Back To The 80s-Chapter 95 - 94: Passing the Day_1
Gu Xiaobei’s heart had completely sunk. She dejectedly followed Li Fengmei and the two children into the car. Seeing this, Li Fengmei let out a quiet sigh. Every military wife went through this stage.
After sending Li Fengmei off in the town-bound car, Xiaobei went once more to the wonton stall. She ordered a bowl of wontons but found today’s wontons tasteless to a ludicrous level. The filling felt unfresh. She choked down a few bites, finding her eyes going wet. She sniffled, finishing her bowl, but it took all her strength. She had promised not to waste food.
After the wontons, she listlessly walked to the bus stop. She hadn’t noticed the person walking towards her. The only warning Ad came in the form of startled yelp. Looking up, she discovered she had been the one to bump into them, her collision had sent their books scattering on the ground.
Xiaobei wasn’t in a good mood. She simply mumbled an apathetic, "Sorry," and carried on.
The person she’d bumped into, a young man, watched Xiaobei walk away, considering saying something but ultimately shook his head and crouched down to pick up his books.
On reaching home, Xiaobei sat at the table, staring blankly: This couldn’t continue. Last time Lu Zhanguo was away for a month, hadn’t nothing bad happened? She talked herself into this line of thought, slapped herself awake on the cheeks, picked up the book again, and started translating. But the words would not stick.
The day was passable, but the night brought with it heightened feelings of missing her husband, worrying about him, and fear. All of these, like little monsters, invaded her mind.
This went on for several days, in an excruciatingly slow drag. It was only then that Xiaobei’s brave heart receded, ever so slightly. After all, no news was often good news. And so, she hoped Zhanguo would suddenly return home one day, rather than anyone else bringing her any sort of news.
At this point, Lu Zhanguo and his entire squad were lurking in a border village called Mutuo. It was a place famous for infiltrations by the intelligence of Yue Country. The enemy even had a sniper hiding across the border, often shooting innocent villagers who went to fetch water from the river.
During their hideout, they had to stay completely still. If they were hungry, they would silently place a bite-size ration into their mouth, swallowing it slowly as there was no chance to drink water.
Located in the southwest of Y Province, Mutuo village was humid and muggy year-round. Summer exacerbated this heat. Mosquitoes and leeches ruled unchallenged. Lu Zhanguo and his soldiers lay still in the grass, covered in camouflage. Despite the sweat trickling into their eyes, they dared not blink, lest they miss anything.
Poisonous bugs unceremoniously crawled into their clothes, biting mercilessly. Not a single soldier made an attempt to scratch the bite or swat the bug away. Everyone remained as stationary as a rock, their eyes fixated on the enemy territory via the scope of their sniper rifle.
At this moment, Lu Zhanguo was worried about Wen Dong, who had led a team into enemy territory to capture the spies. The area was heavily mined and any misstep held deadly consequence.
Every day, Xiaobei would close herself at home, translating manuscripts and thinking of Lu Zhanguo whenever she had a minute. She had forgot about the existence of her own parents until the guard lead Tian Qiumei and Gu Weimin to their door.
Xiaobei looked surprised at the sight of the two holding a child. "What brings you here?" she asked.
Chen Qiumei disdainfully looked over the room before speaking with a stern face. "You’re my daughter. If you won’t visit us, are we not allowed to visit you?"
With the child in his arms, Gu Weimin sat at the Eight Immortals Table and said, "Xiaobei, we still don’t know the situation with your brother. They don’t allow us to visit either. We were hoping you could talk to Lu Zhanguo, maybe he knows someone who could help and arrange for us a meeting."
Their agenda was pretty clear. Gu Xiaobei kept a poker face and stayed silent.
Chen Qiumei, seeing this, angrily patted Xiaobei on the back. "Have you no conscience," she shouted, "Did getting married cause you to forget your parents?"
Xiaobei’s anger flared at the contact. With a blank face, she retorted in a cold tone, "If you insist on saying that, then yes!"
"Look at this insolent child, getting all big-headed, aren’t you? I always said daughters are useless. Throwing water out, aren’t they?"
Xiaobei sneered inwardly. Aren’t you that water thrown out too, mom? How could you forget?
Gu Weimin holding the child reprimanded Chen Qiumei, "Lower your voice. You’re frightening the kid. And besides, you want everyone in the neighborhood to hear you?" He then turned to Xiaobei and said, "Why not ask for Zhanguo’s opinion?"
Xiaobei shot back coldly:"Lu Zhanguo is on a mission, when he will return, I don’t know!"
Gu Weimin didn’t say anything more. Not Chen Qiumei. Still sulking, she snapped, "Wait until the day you’re a widow. We’ll see then!"
Xiaobei was incensed. The constant anxiety and worry over Zhanguo from last few days sparked by her mother’s words. "Dad, you heard her," she retorted. "Today, let me make this clear. I’ll send you ten yuan a month from today. But keep out of my daily life." She took out ten yuan from her pocket, placing it on the table.
Chen Qiumei stared, aghast. She screamed, "What are you saying? You don’t want to recognize your parents anymore, is that it? Now you’re blaming me and your brother?"
Little Liao Zhe- the child they’d been carrying- began crying from Chen Qiumei’s loud scolding. Xiaobei continued in her cold voice, "Take your kid and leave. Even if we run into each other on the street in the future and I fall and get bloody, we don’t recognize each other." Saying this, she walked over to open the door.
"Fine, Xiaobei. I didn’t expect you to be so heartless." Gu Weimin, embarrassed to his core, carried the child and led Chen Qiumei out of the house.
As she was leaving, Chen Qiumei gave Xiaobei one last glare. She picked up the money on the table and pocketed it before hissing, "White-eyed wolf. I can’t wait to see the day when you cry."
After watching them leave and closing the door behind them, Xiaobei started crying by the door. Since coming into this life, she’d never cried with such heartbreak. She pitied the original soul while enduring her worry for Lu Zhanguo. If there was one thing she wanted having lived two lives, it was the warmth of a family. In her previous life, her parents died in a car accident when she was five. From then on, she lived with her uncle’s family. Her aunt never hit or scolded her but tormented her with verbal abuse. Her cousin would set traps to frame her every now and then. Even her uncle would pretend he couldn’t see it. She knew well enough that the reason they were willing to look after her was for the sake of the compensation that had come with her parents’ deaths and their house.
Starting from the age of five, she slowly learned to discern other’s feelings through words or actions, how to be charming, how to put on a smile even though her heart might be crying. She could consume all of the bitterness thrown at her, but not the warm and sweet picture of a happy family.
Whenever she saw a sweet family of three feasting at a restaurant outside a glass window, she could hardly stop the tears. She wanted to see her parents. She desperately missed them!
The curse from Chen Qiumei today scared her. If Lu Zhanguo were gone, what would she do? She loved him. In Zhanguo, she found a feeling of security and warmth. Unable to stop the sobbing, she burst into tears.
In the middle of her inconsolable sobbing, a knock came from the door behind her.
