Chapter Six

  (Now switch the perspective back)

  It's been three months since I was sent here...

  "What are you thinking?" Ou Yang's voice whispered in my ear. I had forgotten to mention that I've already recovered enough to get out of bed without relying on crutches, but I still can't walk very far. So, considerate as she is, she forcibly pushed me into a wheelchair. Now she's pushing me outside to bask in the sun, saying it's good for my recovery. (Bitter smile) But didn't I remember that more exercise is what's actually beneficial...

  Look up, watching the crowd outside, it's almost autumn now, but here in the south, there is still no chill. Even the big trees by the road are still green, and there are still butterflies on the grass. I gestured to her to help me push my wheelchair to the front of a tree, raised my hand, gently stroked it, feeling its roughness. "I don't know what's wrong with you? You even laugh when looking at a tree, never mind, never mind, I'll take you out for dinner."

  Her voice echoed in my ears again, thinking about that day half a month ago, she suddenly ran in and hugged me, crying without even considering the injury on my neck, just crying there until she was satisfied, then gently put me down and whispered "sorry"......

  "Why should I apologize?" It must be that her actions had reopened a wound, and seeing the blood flowing out was what made her want to apologize. She gave herself a gentle explanation in her heart.

  "No, no, no," she shook her head, tears starting to fall again.

  Looking at her like that, and recalling that the mountain bear had also gone out earlier and hadn't returned yet. I already had a general idea in my mind, what was needed was just to confirm how much that guy had told her: "How much did he tell you?"

  "It seems...that guy isn't just anyone with a loose tongue."

  "If you want to cry, then cry out loud, it's hard to hold back in your heart" What do you mean by that? Is it because you heard his words and your maternal instincts overflowed?

  "Ouyang, I'm grateful for your care when I was badly hurt. However, I didn't let you know about my past. Everyone has a past, you have yours and I have mine, it's my deepest memory. I don't know how much the mountain bear told you or how much you understand, nor do I want to know what you're thinking now. All I want to tell you is that I, Jian, don't need your sympathy or pity!"

  I said my words loudly to her, watching her shake her head hard and run out crying. She bumped into the mountain bear who was just about to come in, didn't even apologize, and ran away without a trace. I guess she must have gone to some deserted corner to cry. "What did you say to her?"

  I rushed in front of the mountain bear and before I got angry, I asked him my question. "What's wrong!! You just talked about your past, what's wrong with you, brother? You're not like you can't see people?" This damn bear still had an expressionless face, holding onto his own secrets so tightly, but others' he would casually reveal everything.

  "You, you, you, listen to me, my past, I don't want any of you to know, you can tell others about my previous life. Can you tell me? The departure of my brothers in the past, was it not used as a capital for boasting by me? Why didn't you boast about your brother's departure too? Ah~ You tell me." Already unable to control his anger, the words were spoken, only to realize that they were too harsh, harsh enough to hurt the person standing in front of him.

  Ouch! The mountain bear's fist slammed into my perfectly fine abdomen, and I curled up like a shrimp without saying a word. But when I lifted my head in agony, I saw that his face was also covered in tears. "Let me tell you, brother," he said, "I've never used my family as a way to show off. Without them, there wouldn't be the me standing here today. And I haven't used your past as a way to brag either. All I know is that girl likes you, so she has the right to know everything about you."

  "Have you ever asked for my opinion?" I shouted out with all my might.

  "No, but I know you need her, and she's also in your heart." As the bear's words roared out, his own heart was shaken like his ears! Really? Did he like her? Had he already forgotten about past events and started liking her?

  "I also know what you're thinking, but I don't want to see you like this. Think carefully about my words." Yama Kuma said as he turned and quickly walked out of the hospital room, leaving behind his badly injured self.

  "Do I really like her?" I repeated this question to myself in my heart, but I didn't know, I really didn't know.

  "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have listened in without your consent." It's been three days since she ran out crying, and just when he thought she wouldn't come back, she suddenly appeared before him.

  "It should be me who apologizes, I shouldn't have said such heavy words to you, sorry, can you forgive me?" He lightly spoke out his apology, not expecting a result at the same time, but saw the joy revealed on her face...

  "Hey, stop smiling like an idiot with that spoon! There are a lot of people watching." Ah!! I woke up from my memories to find myself and another person somehow already at the restaurant, with food already served in front of us. And there I was, holding a spoon and grinning like a fool.

  "What's wrong?" She continued to speak, seeing me awkwardly lowering my head and eating quickly. Curious about why I was so stupid earlier, holding a spoon and smiling foolishly.

  She lifted her head, and her expression suddenly became hilarious, as if she was enduring something. "If you want to laugh, just laugh out loud, holding it in is very painful." She must have wanted to laugh.

  "Haha~haha~haha~" She burst out laughing without caring about her image, but I was left confused and wondering what's going on?

  She saw the puzzled look in my eyes, reached out and wiped away the rice grains stuck at the corner of my mouth. "You, sometimes you're clever enough to see through people's hearts, but sometimes you're also lovely like a child."

