The two of them had missed dinner. By the ti Su Tang woke up again, it was the middle of the night.
Lu Xiao was in the kitchen cooking noodles, dressed in a tank top and shorts.
This was the scene that greeted Su Tang as she threw on so clothes and walked out.
"Didn’t you say you didn’t have any leave this month?"
She poured a glass of cooled boiled water and drank it, soothing her dry, hoarse throat.
Hearing Su Tang’s question, Lu Xiao turned his head to glance at her.
"I have to leave again in a bit."
"So soon?"
Su Tang was a little surprised. She thought Lu Xiao would be staying ho for at least two days.
Lu Xiao nodded lightly. "I heard Zheng Jinxin ca back. I was worried you’d get bullied, so I ca back this afternoon when there was no training."
As the saying goes, if you really want to see soone, anywhere is on the way.
’So what if it was a little more trouble for him?’
’Seeing his Tangtang was more important than anything else.’
"By the way, I passed the post office this afternoon and saw that Mom and Dad mailed you a letter."
"The letter’s on the table."
After he spoke, Lu Xiao went back to cooking the noodles. Su Tang set down her enal cup and pulled out the letter that was tucked under the kettle.
The familiar handwriting ca into view, and a warm feeling spread through Su Tang’s heart.
She and her father, Mr. Su, basically exchanged one letter a month.
The island was isolated, making correspondence very inconvenient.
But Mr. and Mrs. Su always shared only the good news and never the bad.
Su Tang suspected they might be having a hard ti adjusting to life on the island, but right now, that island was also the one place that could shelter them from the storm.
Su Tang clutched the thin letter, her heart feeling warm and fuzzy.
A letter from her parents was like a breeze from the island, carrying the scent of salt and the feeling of ho.
Leaning against the table, she carefully opened the letter by the faint light of the kerosene lamp spilling from the kitchen doorway.
From the very first few words, Su Tang felt sothing was off.
"My dearest daughter, Tangtang..."
’This handwriting... Why does it look like Mom’s?’
When Mr. Su wrote letters, his handwriting was just like him—neat and proper, with perfectly ford characters.
Mrs. Su’s handwriting, on the other hand, was more delicate, with slight curves.
Su Tang’s heart skipped a beat, and she quickly read on.
As she read, the warmth on Su Tang’s face vanished in an instant, like a receding tide.
Her fingers, clutching the letter, squeezed so hard that her knuckles turned white.
"Dad’s sick?"
Her voice trembled slightly, though she didn’t even realize it herself.
The letter was from Mrs. Su, and every line revealed a sense of forced strength.
It said that Mr. Su hadn’t been feeling well for a while, with a persistent cough that wouldn’t go away, but they had hidden it from her, afraid she would worry.
This ti, he had caught another cold and developed a fever that hadn’t broken for days. He had lost a lot of weight and was in very low spirits.
Mrs. Su wrote in the letter: "Your father’s constitution is weak; he pushed his body too hard when he was young. This ti, the fever has left him delirious, and he keeps muttering ’Tangtang.’ My heart... it’s just twisting in knots."
"Daughter, Mom’s so scared... scared that your father... won’t make it through this ti..."
That last phrase, "won’t make it through," pierced Su Tang’s heart like a needle.
"Mom said... Dad is very sick... she’s afraid he won’t make it..."
Su Tang looked up at the broad back in the kitchen.
The words ca out choked with sobs, tears already welling up in her eyes.
After all, when it ca to one’s parents, even the strongest person would panic.
Lu Xiao had been focused on the noodles in the pot, but when he heard her, the spatula in his hand stopped with a CLANG.
He spun around, his brow deeply furrowed. "What? Dad’s sick? Is it serious?"
Su Tang couldn’t speak. She just held out the letter as her tears finally fell, landing on the paper and spreading into a small, wet mark.
Lu Xiao crossed the room in two strides, took the letter, and quickly scanned it in the dim light.
His expression darkened as well.
