Chapter Fifteen: The Lost Lamb

  Students all like to lie in bed at night and talk nonsense. Even soldiers do this, they are no different from ordinary people. They have flesh and blood, have ideals and emotions. It's just that Xu Sanduo took the initiative to talk about his heart affairs, even Ruan Yuexing couldn't help but suspect that tomorrow the sun might rise in the west.

  Xu Sanduo left the dormitory and found Murong Liuyue sitting on the top floor of the dormitory building with his hands behind him. When Xu Sanduo found Murong Liuyue, he didn't say a word and just stood behind him looking at him.

  Xu Sanduo burst out laughing and then hummed in agreement.

  It's really interesting. Murong Liu Nian also smiled with a warm smile. He waved his hand at Xu San Duo, signaling him to come over, and said: "In the past, someone broke the lanterns to find me, but they didn't realize I was on the rooftop."

  Xu Sanduo looked at Murong Liuyue, he didn't understand so he just smiled. Murong Liuyue also stopped talking and looked up at the starry sky with a nostalgic expression as if recalling some interesting past events, a faint smile on his face.

  Xu Sanduo finally spoke up: "Liu Nian." After hearing the voice, Murong Liu Nian looked at Xu Sanduo with confusion. Xu Sanduo hesitated for a moment before bravely saying "I couldn't sleep and wanted to find someone to talk to."

  Murong Liu's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he stared at Xu Sanduo with great interest.

  Xu Sanduo thought Murong Liunian hadn't heard him, so he firmed up his voice and said: "I said I want Liunian to keep me company and chat with me!"

  This is a rare encounter, with a probability lower than winning the lottery. Xu Sanduo knew he might be born with a lack of calcium and was very stupid, but he rarely took the initiative to bother others, deep down in his heart refusing to trouble others.

  Murong Liuyue suddenly became serious, one hand on his head and the other in a salute-like gesture: "Yes! Sir, please instruct!"

  Xu Sanduo was stunned for a moment and then laughed again.

  "I am perplexed by the passing years."

  "Huh? What's wrong?"

  "Are those people we saw at that place today really living happily?" Xu Sanduo was referring to the men and women in red and green they had seen at the bar today. It was also typical of Xu Sanduo to care about whether they were truly happy or not. Mo Rongliu looked at Xu Sanduo and smiled again, this time with a different flavor of smile. Xu Sanduo had never thought that one person could have so many different flavors of smiles.

  Tonight, the stars are shining brightly one by one. Murong Liu Nian seemed to be infatuated with the stars in the sky, his face devoid of any other unnecessary expressions. He gazed at the stars intently, as if muttering to himself: "Is that so? Are you confused? San Duo, I used to be like that too."

  "Are flowing years also perplexed?"

  "Mm." Murong Liuyue nodded and said "When I was very, very young."

  Xu Sanduo became anxious and asked, "What about Liu Nian? Can Liu Nian sleep well? If not, is there someone to accompany Liu Nian to chat?"

  At this time, Murong Liuyu's mouth slightly raised an arc and said: "Does San Duo like stars?"

  Xu Sanduo nodded, as if recalling a memory. Looking at the stars, he couldn't help but feel a little dazed and said: "I like it. My dad told me that my mom said she was one of the stars up there, always watching over Sanwa."

  "Really? Is there an unforgettable story?"

  Murong Liuyue said: "Let's count together, three more. Can you count more than the stars?"

  Xu Sanduo chuckled and muttered: "My mother taught me to count. I couldn't finish counting those stars, they always play hide-and-seek with me, it's so much fun."

  "Is it fun? Then let San Duo count again this time, and he will definitely be able to count clearly."

  One two three...

  It's been a long time since I've had such peace, never having to worry about waking up again. The world in my heart has finally quieted down. In his dream, Sanmao saw his mother, and his mother said to him: "Sanwa'er, when you miss your mother, just count the stars clearly, and your mother will come out to see you..."

  Xu Sanduo sat unknowingly and fell asleep with tears streaming down his face.

  Murong Liunian retracted his gaze and prepared to stand up when a beam of light suddenly shot over from behind. Murong Liunian turned around and saw Lian Chang and Ma Cheng.

  "Not bad, huh." Ma Liancheng strolled over leisurely and said "Looking at the stars and moon, not bad." Ma Liancheng was in a good mood, he hadn't expected that Mu Rong Liu Nian, who had always been light-footed and elusive, would be caught by him one day. This gave him an excited sense of triumph.

