Back To The 80s-Chapter 190: Pain_1

Lu Zhanguo hadn’t closed his eyes in three days and three nights, sitting at his desk, not eating or drinking anything.

"Old Lu, you should go back and rest. I’ve already sent people to look for your sister," Guo Huaqiang couldn’t help but advise.

"No need, arrange for the captured men to be taken to the military district first," Lu Zhanguo waved his hand, letting Guo Huaqiang go first.

It wasn’t until the guard at the door called to say that Gu Xiaobei had returned, that Lu Zhanguo, for the first time, couldn’t wait any longer. He stood up so quickly that his chair toppled over. Not caring about anything else, he ran like the wind toward the main gate of the camp.

He saw Gu Xiaobei and Chen Gang halfway there. To be precise, it was Chen Gang who was helping Gu Xiaobei, who felt that without Chen Gang’s support, she could have slipped to the ground at any time.

Looking at Gu Xiaobei’s dirty, little face, Lu Zhanguo, couldn’t contain his joy. He quickly stepped forward and hugged Gu Xiaobei tightly against his chest. Only then did he feel more at ease. In guilt, he said, "I’m sorry..."

Gu Xiaobei wrapped her arms around Lu Zhanguo’s waist, resting her full weight against him. Upon hearing Lu Zhanguo’s apology, she felt a pang of discomfort, but she joked instead, "Sir, could you first feed me before hugging me?" She didn’t want Lu Zhanguo to feel guilty and remorseful.

Lu Zhanguo laughed and pulled Gu Xiaobei out of his embrace, looked at her deeply, and said, "Okay." He then carried Gu Xiaobei horizontally and walked towards the residential building.

The ignored Chen Gang happily followed behind them with a smile.

Jiujiu had been staying at Li Fengmei’s house these past two days. Hearing that Gu Xiaobei had returned, she ran back home with tears in her eyes.

Lu Zhanguo first let Gu Xiaobei lie on the bed, helped her lean against the blanket and then brought a wet towel over to gently wipe her face.

Gu Xiaobei closed her eyes in contentment, letting Lu Zhanguo wipe her face. Although what she really wanted to say was: "I’m fine. Let me eat a bun first, then I can wash my face on my own."

Jiujiu rushed into the room, saw Chen Gang standing aside and Gu Xiaobei lying on the bed with her eyes closed, and burst into tears with a "WAH".

Gu Xiaobei was startled by the crying and quickly sat up, smiling at Jiujiu. "Jiujiu, I’m back. I’m all good now. Don’t cry."

Jiujiu threw herself at Gu Xiaobei and cried harder. Gu Xiaobei was also moved to tears.

Li Fengmei also came in with a plate of five or six buns, saying nonstop, "As long as you’re okay. Lu, here are some buns. I’ll make you some more dishes. Just have something to eat in the meantime."

She left the buns on the table and hurried out to prepare the dishes. Now was not the time to chit-chat.

Looking at Gu Xiaobei and Jiujiu, Lu Zhanguo thought they might not stop crying anytime soon. He sat down with Chen Gang and started asking about what they had gone through in detail.

On the side, Gu Xiaobei, who was sobbing and holding onto Jiujiu, suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, I remember who that voice belongs to!"

"What voice?" Lu Zhanguo turned to ask.

"When I was tied up in that shack, someone was talking to Li Hao. That person was the gatekeeper, Old Zhang, from Fuhai." After saying this, Gu Xiaobei also felt incredible. Could it be that the amiable old man was a villain?

Lu Zhanguo frowned and nodded his head. Having just heard a brief description of their ordeal from Chen Gang, he couldn’t help feeling a chill. If it hadn’t been for Chen Gang’s quick pursuit, Gu Xiaobei might not have made it back safely.

Li Fengmei quickly brought in a dish of stir-fried cabbage and invited the others to eat it.

"These buns are all we have for now. You guys start eating. I’ll go and cook some noodles."

Gu Xiaobei, who was already famished, took Jiujiu with her to wash their hands and faces and they started to eat.

Looking at Gu Xiaobei and Chen Gang stuffing themselves with buns, Lu Zhanguo felt better, but the thought of Jin Cheng’s sacrifice still prevented him from eating.

Gu Xiaobei stuffed a big bun into her mouth until her cheeks were puffed out. She saw Lu Zhanguo tearing off small pieces of bun and chewing slowly. Gu Xiaobei knew that Lu Zhanguo was still bottling up his worries, but in front of the two children, she didn’t know how to ask, so she just focused on eating her meal.

Li Fengmei brought in a pot of cooked noodles. Gu Xiaobei quickly ate a large bowl, not feeling satisfied until she had finished eating. She put down her bowl and chopsticks with contentment.

Li Fengmei sat down and finally spoke up, "It was truly dreadful these past two days. Jiujiu has been feeling so heavy-hearted. She won’t eat properly without you."

Gu Xiaobei touched Jiujiu, who was still eating her noodles, and sighed, "I was really worried when I heard that Jiujiu had hurt her leg. I wouldn’t have run off and caused all this trouble if that hadn’t happened." As she spoke, she felt guilty and looked at Lu Zhanguo.

"It was all caused by those two brats of mine. They caused Jiujiu to hurt her leg. What a strange turn of events," Li Fengmei said in fear.

"Jiujiu really hurt herself?" Gu Xiaobei asked with concern.

"Aunt, I’m fine now. My leg doesn’t hurt anymore. My mother-in-law has been using hot saltwater to treat it every day, and it’s almost healed now," Jiujiu quickly reassured Gu Xiaobei.

"Fortunately, no bones were broken. This child has been crying every night. She said if she hadn’t hurt her leg, you wouldn’t have been captured by the bad guys," Li Fengmei said sympathetically.

After chatting for a while longer, when Li Fengmei heard that it was Li Hao who was responsible, she sighed and said, "It’s all because Li Hao was spoiled by his parents. Luckily, Li Juan left. Otherwise, there would have been more trouble."

Gu Xiaobei nodded. After talking for a while, Li Fengmei left, reminding Gu Xiaobei to rest.

After cleaning up, Lu Zhanguo let the two children squeeze on the small bed outside the room. Upon entering the room, he saw that Gu Xiaobei was sitting up, her face twisted into a knot.

"What’s wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?" Lu Zhanguo sat down by the bed and looked at Gu Xiaobei with concern.

"No, I’m fine, I didn’t get hurt anywhere. It’s just that my legs hurt a little after walking for two days. But you’re not okay. I can tell you have some serious burdens weighing you down. Even my safe return hasn’t been able to alleviate your worries. Look at the redness in your eyes, the dark circles, and the stubble on your face. You haven’t slept in days, have you?" Gu Xiaobei took Lu Zhanguo in her arms and said with concern.

Lu Zhanguo hugged Gu Xiaobei tightly and buried his face in her neck. Gu Xiaobei felt something wet on her neck, and with a start, heard Lu Zhanguo say in a muffled voice, "Jin Cheng has made the ultimate sacrifice."

Gu Xiaobei’s mind exploded––Jin Cheng had made the ultimate sacrifice. What did the term ’sacrifice’ imply? She had been misunderstanding Jin Cheng all along.

Now that Jin Cheng was gone, what about Qin Li? How could she bear it? Gu Xiaobei began crying uncontrollably. It took her a while to say, "I want to go see Qin Li, can I?"

Lu Zhanguo lifted his head, his eyes a deep red, and nodded, "Yes, we can go together tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaobei buried her head in Lu Zhanguo’s chest and started crying again, letting her tears and snot run onto his clothes.