"Ha!"
Lu Jinse gave a disdainful snort. "Self-important and then some. Can you even read? You’re literate, aren't you? I shouldn't need to explain that to you, should I?"
She pushed open the door and walked out without looking back.
Xu Yuehua stood dazed on the spot, watching her retreating figure. He couldn't wrap his head around it. How had this woman, who had always been so obedient to his every word, suddenly become so heartless? Where had things gone wrong?
...
The Xu family lived in the western part of Rongcheng, while the Lu family lived in the east. The two households were worlds apart. It was a journey of about ten kilometers, a one-hour trip by bus that required a transfer. It was past five o'clock when Lu Jinse left the Xu residence, and the sun had already dipped below the horizon.
...
When she reached the bus stop and boarded the 262, she looked out the window with a sense of relief, only to notice that the hazy night sky had become blanketed with dark clouds at some point. A few dull rumbles of thunder echoed from the distant horizon.
*Oh dear.*
Looking at the weather, would it rain? She hadn't brought an umbrella.
Lu Jinse’s worry was not unfounded; no sooner had she stepped off the bus than the sky opened up.
"Splash!"
Raindrops the size of soybeans pelted down from above. Lu Jinse glanced across the road and noticed a bus shelter. *I'll go take cover there,* she thought. Shielding her head with one hand and clutching her travel bag with the other, she hurried across the street.
Suddenly—
"Thud!"
Lu Jinse felt a sharp, violent pain in her backside. "Whoosh!" Her entire body was sent flying sideways, landing hard in a large puddle ahead, her travel bag skidding away.
...
"Screech!"
A sharp sound of emergency braking rang out behind her. Lu Jinse realized what had happened: in her haste to reach shelter, she had run a red light and been struck by a car.
*What rotten luck today!* First, she’d jumped into a river to save someone only to be met with complaints, and now she had been knocked into a puddle...
Lu Jinse struggled to prop herself up with her arms. Through the thick veil of rain, she looked at the blinding headlights on the road and shouted, "How are you driving?! Are you blind? Can't you see a person standing right there?"
Even if she had run the red light first, it was no excuse for hitting someone. Didn't they know the traffic rules about yielding to pedestrians and slowing down at intersections?
The car door opened. A tall man stepped out, standing against the light under an umbrella.
"What are you standing there like an idiot for? Come and help me up!"
Soaked to the bone and shivering like a drowned rat, Lu Jinse was in a miserable state, unable to even keep her eyes open. Her backside ached terribly. She worried that she might have cracked her tailbone.
The man strode over and tilted the umbrella toward her, shielding her from the torrential downpour. Lu Jinse wiped the rain from her face and only then noticed he was wearing a crisp military uniform.
*Hm? A soldier?*
Lu Jinse glanced at the car parked nearby. It was a Jeep.
"Comrade soldier, my... I think I've been badly hurt." She couldn't bring herself to say her backside was hurt—it was too embarrassing—so her tone softened considerably, no longer as aggressive as before. She had always had a good impression of soldiers.
"All right." The soldier nodded. "I'll help you into the car and take you to the hospital."
*Huh?*
A jolt went through Lu Jinse. Why was this man's voice so familiar? Deep, resonant, and rich with a magnetic quality, each syllable sounded like a pleasant musical note tapping against her eardrums.
She looked up abruptly. "Are you Gu Yuncheng?"
*Hm?* The soldier’s hand, which he had reached out to assist her, paused slightly. "I am. May I ask who you are..."
It really was him.
The mist rising in Lu Jinse’s eyes mingled with the dampness of the rain. She reached up to brush the wet hair stuck to her face. "Gu Yuncheng, don't you recognize me?"
"Lu Jinse?" A crack appeared in the deep, phoenix-shaped eyes beneath his military cap. "Why is it you? What are you doing running around the streets in this downpour?"
He first picked up her discarded travel bag, then returned to stow the umbrella. Wrapping his arms around her, he strode toward the car.
