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76 Hiking and Picnics (Part 1)

Su Tong had always thought Xie Chengjing was the epitome of uprightness and seriousness, but now she realized that it's true that you shouldn't be prejudiced against things beforehand. Sometimes Xie Chengjing actually liked to keep things a secret. For example, he clearly said he was going to take Su Tong to meet someone, but no matter how many times Su Tong subtly asked him that night, he still didn't say who they were going to meet. This made Su Tong think about getting the truth from him all night, and she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

As for Xie Chengjing, no one would know from his extremely serious face that he had been enjoying Su Tong's continued high level of attention since dinner.

Lying in bed that night, Su Tong couldn't even fall asleep. She thought about the surprised looks on people's faces when they saw her and Xie Chengjing at Xie Mingyuan's engagement party that night, about Xie Chengjing's dignified and cold appearance in his military uniform, and about Xie Chengjing, who seemed to be nothing special except for being a little cold, serious, versatile, and busy.

Yes, how could those people not be surprised? Xie Chengjing, the second young master of the Xie family, was aloof and outstanding from a young age. He earned real military merits in the army and became a major general at the age of 30. People might have imagined that the lover of such a cold and powerful officer would be a heroic female soldier, or a noblewoman of equal family background, or a female politician who was equally serious and earnest. But who could have predicted that the first time he brought a female companion to a banquet, it would be a woman as beautiful and serene as Su Tong?

Even when Su Tong was being influenced by others, Xie Chengjing, who still didn't care about other people's opinions, solemnly said that he would take her to meet someone tomorrow.

After a few minutes of internal struggle, Su Tong finally sent a message on WeChat to Xie Chengjing, who had a confidential task to perform that evening:

Because Xie Chengjing's work often prohibited carrying any external communication devices, by the time he replied to the message, Su Tong, who wasn't particularly sleepy to begin with, was almost asleep. A few simple words from him dispelled Su Tong's biggest worry:

Su Tong had indeed secretly guessed that it might be to meet Xie Chengjing's father, Xie Anbang, but she felt that Xie Chengjing wouldn't do that given his personality. At their current stage of relationship, taking her to meet an elder so abruptly would only cast a shadow over their currently stable relationship. Since it wasn't Xie Chengjing's father, Xie Anbang, Su Tong felt much more relaxed. Even with Xie Chengsheng, the first in line to the Xie family head, Su Tong had met Xiao Feijun, who held roughly the same position, so she wasn't as nervous.

Saturday was a warm and sunny day, perfect for going out or spending time together.

According to Wang Lu, Xie Chengjing, the seemingly invincible second young master, had exerted all his energy today, managing to finish all his work before noon. After lunch, Wang Lu, his gentle and beautiful wife Zhang Yuxia, and their daughter Tingting drove over to find them. Su Tong and Xie Chengjing took Kongkong and Xie Er'er, with Xie Chengjing driving another car. This meant that the people and pets only needed two cars for the outing. However, Su Tong noticed two other seemingly ordinary cars following them at a discreet distance.

Xie Chengjing explained casually, "They are bodyguards."

Su Tong had known Xie Chengjing for quite some time. The truly important part of his work wasn't something he could easily tell others, so she felt that his life wasn't as extravagant as she had once imagined. At least, he didn't often use bodyguard cars with professional bodyguards.

Wang Lu and Xie Chengjing had both revealed some details about this to Su Tong, but since Su Tong herself wasn't very knowledgeable in this area, she didn't go into too much detail. Firstly, the capital city has excellent public security; secondly, Xie Chengjing's usual Hummer and military SUV are highly modified vehicles with excellent bulletproof and shock-absorbing capabilities, and they are also equipped with guns and other weapons in places Su Tong was unaware of; thirdly, both driver Wang Lu and Xie Chengjing themselves are highly qualified soldiers, so they don't need to have bodyguards with them at all times.

The moment Su Tong noticed the bodyguard car, her first thought was, "Could it be that this picnic trip is actually fraught with danger?!"

Ever since Su Tong discovered that Xie Ershao's mind-reading ability was so strong that he didn't need a monitor, she made full use of this. If there was anything she felt she couldn't say to Xie Chengjing, she would stare at him, trying to make him understand with her eyes. Xie Chengjing did not disappoint her. When he saw the undisguised surprise and fear in Su Tong's eyes, he probably knew what she was thinking. He continued to explain calmly, "They are very busy all year round. On the surface, they are here to protect us in case of emergency, but actually, it's also a chance to relax. There is no danger on this trip."

