Lin Qingping and Gu Juncheng

Chapter 267 Lin Qingping, I'm Back

"Who could it be so late?" Zhiyuan asked as he went to open the door.

Only Lin Qingping remained standing there, her things falling to the ground.

The door opened, and two men in military uniforms stood outside.

Lin Qingping's vision went black, and she fainted.

Zhiyuan was asking, "Excuse me, are you looking for...?"

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a loud thud behind him. He turned around and was horrified to see his mother lying on the ground.

He ignored the two men in military uniforms outside the door, ran over, lifted Lin Qingping's head, and shouted, "Mom! Mom!"

The people standing outside the door exchanged glances, looking somewhat awkward.

As Liang Jiaqi approached Lin Qingping, she asked them, "Who are you looking for? What can I do for you?"

"We..." The officer outside the door looked at everything inside, unsure whether he should go in.

"Come in and talk." Despite his young age, Zhiyuan was already quite aware of his role as the head of the household. Lin Qingping had fainted, and only he could make the decisions.

"Should we take her to the hospital first?" one of the officers asked.

Liang Jiaqi was busy pinching Lin Qingping's philtrum and giving her some medicine to smell. Lin Qingping finally woke up slowly, staring at the two people at the door with unfocused eyes and weak voice, "Just say what you have to say, I can take it."

Zhiyuan looked at her in surprise. Did she know what the two officers were going to say?

The officer's expression became even more troubled.

Lin Qingping's heart sank to the bottom. She subconsciously grabbed Zhiyuan's hand, gripping it so tightly that it hurt Zhiyuan, but Zhiyuan dared not utter a sound, much less pull his hand away.

"My lords, please get to the point. This dragging on is just making things worse," Lin Qingping said with a wry smile, already prepared for the worst.

Zhiyuan seemed to understand as well, and subconsciously leaned against Lin Qingping.

One of these two leaders was someone Lin Qingping knew—Instructor Lü.

"Instructor Lü, please speak," Lin Qingping urged.

Instructor Lü looked grave and sighed, "Comrade Lin Qingping, although your marriage with Gu Juncheng has been dissolved, we still want to inform you of something. Comrade Gu Juncheng is injured and has been sent to the Capital Military Region Hospital, where he is currently undergoing surgery."

Lin Qingping couldn't describe her feelings at that moment; her blood rushed to her head, and she almost fainted again.

But this time, she held firm.

"I...I'll be right there." She spoke loudly, but what came out was a very weak voice.

She tried to stand up immediately, but with a forceful effort, she sat back down.

Her legs were shaking, her hands were shaking, how could she go?

“Mom, you stay home and rest, I’ll go check on her,” Zhiyuan said, helping her up.

Lin Qingping then realized that Zhiyuan had been supporting her all along.

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she shook her head. "I'll go, Zhiyuan. Help me up."

Liang Jiaqi stood beside her, intending to help her up, but seeing her and Zhiyuan clinging to each other, supporting each other, he froze in place, as if unable to move...

"Comrade Lin Qingping, thank you for your hard work. On behalf of the school and the army, thank you!" Instructor Lü and another officer stepped forward to help her up. "Actually, we just came to inform you about this. You don't need to go to the hospital."

Lin Qingping shook her head. "No, I want to go. I'd better go."

"Mom, I want to go too." Zhiyuan grabbed her clothes.

Lin Qingping turned to look at him, and Zhiyuan's eyes were unusually firm, "I'm going, Mom!"

Lin Qingping finally nodded, "Okay, let's go, we'll all go."

Zhiyuan turned to Liang Jiaqi and said, "Uncle Liang, then we'll trouble you to guard our house for us."

Liang Jiaqi smiled wryly, "Okay, I'll stay here and help you guard the house."

The car quickly took Lin Qingping and Zhiyuan to the hospital.

Gu Juncheng was in the operating room at the moment, so Lin Qingping and Zhiyuan could only wait outside. Instructor Lü and the other two officers were also waiting with them.

Lin Qingping didn't ask them how she got injured. Having been a military wife for two lifetimes, she was already aware that he wouldn't hide from her what she should know, and she shouldn't know what she shouldn't know.

Lin Qingping sat there, motionless.

Zhiyuan sat beside her, holding her hand, afraid that she would worry, and whispered, "Mom..." After calling her, he didn't know how to comfort her.

