NOS Chapter 70

Chapter 70: Birch Bridge (1)

Chapter 70: Birch Bridge (1)

Yu Chunming still had his arm in a sling, and the train station was incredibly crowded, so Guan Yao had to shield him, preventing other passengers from bumping into the injured man.

“Which carriage are you in?” Guan Yao asked as they were about to reach the platform.

Yu Chunming looked up at him, staying close, “Any carriage will do.”

“Any carriage will do?” Guan Yao held out his hand, “Let me see your ticket.”

Yu Chunming hugged his arm and blinked.

Guan Yao “tssed,” “You didn’t sneak in, did you? Chunming, you’re a police officer, how could you do something like that?”

“I didn’t sneak in!” Yu Chunming stamped his foot, then said somewhat awkwardly, “All the tickets were sold out. The lady at the ticket window asked if a standing ticket was okay, and I said it was. I’m young and healthy; I can stand for a night.”

“What the hell?” Guan Yao was speechless.

Yu Chunming was also helpless, “The plane tickets for today were almost all gone, and I was afraid Wang Zhen would catch me before I even got to the airport. All the way here, I felt like someone was following me, so… ah, let’s just get on the train!”

What else could they do but get on the train?

So Guan Yao, burdened with worries, found the train conductor, flashed his police ID, and used his connections to get Yu Chunming into a sleeper car. He then found a kind man who was willing to make up the price difference to switch from a middle bunk to a lower bunk.

“Have you had lunch?” Guan Yao asked after they sat down.

Yu Chunming honestly replied, “No, I barely managed to escape, how would I have time to eat?”

“You had time to buy clothes, but not time to eat?” Guan Yao scrutinized him.

Yu Chunming even smiled, “How is it? Does it look good? I specifically took a taxi to Central Department Store to buy it.”

Guan Yao took a deep breath, suppressed his rising anger, and then reached out to feel the thickness of the clothes.

“I specifically chose the thickest style; I know it’s cold.” Yu Chunming said considerately.

“I thought you didn’t know,” Guan Yao said sarcastically.

Away from the rehabilitation center, away from the most disgusting smell of disinfectant, even with serious injuries not yet healed, Yu Chunming was plainly more lively.

He looked at the crowds outside the window, then turned to let a passenger with luggage pass, turning back to smile at Guan Yao, “Going home.”

Guan Yao’s heart suddenly warmed.

Yes, going home, back to that distant Za Mu Er, that cold Za Mu Er, that Za Mu Er with its endless ridges, that was his home, and Yu Chunming’s home too.

But Guan Yao still couldn’t help saying, “You couldn’t have waited until your injury was a little better before coming back? You’re still dragging an arm. There are a lot of people on this train; be careful you don’t get bumped again.”

Yu Chunming replied, “I was anxious to see you; I couldn’t wait a day.”

These words made Guan Yao’s old face flush red.

Yu Chunming saw it, and his eyes instantly lit up, “I didn’t expect Police Officer Guan to be so innocent? Your face is red!”

“Inno-what?… Stop talking nonsense.” Guan Yao lowered his head and began fiddling with his backpack.

But Yu Chunming moved even closer, “If you’re not innocent, are you a philanderer?”

“I…”

“Tell me about your love life, tell me about those previous… abortive blind dates and romances.” Yu Chunming suggested.

“What’s so interesting about that stuff?” Guan Yao prevaricated, “Anyway, none of them worked out.”

“Then do you want to hear about mine?” Yu Chunming asked again.

This immediately reminded Guan Yao of Han Chen’s annoying face, and his heart suddenly ached. He immediately replied, “Don’t want to.”

“Don’t want to?” Yu Chunming glanced at the old man who had just sat down across from them, and lowered his voice, “Are you jealous, Guan Yao *gege*?”

That one word almost made Guan Yao jump up. He pushed Yu Chunming, exasperated, “Public place!”

Yu Chunming was quite innocent, “Can’t I call you *gege* in a public place?”

Guan Yao’s eyes flickered slightly, he sat down again, and said solemnly, “Don’t get so close in a public place.”

Yu Chunming had accurately grasped this person’s weakness, and he deliberately said, “Police Officer Guan, we’re both grown men, what if we were butt-naked and stuck together?”

After speaking, he added, “You don’t like men, do you?”

Guan Yao bit his teeth, tore open a bread and stuffed it into Yu Chunming’s arms, “Eat something.”

Yu Chunming laughed loudly.

Yes, being able to leave Songlan made him this happy.

Soon, the whistle sounded, and the train slowly departed from Songlan city. Before long, the Wuna River, the cross-river bridge, and Fish Cliff Island were all left behind. The scenery outside the window changed from tall buildings to fields of corn. The cable lines beside the railway sped backward, carrying the vast black soil to the eyes of the crowd.