  "Oh, thank you." Embarrassing to death, I've lost all language ability and can only say these three words.

  "Alright, hurry up and eat, later I'll take you to the rooftop to watch the sunset." Resigned to his fate, he could only lower his head.

  Eating the rice in the bowl with great effort.

  "Every time I see the sunset, I want to snuggle in the arms of the one I love most, let him hold me, and we watch the sunset together." Now on the rooftop, looking at the sun slowly dipping below the horizon, all I know is that a long time ago, she also loved watching sunsets, Ou Yang has the same hobby as her.

  "Oh, really?" I saw her standing in the sunset's glow, like a perfect sculpture, making me reluctant to disturb her, unwilling to ruin such a beautiful scene.

  "You're such a person, sometimes you're as stupid as a block of wood." Suddenly, a body leaned lightly against my chest, and I heard a whisper in my ear that was surprisingly clear.

  "I want to tell you something, but I don't know if you can handle it?" She heard my words, lifted her head, and a pair of beautiful big eyes blinked in front of me, as if expecting what I was going to say next.

  "Actually......" I'd rather not say

  "What's up actually?" Curious now?

  "Actually..."

  "Go on..."

  "Guess..."

  "You're a dead man!" Two fists pounded on his chest.

  "If I don't speak, I won't care about you." Now it's starting to get threatening.

  "Actually... I like men."

  "Ah~~~~" She was shocked by my answer, her eyes wide with astonishment, staring at me, then she lowered her head, her shoulders trembling.

  "Don't cry, don't cry, is the joke I told not funny?" No way, I remember when I told her before, she laughed really hard.

  Her shoulders were still shaking, and she was so flustered that she didn't know where to start comforting her. "Haha...haha...haha...I'm dying of laughter, you jerk." When he lifted her head up with force, what he saw was a face twisted from holding back laughter, and immediately after, he heard her ear-piercing laughter.

  "Alright, the sun has already set, I should take you back." She laughed enough and pulled me down without saying a word, but I was very curious. When she took me downstairs, we walked on the stairs, the dark kind. "Aren't women all afraid of the dark?" My puzzled self asked this question, of course, in my heart.

  "Wooden, sleep, I'm leaving." She gently put me on the bed, looking a bit lost, said one sentence and left.

  The clock continued to turn, and three more days had passed. While Ou Yang was chatting with her mistress and sisters, Shan Xiong arrived, his expression very solemn. I knew that the most unexpected moment had come.

  "I'm really sorry, I have to be the person you least want me to be." The mountain bear said with his head down, full of apology.

  "It's okay, you're just in time to chat with us. Quick, sit down, but no smoking allowed!" Ouyang, still unaware of what was happening, continued to joke around with him.

  "Not yet, the superior has given orders. We've rested long enough and it's time for us to set out." The mountain bear still lowered his head, saying words that none of us wanted to hear. Then everyone fell silent.

  "Where is it?" I couldn't help but break the silence, 'hopefully a relatively safe place' I comforted myself in my heart.

  "Garrisoning a city, it's not mentioned in the order, so it should be confidential, I shouldn't say. That damned guy, didn't even tell me."

  "Oh, really?" Upon hearing this, I didn't say another word, but instead reached back and pulled out the gun that was pressed under my pillow, removed the magazine, checked it, reinserted the magazine, then holstered the gun in the gun case that Mountain Bear had handed me, and handed it to her silent hands. "Take it, this is my blessing to you, I won't be able to protect you by your side, so let it take my place in protecting you."

  "Don't worry, brother, with me around, she won't even be short of hair." Mountain Bear loudly repeated his assurance in my ear, but I didn't listen. I just looked at her who was lowering her head.

  "How much more time do we have?" she finally said quietly.

  "Orders are for us to get there as fast as possible, we have to leave immediately, you still have half an hour, I'll find someone to help you pack your things." Mountain bear was still playing the role of a person that everyone hated, I knew he didn't want to be like this either, but this is war!

  "May I stay with him for a while? Just the two of us." Ouyang said softly, and as she spoke, everyone else retreated, leaving only me and her in the room.

  We just silently looked at each other, silently, until the mountain bear couldn't help but start knocking on the door. She only said one sentence: "Wait for me to come back and take good care of your injuries." Then she showed me a piece of iron that she had always kept in her pocket, I knew it was the fragment of the dagger that I had been holding all along. "This is my amulet, don't worry, wait for me to come back obediently, okay? I'm leaving now, and I'll write you a letter." After saying this, she gently tucked me under the quilt and then walked out...

  Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye. At first, she would occasionally call me, and I even received a letter from her, as well as one from Mountain Bear, who promised in his letter that not a single hair on her head would be harmed. But it's already been half a month since we last had contact, and people who have come back say that the situation there is dire, with all communication cut off. I dare not think the worst, but instead constantly pray for her, and for Mountain Bear, under the setting sun...