Lin Qingping's blank stare flickered slightly, and her eyes met Zhiyuan's. Suddenly, she hugged Zhiyuan and burst into tears.

So many tears, so many suppressed sobs, as if they had been holding back for a century, finally bursting forth at this moment.

Zhiyuan patted her back like an adult and comforted her in a low voice, "Mom, don't worry, this is a hospital in the capital, Gu Dad will definitely be cured."

Zhiyuan truly understood Lin Qingping because his father had also gloriously sacrificed his life.

He didn't want Gu Juncheng to end up like his father.

It's a very complicated feeling. He actually loves his father, Gu, very much. However, Gu's father wronged Lin Qingping and made her sad. He sided with Lin Qingping, but he still cares about Gu's father and can't let him go...

His attempts to comfort Lin Qingping seemed to have no effect; Lin Qingping was still crying.

She cried for a long time, until the two officers opposite her didn't know what to do, before she calmed down.

Lin Qingping's eyes were swollen like walnuts as she said to Zhiyuan, "I'm sorry, Zhiyuan, I scared you."

Zhiyuan shook his head and leaned close to her, "Mom, don't worry, it's okay."

Whether Lin Qingping believed it or not, she nodded mechanically.

Seeing how upset she was, Zhiyuan couldn't help but ask her, "Mom, aren't you angry with Dad anymore?"

Lin Qingping was taken aback by the question. She patted Zhiyuan's head, smiled faintly at him, and slowly shook her head.

But that smile was exceptionally bleak.

Of course she wasn't angry with him...

At first, she was angry and didn't know the truth. When did she start to have doubts?

He said he came back once, seven or eight years ago.

She remembered her mother-in-law, Liu Fen, saying that when Chen Xia got married, he was on a mission outside, and his family didn't dare to tell him. They kept it from him, and he never came back.

Either the mother-in-law is lying, or Gu Juncheng is lying.

She couldn't be sure who was lying.

However, when she asked him the question, "Have you come back in the last seven or eight years?" he actually tried to get Chen Xia out of the way to answer.

Why did you need to send them away?

She had doubts in her heart, and of course, she could only have doubts.

Later, he wanted to divorce her.

Before his divorce, he came to the school to see her and insisted on taking her for a walk on the playground.

Of course, it can be interpreted as him feeling guilty towards her and wanting to spend more time with her. It can even be interpreted as him having feelings for her and for Chen Xia, but choosing Chen Xia instead.

In particular, when he let her climb into the dormitory by stepping on her shoulders, the light she saw in his eyes was no different from the light they had during their best times together.

But at this point, she still only had doubts.

This is their fifth year...

But she wasn't sure either, after all, being reborn had changed many things.

Regardless of the possibility, as long as he feels that divorce is the best option for them, then she will agree to the divorce and cooperate...

What truly confirmed her suspicions and conjectures was the day Gu Youlian's house was burglarized, and she opened that letter...

The will that was written to her in the previous life was not given to her in this life, but to Gu Youlian instead.

The letter read: Sister, my fate is uncertain. I've already divorced Lin Qingping. Whether I return or not, let her do as she pleases, come and go as she pleases. There's no need to tell her the truth; let her hate me. Hate is easier for her to overcome than love.

At that time, she held the letter and cried her heart out.

No wonder Gu Youlian has been setting up "obstacles" between her and Liang Jiaqi lately. She is waiting for her brother to come back. She still wants to leave her brother a way out. If he returns, at least her brother will still have the possibility of reconciling with Lin Qingping.

Ever since reading that letter, she has been living in constant anxiety.

She had always thought that being reborn would allow her to rewrite her destiny. She had never felt so insecure before. There were so many things she could change, but life and death were beyond her control...

In her past life, she never had a happy moment with Gu Juncheng. She hated him so much that he left without any regrets. But in this life, she said she couldn't live without him...

So, did he simply remove himself from her life early on?

But she still longed for him to open the door sometime in the morning or at night, his skin tanned dark and covered in dust, and to smile at her and say: Lin Qingping, I'm back.

She drew a circle on the calendar.

Zhiyuan asked her what day it was.

She couldn't tell Zhiyuan that this was the day his father, Gu, sacrificed himself in his previous life.

She remembers it because throughout her long life, she struggled alone, with no family member truly supporting her or caring whether she was tired or in pain.

