Chapter 33

Of course, the milk was not from the milk station, as Su Ye had gotten it from the backstage of her live streaming room.

Su Ye wasn’t afraid of anyone checking on her. At a conference, she had met a group of respectable farmers, one of whom worked at a livestock station. During a home visit, she passed by the livestock station, popped in to say hello, and chatted for a bit. The person there then gave her some freshly milked milk.

After the milk was heated in water, it smelled fragrant and soft, filling the entire hospital room with its scent.

Su Ye took off the bottle cap and handed it to Gu Xiangqian. He lowered his head, but this time, he couldn’t find the opening of the bottle. He rubbed his thumb over it before finally managing to drink the milk.

Su Ye realized something was wrong. She waved her hand in front of Gu Xiangqian’s face.

Had the plot, in an attempt to match him with the female lead, actually made him blind?

What kind of ridiculous old-fashioned plot is this?

Gu Xiangqian’s eyes were dark and deep. When he looked at someone seriously, his pupils were like whirlpools, magnetically drawing you in. How could such beautiful eyes be blind?

A faint spark of anger flared up in Su Ye’s heart.

Once he finished the milk, she turned to the nurse and the soldier nearby, saying, “You can leave now, I have some personal matters to discuss with Xiangqian.”

Yao Chunyu bit her lip and said gently, “I need to tell you some precautions before I leave.”

Su Ye snorted inwardly.

She noticed that there was still a ring of milk on Gu Xiangqian’s lips, so she leaned in and kissed him on the lips, then used her tongue to lick off the milk stains from his lips.

This unexpected action stunned the two people in front of the hospital bed. Their eyes were not only shocked, but their ears were also burning with embarrassment.

Su Ye’s voice was full of reproach: “Gu Xiangqian, you idiot, you promised you wouldn’t get hurt, and now you’re making me worry about you like this!”

The patient in the next bed let out a “pfft” sound, followed by a heavy, intense coughing fit.

Yao Chunyu was stunned into silence. She hadn’t expected Su Ye to be so shameless. This was completely uncivilized, so improper, and disgraceful!

To kiss someone in broad daylight in front of others—was this how rural women behaved, so crude and unrestrained?

Although Yao Chunyu was no longer a young girl and had seen many couples kissing on the streets in the future, she still couldn’t embrace the mindset of today’s youth. She was old-fashioned and dogmatic, to the point that even younger people were too afraid to speak around her.

If this were a few years later, anyone kissing on the street would be sent for reeducation through labor!

A sarcastic, contemptuous smile unconsciously appeared on the corner of her mouth.

After kissing him, Su Ye turned around and looked at them. “What kind of expression is that? This isn’t me being uncivilized—you’re the ones who insisted on staying and interrupting us. Why haven’t you left yet?”

Her two quick sentences made everyone feel embarrassed enough to leave immediately. The patient in the next bed turned his head away, refusing to look.

The ward was left with just Gu Xiangqian and Su Ye.

Gu Xiangqian had been kissed by his wife, and his whole body froze.

After all, Su Ye was still a stranger in his mind, and to have his lips suddenly taken by hers shocked him. Although his face remained calm, his heart was deeply stirred.

If it had been anyone else, Gu Xiangqian’s self-defense instincts would have pushed them away immediately. But Su Ye’s scent was familiar and comforting, so his body didn’t resist.

It was clear that his body didn’t reject Su Ye.

Gu Xiangqian’s ears gradually turned red, and he pressed his lips tightly together, maintaining a cold silence.

Su Ye had spent several months with Gu Xiangqian, and she noticed every subtle change in him. She reached into her bag and pulled out some food.

She sensed that Gu Xiangqian was becoming distant and cold. When she used to kiss him, he would feel shy and happy, he wouldn’t just freeze up like this.

She said, “You haven’t eaten yet, right? I brought you your favorite Dongpo pork. I’ll heat it up for you. Wait here.”

The innocent bystander in the next bed, who had coughed and choked earlier, was now further embarrassed. Not only had his eyes been assaulted by the scene, but his ears were also now “burning.”

After Su Ye left, Ning Xingdou quietly said, “Sister-in-law seems pretty impressive, how does it feel?”

As another observant officer, Ning Xingdou couldn’t help but question the ongoing casual conversations Gu Xiangqian had been having over the past few days. Just a few nights ago, he had asked Gu Xiangqian, who didn’t deny it and readily admitted it.

“How does it feel? …A bit overwhelming.”

