Chapter 59 Short-lived

Chapter 59: The Man Who Won’t Live Long

"Are you feeling unwell?" The lawyer immediately stood up and walked from the other side of the small table to Jiang Huaiyan's side. "Should I take you to the hospital, or call your private doctor?"

".......No need, I brought my medicine."

Jiang Huaiyan's tone quickly returned to normal as he took a sip of hot water from the cup and answered calmly.

"If there's nothing else important, let's leave it at that. Please take me back."

"Sir, I have one more question," the lawyer quickly said. "Are you sure you don't want to transfer these overseas assets back? St. Gallen has a high inheritance tax. Just your fixed deposits alone..."

"No need. Just let them take the tax; leave it in St. Gallen's bank. I don't trust the Rebel Army."

The lawyer was stunned for a second, clearly puzzled.

He had done some quick research. The recipient of the inheritance held an important position in the Rebel Army, and word even had it that he was Governor Tao's chosen successor.

If Mr. Jiang didn't trust the Rebel Army, why would he hand over all his assets to someone like that?

Or maybe he was afraid that when the leadership changed, someone in the Rebel Army might harm the recipient.

He quickly ran the numbers on the tax to give Jiang Huaiyan an idea, and Jiang Huaiyan just nodded, showing no real reaction.

"Then I'll take you back. I'll draw up the contract and bring it to you when it's finished."

Jiang Huaiyan got up, and the lawyer followed him to the car.

"You in a hurry?" the lawyer asked as he started the engine. "Should I take you to get an IV? Some nutritional IV fluids will make you feel a lot better."

The medications Jiang Huaiyan had brought from the capital couldn't cure his premature gland failure, but they did alleviate the discomfort significantly.

Jiang Huaiyan almost never got IVs. Lying there for two hours with one hand stuck was way too much of a waste of time for him.

But today, he hesitated for a rare moment.

Everyone was gathering with their families today. He had no one to reunite with, so getting an IV didn't seem so bad.

After hesitating, Jiang Huaiyan nodded. Lawyer Zhao drove him back into the city and took him to a licensed clinic.

Just as the IV was started, Jiang Huaiyan's communicator rang.

".......Sorry, I need to take this call."

"Mr. Jiang?" a polite voice said on the other end. Jiang Huaiyan recognized it as Lin Wenyuan, the interim deputy governor of the Rebel Zone. "There's a gathering tonight—the cultural troupe is performing, and Major General Zhu has ordered a whole roast lamb from a restaurant. Would you like to come?"

There was noise in the background, along with lively, festive music.

Jiang Huaiyan held the communicator, hesitating for a moment. Even someone who usually preferred quiet might feel lonely being alone during such a holiday.

"Major General Zhu's family is in District 29... Isn't he going home to be with them?"

"He took two hours off at noon to visit his grandmother and dropped off some gifts at the Governor’s wife's place. He's staying here with us for the evening. Would you like to come? Or if you don't like the racket, you can stay home and rest—that's fine too."

Lin Wenyuan didn't get an immediate answer, so he knew Jiang Huaiyan was considering it.

He wasn't a talkative person, but he smiled and waited patiently for Jiang Huaiyan's reply.

"I'd better not..."

A third person's voice came through the communicator. The person asked something briefly, and Lin Wenyuan moved the receiver a bit farther away, his voice growing quieter.

".......I was just talking to Director Jiang," Lin Wenyuan said, presumably to the person next to him. "Let him have a moment to think. Zhu Shinian, you're too impatient."

The person next to Lin Wenyuan said something, and Jiang Huaiyan caught a few vague words. Lin Wenyuan then echoed his comment.

"Mr. Jiang," Lin Wenyuan said as he presumably handed the communicator over. Zhu Shinian's voice came through, sounding somewhat distant, like something that could only happen in a dream.

"If you've got nothing else going on, why don't you come over? The roast lamb here might not compare to the capital's, but it's still very fresh."

Jiang Huaiyan guessed what Zhu Shinian had said to Lin Wenyuan—probably something about him being pitiful and alone, urging Lin Wenyuan to persuade him to join everyone for the New Year.

He hadn't heard Zhu Shinian talk like that in a long time. Was he... pitying him?

Zhu Shinian had always been like that, excessively tolerant and forgiving toward others, making people think it was okay to walk all over him, and that he would forgive any wrongs.

Would he always be like this? Even after Jiang Huaiyan died, would he continue to be like this?

Sometimes Jiang Huaiyan hated that he was a guy who wouldn't live long.

