A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1095 Lin Peishan Drops Out of School

Gui'er stepped forward, squatted down, and gently wiped the dust off the stele. The stone was rough, clearly carved by a hastily hired, handcrafted stonemason. She placed the white chrysanthemums she had brought in front of the stele; dewdrops rolled off the petals like tears falling onto the stone.

“He always said that once the Japanese were driven away, everyone could live a good life.” Zhu Zhiming squatted down and poured the wine on the ground. The wine seeped into the soil and quickly disappeared. “Now, it’s even worse. There isn’t even a decent tombstone.”

Gui'er didn't speak, but just stared blankly at the tombstone. She remembered the first time Chen Zhongyu took her to Xinmin Bookstore, wearing a faded long gown, his eyes shining like stars, saying, "What we do is to help more people live a good life."

The wind dispersed some of the fog, and Gui'er looked up at A Si's tombstone. It had been a while since she had been there, and some weeds had grown around the tomb.

The two tombs are only a few feet apart, like two silent sentinels guarding this desolate mountain valley.

Zhu Zhiming followed her gaze and asked, "Miss Sha, what is that grave over there...?"

Gui'er said softly, "This is the grave of one of our comrades. He returned to the mainland from Hong Kong to join the battle, but he sacrificed himself to cover his comrades in his first battle. I heard that he didn't have time to collect his body, so we erected a cenotaph for him here."

She stood up and gazed at the gray sky in the distance. A mountain wind, carrying a chill, swept over her, making her wrap her cloak tighter. She remembered Ah Si's honest smile, and Chen Zhongyu's former gentle smile, and her eyes finally welled up with tears.

“They didn’t die in vain,” she whispered, as if making a promise to the tombstone, or as if encouraging herself.

Zhu Zhiming nodded and poured the rest of the wine in front of A Si's tombstone: "When peace comes in the future, I will definitely replace the tombstone with a good one, engrave their names on it, and tell future generations what they did."

Acheng also took out some incense, candles, and paper money that he had prepared and burned them on the two graves. He said to Gui'er, "Miss, it's getting late, let's go back."

After that, Gui'er's life returned to normal. Except for visiting Lin Peishan every day or two, she went to school every day. Lin Peishan's injuries were more serious and her recovery was slower. Gui'er told her that the comrades had been safely evacuated and that she had already paid her respects at Chen Zhongyu's grave.

Lin Peishan would burst into tears every time she talked about Chen Zhongyu. Later, when Gui'er came out of the ward after visiting Lin Peishan, Lin's father called her back.

“Miss Sha, thank you so much for visiting my daughter so often. You are busy with your studies, so if you don’t have time, please don’t force yourself. Go and do your own thing.”

Gui'er immediately understood that he didn't want her to come again, but she was puzzled and quickly asked, "Uncle Lin, is there something I did that wasn't appropriate?"

At this moment, Lin's mother also came out. She quickly stepped forward and held Gui'er's hand, saying, "Don't say that, good child. Among Peishan's classmates, you are the most thoughtful. The others only come to visit once or twice and then stop. It's mainly because Zhongyu's death made her too sad. Every time you come, she always thinks about it. Her health is not good, and she is always too sad, which also hinders the recovery of her injuries."

Gui'er had never thought of this before, and said in a flustered manner, "I'm sorry, it was my oversight. I will try to mention it less in the future."

“Miss Sha, I know you mean well, but this incident has been a huge blow to my daughter. Her recovery is now indefinitely delayed. By the time she is fully recovered, it will probably have taken a considerable amount of time. I think even if she does recover, it will probably be a year or two later. Her youth has already been wasted. She doesn’t need to go back to that school. We can arrange blind dates for her to find someone of equal social standing, someone she can settle down with. You’re busy, so just come over occasionally.” Mr. Lin said politely but seriously.

Gui'er's eyes widened. Chen Zhongyu had just died, and his parents were already planning to remarry Lin Peishan and stop her from going to school. This was too much. She wanted to protest on Lin Peishan's behalf, but after opening her mouth, she ultimately said nothing. She was keenly aware that it would be useless for her to say anything now. If she angered Lin's parents, they might not even be able to come and see Lin Peishan anymore.

“I see. Uncle Lin and Aunt Lin, it was my oversight. I will come here less often in the future. But I think if someone her age could come and talk to her from time to time, her mood would be better. I will never mention Brother Chen again.”

Mr. Lin nodded approvingly and said, "Alright, then you can go back now."

Gui'er nodded politely and left. Just as she turned the corner, she heard Lin's mother say to Lin's father, "They meant well, why did you have to be so harsh?"

"Hmph! These young girls, just because they went to school for a couple more days, became arrogant and thought they could change the world with their enthusiasm. Now look what happened! They almost lost their lives. I told you before that although Chen Zhongyu was knowledgeable and capable, he insisted on starting a revolution, and he would ruin himself sooner or later. See, I wasn't wrong? Even our daughter almost got caught up in it. I will never allow such a thing to happen again. She absolutely cannot go back to school."

Gui'er was very saddened to hear this, but she didn't know what to do.

Back in the car, Ah Cheng saw her dejected expression and asked with concern, "Miss, you came out looking so unhappy. Is Miss Lin's condition not good?"

Gui'er didn't know what to say, so she sighed and said, "Her parents want her to move forward and told me to go less."

Acheng paused for a moment, then comforted her, "Then you should wait a little longer before going over. Actually, it's understandable that her parents are like this. After all, Mr. Chen is no longer here, and there's no use in her dwelling on the past. Life still goes on."

Gui'er understood and subsequently reduced the number of times she visited the hospital.

She didn't hear from Li Zhiming for the next few months, but she did finish the article that Editor-in-Chief Zhao had asked her to write. The response was quite good, so Editor-in-Chief Zhao asked her to continue writing. She had no choice but to rack her brains to find materials and discovered quite a few things.

There were unscrupulous merchants selling so-called "amulet", "disaster-avoiding charms", and "miracle drugs", claiming that using them could dodge the bullets and shells of the Japanese soldiers. They were not cheap, and some people actually believed them. Gui'er wrote it into a story, and as a result, she received several commissions for her articles, which cost her a little less in royalties.

This time, Zhou Hong did not deduct any money from Gui'er's pay, but she also subtly kept her distance. They only talked about official business. Whenever Gui'er brought up Chen Zhongyu's past, Zhou Hong would quickly change the subject, saying that the matter was in the past and that she was now just an ordinary person and did not want to mention it again. Although Gui'er was heartbroken, it was a personal choice and she could not say anything. Besides, she could not find her own organization now.