Li Weibing lowered her voice:
"Sister Xu, what should we do about Commander Guo?"
Hearing this, Xu Yumei's scissors stopped with a faint click. She lifted her head, her eyes moving from one sister to the other, both of them staring at her with a kind of expectant unease. A small smile touched her lips before she bent back over the cloth, the shears sliding smoothly again. She said slightly:
"What's so difficult about this? If you're willing, stay with him. If you're not, then separate. It's really that simple."
Li Weiwen hesitated, then drew a folded letter. She held it out almost timidly and said:
"Sister Xu, could you read this letter?"
Xu Yumei didn't even glance at the paper. She shook her head and said:
"No, I don't want to read it. This is between the two of you. I'm an outsider and even your sister shouldn't decide for you. The choice has to be yours."
The letter trembled slightly in Weiwen's hand before she pulled it back against her chest. Her voice dropped to a whisper, almost swallowed by the steady snip of the scissors.
"But I... I don't know what to do."
Across from her, Li Weibing was bent over a little garment, the needle flashing in her fingers as she sewed. Without looking up, she asked quietly:
"Sister Xu, what do they actually check in those political reviews? When Lin Feng and I married, we had to submit our marriage application. They only gave us the marriage certificate after saying we had passed. But in truth, we still don't really know what they were actually checking for."
Xu Yumei said:
"I don't really know what they check, probably just your family background, your political awareness, things like that."
Li Weiwen murmured almost to herself:
"Then... someone like me... does that mean I can't get married? I'd definitely fail the review."
Xu Yumei immediately understood and shook her head with a small smile. She said:
"Weiwen, don't worry so much. Are you saying that having a poor background would stop someone from marrying? That's not how it works. Junjun's father told me that the political review is mainly stricter for party members' marriages. As for Guo, it is no problem for him at all. If there were any issues with his girlfriend, the worst that could happen is losing his Party membership and his military registration and being sent back to his hometown. I can't remember if his hometown is Beijing or Tianjin. But either way, he could probably have a comfortable life there. And I know he wouldn't want that." She leaned back slightly, her hands still busy with the cloth, and added with a knowing smile, "And don't let him fool you with that serious face he shows around us. But up among the higher-up, he can use any tricks to face these leaders. Commissar Lei and General Yu had both crossed the grasslands and climbed the snowy mountains together with his father during the Long March. And even Colonel Zhao served under his father. They have all watched him grow up. There is no way any of them would be so heartless as to strip him of his uniform and kick him out of the Party."
Li Weiwen asked, her voice tinged with anxiety:
"What will they do then?"
Xu Yumei cast her a quick glance and replied with a shrug:
"What do you mean? At most, they would just make him a low-ranking soldier. Honestly, I think that would already be enough for him."
Li Weiwen murmured softly, almost to herself:
"That's such a shame."
Xu Yumei teased, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her:
"What? Is your heart aching?"
Li Weiwen flushed and said, a trace of admiration in her voice:
"Sister Xu, that isn't what I mean. But don't you think it is pity for him? He is so talented."
Xu Yumei replied with a thoughtful smile on her lips:
"Yes, it is a pity. But what if he's willing? Alright, Weiwen, I know what is on your mind ---- you just don't want to bring him trouble. I can understand that. But you two have never really had the chance to get to know each other properly. Here's what I suggest: You begin to know him. Spend more time with him. If it feels right, keep going. If not, then let it go."
A week later, Lin Feng received a letter from Li Weibing. Inside was a small slip of paper meant for Guo Yungang. It read only: Hello! Letter received.
There was no heading and no signature. Guo Yungang leaned over to Lin Feng, curiosity in his eyes. He asked:
"Can you recognize this handwriting?"
Lin Feng studied the handwriting carefully before answering:
"It looks like Li Weiwen's handwriting."
A faint smile tugged at the corners of Guo Yungang's lips. He immediately sat back down at his desk, picked up his pen and wrote a second letter to the girl he cherished, once again pouring his heart into a long, tender message. Her reply, however, was exactly the same as before: Hello! Letter received. Though it left him a little disappointed, he reminded himself that even such a brief acknowledgment was better than silence. But the reply for the third letter was different: Hello! Wishing you all the best! And so, for the next three months, they kept passing on their budding first love to each other in this unbalanced, almost hesitant manner.
