Looking around at the pitch black surroundings, I became even more frightened.
"Grandma..." he suddenly called out, his voice trembling with tears, but only silence answered him.
"Grandma...I...I want to go home, I want to go home." Song Jianguo kept repeating this, struggling to keep his body upright as he stumbled and staggered towards home.
It's unclear what Song Jianguo was thinking, but after arriving at the Fifth Brigade, he didn't go home immediately; instead, he went to Song Lili's house.
Song Lili had just arrived home and was planning to wash up and go to bed when she unexpectedly heard Song Jianguo's voice in the yard.
Song Jianguo grabbed Song Yongren's arm and sat down on the ground, looking very disheveled. "Uncle, where's Lili? I need to see her."
Song Yongren pulled Song Jianguo with concern, saying, "Jianguo, get up first. The ground is cold, and you'll easily catch a cold. Get up quickly." In his heart, he was extremely worried.
Song Yongren knew his nephew's personality. It was so late, and he came to see Lili like this. He didn't know what was wrong with him.
However, Song Yongren felt that there was a high probability that Lili was there to cause trouble, since Song Jianguo had never been able to get along with Lili peacefully before.
"I won't get up, I can't get up, Uncle, please let Lili out right now, I need to see her!" Song Jianguo shouted hysterically.
"Okay, okay, I'll call her out. Get up, I'll go call her," Song Yongren coaxed.
In fact, Song Yongren had no intention of calling Song Lili; instead, he prayed in his heart that Song Lili hadn't heard these voices.
However, his idea was ultimately unrealistic. Song Lili must have heard it; Song Jianguo's voice was so loud.
She put on her shoes and slowly walked out. "What do you want?" she asked, wondering to herself.
Did Song Jianguo find out? Did he discover that she hired the people who beat him?
But that shouldn't be the case. Song Jianguo's head was covered, how could he possibly find out? Unless someone tipped him off.
"Lili, Lili, I... tell me, what you said that day wasn't true? You were lying to me, weren't you?" Song Jianguo rushed over to Song Lili as soon as he saw her.
He kept pressing Song Lili with questions, seemingly desperately wanting an answer, an answer that could comfort him.
Song Lili breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out she hadn't discovered anything!
Otherwise, Song Jianguo would probably become even more rebellious and there would be no way to bring him back.
"None of what you're saying is true. You're just trying to scare me, aren't you?"
Song Lili thought to herself, "Even if I'm trying to scare you, I won't tell you. If you find out, how am I supposed to bring you back?"
She ruthlessly poured cold water on Song Jianguo's enthusiasm, saying, "Of course I'm telling the truth. Why would I lie to you?"
"Besides, do you think I would be so bored as to lie to you about something like that? I wouldn't tell you this if I wasn't afraid you would drag me into it."
Song Lili said, half-jokingly, "You should know what kind of relationship we have, right?"
"Do you think I would kindly tell you a lie given our relationship? If I could, I wouldn't want to say a single word to you."
The half-truths convinced Song Jianguo completely, and he lost all hope of getting away with it.
"What should I do? What should I do? I... I don't want to be criticized and denounced, I... I don't want to become like that, I... I'm so scared."
Song Lili looked coldly at Song Jianguo, "Since you've already done it, what's there to be afraid of? Aren't you quite powerful following Luo Juan? What are you afraid of?"
"No, she's lying to me. She's just using me. She's using me to get back at you." Hearing this, Song Jianguo became even more distraught.
Then, as if he had found a basis to negotiate with Song Lili, he said, "Yes, she will retaliate against you, and she will target me because of you."
“You have to help me. I don’t want to be locked in a dark room or a cowshed. It’s dirty and smelly there. I don’t want to go.”
"When you treated others like that, didn't you ever think that you would end up like that yourself? I see you're having a great time, aren't you? Well then, keep going."
Song Lili wouldn't let Song Jianguo see so easily; she actually just wanted Song Jianguo to calm down.
So, for now, she still treated Song Jianguo the same way as before, showing him no respect.
"No... I'm not going anymore, I'll never go again, I... I'll just stay at home and behave myself, I'm not going anywhere," Song Jianguo said fearfully.
He was genuinely terrified by his own imagination, and based on what he saw, he envisioned the worst possible outcome for himself.
I don't know why, but my first thought was to find Song Lili, as if Song Lili could help me.
"Lili, please help me, I... please help me because I'm your cousin. I promise I'll stay home obediently from now on," Song Jianguo anxiously promised.
"Really? You really will stay home? Won't you revert to your old ways after a few days?" Song Lili asked deliberately, but in her heart she believed that Song Jianguo wouldn't.
"Really, I won't lie to you. If I do lie to you, I... hit me, you can hit me."
Song Lili found it amusing. It seemed she was truly determined, even willing to promise to hit him. It seemed her plan had succeeded.
“I originally thought that if I became a Red Guard, I could act chivalrously, punish bad people, and become a hero.”
“But someone told me that Luo Juan was using me, that she wanted to get back at you, and that I was her next target. I… I will never go to criticize and make revolution again.”
"I don't want to be locked up, and I'm afraid of being beaten and tormented. I just want to stay at home from now on," Song Jianguo said, crying.
"Alright, since you've said so, I'll help you." Song Lili warned worriedly, "But remember, you only have this one chance."
“If you run off and mess around with Luo Juan again next time, I definitely won’t help you. I’ll naturally have ways to protect myself then.”
"As for you..." Song Lili drawled, "then you'll have to leave it to fate. What happened to those people is what will happen to you. You'll be worse off than them if you live." Song Lili said ominously.
She did it on purpose, deliberately trying to scare Song Jianguo, so that he wouldn't feel there would be another chance.
She wasn't a firefighter; she had neither the responsibility nor the obligation to clean up after Song Jianguo time and time again.
Therefore, there is only one chance, it all depends on whether he can seize it.
"Okay, okay, I've got it. I definitely won't go there again. You can trust me, I won't." Song Jianguo nodded vigorously.
What happened tonight and before has really frightened him. All he wants now is a guarantee from Song Lili that he will be safe.
As for the future, he made the same decision: he would no longer go around causing trouble and would stay at home for his own safety.
He will be released when the criticism and struggle sessions end.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
