"Mm!"
Fang Juan nodded. Without another word, she went over and leaned against the soldier's back.
The soldier said nothing. He grabbed the rope ladder and began climbing. At the same time, the old woman's voice came from behind them.
"Take care of yourself, okay? Drink plenty of hot water! Don't work too hard, and don't go anywhere too dangerous... And..."
The rest of her words were drowned out by the helicopter. Fang Juan couldn't help turning back to look at the old woman's worried, aged
gaze. Her heart trembled... Although
she didn't understand why the woman had mistaken her for her granddaughter, Fang Juan didn't mind giving her a smile.
"Mm, I know."
The old woman's lips quivered. She said nothing more, tears glistening in her aged eyes as she murmured something under her breath.
Nearby, the old man kept drawing circles on the ground, muttering about how "that boy's habit of laying hands on people without a word must've come from you..."
and so on.
But when he saw Fang Juan being taken aboard the helicopter, the old man stopped crouching and turned around. He said nothing, only
quietly watching the helicopter gradually rise into the air, a flicker of... grief passing through his aged eyes.
He stood up, tossed aside the stick he'd used to draw circles, and dusted off his hands. By the time he turned his aged face around again, that trace of grief
had already vanished.
He went over to his wife. Seeing her lower her head and weep quietly, he drew her into his arms, his heart aching.
"All right... don't cry. We may not be related by blood, but at least her will has been passed down, hasn't it? Look at that
girl. She's so much like him..."
"Mm... Yes... So much