Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

After saying goodbye to 073, An Xiaohai felt much better, and his steps on the way home were even a little skipping. But when he saw the thin figure standing on the beach, his heart, which had finally calmed down, jumped up again.

Chen Xiru crossed her arms and watched An Xiaohai approach her step by step, the sea breeze blowing her hair wildly.

"Auntie..." An Xiaohai called out to Chen Xiru in a low voice, feeling extremely guilty.

Chen Xiru nodded slightly, then turned her gaze back to the sea.

"You saw him, didn't you?" After a long while, Chen Xiru finally asked.

An Xiaohai didn't dare to speak, he just nodded.

Chen Xiru's chest heaved violently: "Did he leave any message?"

"Yes!" An Xiaohai took a deep breath: "He said that every day he was locked up there, he thought about you and Xuan'er. It was you who gave him the courage to persevere. Otherwise, he would never have lived to see this day."

"You're lying!" Chen Xiru turned around and glared at An Xiaohai, her face already covered in tears.

"I'm not lying to you, that's what he said. He even told me to bring this back for you..." An Xiaohai stretched out his hand, and in his palm was a red string bracelet.

Chen Xiru reached out and picked up the red string bracelet, her fingertips trembling violently.

"This is his weaving technique, but he didn't weave it; it's different! I remember every knot on that bracelet; you can't fool me!"

"No, I'm not lying to you. The knot is a code; it contains what he wanted to tell you. I've already given him the one you gave me, and this one is the one he wove for me to give to you."

"real?"

"Really, I'll teach you how to read it. If the knot is to the left, it represents the number 0; if the knot is to the right, it represents the number 1; and the place without a knot represents a blank space."

0 and 1 can be combined to form Chinese characters, in groups of two or three, or in groups of seven or eight…

An Xiaohai spoke softly, and Chen Xiru listened attentively, repeatedly checking the bracelet against her eyes, but her hands trembled more and more violently.

"What do these numbers mean?" Chen Xiru asked through gritted teeth, staring intently at An Xiaohai. Although An Xiaohai felt guilty, he insisted on not avoiding her gaze.

"May you have a peaceful life." This bracelet contains the message: "May you have a peaceful life."

"What about the original one?"

"The love of my life."

"Wow……"

Chen Xiru finally burst into tears. Her frail body swayed precariously in the sea breeze, which startled An Xiaohai, who quickly stepped forward and hugged her tightly.

Chen Xiru buried her face in An Xiaohai's arms, desperately trying to suppress her sobs, and kept pounding An Xiaohai's shoulders with her fists.

An Xiaohai was injured, but he felt no pain at all. He only felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

"Aunt Xiru, I'm not lying to you. This is what he wanted to say to you. I understood everything he said in his eyes. This is what he wanted to say to you. I'm sorry..."

Chen Xiru cried for a long time before finally calming down: "How did he die? Why didn't he come back?"

"This...didn't Captain Zhou tell you?"

"I don't want to hear him. I get annoyed just looking at him. I want to hear you talk."

"It's all my fault. I didn't plan well and fell into the enemy's trap. When I rescued them from the prison, they were already surrounded by the enemy."

The enemy's firepower was very strong, and we were trapped on the shore and unable to board the ship.

He was wounded at the time, and fearing he would implicate us, he and another comrade took on the responsibility of covering our retreat. No matter how I tried to persuade them, they wouldn't listen. In the end, they detonated explosives and perished together with the enemy, thus opening a path to survival for us.

I'm sorry, it's all my fault!

"You don't need to apologize. He should have saved you!"

Chen Xiru gently pushed An Xiaohai away, put away the bracelet she was clutching in her hand, quickly wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and looked up to ask, "Is there something you want to tell me? I noticed you've been hesitant to speak."

"Yes, I have something I'd like to ask you."

"What is it? Just say it. We're family, no need to beg."

"That's right. Our identities were exposed during this operation, and the enemy is likely to retaliate against my family, including you and Xuan'er."

"so what?"

"I want to arrange for you to leave and go abroad for a while, but I'm afraid my mother and grandparents won't agree."

"You want me to persuade them to leave, right?"

"Yes, I'm afraid my mom and grandparents won't want to leave. We only have two hours to get you out of here, and if they're delayed, it will be very dangerous for them."

"Okay, leave it to me. Has the date been set?"

「定了，2月1号，晚上8:00到10:00之间，会有人来接你们离开。」

"Who is this? Do I know them?"

Do you still remember Xu Zhijie?

"It's him?"

"Yes, he made the arrangements, and Zhuangzhuang will be with you all."

"Okay, don't worry, I have a way."

"But... Xuan'er has to go too, and she can't take leave. No one can know about this, so... she might not be able to finish her university studies."

