Chapter 705: Chapter 709: Like a knife, cutting through his heart
No matter what, he hadn’t expected that after enduring countless hardships and struggles and finally returning alive from hell, what awaited him was this devastating news.
Undercover for two and a half years, he walked on the edge of life and death countless times, living every day in fear and on the brink of emotional collapse.
Only the gentle and sweet image of Ye Xingbei in his mind carried him through.
He remembered Ye Xingbei’s birthday clearly.
He had never dreamt that in an era where late marriages and late childbirths were the norm, Ye Xingbei, at the age of 21, was already married.
And, what’s more, she was married to Gu Junzhu, the person he was most admired, respected, and trusted the most!
At this moment, his heart was torn apart, but his expression remained exactly the same as before, warm and excited, showing the appropriate surprise at just the right time: “Fifth Brother, is it true? How did you and Beibei end up getting married?”
“That’s a long story!” Gu Junzhu beautified the story of his marriage to Ye Xingbei a little and gave a brief overview to Duan Yanbing.
He described their marriage as love at first sight, a mutual affection between them.
It was not that he purposely deceived Duan Yanbing; he did not want to embarrass Ye Xingbei.
Moreover, his relationship with Ye Xingbei was very good now, and he seriously wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He had even wondered what exactly love was.
If he and Ye Xingbei were happily living together, perhaps there was already love between them?
Duan Yanbing listened attentively, his expression changing appropriately and at the right time with Gu Junzhu’s narration.
Nobody knew that every sentence of Gu Junzhu’s was like a knife, slicing his heart open, leaving it torn and bleeding profusely.
After briefly introducing a few things about him and Ye Xingbei, Gu Junzhu asked Duan Yanbing: “How did you meet Beibei? You were sent out on a secret mission and disappeared for months until finally, the higher-ups suddenly announced that you had sacrificed your life. Our team mourned for you for a long time.”
Now, speaking about it casually was easy, but back when the comrades received the news of Duan Yanbing’s death, they were too embarrassed to cry in public. In the middle of the night, these strong men buried their faces in their blankets and wept into their pillows, sobbing inconsolably.
The next day, everyone had red, swollen eyes, yet they still pretended as if nothing had happened.
Perhaps those who had never been soldiers wouldn’t understand the bond between them in their lifetime.
They ate, rested, trained, and fought together.
With bullets flying around, they entrusted their backs to each other, shoulder to shoulder, back to back.
They shared a bun, a wild fruit, or a bottle of water in the direst of circumstances, carrying an injured comrade in turn for dozens of miles on foot. When the bullet came, they didn’t hesitate to push their comrades away, risking their lives for each other.
Their friendship was often even deeper than that of blood brothers.
Duan Yanbing was originally deployed by the higher-ups for a confidential mission. When he left, after two or three months, when the higher-ups notified him, it was about Duan Yanbing’s death.
He couldn’t accept it, stormed into the leaders’ rooms, slammed the table, and was put into solitary confinement for three days.
For him at that time, nothing was more painful than losing a comrade.
Moreover, Duan Yanbing died without a whisper, leaving them without a reason.
Duan Yanbing said: “That time I was assigned to a mission, I was severely injured, and was saved by Beibei. I was in a coma in the hospital for more than two months. After waking up and contacting the higher-ups, they told me to stay hidden and said they would assign a more important task to me later. So I stayed here for over half a year. After half a year, I received an undercover mission, and took up a hidden identity.”