He Mu watched the cab leave, and shook his head after a long time.
He already had a premonition, so Yu Chao’s words didn’t bring him much of a blow.
But Yu Chao made a statement he didn’t understand.
What did he mean by me don’t ever beg him to do anything in the future? Could it be that someone will force me to ask him for help?
Ridiculous.
…
At that moment, not far away Grandma Wang came out of the supermarket and saw He Mu. She carried some plastic bags filled with stuff and trotted over.
“He Mu, you’ve really recovered! What are you doing here? Where is the person who was looking for you?”
Seeing her glowing and energetic appearance, He Mu smiled and said, “He just left.”
“Is he an acquaintance?”
“Yeah, so he left after saying a few words.”
“Oh. No matter what, since you’ve recovered, and I finally got the chance to come back for a trip, I need to whip up some dishes to celebrate. Let’s go to my house.”
Grandma Wang didn’t ask too much. She raised the plastic bag in her hand and pointed in the direction of her home.
He Mu didn’t refuse. Right now, he had completely cut off his relationship with Yu Chao. Perhaps Grandma Wang was the only one left in this world who was really close to him.
“I’ll carry the bags for you.”
“I forgot that your body has recovered. Can you carry them?”
“No problem.”
…
It was late in the evening.
He Mu sat at the dining table in Grandma Wang’s house, looking at the table full of steaming meals with a heavy heart.
He didn’t know what to say about his big brother.
Grandma Wang came home for two days a month, and if she went out tomorrow and met someone from the military district, that person would probably tell her that news.
After all, his big brother could also be considered to have been brought up by her, which was known to everyone within the community.
After this incident, it was impossible for no one to talk to her about it.
“Mu, you have something on your mind? You can tell me anything. Grandma, I, have lived most of my life, so I more or less see things clearer than you.”
Grandma Wang smiled kindly and gave He Mu a piece of roast pork as she spoke.
He Mu raised his head. Although the elderly woman in front of him was older than 70 years old, she was healthy and active. Instead of waiting for the next day others told her the bad news and for her to come over to ask him about it, it was better to say it himself.
At this thought, He Mu prepared himself for a few seconds and spoke softly: “My big brother is…”
Sigh…
“No longer.”
Even though it was a short sentence, He Mu felt extremely depressed after saying it.
The room went silent for a moment.
He could see clearly that Grandma Wang’s hand that was holding the chopsticks trembled slightly.
After a long time, Grandma Wang put down the chopsticks, and her eyes darkened. At that moment, it was as if she had aged quite a bit all of a sudden.
“Mu, since my eldest son left, over the years, both my second son and He Feng would call me every half month.
“Even if they are busy, reporting a peace of mind is fine too.
“In fact, since He Feng didn’t call me, and I called his phone and couldn’t get through, I already had a bad feeling…”
Grandma Wang was calmer than He Mu imagined. Although she showed sadness on her face, at least she wasn’t weeping.
“You know what? From decades ago, the day after my husband joined the army, I have been anxious every day, from worrying about him to worrying about my two sons. In the blink of an eye, decades have passed.
“I worry every day that I will receive news of their death in battle.
“That situation I rehearsed in my mind many times, and I even often had similar nightmares. Each time I would wake up from the dream crying.”
He Mu lowered his head in silence.
Perhaps that was the hard part of being in this era; whether one was on the front lines or in the back, there was something holding one back and tormenting one, so much so that one couldn’t rest.
“Later, I got used to it and figured things out. After all, I’m an ordinary wife, what can I do if I’m worried? Can I even fight on their behalf?
“What I can do is to cooperate with the state and take care of the lonely orphans, so that those on the front lines will worry less.
“As long as I do my part, I can more or less make the day of victory come a little bit earlier, so that those people at the front can also return home sooner…”
…
Grandma Wang spoke slowly, while He Mu listened carefully. The mood was getting increasingly heavier.
At that moment, he realized that it wasn’t just soldiers and Red Mist Fighters who were involved in the war against monsters.
