Back To The 80s-Chapter 48: Meet _1 Again

The lunch Liu Ying prepared indeed tasted much better than what Liu Cuicui made, and it seemed to satisfy Ling Yun. Li Hao felt a sinking heart and mentally berated Liu Cuicui for her inability to even cook a decent meal.

Observing Liu Ying’s triumphant face, Gu Xiaobei thought to herself that trouble was surely brewing for the company. Should her part-time job turned out reliable, she was ready to quit this job anyway—it wasn’t that she was particularly fond of it.

After work, Gu Xiaobei saw Qin Li pushing a bicycle and enthusiastically waving at her. "Sister Xiaobei, we’re heading the same way, let’s go home together."

Jin Cheng snorted coldly nearby, "One of you lives in the east and the other in the west. That indeed is going the same way."

With an eye roll, Qin Li defiantly retorted, "If I want to go the same way, I’ll go the same way. Sister Xiaobei, let’s go. I’ll ride the bike and you ride with me."

"Ah, how about we walk instead?" Gu Xiaobei suggested as she somewhat fearfully admired Qin Li’s towering height.

"Trust me, I am a good cyclist. Hop on," Qin Li said, straddling the bike with one foot on the ground and the other one prepared on the pedal.

After hesitation, Gu Xiaobei took a leap of faith, leaning sideways to sit on the rear rack. Once she was seated, Qin Li asked for her address. With a powerful push off the pedal, they were on their way.

In those days, the streets were mainly filled with buses, company vehicles, and bikes. With minimal traffic, Qin Li navigated through the streets with impressive speed.

A dozen minutes later, they arrived. Gu Xiaobei jumped off the bike, scolding playfully "You’re all skin and bones but surprisingly strong! Scared me half to death."

Qin Li let out a small chuckle, "Don’t worry, I’ve been doing this for over a decade. Now rush home. If I’m late, my mom will nag. See ya!" With that, she zoomed off on her bicycle.

Gu Xiaobei shook her head in bemusement and was about to enter her floor when she remembered she hadn’t done any grocery shopping. She immediately turned on her heel to head for the nearby market.

Just as she bought a slab of tofu, she heard a child crying loudly from a distance, drawing a small crowd. On a closer look, she saw it was the same child she had fed dumplings to in the hospital the previous day.

"Little Liao Zhe, where is your mother?" Gu Xiaobei asked, finding it hard to ignore the child’s tear-streaked face as he sat on the ground, bawling.

"Young lass, you know this child? He’s been crying for ages, and he can’t even speak."

"Right, seems like he got separated from his parents."

"Poor thing, if you’re going to take a small child out, you’d better keep a close eye on him," the crowd discussed amidst all the commotion.

Gu Xiaobei picked up the child and wiped his tears. She cooed at him, "Little Zhe, stop crying. Let’s just wait here for your mom. Okay?"

Exhausted from crying, Little Liao Zhe blinked up at her with tear-filled eyes.

People beside her also started offering advice, "If the child’s mother doesn’t show up soon, you might want to take him to the police station."

"Yes, miss. If you know where he lives, you could take him home."

"I don’t know his home. I only encountered him once in the hospital yesterday. If it comes down to it, I’ll take him to the police station," Gu Xiaobei told the crowd.

In the middle of their conversation, Liao Qing came rushing in, immediately holding Little Liao Zhe in her arms, tears flowing down her cheeks. "Little Zhe, if you had gotten lost, your mother wouldn’t survive."

"He’s safe now, so stop crying. You need to be more attentive next time when you go out," Gu Xiaobei comforted her as she handed Little Liao Zhe back to Liao Qing.

As she wiped her tears, Liao Qing thanked Gu Xiaobei, "I didn’t expect to see you again. Thank you."

Gu Xiaobei smiled mildly, replying, "You’re welcome. Just make sure to keep an eye on him next time."

Liao Qing nodded repeatedly, "Thank you so much. My child was sick and just got discharged from the hospital today. I thought I’d buy some meat to make dumplings for him since he seemed to enjoy eating your dumplings so much yesterday."

"Are you raising the child all by yourself?" Gu Xiaobei curiously asked, noticing ever since yesterday that it was always Liao Qing taking care of the child alone.

"Yeah, otherwise it wouldn’t be so hard," Liao Qing answered with a pained look on her face.

"Oh, be more careful in the future then," Gu Xiaobei said, feeling it wouldn’t be polite to pry further. Everyone had their own difficulties and secrets which they preferred to keep to themselves. She guessed Liao Qing was probably a single mother.

She continued with comforting words, went to the market afterwards, and then prepared to go home and cook. She considered her encounters with Liao Qing accidental.

When Gu Xiaobei got home, she cleaned up and started cooking dinner. She prepared the food only to find that Lu Zhanguo had not returned. With the food covered up, she lay down on the sofa reading a comic to pass time and unintentionally drifted off to sleep. By the time she woke up, it was pitch-black outside and Lu Zhanguo still hadn’t returned.

Rising to stretch her stiff neck, she had no appetite to eat. She sighed at the inconvenience without a telephone or cellphone.

A glance at the clock showed it was already eleven at night. She hastily freshened up and waited in bed, uncertain if he could return tonight.

It was past two in the morning when Lu Zhanguo returned. With light footsteps, he entered the room and headed straight for a shower. Upon coming out, he found Gu Xiaobei drowsily sitting on the sofa.

"Did I wake you up?" Lu Zhanguo asked as he sat down next to her.

Her head resting on his shoulder, Gu Xiaobei pouted, "I was worrying about you and unable to sleep when you didn’t come home."

Putting his arm around her shoulder, Lu Zhanguo reassured her in a low voice, "Next time, you don’t have to wait up. My work is like this—sometimes I may be gone for several days."

"I’m worried you’ll get hurt." Gu Xiaobei knew understanding was one thing and accepting was another.

After some hesitation, Lu Zhanguo said, "Xiaobei, I have to go on an urgent mission tomorrow. I won’t be back for about a month."

"Will it be dangerous?" Gu Xiaobei asked.

"Yes, but I’ll be careful," Lu Zhanguo replied honestly.

"Will you be writing a will?" Gu Xiaobei suddenly recalled a book about Special Forces she had read in her previous life. Before each mission, they’d write a will and hand it over to their superiors. If they returned alive, the will would be destroyed. If they were killed, it would be given to their families.

"Yes," Lu Zhanguo tightened his grip on her arm and said, "Don’t worry though, this mission isn’t that dangerous."

"Humph, if I see that will, I’ll remarry immediately," Gu Xiaobei threatened.

At the threat, Lu Zhanguo had the first ever desire to refuse a mission. Yet he assured her, "You can rest assured, I will return safely."

"Who’s going with you?" Gu Xiaobei asked out of curiosity.

"That’s confidential," Lu Zhanguo replied.

"When you come back, I plan to quit my job at this company and follow you back to the camp. Is that okay?" Gu Xiaobei asked.

"Yes, don’t worry. Everything will be okay. It’s late now, let’s go to sleep," Lu Zhanguo consoled her.

Thinking about the upcoming mission, Lu Zhanguo knew that although it wasn’t difficult, it was quite dangerous. They were dealing with drug traffickers on the border of Y Province. The criminals not only had a well-organized mercenary army, but intelligence showed that they were also equipped with superior weapons and technology.