IJWTRQ Chapter 011

“Is that so?” Ling Xian replied lightly.

He is indeed very interested in the secret hidden by Tan Yan, but it was more because he wants to find out by himself, rather than being confessed directly by others, which will lose a lot of fun.

Generally speaking, this group of students is nothing more than adolescents in the stage of second-year syndrome[mfn]中二期 zhōng èr qí: Chuunibyou, adopted word from Japan (中二病 Chūnibyō), a Japanese colloquial term typically used to describe early teens who have grandiose delusions, who desperately want to stand out, and who have convinced themselves that they have hidden knowledge or secret powers. It translates to ‘second-year syndrome’.[/mfn]. They have basic outline of worldview, but not yet perfected. When they become a grown-up, they feel that they have infinite possibilities, but they will not truly grow without experiencing setbacks.

Liang Xian’s growth rate may be faster than others, but only a little faster.

Each age group has its own characteristics, and it is precisely the passion and enthusiasm of these students that Minister Yu sees in them. In the face of unknown challenges, young people are always more courageous than adults, and are good at learning and absorbing, not limited by inherent behavioral habits and experience.

After spending only one day with his classmates, Tan Yan gradually began to understand Minister Yu’s words.

Indeed, what he needs is such a group of companions.

Since he values them, he should set a good example, teach them what he knows without reservation, and do his best to protect them within his ability, until these young people can stand on their own.

This is the task that a socialist successor ‘born under the red flag and growing up in the spring breeze'[mfn]生在紅旗下，長在春風裏 shēng zài hóngqí xià, zhǎng zài chūnfēng lǐ: the red flag refers to Chinese national flag, the spring breeze refers to CPC, Communist Party of China. The full sentences: 我们，生在红旗下，长在春风里，目光所至皆为华夏，五星闪耀皆为信仰 wǒmen, shēng zài hóngqí xià, zhǎng zài chūnfēng lǐ, mùguāng suǒ zhì jiē wèi huáxià, wǔxīng shǎnyào jiē wéi xìnyǎng: We are born under the red flag, grow in the spring breeze, whatever (we) see is China, the shining five stars are our faith. (The five star also refers to Chinese national flag).[/mfn] should accomplish in the last moments of his work. He will spare no effort to protect the interests of the people in the first half of his life, and give his remaining fire to the young people in the second half of his life, the torch is passed from generation to generation, the national spirit is passed on in this way.

After teaching these young people, he can really retire with peace of mind.

Tan Yan smiles from the bottom of his heart, he has never felt more hopeful than he does right now.

No wonder everyone loves young people, it’s because they represent the future.

Tan Yan held Liang Xian’s hand, looked at him with caring eyes, his eyes were full of tenderness.

Liang Xian: “…”

“I will protect you well.” Tan Yan said solemnly, “Don’t be afraid of death, because I’m here, I will never let you die first.”

Liang Xian: “…”

“Just trust me.” Tan Yan tried his best to show a kind expression like an elder.

Suddenly understand that Minister Yu always like to smile like a loving mother, because young people let people willing to tolerate them!

Liang Xian: “…You let go…”

How did the topic get to this point? He thought about the conversation just now many times, and felt that the direction was quite strange. What was going through Tan Yan’s mind?

The atmosphere in the car is warm to Tan Yan, Liang Xian feels strange and awkward, it lasted until Qiu Qizheng the three people back, they ran all the way, and were out of breath when they came back.

“That should be all, the map shows that we will arrive at the destination in an hour, just take advantage of this time to change clothes and make IED.” Qiu Qizheng quickly changed his clothes, put all his belongings in the back, sat in the driver’s seat and started the car.

“What are you two doing?” Cui Heyu is very sensitive to the strange atmosphere in the car.

Tan Yan turned his gaze to Cui Heyu, his eyes still had that gentle look, Liang Xian saw that something was wrong, and quickly pressed Tan Yan’s head down with his intact left hand: “Shut up, you!”

Tan Yan: “…”

He looked up at Liang Xian, somewhat puzzled. The young face is slightly confused at this time, as if the person who was wrong was Liang Xian. Therefore, a good skin is really quite advantageous. Who knows that this kind of person said so much words that cause goosebumps just now.

Liang Xian thinks that Tan Yan’s behavior should be a self-cognition disorder[mfn]自我認知障礙 zìwǒ rènzhīzhàngài: the closest term I found is cognitive dissonance (the perception of contradictory information and the mental toll of it. Relevant items of information include a person’s actions, feelings, ideas, beliefs, values, and things in the environment. Cognitive dissonance is typically experienced as psychological stress when persons participate in an action that goes against one or more of those things.) and psychosis (a condition of the mind that results in difficulties determining what is real and what is not real.).[/mfn]. There is often a kind of person who imagines himself to be extremely strong and stable. If the symptoms are mild, they are just too narcissistic, but if it’s serious, then they are delusional. And once the reality is seriously inconsistent with self-cognition, it will result in a sense of gap and it will be very easy to cause schizophrenia[mfn]精神分裂 jīngshénfēnliè: schizophrenia, a mental disorder, characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis.[/mfn].

