C64

Although it was still holiday time, with the end of the Star Day celebrations, the Ye Tian Empire Mecha Institute had also reached the end of the holiday. But what was strange was that Duan Hengye didn’t rush back to work at the first opportunity like he did in the past.

On the contrary, Su Mingge had just returned to the hospital when he received a message from Duan Hengye. Duan Hengye told Su Mingge that he had encountered something and would delay his return to the institute for a day or two.

Duan Hengye wasn’t a person who would be absent from work for no reason, after receiving the news, although Su Mingge was puzzled, he still temporarily took over the work of the institute. However, after hearing this, the staff of the institute couldn’t help but speculate – what exactly did Duan Hengye encounter?

As everyone knew, it wasn’t just Duan Hengye. On this day, even Meng Jinhuai, who could be called an “interstellar model worker”, temporarily handed over his work at hand to the two generals.

Only a few people in the entire interstellar knew that on the Southern Star Marshal’s residence, a very special guest was ushered in.

At ten o’clock in the morning, Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai were already waiting in a tea room in the Marshal’s residence. As time passed, in order to suppress the little bit of tension in his heart that was hard to ignore. After sitting for half a day, Duan Hengye suddenly began to fiddle with the tea set placed on the table.

He had practices for many years in his last life, although now he had changed bodies, Duan Hengye’s movements were still as smooth as a walking cloud. And after seeing Duan Hengye’s movements, Meng Jinhuai’s eyes showed appreciation.

Just when Duan Hengye poured the tea into a cup, the door of this tea room finally opened.

An old man wearing a gray jacket and carrying a cane stood at the door. As the door opened, Duan Heny and Meng Jinhuai also stood up from the sofa together, and then walked to the door to greet him.

The person who came wasn’t unfamiliar, he wasthe old reporter who appeared in the test flight star a while ago and had long retired.

“Elder Yan, sorry to call you all the way over here.” After Meng Jinhuai walked over, he shook hands with him while saying somewhat apologetically.

After hearing Meng Jinhuai’s words, Mr. Yan said while smiling and shaking his head, “There is nothing to be sorry about. It’s my honour that the Lord Marshal invited me to the military department.” After he said that, Duan Hengye also went forward to shake hands with Elder Yan and said, “Good morning, please have a seat first.”

“Good, thank you Professor Duan.” The old man sat down on the sofa under Duan Hengye’s invitation. And after seeing the tea already made on the table, he raised his head with some surprise and looked at Duan Hengye, then asked, “Did Professor Duan make this tea?”

Duan Hengye froze for a short while after being asked, then nodded and said, “Yes.”

Elder Yan slowly picked up the cup of tea, and then took a small sip and said, “It tastes good. I remember …… when you were very young, Professor Duan, the Institute held a display of active mechas, and at that time I was fortunate enough to go to the report as a reporter, and was invited by your parents to chat for a while.” He spoke with a smile on his face, his head slightly raised, looking like he was caught up in memories of the past.

The old man was obviously just recalling a very ordinary piece of his past, but after hearing what he said, Duan Hengye got nervous again.

As expected, Elder Yan continued, “At that time you also came out and made tea, I didn’t expect that after so many years, Professor Duan, who had been busy with his work, had not forgotten the tea art of the past.” There weren’t many people on the stars who knew the tea ceremony, so the matter of Duan Hengye making tea for him back then was remembered by Elder Yan.

Although the badge on the Tize star had already made Duan Hengye realise something, at this time, hearing Elder Yan talk about “his” childhood, his heart still couldn’t help but sink a little. However, because he had a little psychological preparation, now hearing Elder Yan suddenly mention this matter, Duan Hengye’s expression didn’t change much.

He nodded towards Elder Yan and then said calmly, “Yes, although I haven’t forgotten, I haven’t practiced for a long time.”

However, the slightest change of emotion on Duan Hengye couldn’t escape Meng Jinhuai’s eyes.

After seeing this scene, Meng Jinhuai immediately pulled the topic back. “Elder Yan, to be frank, this time we suddenly invited you to Southern Star because there is something we want to ask you…” Meng Jinhuai’s expression was slightly serious, and after seeing his appearance, Elder Yan also immediately sat up straight and then listened carefully to Meng Jinhuai’s words.

After all, having been a journalist all his life, Elder Yan was a very intelligent person and knew how to read people. Meng Jinhuai didn’t directly mention the purpose of his visit to Southern Star, but after just listening to the Lord Marshal’s simple words, he vaguely guessed the other’s purpose.