As they approached the Fourth or Fifth Ring Road, a tall, thin boy with a youthful face joined the picnic group. He gave off a strange resemblance to Xie Chengjing, who was in the driver's seat. While he lacked Xie Chengjing's imposing presence, his cold, serious expression was strikingly similar. Su Tong estimated his height to be around 70 or 71 meters. He stood ramrod straight by the roadside waiting for them, giving Xie Chengjing a perfect military salute before getting into their car, his eyes filled with respect for Xie Chengjing. Indeed, a young and powerful officer like Xie Chengjing would easily be admired by boys.

Xie Chengjing briefly introduced Su Tong: "This is my cousin's son, named Shujue, 12 years old. He's doing some training at the military region here. His parents are in Inner Mongolia, so they invited him to come out and have some fun." He then introduced Su Tong to him, "This is my friend, Su Tong."

When he mentioned the boy's age, Su Tong was taken aback. Although his fair and youthful face suggested he was young, at 12 years old, he was still a primary school student. His height was quite tall, and he was already training in the military region at such a young age. Thinking about it, according to Wang Lu, Xie Chengjing was even younger than him when he started physical and military training. Was he perhaps even more aloof than Xie Shujue is now?

After Xie Chengjing's introduction, Xie Shujue was slightly surprised when he first saw Su Tong, but he immediately became more serious. The respect he had for Xie Chengjing was transferred to Su Tong, "Xie Chengjing's friend". He looked at Su Tong with respect and said, "Hello, Grandma Su".

Although Su Tong knew Xie Chengjing was of a high generation, and that Su Tong was her friend, Xie Shujue considered her to be of the same grandfatherly generation as Xie Chengjing, she still felt a slight pang of regret. She vividly remembered calling Xie Chengjing "Second Uncle" back in the city, following Xie Mingyuan's example. However, there were many people with the surname Su in her hometown, and she was among the younger generation. She had even encountered situations where she had to call younger men "Grandpa." So, she calmly responded with a smile, "We're going out to have fun today, don't be too reserved."

Their picnic plan was to first climb a mountain, then enjoy the scenery and have a picnic. At Tingting's strong suggestion, the picnic was finally decided to be a barbecue.

Last night, when Su Tong heard Xie Chengjing say that he wanted to go hiking with him, she thought of Xie Chengjing's good stamina and made a special statement beforehand: "Xie Chengjing, my stamina is really not good, really, much worse than the average girl." In fact, no one would think that Su Tong would be very strong. With her fair skin, delicate and flawless appearance, most people would probably think that she was someone who never lifted a finger.

Xie Chengjing glanced at her, and Su Tong felt that there was a hint of "Why are you so unambitious" in his eyes, but she just said lightly, "I can tell, I can tell from how often you rest after practicing dance. But we're just going to have fun, we can wait for you."

Despite his words, after driving for nearly two hours, when the group arrived at the foot of the mountain, they discovered that the mountain didn't even have stone steps leading up; there was only a narrow, muddy path half-hidden by tall wild grass. Although she knew it wasn't very nice to say that about herself, Su Tong still had to prepare in advance: "Xie Chengjing, I really have very poor physical strength. Don't be surprised when we get up the mountain."

Under Xie Shujue's gaze, Xie Chengjing slung his backpack over his shoulder and replied, "I wouldn't be surprised by something like this."

Although they had bodyguards, Xie Chengjing didn't intend for them to provide any services. The eight or nine bodyguards in the two cars greeted Xie Chengjing and then moved around freely at a distance. Xie Chengjing, Wang Lu and his family of three, Xie Shujue, and Su Tong stayed together. The three men carried the barbecue equipment, ingredients, seasonings, medicine, and rain gear, while Su Tong, Tingting, and Zhang Yuxia also carried backpacks, but they were basically traveling light.

Although Wang Lu's daughter, Tingting, is already quite grown up, he and Zhang Yuxia are as affectionate as a teenage couple. They even neglect Xie Chengjing, who usually hovers around them at work. The couple walks ahead, their intimacy making Su Tong feel a little uncomfortable watching, yet also a touch of envy. Given Xie Shujue's admiration for Xie Chengjing, he initially stayed close behind him at the beginning of the hike. However, Tingting, though pretty, is far more cunning than 12-year-old Xie Shujue. Not wanting him to be a "third wheel," she pulled him to walk in the middle.

So Xie Chengjing and Su Tong stayed behind to cover the rear.

Author's Note: I've changed Xie Mingjue's name to Shujue, otherwise the generational order would be wrong. (166 Reading Network)