Wang Beifeng's car had only been three kilometers out of the airport when Captain Xu called.
"Cheng Ji." Captain Xu said in a serious tone.
"ah?"
"You're going to take the self-taught foreign language test next month. Don't forget to go."
"What?!" Cheng Ji was shocked. "How could I not know? Who signed me up?"
"My wife signed you up." Captain Xu chuckled.
His wife is a staff member of the self-study examination office, and she can register anyone she wants.
"You..." Cheng Ji lost his temper, "You and sister-in-law should at least tell me!"
"I told you!" Captain Xu said, "You still have 20 days to review. It's not too late. I have confidence in your foreign language proficiency."
This is not wrong. Cheng Ji has stayed in Country R for a long time and dealt with the Eight-Nation Alliance. He can speak at least four languages and has no problem with daily communication, reading and writing in English.
"My wife has enrolled you in an English major. You don't have to take the math test. You just need to memorize some books when you have time." Captain Xu said, "Take each course seriously. You'll get your bachelor's degree!"
"..." Cheng Ji said, "Thank you, sister-in-law."
Captain Xu hung up the phone happily.
Chen Chuan asked: "Are you still going to work?"
"Fuck it, I'll report to him tomorrow at work!" Cheng Ji said angrily, "I'm not even in the country, and he can help me register for the exam. Does he have any human rights at all?!"
Chen Chuan said, "Well, since he has your real ID, it's good enough that he doesn't help you open a random credit card."
Before Cheng Ji could put away his phone, Captain Xu called again: "Oh, I forgot to tell you, the bureau is going to help you get a first-class merit."
"ah??"
"You think it's too little?" Captain Xu said, "But the police don't get special merit! The chief is right next to me, I asked him... He said that even in the army, those who are still alive can't get special merit! Then it's first class!"
He hung up before Cheng Ji could say anything.
“…” Cheng Ji covered his face, that expression definitely did not show happiness.
Chen Chuan and Lao Geng had been listening nearby, and asked, "Why are you so shy? Isn't it good to make meritorious contributions? Are you so shameless?"
Cheng Ji's cheeks were red as if they were about to burn. "… They are too outrageous! Many veteran police officers who have been working at the grassroots level for decades don't even have the first-class merit, so how can they give it to me? When the meeting is held and I go on stage to receive the award, won't everyone laugh at me to death?"
Lao Geng quickly took a paper bag and put it over his face to prevent him from getting hyperventilation syndrome.
Cheng Ji didn't know that his merit was as secret and glorious as his previous missions. It would only be recorded in the files and not publicly commended, so there was no need to be so ashamed.
He was the kind of person who could work but was embarrassed to take credit for it. For the next fifteen minutes, he lay in the last row of the business car, shaking like a baby.
Chen Chuan smiled and said, "Brother Cheng, stop denying yourself! It's not easy for those veteran police officers who have been rooted in the grassroots for decades, is it easy for you? You have been in that hellhole of Country R for three years, with your head on your waistband every day. How many times have rockets and cannons exploded through a wall? How many times have you thought that this day next year will be your death anniversary? The hardships you have endured are not something others can endure!"
"… "
Cheng Ji opened his eyes and looked at him, then closed his eyes and continued to sob.
Chen Chuan said: "It's nothing, I also won the first-class award, I will go with you to receive the award! I am thick-skinned!"
“… Go by yourself.” Cheng Ji turned inside.
He is just ashamed. Is it illegal
Wang Beifeng asked loudly: "Hey Cheng'er, since you are not going to work, how about going directly to Brother Hai's place? Brother Hai has booked a table at a certain club to welcome you. Although it is still early, we can go over for tea first!"
Chen Chuan asked excitedly: "Is there any seafood? I have been in that landlocked country of Country R for three years, and my mouth is dry as a bird!"
"I don't know." Wang Beifeng said, "But don't you know Brother Hai's taste? It's even lighter than bird's!"
"Boring!" said Chen Chuan.
Cheng Ji sat up and said, "Let's go have some tea."
Zheng Haiping, Lei Jing, Qi Beisong and others returned home a week ago.
Cheng Ji has a lot to discuss with Zheng Haiping about Qi Beisong.
He did not keep the six-month promise, and neither did Qi Beisong. It took that guy nine months to wake up from a deep coma, and he then went through more than two years of rehabilitation.
