After an unknown amount of time, Ling Ruoke finally let go of Tan Peishi and raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
"I want to go home," she said softly, her voice hoarse. "It'll be dark at home, and Qingfeng will be worried if he can't find me when he comes back..."
“If it’s alright!” Tan Peishi called out to her.
"Peishi!" Ling Ruoke called out even louder, her swollen eyes fixed on her friend. "I know what you want to say, but I want to go home!"
Tan Peishi looked back at her for a long time before slowly moving away.
Ling Ruoke wiped away her tears, nodded to them, opened the door, and walked out. She was dazed and her vision was blurry as she descended the stairs, one step at a time.
"If possible!"
Tan Peishi screamed and watched as she tumbled down the stairs.
Tan's mother also rushed out, and the two of them ran down the stairs one after the other.
The two women were checking Ruoke's injuries when suddenly a man rushed up from below, pushed them aside, picked up Ruoke, and was about to leave.
"What do you want to do?" Tan Peishi hurriedly grabbed him.
"I'm taking her to the hospital, you guys come with me." With that, he shook off her hand and hurried downstairs.
"Peishi, I'm going to lock the door, you hurry up and follow me!" Mrs. Tan hurriedly turned around and went back to lock the door.
Tan Peishi, forgetting her tears, wiped her eyes and quickly chased after him. She was afraid the man would run away with Ruoke in his arms. She rushed downstairs, almost falling down the stairs herself. Fortunately, the man had just put Ruoke in the back seat and was climbing into the driver's seat.
Tan Peishi rushed over, opened the back door, and got in. Before she was even properly seated, the man started the car. "Wait, there's someone else!"
The man cursed, but still stopped the car.
Tan Peishi helped Ruoke to her feet and leaned her on her shoulder. Seeing the blood on Ruoke's forehead, she felt a surge of panic.
As soon as Mrs. Tan got in, the car sped off, driving all the way to the hospital.
The driver got out of the car, picked up Ruoke, and rushed into the hospital.
The doctor announced that Ruoke's injuries were only superficial and not serious. However, because she had been crying for so long and was somewhat exhausted, he recommended that she rest in the hospital overnight.
After the doctor finished speaking, Tan Peishi fainted and fell to the ground.
Instantly, chaos erupted again.
...
City A.
Like the bright moon leaning against the vast sky, I am watching the financial channel.
Suddenly, Cang Wei's phone rang. He glanced at the number and jumped up. "Hey... keep an eye on him, or you'll have to pay with your head."
After hanging up the phone, he sat back down heavily, his face grim.
Ru Mingyue knew that he had someone bring Ling Ruoke back to Z City. Although she didn't hear what they were saying, she knew from his answer that something must have happened to Ling Ruoke. She guessed it was a huge blow to her.
Ru Mingyue stood up and poured him a glass of water. She endured the excruciating pain in her chest. Turning around, she wore a faint smile. "Don't be angry, have some water."
She didn't offer any words of advice; she knew he neither needed nor allowed her to express her opinion.
Cang Wei took the water and drank it down in one gulp. He himself didn't understand. Seeing Ling Ruoke in such agony, wasn't that exactly what he wanted? But why did he feel so agitated when he heard that she had fallen down the stairs in her grief?
As Mingyue picked up her water glass, about to drink, he suddenly threw it to the ground, sweeping her glass to the floor as well. She stared at him in astonishment.
Cang Wei suddenly stood up, grabbed his coat, opened the door, walked out, and slammed it shut.
As Mingyue looked at the slammed door, she smiled bitterly. The bitterness and pain were deep within her heart; she had no right to complain of being tired or in pain.
Because it was her choice.
...
In the same hospital room, two close friends fell into a coma at the same time.
Mrs. Tan sat between the two hospital beds, her hair white with worry. She looked at one bed, then the other, wiping away tears, but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed…
Perhaps because she was in better health, or perhaps because she had received the blow earlier, Tan Peishi woke up before Ling Ruoke. As soon as she woke up, she saw the old woman sleeping by the bedside, her eyes still red and swollen, her face extremely haggard, and her brows furrowed in many places.
Tan Peishi's tears welled up again, but she kept taking deep breaths and swallowing them back.
Looking at her mother, she suddenly realized that she couldn't wallow in grief any longer. Fu Peigang wouldn't come back; even if she cried herself to death, he wouldn't return. But her father had passed away long ago, and now her son-in-law was gone. If she were to give up now, how could her mother possibly survive?
She sniffed, but her mother woke up with a start.
