When he saw the two of them, Guo Yungang didn't spare Liu Yun a single glance. He went straight to Li Weibing and asked:
"Li Weibing, I know Li Weiwen is inside. I want to talk to her. Could you please ask her to open the door?"
"Commander Guo, I don't know how else to say say this, but let me be clear. As her elder sister, it's my duty to protect my younger sister. And I won't do what you ask. I deeply despise what you did today. I don't think my sister has any reason to speak with you and I don't want her to suffer any harm no matter who you are."
Here eyes burned with anger as she glared at him. Guo Yungang's face darkened as he spoke:
"Oh? No reason to talk to me? Then perhaps she has some reason to talk to Doctor Liu instead? I really don't understand this is between Li weiwen and me. Why should Doctor Liu be involved at all? Now I am very curious to hear what she might say to Doc. Liu."
Li Weibing couldn't hold back anymore. Her voice rose sharply:
"Commnader Guo, I never expected that you had such a hobby ---- liking to eavesdrop on women's private conversations. Doc. Liu comes here to examine me, to check my health. Are you sure that is what you really want to hear?"
Guo Yungang gave a contemptuous smile and said:
"Oh? Is that so? Well, I'm interested in that. Do as you want. All I want is to speak with Li Weiwen. So please let her come out and I will take her outside with me."
Liu Yun had already been furious today. Seeing Guo Yungang not even cast her a glance, ignoring her completely as if she didn't exist, which fuelled the fire in her chest. Her anger flared and she shouted:
"Guo Yungang, don't you dare push me too far!"
She stormed forward, raising her hand to slap him across the face, but Guo Yungand caught her wrist in one swift move. She, like a madwoman, struck at him wildly, while Li Weibing, standing off to the side, was at a loss ----- whether to pull her away or not? neither choice seemed right. Just then, the door creaked open. Li Weiwen stood in the doorway, trembling all over. Actually, from the moment Guo Yungang had begun pounding on the door, she had been right behind the door all along, cowering with her arms wrapped tightly around her own shoulders, listening to every word outside. She had thought that only Li Weibing and Guo Yungan were standing outside. Never had She expected Liu Yun to be there as well. The sound of Liu Yun's voice startled her, with a sudden surge of desperate courage, she pushed the door open wider. Still hugging herself, shivering, she finally spoke in a weak, quivering voice:
"I want to make myself clear to all of you right now. Commander Guo, I have already told you before that it is impossible between us. Please don't bring up what happened today. Doc. Liu, please don't misunderstand it. What happened today was beyond my expectation and never what I wanted. I have never had any improper feelings toward Commander Guo ---- nor toward anyone else. All I want is to spend my life here without any pressure, without fear. I am a cursed person. Misfortune will follow anyone who stays close to me. I don't want to bring disaster to anyone and I don't want more trouble for myself either. Please! Don't get involved with me. Just leave me alone."
With those words, her strength seemed to drain away and she leaned weakly against the doorframe.
Hearing this, Li Weibing's eyes filled with tears. She rushed forward, wrapped her arms around her trembling sister, and whispered through her sobs:
"Xue'er, my dear sister, none of this is your fault. None of it."
Liu Yun looked curiously at the two sisters and then turned her gaze toward Guo Yungang. She noticed the way he was staring at the girl leaning weakly against the doorframe, his face full of pity. The sight made her heart twist with bitterness. Unable to bear it, she finally turned and left in anger.
From that night on, Liu Yun remained in low spirits. Although she no longer wandered to the company headquarters without reason, whenever Guo Yungang appeared, her eyes would involuntarily follow him, sometimes with a look of longing or sometimes with resentment. As for Li Weiwen, she withdrew further into herself. Except for her duties in the kitchen, she spent nearly all her time in the dormitory. Books became her only companions. She had read them so many times she could nearly recite them from memory, yet she still clung to them as though they were a lifeline. And so things remained until one day Guo Yungang left with Lin Feng. They were sent away to Lanzhou.
