Volume Two: Shadows of the Past Chapter Sixty-Four: The Choice!

“What!?”

Everyone stared at Wang Nianjun in astonishment, unable to understand why their teacher had suddenly said such a thing.

Xie Yuanshan was the most anxious of them all. She immediately asked, agitated, “Why, Teacher? Molly’s ability will definitely help with Zijie’s injuries. Why won’t you let her try treating him?”

The others were naturally just as confused. They all looked at Wang Nianjun, hoping she would give them a reasonable explanation.

Wang Nianjun merely shook her head calmly and offered no further explanation. Instead, she said sternly, “You don’t need to concern yourselves with the reason. Just know that this is an order from above. Carry it out.”

Ji Hao, who had always possessed a fiery temper, immediately objected in a loud voice. “I refuse to accept that. What kind of damn explanation is that? You have to give us a reasonable reason.”

Under ordinary circumstances, he would never have spoken to the teacher he respected in such a manner. But this concerned the life of his brother, and his impulsiveness was understandable.

“Exactly! You should at least tell us why we have to do this!” Wu Wen shouted in agreement.

Liu Zehao’s brows were tightly furrowed as well, but he did not raise his voice. Instead, he looked at Wang Nianjun and said seriously, “Teacher, I hope the people above can give us a reasonable explanation. Zijie was injured because of the mission. We cannot refuse him treatment on the basis of some unfounded excuse. So they must give us a valid reason. I don’t think that is an unreasonable request.”

Sun Ruoqing looked at her teacher, hesitating to speak. In truth, she also wanted to know why Wang Nianjun had said this. However, she knew her teacher well. Unless there was a necessary reason, Wang Nianjun would never say something without cause. Since she refused to tell everyone the reason, she must have her own considerations.

Just as Sun Ruoqing thought of this, she suddenly turned toward Chen Jing. When she saw that he was still standing there motionless, his expression unchanged, she immediately understood a little.

If she had guessed correctly, the reason her teacher had said this must have something to do with A-Jing. And if Molly was involved as well…

Wasn’t it because of that matter?

Sun Ruoqing formed a guess in her heart and fell silent.

Faced with everyone’s questioning, Wang Nianjun maintained a calm expression. She looked toward the silent Chen Jing, and at that very moment, Chen Jing happened to be looking at her as well. Their eyes met, bringing back memories of what had happened at noon…

Inside the shooting range, Chen Jing quietly held his teacher in his arms, saying nothing for a long time.

Wang Nianjun rested her head against Chen Jing’s chest, listening to his intoxicating heartbeat and savoring this brief moment of warmth.

They embraced for a long while before Chen Jing slowly relaxed his hold on the beautiful woman in his arms.

Wang Nianjun realized what was happening and, feeling more reluctant than embarrassed, moved away from his chest. She raised her head and looked at him.

Chen Jing lowered his head as well. Seeing the breathtaking beauty in his arms, he could not help staring at her, becoming intoxicated once again.

When Wang Nianjun saw him gazing at her in a daze, she could not help smiling warmly. She raised her hand and lightly flicked his forehead, her face flushing as she said, “Silly boy, what are you looking at? Why are you so fascinated? Hurry up and let go of me. How long have you been holding me? Haven’t you had enough yet?”

Coming back to himself, Chen Jing sheepishly rubbed the spot she had flicked and grinned. “Of course I’m looking at my most beautiful and captivating teacher.”

With both arms still wrapped around Wang Nianjun’s slender waist, he laughed heartily. “Of course I haven’t had enough. No matter how long I held you, it wouldn’t be enough. If I could, I’d hold you for the rest of my life.”

As he spoke, he lifted Wang Nianjun and spun around once more.

“All right, all right. Put me down.” Wang Nianjun laughed as she patted the hand around her waist, signaling him to let go.

But Chen Jing stubbornly said, “No. What if I let go and you hide again and refuse to see me?”

It sounded like a shameless joke, but Wang Nianjun suddenly fell silent. Afterward, she sighed and patted his hand once again.

“A-Jing, let go of your teacher, all right? Your teacher wants to talk to you.”