“Guan Yao, do you know? When Yu Zunshan kicked me out of the house, I thought about leaving this place and never coming back.” Yu Chunming suddenly said, looking at the scenery outside the window.

Guan Yao turned to look at him.

“So, I boarded a plane heading south, leaving neatly and decisively.” Yu Chunming smiled, “But just as the plane took off, I saw this land beneath my feet. It was autumn, the corn was all yellow, and the wheat ears were rolling in the wind. The freshly turned black soil seemed to be glistening with oil. The evening sun was about to set, and the whole sky was red. I also saw the Wuna River in the distance. I knew that on the distant border line, it would converge with the Ning Nie Li Qi River, and then flow into the sea together. Thinking of this, I suddenly didn’t want to leave.”

The scene Yu Chunming described was now reflected in Guan Yao’s eyes, and his chest was faintly burning because of it, as if…the fiery red sun of the northern frontier was stuffed inside.

“And,” Yu Chunming paused, “And the Wuna River and the Ning Nie Li Qi River can converge, so you and I will definitely meet again. Even if we can’t meet now, we can meet in ten years. Even if we can’t meet in ten years, we will always meet in twenty or thirty years. Because even if I die, my ghost will drift to Za Mu Er and sleep with you.”

Guan Yao’s lips moved, and he finally called out that name, “Jiang Xin…”

“I won’t leave you, don’t worry.” On the bustling train, Jiang Xin replied.

At three o’clock in the afternoon, when they arrived in He Cheng, Wang Meng’s phone rang again.

Yu Chunming smiled and looked at Guan Yao, waiting for him to make up a reasonable excuse.

“I didn’t see Chunming,” Guan Yao said seriously, holding the phone, “I’m in the sleeper car here; he may not be able to get up here. I’ll ask the conductor to keep an eye out later. But in my opinion, even if Chunming bought a ticket for this train, he may not take this train. He may still be in Songlan, or he may have changed his mode of transportation; it’s hard to say.”

Yu Chunming covered his mouth, trying not to laugh out loud.

After dealing with Wang Meng, Guan Yao had to deal with Wang Zhen, “I saw him at the station…yes, yes, yes, I know Captain Wang will definitely check the surveillance, so I didn’t plan to hide it from you…no, it’s mainly because the signal on the train is bad. I plan to wait, wait until we get to Qujiang Station, where we stop for a long time. I’ll get off on the platform and call you again…yes, yes, that… please don’t tell Teacher Wang the truth either, Captain Wang. After all, this matter, this matter is indeed Chunming’s fault.”

“Why did it become my fault?” Yu Chunming said unhappily.

Guan Yao handed over the phone expressionlessly, “Your *shifu* wants to talk to you.”

Yu Chunming ducked back, “I’m asleep.”

“He heard your voice.” Guan Yao said helplessly.

Yu Chunming had no choice but to take the phone and carefully put it to his ear, “Captain Wang?”

The expected scolding did not appear. Wang Zhen stammered for a long time on the other end, squeezing out a sentence, “You, that, how’s your injury? The train is noisy, don’t bump into anything.”

Yu Chunming blinked, feeling a little guilty, “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

“That’s good,” Wang Zhen softened his tone, “After I finish dealing with the matters here in Songlan, I’ll go to Za Mu Er. After you go back, don’t go near the front lines again, you hear? Also, that…it’s cold in Za Mu Er now, it’s dropped to minus twenty degrees, wear more clothes, don’t always be so flashy, leaving your chest exposed, wearing a coat and wandering around, you hear?”

For the first time, Yu Chunming obediently listened to all of Wang Zhen’s nagging. After he hung up the phone, he said with emotion, “I didn’t know he could talk so much.”

Guan Yao laughed, “It’s because you never wanted to listen to him properly.”

Yu Chunming raised an eyebrow and turned to lie down on the narrow bunk, “It’s clearly because he never wanted to talk to me properly.”

In any case, they had dealt with the people in Songlan. As for Yu Zunshan, who had remained silent all along, Yu Chunming couldn’t guess what he was thinking. The two sat uneasily all the way to Qujiang, where Guan Yao finally received a call from Yu Zunshan.

“Yu Chunming is by your side.” Yu Zunshan started with a statement, not a question.

Guan Yao’s breathing tightened subconsciously, and he opened his mouth to spout some nonsense, but Yu Zunshan turned to ask, “What time will you arrive in Za Mu Er tomorrow morning?”

This stunned Guan Yao. He glanced at Yu Chunming and replied, “Around seven in the morning.”

“Okay,” Yu Zunshan didn’t say anything else, nor did he ask Guan Yao to hand the phone over to Yu Chunming. He just paused, and then said, “Be safe on the road.”

