Chapter 143: The Hidden Truth

Ming Dai stared at Mayor Wei, who was smiling as he helped Zhou Sinian lie down, and swallowed hard.

What was going on?!

After settling Zhou Sinian in bed and pulling the quilt over him, Wei Yan quietly climbed out and motioned for Ming Dai to follow.

Ming Dai glanced at Zhou Sinian, who was “sleeping” soundly, then at Mayor Wei, who was beckoning her kindly. After a moment’s thought, she followed.

The two of them carefully avoided the window and stood in the corner.

Wei Yan peered outside through the window. Only after confirming that nothing seemed amiss did he relax.

Ming Dai stood obediently by the wall as if being punished, which amused Wei Yan.

“Sorry, Young Educated Youth Ming. I startled you, didn’t I? There are some things Sinian can’t hear, so I’ll have to trouble you.”

After hearing that, Ming Dai breathed a sigh of relief and quietly withdrew the golden needle she had been holding between her fingers.

Wei Yan had clearly noticed the movement. He was full of admiration for her quick thinking.

“Young Educated Youth Ming, dawn is almost here, so I’ll keep this brief. There were a few things I lied to Sinian about just now.”

The gravity in his tone surprised Ming Dai. Was it really that serious?

“Gu Mingyi, the man who saved Sinian, wasn’t merely his team leader. He was also his master—the man who raised him from childhood. In a sense, he played the role of Sinian’s father. Sinian respected him deeply.

“Their relationship was excellent. After that mission, Old Gu was supposed to retire from frontline duty and take a rest. Sinian even said he would support him in his old age.

“But in the end, Old Gu sacrificed himself to save Sinian. I was afraid Sinian wouldn’t be able to bear it if he found out.”

Ming Dai shuddered with belated understanding. “So that’s how it was. No wonder Zhou Sinian reacts so strongly and gets a headache whenever it’s mentioned. He’s even afraid of tiny kittens now.”

Wei Yan clenched his fists. “I suspect there was a reason within the Zhou family for Sinian to become like this. When he was born, he was perfectly healthy. But as he grew older, we discovered that he was impulsive and quick-tempered, and could easily hurt people.

“Sinian’s mother was busy with work and rarely had the chance to raise him herself. By the time she realized something was wrong with the child, it was already too late.

“The doctors suspected a congenital mental illness. Jingyi refused to believe them and took her son everywhere in search of treatment.

“At that time, I was still in Black Province. I could only help her find doctors; I had no way to go there personally.

“Then one day, Jingyi brought Sinian to me and asked for my help. She wanted me to recommend him for the special-talent selection at the base.

“I don’t know how she found out about the base. I tried to persuade her, telling her that if Sinian went in, the opportunities for mother and son to see each other would become very limited.

“But Jingyi was determined. Thinking back now, she must have discovered that something was wrong with the Zhou family and wanted to send Sinian away.”

Ming Dai was puzzled. “Then why didn’t she send Sinian to the Bai family? It would have been perfectly normal for his grandfather to look after his grandson, wouldn’t it?”

Wei Yan sighed. “That’s the second thing I hid from Sinian. His grandfather’s situation was extremely serious at the time. The entire family was under quarantine and investigation, and even Jingyi’s marriage was affected. There was no way to arrange for Sinian to continue living with the Bai family.

“I was the only person she could trust then. But I spent most of the year on frontline missions and couldn’t possibly take care of a child. She had no choice but to consider sending him to the base.”

Ming Dai looked at Wei Yan and asked cautiously, “Did something happen to her as well?”

Wei Yan gazed steadily at her. “You really are very clever. Jingyi didn’t die of illness. She committed suicide.

“The Bai family had been extremely wealthy for generations. During the War of Resistance, my foster father even gave away most of the family fortune to support the revolution.

“Later, Sinian’s grandfather, Zhou Xuehai, was nearly killed in a bombing. It was my foster father who bought penicillin at a high price and saved him.

“To repay my foster father for saving his life, the Zhou family began protecting the Bai family amid the chaos of war.

“Over time, the two families grew close.

“Later, in order to strengthen their relationship, Zhou Xuehai proposed that his son marry Jingyi.

“My foster father knew nothing but painting. He was an exceptionally open-minded and romantic man. Rather than agreeing blindly, he asked Jingyi what she thought and arranged for the two of them to meet.”

Wei Yan ground his teeth. “Zhou Chongming was extremely good at disguising his true nature. Jingyi, meanwhile, was innocent and devoted entirely to her studies and research. With the country in turmoil and an alliance through marriage benefiting both sides, she agreed.

“From then on, the Zhou and Bai families became related by marriage and supported each other.

“My foster father even bought food and medicine for the troops stationed under the Zhou family’s command, helping them step by step until they reached the side of the highest leadership.”

The more Wei Yan spoke, the more agitated he became.

“But who could have imagined that the Zhou family would later become so despicable?

“After the founding of the country, the Bai family was reported for having improper overseas connections. In order to protect themselves, not a single member of the Zhou family stood up to testify on the Bai family’s behalf.

“The Bai family’s contacts overseas during those difficult years had clearly been for the purpose of purchasing medicine and supporting the revolution. The Zhou family had benefited enormously from it and knew the truth perfectly well!

“If the Zhou family had come forward, my foster father would have been cleared. But they chose to remain silent!”