Ning Xingdou chuckled, “Well, you two were introduced, right? Last year, you suddenly had a wife and adapted pretty quickly. This time shouldn’t be any different. I took a look at her—she’s pretty.”

Is it really the same?

Last year, when Gu Xiangqian got a wife, he had been mentally prepared for a long time and carefully thought it through before bringing Su Ye from the countryside to the military compound. That was Gu Xiangqian’s decision. This time, nothing was planned—his wife just dropped out of the sky, and Gu Xiangqian felt like he had been forced into it.

A while later, Su Ye quickly returned.

She brought a steaming lunch box and placed it in front of Gu Xiangqian.

The braised pork in the lunch box was tender and fragrant, and Ning Xingdou in the next bed couldn’t help but salivate. Those who had experienced famine were completely different from those who hadn’t.

Gu Xiangqian calmly took the lunch box, eating a piece of meat at a time, his actions elegant but not slow as he finished his lunch.

For some reason, the hospital food was particularly bad—careless and sloppy—while his wife actually cared for him.

Ning Xingdou was still in the process of recovering. Although he could eat meat in the hospital, his meals only included two ounces of pork a day. It was nothing like Gu Xiangqian’s lunch, which had half a pound of meat.

When Gu Xiangqian ate, he chewed slowly and carefully, savoring each bite of meat. His mother had always said that he was lucky to be eating meat because of his recovery. The common people in the rear area hadn’t tasted meat in a long time.

Looking at the lunch box Su Ye brought, which was filled with meat, it was clear that the information he had was wrong. He glanced at Gu Xiangqian, who was eagerly eating the meat his wife had brought, and his throat involuntarily moved as he turned his face away, feeling hurt.

At this moment, Su Ye took out a tea egg, peeled it, and cracked it into Gu Xiangqian’s bowl.

“Eat an egg every day, it will help you recover faster.”

The tea leaves were a gift from an advanced farmer, who said their water was clear and their tea was fragrant. At the time, Su Ye had thought that tea leaves weren’t food, so what was so special about them?

But after receiving the tea leaves she realized the person wasn’t exaggerating. This was a famous tea known as “gold inlaid with jade,” highly praised for its quality, and in the future, it would be sold for thousands of yuan per gram. Su Ye decisively used it to make a few tea eggs.

Good tea should be used to marinate eggs, as that is the proper way to respect it.

Ning Xingdou’s ears perked up. What? Tea eggs?

Before his mother passed away and before the famine, Gu Xiangqian’s meals were always quite good. He was raised in luxury, never suffering from hunger except during missions.

The tea eggs Su Ye brought had a clear fragrance and a rich, lasting flavor. They refreshed the palate and quenched thirst. After finishing one, Gu Xiangqian continued to savor the taste for a long time.

This was the first time Gu Xiangqian had tasted such delicious tea eggs.

Su Ye, seeing the expression on Gu Xiangqian’s face as he savored the flavor, felt a bit sorry for him. He hadn’t eaten anything good in a long time, covered in wounds and blind. When Su Ye first saw him in the hospital, he looked like a lost child, cautious and careful.

Forget it, forget it. Su Ye took out another tea egg from her stash and peeled it, handing it to Gu Xiangqian.

When Gu Xiangqian wasn’t around, Su Ye had been craving eggs badly. She bought five kilograms of eggs in one go. Without a refrigerator, she could only make tea eggs with the tea leaves, eating them herself and occasionally sending some to the farmer comrades.

Su Ye said with some regret, “Eat, I still have more. I also brought the chocolate you bought for me, but I’m not sure if your injury allows you to eat chocolate. I’ll ask the doctor and give it to you later.”

“By the way, did you finish the jerky I sent you earlier?”

Gu Xiangqian just hummed in response and didn’t speak anymore.

Ning Xingdou lifted the blanket. Was this ever going to end? Was it really necessary to eat so much in one meal? First, it was braised pork, then tea eggs, and now chocolate, and at the end, there’s even jerky?

Su Ye fell silent after speaking. She realized that Gu Xiangqian had amnesia. He had never bought her chocolate. What he had bought were fruit candies and milk candies.

Su Ye never ate chocolate, she was allergic to it. Once, when she and Gu Xiangqian went to a department store, he instinctively grabbed a handful of chocolates, but she put them back and emphasized that she didn’t like chocolate.

Su Ye felt even more pity for Gu Xiangqian. Her thoughts drifted. He had amnesia… he didn’t remember what had happened between them. He might still think that she often exploited him.

