Chapter 56
Volume 5, Chapter 5 of "The Return Journey is Like a Rainbow"
A hospital ward in an industrial city in northern China.
Gu Niansheng held the telegram, which had been passed around and contained news of his brother's critical illness, his hands trembling so much he could barely hold the paper. Mei, supporting him, and the two, filled with immense fear and hope, followed the address to the ward.
Pushing open the door, Gu Niansheng froze on the spot when she saw the emaciated figure on the hospital bed, a stark contrast to the brother she remembered. Her heart seemed to freeze instantly.
Ah Xiu stood up and looked at the couple whose characteristics matched Gu Xiuyuan's description. She already understood most of the situation.
Gu Niansheng's throat bobbed, and the name he had called out a million times in his heart, tinged with nearly twenty years of bitterness and uncertainty, trembled as he squeezed it out from his lips: "Brother...?"
On the hospital bed, Gu Xiuyuan's eyelashes trembled violently, as if he had used all his strength to turn his head toward the source of the sound. His cloudy gaze struggled to focus on Gu Niansheng's face, a face etched with the marks of time yet still faintly recognizable with the features of his past, which overlapped with the image of his younger brother that he had seen countless times in his dreams.
"Nian... Sheng...?" The breath was faint, yet heavy as a thousand pounds.
"It's me! Brother! It's me!" Gu Niansheng could no longer hold back. She rushed to the bedside, tightly grasping her brother's withered, cold hand, as if trying to transfer her strength to him. Tears streamed down her face, splashing onto the white sheets. "I found you... I finally found you all..."
Ah Xiu turned her back, covered her mouth, and wept with joy. Mei's eyes also reddened, and she silently shed tears.
Gu Xiuyuan was too weak to speak, but he squeezed his younger brother's hand tightly and repeatedly, hot tears streaming down his face from his sunken eyes. All the searching, all the suffering, had found its answer in this moment.
In her excitement, Miss Mei instinctively reached out to comfort her husband, and the dragon scale bracelet tied with a red string slipped from her sleeve. At the same time, Ah Xiu, also overwhelmed with emotion, unconsciously straightened the corner of Li Junwu's quilt, revealing the dragon scale bracelet on his wrist, which was also wrapped in coarse cloth but was slightly loose due to his thinness.
Two dragon scale bracelets, each carrying family memories and having survived countless tribulations, each protecting one of the brothers, stood silently and miraculously facing each other in this hospital room filled with the smell of medicine.
Without words, the keepsake told the story of all the vicissitudes of life.
Gu Xiuyuan looked at his younger brother, his gaze finally settling on the familiar bracelet. A weak yet serene smile slowly spread across his face, like the moon emerging from behind clouds. He had fulfilled his parents' wishes, found his lost brother, and had no regrets in this life.
Outside the window, the north wind whistles through the fallen leaves, rushing towards the distance. Inside, brothers who have been separated for twenty years and have experienced countless joys and sorrows finally hold hands tightly. All the past grievances, affections, hardships, and glories settle and are released in this moment, ultimately... vanishing with the wind.
Global End
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