After half a month, Li Weibing suddenly received a thick letter which Lin Feng. The moment she saw it, excitement welled up inside her. By now she was four months pregnant, her belly just beginning to show. During the past two weeks, to ease the lovesickness she felt for Lin Feng, she often asked Li Weiwen to stay with her. Sometimes Xu Yumei would bring her child, little Junjun. The three women would sit together, chatting about everyday things. They never once mentioned Guo Yungang in front of Li Weiwen. So when Li Weibing came home that day with the thick letter in hand, she found Li Weiwen and Xu Yumen in her home sitting on the kang, discussing about how to give a child a massage. Li Weiwen asked first:
"Sister Liu'er, why are you so happy today?" when noticing the thick envelope in her sister's hand, she teased with a smile, "Is that the love letter from my brother-in-law? It's so thick ---- it must be worth its weight in gold."
Blushing, Li Weibing scolded her with shy irritation:
"You little rascal! Always showing off in front of me. "
With that, she tore open the envelope, then froze in surprise. Inside, besides a single sheet of paper, there was another sealed envelope. She pulled it out and stared at it in a daze, her expression so strange that Li Weiwen began to feel uneasy. Li Weiwen asked in confusion:
"What's it? Why is there another envelope inside? Why are you looking at me like that?"
Li Weibing didn't answer her sister's question. Instead, she handed her the second envelop. On the front were the words "To Li Weiwen, to be opened in person" and at the bottom the signature was Guo Yungang. At the sight of it, Li Weiwen was surprised, shaking her head as she shrank back on the kang as if she had just seen some kind of monster or demon. The only one who showed no surprise was Xu Yumei. Watching the two sisters' faces, one frozen in shock and the other stricken with fear. She couldn't help but laugh and said:
"Is it worth all this fuss? It's just a letter." She took it from Li Weibing's hand and gave it a glance. Then she turned to Li Weiwen and added, "Weiwen, I think it is better for you to read this letter. Whatever it says, you should know what he has to say. I know that ever since that night, you have never really talked to him. You never gave him the chance to explain himself, which you just cut it all off one-sidedly. But I know Guo well. He is a stubborn man, the type who never gives up until he gets what he wants. As we would say around here, he is a tough character. Once he sets his mind on something, nothing will stop him from seeing it through."
Li Weiwen said timidly:
"But...but I...I already told him...told him everything clearly. I don't want any more entanglements."
Xu Yumei asked:
"Do you want to hear my opinion?"
She looked at Li Weiwen, who was glancing at Li Weibing. Li Weibing said:
"My sister, this is your own matter. At this point, I hope you make your own decision. If I were you, I should listen to Sister Xu's opinion. Don't let yourself walk into a dead end."
Hearing this, Li Weiwen nodded slightly. Xu Yumei smiled at her and said:
"Actually I have known about your background for a long time. It's not just me ---- Junjun's father and Company Commander Guo have known it ever since you arrived here. Of course I heard it from Junjun's father. It was Commissar Lei who specifically told them about your situation. In fact, I have seen plenty of blue-eyed boys and girls in Xinjiang. It is nothing unusual. Even if your father is an American, so what? No one can choose their parents. The fact that your mother never married again means she truly loved your father. That's not a crime. Besides, you have never even met him and you have cut any ties with your mother. What wrong have you done, my little girl? Actually not all forgeiners are bad persons. You see, Doctor Norman Bethune, he was also a foreigner, yet he saved so many Chinese people. Even the great Chairman Mao wrote a tribute to him. We can't judge you just because your father is an American. Here, people don't concern themselves with birth or background. As long as you don't oppose Chairman Mao, don't oppose our Communist Party, listen earnestly to their guidance, work hard, and serve the people, everyone here is a good comrade. And you grew up under the Red Flag, raised in the new society, educated and guided by Chairman Mao and the Party since childhood. How could you have committed any unforgivable crimes? Even if someone has done something wrong, our great Chairman Mao and the Party are so powerful that they can reform everyone ---- even emperors, Japanese devils and high-ranking reactionaries from the Kuomintang. Surely, anyone who has committed a crime can also be reformed. Don't worry. These aren't just my words. They're what Commissar Lei said to Junjun's father and Commander Guo. I'm just a country woman, who doesn't know much about the world so I don't know if it's all true. But since you all came here, I have seen you city kids work so hard here, going from knowing nothing to now being able to do everything. That's enough. So, Weiwen, don't worry about things that don't matter. You're a good child, a good person. That's enough. As for Commander Guo, just read his letter and then talk it over with him. I'm not trying to force you to be with him. I just think you two are well matched. Give him a chance and give yourself a chance. If you really don't want it, just tell him. I promise he won't bother you about this any further."