Based on Liang Xian’s observation, Tan Yan should only be in the initial stage. Timely psychological counseling can alleviate the symptoms.

But now they are in the military training, he can’t let Tan Yan show it and make other students lose confidence in him. Once the sympathetic eyes of the other three people stimulate his nerves, coupled with the difficult content of the military training, Tan Yan’s situation is very likely to worsen.

It’s better that only he know this secret.

After quickly analyzing the current situation, Liang Xian immediately made a decision to appease Tan Yan’s emotion and conceal this matter from the three of people.

So he immediately let go, leaned his head on Tan Yan with a weak face and said, “I’m injured now, I can’t do many things, I need personal protection. Are you willing to do it?”

“No problem.” Tan Yan is prepared to focused on Liang Xian, a student who is injured and still has to complete the mission is a good boy, he will protect Liang Xian.

Cui Heyu gritted his teeth: “No one asked you to go into battle with injuries, you are looking for abuse and still want to drag down other student?”

“We here, one is willing to give a beating, and one is willing to take a beating[mfn]一個願打一個願挨 yīgèyuàndǎ, yīgèyuànāi: Zhou Yu beats Huang Gai——one is willing to give a beating, and one is willing to take a beating; (literally) one is willing to give a beating, and one is willing to take a beating; (figurative) both parties agree of free will, mutual consent; to willingly submit to something; This phrase comes from a xiehouyu, 《Romance of the Three Kingdoms》, Novel Chapter 46 or Drama Episode 35, The Self-Torture Ruse (苦肉計 kǔ ròu jì) Zhou Yu wanted Huang Gai, his subordinate, to pretend to defect to Cao Cao‘s side so that Huang Gai could gain Cao Cao’s trust. This allowed Huang Gai to set fire to Cao Cao’s fleet during the Battle of Red Cliffs, forcing Cao Cao to retreat. Zhou Yu had Huang Gai flogged in front of Cao Cao’s spies so that they would not be suspicious.[/mfn].” Liang Xian hugged Tan Yan’s arms even tighter, “Why do you care?”

“We don’t know Tan Yan’s strength yet, you’d better hope he can protect you! When the military training is over, I will beat you all up!” Cui Heyu shook his fist fiercely.

When he swung his fist in front of Tan Yan, he grabbed his wrist, and stuffed a jar in his palm.

“Hold it steady.” Tan Yan said in a low voice, “I tied the match head with the firecracker fuse and stuck it to the matchbox, a slight movement would ignite the fuse. It is very convenient to use and does not need to be ignited separately, but it is dangerous and must be held firmly.”

When Liang Xian was arguing with Cui Heyu, Tan Yan had already made five IEDs with one hand.

“…You did it too fast.” Cui Heyu was slightly shocked.

He didn’t doubt Tan Yan’s ability to make IED. If he didn’t have this ability, and still mix in the military academy, the organization couldn’t be so confused as to stuff a useless person into it. But this speed and still with one hand, he looked at his watch, yes, only two minutes have passed.

Within two minutes, the explosives in the fireworks and firecrackers had to be taken out, the jar opening must be treated too, not to mention designed a convenient ignition device, moreover five of it were already done. Cui Heyu couldn’t help suspecting that Tan Yan’s time just now was forcibly fast-forwarded.

On that side, Qin Li was working hard to make IED with both hands, but hasn’t finish even one of it.
Liang Xian also felt that it was too fast, he might not be able to be so fast even if he made it himself.

Tan Yan… Tan Yan didn’t speak, and made another one in front of them, Cui Heyu and Liang Xian rubbed their eyes, always feeling that a miracle might have happened before their eyes.

There is no problem with each of Tan Yan’s step, but the problem is the material. For example, the packaging of firecrackers is difficult to open, but it seems that Tan Yan only scratched it with his nails, and the explosive powder inside went into the jar obediently. Cui Heyu picked up the packaging on the ground and took a look. He couldn’t see any powder residue with naked eye, even the slightest powder is not left behind. It’s completely against the laws of physics.

“What the hell did you do?” Liang Xian saw that he didn’t use any tools, and he could easily do this with just scratching anywhere with his fingernails, which was a stark contrast to Qin Li who was working hard with a Swiss army knife on the other side.

“Have your nails been specially modified?” Liang Xian grabbed his fingers and looked over and over again. There was nothing. Tan Yan didn’t keep any nails at all, and they were trimmed very cleanly.

The most incredible thing is that Tan Yan himself doesn’t feel that he has done anything shocking at all: “No, I’ve been working fast since I was a kid.”