"She couldn't continue her studies anyway!" Chen Xiru let out a soft sigh. "She's pregnant, carrying your child. That silly girl, she kept it from me, but I've been through this before, how could she hide it from me?"

"What?!" An Xiaohai exclaimed in shock.

"What, scared? Trying to shirk responsibility?"

"No, no, no!" An Xiaohai quickly waved his hands in denial, "I just wasn't mentally prepared for this. Xuan'er is pregnant with my child?"

"Yes, it's been more than two months."

"Ha! That's great! That's great!" An Xiaohai rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I'm going to have a baby! Hehe!"

"Yes, you're going to have a baby," Chen Xiru said, finally relieved to see An Xiaohai's overjoyed reaction.

"Xiao Hai, you don't need to worry about us too much."

You men underestimate us women. We're not as fragile as you think. Neither I nor Shuifen are as fragile as you imagine.

Including your maternal grandparents, when they were young, they were militiamen, guarding the coast, and catching spies. What kind of storms haven't they seen?

So don't worry, just go for it! Wipe out the enemy as soon as possible and come pick us up to go home.

"Okay, don't worry, I'll take care of them as quickly as possible! I want to stay by Xuan'er's side and watch our child be born."

"Okay, very good! But don't rush, it doesn't matter when you come to pick us up, the most important thing is to come in the complete form."

Your father left you, and Xuan'er's father left us too. I don't want Xuan'er's child to grow up alone. Do you understand what I mean?

"I understand!" An Xiaohai nodded firmly. "I will never let my child repeat my fate!"

"Alright, remember what you said today!" Chen Xiru let out a long breath, turned around and looked at Apojiao Village: "I can't believe it, in the blink of an eye, I've been waiting in this little fishing village for more than ten years..."

Sadly, the person I'm waiting for will never come back...

Well, there's nothing left to miss here. Leaving is for the best...

You are great, you are different from them. I still say the same thing: we are not afraid of living and dying with our loved ones, we are only afraid that our loved ones will not tell us anything.

It's late, go home and rest early. Try to spend some time with Xuan'er these next few days. Once we're apart, who knows how long it will be before we see each other again? Spend more time with her..."

As Chen Xiru spoke, she turned and walked towards home.

"Okay, I'll spend more time with her."

"That's good! You don't need to hide here and watch over me anymore. Don't worry, I won't do anything to myself!" After saying that, Chen Xiru quickened her pace and soon walked away.

An Xiaohai had just felt something was off. He didn't understand what Chen Xiru's last sentence meant. Just then, a clump of grass nearby rustled, and Zhou Meng, his face ashen, emerged from it.

"Hello, Captain Zhou!" An Xiaohai quickly greeted him. For some reason, An Xiaohai felt a chill run down his spine whenever he saw Captain Zhou.

Zhou Meng walked over with a gloomy face. An Xiaohai could see clearly in the moonlight that there were handprints on both of Zhou Meng's cheeks, and they were slightly swollen.

Zhou Meng approached An Xiaohai, raised his foot as if to kick him, but seeing that blood had seeped through the clothes under his coat, he finally pulled his leg back.

"You little brat, why did you lie to me?!" Zhou Meng asked through gritted teeth, his voice low.

"Can I not lie to her? Should I tell her that her husband has been tortured for more than ten years, his whole body is rotting, and he can't even speak when I see him?!"

Besides, I wasn't lying. I just told her what my dad wanted to say but didn't say!

"Oh ho, you're calling him so affectionately!" Zhou Meng almost bit his teeth off. He himself couldn't understand why, when An Xiaohai was on a mission, he was so worried that he couldn't sleep all day, but as soon as he saw him, he would immediately feel so angry that his teeth would itch.

"Captain Zhou, it's not just that we're calling each other affectionately, we're actually very close! Didn't you hear me just now? Xuan'er is pregnant with my child, so her father is my father, and her mother is my mother!"

I was just a little shy and didn't say it out loud.

"You little brat, you're pretty smug!" Zhou Meng was furious and wanted to beat An Xiaohai up, but seeing that he was covered in injuries, he couldn't find a place to strike.

"You come here right now and tell me the details!"

"Okay, but it's a deal, you're not allowed to lay a hand on me!"

"Stop talking nonsense!"

"Well, the whole story begins when we arrived at a small fishing village..."

An Xiaohai and Zhou Meng walked side by side on the beach, and An Xiaohai began to explain the operation in detail. An Xiaohai spoke with great enthusiasm, and Zhou Meng listened attentively, his expression gradually relaxing.

An Xiaohai talked for a long time. When the two got tired, they sat on the rocks. By the time An Xiaohai finished explaining all the details of the operation, the east was already beginning to lighten.