Back To The 80s-Chapter 96 - 95: Ruyi_1

Gu Xiaobei wiped her tears with the back of her hand, sniffled loudly, and opened the door to find Guo Huaqiang standing there.

Guo Huaqiang had come home to bring food to Xiangmin and heard Gu Xiaobei’s loud crying from the doorstep. Thinking of Lu Zhanguo’s current mission and the instructions he had given before leaving, he couldn’t help but come to check on her.

"Sister, are you okay?" Guo Huaqiang asked with concern, looking at Gu Xiaobei, whose eyes were all red.

Gu Xiaobei replied with muffled voice: "I’m fine."

Guo Huaqiang thought for a moment and said, "Don’t worry too much. Zhanguo has lots of combat experience. He’ll be fine."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaobei calmly asked, "Did they really go to the battlefield?"

"Don’t worry, he’ll be fine."

Gu Xiaobei’s face showed no expression, other than the redness of her eyes from crying. She said, "I know. Lu Zhanguo even promised to help me plant cabbages."

At this, Guo Huaqiang felt a sudden tightness in his chest. He was unable to speak for a moment. Finally, he managed to say, "He will be fine for sure." He was not sure whether he was comforting Gu Xiaobei or himself.

After sending Guo Huaqiang away, Gu Xiaobei washed her face. Crying had made her feel much better.

Just after noon, Qin Li arrived in a hurry.

Seeing Qin Li’s face all red and sweaty, Gu Xiaobei was astonished. "It’s so hot out, did you run all the way here?"

"Yes, please give me a jar of water. I’m about to die of thirst." Qin Li wiped the sweat from her face.

Gu Xiaobei quickly poured her a glass of cool boiled water: "Is your sister still in the hospital?"

Qin Li drained her glass in one gulp, wiped the beads of water from her mouth and said, "She’s getting discharged tomorrow. We’re going home after that, so I came to see you."

"Why don’t you stay here tonight? Lu Zhanguo is away on a mission." She especially wished for company at this time.

"Good, that’s what I planned to do." Qin Li responded without hesitation.

Time flew as they chatted. In the cool of the afternoon, Qin Li and Gu Xiaobei decided to pick some vegetables from the garden.

As soon as they left, they saw Chi Xiaoyue and Xiangmin returning from the vegetable field, with Xiaoyue even helping with a basket of vegetables.

With the knowledge that she wouldn’t gain anything worthwhile from Gu Xiaobei, Xiaoyue pretended not to see her, while Xiangmin shot Gu Xiaobei a sympathetic look.

Gritting her teeth, Gu Xiaobei shot her a stern glare before heading with Qin Li to the vegetable field, infuriated by the condescending look.

Then she suddenly remembered something and asked Qin Li: "Don’t you know them?"

"I don’t. What’s up?" Qin Li was sure she hadn’t seen these two women before.

"When we went to the hospital to see your sister, those two were in front of us. They said they were going to see your sister, too." Gu Xiaobei found it strange.

"That’s not possible. Only you two came that morning. In the afternoon, several of my sister’s comrades visited." Qin Li said.

"Oh." It intrigued Gu Xiaobei why these two had lied about going to the hospital.

Qin Li, like Gu Xiaobei, had a particular liking for chili peppers. They fried a large plate of scrambled eggs with chili for dinner, made a dish of braised eggplant and steamed some rice.

Qin Li’s mouth was red from the spicy food, and she kept complimenting on how delicious it was. On the other hand, Gu Xiaobei felt her food was difficult to swallow. Recently, she had been experiencing a loss of appetite. It felt as though there was a stone being pressed down in her stomach.

After dinner they decided to take walk in the yard. After coming back and washing up, they prepared to sleep.

Neither Gu Xiaobei nor Qin Li could sleep. Gu Xiaobei couldn’t help herself and asked Qin Li, "So, how has Jin Cheng been lately?"

"I don’t know, I heard that he’s about to get married." The monotony in Qin Li’s voice was palpable.

