Chapter 71

Commander Pei had spent half his life in the military — when had he ever been this humiliated? He turned back and waved his subordinates off, telling them to stay outside and wait.

"Start." Gu Yunchi hit the timer.

Wen Ran immediately picked up the parts and started assembling the gun. His movements weren't exactly skilled, but very orderly.

The magazine clicked into the grip. Gu Yunchi gave the time: "Two minutes thirteen seconds."

"A little progress." Wen Ran touched the gun, giving himself a self-assessment.

Gu Yunchi looked back toward the door. "Commander Pei."

"Mm."

The words had barely landed when Pei Yan saw the omega freeze, snap his head around, mouth slightly open staring at him. Then he scrambled off the bed, shoved his feet into slippers, retreated to the bedside chair. Still gripping the gun like he'd forgotten to put it down — like a little bodyguard doing a punishment stand, except in pajamas.

When Pei Yan got a clear look at the omega's face, he paused. A flash of something he couldn't name — déjà vu.

But staring wasn't appropriate, especially with the omega looking so nervous. So Pei Yan asked Gu Yunchi, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

"Li Shu." Gu Yunchi said, looking at Wen Ran.

Wen Ran was so tense he looked about ready to salute, spine ramrod straight. "Hello, Commander."

"Hello there. So late — I'm not disturbing you two, am I?" Pei Yan walked over, pulled up a chair, sat down in front of Gu Yunchi's bed.

"No, no." Finally remembering to put the gun down, Wen Ran went and got a cup of hot water and brought it to Pei Yan. "Have some water. I was just about to head out anyway — you two chat." And then he vanished at top speed.

"Where is he going in his pajamas?" Pei Yan asked.

Gu Yunchi's face was blank. "Wei Xing's room."

Pei Yan thought for a moment. "That kid looks kind of familiar."

"He's the one I got engaged to in high school." Gu Yunchi said. "You've probably seen photos."

Now Pei Yan really froze. He and Gu Peiwen were old friends, so naturally he'd heard about the engagement. The night of the engagement party he'd been tied up with military business and couldn't attend. Someone had sent him photos afterward — not very clear, the omega's face small and a bit blurry.

That might be the source of the familiarity. But the point was — he'd heard for certain that omega had died in an explosion.

"But he didn't—" Pei Yan held the water, unable to believe it.

"He survived."

Four simple words, but even after years of campaigning, Pei Yan still found it impossible to fathom.

"So... so what's the situation now, between you two?"

Gu Yunchi leaned back against the pillow, voice unhurried. "We're already engaged. What else? Moving on to the next stage, obviously."

"You mean—" It sounded like Gu Yunchi was being forced into it, but Pei Yan knew that if Lieutenant Gu really were forced, he wouldn't sigh about it — he'd flip the table. The carefully curated list of one-in-a-million marriage candidates Pei Yan had been drafting for the eligible young Gu Yunchi went up in smoke. Pei Yan asked, "Marriage? Does Peiwen know? Does he approve?"

"The only thing that matters here is whether Li Shu agrees. If he agrees, we marry. If not, we marry later."

Meaning everyone else's opinion could go to hell. Pei Yan suspected that even if Gu Peiwen stood on a chair threatening to hang himself, Gu Yunchi wouldn't give him a second glance.

At this point, the cup of tea Wen Ran had poured suddenly felt heavier in his hand. Pei Yan straightened up slightly. "So does that mean I get to be the witness?"

Gu Yunchi was stone-faced. "There's a lot of elders. I'll discuss it with him and let you know when to come in for the interview."

"Your five-thousand-word handwritten self-criticism for missing the post-battle meeting — the deadline just moved up by another half month." Pei Yan finished, then said to the soldier at the door, "Go to Wei Xing's room and bring back Xiao Li — the kid who just ran out in his pajamas."

In less than twenty seconds, Wen Ran jogged back, then switched to a measured pace outside the door before walking in. Pajama collar neatly straightened, hands clasped in front of him, very proper and stiff. "Commander Pei, you wanted me?"

"Don't be nervous. I'm not like Yunchi's grandfather, putting on airs." In his bid for the witness position, Pei Yan stooped to shameless slander of his rival. He took a sip of water, and the more he looked at Wen Ran, the more he liked him. He smiled and asked, "Where do you work?"

Wen Ran gave the Company name, then added, "It's an air transport Company. I mainly design aircraft."

"Oh, so that's related to our air force technical specialty." Pei Yan took another sip. "Good, good, good."

They made small talk for a while. Commander Pei, who wasn't thirsty at all, didn't stop until he'd finished the cup Wen Ran had poured him. He stood up. "Well, I won't keep you. Get some rest. I heard you're heading back to Capital City tomorrow? Give old Gu my regards." He clapped Wen Ran on the shoulder, and Wen Ran immediately snapped to attention. Pei Yan said, "Next time I'll have Yunchi apply for a sniper rifle for you to take apart, alright?"

Wen Ran's face lit up, but he fought to keep it from showing too much. "Thank you, Commander!"

Before leaving the room, Pei Yan glanced back at Wen Ran. He was sure no one he knew looked like Wen Ran. Apart from the blurry photo he'd seen, the vague sense of familiarity might come from some kind of resemblance — but resemblance was the hardest thing to place.

Then he remembered he'd forgotten to ask about Gu Yunchi's injuries. But there was no reason to turn around and go back. Pei Yan asked his subordinate, "Where's the bathroom? I need to go."

Back in the room, Wen Ran was still standing at attention, chest out, chin up. He figured that after spending so much time around soldiers lately, he'd picked up some of their solemn dignity. Middle fingers pressed against the seam of his pajama pants, holding the posture, he asked Gu Yunchi, "Do I look like a soldier?"

"Yeah." Gu Yunchi said. "You look like you've got something wrong with your head."

The next morning, Wen Ran went home to pack. While packing, he called Zhou Zhuo.

"Wow, nice. Half a month goes by and you finally remember I exist, huh? I messaged you how many times — did you reply?"

It was just the same question about what his relationship with Gu Yunchi actually was. Wen Ran said, "I did reply."

"You sent me 'no comment' and you call that a reply?!"

"Did you go top up the Blue Glass card or not?"

"Top up my ass! Don't think I don't read the news. Gu Yunchi is Gu Peiwen's grandson! Boqing Group! The richest family in the country! And you have the nerve to keep begging me for that five-hundred-yuan card!"

The top-up card was clearly not happening in this lifetime. Having a stingy boss was a lifelong misfortune. Wen Ran said, "It's fine. Maybe one day you'll go bankrupt."

Before Zhou Zhuo could lose it, Wen Ran's voice dropped. "I'm going back to Capital City today. After this... you don't need to keep helping me look for news about my mom."

From his tone, Zhou Zhuo knew what the result was. He was quiet for a moment. "Gu Yunchi told you?"

"Mm." Wen Ran rubbed his eyes. "I want to go back and pay my respects."

"Things have to come to a conclusion eventually. Better than you spending year after year searching." Zhou Zhuo shifted to a lighter tone. "Go back and take a look. If anything comes up, call me right away. I don't have connections in Capital City, but don't worry."

"..."

After hanging up, Wen Ran went to the head of the bed, dropped to the floor, reached under the bed, found a small wooden box nailed to the underside of the bed frame, pressed the clasp, and took out what was inside.

A bankbook and some documents, plus a small object wrapped in velvet cloth.

After organizing them, Wen Ran braced one hand on the bed to stand up. The moment he lifted his head, the back of his skull felt like it had been hit with a club — a boom, then sudden silence in both ears. Dizziness followed, his vision slowed, then went black. His head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. His whole body tipped forward, head slowly coming to rest against the bed frame.

After seven or eight seconds, his vision gradually came back. Wen Ran blinked and stood up slowly. Must've been bending too low and getting up too fast — not enough blood to the brain.

After packing, Wen Ran unplugged everything except the fridge, slung his Backpack over his shoulder, and left the house.

At the Military Airport, Wen Ran handed his ID and passport to Gu Yunchi to take over for check-in. A moment later, Gu Yunchi brought back a few confidentiality agreements and forms for him to sign. Wen Ran didn't even notice the words "accompanying family member" at the top of the page — he just scribbled his ugly signature and went back to looking around the airport in admiration.

They boarded a small military passenger plane. Before takeoff, Gu Yunchi had received a stack of documents from a subordinate. After takeoff, Wen Ran looked out the window for a while, then suddenly turned and asked Gu Yunchi, "Do you have any extra paper and a pen? I have something to write."

Without asking what, Gu Yunchi pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it over along with his pen. Wen Ran put down the tray table and, in the bright light from the window, bent his head and started writing, stroke by stroke.