"Don't feel pressured. Come if you want, don't if you don't," Lin Wenyuan said with a smile, taking back the communicator. "No pressure either way. Just come for the lively atmosphere."

"I might come a bit later," Jiang Huaiyan said softly, signaling to the nurse to remove the IV. "Don't wait for me."

"Where are you? I'll send someone to pick you up," Lin Wenyuan said.

"No need. I'm still out of town. I'll take the train myself."

"I'm going to the military hospital later to visit the wounded soldiers. It's not far from the station. When you arrive, let me know and I'll come pick you up," Lin Wenyuan quickly added.

The doctor had prescribed two IV bottles, which would normally take two hours. Jiang Huaiyan sped up the drip, finishing only one bottle before hurriedly leaving.

He politely declined Lin Wenyuan's offer to pick him up at the station, took a taxi there, and bought a ticket for the nearest train to District 29.

As he finally sat down to wait for the train, he noticed mud stains on his coat.

Probably from the cemetery earlier.

Strictly speaking, that barren hill wasn't a proper cemetery—just scattered tombstones amidst the mountains, looking pretty bleak during this festive holiday.

A few rocks, a few handfuls of ash.

There wasn't really anything worth making a special trip for.

But this was probably Jiang Huaiyan's last visit here. One last time was fine.

District 27 bordered District 26 to the south and District 29 to the northwest. The train ride from District 26 to District 29 took about two hours.

But even a two-hour train ride was hard on a patient who didn't have much time left.

The alpha sitting next to Jiang Huaiyan kindly asked if he needed help and ranted about how gland failure was caused by the Empire's oppression—excessive taxes, high prices, and expensive benign suppressants that could cost someone their life.

Jiang Huaiyan remained silent. He just thought the kind-hearted alpha was a bit too noisy. Didn't he care that other people on the train might want to sleep?

Well, actually, no.

It was the Spring Festival, and this short-distance train was filled with the excitement of heading home for the holidays. A few passengers listened to the music playing in the carriage and stuffed red envelopes with a few copper coins into the hands of the quiet, well-behaved kids sitting nearby.

For once, Jiang Huaiyan felt like he was just like everyone else on the train.

Even though he didn't feel that those people in the resistance army were his family.

Outside the window, gray buildings, renovated factories, newly built residential buildings, and mountains in the distance whose names he didn't know flashed by.

These scenes sped backwards outside the window, forming irregular lines that made one dizzy and blurry.

Jiang Huaiyan sucked on the vendor's motion-sickness plum, which'd been heavily pushed, but he didn't feel it was working at all, nor could he taste a thing.

Even though the preserved plum had such a strong flavor, he couldn't taste a thing either.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the next stop is Zone 29 East Station, arriving on time at 6:09 PM, with a 5-minute stop. Passengers getting off, please prepare your luggage in advance. We wish everyone a happy New Year and family reunion."

Happy New Year. Jiang Huaiyan echoed silently.

The train stopped. Jiang Huaiyan stood up, straightened his coat, and stepped onto the platform.

He walked a few steps toward the exit and looked up at the crowd waiting at the arrival area.

There were many people waiting, several times the number of passengers on the train, men and women, old and young, likely whole families there to welcome the last member home.

He searched the crowd for Lin Wenyuan, but after searching for a long time, he couldn't find him.

Thinking that Lin Wenyuan was busy with work and hadn't made it yet, he pulled out his communicator to call him, planning to tell him not to bother coming, that he'd take a taxi instead.

Unlike the stuffy train car, the open platform was much colder, and the temperature suddenly dropped. The evening wind blew in his face, making him really feel the cold.

"Mr. Jiang."

Suddenly someone called him from behind. Jiang Huaiyan heard that familiar voice and turned around in surprise.

The person who came to pick him up was not Lin Wenyuan.

On the open platform, the light had already faded. He and the newcomer were separated by a considerable distance, with people streaming directly between them.

He was wearing a military winter coat, his skin as white as jade, his thin lips slightly pursed. Among the travel-worn passengers, or the crowd who had just thrown on a warm cotton coat to pick someone up, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

It was like a still frame from a movie.

The wind on the platform suddenly no longer felt cold, and as if winter had blown away.

"Why are you here?" Jiang Huaiyan wanted to ask.

"Wasn't Lin Wenyuan supposed to come? Why are you picking me up?"

"Have you been waiting long? Otherwise, why is the tip of your nose a little red from the wind?"

Author's note: