Chapter 136 The Night Before Joining the Army

She solemnly handed the tightly clenched bills to the saleswoman and sincerely said, "Thank you, ma'am."

The saleswoman took the money and tickets, counted them, and muttered under her breath, "Ignore her. She's the kind of person who's spoiled."

The formalities were completed quickly.

Xu Zhili pushed a brand-new bicycle, a symbol of convenience and hope, with an excited Xu Zhian sitting on the back seat.

She cast a grateful glance at the group of people who had spoken up for her, and nodded.

Stepping out of the department store, the afternoon sun shone on me, dispelling the gloom from before.

She gripped the handlebars tightly, her resolve hardening: no matter how many thorns lay ahead, for herself and for An'an, she would walk steadily and firmly on this land, step by step.

A few days later, Xiangyang Brigade.

Xie Yunze's enlistment procedures are proceeding smoothly. He still goes to wait for Xu Zhili near the treehouse every day, but there seems to be something unspeakable in his eyes.

Xu Zhili keenly noticed his change.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Xie Yunze was caught between a reversal of dreams and fragmented memories, which made his sleep extremely restless.

He told Xu Zhili that he had been having strange, bizarre dreams every night for the past few days.

"In my dream, I heard gunshots, someone shouting 'Lie down,' and... a huge wheat field, the wheat waves were golden, very dazzling... When I woke up, I couldn't remember it clearly, and my head felt a little heavy, like I hadn't woken up properly."

He rubbed his temples, his brows furrowed slightly, carrying the confusion typical of a young man.

Xu Zhili noticed that Xie Yunze would occasionally fall into brief moments of contemplation.

Sometimes he would be washing his face by the river, staring blankly at the flowing water; other times he would be chopping wood, the axe raised in mid-air, his gaze drifting into the distance.

The pure, slightly naive boyishness that surrounded him seemed to be quietly settling, and a subtle depth and...heaviness appeared in the depths of his eyes?

When he came to his senses and met Xu Zhili's probing gaze, he would smile somewhat awkwardly before quickly reverting to his sunny and cheerful self, but that momentary pause had already been caught by Xu Zhili.

Once, when the village showed the movie "Heroes and Daughters", when Wang Cheng shouted "For victory, fire at me!" Xie Yunze's hands, which were on his knees, clenched tightly, his knuckles turned white, and his breathing became a little rapid.

After the movie ended, he remained silent for a long time before whispering to Xu Zhili, "Sister, just now... I felt really sad, and... I can't quite put my finger on it, it felt so tight."

Xu Zhili gently patted his arm, without asking any further questions, and simply said, "The stories of heroes always stir the heart."

She knew that this was not just the emotion brought about by the movie.

Two days later, under the treehouse, Xie Yunze did not immediately share the wild rabbit he had just caught as usual. Instead, he hesitated and said, "Sister... I think... I remembered something from the past."

He looked up at one of the beams of the treehouse. "I remember... this treehouse, it seems, wasn't built by me alone? In my dream... there was a figure helping me pass wood, not very tall, but quite strong, and his smile was a bit silly... Who was he?"

His eyes, filled with confusion and a desire for confirmation, looked at Xu Zhili.

Xu Zhili was startled. She knew he was talking about Xie Xiaohu, his best comrade-in-arms from the army and a fellow villager who had joined the army with him.

She suppressed her excitement and tried to calmly guide him: "Think about it again? What's his name? Or, what have you done together?"

Xie Yunze squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard to remember: "His name... I can't recall. I just remember... we trained together in the forest, I was incredibly fast, and he even teased me for not being as good at climbing trees as he was... Later..."

His voice suddenly choked, and his face turned slightly pale. "Then...it sounded like an explosion...very loud...very bright...and then...it was over..."

He clutched his head in anguish, not from the effects of the drug, but from the raw emotion torn apart by fragments of memory.

"My head hurts so much... and I feel terrible too..."

Xu Zhili quickly helped him sit down and gently comforted him, "Don't rush, take your time. If you can't remember, don't think about it for now. If you feel uncomfortable, lean against something for a while."

She looked at the boy's tense profile, contorted with pain, and felt a mix of emotions.

The effects of the Fruit of Life are working, but the process of restoring memories is itself like reopening old wounds, accompanied by immense pain.

The night before enlisting in the army.

Xie Yunze came alone to the threshing ground behind the village, a place he had been sitting quietly in lately.

The moonlight, like water, spilled across the open space.

He took out the empty glass bottle that he had kept close to his body and gently stroked the cool surface of the bottle with his fingertips.

In the past few days, fragments of memories have been flooding back like a tide, sometimes intermittently.

The smiling faces of comrades, the sweat during training, the whistle for emergency assembly, the battlefield filled with the smoke of gunpowder...

And then there were the heart-wrenching explosions and the sight of comrades falling...

All the images, sounds, and emotions, like a flood unleashed, assaulted his brain and heart.

The headache was persistent, but the heartache was even worse.

He learned who he was, the fierce battle, the heart-wrenching pain of losing his comrades, how he was wounded, how he was transferred to the rear, how he wandered through the chaos to reach the Xiangyang Brigade, and... the four years he had lost.

He is no longer the naive boy with only memories of being 15.

He is Xie Yunze, a 19-year-old soldier who has experienced life and death and carries responsibilities and pain.

Under the moonlight, his figure appeared exceptionally tall and, equally, exceptionally lonely.

His eyes were no longer the clear and bright gaze of a young man, but rather a deep, resolute look, filled with a profound sadness that had accumulated over a multitude of complex emotions.

He sat quietly, letting the tide of memories wash over him, digesting this earth-shattering change.

The next morning, at the entrance of the brigade headquarters.

Xu Zhili came early on purpose.

She knew that today was the day Xie Yunze would officially submit his final materials to the Armed Forces Department.

Xie Yunce walked over from a distance.

He was wearing a faded old military uniform, perhaps his only piece of clothing representing his past, and his steps were steady and powerful.

The sunlight fell on him, outlining the rugged features of a young soldier who had shed the last trace of childishness.

He walked up to Xu Zhili and stopped.

Their eyes met.

Xu Zhili clearly saw the earth-shattering changes in his eyes.

It is a composure forged through trials, a clear understanding of the world, and a steadfastness that chooses to move forward despite bearing a heavy past.

In his deep eyes, there was gratitude, complex and unspeakable emotions, lingering pain, and a determination to break free from his cocoon and be reborn.

He gazed at her intently, as if trying to etch her image into the depths of his soul.

A thousand words choked in his throat, finally turning into a deep and clear call with the magnetism of a mature man. It was no longer the innocent "sister" of a young boy, but a title that contained all the complex emotions.

"Comrade Xu Zhili."

His voice was calm, yet contained immense power.