Can't Take My Eyes Off You

3

"Jiang Yao! Damn! You're out of your mind!" Wen Xuehui was so agitated and shocked that she cursed

at her best friend. She wasn't cold-blooded, but at a time like this, as she watched the soil getting

slippery and starting to slide off the slope, she was unwilling to sacrifice three lives in order to save the

guard.

"Xuehui, he is Lu Xingzhi! He is my husband!" Jiang Yao's tears rolled down her cheeks like a broken

pearl necklace. "Lu Xingzhi! Lu Xingzhi! Can you hear me? I'm coming for you! Please stay alive!"

At this moment, Jiang Yao finally realized the genuine feeling of fear. She was afraid that Lu Xingzhi's

life would end at this very moment. She was afraid that she would lose the husband she had avoided

for many years.

***

Have you ever thought about how agile and strong a person could be?

You could survive without legs, you could survive without arms, and you could survive without half of

your stomach and liver.

On the other hand, have you ever thought about how fragile a person could be?

In the blink of an eye, a living person has become a black and white portrait on the altar.

Just like that, he died.

This was the fragility of life, the weak and feeble life.

"Jiang Yao, I'm so sorry for your loss. He's gone now, he'll never come back." Wen Xuehui sobbed as

she embraced Jiang Yao, who hadn't spoken a word for several days. She was so heartbroken to see

the latter in such a state but she didn't know how to comfort her.

That day, she recoiled in shock as she heard Jiang Yao screaming the man's name and his status her

husband. She was so caught in surprise to the point of losing her sense of rationality and joined Jiang

Yao and the comrade to start digging the mounds with their bare hands. If it weren't for the comrades

who had arrived in time to pull them away, the three of them would have been buried beneath the

mounds that had fallen down a few seconds later.

After the rain subsided, the guards cleared the muddy landslides and found the body of Jiang Yao's

husband. On the very same night, the landslides took the lives of a guard, an old man, and two

children.

Wen Xuehui figured she would bury this painful memory deep in her mind and never look back. The

stormy night that was illuminated by thunder and lightning, the howling of the villages echoing across

the car, and Jiang Yao's pale face when she looked back at her.

"Ma'am, these are the captain's belongings." The young comrade passed Lu Xingzhi's belongings over Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

to Jiang Yao, his eyes are blood-red. "In the box are the captain's medals, some certificates, and

whatnot, and this is his uniform. I'm so sorry..."

Jiang Yao gazed at the box filled with Lu Xingzhi's possessions, his remnants. Her trembling fingers

opened the old wooden box at the top of the items. "When did he transfer to your unit?"

"Almost two years ago," the young comrade said. "The captain was transferred shortly after you came

to the village to be a volunteer doctor."

"So, he was already there when I went to your base to assist your team doctor. I see. At that time, were

you all aware of our relationship?" Jiang Yao clutched her chest in pain. The pain was indescribable it

felt like a virus that was gradually consuming her body's perception system. "No wonder you always

called me sister-in-law whenever you saw me."

She had naively thought then that sister-in-law' was just a collective term for married women.

It was only now that she realized how close Lu Xingzhi was to her. She was providing her assistance in

his base while he was hiding from her.

She knew that he must be afraid that she would once again avoid him and leave this small village

should she have found him here.