Wei Yan steadied his emotions before continuing.

“The charge was too serious. When it seemed that my foster father might truly be executed, Jingyi went to plead with Zhou Chongming—Sinian’s biological father. But Zhou Chongming immediately fled the capital, while Zhou Xuehai refused even to see her.

“To save my foster father, Jingyi took a gun and shot herself outside the gates of the military compound. Only then did she force Zhou Xuehai to come forward and testify for the Bai family!”

Ming Dai had never imagined that Sinian’s mother had left the world in such a tragic manner.

Wei Yan’s voice turned dry and hoarse.

“In the end, the Bai family was still sentenced to exile.

“When my foster father learned that his daughter had committed suicide, he believed that he had caused Jingyi’s death and became half-mad and half-senseless.

“Sinian’s maternal uncle also got into a fight with someone over his sister’s death. His leg was broken, and he was exiled alongside my foster father.

“By the time I reached the capital, all I could do was use my connections to have them sent here to Black Province.

“At that time, Sinian was still training at the base, so no one dared tell him.

“Afterward, I lied to him and said that his parents had divorced. I told him that his mother and eldest maternal uncle were participating in a classified project, while his grandfather and youngest maternal uncle had gone away to study.

“Because of that, Sinian resented his mother for a long time.”

“After that, I never dared let him return to the capital. I also warned the Zhou family not to seek him out.

“The Zhou family knew they were in the wrong, and they never appeared all these years.

“If Sinian hadn’t been injured so severely, I would never have brought him back to the capital!”

Ming Dai ventured a guess. “Someone told Sinian about what happened to his mother?”

Wei Yan nodded helplessly. “During the interrogation, someone suddenly mentioned it. Sinian completely lost control.

“There was another reason I took him to the countryside. At the time, he escaped from the hospital and broke into the Zhou family home. He nearly killed Zhou Chongming.

“Not long after Jingyi died, Zhou Chongming remarried. The woman brought a boy with her when she married into the family. I heard that the boy looked very much like Zhou Chongming—and was two years older than Sinian.”

Ming Dai drew in a sharp breath.

Wei Yan shook his head helplessly. “Although I wanted to kill the Zhou family myself, I couldn’t gamble Sinian’s life on it. And with so many people coming to cause trouble, I had no choice but to arrange for Sinian to stay at Red Flag Commune.

“I simply never expected trouble to find him even there. Those people are truly insane!”

“What kind of people are they?” Ming Dai asked, bewildered. “Why are they so determined to cling to Zhou Sinian?”

“I’ve never managed to find out exactly who they are. They’re hidden too deeply.

“The reason may be that document—the document Sinian hid away. They want to see whether Sinian will remember where he put it and retrieve it.

“That’s also why they wouldn’t let me get close to him.”

Ming Dai suddenly understood. “Zhou Sinian said he could feel someone watching him in every village.”

Wei Yan nodded and gave a cold laugh. “They dare spy on me because they’re counting on the fact that, while I’m still in office, I can’t act recklessly. But Sinian doesn’t care about such things. Tell him that if someone displeases him, he should simply beat them up. On the surface, at least, no one in Black Province would dare offend me!

“You don’t need to be afraid either. There’s nothing suspicious in your background. With me here, they won’t dare lay a hand on ordinary people.”

Ming Dai gazed at him with shining eyes.

What a powerful backer. She absolutely had to hold on to him!

Wei Yan looked at Ming Dai awkwardly. “But the undercurrents are extremely murky. My people and I have investigated for three years, yet all we know is that three different groups have been watching everything happening in Black Province. We still haven’t identified them.

“So I can’t bring Sinian back yet. I’ll have to trouble you to continue looking after him.”

Ming Dai waved her hand. “That’s no problem. We get along quite well.”

Wei Yan smiled and nodded. He turned to the corner, stretched a few times, then took out a box. After opening it, he removed something and handed it to Ming Dai.

She accepted it automatically and glanced down.

She nearly dropped it.

“Uncle Wei! Why are you giving me this?”

Wei Yan handed her the box as well. “Keep it for Sinian. In case something happens, you’ll be able to protect yourselves. Don’t let him play with it under ordinary circumstances.”

Ming Dai touched the dangerous object in her hand and screamed silently inside.

Was this something he could just hand over to anyone?!

By then, a faint light had begun to appear outside, accompanied by the sound of people moving around nearby.

Wei Yan glanced at the bed, where the still-“sound asleep” man lay, and instructed her, “Wait here until nine o’clock before going out. Be careful not to let anyone else see you.

“As for Sinian, I won’t say goodbye to him. Tell him that his uncle is very happy to have seen him.”

With that, Mayor Wei quickly changed his clothes and walked toward the door.

Just before leaving, he seemed to remember something and turned back to Ming Dai.

“As for Sinian’s grandfather and youngest maternal uncle, you can go visit them if you want. The people who were watching them were dealt with by Sinian’s youngest maternal uncle, so it’s safe over there. It’s just that…”

He unexpectedly let out a muffled laugh.

“Sinian’s youngest maternal uncle has a rather strange personality and often does things in ways no one expects. When you go there, keep an eye on the two of them. Don’t let them start fighting.”

Then Mayor Wei opened the door and left, leaving Ming Dai standing there in a daze with the box in her hands.

No cliffhanger today, haha!

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