This surprised Gu Xiaobei: "Married? To that woman from the Cultural Centre?"

"Uh-huh, my mom told me. Aunt Jin said they would marry in winter."

Gu Xiaobei felt pity for Qin Li. Looking at Qin Li lying next to her, she couldn’t help but hold Qin Li’s hand.

"Sister Xiaobei, I’m fine." Qin Li gazed at her earnestly.

"You silly kid, why do you have to be so naive?" sighed Gu Xiaobei.

Qin Li stared at the ceiling and exhaled, "I plan to go to Capital City after the New Year, and then never come back."

Gu Xiaobei felt Qin Li was stronger than her. If she were in the same position, she doubted she could be so easy-going.

In a quiet corner of a park in T City stood Jin Cheng. He was dressed in a patterned shirt, bell-bottoms, sporting a flat top haircut, with large sunglasses, quivering slightly.

Shen Heng wore a stern expression, "Take those glasses off. It’s dark out, and you’ll trip."

"Brother Heng, did you want to talk about something?" Jin Cheng obediently removed his glasses, his face dropped the flippant act and was all seriousness.

"I heard you are getting married to Jiang Lihua?" Shen Heng asked.

"My mom has been pestering me day and night. I have to give her an answer." Jin Cheng casually shrugged.

"Why not that young girl? Didn’t she follow you all the way to Capital City?" Shen Heng remembers the smitten girl with big eyes that chased Jin Cheng to Capital City.

"I can’t ruin her life." Jin Cheng’s eyes flashed a glint of pain.

Shen Heng remained silent for a while before speaking, "How are things on Fuhai’s side?"

"I’ve sneaked into the warehouse three times but found no secret compartments. Gao Dailin has been coming almost every day, but Ling Yun has not shown up for several days." Jin Cheng’s face was serious when discussing work.

"Be careful. Keep your eye on Li Hao and Wang Chuanjiang. They may be used as cannon fodder when the time comes." Shen Heng lit a cigarette. He remembered assuring Lu Zhanguo about wrapping the case up in three months, but now they were at a dead end. Even though they knew who the bad guys were, they couldn’t make an arrest.

When Gu Xiaobei got up the next morning, she noticed serious dark circles under her eyes. She saw the same on Qin Li. When their eyes met, they couldn’t help but laugh.

After a simple breakfast, Gu Xiaobei accompanied Qin Li to the bus stop only to bump into Li Juan and her parents who were also heading to town.

Ever since she found out that Lu Zhanguo had a higher rank than Wen Dong, Zheng Chunhua’s demeanor towards Gu Xiaobei changed. She enthusiastically said, "Ah, you guys are also going to town."

Because of accepting money from Gu Xiaobei, Li Juan felt a bit embarrassed and didn’t say a word. Gu Xiaobei politely smiled and nodded.

Though she strongly disliked Li Hao and Li Juan, Gu Xiaobei was also displeased with Zheng Chunhua. She was curious about why Li Juan’s parents still had not gone home. Apparently, because Li Hao’s couple stopped giving them 20 bucks each month, they refused to go back.

After sending Qin Li off, Gu Xiaobei started to restrict her outdoor activities and focused on translating manuscripts.

By the end of July, Lu Zhanguo had been away for over 20 days. Every day, Gu Xiaobei tried to comfort herself, thinking that no news was good news.

On the 1st of August, it started to rain early in the morning. Gu Xiaobei recalled Li Fengmei’s words about planting cabbage and radishes around the beginning of autumn.

When she thought about not hearing from Lu Zhanguo, she couldn’t help the tears welling up in her eyes.

While she was lost in thought, a heart-wrenching cry echoed from below. The sudden cry gave Gu Xiaobei a jolt, and she ran out of the room. At the staircase, she saw three unfamiliar soldiers, and a dejected-looking Guo Huaqiang standing in the rain.

Gu Xiaobei was not a fool. She had some idea of what was going on. Her legs gave out, and she slid down the stairs to slump on the wet steps...