Super Soldier in the City

Sometimes, things always go beyond people’s expectations. Li Yifei and the others hadn’t felt anything was wrong at first. Quite a few people had come to pay their respects, but they were all friends of Skinny Monkey’s parents, neighbors from around here, and a few of Skinny Monkey’s local buddies. They hadn’t notified everyone, so not many people knew. Those who rushed over after hearing the news, seeing their friend like this, were all deeply grief-stricken.

But things had already come to this. Being sad was useless; all they could do now was do their utmost to send Skinny Monkey on his last journey.

Zheng Mingrui stood behind Li Yifei, frowning. It was already noon. Zhang Tianxing and the others had driven out to buy food. No matter how grief‑stricken you were, people still had to eat, and the visitors who came to pay their respects had to eat too; they couldn’t just prepare nothing. But it was already too late to cook at home, so they went to a restaurant in the city to order. As long as you had money, any restaurant could very quickly prepare a dozen or so tables’ worth of dishes and deliver them over.

But that wasn’t the key point. At home, only Li Yifei, Zheng Mingrui, and Dumb Guy stayed behind, the three of them helping to look after the guests. Standing behind Li Yifei, Zheng Mingrui lowered his voice and said, "Boss, something feels off."

"What feels off?" Li Yifei turned his head and asked.

"The people who came aren’t right. There are people missing!" Zheng Mingrui said.

"Missing?" Li Yifei raised an eyebrow at him, and in that instant his thoughts spun and he understood. Someone was indeed missing: Skinny Monkey’s girlfriend hadn’t come. He nodded and didn’t say much more, instead going to find Skinny Monkey’s parents. When they’d first arrived, he seemed to remember hearing the old couple mention that they had informed Skinny Monkey’s girlfriend as soon as they got the news yesterday. If he remembered correctly, that was how it was. But now half a day had passed and there was still no sign of Skinny Monkey’s girlfriend. Li Yifei had to go confirm it.

Skinny Monkey’s parents were stunned when they heard this. The two elderly people were so deep in their grief that they had long forgotten about this. On hearing it, they hurriedly said, "We told her. Not long after we got the news yesterday, we told her. The two of them were already about to get married; how could we possibly not tell her about something like this? It’s just... how come she still hasn’t come?"

Skinny Monkey’s girlfriend didn’t live in a nearby village; she was from the city. Her parents were a civil servant and a teacher, both not yet retired, so their family conditions were pretty good. Normally, a pampered girl from such a family was out of Skinny Monkey’s league. But his own prospects were now quite good too. Although her parents were inwardly displeased—after all, Skinny Monkey’s family was rural, and they looked down on them a bit—since their daughter felt he was okay, they didn’t strongly oppose it.

This girlfriend was very pretty—she had the height, the figure, a nice voice, and a beautiful face. Skinny Monkey took a fancy to her at first sight. Back when he’d just been discharged from the army, he met her at a drinking gathering with friends. Skinny Monkey was captivated by her afterward and asked his friends to help introduce them. They eventually got to know each other, and as they slowly dated, they started talking about marriage this year.

When a person is pretty, she tends to be proud. In this day and age, beauty is capital, and a very big kind of capital at that. A good appearance can cover up a lot of issues. In reality, Skinny Monkey’s parents hadn’t been very optimistic about this match at first. There was a natural gap between the two families. The simplest example was that Skinny Monkey’s girlfriend was very reluctant to come back with him to his parents’ home, because it was in the countryside. If not exactly filthy and chaotic, it was close enough. Dust was everywhere; even going to the bathroom meant using one of those dry latrines—just how dirty it was inside didn’t need to be said, but a pampered girl simply couldn’t take it. They slept on a kang, and the food made her feel kind of nauseated. At least, that was how it looked in her eyes.

This was a natural chasm, a gap that was hard to bridge. So Skinny Monkey wanted to buy two apartments at once, so that his parents could also move into the city. He was their son and had the obligation to let his parents live a good life; that was something he was duty‑bound to do. He also had the responsibility to mediate the conflicts between his wife‑to‑be and his parents.

As for Skinny Monkey’s girlfriend herself, she was a very trendy, fashionable woman. Fortunately, Skinny Monkey could earn money. After they got together, his career steadily rose, so things between them were still okay. Skinny Monkey even specially bought a BMW X5 for everyday use. Of course, most of the time it was Skinny Monkey’s girlfriend who drove it. She had graduated from some so‑called film and television academy in the province, majoring in acting or something like that. In reality, she just got a diploma and couldn’t really go down the film and TV route. She wasn’t tall enough to be a model, and there was no way she’d land roles in TV dramas.

Landing a rich boyfriend was already a pretty good outcome. Skinny Monkey’s family background was very poor, but his own ability was decent, and the key was that he could make money. While he couldn’t compare to those multimillionaires or billionaires, earning a few million over several years wasn’t uncommon for people like him. Yet there was still some dissatisfaction—after all, Skinny Monkey... wasn’t much to look at. He had no particular strong points, and his height was nothing to write home about either, roughly the same height as his girlfriend, around one‑seventy.

There’s gain and loss in everything. Because he liked her, Skinny Monkey tried his best to meet his girlfriend’s demands. For example, driving a nice car—that was face. Or when it came to clothes and enjoying life, he did his best to satisfy her. Spending ten, twenty thousand a month on beauty treatments, buying an outfit that cost ten or twenty thousand—he was very willing to spend on those.

