On the helicopter back to Huaxia, Zhang Menglong had just turned on his phone when he received a message—it was a wedding invitation, along with a short note.
"Menglong, I'm getting married at Jiangnan Spring Hotel next Saturday. If you have time, come have a drink to celebrate."
"This guy, we haven't been in touch for so long, and now he's getting married, just telling me now—really not cool!" Zhang Menglong couldn't help but reveal a smile filled with nostalgia.
"What's up, smiling so happily—did you get a message from some girl?" Lu Yiyao asked.
"Am I that kind of person?" Zhang Menglong said sternly, "Ever since I've been with you, I've adhered to a man's virtues. You're framing me! It's a childhood friend of mine who's getting married."
Zhang Menglong handed her the phone, "Look!"
The invitation featured a very young and handsome groom, a tall man over one meter eighty, with a neat short haircut, bright eyes, and the bride beside him was also very charming and beautiful.
For some reason, though, in this photo Zhang Menglong always felt something was off, as if there was a lack of wedding joy and an addition of a solemn atmosphere.
"Probably just overthinking it," Zhang Menglong shook his head, he'd been running into some odd incidents lately which made him almost paranoid.
"Zhu Xiaoyu, I've mentioned him to you."
"So this is Zhu Xiaoyu, quite handsome," Lu Yiyao praised.
Zhang Menglong was outgoing and cheerful, so he had a lot of friends, but from childhood to adulthood, if anyone was closest to him, it was naturally Zhu Xiaoyu.
The two had been in the same kindergarten, then the same elementary school, middle school, and high school.
As kids, they were notorious for their mischief; Zhang Menglong was the one who plugged car exhaust pipes with stones, and Zhu Xiaoyu was the lookout.
They had wet the same bed, watched dirty movies together, fought side by side, and had been scolded together—hardly anyone had a better relationship than they did.
Most importantly, Zhu Xiaoyu had once saved his life! Of course, he believed
But it seemed Zhu Xiaoyu wasn't very lucky; although he had the chance to get into a first-class university during the college entrance exams.
Due to feeling unwell, he did terribly on the exams, not even making the cut for undergraduate programs. His family then pulled some strings to send him to the military, and when he left, it was Zhang Menglong who saw him off.
Because of the strict management in the army, the two hardly exchanged words after that. The last time they met was during the first semester of freshman year; later, Zhang Menglong couldn't even get in touch with him, which had worried Zhang Menglong for a long time.
Later, Zhang Menglong found out that Zhu Xiaoyu had been heavily relied on in the army because he performed very well, and with his excellent physical fitness from being a short-distance running champion in the city team in his youth, he seemed to have been transferred to the police force to become a narcotics officer.
After that, Zhang Menglong never contacted him again; probably because the job was too special. Zhang Menglong had seen many drug enforcement movies, maybe calling him at the wrong time when he was undercover in some drug lord's house.
Of course, this was just Zhang Menglong's overactive imagination.
As he gained a new circle of new friends, Zhang Menglong inadvertently forgot about this friend; perhaps that wasn't very nice of him, but it wasn't entirely his fault. After all, if he didn't reach out, Zhu Xiaoyu should have made some contact himself, right?
Seeing his invitation today, all of Menglong's memories came flooding back.
"Of course, I have to go—how could I not?" Zhang Menglong said, "We had a deal back then, if one of us didn't show up at the other's wedding, he would have to strip and snap the other guy's 'little brother.'"
"Men and their bad taste!" Lu Yiyao expressed disdain.
"We even agreed that if we had a boy and a girl in the future, we would set them up for arranged marriage. If it was two boys or two girls, they would become brothers or sisters."
"It seems your relationship is really not ordinary," Lu Yiyao said with a fujoshi's grin, "You two didn't have a 'sword fight,' did you?"
"What does 'sword fight' mean?" Jiang Qiyuan, curious, turned to ask Wang Ling.
"Uh...that kind of sword fight is when two guys are very close, and then they practice swordsmanship with each other." In order not to lead Jiang Qiyuan astray, Wang Ling explained very seriously.
"Come with me when the time comes," Zhang Menglong said, "You might not need to meet my other friends, but this one you must meet."
"Should we give him a call in advance?" asked Lu Yiyao.
"No need for that, we're brothers, no need for such courtesy," replied Zhang Menglong, "A wedding is no small matter. Preparing wedding photos, dowry, buying this and that - he must be overwhelmed right now, we shouldn't disturb him. We'll just go directly when it's time."
"We'll definitely be there!" Zhang Menglong immediately replied with a message.
He glanced outside the window, four years had passed, and he wondered how his brother was doing.
In Dongji City, within a neighborhood called Blue Mountain Home, a handsome young man smiled as he put down his phone.
"This guy, having not seen him for so many years, who knows what he's up to now." Zhu Xiaoyu struggled to stand up. He picked up his crutches, glanced at the empty sleeve of his trousers, and then at the prosthetic leg beside him, "If this kid knew I'd lost a leg, who knows how he'd tease me!"
Zhu Xiaoyu had just returned from military service last month. Previously, due to working in a very special environment for a long time, his contacts with the outside world were highly restricted, and even his girlfriend was allowed to see him only once a year on special visiting opportunities.
As a narcotics detective, Zhu Xiaoyu was actually a Commander, and he did not need to go to the frontlines to grapple with desperate criminals.
But it was a very important case, and because of it, three brave narcotics officers had sacrificed themselves from their team. This time they received a crucial tip that, if seized, would allow them to take down a major international syndicate in one fell swoop!
If the syndicate were to be dismantled, it would deal a significant blow to drug lords in the entire region and might even lead to uncovering more drug trafficking groups, aiding domestic anti-drug efforts.
To ensure the success of the operation, Zhu Xiaoyu also joined the effort. They successfully infiltrated the enemies' stronghold, trapping them inside a building.
But they underestimated the desperation of the cornered crime boss, who chose to go down together with the police in a last stand!
Two warriors were killed on the spot, and to save a young recruit, Zhu Xiaoyu also lost his leg.
After the incident, he was awarded a First-class merit, but due to his disability, he could no longer serve on the frontline. Instead, he was reassigned to work at a local military unit, taking on a clerical role that required less physical effort.
Fortunately, because of his previous commendations, he received steady rewards and the government also granted him a substantial sum in the high tens of thousands as compensation. Moreover, through his connections, he was able to purchase a house in this neighborhood at less than half the market price.
In their unit, Zhu Xiaoyu was undoubtedly seen as a hero, and the girl who had waited for him for four full years did not spurn him because of his disability, giving him the hope to continue living.
"Zhu Xiaoyu? What's going on with you? Didn't you say the banquet has to be held at a hotel of at least the Dongji Elegance caliber? Hosting it at a place like Jiangnan Spring Hotel, do you want to shame our family?"
A bitter smile appeared on Zhu Xiaoyu's face; his girlfriend was a good girl, but his mother-in-law... was quite another story.