Chapter 245: Chapter 237: Privilege
Feng Xinya went to work after lunch. She is the director of the military hospital. Despite her delicate and classical beauty, she is the leading authority of the military hospital. She has even been a battlefield surgeon; truly an Iron Lady.
Feng Xinya had a major surgery in the afternoon and might return very late. She instructed her son to take good care of the guests and to take Tian Xinhua and his group to the canteen for dinner, asking the canteen staff to prepare a special meal. After that, she hurriedly left. Tian Xinhua wanted to call her back to tell her they would return to Jining in the afternoon, but seeing her in a rush, he decided not to and thought it would be the same to tell Luo Jun later.
As soon as Luo Jun’s mother left, he excitedly dragged Tian Xinhua out to see the jeeps, which were parked in front of the Luos’ house. Many young men and women had gathered around the vehicles. Upon seeing Luo Jun, a strapping boy with a slightly ruffian look spoke first.
"Junzi, you have guests from Beijing?" the boy asked casually, leaning against the car door, appearing utterly relaxed as if he had no bones.
Then as he saw Tian Sisi standing behind Tian Xinhua, his eyes lit up, and he straightened up, eagerly walking towards Luo Jun, "Wow, Junzi, this must be the cousin from Beijing, right? Junzi, that’s not cool! Hiding such a pretty girl at home and not introducing her to the boys? That’s dishonest!"
"Exactly, Junzi is not being straight with us!" the other boys chimed in.
"Let me introduce myself—I’m Lei Gang, 16 years old, a good buddy of Junzi. What’s your name, miss?"
Without waiting for Luo Jun anymore, Lei Gang turned to Tian Sisi to shake hands, acting rather sycophantly. Tian Sisi couldn’t help but want to laugh; although Lei Gang’s behavior and speech were somewhat frivolous, his eyes were clean, and he wasn’t off-putting, so she extended her hand.
"Hello, I’m Tian Sisi, 13 years old."
Her voice was melodious, like an oriole emerging from a valley, and her hands were as soft as if boneless, making Lei Gang fearful that using even a slight force might crush them. He gently shook her hand only briefly before letting go. If one looked closely, they could see a blush hidden under his dark, shiny skin.
Tian Xinhua was not happy. He squeezed through and pulled Tian Sisi to his side. Luo Gang was also displeased; he hadn’t even had the chance to shake hands with his new-found cousin yet, and there Lei Gang was, taking the lead, not respecting the proper protocol!
"What are you doing here, Gangzi? I have guests and no time to play with you guys," Luo Jun said, clearly annoyed.
"Come on, what are we to each other? Your guests are my guests. I’ll join you and entertain Sisi," Lei Gang said, wrapping his arm around Luo Jun’s neck, grinning.
"Sisi, let me tell you, I’ve played in this area since I was a kid. I could walk around it with my eyes closed. I’m sure I’d be a better guide than Junzi."
Listening to Lei Gang’s words, Tian Sisi finally couldn’t help but burst out laughing. How come this sounded so familiar? Could it be that this compound’s boys used the same lines when they first meet girls?
Tian Sisi’s beautiful smile truly dazzled like pearls and shone like fine jade. Lei Gang and his group of brothers were all stunned. Usually, the women they encountered in the compound were all robust, and even the few delicate ones had toughened up. They had never seen a beauty like Tian Sisi. At this moment, everyone unanimously recalled a line of poetry: A smile that topples cities, another that topples nations.
The other girls, however, were not so happy. There were already few girls in the compound, and these few were considered especially precious. Normally, the boys would hover around them, but now, a new girl had appeared out of nowhere and hooked the boys’ attention. How could they accept this?
The one who felt the worst was a girl named Lu Yunfei, the youngest daughter of the director of Political Affairs at headquarters, 15 years old, quite beautiful. Also, because her mother was a former dancer who trained her in posture from a young age, Lu Yunfei had a distinct aura that made her stand out among the girls and was favored by the boys in the compound.
Accustomed to those admiring glances, she was naturally uncomfortable to now be upstaged by an outsider. However, Yunfei was usually very good at hiding her feelings. Even if upset, she wouldn’t show it, maintaining a smile on her face, though her hands were clenched tighter and tighter.
"Yunfei, look at those guys, their eyes nearly popping out, just for a little girl! What’s so good to look at? Where’s she prettier than you are?"
A girl with thick eyebrows and large eyes beside Lu Yunfei grumbled, occasionally kicking the tires as if to vent her irritation.
"She is indeed pretty. Today I really saw what ’a beauty to shame the moon and flowers, to eclipse the geese and fish’ means." Another graceful girl laughed lightly, not minding Yunfei’s pale face from anger, and approached directly.
"Hello Sisi, I’m Zhang Jie, three years older than you. Nice to meet you!" Zhang Jie greeted Tian Sisi with an outgoing handshake.
Although delicate and slender, Zhang Jie was forthright in speech and actions. Soon, she was chatting comfortably with Tian Sisi. Then, Luo Jun also introduced everyone: Lei Gang was the son of the Political Commissar, Zhang Jie the Commissar’s daughter, the girl with thick eyebrows was Ma Jiajia, the daughter of the Logistics Director, and a somewhat chubby boy was the Chief of Staff’s son, named Liu Dazhi, nicknamed Liu Datou. The rest were also children of high officials from the military region, indeed proper "golden seeds".
In Tian Sisi’s view, the boys were probably led by Luo Jun and Lei Gang, and the girls by Zhang Jie, while Lu Yunfei, seemingly unwilling to be outdone, was racking her brains trying to surpass Zhang Jie. Ma Jiajia, probably an avid fan of Yunfei, followed whatever Yunfei said, a bit of an eccentric.
Ah, Jianghu is everywhere! Tian Sisi, feeling the intricate intrigues among these dozen young men and women, was full of emotion.
"Let’s go, Xinhua, sister Sisi, let’s go watch a movie. We are in luck today, just received ’Red Lotus’ and ’Pigeon’; my dad and the others just watched them and said they’re really good. Let’s go see them together."
Young people can connect in just a few minutes. Shortly, Lei Gang invited Tian Sisi and others to watch a movie. They originally came to accompany Luo Jun to watch a movie, as it was their usual style to watch new restricted films together, never leaving anyone out.
’Red Lotus’, ’Pigeon’—all these were Western films banned during that period, how could they be seen here? It didn’t take long for Tian Sisi to figure it out. These must be the famed restricted internal films.
One of the most memorable scenes in the movie ’Sunny Days’ was when a group of children in the compound watched ’Battle of Rome’ with their parents, movies ordinary people couldn’t even hear about, let alone see. This is the privilege, the unique privilege of this circle!