Beelzebub and Sasha's bodies sank into the icy water, exposing only the part above their shoulders, their eyes flashing so similar to the reflection of the moonlight on the ripples, that Charlie and Charlie's father were unaware of their presence, or that their attention had been completely occupied by grief and anger.

Charlie stood there for a long time without saying a word, "You are ashamed of me," and at last he said with a calm attitude that a boy of this age would not have, "You have always wanted me to be a tough guy like you, and I have become a sissy."

"I don't think so." The head of the regiment said that as long as it is a person, he can hear the weakness in it.

"I should go back," said Charlie, "Mr. Commander."

He walked away without looking back, leaving only the regimental commander alone.

Beelzebub thought that the regimental commander would also leave soon, and he waited for a few minutes, but the regimental commander just stood motionless, hanging his head, as if he had been put in a heavy shackle, and when he finally made a move, he took out a pack of cigarettes from his trouser pocket.

The flames erupting from the mouth of the lighter illuminated itself and the face of the regimental commander, the lighter was a military windproof type, not small and delicate, and it looked a little old-fashioned, square, and unusually similar to its owner.

The head of the regiment smoked Beelzebub knew as soon as he smelled it, the white Marlboro, because there were people doing smuggling work on Poseidon Island, this is a kind of cigarette without flavor, pure tobacco leaf tobacco, full of strength, and the men like it very much, but in three-quarters of the federal region, such cigarettes will be heavily taxed, so the people of Poseidon Island drove trucks to the light tax area to get cigarettes, and then opened the joints to transport them back to the heavy tax area, dismantled and sold them to trusted convenience stores and small supermarkets, although the profit is not as good as drugs, but it is still very good for young people to try their hands.

"How long do you think he'll be here?" Beelzebub asked.

"I don't know," said Sasha, "but let's go out - the water is a little cold, I'll take care of this."

A group of small fish with white backs hurriedly swam past the captain's feet, and the regimental commander, who had just lowered his head and watched the cigarette ash he had created being swallowed up and taken away by the current, immediately became vigilant. The night is also the time when the fish sleep, what drove these small fish out of their nests? Snake, or otter?

Both are dangerous for children, and snakes can be poisonous. And otters can carry the dangerous rabies virus. He raised a hand and put it on his holster.

Then he saw Beelzebub and Sasha.

The first instinct of the regiment commander was to see if the two children were injured, and then he realized that the two seemingly calm young men were not as conformist as he thought, and when they approached him, it occurred to him that they might have heard everything he and Charlie had just said - but so what? Just tonight, his son, his Charlie, had already confessed in front of everyone that he was gay.

And he was a gay father.

He knew he should reprimand the two daring little ones harshly, but he found that his head was empty. Extreme frustration made him not want to say anything.

Sasha approached the regimental commander and reached out to press his bare, hairy arm.

A...... Feeling, wonderful. The good, from the place where he touches spreads wider and deeper, the tired, bitter ice melts quickly, the fence of guard is gradually removed, the pleasures of the senses and thoughts awaken slowly and truly like a plant lying in wait under the snow, your world is pure and immaculate. Colorful, there is a moment when you want to die instantly, so that you can stay in this moment forever - Chegalle. Bisandi once described it as something scarier than drugs, and he was not wrong at all.

Sasha didn't want to change the regimental leader's memory, making him think that it was stupid to think that he had never seen them sneak out of the water tonight. But he could adjust the order of the memories and bring the captain to see them a little earlier, so that they had half an hour to spare after dinner - the captain's memory would gladly welcome the change, and in any case, his conversation with Charlie was not suitable for a third person to know, as long as he wanted to. Memories automatically fill in the inconscionable parts for him, such as the difference between the sparkling golden water at sunset and the silver water that shimmers and jumps in the moonlight.

He used this technique on Pimp, Abby and the coach, the two children who were replaced after the "arrival", and he smashed a little nail in their minds and forced them to instinctively hate those two faces - in the daily newspaper, on the milk carton, on the telephone pole and on the wall, the slightest wiping of the corners of their eyes would make them irritable, who would deliberately remember what made them uncomfortable?—— Abby and his men were never able to recognize the two ticking time bombs.

The head of the regiment tried to identify the two men standing in front of him, Grande's students, Bisandi and Hopkins, who were hot and unopen by the reflection of the sun's rays from the river.

"What are you doing?" Bees buzzed in his ears, he said.

"Just want to clean up before going to bed." Sasha said.

The regimental commander was a little confused, because he remembered that they had already gone to sleep. He was making sure everyone had gone to bed before he ...... Charlie By the way, he wanted to talk to Charlie.

"Can we go back to the tent?" Beelzebub asked.

"What about Charlie?" The head of the regiment asked.

"Charlie in the tent." Sasha said, being careful not to recall the regimental commander's memories of the conversation.

"I love Charlie so much," said the regimental commander, "what about you, does Daddy love you?"

Beelzebub shook Sasha's hand, and Sasha shook him back: "Of course, Mr. Commander, they love us very much."

"So......" The regimental commander moved his feet a little hesitantly: "Will you lie to him?" Lie to your own dad?"

This time it was Sasha's turn to be silent: "...... Yes," he said, "Yes."

The head of the regiment shook his head incredulously: "Why did the son deceive his father?"

"Maybe he'll be punished for it," Sasha said.

"But I never punished him for anything," he thought for a moment, and there was genuine pain in his eyes: "I love him, he is the only thing his mother left me, we have nothing but each other, I change his diaper, feed him, carry him out in the sun, teach him to ride a bicycle...... I don't understand why he lied to me, in fact I had a hunch a long time ago, I asked him if he prefers boys to girls, he said no, he likes girls, he kept telling me that he likes girls, he likes/children, but the next day, he updated his meal, openly declared that he was gay, and then, like a little girl, showed love to a boy on the basketball court...... Why didn't he tell me?"

"So what do you do?" Sasha said, "If he told you the truth, take him to a psychiatrist?"

"Why not?" "I've read in books that boys, or girls, are interested in the same sex at one age — as long as ...... Guided that they will not become homosexual, they will fall in love with a person of the opposite sex normally, get married, have children, and live their lives peacefully. ”

"Charlie was still a kid," he said, "and he didn't understand what a gay guy was up against, he just wanted to be fashionable...... He'll understand. ”

He made a gesture with difficulty: "Sometimes, when I go to see him at school, I see someone coming across from him and deliberately hitting him with the shoulder, someone following him to shout sissy, homosexual, and use a horn to remind people that he is coming; He often receives malicious text messages on his phone, and if he replies, then more obscene words and threatening letters will fill his text box; He went to participate in club activities, and several ten-year-old boys surrounded him in the park and gave him a good beating; A friend of his, who had been watching, said nothing; No one invited him to dance, to skateboard, to swim, and they ran away when they saw him. For the whole holiday, he had to stay in the house by himself. ”

"Do you think that's good? That's the life he wants?" He shook his head again resolutely: "He will regret it, one day." But...... I'm his dad......"

His voice grew weaker, dazed, confused, and compelled to calm his mind, and he would be in a state of unconsciousness for a few minutes, enough for Beelzebub and Sasha to return to their tents.

"I think," Beelzebub said abruptly before leaving, "that he lied to you...... Maybe there's another reason," his voice was low, as if he was afraid of waking up the regimental commander: "He's afraid that you'll be disappointed."

((One second to remember)