Ling Xian: “…”

“Okay, I believe you can protect Liang Xian.” Cui Heyu turned around to change his clothes expressionlessly, and he even patted Qin Li, “Hurry up and change your clothes, there’s a car driving at triple-speed on the other side[mfn]Cui Heyu is referring to Tan Yan’s speed at making IED LoL.[/mfn].”

Qin Li lowered his head and glanced at the semi-finished product that hasn’t been completed in front of him, then looked at the seven or eight IED beside Tan Yan, and resolutely put down the work in his hand to change clothes.

They were supposed to rush to work all the way to make IED, but with Tan Yan’s triple speed, they completed the task in less than ten minutes.

After Tan Yan divided the IED, he wiped his hands with a wet towel, changed his clothes, and went to help Liang Xian change his clothes.

Liang Xian’s arm is still in plaster, and the clothes are not easy to wear. The camouflage jacket was originally draped over his shoulders. Tan Yan carefully untied the bandage first, and gently helped him take off and put on the clothes. After changing, Liang Xian still stared at his hand strangely.

Tan Yan, who had changed into regular clothes, looked even greener, with a face as tender as a high school student’s, but his expression was still very serious and cautious, which seemed particularly inconsistent.

“I don’t believe there are superpowers in this world,” Cui Heyu said suddenly, “You must have some tools hidden in your hands, and you are especially good at making IED.”

He couldn’t believe what he just saw with his own eyes anyway.

“It’s not that I’m good at it, I’ve seen a lot of it before.” Tan Yan explained in a low voice.

Every year he can find all kinds of IED, some are radicals who want to make headline, some are children who have learned chemistry and have very strong hands-on skills, all kinds of people, all kinds of IED with rich imagination. Tan Yan has disassembled each one and understood the structure, so he can make it.

As for why he is fast, Tan Yan is not clear, anyway, he has always been fast.

In this world, it is impossible to have superpowers. He can’t fly, and he can’t put a mask on his face. Only in the ‘void’ can there be supernatural powers. Tan Yan always thought so.

The other four were silent, the new students were getting more and more suspicious, they seemed to have some understanding of why this person was able to join the class.

It’s not that he has a background, but that he himself has enough strength and secrets.

“It’s very simple, I can teach you.”

Tan Yan was determined to be a life mentor, of course he would not be stingy. He grabbed Liang Xian’s intact left hand and intending to teach him hand in hand.

“First pierce it like this, slide the nail down, the packaging will be easy to peel off.” Tan Yan taught Liang Xian while talking.

Liang Xian listened, but the packaging of the firecrackers was intact.

“Eh?” Tan Yan was stunned, “How could it be? The steps are all right…”

Cui Heyu: “…”

Qin Li: “…”

Qiu Qizheng: “…”

In the extremely awkward atmosphere, only Liang Xian reached out his hand to rub Tan Yan’s soft hair, and comforted him: “It’s okay, it’s not that you didn’t teach well, it’s that I’m injured and have poor learning ability. Let’s finish the task first and talk about learning things later.”

First appease the person, and study the weird things after going back.

---

The author has something to say:

Here is a spoiler first, in fact, Lao Tan is also have superpower in the real world, but Comrade Tan Yan, who was ‘born under the red flag~ and grew up in the spring breeze’, firmly believe in socialist materialism. The power that is unscientific, supernatural, and beyond the social reality is absolutely impossible in his cognition, so he can’t use the ability in reality.

But in fact, he use it every minute and every second in his daily life unconsciously, but if he don’t realize it, then he doesn’t have superpowers. If he doesn’t have it, he doesn’t have it.

I think therefore I am~~~

PS: Lao Tan is probably think ‘the spring silkworms will spin silk until death, and the wax torch will turn into ashes and tears will dry'[mfn]春蠶到死絲方盡，蠟炬成灰淚始幹 chūn cán dào sǐ sī fāng jǐn, là jù chéng huī lèi shǐ gàn: Used as a metaphor for love. The first part, silkworms will spin silk until the moment of death. This sentence also praises the unswerving love between men and women through the silkworm’s silk spinning behavior. The second part is a sentence from a ancient poem from Tang Dynasty. It means when candles are lit the wax are dripping like tears and it won’t stop until the candle is burned out into ashes. In the poem it is a metaphor of the poet’s love. He won’t stop missing his lover till the day he dies. Nowadays this sentence is frequently used as a metaphor of lifetime hardworking and self sacrifice (especially describing teachers). They are always giving (teaching) till they can’t work anymore.[/mfn] in his mind~~~

Surprise, another chapter today, because chapter 9 and 10 is quite short, only around 2,100 words. The author’s PS stump me for a while, but I found that the saying is changing from love phrase, to saying to praise teacher’s dedication. Sorry for the tons of footnote in this chapter *sweat*.

If you like my translations, a cup of coffee would be much appreciated. Thank you!