Addicted: Book One - The Inquietude of Youth (1-44)

Chapter 2 - My Dad is getting Married!

Translator: Sae | Proofreader: anasofia1317

"Xiao Hai, I've already booked the banquet. What time are we leaving tomorrow?"

"Did I say I wanted to go?"

A faint smile cracked on Sun Jingwei's[1] secured lips, as a gust of cool air blew along the wing of his nose and toward the tip of his brows. That kid had always been hard to deal with. Since he was young, that stubborn temperament and unwillingness to compromise had never changed.

"The General[2] said that this is an order you cannot disobey."

Gu Hai stood up, his tall and robust stature evincing a noble and military demeanor. Although he strolled around the room in an unruly manner, it still exudes a bold and overbearing aura.

"Then let him tie me up and take me there."

That casually said sentence caused the outer corner of Sung Jingwei's eyes to narrow tightly, revealing three wrinkles.

"Is there a need for you to be like this? Madam passed away a long time ago, and the General is barely in his forties. You can't just let him live alone for the rest of his life, right?"

Sung Jingwei's words stabbed Gu Hai's sore spot.

"I'll never forgive him for what happened to my mother."

Hearing that, Sun Jingwei hastened to Gu Hai's side and whispered, "Xiao Hai, you cannot say those words irresponsibly. If the General hears you, he will skin you alive. What happened to your mother was purely accidental. Even the forensic investigator confirmed that. How come you are still doubting your father?..."

"That's enough, stop talking. I am well aware of the situation."

Sun Jingwei took a large step back and offered Gu Hai a standard military salute.

"Then I will come pick you up tomorrow."

For the entire afternoon, Gu Hai spent his time practicing at the fencing club. When he stopped for a rest and removed his face mask, a pair of rather tough hands covered his eyes.

"Stop messing around."

Jin Lu Lu dropped her hands and let her narrowed eyes scrutinize him. Gu Hai placed the palm of his hand on her cheek and patted lightly a few times, provoking her to let out a jovial laughter.

Jin Lu Lu, Gu Hai's active girlfriend, was a girl that weighed around 40kg and had a stature of 172cm. Describing her as flat-chested was a bit far-fetched- a more suitable description would be, her 'chest and back were plastered together'. What was normally demanded, was truly not there. If you think that her face was outstanding, then you've never been more wrong. This person had slightly tanned skin and single eyelids, paired off with a flat nose and thin flat lips. In truth, from fifty meters away it would have been hard to make out that she was a girl.

She was the 'loser' kind of girl that made our 'crown prince', who was extremely outstanding in all aspects, fall for her. Moreover, once they were together, they had remained good for three years already.

"How come you got tanned again?"

Gu Hai smiled faintly-it was as if all the sunlight from the window was being absorbed by his face, illuminating it tremendously.

"I've been swimming nonstop recently."

After following Gu Hai into the rest area, Jin Lu Lu grabbed two pieces of tissue and wiped his sweat for him. Every time she was near Gu Hai, she could always make out a distinct scent of taboo and sweat mixed together. If she closed her eyes, she would have imagined him to be a handsome and mature, thirty-year-old man. But when she opened her eyes, she would only see the face of a youthful man that lacked vigor.

"Silly girl, what are you looking at?"

Gu Hai stretched his arms out and pulled Jin Lu Lu into an embrace before sighing lightly. "My dad is getting married, and the wedding ceremony will be held tomorrow in a low-profile fashion."

"That quickly?"

Lifting her head, Jin Lu Lu's bright and expressive eyes stared at Gu Hai. "What about you? Are you going to attend your dad's wedding?"

"Tell me, should I go or not?"

"Of course, you should! Why wouldn't you go? You have to let her understand that not only one person calls the shots in your household. She doesn't have the rights to do whatever she wants or cause trouble!"

Gu Hai hid in a deep abyss the helplessness in his heart. "I really don't want to see them. Do you know? Before my mother's accident, they were already acquainted with each other. With my dad's status, there's absolutely no way he could get married a second time. You should also understand that without me saying it."

"Perhaps you're overthinking everything."

Gu Hai guzzled two mouthfuls of water. When his Adam's apple bobbed, Jin Lu Lu chuckled and pinched it, causing Gu Hai to narrowly choke.

"Let me ask you, if I find a group of reporters to attend tomorrow's ceremony and let them launch an unbridled coverage, will it certainly create a negative impact for them?"

Jin Lu Lu was shocked with that plan, "You want to crash the wedding venue?"

"I've wanted to get revenge on my father for a long time now."

"I think it won't be easy to ask the reporters. Even if they manage to collect the news, the TV station might not let them report on it and all your efforts will be in vain."

"You are wrong, my purpose is not to let them report it. I just want them to bring the cameras and equipment to the venue for the sake of disrupting things. In any case, no one can even think about being happy."

"Oh-" Jin Lu Lu dragged out the last syllable, "I understand now. Whether the reporters are there or not isn't important, what's important is that the circumstance will definitely cause a sense of panic and disorder in the host and the people involved, right?"

"You're very smart."

A peculiar spark of light flitted into Gu Hai's dark obsidian eyes.

-

Translator's Note:

[1] Sun Jingwei (孙警卫) - 'Sun' being the surname and ' jingwei' meaning (security) guard, not his first name, therefore, it can be translated to Guard Sun. We will continue to address him as Sun Jingwei.

[2] 'General...' - the word used in this sentence is actually shǒuzhǎng (首长) which means senior official, but since we know that Gu Hai's father is an Army Major General, we will directly use his formal military rank to address him. He is a Major General, but we will call him General or General Gu.

Major General is a two-star General Officer rank, and the highest permanent peacetime rank in the Army. A Major General commands a division-sized unit of 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers. A Major General can only be appointed through a stringent process of nomination and review by multiple offices and promotion boards. Officers receiving a commission as Major General are required to retire after five years of commission, or after 35 years of total service, unless promoted or appointed. Major General is the 26th rank in the United States Army, ranking above Brigadier General and directly below Lieutenant General.