Chapter 14 He is very angry
After tossing and turning all night, Gu Qiuyue leaned against the cold window frame, looking at the land that had been turned over but was still empty.
Plant something, she said to herself, anything will do, just to bring this lifeless piece of land to life. This thought was like an anchor, temporarily pinning her wavering mood to the ground.
Tap, tap, tap.
There was a knock on the gate.
Gu Qiuyue pulled open the bolt and saw Xie Shiyu standing outside. He was holding two stacked aluminum lunch boxes, which were steaming. He walked straight into the house and placed the lunch boxes on the only relatively stable old table.
"Eat it while it's hot." The voice was low and no emotion could be heard.
The lunch box contained thick and sticky white porridge and two simple white bread buns. The two of them ate in silence.
Gu Qiuyue raised her eyes several times, trying to find a trace of recovery from a serious injury on his calm face, but she only saw his military calmness.
Xie Shiyu neatly packed up his empty lunch box and picked up his military cap. "I'm going to the barracks and might not be back by noon. Someone might deliver furniture today. I'll ask Mrs. Zhang to help, and you can take care of the arrangement."
Gu Qiuyue put the tickets and money in her pocket, locked the gate, and walked towards the service center.
The service center in the family compound was not big. Gu Qiuyue picked out salt and a box of matches, and she had everything else in her space.
As she lined up, she could hear the whispers of the two wives in front of her: "Look, that's her. Tsk, she's pretty, and she's an educated youth. But I heard that Captain Xie didn't stay at home last night. He just went back to the camp with his bedding roll to squeeze into the dormitory."
"Is this true? They're already sleeping in separate kitchens on the first day of their marriage? Tsk tsk tsk, there must be something going on, right? Or maybe it's this new bride..."
"Shh! Caifeng, keep your voice down, she's looking over here!" The round-faced sister-in-law quickly pulled her companion's sleeve.
The cheekbone-bearing woman known as Caifeng glanced at Gu Qiuyue sideways: "Just look, you dare to do it, but you're afraid of what others will say?"
Gu Qiuyue was furious. After paying the bill, she walked straight to Caifeng and stood still. "Sister-in-law," Gu Qiuyue said in a clear and calm voice, "talking about others behind their backs is something we military families should be aware of. My son Shiyu returned to the barracks last night because he had to deal with some urgent military business. As for how we get along as husband and wife, it's not for outsiders to worry about it."
Gu Qiuyue was too lazy to argue anymore, so she picked up her things, straightened her back, and walked out of the service center.
Back in the courtyard, Gu Qiuyue was taking out the dishes from the space to wash them when Mrs. Zhang rushed in breathlessly, her face full of anxiety. "Sister, it's bad. That Li Caifeng has gone to the camp to complain to her husband, Old Wang. Captain Wang has a bad temper and must have gone to Captain Xie to cause trouble."
Gu Qiuyue's heart sank suddenly.
Sure enough, when Xie Shiyu came back, his military jacket was casually draped over his arm, with one button of his army green shirt undone, his forehead hair slightly wet, and no expression on his face.
"Captain Xie, you...you and Captain Wang..." Mrs. Zhang looked at him and blurted out what was on her mind.
"Yeah." Xie Shiyu replied calmly, "He was very angry, so I took him to the training ground to stretch his muscles. Now, his anger has subsided."
Soldiers' way of solving problems has always been simple and direct.
Gu Qiuyue looked at him, and Mrs. Zhang's words "he was seriously injured and almost died" exploded in her mind.
She rushed over to him, her voice trembling slightly as she suppressed her turbulent emotions, even taking on a sharp edge. "Xie Shiyu, are you crazy?!" She practically yelled, "Mrs. Zhang said your injuries haven't fully healed yet. You don't take your newly saved life seriously, do you?! You went off to fight with someone?! Do you think your life is too long?!"
She was so angry that her chest heaved violently and her eyes turned red uncontrollably. She didn't even realize how much concern was in her tone.
Xie Shiyu was stunned by her scolding.
In his memory, apart from that chaotic first meeting in the capital, she had always been calm, even distant. Now, she looked up, her cheeks flushed with excitement, and her usually calm eyes were filled with undisguised anger and... worry? Like two dancing flames, they burned straight into his eyes.
He stood there silently, not responding with a colder attitude as he had done in the past, but just looking at her and listening to her trembling rebuke.
Mrs. Zhang looked at this, then looked at that, and slapped her thigh: "Oh, my dear sister, Captain Xie is doing this for your own good. He doesn't want you to be criticized. But what you said makes sense. It takes a hundred days to heal a broken bone. You can't be careless."
She quickly winked at Gu Qiuyue and said, "Well, it's getting late. I have to go back to cook. You guys... talk it out nicely and don't quarrel!" After saying that, she slipped away as fast as she could.
The door closed again and the air seemed to freeze.
Gu Qiuyue's chest was still heaving as she stared at Xie Shiyu. Xie Shiyu raised his hand, as if wanting to rub his tense brows, but when his arm was halfway raised, he paused slightly and then put it down as if nothing had happened.
He met Gu Qiuyue's still angry gaze, and spoke in a low voice with a calmness that brooked no argument: "Rumors stop at the wise, but sometimes, fists are more effective than reason. I am aware of my injuries."
He stopped looking at her and turned to walk towards the smaller room. He stopped and turned sideways: "The rumors started because of the separation. They will start tonight. I will come back to sleep."
Gu Qiuyue turned silently and walked into her room, took out a spare quilt from inside, walked to the small room, and with a bit of anger, put the quilt on the bed frame in the room with a "dong" sound, then returned to her room without looking back and closed the door with a "bang".
As the night deepened, the simple bungalow had poor sound insulation. Gu Qiuyue lay on Cong's bed in the inner room, which had been simply made up, but she had no desire to sleep. The room next door was completely silent.
I don’t know how long it took, just when Gu Qiuyue thought he had fallen asleep, an extremely slight and short gasp suddenly came from the silence, as if the sound was so severe that someone was holding it tightly.
Then came the rustling sound of fabric rubbing against the bed board, suppressed and restrained, intermittent, as if someone was tossing and turning, trying hard to endure some kind of continuous pain.
Gu Qiuyue suddenly opened her eyes wide in the darkness, her heart seemed to be gripped by an icy hand. The suppressed and desperately controlled groan of pain was infinitely amplified in the silent night, clearly penetrating her ears and hammering heavily on her heart.
Just how serious was his injury? Was it just from that afternoon's "stretching muscles"? Or... was this injury far more serious than what Mrs. Zhang had said, or what she had imagined?
The darkness enveloped her like thick ink, and only the suppressed, intermittent sounds outside, like invisible hooks, tightly gripped her mind.
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