"Are you trying to provoke me?" He looked into Gu Tang's eyes and said through gritted teeth.
"Okay, I have a question to ask." Gu Tang struggled a bit.
My strength is far inferior to Qin Junche's.
Qin Junche's expression still didn't look good.
He didn't let go of Gu Tang, but instead raised his chin at him: "Ask."
"Xiao'er, why aren't you saying anything?" Gu Tang looked at Qin Junche and asked earnestly.
Qin Junche was taken aback.
He seemed surprised that Gu Tang would suddenly ask this question.
After a moment's hesitation, he released his grip on Gu Tang's hand and sat up.
He sat with his back to Gu Tang, and after a long silence, Qin Junche seemed to sigh softly.
Gu Tang also sat up.
He waited patiently for a while, but the other person still didn't speak.
After considering for a moment, Gu Tang said, "But at school today, Xiao'er was able to speak in a moment of urgency."
He looked at Qin Junche's back, even though the other man was clearly taller than him.
But at that moment, Gu Tang felt that Qin Junche looked somewhat desolate.
“…You should know this.” This time, Qin Junche didn’t keep Gu Tang waiting for long.
He still had his back to Gu Tang and said in a deep voice, "Qin Xiao was kidnapped when he was a child."
ah?!
Gu Tang was extremely surprised.
"The empire may seem stable now, but in reality, whether it is the empire as a whole or targeting my Qin family, we have never had many enemies."
After getting to the point, Qin Junche continued speaking much more fluently: "Qin Xiao has shown extraordinary intelligence since childhood. In addition to his talent in mecha, he is also more mature than other children in other aspects."
"Yes." Gu Tang thought so too.
Aside from being quiet, Qin Xiao was impeccable in every other way.
“My father had high hopes for him and groomed him to be the future head of the family from a young age,” Qin Junche continued. “However, I’m often on the border, and my father is worried about the child’s safety, so he’s always kept you all at home and tried to avoid appearing in front of outsiders. Anyway…”
He turned around and looked at Gu Tang with a half-smile: "We didn't have a wedding. Although many people know that I'm married, almost no one knows that you are my partner, and even fewer people know that Qin Xiao exists."
"..."
Gu Tang remained silent.
Looking at the smile on Qin Junche's face, he felt for the first time that this man was actually quite irritating.
Is this something to be proud of?
"Why don't you ask why there was no wedding?" Qin Junche moved closer to Gu Tang, as if he didn't want to miss any expression on his face.
"Let's get down to business." Gu Tang waved his hand magnanimously.
Why could it be?
It's obvious even to a fool that a botany professor at a third-rate university is no match for a Marshal of the Star Army.
"What are you thinking about?" Qin Junche raised his hand and tapped Gu Tang on the head.
He seemed to be talking to himself, yet also to Gu Tang: "Back then, my father and I both thought that hypnotizing you to seal your memories might be a good thing, but now..."
He shrugged, looked at Gu Tang with a helpless smile.
This was the first time Gu Tang had seen a smile, which could be described as bitter, on Qin Junche's face.
He frowned and asked again, "Seal my memories?"
So he didn't know why Qin Xiao wasn't speaking. Was it because his memories were sealed?
However, all my understanding of this world comes from the information provided by the system.
Logically speaking, even if the real Gu Tang in this world has his memories sealed.
The system should also provide relevant information to itself.
Countless questions flashed through Gu Tang's mind.
He always felt that if he could figure this out, all the problems would be solved.
But right now, he has no clue.
"Go on," Gu Tang said, raising his chin to Qin Junche, signaling him to continue.
Qin Junche glanced at him before continuing, "I will seal off your relevant memories and then rebuild some of them."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly: "This is actually a very serious matter. If we hadn't had no other choice at the time, we wouldn't have done it. The psychologist who hypnotized you said that memory is a very complex thing, not a mecha, not something we can control at will."
"Hmm, and then?" Gu Tang asked again.
