on a good tour, eting his wish and easing much of his curiosity about university life.
After touring the campus, the younger sister felt a bit tired and took Luo Zheng to the campus gate. Outside, so small vendors were selling snacks on the roadside. There was a tricycle with food being peddled. The younger sister scanned with her eyes and eagerly shouted, "Brother, co on, I'll take you to eat the best cold noodles, it's a world-renowned delicacy."
Luo Zheng didn't mind, as long as his younger sister was happy. He followed her to a tricycle, where a woman in her thirties was selling food. She was dressed simply and wore a headscarf. When she saw the younger sister approaching, she greeted her warmly and asked with a smile, "You're here, is this your boyfriend then? Quite handso, or just a familiar face?"
"Familiar face, two servings." The younger sister replied enthusiastically with a smile.
The woman agreed and started preparing things. Luo Zheng, however, was staring intently at the little girl beside the woman, who was lying on a low stool doing her howork. The little girl was about five years old, dressed very simply but cleanly, focusing on tracing red lines in her notebook, mumbling softly to herself.
Luo Zheng looked incredulously at the little girl, motionless, as many mories surfaced in his mind. His tiger-like eyebrows furrowed tightly, and his face beca solemn. The younger sister noticed Luo Zheng's odd behavior, tugged on his hand, and when he didn't respond, she pulled a bit harder. Luo Zheng then snapped back, realizing his gaffe but didn't bother explaining. He turned to the woman and asked, "Big sister, where are you from?"
"Young man, why are you asking?" the woman replied without looking up, focusing on preparing the cold noodles.
"Not good, the urban managent officers are here," soone shouted.
The woman raised her head, startled, her face changing dramatically. She threw her things aside and quickly started packing up, apologetically saying to the younger sister, "Sis, can you watch my child for a mont? I need to hide."
"Don't worry, I got it," the younger sister responded quickly, while helping the woman pack up her stall.
Luo Zheng could tell this wasn't the first ti this had happened. The woman trusted the younger sister a lot. He turned to look at the urban managent officers rushing in from the other side and then at the surroundings, noticing so people packing up and others not. He frowned and asked, "Why aren't they leaving?"
"They either paid a managent fee or have so connections, so the urban managent officers won't bother them," the younger sister explained effortlessly, running to the little girl, squatting down, and affectionately saying, "Guoguo, why don't you co with Auntie? Auntie will take you to play."
"Are the bad guys here again?" the little girl asked, her expression sour as she looked into the distance.
The younger sister felt bitter, not knowing how to explain. Such a young child already has shadows in her heart, and it's not good when she grows up. Luo Zheng heard the younger sister's address, sprang forward, excitedly grabbing her hand, and asked, "What did you just call her?"
"Guoguo, her nickna, her full na is Wu Sikai. Brother, be gentle, you're hurting ," the younger sister explained, struggling to free her wrist.
Luo Zheng quickly let go, not accustod to being gentle after long-term training. He hurriedly glanced at her arm, noticing it was indeed slightly red from his grip. Before he could apologize, he stood up abruptly, seeing the woman gather her things and swiftly leave with the tricycle. Luo Zheng quickly shouted, "Big sister, you don't need to go. I can handle this for you."
"Young man, I appreciate your kindness, but you can't manage it. Wait here, I'll be back soon," the woman responded, jumping onto the tricycle and pedaling away quickly.
Luo Zheng knew he couldn't persuade her, so he didn't stop her. Instead, he crouched down to look at the little girl and asked, "Guoguo, where's your hotown? What's your dad's na?"
"My hotown is in Western Henan, and my dad's na is Wu Kai," the little girl replied crisply.
Luo Zheng's mind exploded with a buzzing sound, his eyes reddening and his nose feeling sour. His heart was unbearably heavy as he looked at the little girl, filled with remorse, guilt, self-bla, and anger. Various negative feelings surged up as the image of soone erged in his mind—soone who cared for him like a brother.
"Brother, what's wrong?" the younger sister asked, noticing Luo Zheng's strange behavior, surprised.
"Guoguo, can you show the thing around your neck?" Luo Zheng ignored his younger sister, instead looking at the pendant hanging around the little girl's neck—a bullet made from a polished wolf tooth. It was this pendant that had caught Luo Zheng's attention earlier. He was all too familiar with this wolf tooth.
It was on the third night after being assigned to the ancient post road station. During a night watch, a wild wolf attacked, which Luo Zheng managed to kill. There were two wolf fangs in total. Squad Leader Wu Kai said his daughter Guoguo's birthday was approaching, and he wanted to make a gift for her, so he took them. One was polished poorly, leaving just this one, on which the nas and blessings of everyone at the post were engraved with a military knife, making it unique.
The little girl cherished the gift too much to show it, but Luo Zheng had already confird the wolf tooth and their identity. He lowered his head in sha. Almost two years had passed since the post massacre, a permanent pain in Luo Zheng's heart—so painful that he didn't even dare visit the families of his comrades. Unexpectedly running into them here, and seeing the squad leader's family living like this, made Luo Zheng want to slap himself.
At that mont, the urban managent officers caught up, flipping over the stalls of vendors who couldn't leave in ti. Their goods scattered, and the officers grabbed the vendors, demanding fines. An argunt ensued, and just as it seed the officers were about to start hitting people, Luo Zheng's guilt turned into endless fury. His eyes turned red as he shouted and rushed forward.
At this point, one urban managent officer knocked a vendor to the ground, raising his leg to stomp down. Luo Zheng dashed forward, kicking away the officer's descending foot with a crisp sound of bone cracking. The officer scread and flew backward, rolling on the ground in pain.
Seeing soone standing up, others beca enraged, picking up their tools and rushing forward. Luo Zheng's face turned grim as he shouted, launching a countercharge. He unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, overwhelming the officers. In the blink of an eye, all of them were knocked down, writhing on the ground, howling in pain.
Had Luo Zheng not maintained so restraint, knowing not to go too far, those lying there might not have been just injured, but dead. Having vented, Luo Zheng felt sowhat relieved. He didn't flee, but coldly stared at the urban managent officers sprawled on the ground, shouting, "Stay put and call an ambulance yourselves."
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