In August, when Commander Guo and Lin Feng returned, they were welcomed warmly by the whole company. Guo Yungang was pleased to see that everything was thriving ---- the fields promised another bumper harvest and the herds of livestock had grown larger. Holding little Junjun in his arms, he greeted everyone with cheerful warmth. Then, in the midst of the crowd, his eyes fell upon a pair of bright green eyes. She didn't step forward with any special warmth ---- she simply greeted him along with the others. He knew at once that he had to restrain himself. Any impulsive gesture might embarrass her and make him lose her forever. So the moment his gaze brushed against hers, he quickly turned away, letting his attention fall back on the other comrades around him.
It seemed that Liu Yun had fallen back into her old habit of frequently running to the company headquarters. She kept a close eye on Guo Yungang's movement, sticking to him like a shadow. This made him unbearably irritated, and even when he used his authority to scold her and drive her away, it was all in vain.
"What are you doing here? You're not a child anymore, following adults and begging for candy. You're a soldier now. You have your own duties to fulfil. And I have my own responsibilities. So please go back and focus on your work. Don't interfere with mine."
Guo Yungang shouted at Liu Yun once again, his voice booming so loudly that it carried beyond the company headquarters, reaching the ears of many nearby.
"Commander Guo, why are you getting so angry? That girl isn't worthy of you at all. Of course she knows it herself so she rejected you in front of all of us. What more needs to be said? Are you telling me that someone as proud as you would still go and beg her? Wake up, Yungang! You and I are the ones who are truly meant for each other."
Liu Yun spoke with boldly conviction, completely unconcerned if anyone outside was eavesdropping. All she cared about was that her Guo Yungang could see her. Hearing this, Guo Yungang replied calmly:
"I'm sorry but I don't like you. I have only ever seen you as a younger sister."
At these words, Liu Yun burst into tears, her voice trembling with hurt as she cried out:
"But I like you. From the very first time I saw you, I wanted to be with you. I loved to play with you. You also liked to spend time with me. All this time, nothing between us has changed. But why did you have never seen me?"
Just then, Instructor Zhang entered the office. Taking in the scene before him, he let out a silent sigh. His wife firmly believed that Guo Yungang and Li Weiwen were a perfect match, but he himself thought Liu Yun would be the better choice. After all, if Guo Yungang ended up with Liu Yun, there would be no obstacle in passing the political review, whereaas with Li Weiwen, things might turn out uncertain, and in the worst case, Guo Yungang could lose everything. But, regardless of how others judged it, Guo Yungang simply couldn't see Liu Yun in that way. Watching her sobbing, her face streaked with tears and snot, Instructor Zhang had no choice but to persuade her to out of the room. Too many people outside had already overheard the shouting, and the impact on appearances was far from ideal.
Guo Yungang's first private meeting with Li Weiwen hadn't been arranged in advance. It happened one sunny afternoon as he was driving back from the county to the base. In the distance, he spotted Li Weiwen herding sheep. Without hesitation, he turned the jeep around and drove straight toward her. Seeing the jeep approaching from afar, Li Weiwen immediately realized who the driver was and her heart tightened with nervous tension. She wanted to hurry the sheep away quickly and avoid him, but it was already too late. All she could do was to stand there quietly as Guo Yungang stepped out of the jeep and walked toward her. She kept her head lowered, unable to meet his gaze. For a long while, neither of them spoke. At last, it was Guo Yungang who broke the silence:
"Are you alright?"
She kept her head lowered and gave the faintest nod but still said nothing. He said softly:
"I was really glad to receive your note when I was in Lanzhou. Does that mean that you have forgiven me for my impulsiveness, for the way I hurt you." She still silent and he went on with a half-laugh, though there was a trace of worry in his voice: "But your notes were always so short that I could never tell what you were really thinking. All I could do was comfort myself with the thought that at least... you don't dislike me."
She murmured at last:
"I never knew what to write."
Hearing this, he instantly broke into a radiant smile and said:
"Then... does that mean we could see each other more often, sometimes in private, just to talk?"
Still keeping her head down, she whispered:
"But I don't know what to do... or what we could even talk about."
"To be honest, I don't really know what to do either." He admitted with a gentle smile. "Let's just... find something, anything, to talk about."
With that, he sat down on the grass, tilting his head up to finally catch a glimpse of her face. Her cheeks were flushed crimson. Reaching out, he tried to draw her down beside him, but she instinctively pulled back. After a hesitant pause, she sat down anyway, leaving just enough distance ---- one cautious step between them. She said again in a lower voice:
"Please... don't let anyone know about this. I...I'm afraid."