After multiple non-invasive awakening methods failed, doctors used an invasive treatment method on him. They buried electrodes in the upper part of his spinal cord near the brain stem and implanted a pacemaker in his chest. The pacemaker released weak electric currents to continuously stimulate the brain stem.
Since there is not enough data to support statistics, the effectiveness of this method is unknown, and whether it works depends greatly on the patient's condition. At one point, everyone thought that this method had failed, but a miracle happened to Qi Beisong.
He opened his eyes four months after the electrodes were implanted.
He is a very strong and stubborn person. After enduring the unstable period of the first few months and gradually understanding what was happening to him, he began to work hard. During the rehabilitation period, he never complained about pain or tiredness, and his achievements accumulated bit by bit.
By the middle of the third year, his body had basically recovered to its original state, and the various high-intensity exercises he performed with the company of Lei Jing and Wang Beifeng were all for consolidation. Now he is in great shape, full of energy, walking like a dragon and a tiger, and strong and solid.
However, the nine months of coma and invasive treatment still had a significant impact on him. It is said that he lost his memory of the period before the injury, including everything about him and Cheng Ji.
Old Geng lit a cigarette, glanced at Cheng Ji's calm face, and asked Wang Beifeng: "Is there no progress at all in Master Qi's brain disease?"
Wang Beifeng answered honestly: "Really, he couldn't remember Cheng'er."
Old Geng snorted coldly.
Wang Beifeng said: "In fact, he doesn't remember me either, because when he and Cheng'er met, I had only been in Hongcheng for a month or two. Anyway, that period of time was clear in his mind."
Chen Chuan asked: "What about me? I followed him half a year earlier than you."
"I don't know." Wang Beifeng said, "You and Cheng'er are special cases, so we didn't dare to mention you in front of Lao Qi. A week ago, you were released from the ban, and Lao Lei started to talk to him, saying that he could finally go back to see Xiao Cheng. But he was confused and asked, 'Who is Xiao Cheng?'"
Lao Geng angrily shook out the newspapers in the car.
Cheng Ji asked Wang Beifeng: "You have been accompanying him in Country M, so he should be quite familiar with you now."
Wang Beifeng sighed: "What's the point of being familiar with me? I'm just an ordinary subordinate. At most, I can introduce myself a few more times. He has to be familiar with you! Lao Qi is really a mean person. He can forget anyone, but he actually forgot his girlfriend!"
Cheng Ji smiled bitterly: "Then should I introduce myself a few more times?"
"Okay." Wang Beifeng said, "But I'll warn you first, he's a bit of a stickler for love now. You don't know how many men and women have come up to him to flirt with him in Country M these days, but he didn't even look at them. I think his emotional channels are closed, and he only cares about eating, sleeping, exercising, and making money."
He added, "Oh yeah, and shooting. On his days off, he would go to the shooting range and shoot his guns, disturbing people. It was so annoying to hear him. Hunting is even more so. He would run all over the mountain to catch a deer. Lao Lei couldn't catch him for days and nights!"
Cheng Ji burst out laughing: "Very healthy."
"What's the use of being healthy?" Old Geng was angry. "Master Qi is just an idiot! Even though he is sick, he is still an idiot!"
He put his arm around Cheng Ji's shoulders and said, "My son fought for him for three years in the blood and fire of Country R. He didn't even have time to come back and rebuild the house in his hometown of Huang Village when it collapsed. But you forgot about it in the blink of an eye!"
Cheng Ji smiled again, thinking that it was actually only seven months, and the rest was not for him, but as he thought about it he lowered his head again.
Wang Beifeng said: "Alas, you can't blame him. Even someone as smart as Brother Hai can't do anything about it."
He continued: "When he just woke up, he couldn't move his whole body. He was lying on the bed half-conscious. Brother Hai leaned over and whispered in his ear, 'Come on, Xiao Cheng is waiting for you.' He originally wanted to encourage him, but for some reason it backfired. Lao Qi almost fainted when he heard Cheng'er's name, and his heart rate was over 180!"
"Everyone was scared by him, and the doctor told us not to mention it anymore, fearing that it would affect his recovery. Brother Hai didn't believe it, so he tried twice more. As a result, Cheng'er's name was like a trigger for Lao Qi. He got a headache and fainted when he heard it!"
Chen Chuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "This idiot!"