Lu Jinse retorted, "Don't blame me! You weren't watching the road. It’s lucky it was me you hit; if it had been an old lady, you could have knocked her to pieces, and you’d have had a real mess on your hands."
"Fine, I won't blame you. It’s my fault. We'll talk once we're in the car."
Gu Yuncheng opened the door and carefully placed her in the back seat, completely unconcerned that her rain-soaked clothes would ruin the upholstery. He sat in the driver's seat and turned back to hand her a towel.
"Thank you."
Lu Jinse took the towel and wiped the rain from her face. Her naturally fair skin, chilled by the rain, looked pale as translucent jade. Her large, dark, liquid eyes resembled black agates set in stone, veiled in a faint mist.
Gu Yuncheng’s gaze lingered for a moment. He took the towel back, started the car, and his foot touched the clutch—
"Yuncheng, could you pull the car over to the side first?" Lu Jinse asked.
Gu Yuncheng looked at her through the rearview mirror. "Aren't we going to the hospital first?"
"There's no rush to go to the hospital." Lu Jinse shook her head. "I want you to feel my bones."
Gu Yuncheng turned back, his eyes dark. "Feel which bones?"
Lu Jinse explained, "My pelvis and tailbone. Your hands are strong; press firmly. If the bones aren't broken, there's no need to go to the hospital."
*Pelvis? Tailbone?* A faint blush appeared on Gu Yuncheng's wheat-toned face. "We should still go to the hospital and let a doctor examine you. I'm a soldier; besides, I wouldn't know."
Lu Jinse explained anxiously, "What’s there not to know? If the bone is broken, you’ll press, and I’ll definitely feel pain."
"I’d better take you to the hospital. It’s not far, we’ll be there in a moment." Gu Yuncheng stepped on the gas, and the car surged forward.
"Fine, then." Lu Jinse leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes...
*Sigh.* This man was too feudal, too rigid. She didn't want to go to the hospital because she had just died in one.
As Gu Yuncheng drove, he watched her through the rearview mirror, observing the fluttering eyelashes on her pale cheeks, assuming she was simply frightened by the accident. He could never have guessed the emotional turmoil and struggle happening within her at that moment.
...
Encountering Gu Yuncheng on the street by accident left Lu Jinse with complicated feelings.
He was the son of Xu Yueshan’s aunt, three years older than Xu Yueshan. She had first met him three years ago, during the summer, when her father took her to visit the Xu family. At that time, many of the Xu relatives were gathered under a large tree in the courtyard to escape the heat, with fruits, cigarettes, alcohol, and snacks laid out on an octagonal table, all talking and laughing.
In Lu Jinse’s scant memory, Gu Yuncheng had been tall and thin, with fair skin and sharp, handsome features. He was different from the others; he liked standing in the sunshine, and his smile was somewhat shy. He didn't say much—like a cute, friendly boy next door.
The following summer, Lu Jinse had gone with her father to visit the Xu family again, but she didn't see him. She heard he had joined the army.
The third summer, Lu Jinse visited the Xu family alone and saw Gu Yuncheng for the second time. He had changed completely. Dressed in his military uniform, his once-fair complexion seemed to have taken on a honeyed glow; his frame had grown tall and sturdy, and his eyes had become as deep as the sea. He still liked standing in the sunlight, but he no longer smiled easily.
The fourth summer, Lu Jinse saw him at the Xu residence again. The relatives were saying he had been promoted to battalion commander. They all praised him for his accomplishments, noting that he had become an officer in just four years of service. They even teased him, saying it was time to find a wife, as someone so outstanding surely had many admirers.
Gu Yuncheng remained silent. Lu Jinse had been happy for him and offered her congratulations.
However, ever since she married Xu Yueshan, she hadn't seen Gu Yuncheng again.
Then, suddenly, one day, Lu Jinse heard from her mother-in-law that Gu Yuncheng had sacrificed his life in a war defending the country. Her heart had ached inexplicably, and she was reminded of that first time she saw him at the Xu house—that shy, blooming smile under the sun.
What a pity.