Chapter 569: Chapter 568: Oh Love
Back at Ten Miles Team, Lin Nianhe first returned to the Educated Youth Corps, then with her bedding in tow, went to inform Aunt Feng that Feng Wei and Su Yuncheng wouldn’t be coming back tonight because of work, and finally strolled to the team headquarters to call Wong Xiao.
As expected, the leader was working overti.
“Uncle Wong, is there anyone with you? Is it convenient to talk?”
Lin Nianhe’s mysteriously toned question startled Wong Xiao. Even though he knew there was no one around, he still looked around and even deliberately opened the doors and windows to check.
“No one here, Xiao Lin, go ahead!” Wong Xiao whispered, as if they were having a clandestine eting.
“Uncle, have you eaten?”
“…”
Lin Nianhe held back a laugh and quickly switched to the main topic after teasing:
“Uncle Wong, I just discussed with Brother Yuncheng. We can’t ignore the situation in the provincial city, so we’ve already sent soone to investigate. If you have so reliable friends over here, perhaps you could also gather so information. Let’s keep each other inford.”
Wong Xiao was stunned once again before he finally grasped what Lin Nianhe ant.
Rarely did he get angry at Lin Nianhe: “Miss Lin, why didn’t you co and tell sooner? I’m right next to the police station, just a short walk away, why did you have to go back first before calling ?”
She did inform him early because by now, he would have been eating his al!
Lin Nianhe: “It’s getting dark soon, I was afraid.”
Wong Xiao: “Well, well well… then you should go back!”
Uncle Wong’s anger fizzled out as he thought for a mont and said: “Old Feng should take care of this; he went to high school in the city and has many friends there… Don’t worry about it, I’ll talk to him.”
“Alright, then you should rest early.”
Lin Nianhe felt quite relieved with Wong Xiao.
Having playfully trapped Uncle Wong, Comrade Xiao Lin, clear-headed as ever, then called Comrade Old Lin to report the situation.
After listening to his daughter’s tale, Comrade Old Lin’s first reaction was—
“My girl! Did you get cut by the glass?”
“Ah? No, Brother Yuncheng was shielding .”
Relieved that his daughter was unhard, Comrade Old Lin then asked the second question—
“My girl, haven’t you eaten yet?”
“Uh… Dad, don’t you have anything else to ask? Sothing more important?”
Mr. Lin boldly retorted: “Isn’t it important that you haven’t eaten?”
Lin Nianhe: “…”
“I have eaten, Aunt Feng’s noodle soup… Dad, are you sure this won’t affect you and Mom in any way?”
“Ha ha ha, if such a person can cause trouble up to Beijing, then Su Yuncheng’s efforts would be in vain!”
Mr. Lin was not worried at all, and comforted Lin Nianhe instead: “Don’t worry, my girl, this really isn’t a big deal. You just focus on teaching the children, let Su Yuncheng handle the rest.”
Hearing her father say this, Lin Nianhe felt reassured: “Alright, then I won’t worry.”
She hung up the phone and returned to the yard where Su Yuncheng and the others lived.
Just then, Aunt Feng lifted noodles from the pot; she was busy working while saying to Lin Nianhe: “You ca back just in ti, co on, let’s eat.”
It really was noodle soup.
The mother and daughter dined happily. Lin Nianhe, not wanting Aunt Feng to worry about Feng Wei’s safety, rely ntioned that Shi Dongshan had caused too much disruption, which didn’t look good, so the battalion and the commune decided to hold them at the police station.
Aunt Feng was all smiles, viewing the matter with an open mind.
Before going to bed, Aunt Feng ca over with a hot water bottle and said, “Miss Lin, don’t be scared, anything cos up, co find Aunt Feng.”
“Eh?” Lin Nianhe put her book aside, eying Aunt Feng with a hint of confusion.
Aunt Feng saw she wasn’t planning on sleeping, and simply sat down on the edge of the kang, taking Lin Nianhe’s hand and saying, “Miss, Auntie has been through what you’re going through, I know what you’re thinking… When you’re a soldier, your life isn’t just your own anymore…”
Under the lamplight, Lin Nianhe listened as Aunt Feng shared her story.
Aunt Feng wasn’t particularly good at storytelling; her tone was even, void of overt emotion.
She simply spoke in a mild manner, about how she was introduced through a matchmaker to marry a soldier, how she single-handedly raised three children, and how she had to receive the ashes of her husband and two sons…
When asked why she didn’t stop Feng Wei from becoming a soldier, she just smiled and said, “He’s just like his dad, I couldn’t stop him, and I didn’t want to either.”
“Sigh… I figured, if there were no wars, there’d be no danger. But he still ended up never being at ho, more elusive and unseen than before.”
Aunt Feng gazed at Lin Nianhe, reaching out to gently touch her cheek, as if feeling her own self decades ago.
Aunt Feng didn’t cry, all the years of hard work simply culminated into one sentence: “You should rest early, my dear.”
Yet Lin Nianhe couldn’t sleep at all.
In the early hours of the night, she tossed and turned, thinking about her parents’ love story, during the years of war, on days they couldn’t see each other, they probably worried if the other was still alive.
She suddenly understood Mr. Lin’s aversion to Su Yuncheng —he knew better than anyone what it ant to marry a soldier, and he didn’t want her to endure the sa hardships;
She also understood why Aunt Lin was completely indifferent to Su Yuncheng’s career — she had experienced it firsthand and knew well that, though it was hard, she had no complaints.
In the latter half of the night, Lin Nianhe climbed off the kang, turned on the light, took a pair of scissors, and slowly but surely began cutting out the stamps Su Yuncheng had collected for her from the envelopes.
As dawn was about to break, Lin Nianhe yawned over the table full of stamps, and tiredly dozed off on the desk.
It’s uncertain how much ti passed, but suddenly, a soft noise ca from outside; Lin Nianhe was jolted awake and looked up to see Su Yuncheng outside the window.
He was returning at dawn, his shoulders dewy with moisture.
He saw Lin Nianhe by the window too.
Through the glass, they quietly looked at each other.
After a mont, Su Yuncheng parked his bicycle and quietly entered the house, brushing off the dew from his shoulders, and asked softly, “Haven’t slept all night?”
“Not sleepy.”
Lin Nianhe turned to him, opening her arms towards him.
Su Yuncheng’s ears turned red instantly; he cleared his throat, hesitated to step forward then quickly stepped back, “I’m cold, don’t want you to catch a chill.”
Lin Nianhe didn’t want to hear that, she stood up and threw herself into his arms.
She hugged his waist tightly, listening to his heartbeat, and whispered softly, “I’m much better now, I won’t catch a cold.”
That night, she thought a lot, her mind sward with all sorts of thoughts.
But the mont he appeared before her, her thoughts instantly cleared up.
He’s busy, and she’s the sa.
She waits for him, and he, too, waits for her.
Love, after all, is not a one-sided dependency, but mutual support.
Su Yuncheng hugged her, chuckling softly then gently pulling her out of his embrace as she glared and hurriedly took off his outer coat, then quickly pulled her back into his arms.
He asked, “Scared?”
She replied, “No.”
“Why don’t you sleep then?”
“Thinking about life.”
“How’s that going?”
“I realized I prefer soy milk and dough sticks for breakfast.”
“You catch up on so sleep, I’ll go buy them for you.”
“That’s alright… Autumn!”
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