Chapter 84

Not long after meeting Er Hei, when Yang Lei was in the city for work, he went back home.

These years, Yang Lei and Yang Dahai’s relationship had improved. Yang Lei was no longer as antagonistic as he was when he was a teenager. He had matured a lot over these years. He had his own judgment for the things of the past, and he had more understanding. Yang Dahai was also gradually getting older, and his health was not very good. Yang Lei watched as he changed from the haughty and bossy likeness in his memories into someone old and gray. The issues of the past were already no longer impenetrable and inflexible. As a child, no matter what mistakes the parents had made, they had the obligation of filial piety. In the past, Yang Lei didn’t realize this. Now, he had grown up, and he understood many things and let them go.

Yang Lei would take the initiative to return home, and he would buy some tonics for Yang Dahai and his stepmother. Towards Yang Lei’s transformation, Yang Dahai was very relieved. The first time that Yang Lei bought Yang Dahai American ginseng and gave it to Yang Dahai, when Yang Dahai took it and used his glasses to read the words written on it, even his hands that held the glasses were trembling slightly.

Although the father and son could not be as close as other fathers and sons, they could sit together and talk peacefully, eat, and talk about work and life. To Yang Dahai, that was already a great accomplishment.

He had gotten old over these years. Yang Dahai had also started to reflect on the past, and his attitude towards people had changed. After Yang Lei went to the army, he didn’t embarrass him. Although there was a fuss when he graduated, over these three years, Yang Lei didn’t rely on his connections. He made a breakthrough one step at a time, and while providing flood relief, he even got third-class merits. Yang Dahai had never before experienced this sense of pride as a father. This also made him no longer interfere with Yang Lei too much, so the relationship between father and son was relatively relaxed right now.

However, Yang Dahai kept urging Yang Lei about marriage.

“Dad, I already said that my work is busy right now. I don’t want to consider it for the time being.”

At the dinner table, Yang Dahai’s wife was arranging a blind date for Yang Lei. She showed him the picture of the girl.

“Xiao Lei, look, this girl is so pretty. Her family background is good too. Look…”

Yang Lei was a little impatient.

“Mom, you don’t need to worry. Let’s talk about it in a few years.”

“In a few years? You’re not eighteen or nineteen right now. You should consider the issue of marriage!”

Yang Dahai was a little impatient. As early as when Yang Lei had not yet graduated from the military academy, Yang Dahai suddenly tried to find him a girlfriend. These three years after he graduated, he had nearly never stopped. Yang Lei didn’t understand why Yang Dahai was so anxious about this matter. His friends around him were over thirty and not married, and their families didn’t really urge them. A man in his twenties focuses on his career. Even if he isn’t married at forty, it isn’t strange. In the past, Yang Lei thought that Yang Dahai was just worried that he wouldn’t take the right path. He didn’t think that he would be so anxious about this matter.

Yang Dahai had talked to Yang Lei about this more than once.

“In the military academy…did you have any female classmates that you liked?”

“No.”

“There are also many female cadres in the 701 regiment. There’s no one that you like?”

“They’re all colleagues.”

“Just… what kind of person do you want to find?”

“Don’t ask anymore. I’m busy with work. I’m not planning to date yet.”

“…You’ve had girlfriends in the past! Why now…”

Yang Dahai stopped talking, and there was never any progress in the conversation.

When Yang Lei was in the army, he had some good friends and had brought them home. In the past, Yang Dahai detested Yang Lei’s gangster brothers. But right now, Yang Dahai was also always very cautious about the military friends and colleagues that Yang Lei brought home. Sometimes, when Yang Lei talked with his friends in his room, he could feel that Yang Dahai was observing them.

Yang Lei thought that Yang Dahai had become a little strange. He thought that, perhaps when people get old, they would become a little strange.

Right now, when the matter of blind dates was mentioned, the meal ended on an unhappy note again.

“That Fang Yu didn’t look for you later?”

Before Yang Lei left, Yang Dahai suddenly asked.

“No.”

Yang Lei expressionlessly put on his shoes.

Yang Lei knew that Yang Dahai really didn’t want him to keep in touch with the gangsters in the past like Fang Yu, so Yang Dahai would often ask. He really cared about whether or not they were still in touch.

“No, not once! Can you not always ask?”

Every time Yang Dahai asked, Yang Lei was very impatient, so Yang Dahai seldom asked.