“It’s over?” Yu Chunming said in disbelief, watching Guan Yao hang up the phone.

“It’s over.” Guan Yao was also a little dazed.

“He didn’t say anything else?” Yu Chunming asked strangely.

“No,” Guan Yao raised his hand to pull up the outer garment that had slipped off his shoulder, and said, “He told you to be safe on the train and be careful not to bump into anything.”

Yu Chunming was silent for a moment.

Guan Yao also had many questions, “Chunming, I’ve never been able to understand, no matter what, Vice Director Yu is your father. Even if he and Aunt Jiang had something in the past, he shouldn’t… impose it on you. What’s more, as a police officer, you’re already quite outstanding. What exactly…”

“He thinks he’s already done his best for me.” Yu Chunming raised the corner of his mouth and smiled self-deprecatingly, “In fact, that may indeed be the case.”

“But he…”

“Peanuts, melon seeds, mineral water, move your legs in a little.” A small cart very timely interrupted Guan Yao’s words.

Yu Chunming immediately changed the subject, “How’s Guan Ning? I think I saw her that day in Beilin.”

“Oh, you still remember?” Guan Yao smiled, “Don’t mention it, that little girl really learned something after training outside for a few days. If it wasn’t for her quick hands that day, it would have been difficult to stop your bleeding.”

Sowing good causes yields good fruit. Back then, when Guan Ning was infatuated and dating hooligans, it was Yu Chunming who advised her to study hard. Otherwise, how would that muddle-headed little girl have understood what battlefield bandaging was?

Yu Chunming said with emotion, “Guan Ning is the memento left to you by your sister. If it weren’t for her, would we still be able to see each other?”

Guan Yao’s eyes moved, and his gaze drifted out of the window. After a long time, he replied, “The first day I came to Songlan, you almost died on the operating table. I was sitting outside the operating room, watching Teacher Wang sign your critical illness notice. At that time, I thought… I thought if you died, I might as well not live either.”

Yu Chunming froze and looked at Guan Yao.

Guan Yao smiled at him, “Everyone said that when Jiang Xin died in the river, I thought the same. I always felt…that I killed you.”

Yu Chunming could almost guess what Guan Yao was going to say next.

Sure enough, he still said that sentence, “Chunming, I’m really afraid that something like this will happen a third time.”

“A third time…Guan Yao, is this your reason for rejecting me? Are you afraid that I will kill you, or that you will kill me?” Yu Chunming suddenly raised his voice.

The old man on the opposite bunk was gnawing on a cucumber, the couple by the window were planning to roll red sausage in spring pancakes, and the young girl lying on the top bunk was about to cover her face and listen to a novel. And now, they were all attracted by this sentence.

“Sorry, sorry…” Guan Yao quickly explained, “He’s… not quite right in the head.”

Yu Chunming looked ill, seemingly proving the truth of this statement, but how could the Northeastern men and women, young and old, who loved to watch the excitement, let go of such a rare opportunity? The old man opposite immediately took out two bananas from his bag and handed them to Guan Yao, “It’s not a big deal, come, come, eat something.”

Guan Yao quickly took the bananas.

At this time, the young girl on the top bunk stuck her head down and inquired, “Handsome, which stop are you getting off at?”

“Za Mu Er, the final stop.” Guan Yao replied with a stiff smile.

“Oh, isn’t that a coincidence?” The couple by the window continued, “We’re also getting off at Za Mu Er. Are you going there for tourism, or going home?”

“Going home, our home is in Za Mu Er.” Guan Yao stuffed the bananas into Yu Chunming’s hands.

“Your home is there. Usually…what do you do for work?” The old man sent over two cans of beer.

Thus, the sadness that had suddenly flowed out vanished in an instant. Yu Chunming peeled a banana unhurriedly, and listened to Guan Yao spout lies everywhere:

“Hey, yes, yes, yes, we’re teachers…”

“Are you married…this, we’re married, we’re both married, our children are in high school.”

“No, he was just messing around with me…”

“Oh, thank you, thank you, I don’t drink…”

After tossing around for a while, when everyone gradually began to feel sleepy, Yu Chunming gnawed on a pear and teased Guan Yao, “Your child is in high school?”

“Well, Guan Ning’s vocational school also counts as high school.” Guan Yao fabricated.

Yu Chunming laughed, and poked Guan Yao with his elbow, “Then you never thought about getting married and having a child yourself?”

Guan Yao answered very frankly, “I thought about it, but I gave up after countless unsuccessful blind dates. Later, I felt that raising Guan Ning was already difficult enough, and it would be even more troublesome to have another one myself.”

“Am I troublesome?” Yu Chunming asked.

Guan Yao was stunned and subconsciously replied, “Why are you troublesome?”

Yu Chunming moved closer and said softly, “Because I plan to spend the rest of my life with you.”