Mrs. Su’s suppressed worry and fear seed to radiate from the very paper.
"No wonder..."
Lu Xiao muttered, carefully folding the letter and placing it on the table.
He reached out, pulled Su Tang into his arms, and clumsily patted her back. "Don’t be afraid, Tangtang. I’m here."
Su Tang buried her face in Lu Xiao’s chest and said in a muffled voice, "I want to go to the island! I have to see Dad! But... but my status..."
In the 1970s, having a capitalist family background was like a cursed headband. Traveling far from ho, especially to a strictly controlled place like the island, was next to impossible.
Letters of introduction, permits, layer upon layer of checkpoints—the thought alone was enough to make one despair.
Lu Xiao held her tighter, his chin brushing the top of her head. "Don’t you still have your man right here? Forgotten what I do for a living?"
His tone carried a reassuring certainty.
"Don’t worry, I can get all the permits needed to go to the island."
Su Tang shot her head up, looking at him with teary eyes. "Really?"
"Of course, it’s real. When have I ever lied to you?"
Lu Xiao nodded firmly, his eyes filled with tender concern. "The noodles are almost ready. You eat sothing first, get sothing in your stomach. I have to leave in a bit. You stay ho, pack your things, and request ti off from work."
"As soon as I get the permits, we’ll leave. We need to hurry up and pack."
Lu Xiao released her, turned around, and deftly scooped the cooked noodles from the pot into two large bowls.
He then picked up two eggs, cracked them with a TAP on the rim of the pan, and dropped them in to fry with a SIZZLE.
"Dad’s situation doesn’t sound good. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can rest easy. It’s better to be early than late."
"It could also be a false alarm. Don’t worry, our dad is a tough man."
Lu Xiao said, comforting Su Tang.
Watching Lu Xiao’s busy figure at the stove, Su Tang’s heart, which had been in a whirlwind of panic, slowly began to settle.
’That’s right. Even if the sky were to fall, Lu Xiao would be there to hold it up for .’
She wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. "Okay! I’ll go pack right now!"
She had to bring so things for her parents. The island was short on doctors and dicine, so she had to find a way to bring so dication.
Lu Xiao placed the golden-brown fried eggs on top of the noodles, drizzled so soy sauce over them, and brought the bowls to the small dining table. "Eat first! You need your strength to travel!"
Under the dim yellow light, the two bowls of steaming hot noodles with egg dispelled the chill of the late night.
Su Tang held her bowl, and the steam from the noodles made her eyes moisten again.
She looked at her husband across the table, who was wolfing down his food, and her heart felt a mixture of sourness and warmth.
"Lu Xiao," she called out softly.
"Hm?" Lu Xiao looked up, a smudge of soy sauce at the corner of his mouth.
"...Thank you," Su Tang said, her voice thick with emotion.
Lu Xiao paused for a mont, then smiled. He reached out and playfully ruffled her hair. "Your dad is my dad. We’re family; there’s no need for thanks between us."
After he finished eating, he rushed back.
Su Tang packed up their things at ho, and at daybreak, she went to the hospital to request leave.
Vice Director Jiang Kang frowned slightly when he heard Su Tang’s request.
"Xiao Su, I understand your difficulty, but... even if I approve your leave, how will you get there?"
Su Tang understood his unspoken words.
Her family background was the biggest obstacle.
"My husband has a way. Vice Director Jiang, thank you for approving my leave."
Su Tang thanked him sincerely. Vice Director Jiang waved his hand. "It’s only natural. Go on, hurry."
Su Tang headed straight ho after leaving the hospital and ran into Zhang Cui on the way.
As soon as Zhang Cui heard that Mr. Su was seriously ill, she didn’t say a word and just brought a bunch of things from her ho for Su Tang to take with her.
When Aunt Wang heard the news, she even brought over so ginseng that her family had been saving for a long ti.
Su Tang was too embarrassed to accept it all, but she couldn’t refuse their kindness, so she had no choice but to head ho, her arms full of their gifts.
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