There were more ordinary people like Grandma Wang who did ordinary and insignificant things.
But their hearts, like the soldiers on the front lines, were doing these ordinary things with the mindset of war.
This was really a war that the entire human race was involved in.
The front lines were a brutal and cruel battlefield. The rear was an intangible, silent war.
No one could hide from the shadow of war and the fear it brought.
This was what made war so terrifying.
After a long silence, He Mu said softly: “I guarantee that one day you will see with your own eyes the people on the front line returning home.”
…
Meanwhile, in front of the Red Mist Bar.
A long-haired man touched his shriveled pants pocket and hesitated to go in.
After a long time, he finally failed to resist the temptation of the smell of alcohol inside and carefully entered the bar.
Originally he wanted to see if there was any table with leftover wine, so that he could finish it up. But as soon as he entered, he met eyes with the big fat middle-aged man behind the counter.
“Li… Li Da? Oh… No-no-no, Big Brother Li!”
In a low cry, the long-haired man hurried to the counter.
“Big Brother Li, do you still remember me? I’m Xiao Ling, your neighbor!”
The long-haired man ruffled his hair to reveal a disheveled face, while getting close to him.
“Xiao Ling?”
Li Da was drinking when he heard him. He looked at the long-haired man’s face, and almost spit out the wine in shock.
“Ling Hanxing? It’s really you?”
Honestly, if it weren’t for his familiar appearance between the eyebrows and the eyes, Li Da couldn’t believe that this person was his neighbor’s kid.
One had to know that back then Ling Hanxing was a handsome high school student, and because of this, many young ladies had often passed by his doorstep.
But now, this person in front of him was unkempt and had his trouser pockets rolled up. He couldn’t associate him with that person in his memory.
“Say, what happened to you?”
Li Da scolded with some resentment.
Since Ling Hanxing went to college more than a decade ago, Li Da had never heard of him. He didn’t expect to see him again in this kind of light.
The long-haired man smiled awkwardly and said: “Big Brother Li, what are you talking about? I’m not doing too badly. I just forgot to bring my bag when I returned to Nancheng. I didn’t bring my ID, phone, or anything. I only had enough cash to buy a cell phone, and I didn’t get any missions in the past two days. Moreover, I have no relatives, so I ended up looking so miserable.”
Li Da’s expression eased a little. Seeing Ling Hanxing kept looking at the wine on the counter, he shook his head from behind the counter and took out a bottle, placing it in front of Ling Hanxing.
“My treat. Tell me, what are you working as now?”
“I have been working as a university teacher after I left school. Have you heard of East China University?”
“A top ten school. You work there as a teacher?”
Li Da showed some disbelief.
Teachers of famous schools were always strong people, but Ling Hanxing looked like he had nothing to do with them.
Not to mention the fact that he was only about 30 years old, and there were very few teachers at this age who could be teachers at prestigious schools.
“Uh, I’ve been teaching there for a few years, but the principal was ridiculous. One day while I was in deep sleep, the old man told me to cut my hair, and said I don’t deserve to be a teacher.
“I responded to him by saying: ‘Who are you to teach me?’.
“And as a result, I was beaten up on the spot and expelled. He’s quite an *sshole, isn’t he?”
Ling Hanxing said while casually popping the cap off the bottle with a flick of his hand, before gently taking a sip.
“Of course, I’m still a university teacher now. I went back to Lingzhou City. I’ve traveled a lot of places over the years, and Lingzhou still suits me best.”
Ling Hanxing said, a trace of nostalgia glinting in his eyes, and his tone sounded slightly depressed.
“You came back from Lingzhou City? You are still a university teacher?”
Li Da thought of something, and raised his voice slightly.
“Yeah, Big Brother Li, why would I lie to you?”
Ling Hanxing said, taking out his phone and finding a photo of his ID on some university website.
Below the photo was a short introduction.
“Lingzhou Vocational University, Excavator Department Deputy Director, Ling Hanxing.”
Wow, not only is he a teacher, but he is also a director.