"Later..." Wang Beifeng looked back at Cheng Ji, "He got better, but the police didn't allow us to get any information about you, and insisted that Cheng'er had died. Brother Hai was so angry that he jumped up and down, scolding them for talking nonsense! But even though we knew it was nonsense, we had to take it seriously."
After Cheng Ji was sent to country R again, he always claimed to the outside world that he was carrying out a secret mission. Later, because the old Qi family kept pestering him, he simply and crudely said that he had sacrificed his life.
With his "sacrifice", Chen Chuan also had to "sacrifice" with him, and Lao Geng also "died". The organization did not allow them to revive until a week before the mission was completed and they returned home. It was also in this week that they reconnected with Lei Jing, Zheng Haiping and others.
Wang Beifeng smiled bitterly: "The organization announced that Cheng'er had died, and they refused to change their words, so no one dared to mention it in front of Lao Qi, for fear that he would suddenly remember it and commit suicide for love. Isn't this the end!"
Cheng Ji also smiled bitterly.
During these three years, he was "dead" longer than "alive", and his experience is hard to describe in words.
When he was still "alive", he contacted Lei Jing and others once a week.
They were located in Country R and Country M respectively. Country R's basic communication facilities had been completely destroyed, and Country M was far away on the other side of the ocean. It was inconvenient for the two sides to communicate through civilian channels, so whenever they had a chance to contact each other, they would use it to discuss how to track down the murderer, and they spoke very fast, fearing that the line would be disconnected in the next second.
Therefore, regarding Qi Beisong's situation, Cheng Ji could at most ask one or two questions at the end of the conversation, such as "Are you awake?"
At that time, Qi Beisong had not woken up yet. Zheng Haiping and Lei Jing only reported good news but not bad news. They never directly told him about Qi Beisong's current situation. They always told him that he was about to wake up, was getting better day by day, and would soon take off the ventilator. His eyeballs could still move under his eyelids. Great!
Cheng Ji knew that those movements only meant that the body was alive, not that it had left the vegetative state, but he still played along with the other party for a long time, all for the sake of comforting each other. But when he couldn't sleep or woke up in the middle of the night, his heart was really in unbearable pain.
He spent many nights biting the corner of the quilt or his arm, his tears soaking the pillowcase, and no one else knew.
After the main culprit of the criminal gang was killed, he escorted Shen Zimo back to China for a short period of time.
During that short half month, apart from attending two classes at the university and working as a police officer in the special police detachment, he could do nothing else in the rest of the time.
I feel drowsy during the day and suffer from insomnia at night. I feel so desperate.
He didn't know what kept him alive, maybe it was the most slim hope, or maybe it was his own persistence.
In the face of hardship, only faith can bring comfort.
Later he was sent to country R. He had no time to grieve and had to do his best.
Finally one day—at that time he had not been declared dead yet—Zheng Haiping excitedly told him that the electrodes in Qi Beisong's body had worked, and he woke up, really woke up, a week ago. Now he could only blink slightly, but seemed to be conscious!
He was so happy those days that he wanted to go out for a run anytime and anywhere!
If Chen Chuan hadn't held him back, he would have rushed directly into the fugitives' den, fired at the ceiling, and shouted passionately: "My wife is awake, you bastards should just follow me back to China, I'm in a hurry to go to Country M to see my wife!!"
He wanted to watch Qi Beisong's video. After a long struggle, both sides finally succeeded. Qi Beisong was indeed awake. Although he was thin and his limbs were weak, his eyes were open!
After only a one-minute meeting, he couldn't stop crying, and Chen Chuan also cried with joy.
However, God never allows anyone to be perfect. After a few difficult months, Zheng Haiping told him that Qi Beisong seemed to have some problems and needed to be checked.
Under his further questioning, Zheng Haiping stammered that Qi Beisong had some minor sequelae.
He asked: "What are the aftereffects?"
Zheng Haiping said: "It is inevitable that there will be sequelae after a head injury, right? Don't worry, it will be cured!"
Then Cheng Ji was forced to sacrifice by the organization, and out of discipline, he cut off all ties with Country M.
Since then, he has only seen a few photos of Qi Beisong during his recovery and a few messages.
It was not easy for the photos and information to reach his hands, because the M country was forcibly contacting a dead person. If the organization knew about it, it would be furious.
Those sentences were: "I don't need support to walk anymore", "I can speak complete sentences", "Basically the same as before", all good news.
There were even some nonsense: "What good local specialties does country R have?" and "It's a pity that Chen Chuan is not dead", but the memory of Qi Beisong was never mentioned.