Hearing the slight coldness in Wang Nianjun’s voice, Chen Jing’s smile slowly faded. He looked at her seriously, then finally released his arms in silence.

Wang Nianjun looked at Chen Jing, who remained silent, and said helplessly, “A-Jing, can we remain teacher and student from now on? Or you can treat me as an older sister or a family member. Would that be all right?”

Chen Jing remained silent. When he saw the hopeful look in Wang Nianjun’s eyes, the light in his own eyes gradually faded.

Why had things turned out this way? He could clearly sense that she had him in her heart. Why, then, was she unwilling to affirm their relationship?

Chen Jing felt helpless. The knot he had carried in his heart for several months still could not be undone.

Forget it. He should stop forcing her. Even if he continued, the two of them would never reach any result. Instead, they would only become estranged in appearance and spirit, leaving both of them trapped in endless conflict. What was the point?

Thinking this, Chen Jing deliberately put on a carefree smile and said to Wang Nianjun, “All right, I understand, Teacher. I was overthinking things before and caused you trouble. I’m truly sorry.”

As he spoke, he sheepishly scratched his head.

Wang Nianjun saw at a glance that Chen Jing was merely pretending to be carefree, but in the end, she did not expose him.

If A-Jing could change his mind, that would be the best outcome—for him and for her. Wasn’t it?

Chen Jing knew that his expression was somewhat forced, so he took a deep breath and changed the subject. “By the way, Teacher, what happened with Ruoqing and the others’ mission this time? Why was the intelligence so seriously inaccurate?”

At the mention of this, Wang Nianjun’s expression also grew solemn. She shook her head and explained, “The intelligence should not have been wrong in theory, because it came from one of our people who had infiltrated Pandora. As for why three additional Controllers suddenly appeared, we still cannot figure it out.”

Wang Nianjun pondered for a moment before continuing, “By the time I sensed that something was wrong and hurried over to rescue them, it was already too late. Fortunately, Ruoqing realized that something was amiss and ordered everyone to retreat in advance. With Zijie covering the rear, we ultimately did not suffer too many casualties. Unfortunately, Zijie…”

She sighed deeply.

Hearing this, Chen Jing fell into thought. He had a feeling that the reason the mission had gone wrong was that some crucial piece of information had been overlooked.

During his time with the Dragon Team, the reason Chen Jing had achieved such a high mission-completion rate was that he never overlooked even the smallest detail in a mission briefing. Only by doing so could he gain a clear understanding of the entire operation and prevent unexpected situations from occurring.

After all, for people like them, every unexpected development in a mission meant casualties. It had always been that way.

“What was the objective of your mission this time?”

Hearing Chen Jing’s question, Wang Nianjun did not avoid the matter. She answered directly, “The mission was to rescue the researchers imprisoned at Pandora’s base. They were all leading scholars in brain-region research, kidnapped by Pandora from various parts of the country. Unfortunately, the rescue failed. When we sent people there again the next day, Pandora had already abandoned the base. All the information there had been completely destroyed, leaving us without the slightest clue.”

Chen Jing suddenly asked, “Wait a moment. Teacher, did you say that those researchers were all brain-region researchers?”

“Yes.”

Chen Jing’s brows drew together as he continued, “The person who gravely injured Zijie was a mental-type ability user, correct?”

Wang Nianjun nodded again. “Yes.”

“Brain-region researchers… A mental-type ability user…”

Chen Jing muttered to himself as he pondered. He felt certain that there had to be a connection between the two.

But what was that connection?

With this thought in mind, Chen Jing asked Wang Nianjun again, “Teacher, when you arrived at the scene, did you see what abilities those four Controllers possessed?”

Wang Nianjun shook her head and said strangely, “That is precisely what is most bizarre. When I rushed over to rescue Zijie, no one from Pandora came out to stop me. When they saw me approaching, they simply abandoned Zijie and withdrew to their base. They had no intention of fighting me at all. And when I saw how serious Zijie’s injuries were, I had no intention of pursuing them. I chose to save him first.”