One year, she suddenly remembered him, went to his grave, and brought him a bouquet of white chrysanthemums.

That day, she sat in front of his grave for a long time and said many things.

Her grievances, her hardships, the injustices she suffered, the difficulties she faced in competing fairly among a group of men to earn her place, and the humiliations she endured...

She couldn't tell these things to anyone, not even Zhiyuan.

A person's mental state is like a container filled with all sorts of emotions. Good emotions are easy to dissipate, but bad emotions accumulate. When they can no longer be contained, they overflow, and the person can no longer bear it.

But that day, she poured out all her bad moods without restraint or fear, not because of any deep feelings she had for Gu Juncheng, but because he was no longer there anyway.

Later, she learned that people online call this a "tree hole".

She poured out everything she couldn't tell anyone into this tree hollow, buried it there, and when she stood up again, that was when she was fully resurrected.

Later, Gu Juncheng became her confidant.

That day she saw his birth and death dates written on the tombstone.

And so, I remembered that day.

On this day, she would bring a bouquet of white chrysanthemums, and sometimes a bottle of wine. She would talk to him, have a drink, and then go home to face all the storms and glories.

In this life, the day she had remembered for so many years had not yet arrived.

She wished she could erase that page from the calendar.

But, it's no use.

She could only circle it on the calendar and pray every day, hoping that on that day, someone would be safe and sound, and that every day would be peaceful.

She never goes to worship Buddha, but this year she's determined to burn the first incense of the year, hoping to keep him safe.

Now, he has returned before that day.

She didn't know whether she should cry or laugh, or perhaps both...

He is still alive.

This is the best news.

However, he was seriously injured, so seriously that Lin Qingping sat outside the operating room from ten o'clock until dawn the next day, and the operating room door was still not opened.

Back then, the doctor's and patient's access channels in hospitals were not separated.

All she saw was groups of doctors rushing into the operating room.

It was a wave of department heads and experts.

Zhiyuan's hands were all red from being pinched...

What kind of injury must it be that so many specialists from different departments rushed here?

Lin Qingping sat there, her body limp, too weak to even sit up straight...

Around 8 o'clock, a young military officer arrived; he was the recorder who had come to the school that day to investigate Yun Yan's matter.

He held a cloth bag in his hand and handed it to Teacher Lü, saying, "Teacher Lü, these are Gu Juncheng's things."

Lin Qingping suddenly perked up, "What is it?"

The young officer hesitated for a moment, then looked at Instructor Lü for his opinion, "It's just some... clothes."

"Can I have it?" Lin Qingping asked again.

"It's best...it's best not to..." The young officer stammered.

"Yes, is it against the rules?" If it's something she can't watch, then she won't watch it; she has to follow the rules.

The young officer shook his head, "No..."

"Then, I want to see it." Lin Qingping insisted.

Teacher Lü sighed and advised her, "I'm mainly afraid of scaring you."

Lin Qingping then cared even less.

Despite her insistence, the bag of clothes finally ended up in her hands.

She opened it, and there was indeed a set of clothes, but it was covered in blood...

The military green had been stained dark red, and the stench of blood filled the air.

Lin Qingping immediately closed the bag, and tears streamed down her face.

So much blood, he must be in so much pain...

She was also afraid that Zhiyuan had seen it and that it would frighten him.

Before she could even offer any words of comfort, Zhiyuan said, "Mom, I'm not afraid."

Lin Qingping was slightly taken aback. How could someone so young be so strong?

A hint of sadness flashed in Zhiyuan's eyes. "Mom, I saw it when I was very young. My dad was like that back then too."

Lin Qingping's tears flowed even more freely. She hugged Zhiyuan tightly, and at that moment, they didn't speak. But at that moment, they understood all too well the significance of being a soldier's family member...

After a long while, Zhiyuan whispered in her arms, "Mom, don't worry. My dad didn't even have a chance to go to the hospital then, but Gu Dad did. Gu Dad will definitely be alright. So many doctors went in just now, they will definitely be able to save him."

Lin Qingping nodded, but couldn't bear to tell him: Child, the more doctors go in, the more dangerous it becomes...

The young officer pulled a plastic bag from his pocket and handed it to Lin Qingping. "Sister-in-law, we've already looked at this. It doesn't seem to have any special meaning. Can you tell what it is?"