He had the demeanor of a prince, believing that he could do whatever he wanted. He wasn’t concerned with honor, or military discipline, or responsibility, and he wasn’t concerned with his relationships around the city. There was only Qin Feng as the Qin family’s eldest son, and he was arrogant and free.
This was the true Qin Feng, but years of experience in the military had given him a noble temperament and grounding. He did not experience luxury during those years. What he had now was a solid sense of duty.
He did not regret leaving such a privileged life because the army had taught him many things that he would never have learned otherwise. He believed that if he hadn’t had that military experience, he would have become the same as Ji Dongchen and Jia Dapeng long ago.
This was also what Qin Wannian believed. When Qin Feng was only around five years old, he took him out of the bustling capital city to stay in the wild mountains in the suburbs. The mountains in the northeast were covered in snow and the temperature was far below zero. The boy’s body was so cold that it had turned purple. However, Qin Wannian still insisted on the training. When the boy did not reach his training targets, he was forced to take off his thick, padded jacket and stand in the cold in his thin clothing.
Those painful years were painful to think about. In other families, even in the most common families, children had happy childhoods, but as for Qin Feng’s, it was full of bitterness and hatred.
He had hated Qin Wannian, the stubborn fossil.
"Haha, the kind of person needs to be cleaned up!” said the driver about the secretary. If you did not stop me, I’d have killed someone that night. He should have been thrown into the river to feed the fish."
"I don't want to upset Tianhe. Even when I try to keep a low profile, messes still crop up. I don’t feel very optimistic about the situation in the Tianhe," Qin Feng said and sighed.
"There are about five million people in this city, and where there are people, there are grudges and hatred. This is unavoidable. But there is also the truth that the strong are respected. No matter where you are, except in the capital, as long as you are strong, no one will dare to touch you."
The driver then asked, "Did you really go to Tianhe to protect your comrade’s sister? It's not a special mission, is it? If you really want to protect her, why don't you just bring her to the capital? I’ll arrange for people to protect her. Our Qin family is in--”
He put out his cigarette, then leaned back and smiled. “Actually, I have a selfish intention. I want to take advantage of this time protecting her to feel what it’s like to live leisurely in the real city. I’ve been so comfortable recently. I’ve never felt so relaxed and with nothing to worry about.”
After hearing this, the driver smiled. "In fact, I guessed it might be something like that. Qin Feng, I am only about eight years older than you. I was brought to Qin's house by the age of thirteen. Without him, I would have starved to death by the roadside. At that time, you were only a few years old, but I watched him strip you during the cold winter, tie you to a column outside and whip you, just because you mischievously broke a piece of uncut jade. Something like that hardly matters to the Qin family, but he still treated you so poorly...
At that time, I was so frightened of his temper, and thought that he loved violence, but I eventually realized he would never be that angry with anyone except you. Even if he becomes angry, he won’t start beating people, just you. There is one word to describe that behavior--cruelty!"
When he heard this statement, Qin Feng was plunged into a painful memory. Truthfully, he was afraid to see Qin Wannian. The old man was always beating him and punishing him. He had vowed to make Qin Feng the best special combat soldier in the world.
But the boy had only been a few years old. How could he understand the reasons behind the cruelty? During that time, he did not have even a trace of happiness.
"It hurts," he said. "Thinking about my childhood, that is."
After a pause, Qin Feng continued. "But in retrospect, if he had not trained me since I was a child, I would not be the me I am today. I would be like those guys in the capital, drinking every day, spending all my time drunk. I may have had a good life, but I wouldn’t have made much of myself."
In the end, he understood his father. Although there would always be some hatred in his heart, as he got older, he gained understanding. Qin Feng had begun to feel less bitter about his father’s actions in the past two years.
"Yes, you’re taking on the most difficult task in the world, but you can do it successfully. That’s your strength. There’s no better special combat team soldier than you in all of China. The Qin family is not short of anything except the opportunity to be themselves. When the master was young, his family was slandered, and he lost the opportunity to approach the world as himself. He has always had a special dream of war in his heart, which he’s since pinned on you. He wants you to finish his unfinished dreams."
The driver continued, "In fact, I often see him standing on the terrace staring at the sky, smoking cigarettes, and looking so lonely. I think in those moments, he must be thinking of you. Don't blame him."
"Don’t worry about it. I'm back now, and I have something important to ask him. How's he doing anyway?"
Qin Feng hadn’t been home in a while, and he unexpectedly felt nervous. In the past, he could step into the courtyard and scold Qin Wannian without a second thought, but now he was more sensible, and when he faced him, he wasn’t sure how to act.
When he acted friendly, the old guy remained cold and distant, which made it hard to establish a closer relationship.
"He's fine, but he's been smoking a lot lately and coughing all the time. You know, when he was in the army, he was shot. His body never fully recovered," the driver said, sighing. "You two really have served China well. One is a hero who fought back in self-defense against Vietnam and the other is the captain of the Golden Special Forces, specialized in conquering the most dangerous tasks."