Chapter 81 Why Are You Crying?
Xie's mother's body swayed, and Gu Qiuyue subconsciously held her tightly. The old woman held her daughter-in-law's arm tightly, her knuckles turning white, and her cloudy eyes stared at Gu Qiuyue, as if she wanted to confirm from her face whether this news was just an absurd nightmare.
Time seemed to have frozen, and only the heavy and suppressed breathing of Xie's mother was clearly audible. Gu Qiuyue could even feel the string in the old woman's body, which was stretched to the limit and vibrated violently.
However, the expected collapse did not come.
After a few seconds of dead silence, Xie's mother took a deep and long breath, as if to suppress all the panic and despair into the deepest part of her lungs.
She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, although there was great pain and fear in her eyes, there was strangely a hardness that was almost rock-hard. She even straightened her slightly hunched back.
"Lost contact... for over a week?" Xie's mother's voice was unusually low and hoarse, yet it held a chilling calmness. "Then... what about your father? What else did Changzheng say?"
"Dad... Dad got so angry when he heard the news that his blood pressure... suddenly shot up. He's now in the military district headquarters..." Gu Qiuyue's voice was choked with sobs.
"Okay... okay..." Mother Xie said "Okay" twice, but her voice was shaking. She patted the back of Gu Qiuyue's hand with force, and the force was full of unquestionable determination. "Don't panic, Yueyue! We can't panic. Shiyu is a tough kid. He has been in the army for so many years. What storms and waves hasn't he seen? A sandstorm... A sandstorm can't trap him. He will definitely make it."
She seemed to be trying to persuade her daughter-in-law, but it was more like she was trying to persuade her own heart, which was almost broken. "Let's go! Let's go to the hospital to see your father first. This old man doesn't even know his own health? He's still worrying and making trouble!"
Mother Xie spoke very quickly, with almost strict self-control, and quickly turned around and ordered: "Huahua! Shuangshuang! Listen to grandma and play in the yard. Don't run out. Grandma and mom have to go out for something." She even did not forget to pick up an old cloth bag hanging by the door, which always seemed to contain some change and emergency items.
"Mom..." Gu Qiuyue looked at her mother-in-law's back which straightened instantly. Her thin body was like a flag standing against the wind, supporting her crumbling sky. A huge sense of sorrow and dependence surged in her heart, and tears finally burst out uncontrollably.
"Why are you crying?" Xie's mother turned around suddenly, her tone stern, her eyes red. "Is crying any use? Wipe yourself dry. Now is not the time to cry. Your dad is waiting for someone over there, and Shi Yu is also waiting for us... Stay calm!"
Her rough fingers, with irresistible force, wiped away the tears on Gu Qiuyue's face. The movement was a little heavy, but it conveyed a burning power. "Go!"
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law hurriedly locked the courtyard gate. Just as they reached the entrance of the alley, they saw Gu's father and mother coming towards them with anxious expressions. It was obvious that Gu Qiuyue had taken the time to call home when she was panicked.
"Yueyue! Mother-in-law!" When Mother Gu saw her daughter's pale face and red eyes, her heart tightened. She rushed up in two steps and hugged her daughter in her arms, "My child... don't be afraid, don't be afraid, mom and dad are here." She patted Gu Qiuyue's back with heartache, and her voice was also filled with tears.
Father Gu's face was solemn. He said to Mother Xie in a deep voice, "Mother-in-law, we have heard Yue'er's brief account of the matter over the phone. Shi Yu is blessed with good fortune, so he will be fine! How is Father-in-law doing?"
"He's lying in the hospital. His old illness has come back, and it's urgent." Xie's mother spoke succinctly, but the anxiety in her eyes overshadowed the sadness. "My dear relatives, our two little ones... Huahua and Shuangshuang are still playing in the yard. Could you please go over and look after them first? Yueyue and I need to go to the hospital quickly."
"Of course!" Gu's father responded immediately, his tone firm. "Go quickly. Leave the child to us, don't worry! We'll take care of the house. Just take care of the hospital and... wait for news from Shi Yu."
Mother Gu quickly let go of Gu Qiuyue and wiped her tears: "Yes, yes, yes! Go quickly! Yueyue, listen to your mother-in-law and don't panic. We will take care of everything at home!"
With the solid and reliable support of her parents, the panic in Gu Qiuyue's heart that was about to overwhelm her seemed to be forcibly separated by a layer. She and Xie's mother hurried to the military district headquarters under the worried gaze of her parents.
The smell of disinfectant in the hospital was pungent. Father Xie was lying on the hospital bed, his face pale and hooked to an IV drip. When he saw Mother Xie and Gu Qiuyue come in, his lips trembled and he wanted to say something, but only uttered hoarse sounds.
Xie's mother rushed to the bedside in a few steps, tightly holding her husband's hand, her voice surprisingly steady, with a soothing power: "Old man, why are you so anxious? The doctor said that you need to rest for your blood pressure.
The military academy is in charge of Shi Yu's affairs. That kid is a cat and has nine lives. Don't you know that? The strong wind and sand can't blow him away. You just lie down and lower your blood pressure quickly. Don't wait for your son to come back safely. You, as a father, lie down. What a shame!
Gu Qiuyue stood aside, watching her mother-in-law tucking in the corners of the quilt for her father-in-law while using the simplest yet most resolute words to dispel the gloom in the ward. Xie's father looked at his old wife with cloudy eyes, and his excited emotions seemed to slowly calm down in that unquestionable certainty. His breathing also became smoother, but he just held Xie's mother's hand tightly, revealing the turmoil in his heart.
After settling Xie's father, Gu Qiuyue's heart felt like it was being roasted on fire.
Lost contact! Over a week! In the northwest desert! Every minute and every second was torture. She couldn't bear to just wait passively.
The next morning, Gu Qiuyue ignored Xie Shiyu's mother's dissuasion and went straight to the military academy where Xie Shiyu was studying. She was greeted by a director of the Political Department named Li, about fifty years old. His face was serious, and his brows were filled with fatigue and worry. It was obvious that he had not had a good rest for many days.
"Comrade Gu Qiuyue, we understand your feelings very well." Director Li's voice was low and hoarse, and he gestured for Gu Qiuyue to sit down opposite him. "Comrade Xie Shiyu is a very outstanding student backbone. His safety concerns all of us.
Currently, the search and rescue command, jointly formed by the military academy and the Northwest Military Region, is operating at full capacity, devoting significant manpower and resources, including ground search teams, aerial reconnaissance, and even coordinating with experienced local herder guides. We are more eager than anyone else to find them."
"Director Li," Gu Qiuyue clenched her hands on her knees, her knuckles white, and tried to make her voice sound calm. "I know the organization must have done their best, but I... I implore you to tell me the exact location where he last lost contact, even just the general area. I... I want to go there in person!
I understand a little bit of the local language, I…” She was eagerly looking for any reason that could convince the other party, even if this reason seemed so pale and powerless in the face of the vast Gobi Desert.
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