"Mom..." Tan Peishi called softly, trying to put on a smile.
Mrs. Tan touched her face. "How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"
“Mom, I’m okay. Mom, I’m sorry…” Tan Peishi slowly shed tears again, feeling so sorry for her mother.
She shouldn't have told her mother this terrible news. But she was alone at the time, and Ruoke wasn't around, so she had no choice but to tell her mother.
Mrs. Tan smiled and smoothed her hair. "Silly child, why are you apologizing to your mother? As long as you're alright, everything will be alright for me!"
But thinking of such a good son-in-law, she couldn't help but tear up.
Tan Peishi grabbed her mother's hand and squeezed it tightly. "Mom, from now on, we'll live together and never be apart again."
Previously, the mother wanted to give the young people some private space and refused to live together under any circumstances. She said that Xiao Fu was rarely home, and now that he was finally back, having an elderly person in the middle was very uncomfortable!
"Good, good!" Seeing that her daughter was finally feeling a bit better, Mrs. Tan was temporarily relieved.
The mother and daughter smiled at each other. Although the pain was still so deep, they knew they had to be strong to survive.
Ling Ruoke's situation is much worse than Tan Peishi's.
The blow came so suddenly and so heavily that she was completely devastated. Not only did she fail to regain consciousness, but she also developed a persistent high fever. Doctors were worried that the fever might cause brain damage.
She seemed to have imprisoned herself in her own dream, unwilling to wake up. She kept muttering incoherently, but refused to regain consciousness. The doctor said she was giving herself a self-suggestion, preventing her from waking up. If this continued, her life would be in danger.
Tan Peishi and her daughter were extremely worried. Every day, Tan Peishi would whisper encouraging words in her daughter's ear, hoping she could hear them and rekindle her hope for life.
She spoke until her mouth was dry and her voice was hoarse, but the person on the bed still showed no sign of waking up.
Fortunately, Ling Ruoke's fever gradually subsided on the third day. She woke up in the afternoon. "Peishi, I want to go see Qingfeng's grave."
Her voice was hoarse and so low it was almost inaudible.
"Okay. We'll go after you're discharged." Tan Peishi touched her face, holding back tears. Ruoke was very weak; she couldn't make her cry again.
Ling Ruoke's eyes were still somewhat unfocused, and her expression was blank. "When can I be discharged from the hospital?"
"That depends on you. Relax, get plenty of sleep and eat well, and you'll be discharged soon." But how to relax her mind? She didn't know. In fact, she felt her heart was already empty. So what was the difference between being relaxed and being narrow?
Ling Ruoke nodded seriously. "Okay."
After staying in the hospital for two more days, Ling Ruoke was discharged and went home. As the saying goes, a mental illness requires a mental cure; lying in the hospital wouldn't help, so the doctor allowed her to be discharged.
Ling Ruoke insisted on going back to their home and refused to go to Tan Peishi's place no matter what.
Tan Peishi was worried about her, so she packed her bags and went to her house to keep her company.
The martyrs' cemeteries are all located within the military compound; you can't just visit them whenever you want, you need to get permission first. Tan Peishi was urged by Ling Ruoke to make a phone call, and the military arranged for them to visit the next day.
They left the hospital in the morning, so they still had a whole day to kill.
Ling Ruoke retreated to her room and continued typing. Because of her emotional wounds, her novel was incredibly tragic, with several characters dying off. She updated it that afternoon, and within minutes, the comment section was filled with screams of despair. Seeing their cries of anguish, her heart ached terribly, yet she felt this pain was something she needed.
But she remembered her promise to Tan Peishi: to eat when it was time to eat and to sleep when it was time to sleep. However, how much she ate and whether she fell asleep were not guaranteed.
She wrote and cried all day long, and eventually became dehydrated.
Tan Peishi had to pull her away from the computer and force her to sit properly on the sofa, drink water, and watch TV. The TV program was switched to the entertainment channel, and it was a rather funny show. In the past, the two of them would have been laughing their heads off. But this time, they both seemed like children who didn't understand, showing no reaction at all.
Helpless, Tan Peishi had no choice but to cook dinner, and after they finished eating, she took her out to digest.
The two walked silently down the road, neither speaking. Even the air seemed suffocating.
“Peishi, I still feel like I’m in a terrible nightmare. I’m so tired and sleepy that I haven’t woken up yet. When I’m rested and open my eyes, I’ll hear Qingfeng’s gentle voice and see his gentle smile…” Ling Ruoke said absentmindedly, looking at the cars coming and going on the road.