Of course, Li Yifei and the others didn’t know about all this. But they were probably cut from the same cloth: they themselves could suffer, but they couldn’t let their families suffer along with them. Letting your family live a hard life—that was a failure.

Li Yifei felt something was off. Skinny Monkey’s death was also a huge blow to his girlfriend. But it shouldn’t have been to the point where his body had already been brought back and she still hadn’t shown up. Even if it was just to see him off on his last journey... yet now she was nowhere to be seen, and there was no news from her. That didn’t sit right with Li Yifei. Skinny Monkey was dead; there was no way the two of them could go on together. But after all they’d shared, what was wrong with coming to send him off? Not even coming for his last journey?

Sometimes people easily go to extremes, especially at times like this. Of course, there could be other explanations for her not showing up—like maybe she was overwhelmed by grief, had fainted yesterday, and had been inconsolable until now, and so on. Those were all possible. But Li Yifei still felt she should come in person to send Skinny Monkey off on his final journey.

It wasn’t just him; the other brothers thought the same. When Zhang Tianxing and the others came back with the food, they set everything out on the spot. The restaurant had delivered tables, chairs, and tableware. As long as you had money, you didn’t have to worry about anything. Those who came to pay their respects started eating and drinking. Li Yifei and the others sat together at one table, but none of them had much appetite. They’d already contacted the crematorium; they could go over to have him cremated anytime. Normally, you had to wait in line, but if you had money... well, nothing more needed to be said. Everything could be arranged, and there would naturally be a slot for you.

"I’ll go give her a call. It’s Skinny Monkey’s last journey, and he seemed to like that woman. No matter what, she has to come send him off one last time." Zheng Mingrui slapped the table and said.

"Go talk to Uncle and Auntie first," Li Yifei said.

"Alright!" Zheng Mingrui said, standing up and heading into the room. Skinny Monkey’s parents naturally had no appetite; they were sitting inside, with some people around them trying to comfort and console them. Zheng Mingrui went in and explained what he meant. Skinny Monkey’s parents sighed and said, "We told her yesterday. She was... pretty shocked at the time, and we made it clear she should come today. If she doesn’t show up, there’s nothing we can do. Yang Yang is gone, and as for the two of them... that’s the end of it."

"She still has to send him off one last time. After all, they did spend time together, and they were already about to register their marriage. There had to be feelings there!" Zheng Mingrui nodded as he spoke.

"Then... I’ll give her another call. Yang Yang might also want her to come send him off," Skinny Monkey’s mother said weakly.

"Mm, mm!" Zheng Mingrui nodded repeatedly.

She dialed the number, and after a few rings it turned into a busy tone. A recorded voice said the number you have dialed is currently busy, please try again later. The other party had actually hung up on them. That put Zheng Mingrui in a foul mood. Skinny Monkey’s parents didn’t react for a moment, but he understood clearly: the line had connected, and it had been cut off by the other side.

"The call didn’t go through. Maybe she’s on her way," Skinny Monkey’s mother said. Zheng Mingrui shook his head. "Auntie, give me the number. Let me call from my phone!"

"Alright."

Zheng Mingrui took out his phone and dialed the number. This time it connected again. After a few rings, the other party picked up. The background on the other end was even noisier than here. A pleasant voice said hello. Zheng Mingrui clenched his teeth and said, "Hello, I’m Yang Yang’s comrade‑in‑arms. Are you Yang Yang’s girlfriend?"

"I am. What is it?" The other party’s tone changed slightly; her voice rose a bit as she spoke.

Zheng Mingrui continued, "Here’s the situation: Yang Yang died for the country. We brought his body back this morning. It’s at home now. Personally, I hope you can come send him off on his last journey."

"Sorry, my phone’s out of battery. I’ll contact you later!" A suddenly anxious voice came from the other end, and then the call was cut off. The beeping busy tone sounded. Because Skinny Monkey had turned on the speakerphone, everyone in the room heard it. For a moment, they all looked at each other. This reaction was beyond anyone’s expectations. Skinny Monkey’s mother opened her mouth and said, "She wasn’t like this yesterday. Did... something happen to her?"

The muscles on Skinny Monkey’s face tightened and twitched. He said, "That reaction doesn’t feel right. Uncle, Auntie, how was their relationship?"

"Pretty good, I guess... We didn’t interact with her much, but Yang Yang liked her, and we trusted his judgment," Skinny Monkey’s father said.

Zheng Mingrui nodded. "Let’s not get anxious yet. Even if she doesn’t come today, she’ll have to come eventually. No matter what, she has to come send my brother off."

After saying that, Zheng Mingrui turned and strode out. He’d realized something was wrong. That kind of reaction from the other side... damn it, it didn’t sound like someone in love at all, didn’t sound like someone who had feelings. Even as an ordinary friend, if you heard the other person had died, you’d feel sad. But the way her voice sounded, there just wasn’t that much emotion in it.

When he came back, Zheng Mingrui told Li Yifei and the others what had happened. After listening, Li Yifei frowned and said, "Call her again."

Right in front of everyone, Zheng Mingrui dialed the number again, but this time it went straight to a busy tone—the other party had actually turned off her phone!

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