GHLCS Chapter126

Many years ago, Gu Fangfei was still a little girl. She followed her father to do business in Shucheng and lived there for a period of time.

 

She was young and had a poor memory. She only knew that her neighbor had a very beautiful garden and a very beautiful hostess in the garden. She called her Aunt Yan. Aunt Yan was very gentle to her and often held the hand of a very kind brother. The brother often took Gu Fangfei to fly a kite.

 

Fangfei means the fragrance of flowers, so the little brother called her Xiao Hua Meimei. The brother’s name was hard to remember, and she remembered the brother as soon as she saw the kite, so she called him Feng Zheng Gege.

 

Feng Zheng Gege is a very good person. Gu Fangfei fell asleep in the coal-burning house and almost suffocated inside. It was Feng Zheng Gege who carried her out.

 

Aunt Yan would take her home and coax her to take a nap when her parents were out.

 

Later… later, the war broke out, and she left Shucheng with her father.

 

She asked her father where the brother had gone, and her father said he was dead. She didn’t know what death meant at that time.

 

Later, when she grew up and understood what the “scorched earth policy” meant, she would only sigh for the kind-hearted little boy when she saw kites hanging on the branches in spring.

 

Until today, when someone stood in front of her and called her “Xiao Hua Meimei”, using the nickname that only that brother would use back then, Gu Fangfei suddenly felt like she was pulled back to more than ten years ago.

 

“You… you really are…”

 

Xu Hang stood up, his lips trembling slightly, and nodded: “I took you to fly a kite. You said you wanted a phoenix kite, so I said… I’ll bring you one next time… unfortunately, there wasn’t a next time, so when you got married, I gave you a phoenix crown as a gift, just as I owed you the phoenix kite that year.”

 

These two sentences made Gu Fangfei burst into tears.

 

There were too many stories tonight, she was like a cup filled to the brim, unable to contain any more, and everything spilled over.

 

“That’s why I felt like I knew you before. It turns out… it’s not just my illusion.”

 

“If it weren’t for the current situation, I wouldn’t want to tell you.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier!”

 

Xu Hang also smiled bitterly: “Our relationship is also a mess. It’s hard to tell whether it’s gratitude or resentment, right or wrong… cough, cough… um!”

 

He pressed the wound hard to stop it from bleeding.

 

The soldiers outside the door had already started to curse. Gu Fangfei wiped her tears and said, “You hide behind the screen. If I can’t stop them, just escape through the chimney.”

 

In the end, she couldn’t bear to do it, so she turned around and walked out of the living room, took a deep breath, and went to open the door.

 

The soldiers outside the door had been waiting for a while and were getting impatient. As soon as they saw the door open, they wanted to rush in. Gu Fangfei supported the door frame with one hand and raised her chin slightly: “What do you want to do?”

 

“Do our jobs, we are investigating the criminal, cooperating a bit.” The soldiers said arrogantly.

 

Gu Fangfei put on the attitude of a lady from a noble family and stood with her hands on her hips: “Do you know where this place is? Do you know who I am? How dare you search here, huh?”

 

The soldiers knew she was from the upper class as soon as they saw her demeanor. Her tone was so defiant, unlike the ordinary people who were frightened when they saw the soldiers.

 

Moreover, this place was close to the concession, where many wealthy families lived. Who knows, she might really be a powerful person.

 

So they didn’t dare to go in but just leaned against the door and stretched their necks: “This… we are also here for official business. If you harbor a criminal, you can’t bear the consequences.”

 

“Harboring a criminal?” Gu Fangfei sneered and put her hands on her hips. “I have a relationship with the American ambassador where we can even toast and chat. I also have to go to a cocktail party with German officers tomorrow. Who is the criminal you captured that I would condescend to harbor?”

 

The soldiers choked.

 

“Look up and open your eyes. What’s hung here is a protection order issued by the concession area. If not for the fact that there were no houses left in the concession area, I wouldn’t have lived outside.”

 

As Gu Fangfei was talking, she saw blood dripping from Xu Hang’s shoes at the entrance. Fearing that she would be discovered, she took a step forward, stepped on the bloodstains, and said arrogantly, “Alright, don’t say I won’t let you guys search. If you found them, then it counts on me. If you guys don’t… heh, don’t blame me for going to your boss tomorrow to vent my anger.”

 

These soldiers were the kind who bullied the weak and feared the strong. Glancing around and noticing the woman’s refined appearance, they figured she was a wealthy lady, clearly someone who couldn’t possibly be involved with any criminals. They glanced around and backed out with a fake smile: “Look at what you said. Sorry to bother you, sorry to bother you. We are just worried about your safety. Since you feel safe, then we are fine with it.” Then they waved their hands: “Let’s go! Check the next one!”

 

After finally sending the plague away, Gu Fangfei looked out a few times, locked the door, and then walked in.

 

Xu Hang had already used Gu Fangfei’s medicine box to stop the bleeding and bandage himself, sweating profusely. Gu Fangfei went upstairs to find some clean clothes.

 

“These are the clothes I’m going to send to Yuan Ye. They may be a little too big for you, so just wear them for now.”

 

The two of them struggled for a while before they finally had Xu Hang cleaned up. Gu Fangfei started a fire and burned all of Xu Hang’s bloody clothes.

 

Looking at the ashes, Gu Fangfei’s eyes flickered: “How did you become like this?”

 

“It’s hard to explain. Not to mention you, I don’t even know when I became so cruel either.” Xu Hang looked at his hands. They were a pair of physician’s hands. He saved countless lives and also sent many lives away. “But I never kill innocent people.”