Yang Lei drove back to the 701 regiment. The function room of the regiment headquarters was lit and decorated, and there was an activity taking place.

This was a get-together between the military and the local authorities. In order to solve the problem of marriage for the single officers in the army, the Jianghai Youth League Committee and Women’s Federation organized a group of single young women to go to the military camp to socialize. When Yang Lei returned to the headquarters, this group of beautifully dressed young women of the camp had already arrived. Twenty or thirty pretty girls dressed up like butterflies were chattering as they walked in the military camp. They brought color into the monotonous and masculine military camp. Even the soldiers couldn’t help but look at them secretly during breaks in practice.

“Staff Officer Yang, you came back just in time. The regimental commander also signed you up!”

“What?”

Could Yang Lei join in the fun? When the socialization started and the male and female guests had to enter, the regimental commander asked Yang Lei to take the lead.

“Commander, I can’t go.”

“Why can’t you go?” The commander was from Sichuan and spoke with a Sichuan dialect.

“I… have a girlfriend!”

“What’s a child like you fooling me for? Go! This is an order!”

The commander really liked Yang Lei. He kicked him forward.

“Yang Lei’s form is good. He made our 701 regiment commander proud!” Other regiment leaders also poked fun.

“Yang Lei is a handsome guy. Once he goes, us other cadres will suffer!”

Yang Lei had no choice. He could only take the other officers with him and go. The female guests standing on the other side had long already turned their eyes to these officers. Among these people, Yang Lei was very eye-catching. The girls all looked at him, some secretly and some openly. There were even three or five covering their mouths and looking at him as they talked excitedly.

Yang Lei didn’t look at what these girls across from him looked like at all. When the games began, Yang Lei nonchalantly shook hands with each girl and gave a brief introduction. After going through several girls, someone directly asked for his phone number and QQ numbers. The girls of this era were different from the past. They were direct and open, with nothing to be ashamed of.

Yang Lei was perfunctory, thinking that he would go out at the end of this segment. He finally turned to the last girl.

“Hello, my name is Yang Lei.”

Yang Lei mechanically held out his hand, but the other person didn’t reach out. Yang Lei raised his head.

A pretty and fashionable girl looked at him with a smile.

“…Fang Mei?”

“Why are you here?”

At a small restaurant in the town, Yang Lei opened a drink for Fang Mei.

“Why can’t I come? I’m also a single young woman. Why, Captain Yang, am I not welcome?”

Fang Mei had returned to the country for over half a year. She was working at a foreign company. As soon as she joined, she became a supervisor.

“Why are you joining in on the fun?”

Yang Lei knew without asking that Fang Mei had come on purpose to tease him.

This time, Fang Mei returned to the country planning to stay for a long time. Before and after 2002, Chinese people who returned from overseas were valuable and very popular. Although Fang Mei already had a green card abroad, for family reasons, she still returned to the country to work. She and Yang Lei had always kept in touch. The two of them were childhood sweethearts, and they always had a tacit understanding.

“I’m not joining in on the fun. I’m really here to seriously go on a blind date. How about it, Staff Officer Yang? Will you give me an opportunity?”

Fang Mei smiled. After passing the age of a young girl, right now, Fang Mei was even more full of mature charm. Among those young women, many officers had their eyes on her, rushing to introduce themselves to her.

“Who do you like? I’ll introduce you.”

“Who else? Of course it’s you?”

“Enough!”

Fang Mei chuckled.

“Look at you! Yang Lei, do you think I’m still seventeen or eighteen, hung up over one option? You dumped me. Should I still like you for a lifetime? Right now, we just have the friendship of revolutionary comrades!”

Fang Mei was a free and open girl. She could take it up and let it go. In these years abroad, she had wonderful and intense emotions. She was a woman who really understood love and life.

While eating and chatting, Fang Mei glanced at Yang Lei.

“What about you? Still alone?”

Without needing Yang Lei to speak, Fang Mei knew. These years, not even a woman had appeared by Yang Lei’s side.

“You’re not planning to not date, are you?”

Yang Lei ate and didn’t speak.

“Your family isn’t urging you?”

“…Why are you like my mom right now? Can we not talk about this as soon as we meet?”

Yang Lei was impatient.

“Enough with you. You’re almost thirty. People should live realistically. Don’t make things difficult for yourself.”

Yang Lei didn’t reply, and he didn’t have much of an expression.

Fang Mei observed Yang Lei’s face. She hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking.

“…Still thinking about Fang Yu?”