Free Web NovelChapter 416: Chapter 414: Surprise
Gu’er looked toward the entrance. The first thing she saw was a sea of military uniforms.
There were about twenty or thirty men, all wearing the same uniforms. Each one stood ramrod straight as they marched inside in perfect unison.
The scene was quite a shock. No one had expected so many soldiers to suddenly walk in. Standing together, their presence was simply staggering.
Many people started whispering, wondering what was going on.
’Gu’er’s heart skipped a beat, but then she remembered that both Li Zhi and Dingzi had been soldiers. ’These men probably aren’t here to cause trouble,’ she thought. ’Li Zhi said he’d invited some friends over. This must be them. Is this supposed to be a surprise for Dingzi?’
Gu’er glanced over at Dingzi. Even though he wasn’t close, she could see a complete change in him. He stood perfectly straight, poised like a leopard ready to pounce at any moment. But this readiness was charged with excitement. A light shone in his eyes. In that instant, Gu’er felt like Dingzi was a radiant star, shining brilliantly.
Gu’er knew she had guessed right. These men had to be Li Zhi’s or Dingzi’s old comrades, invited specially for Dingzi’s wedding.
"Why... why are there so many soldiers? Is something wrong? No one here has broken any laws, have they? Today is my grandson’s big day! I hope they don’t ruin it."
Grandma Dingzi hadn’t yet grasped the situation. She muttered under her breath, her voice trembling slightly.
Grandma Sun, however, had already figured it out. She smiled and took Grandma Dingzi’s hand, telling her not to panic.
Marina was also surprised. She didn’t know why so many men in uniform had shown up.
Lin Shan and the others also understood, and they all watched with smiles on their faces.
The men had already drawn near. Dingzi went to meet them. Looking at the uniformed soldiers, he gave them a military salute.
In perfect unison, the men returned his salute.
Looking at all the familiar faces, Dingzi was truly moved. He never, ever imagined that today, on his wedding day, his old commanding officers and his comrades would all come to attend. How could he not be emotional? He was normally a calm person, but right now, his blood was pumping. He could feel his heart racing, feel his body thrumming with energy. His eyes grew moist, and he didn’t know what to say.
"Didn’t expect this, did you? I had to find a lot of people, made a ton of phone calls to track them down one by one. I put them up in a hotel, all just to give you a surprise today."
Li Zhi emerged from behind the group, beaming as he spoke to Dingzi. He was excited too. He had started planning this a long time ago. He knew Dingzi didn’t have many relatives, and he didn’t want his best friend’s wedding to feel empty. So, he started calling up Dingzi’s old comrades, and it really took a lot of effort to find all of them.
You have to understand, these guys were scattered all over the country. Some were doing well for themselves, others not so much. Li Zhi had promised to cover their travel, food, and lodging to get them to come. But these guys were all stand-up people. Not a single one of them let Li Zhi pay; they all bought their own tickets to get here. Among them were two of Dingzi’s former commanding officers, who also came as soon as they heard.
Some had jobs and had to request time off. Some weren’t well-off and had to borrow money for the ticket. In short, of all the people he managed to contact, everyone came except for two with special circumstances.
Li Zhi was touched, too. After all, they had all gone their separate ways after leaving the service, but now, they had all come. That was brotherhood. Only those who had served in the military could understand this kind of bond. He knew what it meant to Dingzi for these men to be here, which was why he was willing to do it, no matter how difficult it was.
Dingzi gave Li Zhi a hug, which stunned him. They had been brothers for so many years, but he had never seen Dingzi so openly emotional.
"Hey, man, I think you’re hugging the wrong person," Li Zhi joked. "Go hug your wife, Marina. What are you hugging me for? We’re a couple of tough guys."
Though Li Zhi complained, he was secretly pleased. It meant his efforts had been felt and appreciated. Good friends don’t need to say much, but knowing the other person gets it is a comforting feeling.
Dingzi let him go and punched him playfully on the shoulder. Li Zhi staggered back dramatically.
Dingzi shook hands and exchanged words with his two former commanding officers, then hugged the rest of the men. Everyone wore sincere smiles. Everything was understood without a word. The fact that they came proved they considered him a brother.
One of the commanding officers, a man surnamed Cui, told Dingzi in a low voice, "President Zheng gave me a call. He said that even though you were only with him for a year, he took a real liking to you. He said you were decisive, a man of few words, but completely trustworthy. If it weren’t for what happened later, he really would have wanted to keep you by his side. He wanted to come himself this time, but he couldn’t get away. He asked me to pass on his congratulations and to tell you that now that you’re married, you need to work even harder."
"Yes, sir. Please rest assured, sir."
Dingzi gave a military salute, his expression solemn. Some things were etched into his very bones; he could never forget them.
Li Zhi felt a pang of envy. ’This President Zheng is no ordinary person—he’s the commander of a military region. Even if it wasn’t one of the largest regions, for people like us, he’s an immense figure.’
Dingzi knew President Zheng because he had once been assigned to protect him. President Zheng had taken Dingzi along to complete a mission. Li Zhi didn’t know the specifics, but he knew that President Zheng held Dingzi in high regard and had praised him often upon their return.
After that, many people specifically requested Dingzi for major missions, and he always completed them flawlessly. But later, Dingzi was involved in a very serious incident. During that mission, of all the men who went, only Dingzi came back—and he was wounded. A leading officer was killed, and the mission was a failure.
When Dingzi returned, an investigative team was immediately formed to look into the matter. Dingzi explained the situation: they had walked into an ambush. He had advised the officer against proceeding, but the officer was overconfident, said there was no problem, and insisted on going his own way. His duty was to protect the officer, but they were outnumbered. He was wounded, and although he fought with his life, the officer was killed by the enemy during the attempt to fall back. He had no choice but to return.
Dingzi was not at fault in the matter, but because he was the sole survivor, many details couldn’t be confirmed. There was no way to verify if his account was true. Some people who were jealous of Dingzi accused him of gross dereliction of duty and demanded he be punished, while others spoke up for him. The incident caused quite a stir at the time. Later, when President Zheng heard about it, he even offered to have Dingzi transferred to his unit. For some reason, it never happened. In any case, Dingzi didn’t stay in the military. He came home.
Li Zhi had asked Dingzi what really happened, but Dingzi never said a word. ’He probably couldn’t because of military discipline or some other reason,’ Li Zhi thought, ’so I didn’t press the issue. But I know my brother, Dingzi. He wouldn’t lie. He’s the kind of man who would sacrifice himself for a mission. The fact that he came back so gravely wounded... that wasn’t his fault. He was a good soldier.’
