Stars Fall Into The Sea, Love Never Fades Chapter 49
byExtra 2: Starfall Beacon
In the twenty-sixth year of the Republic of China, the autumn atmosphere in Beiping City was filled with gunpowder smoke that could not be resolved.
There was a bustling crowd in front of the notice board under the city gate, and the news of the approaching Japanese army was like a dark cloud weighing on everyone’s mind.Shen Zhi was wearing a washed-white gown, holding a roll of drawings in his hand and frowning.He was an architect who had returned from studying abroad and was ordered to repair the city’s fortifications, but the artillery fire in recent days had made the lines on the drawing look fragile.
“Give way, please give way!”
A quick voice mixed with the smell of ink came, and Shen Zhi turned sideways to avoid it, before looking into a pair of clear eyes.The young man was wearing a light blue student uniform, carrying a half-used drawing board on his back, and holding a stack of freshly printed leaflets in his arms, with the words “Give me back my country” printed on them. The pen tip was strong, with a tenacity that refused to admit defeat.
The boy staggered when he hit him, and the flyers in his arms were scattered on the ground.Shen Zhi quickly bent down to help pick it up, and his fingertips touched the corner of a leaflet, where a small star was painted with delicate brushwork, which made people feel at ease inexplicably.
“Thank you, sir.” The young man raised his head, his eyebrows were crooked, but there was a trace of wet red marks at the corners of his eyes, as if he had just cried.
Shen Zhi’s heart suddenly shrank.This face, these eyes, are very much like the figure he dreamed of every night when he was studying abroad – the beach under the sunset, the white sweater, the faint scent of pine wood, and the gentle “Azhi”.
“You’re welcome.” Shen Zhi’s voice contained a subtle tremor, “I am here, Shen Zhi, responsible for city defense repairs.”
“My name is Lin Qi, a student from the Art College.” The young man smiled, showing two small tiger teeth, “Sir, do you also like stars? I always feel that no matter how dark the night is, stars can light up the way.”
Shen Zhi looked at the stars on the flyer in his arms, his eyes slightly red.It turns out that across time, space and dynasties, their bond is still the starry sky.
Since then, Shen Zhi and Lin Qi have met frequently.
When Shen Zhi was busy at the city defense construction site, Lin Qi would come to see him with warm soy milk and sesame cakes. During his breaks, he would show him his paintings – including the alleys and alleys of Peiping City, the majesty of the Great Wall, and the people who stood firm under artillery fire. In each painting, there was a bright star hidden.
“When the war is over, I want to paint all the mountains and rivers of the motherland.” Lin Qi sat on the stone slab at the construction site, holding a paintbrush in his hand and sketching Shen Zhi’s profile in the sketchbook, “Painting the mist and rain in the south of the Yangtze River, painting the sunset on the seaside, painting days without artillery fire, only peace.”
Seeing his serious look, Shen Zhi felt warm in his heart.He stretched out his hand and gently brushed off the dust on his shoulders: “Yes. When the war is over, I will design a studio for you, facing the sea, with spring flowers blooming.”
Lin Qi raised his head, his eyes shining: “Really?”
“Really.” Shen Zhi nodded with a firm voice, “Let’s wait together until the country is safe and the country is peaceful and the people are safe.”
The war was getting closer and closer, and the night sky in Beiping City was dyed red by artillery fire.Shen Zhi’s work became more and more busy, and he often couldn’t sleep for days and nights; Lin Qi joined the propaganda team of trying to save the nation, printing and distributing leaflets during the day, painting under the lamp at night, and using his paintbrush to awaken the fighting spirit of the people.
On this day, while Shen Zhi was inspecting the construction site, he suddenly encountered a Japanese air attack.The shells roared in and smoke filled the air. He subconsciously protected the workers around him, but he was hit in the leg by a collapsed wooden beam.
When he woke up, he was lying on a makeshift hospital bed with thick bandages on his legs and was in excruciating pain.In the blur, he saw a familiar figure lying beside the bed, crying so hard that his shoulders were shaking.
“Azhi…Mr. Shen, you wake up!” Lin Qi raised his head, his eyes were red and swollen, and his face was full of tears.
Shen Zhi stretched out his hand and gently stroked his hair: “Don’t cry, I’m fine.”
Lin Qi held his hand, with cold fingertips: “It’s all my fault for not coming to see you earlier. The doctor said that your legs may…may never stand up again.”
Shen Zhi’s heart sank, but he still smiled and comforted him: “It doesn’t matter. Even if I can’t stand up, I can still draw pictures and design a studio for you.”
Lin Qi lay beside his bed and cried harder: “I don’t want a studio, I just want you to be well. Shen Zhi, nothing can happen to you, I can’t live without you.”
Shen Zhi’s heart felt as if something had pinched it, sore and soft.He knew that no matter how many eras passed, there would always be such an unforgettable concern between him and Qi.
In the following days, Lin Qi would come to take care of Shen Zhi every day.He wiped Shen Zhi’s body, fed him, read him news about the Anti-Japanese War in the newspaper, and showed him his new paintings.In his paintings, there are no longer only stars, but also a figure in a wheelchair, standing in the beacon fire with firm eyes.
“Shen Zhi, look.” Lin Qi opened the sketchbook, and inside was a painting – two figures holding hands standing outside the city of Beiping, where the war was raging, standing under the starry sky, with the rising sun in the background.”When the war is over, we will go to the beach. Just like you said, facing the sea and the spring flowers blooming.”
Shen Zhi looked at the painting with red eyes.He knew that in this war-torn era, such a wish might be out of reach, but as long as Lin Qi was by his side, he would have the courage to persevere.
Three months later, Shen Zhi’s legs gradually improved. Although he was not as flexible as before, he could still walk with crutches.He returned to work, but this time, there was a young man holding a paintbrush beside him.
Lin Qi still insisted on promoting the Anti-Japanese War, but his paintings contained more elements of hope.He believes that as long as everyone has light in their hearts, they will be able to defeat darkness.
On this day, Shen Zhi and Lin Qi were sitting on the city wall, looking at the beacon fire in the distance, holding each other’s hands.
“Shen Zhi,” Lin Qi said softly, “If we can survive, will you go to the beach with me?”
Shen Zhi nodded with a firm voice: “I do. No matter how cruel the war is, no matter how difficult the road ahead is, I will stay with you until the mountains and rivers are safe, until we can be at the beach, watching the sunrise and sunset, and the stars and the sea.”
Lin Qi leaned on his shoulder, his eyes full of tenderness: “Me too. Shen Zhi, I will be with you for the rest of my life.”
The war is raging and the mountains and rivers are broken, but their love becomes stronger and stronger in the troubled times.Just like the stars in Lin Qi’s paintings, no matter how long the night is, they can illuminate the way forward.
They don’t know how long this war will last, and they don’t know if they can survive.But they know that as long as they are by each other’s side, they have the courage to face anything.
Stars fall on the beacon fire, and we meet again in troubled times.Their love is a beam of light in the beacon fire, a star in the darkness, an agreement across time and space, and a bond for life and death.
No matter how cruel the war is, no matter how difficult the years are, they will stick to each other and their original aspirations, waiting for the mountains and rivers to be safe, for the spring to bloom, and for the seaside to continue writing their eternal love.