After Meng Jinhuai finished speaking, Elder Yan took a sip of tea and then slowly leaned back on the backrest of the sofa. He was silent for a while, seemingly in thought. When the hot tea on the table was already a little cold, Elder Yan finally opened his mouth slowly and said, “Come to think of it, the old marshal and I, that is, Jinhuai’s father, should have known each other for the longest time ……”

Elder Yan glanced at Meng Jinhuai, and then continued, “When I met him, I was already a war correspondent, but the old marshal had only just entered the military corps. At that time, he hid his identity background and charged into battle like all the soldiers.” Just like the royal family, in the book “Dumping Interstellar”, the Southern Star was also passed down from generation to generation by a large family.

Unlike Meng Jinhuai, who had been exposed to the public since he was a child and had inherited the military at a young age. His father had been under an alias in the military ministry during his early years and did not expose his true identity.

“…… However, because of his superior mental strength and repeated war achievements, I still chose him for an interview among all the soldiers at that time.” Speaking of this, Elder Yan’s face also showed a look of pride. After all, as a journalist, to be able to discover a future great man who would influence the stars when he was still young and interview him, this was indeed a matter worthy of pride for a lifetime.

During the conversation, Duan Hengye could not help but cast his eyes on Meng Jinhuai’s body. He saw that at this time Meng Jinhuai looked very serious, and when Elder Yan was talking, the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but raise into a shallow arc. Although Duan Hengye transmigrated halfway, he had heard some things about the old marshal. For example, he knew from Yu Xinran that Meng Jinhuai’s father was a very serious person, and treated his only son with extraordinary severity.

In fact, it wasn’t difficult to imagine that during the short time he spent with the old marshal for more than ten years, Meng Jinhuai had probably never communicated with him properly. After all, before Meng Jinhuai could understand the old marshal’s age, he had already disappeared from his son’s life because of the war …..

Now suddenly hearing someone mention a young father whom he had never met, Meng Jinhuai’s eyes couldn’t help but become soft.

Elder Yan suddenly smiled and turned to Duan Hengye and said, “Oh, by the way, Professor Duan’s parents and I met at the Mecha Research Knowledge Competition, at that time they were also just students, younger than even you are now.”

Upon hearing this, Duan Hengye also remembered when Elder Yan first met him, the other party said that he and his mother looked a little more alike.

After speaking just now, Elder Yan looked at Meng Jinhuai again, then continued to recall: “Later on, I would often report some news about the military ministry in those years, so from time to time, I would have contact with the Lord Marshal’s father. It was also that time …… almost when he was about to marry your mother, in an event in the nature of the Imperial Youth Symposium, his identity was revealed.”

“Oh, yes!” The old man suddenly raised his tone, then very happily slapped his knee with his palm as he smiled and said to Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai: “It’s quite a destiny to say the least! It was also that event that I learnt that the four young people I had been admiring before – that is, your parents – had actually known each other for a long time and were still close friends.”

As an excellent journalist who had read countless people, Elder Yan had always been very satisfied with his ability to recognise talent with his own eyes. So once he recalled the young man he had previously looked at favourably, he became extraordinarily excited, but unlike his slightly excited look after falling into memory, Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai after involuntarily looking at each other, became surprisingly silent.

Duan Hengye was okay, after all, he was still missing a lot of memories of his teenage years.

But Meng Jinhuai was different.

The marshal lord’s memory had always been very good, but no matter how he tried recalled, he couldn’t find a single memory from his mind that his parents and Duan Hengye’s parents knew each other long ago. He always knew that Elder Yan was acquainted with his own and Duan Hengy parents respectively. But he didn’t know that there was a “best friend” relationship between their parents.

In theory, as a senior member of the imperial military and a top researcher at the Academy, it was strange that they didn’t know each other. But before today, Meng Jinhuai never knew that his parents and Duan Hengye’s parents had known each other so long ago.

The life span of people in the interstellar era was long, and unlike Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai, who were considered to have become famous at a young age, by the time their fathers actually made a name for themselves in the stars, they weee already in their 40s and 50s. By definition, they also knew each other at that age.

And Elder Yan’s words pushed the time forward another step further – and directly to the time when the old marshal was hiding his identity.

Seeing that Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai didn’t respond for a long time, Elder Yan also realized that something was wrong. He sat up straight again, then looked at Meng Jinhuai and said solemnly, “Lord Marshal, do you have any questions about what I just said?”