This could be a great opportunity for him to return to single life. The thought just crossed her mind, but she immediately shook her head, feeling guilty, and discarded the idea.

Su Ye picked up the book on Gu Xiangqian’s bedside and recited a poem to calm her emotions.

After transmigrating, aside from bringing her mind along, the only thing left was her voice, which she could still use. Her voice was steady and beautiful, with clear enunciation, and it carried warmth, depth, passion, and intensity.

Su Ye recited, “If I were a bird, I should sing with a hoarse throat, on this land battered by the storm… Why do my eyes always contain tears? Because I love this land deeply.”

Compared to those overly sentimental love poems, this patriotic poem had real power. After finishing, everyone in the ward was looking at her.

Most of the people in the high-end ward were soldiers who had been injured. Upon hearing Ai Qing’s poetry, they couldn’t help but feel deeply moved, some even shedding tears.

“That was wonderful, truly wonderful! No wonder you’re a teacher!” Ning Xingdou clapped and said.

“Recite another one!”

The people here were all individuals with faith—those who had bravely fought for peace, giving their lives without hesitation. Hearing such passionate poetry, their spirits were lifted.

The poetry read by Gu Xiangqian’s wife was even better than what they heard on the radio! Listening to the radio wasn’t as good as hearing her recite poetry.

Su Ye then recited another one: “With my broken palms, I feel this vast land… I will drive out the darkness and bring revival, for only there do we not live like livestock.”

Gu Xiangqian turned his head as he listened, and a warm surge of emotion welled up inside him, as if he had remembered the images that appeared in his mind after he collapsed on the battlefield.

Those were the images of Su Ye happily eating, grading homework, and bustling around in the kitchen.

In the midst of pitch-black confusion, a blurry figure slowly appeared in his vision.

As Su Ye continued reading, she extended her hands and waved them in front of Gu Xiangqian’s eyes, noticing that his eyes followed her hands.

“Ah, Gu Xiangqian, you can see now? If I had known that reciting poems would restore your sight, I would have recited more for you,” Su Ye teased.

She gently patted Gu Xiangqian’s head. “Now that you can see, let’s go home. The conditions here aren’t as good as those at our provincial hospital. It’ll be more convenient if we go back.”

In the afternoon, Su Ye went to see the hospital director to discuss transferring hospitals.

The director of course refused her request, saying, “Let’s observe for a little longer. Once the patient’s vital signs are stable, only then will we allow discharge.”

Su Ye then took the introduction letter from the military and checked into a hotel room for the time being.

She pulled out the letters she had brought from afar, reading them one by one. All these letters were sent by new friends she had met at the last representative meeting.

One letter was from the head of the tea production team in her village, who first thanked Su Ye for sending the tea eggs and then humbly apologized, saying the tea wasn’t worth much.

“There’s a lot of tea in the warehouse, but no one wants it anymore. This year the factory’s profits aren’t good, and many factories that used to come to our village to collect tea have gone bankrupt. The remaining tea will be handled by the government, but we can’t keep burdening them. If you like, our production team can send some to you. But if you send any more tea eggs, it’ll be awkward…”

Su Ye thought to herself, this is top-quality tea that’s been sold for tens of thousands per liang (about 50 grams), how could it just rot in the warehouse?

She picked up a pen and wrote a formal letter, asking the tea village’s production team leader to get an introduction letter from the government, allowing the villagers to manage their own profits and losses and find their own sales channels. Tea wasn’t a foodstuff, so theoretically, the country allowed its sale.

Su Ye spent the night at the hotel and, the next morning, woke up and used her ration coupons to buy a few plain steamed buns and soy milk at the state-run restaurant to bring to the hospital.

But as soon as she entered the hospital, Gu Xiangqian had already finished his breakfast.

Yao Chunyu glanced at the clock and said with a smile, “Director Gu’s meals are taken care of by the hospital, with a balanced nutrition plan. You don’t have to go through the trouble of preparing food for him anymore.”

Su Ye couldn’t stand it. She had gone early to stand in line for the buns.

She sat down and handed the buns to Gu Xiangqian. “Xiangqian, I specially bought these for you. Don’t waste food.”

Gu Xiangqian wasn’t particularly interested in the buns, he had already had a large bowl of noodles for breakfast. But when Su Ye spoke, he obediently ate them.

After eating, a strange feeling surged inside him. It seemed natural for him to do what Su Ye asked, but refusing her made him feel entirely awkward. This realization made him fall into deep thought.

Su Ye went to wash the dirty clothes that Gu Xiangqian had changed out of. When she turned around, she saw Yao Chunyu reading the newspaper to him.

