When the mother asked, in a voice hoarse beyond belief, whether her son had been brave, Yue Xiaofei felt as though an invisible hand had seized his heart and squeezed.
It hurt!
The pain cut straight through him!
What a humble, extraordinary mother she was!
After learning that her son had died, she had not complained or demanded answers. She had not even asked for anything.
Only one thing mattered to her.
Had her son been a hero in the final moment of his life?
Yue Xiaofei could no longer hold back. Tears poured down his face.
But the hand holding the phone remained steady as a rock.
And his voice rang out, louder and firmer than ever before.
"Auntie, please listen to me!"
"Comrade Wei Dayong was the bravest, most fearless soldier I've ever known!"
"He lived up to the uniform he wore!"
"And he lived up to the name 'Dragon Kingdom Soldier'!"
"He was your pride! And the pride of every one of us who served beside him!"
A muffled sob came from the other end of the line.
This time, beneath the grief, there seemed to be a trace of comfort.
"Good... good... As long as he was brave... as long as he was brave..."
The mother murmured to herself.
"I won't trouble you anymore, comrade... Thank you... Thank you for telling me..."
Then she hung up.
Yue Xiaofei listened to the busy signal for a long time without lowering the receiver.
He knew it was not that she had nothing more to say.
She simply did not want her grief to burden one of her son's comrades, a man she had never met.
She had kept all that pain for herself, to bear alone through the quiet night.
"Phew..."
Yue Xiaofei let out a long breath.