 

Gu Fangfei was puzzled: “What hatred makes you so persistent?”

 

Xu Hang frowned and said, “The hatred of the whole family being slaughtered is irreconcilable.”

 

Eight simple words—easy to say, but painfully hard to live through. Gu Fangfei has never experienced it, she grew up in a honey pot, but she can understand that this kind of thing can’t be settled by blood debt and repayment.

 

All that talk about empathy is nothing but a lie. You’re not him, so how can you be sure that a knife cutting into him would hurt you the same way?

 

Under Gu Fangfei’s probing gaze, Xu Hang briefly summarized those past events. Although simple, the content was shocking enough.

 

Gu Fangfei tried to distract herself by making tea so as not to appear too panicked: “What happened… again tonight?”

 

“The assassination attempt on Zhang Yaochen failed, so I escaped.”

 

The spout of the kettle was not aimed at the cup, so water leaked out. Gu Fangfei quickly wiped it with a handkerchief: “You are so bold! I have never heard of anyone who assassinated Zhang Yaochen escaping alive.”

 

“There’s none before, but there is now. No one could kill him before, but it will happen in the future.” Xu Hang swallowed a few pills, it was Western tranquilizers that worked quickly, easing his drug cravings slightly.

 

Gu Fangfei turned back suddenly: “You still want to kill people?!” She grabbed Xu Hang’s wrist. “Look at your appearance, isn’t this enough? If Aunt Yan saw you like this, would she die with a smile? Yes… they deserve to die, but their lives are not as important as your ah!”

 

Xu Hang looked at her face that appeared full of concern and could no longer see any blame she had for him. He felt sad, “Fangfei, this is the reason for my survival. If you don’t let me do it, I feel that life has no meaning. Once the meaning is lost, there is no difference between living and dying.”

 

Gu Fangfei let go of her hand with great pain.

 

She still couldn’t do anything, just like she couldn’t stop Yuan Ye from leaving, she couldn’t stop her Feng Zheng Gege from becoming like this.

 

“No wonder you were dissatisfied with my marriage to Yuan Ye. Is it because you knew what the outcome would be?”

 

Xu Hang was a little embarrassed, and his already pale face became even paler: “Yes… I wonder if you still remember the green-robed woman who got sick from hay fever in the Baihua Troupe?”

 

That was the scene when Gu Fangfei and Xu Hang met for the first time. Xu Hang suddenly mentioned this matter, which made Gu Fangfei’s face stiff: “You… could it be…”

 

“I did it,” Xu Hang gave her an affirmative reply, “In order to get to know you ‘naturally’.”

 

He thought it would be easy to find out who the performer on stage that day was and then put some pollen in his purse that was enough to cause illness but not be fatal, in order to attract Gu Fangfei’s attention.

 

He knew that Gu Fangfei wanted to ask Duan Yelin for something, so it would be better for her to ask him rather than Duan Yelin. The ultimate purpose of all this was to borrow Gu Fangfei’s face to attend Wang Ronghuo’s birthday party.

 

Gu Fangfei sorted out her thoughts: “Wang Ronghuo’s birthday party… but you can obviously borrow Duan Yelin’s name. Why do you have to go far away?”

 

Xu Hang did not hide the truth from her: “Wang Ronghuo and Duan Yelin are incompatible. If I enter the Wang’s mansion as someone close to Duan Yelin, I will definitely not gain his trust.”

 

Only Gu Fangfei, daughter of a businessman and a close friend of the Wang family, could step forward to introduce him without raising any suspicion.

 

A feeling of desolation and helplessness after the truth was revealed swept over Gu Fangfei. She squatted down and hugged herself, trying to make herself warmer: “You have been calculating since so early…”

 

“Sorry, sorry, Fangfei…”

 

Gu Fangfei couldn’t stop crying and sobbed, “If it were me, after experiencing what you did, I would probably do something a hundred times more excessive than you. You are right, it is hard to tell who is right and who is wrong… you saved me back then, and now you are using me, I will just take it as a tit-for-tat.”

 

Her tears dripped through her fingers onto the ground, trickling down to the ground, making people feel pity for her.

 

She was so kind, just like Yuan Ye. Xu Hang treated her like his own sister, so he kept it a secret and didn’t want her to know these things.

 

He might be using her, but he could also feel a twinge of guilt. In his pursuit of revenge, he’s already sacrificed too much, and one day, he’ll have to face the consequences.

 

Xu Hang squatted down, held Gu Fangfei’s shoulders, and begged her sincerely, “… Fangfei, I still need your help.”

 

Gu Fangfei raised her head: “What can I do for you?”

 

Xu Hang whispered slowly in her ear, “I remember that the Pengyun Chamber of Commerce also deals in Western medicine… I need…”

 

Gu Fangfei listened carefully, and her expression changed from nervous to solemn.

 

It was almost dawn when Xu Hang came to the water pavilion from the concession area. Duan Yelin was still sleeping, and the medicine jar on the table proved that he had already taken medicine.

 

Xu Hang lowered his eyes to look at his sleeping face, his gaze became much softer, and he hurriedly changed into his own clothes.

 

After taking off his shoes and lying in bed, Xu Hang gently stroked Duan Yelin’s cheek, leaned his head on his shoulder, felt Duan Yelin’s body temperature, breathed a sigh of relief, and murmured, “…I’m back.”

 

He’s back.

 

He didn’t die outside, he didn’t die with him.