bookcurios Chapter 1097 Sha Yanxiao Disappears
Chapter 1097 Sha Yanxiao Disappears
Tong Yujun didn't notice Gui'er's unusual behavior. She enthusiastically shared with her the foods she ate at home to nourish her pregnancy and the many little clothes she had made.
She said happily, "I secretly told my father about this. He said that you have been married into the Song family for so long but have never had a child, and now your family can't support you anymore. I have been worried about you. Now it's all right, things are finally stable."
“Gui’er, do you know? Actually, I’ve always been quite disappointed in my father. I always thought he and my mother were a loving couple, but I never expected that he would still take a concubine for the sake of having children. But now that he says this, I’m a little touched.”
“Your father is an old-fashioned man and is inevitably influenced by worldly customs, but I think he still cares about you. Take this opportunity to repair your relationship,” Gui’er advised her.
“My mother said the same thing. She forgave my father even earlier than I did, and now she treats my younger brother as her own son. Sometimes when I go back to my parents’ home for a meal, I see the whole family sitting at the table eating. My mother is holding my younger brother, while my aunt is busy serving food and rice. She only eats standing up in the kitchen after we’ve finished eating. I feel like I don’t dislike her as much anymore.” She sighed softly as she said this.
Gui'er knew that their concubine was also from a poor family, while Mrs. Tong and Mr. Tong were like-minded and well-matched, so it was normal for them to have feelings for each other. She said, "Since she's not a troublemaker, then let's live together peacefully. Just give her the respect she deserves. There are many things in this era that we can't change."
To lighten the mood, she talked about funny things at school and the darkly humorous articles she wrote for the newspaper, which made Tong Yujun laugh out loud.
After sitting in the coffee shop for about an hour, Tong Yujun glanced at her watch and said, "I can't stay out too long; I should go back."
Gui'er was a little reluctant to part with her, after all, Tong Yujun was now her only close friend with whom she could speak without any reservations. However, she also knew Tong Yujun's situation, so she smiled and said, "That's right, you're pregnant, you should go back quickly, otherwise your family will worry."
Tong Yujun stood up, and Gui'er suddenly remembered that she hadn't mentioned Song Xichen this time, so she inquired, "Any news from our hometown? How is Brother Song?"
Tong Yujun stiffened for a moment, lowered her head, licked her lips, and showed a hesitant expression.
Gui'er immediately noticed and asked, "What's wrong? Has something happened?"
Tong Yujun quickly said, "No, no, he recently wrote back saying that he encountered the Japanese twice, but escaped unscathed and even received supplies from his superiors. The villagers are also very cooperative, and everyone is united in fighting the enemy. The situation is very good."
Gui'er breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and said with a smile, "Oh, you scared me. That's good."
Suddenly she realized something: "Could something have happened to my brother?"
Tong Yujun looked hesitant, and Gui'er became even more certain that something had happened to Sha Yanxiao. She excitedly grabbed Tong Yujun's hand and said, "Tell me quickly!"
"That's right. His older brother said that Sha, the second young master, had been recuperating at a fellow villager's house. When they went to visit him, they found that the village had been swept up by the Japanese. Most of the houses in the village had been burned down, and the people had all run away and disappeared."
"What about my brother?"
"We sent people to search the surrounding mountains and forests, but they couldn't find him. We asked the villagers, but they didn't know where he was either. Some villagers saw the head of that household being abducted by the Japanese soldiers. The woman of the house was raped and then murdered. Your brother is missing..."
Gui'er was stunned by what she heard, as if struck by lightning.
When Tong Yujun saw her like this, she was frightened and quickly said, "Gui'er, are you alright? Look at my mouth. Xilun told me not to say anything, because you definitely wouldn't be able to accept it. But I see you waiting for news of your brother day and night, and I really can't bear it."
Seeing that Gui'er still seemed not to have come to her senses, she quickly shook her and said, "Gui'er, don't scare me."
Gui'er then came to her senses. She felt a tightness in her chest, as if she couldn't catch her breath. She wanted to speak, but no sound came out when she opened her mouth.
Seeing Tong Yujun growing increasingly panicked, she took a deep breath and finally regained some composure. She coughed lightly and said in a voice that even she found hard to believe, sounding like a weak whisper, "I'm fine, you don't need to worry."
"I'm alright, don't scare me. Don't worry, we're not sure if something really happened to your brother either. We'll keep waiting for news, don't worry, I'll let you know as soon as I have any updates."
Gui'er felt a little bad seeing that Tong Yujun, a pregnant woman, was comforting her instead, so she smiled and said, "I'm fine, you should go back quickly so that your family won't worry."
Tong Yujun reassured her again before getting into the car, looking back every few steps with some lingering unease.
Gui'er watched her get into the car and walk to her own car parked by the roadside. Acheng immediately noticed that something was wrong with her and quickly asked, "Miss, what happened? You don't look well."
Gui'er couldn't hold back her tears either, which streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls. A-Cheng was startled and quickly got out of the car, took out a handkerchief, and handed it to her: "Miss, what's wrong? What did Miss Tong say to you?"
Gui'er clutched the handkerchief, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably. After a long while, she choked out, "My brother... my brother might have had an accident."
When they returned to the villa, it was already dusk. Dingxiang was wearing an apron and helping Aunt Ying cook in the kitchen when she saw Gui'er come in with a pale face. She dropped the vegetables in her hands with a "thud": "Miss, what's wrong with you? Your face is as white as paper."
Wu Mingqiang came out of the inner room and saw Gui'er's red eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly walked over: "What happened?"
Gui'er steadied herself by holding onto the edge of the table, took a deep breath, and said in a trembling voice, "My brother... the village where he was was swept away by the Japanese, and we can't find him."
Upon hearing this, the room fell silent enough that the ticking of the wall clock could be heard. Everyone knew that in the midst of war, the disappearance of an injured person was likely to be a grave mistake.
Dingxiang covered her face and squatted on the ground, tears streaming through her fingers: "The second young master was such a good person... how could he..."
Acheng stood at the door, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white, his lips pressed into a straight line, and his Adam's apple bobbed a few times before he said in a hoarse voice, "Miss, the second young master is very capable. Maybe he's just hiding and will come out when things calm down."
Wu Mingqiang remained silent for a long while, then walked to Gui'er's side and gently patted her back: "Don't be too anxious. At times like this, no news might be good news. It's common for villagers to scatter and flee when a village is raided. Maybe he just got separated from them." Despite his words, the worry in his eyes was undeniable—he knew the ruthlessness of the Japanese. Every crew member on the grain transport ships returning from Guangzhou had repeatedly told him about the Japanese's brutality, and few of the abducted villagers ever returned alive.