“I see. Then there’s no way to verify it further. We have too little information.” Chen Jing sighed helplessly. He felt that he was only one clue away from deducing the truth, but unfortunately, that clue was missing.

Wang Nianjun also knew that something was suspicious, but she could not determine where the problem lay. To protect himself, the insider could only send messages to the Dynasty unilaterally. The Dynasty had no way to transmit information back to him. Since not much time had passed since the mission, they had naturally not received any new message from him yet.

While Chen Jing was deep in thought, Wang Nianjun suddenly recalled something. She looked at him with utmost seriousness.

“Right, A-Jing. I want you to promise your teacher one thing.”

Chen Jing stared at her in surprise, but did not agree immediately. Instead, he said, “What is it, Teacher?”

Wang Nianjun hesitated before pleading softly, “A-Jing, promise your teacher that you won’t let Molly use her ability to heal Zijie, all right?”

At these words, Chen Jing’s brows knitted tightly. However, he did not object immediately. He knew that his teacher must have a reason for saying this, so he intended to ask her about it.

“Why can’t Molly use her ability to treat Zijie?”

Unexpectedly, Wang Nianjun did not want to answer him. She merely shook her head and said, “Don’t ask why. You only need to know that your teacher would never harm you.”

“I know you would never harm me. But what does Molly treating Zijie have to do with whether or not you would harm me? You should also understand that Molly is currently the only hope of treating Zijie’s injuries.”

Seeing that Chen Jing continued to press her, Wang Nianjun had no choice but to reveal her reason.

“How could it have nothing to do with you? You know Molly’s situation. If she uses her ability to treat Zijie, it will inevitably accelerate the growth of her powers. If her abilities advance too quickly, how could her seventh brain region possibly withstand it when she is still so young? And if something happens to her as well, who will save you?”

Chen Jing was not surprised that Wang Nianjun knew Molly’s ability could help him. After all, Wang Nianjun was a high-ranking member of the Dynasty. Although Ruoqing had been instructed not to tell her, Chen Jing knew that there was no way to keep it hidden from his teacher.

Chen Jing exhaled and shook his head. “Whether Molly’s ability can help me still remains to be proven. But Zijie’s condition is already critical, so no matter what, we should let Molly treat him first. Besides, as long as we control the process properly, using her ability will not necessarily accelerate the advancement of her power level. Molly and Zijie’s abilities are not that far apart, after all. At worst, we can have Molly slow down the treatment and heal Zijie gradually.”

If this was truly the only reason, Chen Jing would never accept it.

However, after hearing his words, Wang Nianjun looked sorrowful.

“No. Molly’s ability will definitely work on you. We only need to wait a little longer. But if she treats Zijie, you will lose your chance.”

By this point, her voice had begun to choke with emotion. She broke down and said, “I want to save Zijie too. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have risked everything to go alone into Pandora’s headquarters to rescue him. But this is different now! Now you’re asking me to use the chance to save you in order to save him! How am I supposed to choose? How am I supposed to choose?”

With that, Wang Nianjun sank to her knees on the ground and began sobbing uncontrollably.

Hearing her words, Chen Jing stood there in a daze. But when he saw Wang Nianjun sitting on the ground and silently shedding tears, he immediately came to his senses. He quickly crouched down and pulled her into his arms.

He smiled bitterly as he stroked her back, not knowing what to say to comfort her. Perhaps he did not want to say anything at all.

Although this was the first time Chen Jing had ever seen Wang Nianjun cry, he had no time to think about that now. He gently patted her shoulder, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.

At that moment, he too was caught in an inner struggle.

Save himself, or save his brother?

He had never imagined that one day he would face such a choice.

Chen Jing smiled bitterly.

If the situation were urgent and there were no time for thought, he would certainly choose to save his brother without hesitation. He had done so many times before.

But this time was different.

As he watched the woman he loved kneeling before him in tears, begging him to abandon his brother and choose to save himself, could he still make the same decisive choice?

Chen Jing looked at the sorrowful Wang Nianjun, his heart caught in an agonizing conflict.

Chen Jing had never claimed to be a selfless hero. So when forced to choose between himself and his brother this time—

He hesitated.

[End of chapter]