Elder Yan was considered an old friend of Meng Jinhuai, and after hearing the other party’s question, the Lord Marshal did not beat around the bush. He asked the other directly, “Can you continue to tell the story between my parents and Ah Heng’s parents?”

At that, Elder Yan nodded silently, then took out a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it, “I didn’t ask about the specific things, but I heard that …… they seemed to have met from a Mecha research activity. That time the empire was at the most chaotic period, the royal family although low-key, their hidden strength was greater than now. Young people like your parents didn’t go to the top of the empire at that time, but they could feel a little wind change. Therefore, although they looked peaceful, there was a kind of warm-bloodiness in their hearts that your generation can’t understand.”

In recent times, Duan Hengey had taken advantage of his work to make up for the history of the empire. So now he knew that in his parents’ generation, although the empire’s internal and external problems were more serious than now, because the military and other forces didn’t rise completely, the imperial family’s control was actually greater than now.

Duan Hengye barely had a little memory of the original owner’s parents, but Meng Jinhuai was different. In his impression, his parents always seemed to be indifferent and distant, today was the first time he heard someone use the word “warm-blooded” to describe his parents.

“They were very close, and the relationship had been good ……” in those years when their names weren’t known, the story of Duan Hengye’s father and mother wasn’t recorded by the Star Nwtwork. Because too much time had passed, Elder Yan’s memory was also somewhat blurred. But, this morning, he was still sipping tea while slowly telling Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai the stories of those young people who had passed away.

As he listened, Duan Hengye slowly bent down. His hands involuntarily rested on his knees, then propped up his chin as he looked toward Elder Yan. From Elder Yan’s sporadic, intermittent memories, Duan Hengye probably sketched out a complete story in his mind.

The unnamed teenagers became close friends in their early years because they shared a common ambition, but as their strength gradually grew – especially after Meng Jinhuai’s father became a marshal. They began to be subject to the suspicion of the Empire, and in order not to affect each other, the formerly close young people slowly began to avoid suspicion after their achievements. After all, they both knew that both the Institute and Southern Star were under constant surveillance by the imperial family.

Duan Hengye could understand this approach, after all, the relationship between the military department and the Mecha Institute was too special. As a royal family that still had some power, they would definitely pay special attention to the relationship between the two sides. It was conceivable that if it weren’t for the fact that he was an undercover agent who had been brainwashed for years and under control, the royal family would not have easily allowed himself and Meng Jinhuai to get married.

In fact, despite the decades that had passed, the marriage between the original owner and Meng Jinhuai was still a symbol of the royal family’s surveillance of the military. If not for the “variable” of Duan Hengye, they really did quite successfully ……

The truth was that, in addition to people like Elder Yan, who knew them in their early years, and the royal family who had been concerned about them, almost no one knew that the top of the Institute and the Marshal’s Office were old friends.

……

Speaking of this, Elder Yan’s eyebrows wrinkled further. He took a large puff of smoke, after which he glanced at Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai, then finally asked as if he understood something: “Does it mean that you guys didn’t know either?”

Meng Jinhuai didn’t speak, but nodded quietly, and only after a while did he say to Elder Yan, “I didn’t know that they had known each other privately for a long time, or were close friends.”

Although from the reaction of Meng Jinhuai during the conversation just now, it could be seen that he indeed knew very little about his father’s generation back then. But after hearing Meng Jinhuai directly say that he didn’t even know they had known each other privately for a long time, Elder Yan still showed an expression of incredulity. Then he turned to look at Duan Hengye.

Although there was no memory of his childhood, from Meng Jinhuai’s reaction, Duan Hengye could probably guess that his own parents should also have never said anything about their relationship. So under Elder Yan’s gaze, Duan Hengye also nodded silently ……

In the process of reminiscing, Elder Yan had unknowingly smoked a dozen cigarettes. Although the ventilation device in this tea room was very good, a while down, the room still held the smell of smoke.

Elder Yan slowly shook his head and said: “Their relationship in the early years was really very good. Although I always knew that they were deliberately acting strange in front of the outside world for the development of the military and the Institute. But it really didn’t occur to me that they wouldn’t even tell …… their own children.”

Probably because of his age, after sighing, Elder Yan also couldn’t help but talk with Duan Hengye and Yu Meng Jinhuai about a few small things that happened when their fathers were getting along before. Although those things were not helpful to the investigation that waa now underway, but it could be seen from it, that the relationship between them was indeed as good as Elder Yan said.