"But I was young and arrogant back then, and I had the entire Star Army under my command, so my confidence was inflated." Qin Junche leaned back.
He lay down on the bed, letting the soft, spacious bed support his entire body.
It seemed that only in this way could he have the strength to continue speaking.
"I'm confident that no matter how much your memories are sealed away or reconstructed, you won't..." Qin Junche raised his hand to cover his eyes, and said in a hoarse voice, "Forget that we loved each other. After all..."
Gu Tang turned to look at Qin Junche.
The other person's lips, visible outside his arm, curled slightly upwards, but he couldn't see Qin Junche's eyes.
“After all…” Qin Junche’s voice was even more hoarse, so hoarse that it was almost painful to hear, “we used to love each other so much.”
After he finished speaking, he slowly exhaled.
Gu Tang: "..."
Qin Junche's arm was still covering his eyes.
He didn't need to say anything more; Gu Tang had already guessed what he meant.
"I'm sorry." He hesitated for a long time before sincerely apologizing to Qin Junche with some regret.
He didn't know if the real Gu Tang would forget this incident, but he was facing himself, a guy who had never understood love in all his life.
Qin Junche must be very troubled.
Qin Junche did not respond to him.
His breathing was a little rapid, but his arm never left his eyes.
"So, is Qin Xiao's silence also related to my memories being sealed?" Gu Tang waited patiently for a while before asking again.
"Hmm." Qin Junche snorted through his nose.
After a long pause, he continued, "Qin Xiao was kidnapped at the time. I was at the border, and the kidnappers didn't dare use video, fearing that the Qin family would discover any clues. They had no choice but to use voicemail to contact him, hoping that Qin Xiao would speak up and ask you for help. The child was stubborn yet sensible, and he gritted his teeth and refused to utter a single sound."
Gu Tang's heart skipped a beat.
He shouldn't have such deep feelings for Qin Xiao, but...
Qin Junche spoke quickly this time, as if afraid that if he stopped, he would lose the courage to recall: "The kidnappers used every means to torture him, injecting him with drugs to keep him conscious, Qin Xiao..."
His voice choked up: "Finally, the pain became unbearable, and he cried out softly, 'Dad...'"
Gu Tang felt as if his heart had been struck by something.
A stiffness he had never felt before instantly swept over his entire body.
It felt like something was stuck in his throat.
It made him unable to speak, and he could barely breathe.
After a very long time, it seemed as if he finally found his voice: "And then, Xiao'er, she stopped talking?"
"……Um."
Gu Tang closed his eyes; he didn't ask what had happened to him.
That's no longer important!
He took a deep breath and asked in a cold voice, "Where are the kidnappers?"
"Kill them all!" Qin Junche said.
"Where is the person behind this?" Gu Tang asked again.
This time, Qin Junche did not answer immediately.
Gu Tang nodded.
He reached out and shoved Qin Junche hard: "Get out of the way."
His voice was cold: "I need to rest."
Gu Tang remained silent and lay down on one side of the bed.
Someone turned off the light, and amidst the rustling sounds, Qin Junche lay down beside him.
"Qin Junche," Gu Tang suddenly asked, "Is there any way to improve a person's mental strength?"
Qin Junche did not answer.
“Yes, right?” Gu Tang chuckled briefly, “but the side effects will definitely be significant.”
"...Yes!" Qin Junche said, "Xiao'er can't live without you. Don't worry, as long as I live, I will never let such a thing happen again."
"I'm going to sleep," Gu Tang said calmly. "I need to get up early tomorrow."
Gu Tang suddenly became very busy.
The Star Army is on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th; the Scorching Sun Army is on the 2nd
This is no joke.
On the very night he returned home, the military sent him a formal letter of appointment.
Although his military rank wasn't high, his first month's allowance was indeed deposited directly into his personal account, just as Han Xuan and Qin Junche had said.
The allowance is three times that of a marshal.