When Yao Chunyu stood up, she slipped and fell toward the side of the bed, accidentally touching Gu Xiangqian’s clothes. From Su Ye’s perspective, it looked as though she had fallen into his arms.

Yao Chunyu sincerely apologized, “Sorry, Xiangqian, I’ve been on duty too long today, and I’m a bit hypoglycemic.”

She turned around and saw Su Ye staring at her, “Sister-in-law, don’t misunderstand… I was just—”

Su Ye, witnessing this scene, suddenly felt her previously uncertain heart become clear. The male and female leads were indeed like two magnetic poles, and she was just a small, insignificant distortion.

Since he didn’t remember, that made things even easier.

She turned to look at Gu Xiangqian, leaned down, and said seriously, “You’re sick and injured but didn’t call me to come take care of you. I understand now. Comrade Gu Xiangqian, when we go back, I’ll submit a divorce application. I hope you’ll agree.”

After throwing the bombshell, Su Ye grabbed her bag and left the hospital.

Gu Xiangqian was stunned and shocked by Su Ye’s words. He didn’t know what to feel, but a strange and sour sensation suddenly surged in his chest.

He tore the bandage off his leg, enduring the sharp pain, and tried to get out of bed. But as soon as his feet touched the ground, he collapsed heavily, falling to the floor with a loud thud.

Gu Xiangqian’s observations were sharp, and he realized that Su Ye knew he had lost his memory. Even though she knew, she still said such things? His heart ached with bitterness.

—

That evening, Su Ye returned to City C. After washing up, she began to go through her belongings.

She found hundreds of pounds of unexchanged ration coupons, unfinished meat coupons from the cafeteria, and Gu Xiangqian’s wages, all untouched and carefully hidden. After thinking it over, she realized that she was still quite wealthy in this era.

She flipped to a photo of Gu Xiangqian. He looked extraordinarily handsome in his student days, before he had a chance to be tainted by the smoke of the battlefield, still exuding the aura of an old, rich family heir. If he hadn’t been in the military, he probably would have already married young and had children by now.

Su Ye began drafting a divorce application report. She had written halfway through when she paused.

She remembered the will Gu Xiangqian had written for her, “I am very happy to have met you and married you. You gave me a warm home, and that is the happiest thing for me since my parents passed away.”

“It’s a pity we never held a wedding banquet. Actually, I can tell that you don’t really love me. After I’m gone, at least my conscience will be somewhat at ease. I hope you will be happier and more joyful in the future.”

At the end of the letter, he included two lines of an English poem he had copied in beautiful handwriting:

“when you are old”

“How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with false or true affection,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you.”

After reading the will, Su Ye felt uneasy. She put the divorce application back into the drawer, torn between continuing and giving up.

Giving up would mean gaining a path of freedom for herself, but it would also mean losing Gu Xiangqian.

A month later, Su Ye received the news that Gu Xiangqian had returned to his unit.

She had prepared good food and wine, hoping to celebrate his return together, but she waited all night and he didn’t show up. The next day, she asked Ning Xingdou, who had also returned to the unit.

Ning Xingdou thought for a moment and said, “You don’t know yet, do you? Xiangqian might not remember things. He probably went to the wrong place. Two years ago, he didn’t apply for dormitory accommodation and lived at his own house.”

Ning Xingdou took Su Ye to Gu Xiangqian’s old family home.

As soon as Su Ye got out of the car, she was stunned. Before her stood a small villa with a garden, built in a Gothic style, a remnant from the Republic of China era.

Ning Xingdou rang the doorbell and pushed open the iron gate.

He said, “This villa was originally donated by the Gu family to the country, but after Uncle Gu passed away, it was returned as a family inheritance.”

Su Ye thought to herself, no wonder Gu Xiangqian had such financial ease. In a time when cloth coupons were so scarce, his wardrobe was always full of shirts. It must be because of the old clothes left behind.

Su Ye pushed the door open and walked in, only to find Gu Xiangqian standing by the bookshelf. Despite the hot summer weather, he was wearing a thin cotton shirt, each button done up neatly.

His dark, thick hair was combed neatly, his broad shoulders and straight waist giving him a tall, erect posture. The white shirt wrapped around his young, strong figure.

He was focused on flipping through a book, and when he saw her, he simply withdrew his gaze indifferently, as if he didn’t recognize Su Ye.

Seeing such a serene and perfect scene, Su Ye’s heart raced. It was as if she could smell the scent of young love. She realized she was fine again!