It was only a few short paragraphs, but Wen Ran wrote carefully for a full twenty minutes. After finishing, he checked it over a few more times, then capped the pen and handed it back to Gu Yunchi, folded the paper neatly, and tucked it into his backpack.

The plane had climbed to cruising altitude. Outside the window, nothing but a sea of white clouds. Wen Ran zoned out for a bit, then sleep hit him fast. He settled into his seat, closed his eyes, and was out.

He was drifting off when, through the haze, he felt the light dim — the window shade seemed to have been pulled down, replaced by the soft yellow glow of a reading lamp. Then something light and soft landed across him. A blanket.

So he sank deeper, more comfortable, into sleep.

When that fuzzy head tipped sideways onto his shoulder without realizing it, Gu Yunchi lifted his gaze from the documents and turned to look.

In the steady white noise, Wen Ran slept quietly, completely unguarded. His long lashes lay lowered — exactly the way he'd looked sleeping beside him these past few nights.

Gu Yunchi watched him for a long moment, then reached over with the hand holding his pen and drew a few strokes on the pale inside of Wen Ran's wrist.

Like that summer in high school, flying from the Capital City to City S for camp. Wen Ran slept, woke, slept again, woke again. They landed in the afternoon. Gu Yunchi opened the shade, and Wen Ran looked out, half-dreaming, half-dazed — he'd been away from here for seven years.

After landing, they grabbed lunch at an airport restaurant, then got in a car. Wen Ran watched out the window. The Capital City looked the same as always — already a top-tier developed city, so there wouldn't be any earth-shaking changes.

His eyes were getting tired. He rubbed them, and that's when he noticed the drawing on his wrist: a flat oval with two dots inside.

'What's this?' He lifted his hand and asked Gu Yunchi.

Gu Yunchi was typing back messages on his comms device. He glanced at Wen Ran's hand. 'When'd you get a tattoo?'

'Who gets a pig nose tattooed?'

'Didn't you?'

Wen Ran half-suspected Gu Yunchi had drawn on his face too. He immediately leaned toward him, reaching between the front seats to check the rearview mirror. Only after checking did he relax.

The soldier driving kept his eyes dead ahead, lips pressed tight.

Wen Ran settled back into his seat, turned to study Gu Yunchi's profile, then looked at the pig nose on his wrist again. In the end, he didn't wipe it off.

Halfway there, the car stopped outside a flower shop. Wen Ran got out and bought a bunch of pale pink carnations, then ducked into the convenience store next door for a lighter, and climbed back in.

They drove on toward the north edge of the city — nearly an hour and a half of road. Sunlight poured in through the window, warm and easy. Wen Ran watched the scenery pass without looking away, until they entered the Mountain Forest Scenic Area. He sat up straighter, hands buried in his pockets unconsciously clenching.

They reached the halfway point up the mountain and stopped. Gu Yunchi grabbed Wen Ran's backpack and stepped out. The wind was strong and cold, so he flipped up the big hood of his coat and pulled it down over Wen Ran's head. Wen Ran felt most of his face disappear under it — from the shadow on the ground, he looked like a pointy little pine tree.

One person, one tree, they walked a stretch of gravel path, then stepped onto grass, going downhill. After a few minutes, they came out into a vast open space. Wen Ran saw the open cemetery in the distance — headstones of all different shapes standing quietly in the dusk light.

'I'll go the rest of the way alone,' he said.

Gu Yunchi unzipped the backpack. Wen Ran pulled out a stack of papers.

'Second row, third from the right,' Gu Yunchi told him.

Wen Ran nodded, hugged the flowers to his chest, and walked toward the cemetery alone.

There was no photo on the headstone, only Li Qingwan's name. Trees rustled somewhere in the distance. Wen Ran stared at the stone, knelt down on the grass, pushed back his hood, set the carnations gently in front of the grave, and unfolded the copies — the paper shook violently in the wind.

He'd had so much he wanted to say, but now that he was here, it felt like he couldn't get a single word out. Wen Ran reached out and touched the cold stone. Softly: 'Mom.'

'I — I made copies of some certificates, to show you... I wrote you a letter too.'

He'd never spoken to Li Qingwan this formally before. The words came out stiff and trembling, stumbling over each other. Kneeling there in the vast open space between the mountains, he felt as small as a single seed.

'I've had this dream, where I walked a really long way to find you, and you recognized me the second you saw me, ran up and hugged me.'

