Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Yuwei scowled. “You must have imagined it since you were submerged in water.”
Immediately, she turned around and left.
Gu Juexi chuckled softly. He paid no heed to the pain coursing through his body and went out with Ye Yuwei.
Ye Yuwei and Gu Juexi had barely opened the door when Xixi threw herself at Gu Juexi and shouted, “Daddy!”.
Ye Yuwei was about was about to say something but Gu Juexi had already picked Xixi up and kissed her face, murmuring, “Daddy’s here.” He brought Xixi to Master Yao Lao’s bed and said, “I am sorry about He Liao. It was my fault for not being able to bring him back.”
Master Yao Lao waved her hand dismissively, stopping him from saying any further. When Gu Juexi brought her back and went out again to rescue other people, she had already made peace with him.
Ever since Gu Juexi entered the room, Ye Xicheng had been staring at him, his little face filled with suppressed concern.
Gu Juexi chatted with Master Yao Lao for a little while and when it was time for her to rest, he took the two children to the room next door.
Xixi pestered Gu Juexi to play with her for a long time before she finally fell asleep.
Ye Yuwei had gone out for a short while and when she came back, Xixi was already asleep while father and son were staring at each other.
Ye Yuwei had brought back porridge and pastries for Ye Xicheng. She had also bought some for Master Yao Lao and had placed them on the table in her room.
While Ye Xicheng climbed onto his seat at the table to eat, Ye Yuwei took a tube of ointment out of the bag. “Take off your shirt,” Ye Yuwei ordered.
Ye Xicheng looked up in shock, hand still holding the ladle. Did he hear his mother correctly?
Gu Juexi raised his eyebrows. Despite being really dissatisfied with the hotel, how could he refuse when his wife told him to take off his shirt?
Gu Juexi took off his shirt and laid face down on the bed.
Ye Yuwei peered at the bruises on his back. Blood was seeping out of some of the wounds. ‘Didn’t he feel anything?’
Ye Xicheng climbed down from the stool and ran over to take a look. When he saw Gu Juexi’s back, he instinctively covered his mouth with his hands, frightened by his scars.
“I heard from PA Wen that your commander has been asking you to go back,” Ye Yuwei remarked as she sat on the edge of the bed and applied the ointment to his back.
“Even you were bothered by it?” Gu Juexi laughed mirthlessly, resting his chin on his hands, eyes tightly closed. “When I was forced to leave, no one spoke up.”
Ye Yuwei’s hand on his back froze for a moment. She had never expected Gu Juexi to tell her something that had affected him so deeply.
That was probaby Gu Juexi’s greatest scar—the fact that he was forced to leave that year.
She remembered Yu Jiangqing had told her that Gu Juexi had to bear a lot during those years because he did not bring his team back when he returned.
When other people went on a mission, setbacks were allowed but since he was an elite soldier, even the smallest mistake would be infinitely magnified.
“Not being able to bring them back was my biggest mistake. I was 21 years old then, at the prime of my youth. The whole army, be it openly or secretly, were pointing fingers at me. Even old Lu was implicated and got into quite a number of fights because of me. It was then that I decided to retire from the army,” Gu Juexi spoke softly, as if he were just telling a story.
It was a story that he had never been willing to tell anyone.