Tan Peishi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The fact that she was willing to share her thoughts meant she was beginning to accept reality. She gave a bitter smile, her eyes almost welling up again. Taking a breath, she replied in a hoarse voice, "Me too. At first, I always thought they were all a bunch of bad people, all conspiring to deceive me..."
The excruciating pain she had felt at first suddenly became vivid again. Tears welled in her eyes, and she could no longer speak.
After a moment of silence, she continued, her voice trembling with tears. "Ruo Ke, how I regret not having a child sooner. If I had known this day would come, I would have given him a child much earlier. At least with a child by my side, I could live stronger. Now, now if it weren't for my mother, I really don't know how I could go on living... This feeling is so painful, so incredibly painful..."
Ling Ruoke deeply resonated with the sentiment. She tried to smile, but tears welled up in her eyes first. She gasped for breath and choked out, "Peishi, I regret it even more than you do. I didn't even do 'that' with him, let alone have a child. In the dead of night, I'm always filled with remorse, wishing I could go back and do it all over again."
Through tear-filled eyes, the two women looked at each other and slowly embraced. This cruel blow had bound them tightly together. Only by supporting each other could they have the strength to face the rest of their lives.
"If it's alright, let's live together from now on, along with my mother."
"Okay. Then we'll go to an orphanage and adopt a child, and raise him together. Even though he doesn't have a father, he'll have two mothers who love him, and he'll be very happy. What do you say?"
"Hmm. I want a boy, what about you?"
"Me too."
"..."
That night, the two slept in the same bed. They tossed and turned together, choking back sobs and tears, until dawn.
The next day, the military sent a vehicle to pick them up. After all, not just anyone or any vehicle can enter the secret special forces area.
From the moment Ling Ruoke got into the car, she leaned her head against the window, staring blankly out the window. She dared not close her eyes; if she did, she would be reminded of the past, and that was too painful. The scenery rushing past the window helped to distract her, and she could also use it to completely clear her mind.
Tan Peishi was in a similar situation. Inside the car, no one made a sound.
A suffocating silence.
When she saw the gates of the military region, Ling Ruoke finally came to her senses. Like a child arriving at a place she had long dreamed of, she wanted to see everything clearly. She wanted to remember this place; it was Qingfeng's favorite place, filled with his rich memories.
Perhaps, I will never have the chance to come again.
It's not quiet here; you can hear shouts of exertion and gunshots...
Seeing those people fighting in the distance, she couldn't help but imagine the scene of Qingfeng fighting with someone, as if it were really happening right before her eyes...
Cemeteries are always desolate and sorrowful. No matter how well they are maintained, they remain desolate. Because the hearts of the living are already desolate.
A vast forest of tombstones, densely packed. Beneath each one lies a hero, who once used their blood to protect the peaceful lives of ordinary people. Now, their bodies rest in peace. Are their spirits with their loved ones?
Ling Ruoke's legs were trembling uncontrollably, so weak they felt like jelly. She wondered if it was just her imagination, but she even heard the mournful cawing of crows, their calls echoing in her ears.
Tan Peishi was in slightly better condition than her, so she quickly reached out to support her.
Finally, they stopped in front of the tombstones. Huo Qingfeng's and Fu Peigang's tombstones were adjacent. The two women stood before their respective husbands' tombstones, speechless and choked with emotion, only tears streaming down their faces.
Ling Ruoke stood there, staring blankly at the photo on the tombstone, motionless for a long time. The person in the photo had handsome features and sharp eyes, but his expression was serious and without a smile. Yet she knew how gentle such a cold face could be—that gentleness belonged to her…
Slowly, Ling Ruoke reached out and traced the face in the photograph. Little by little, inch by inch, her fingertips were icy cold, devoid of any warmth that could comfort her.
Tears streamed down her face, and her legs gave way, causing her to kneel on the ground. That tall, upright man, with his broad embrace, unforgettable tenderness, and burning warmth… now only this cold, silent tombstone remains.
“Qingfeng…” she murmured his name, and finally burst into tears.
"Why? Why is this happening?" she cried out to the heavens, but no one answered her. Her parents were dead, Qingfeng was dead too… What had she done wrong? Why was she being punished like this?
Hearing this, Tan Peishi, kneeling beside him, slowly closed her eyes as well. That was the question she wanted to ask too. This was the cruelty of life; suffering torment without even finding an answer.
Ling Ruoke cried until her voice was hoarse, and she could barely make a sound.
As she was leaving, she stroked the person in the photo and murmured, "Qingfeng, let's go home."
Then, she fainted.
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