——————
Xie Jingchen had to catch a train from the county town to leave, so before departing, he made a point of bidding farewell to his former commander and casually mentioned his assignments for the coming months.
Of course, before he left, he also passed on salutations from his immediate superiors, Mr. Zheng and Chief Tao, to the old commander.
Xie Jingchen distinctly felt his own aging hand tremble slightly, yet, the old commander regained his composure in a mere moment, nodded to acknowledge, and then closed his eyes.
"Careful, you rascal," Liu Aimin murmured softly as he watched the tall and robust young man, now powerful, about to disappear at the turn near the door, his voice full of tender caution.
Xie Jingchen continued striding forward unabated, as if he hadn't heard.
However, just as his figure was about to step out of the door, he subtly nodded almost imperceptibly. The guard leading the way, Wang Lixing, didn't even notice the slight movement behind him.
