Chapter 131 Willow Branches Welcoming Spring
"Alright, alright." Aunt Wu, still shaken, supported Nan Zhiyi's arm. "Zhiyi, let's go home quickly! Your body can't take this much commotion. You need to drink some calming soup when we get back!"
Nan Zhiyi forced a smile at Wu Ma and patted the back of her hand: "Yes, thanks to you for protecting me, Wu Ma."
Wu Ma's fierce verbal battle just now really gave her a lot of support.
"Hmph!" Wu Ma got angry just thinking about Wang Lili, and her voice rose a little higher. "If it weren't for the fact that you're pregnant, I would have slapped her twice across the face! What a piece of trash!"
Wu Ma helped Nan Zhiyi walk out, with Zhou Anping and Meng Qingshan following behind.
The group walked out of the backstage area in silence and got into Meng Qingshan's jeep.
On the way back, a subdued silence filled the carriage.
Aunt Wu looked at her with concern, occasionally asking in a low voice, "Are you feeling unwell?"
The car quickly drove back to the military compound.
The car stopped at the entrance of the compound, and Nan Zhiyi carefully got out with the help of Aunt Wu.
Zhou Anping also got out of the passenger seat. She lowered her head and was still tightly clutching the bunch of wilted willow branches in her hand.
She walked to Nan Zhiyi's side, head bowed, and said, "Zhiyi, I'm going back now. I'll talk to you again later."
Nan Zhiyi knew she was upset, so she nodded and said gently, "Okay, go back now and get some rest."
Zhou Anping waved to her, then turned and walked quickly toward the Zhou family courtyard.
Nan Zhiyi nodded to Meng Qingshan again to express her gratitude: "Comrade Meng, thank you for your trouble."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the Gu family's courtyard with Wu Ma's careful support.
As Meng Qingshan watched Zhou Anping's retreating figure without turning back, his heart felt like it had been thrown to the ground, but he didn't stop and quickly chased after him.
"Anping!"
Meng Qingshan caught up with her outside the Zhou family's courtyard.
She paused, but didn't turn around; her shoulders tensed slightly.
“Anping, listen to me.”
Meng Qingshan walked around to her, blocking her way. "I know you're upset right now. It's understandable that you blame me, resent me. It's all my fault! I didn't think things through, I... I've made you suffer."
Zhou Anping remained silent, head bowed, staring at the willow branch welcoming spring in his hand...
He rubbed his hands together helplessly. "Anping, don't do this... don't ignore me."
After a while, Zhou Anping raised his head.
Looking into his eyes, filled with anxiety and pleading, she finally managed to pry open the cold gate in her heart.
She sniffed: "But... what if Wang... she does this again next time..."
"No!" Meng Qingshan declared resolutely, as if making a vow. "Anping, I promise you! There will absolutely not be a next time! I'll handle Wang Lili. She won't utter a single word of nonsense again. Trust me, okay?"
Zhou Anping softened a little.
She nodded, her voice very soft: "Mmm."
Meng Qingshan's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
"Go inside and get some rest. I'll be waiting for you tomorrow."
Zhou Anping didn't say anything more, but nodded again and quickly walked into the Zhou family courtyard.
Meng Qingshan stood outside the door for a while before turning around and walking towards the jeep parked not far away.
In the Gu family's courtyard, Aunt Wu was deftly preparing a calming soup for Nan Zhiyi.
Nan Zhiyi sat on the sofa in the living room, her hand gently resting on her abdomen. The turmoil of the night had left her physically and mentally exhausted.
Before long, Aunt Wu came over with a tray, on which was a bowl of steaming calming soup, and two soft jujube cakes on the side.
"Zhiyi, drink this while it's hot to calm yourself down. Eat something sweet to soothe your nerves."
Nan Zhiyi thanked him, picked up the warm soup bowl, and sipped it slowly.
She glanced at the wall clock; the hands had already passed nine.
“Aunt Wu, it’s so late, it’s not safe for you to go home alone.”
"Hey, it's nothing!" Aunt Wu waved her hand. "My home is just in the alley outside the east gate of the compound, only a ten-minute walk away. I know the way very well."
Just then, bodyguard Xiao Li appeared outside the living room.
He had clearly heard the commotion and had been keeping an eye on the area.
“Sister-in-law, Aunt Wu,” Xiao Li stood ramrod straight, “it’s getting late, I’ll take Aunt Wu home.”
Nan Zhiyi nodded to Xiao Li: "Thank you for your help, Xiao Li."
"Of course, sister-in-law." Xiao Li stood aside, waiting for Wu Ma to finish packing the cloth bag.
Aunt Wu quickly finished tidying up: "Thank you for your hard work, Comrade Xiao Li."
She turned to Nan Zhiyi and reminded her, "Zhiyi, remember to eat the soup and snacks. I'll clean up the bowls tomorrow morning. Get some rest, okay?" Only then did she feel relieved and follow Xiao Li out the door.
The living room fell silent.
Nan Zhiyi sipped the slightly bitter yet sweet calming soup and slowly ate a piece of jujube cake.
The sweetness melts on the tip of the tongue, but it cannot dispel the heavy melancholy in my heart.
Why... does so much trouble happen as soon as I step out the door?
She even recklessly thought, "Why not... just lock her up in this little courtyard?"
She stayed by her child's side, wrote a few things, and waited for Gu Xiao to return. All the storms and controversies outside were irrelevant to her.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, she banished it to the winds.
She is not alone; she is Gu Xiao's wife and the mother of the child in her womb.
Gu Xiao risked his life outside to protect a greater peace; did she not even have the courage to step out of this small courtyard?
Locking yourself up for those who aren't worth it—isn't that exactly what some people want?
She took a deep breath and drank the last bit of soup in the bowl.
Weakness and escapism are just fleeting thoughts; they shouldn't be Nan Zhiyi's choices.
She needed to pull herself together. For herself, and for the baby she was expecting.
In the days that followed, Nan Zhiyi devoted more of her energy to writing.
As the weather warms up day by day, the new leaves of the sycamore trees outside the window unfurl, and sunlight streams through the glass, casting dappled shadows on the desk.
She immersed herself in the world of words and wrote new stories.
Although she still thought about Zhou Anping, the performing arts troupe where Zhou Anping worked had a heavy performance schedule and she never had time to visit her.
What worried her even more was Zhao Yaqin.
She later sent another letter, avoiding Li Weidong's name and only daring to vaguely mention that she had heard he might be getting married... She also offered some words of comfort to Zhao Yaqin between the lines... But words on paper are ultimately pale in comparison...
After the letter was sent, it disappeared without a trace, and there was no reply for a long time.
This unusual silence allowed Nan Zhiyi's worries to quietly grow.
Is Sister Yaqin in the military camp... already aware of Li Weidong's upcoming marriage? How is she doing now?
Whenever she thinks about these things, Nan Zhiyi feels a tightness in her chest.
Time has quietly slipped to the end of March.
Nan Zhiyi carefully sealed the newly written manuscript in an envelope, preparing to go to the post office to mail it while the weather was fine.
She had just come downstairs when the clear sound of a bicycle bell and a shout came from outside the courtyard gate: "Comrade Nan Zhiyi! Telegram!"
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