Cheng Ji now realized that it was a kind of consideration. Everyone was afraid that he would know the truth.
Imagine that someone who once promised to spend the rest of your life appears in front of you, but looks at you with completely strange eyes, or acts like he or she has a splitting headache, is about to vomit, or faint. How would you feel
The sadness, disappointment, worry, depression, anxiety, anger, resentment... can't even be summed up in the word "uncomfortable".
Everyone is trying to avoid letting him know the truth because he is in a war zone and has to be careful every day and must stay calm at all times.
And today, Cheng Ji finally completed his mission and returned home. It is time to face up to the whole matter.
The business car was stuck in the traffic on the airport highway and was moving slowly forward at a slow speed of thirty or forty miles per hour. Fortunately, it was still early and there was no rush.
Chen Chuan lit up another cigarette and wondered, "What is the mechanism of Lao Qi's illness?"
Old Geng rolled his eyes and said, "It's because he was shot by Shen and fell into the sea. His brain is filled with water!"
Wang Beifeng scratched his head and said, "I don't understand the science inside the brain, the surface consciousness and the subconsciousness. Anyway, the doctor analyzed why he fainted earlier and said that it was because he didn't forget Cheng Er, but he really couldn't remember her. So he had a strong sense of guilt in his subconscious, and he was extremely anxious and painful, and he couldn't stand any stimulation."
"In short, he's a lunatic!" Lao Geng said loudly.
“…Yes.” The four people in the car reached a consensus.
Chen Chuan had to make up the matter. He pulled Cheng Ji's sleeve and said, "Do you remember the novel I wrote three years ago? I predicted that your husband is a psychopath!"
"... My wife," Cheng Ji said angrily, "and you only wrote about 200 words."
"I have an outline! It's really accurate!" Chen Chuan said, "Brother Chuan is definitely going to be a half-immortal!"
Cheng Ji pushed him aside.
Wang Beifeng concluded his speech: "Today we are going to have a meeting while eating to discuss how to deal with psychopaths!"
Zheng Haiping hurried to a private club before noon. He gave Cheng Ji a warm hug as soon as they met, then took out a small velvet box from his pocket and said, "Here you go!"
Cheng Ji opened the box and saw that the ten-carat pigeon egg ring was still inside.
"What are you doing?" he asked helplessly.
Zheng Haiping said: "If you don't have the diamond drill, don't take on porcelain work. This is the diamond drill!"
He pinched Cheng Ji's face and said, "Let me see you!"
"Good, very handsome." He narrowed his eyes, "More handsome than before, before he was a little bit milky."
Cheng Ji was embarrassed and pushed his hand away: "Stop it, Brother Hai."
Zheng Haiping said: "So I think that even if Qi Beisong doesn't know you, it doesn't matter. If you stand in front of him now, he will still chase you!"
This conflicted with what Wang Beifeng had said before. Cheng Jixiao asked, "Didn't they say that he has no emotions at all now and is just a work machine?"
Zheng Haiping said: "... Uh."
Cheng Ji said: "Brother Hai, I think..."
Zheng Haiping didn't allow him to speak, and pressed his hand and said, "Don't let him go!"
Zheng Haiping means: Don’t give up.
In the most difficult times, Cheng Ji complained to Zheng Haiping, lost his temper, and even cried. That day, he was grazed by a stray bullet on the neck, and he was only half a centimeter away from meeting God.
Of course he will say angry words when he is angry, and even he himself doesn't believe them.
Of course he would not give up. There was only one unforgettable love and only one Qi Beisong in his life.
He is not pretentious, he loves Qi Beisong.
He hadn't realized it before, even though they had slept together, so passionately, so in sync, he hadn't realized it was because he loved the other person, not just liked him, not just reciprocated affection.
It took him three years to finally figure it out: he just loved him.
If Qi Beisong was possessed by a demon, then Cheng Ji had it all to blame... He would not love any man other than Qi Beisong, and could not even think about it. The thought of loving him made him feel sick.
He was a man who had died once, and so had Qi Beisong in a sense. God was really kind and gave them one more chance.
Last time it was Qi Beisong who made the effort, is it time for him to take over this time
He wanted to reappear in Qi Beisong's life, even if it was as a stranger.
He didn't care how Qi Beisong loved him or how he called him "baby" or "sweetheart". As long as he responded and said "I seem to have seen you before", that would be enough!