'Today I sat in a car for a long time to get here too, but I can only talk to you through a headstone. Gu Yunchi said they never found your body. I thought — if there's a headstone here for you, maybe you finally have somewhere to rest.'

Wen Ran turned to look back. The early autumn grass was the color of dried hay, lit up by the sun — bleak and sorrowful. Through his tear-blurred eyes, he saw Gu Yunchi standing far away, Wen Ran's old yellow backpack still slung over his left shoulder.

'Mom, I've thought about this. Seven years ago, Gu Yunchi probably thought I was both pitiful and awful. His kindness to me was real, because he just had a sharp mouth. But what happened afterward was real too. For Gu Yunchi to actually fall for someone — yeah, that's a hard thing.'

The time he'd spent with Gu Yunchi was like a morning star twinkling in the gray of his childhood and adolescence — locked away in a sturdy glass box. Wen Ran had tried to find the key, but 'I won't marry you' and Gu Yunchi hiding his decision to enter the military academy had made him understand: that key was never going to be his.

Gu Yunchi had given him a precious star, just not the key. All he could do was look through the glass.

'Sometimes I blame myself. Back then, before I almost died, I'd already made peace with everything. I fought to survive, I lived well for a long time. So why do I keep wavering every time he shows up? Maybe that's just something I can't help.'

'There's no answer between us yet. But I think I'll find the courage to ask — because I'm not the same person I was seven years ago.'

Wen Ran wiped his tears, lit the copies and the letter with the lighter, lay flat on the ground and kowtowed three times toward the headstone, then stood up, pulled his hood back on, and walked toward Gu Yunchi.

He took his backpack and slung it on, ready to leave — but Gu Yunchi said, 'Give me the lighter.'

A bit confused, Wen Ran handed it over and watched him walk toward Li Qingwan's headstone.

'Came a little late this year — had to bring him along.' Gu Yunchi knelt in front of the grave like he'd done it a hundred times, pulled a folded paper from the inside pocket of his coat, and lit it without hesitation.

'The marriage application from Military Headquarters. The one the omega has to fill out — I haven't given it to him to write yet. This one's mine. Showing you first.'

Brief words. Nothing else. Gu Yunchi stood and bowed to the headstone.

He walked back into the wind. Wen Ran was still sniffling, his shoulders and the tip of his hood trembling — like a little pine tree being shaken by the breeze.

'Let's go.' Gu Yunchi tugged the brim of Wen Ran's hood.

Flocks of birds swept through the valley on their way back to the forest, their cries echoing like a song. The sun was sinking low, leaving only a thin layer of afterglow — falling across the two figures walking side by side under the vast sky.

Wen Ran asked, voice thick: 'What did you burn to show my mom?'

'A complaint letter.'

'You talked bad about me?!' Wen Ran was so startled he sucked in hard through his nose. After a few seconds of stunned silence, he tried to reassure himself: 'It's fine, mom won't believe it.'

A few more steps and he couldn't help asking again: 'What exactly did you write? Is there something wrong with me?'

Gu Yunchi said, 'No.'

Felt like he was brushing him off. Wen Ran thought about it for a second, then fired back: 'I wrote a letter to mom too, by the way. Wrote bad things about you as well.'

'Oh.' Gu Yunchi turned his head, glanced at the red tip of Wen Ran's nose poking out from under the hood. 'Whatever.'

Whatever. He'd already read the whole letter anyway.

When Wen Ran had been writing on the plane, he'd thought he was being pretty sneaky about blocking the view — but the characters he wrote so carefully had one very obvious feature: they were huge. So Gu Yunchi had seen every word.

He'd even solemnly written a title on the back of the paper: 'A Letter from Li Shu to Mom, Li Qingwan' —

'Mom, I gave myself a new name. Li Shu. I'm working now — assistant engineer. My friends and coworkers are all really good to me. I've saved up a hundred thousand. Maybe one day I'll be able to afford the models I like.'

'It's been a little hard, but I've grown up okay. The only thing that's not quite perfect is that after meeting Gu Yunchi, I think I've become kind of a crybaby (not because he hits me). I think I need to fix that.'

'Well, I thought about it some more. When I'm with Gu Yunchi, even if I'm crying, I feel really safe. If I can't fix it, then I won't fix it.'

'Mom, I'm going to keep working hard at life, keep chasing everything I dream about. Please don't worry about me.'