……

After eating the noon meal, Duan Hengye and Meng Jinhuai sent off Elder Yan. Although that lead from Elder Yan was basically over, they didn’t take advantage of the afternoon to go back to work, but they reentered the same tea room.

After sitting down, Meng Jinhuai was silent for a short while, and then said directly to Duan Hengye, “I think that the accident at the research institute, perhaps it can no longer be called an ‘accident’.”

After hearing Meng Jinhuai’s words, Duan Hengye nodded silently.

Although Meng Jinhuai didn’t say it, after listening to Elder Yan’s words in the morning, he was actually able to guess that while no longer being in contact on the surface, the Institute’s private cooperation with the military ministry should be deeper than what he previously knew. As for them not telling these things to him and Meng Jinhuai, they were probably worried that if the children were involved, it would bring unnecessary trouble to their future.

At this time Duan Hengye picked up the teacup made of green jade on the table, and while subconsciously playing with the teacup in his hands, he said to Meng Jinhuai: “After I return to the Institute, I will carefully check the previous experimental records …… as long as the information is not completely destroyed, even if only a little trace is left, I will also restore them.”

Although the “recovering data” in Duan Hengye’s words is simple, Meng Jinhuai knew how difficult this work really waa. But looking around, such a thing may only be able to be done by the person in front of him.

“Thank you for your hard work, Ah Heng.” Meng Jinhuai said.

Perhaps it was because of the half day of listening to Elded Yan’s story this morning, Meng Jinhuai’s aura was unexpectedly soft, hearing him say that, Duan Hengye was actually a little embarrassed. But before he could say anything else, Meng Jinhuai spoke again: “Right Ah Heng, do you still remember what happened on the day of the accident?”

After hearing Meng Jinhuai’s question, Duan Hengye couldn’t help but freeze for a moment. Except for the memory of the “badge”, he had almost no memory of the experiment before the accident. So after hearing Meng Jinhuai’s question, Duan Hengye reflexively went to shake his head.

But at this time, Duan Hengye suddenly felt a little bit of fragmented images appear in a part of his brain that was originally in a blank state.

Duan Hengye suddenly recalled the events of that year! Although it was only a little blurred image.

Meng Jinhuai saw that Duan Hengye, who was gently shaking his head, suddenly opened his eyes wide, his hand subconsciously stretched, and the teacup originally cupped in his palm fell to the ground, then collided with the floor and shattered into countless pieces.

But the sound of the cup breaking didn’t draw Duan Hengye’s attention away from the past, Duan Hengye began to slowly say to himself: “Their office wasn’t in the Institute building, but separate from it. When I was young, I stayed in the outer part of the office almost every day. There were times when I studied on my own, and there were times when they would come over to answer some mecha-related questions for me.” Duan Hengye said while his eyes slowly narrowed. His expression involuntarily became filled with pain, as if he was very exhausted from the memory.

Meng Jinhuai wanted to interrupt Duan Hemgye, but he shook his head as if he knew what he wanted to do.

Duan Hengye continued: “That day …… as usual, I was reading a book there, and then not far away, I suddenly heard a loud bang. Then I saw that their office suddenly emitted a blue light, and then half of the walls melted away – one of the mechas suddenly went out of control and started attacking the house. That was the last image I saw before I passed out ……” Duan Hengye couldn’t help but reach out and press heavily at his temples.

He didn’t know if there was a relationship with this memory recovery, Duan Hengye’s temple started tingling. He couldn’t help but shake his head with great effort, then looked up and said to Meng Jinhuai: “…… I can only recall that much.”

Just as Duan Hengye finished speaking, the sofa next to him suddenly sank down. Before Duan Hengye could react, he fell into a familiar embrace. Meng Jinhuai gently wrapped Duan Hengye in his arms, then lowered his voice and whispered to Duan Hengye in a tone as if he was telling a bedtime story, “Okay, don’t think about it. Do you trust me?”

Although he didn’t know why Meng Jinhuai suddenly asked this, Duan Hengye still nodded his head gently.

“Then, good, just give me time, I will find the answer.” Meng Jinhuai promised, then he reached out his hand and slowly tucked a handful of Duan Hengye’s hair behind his ear. The Lord Marshal said, “What you don’t want to remember, just forget about it completely.”

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4 Replies to “C64”

  1. thank you for the chapter! <3

  2. “Do you trust me?” – I wonder when the question will morph into “Do you love me?” 😉
    Thank you for the chapter <3

  3. Thank you for your hard work!

  4. amazing guy….
    Thanks for the chapter

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