  Murong Liuyan slowly stood up and stretched, yawning lazily: "How's the self-criticism letter that Lian Shang wrote for you last time? Can it pass?"

  Ma Liancheng's face twisted in an instant, with a pain that could lead to eternal regret. He thought it was no wonder this lazy donkey didn't use his lightness skill to leave on time, originally he had a killer move specifically to restrain him.

  After all, he was an old rivers and lakes, Ma Liancheng's face changed quickly: "Do you have cigarettes on you?"

  Murong Liuyue started searching his pockets and finally found one after a while. Ma Liancheng's face was about to fall off, as the other person had hidden this last cigarette so well that it must be very precious, yet you peeled it and looked at him with a "what's wrong" expression, wanting to take it away from him. Ma Liancheng originally wanted to say "forget it" and pushed his hand away, but after taking a closer look at the cigarette, his eyes lit up and he quickly snatched it from Murong Liuyue's hand, asking: "Is this cigarette yours?"

  "No." Murong Liunian reached into his clothes again and pulled out a new pack, opened it, took out one, and put the rest back. "Qin Sihai gave it to me." Qin Sihai didn't know that before going to sleep, he had called him brother twice and stuffed the cigarette into Murong Liunian's hands, but now he was easily betrayed. No wonder people often say that friends who drink and smoke together are not reliable.

  Ma Liancheng, however, didn't think of Qin Sihai at the first time. He wanted to raise his flashlight and smash it on Murong Liunian's head, but he still wanted to play with that smoke. Ma Liancheng looked at Murong Liunian with a flattering expression: "Do you have any more?"

  Murong Liunian looked at Ma Liancheng with a strange expression, as if to say "Are you blind? Didn't you see I just took one out?" Murong Liunian lit the cigarette and put it to his lips, his tone sincere: "Yeah. Gave you one." Gave you one already, what more do you want?

  Ma Liancheng was so embarrassed that he wanted to find a place to hide. He didn't dare to ask Murong for cigarettes again. You had promised to help him write the self-criticism, and he didn't even ask for anything in return, but instead gave you a cigarette. How could you still try to take advantage of him? The words that had been brewing on his lips were swallowed back down.

  Ma Liancheng savored the cigarette before remembering Qin Sihai, and couldn't help but do some mental calculations again. However, this smoke wasn't satisfying enough - Qin Sihai was like distant water that couldn't put out a nearby fire. Ma Liancheng could only look at Murong Liuyue with an adorable expression, while secretly scolding him in his heart.

  Murong Liuyan looked at himself in confusion, wondering what he wanted to do. It wasn't until he finished smoking that he finally spoke kindly: "Has the company commander had a stroke?"

  Ma Liancheng thought to himself that this lazy donkey usually looked quite clever, but why did he always lack a screw at critical moments and not look at the leader's face. When he heard Mu Rongliu Nian say this, Ma Liancheng was prepared to be scolded, but Mu Rongliu Nian didn't give him that opportunity, instead saying: "Lian Chang, Xu San has fallen asleep, carry him down." This sentence sounded very strong in Ma Liancheng's ears, and he didn't know whether it was a request or an order, it was ambiguous.

  Ma Liancheng stretched out his hand impatiently and said, "Give me a cigarette."

  Murong Liuyan quickly took out a cigarette and handed it to Ma Liancheng, who put it in his mouth and then, without saying another word, picked up Xu Sanduo and turned around to leave.

  Qin Si Hai woke up with a start and accidentally knocked against the bed frame, causing it to creak loudly. Huang Xin, who was sitting on the bed putting on his socks and shoes, jokingly said: "Brother, your forehead is dark today, surely you'll encounter great difficulties."

  "Go, go." Qin Si Hai shouted twice in a row and threw his shoe over. Huang Xin, who had just finished putting on his shoes, picked up the washbasin and dodged in time. Qin Si Hai rubbed the spot where he was hit on his forehead and muttered to himself, "Why is my eyelid twitching nonstop."

  The residual waves on the upper bunk were still snoring, one after another, making Qin Sihai always worried that he would fall down with his bed. Qin Sihai put on his pants and stood up, pulling the quilt of Yu Bo and shouting loudly: "Go for a run!" Yu Bo suddenly woke up and poked his head out to vomit downwards.

  Qin Si Hai's face was covered in filth, but he didn't have time to get angry and thought to himself: Indeed, it's not going to be easy.