Chapter 879. An unredeemable guilt is worse than an irreparable relations.h.i.+p.
“There is some truth that we have to accept, even if we don’t want to,” he said remorsefully while knowing that even the young man was prepared to sacrifice himself during war.
Wen He was never the sentimental kind of person but there was something about Gu Jinzhi’s death that drove her to the wall the very second she thought of it.
“Huo Chen, now I know how you felt back then,” she sighed and grimaced.
“Hmm?”
“An unredeemable guilt is worse than an irreparable relations.h.i.+p.”
She muttered, “Relations.h.i.+p can be replaced by somebody else, but that dead someone could never be replaced. It was because of me, Gu Jinzhi joined the war. He tried his very best protecting me. I would have been dead way back without him. Sighs—maybe you guys are right. I’m inconsiderate, hot-headed and willful. If I stayed back then, Gu Jinzhi would still be alive.”
And this isn’t the only time he saved me. I owed him too much.
“You know when we were stuck in that truck. He has been giving me support, despite having his leg stuck between the window and rock. But I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel his kindness at all.”
I can’t even think in his shoes, imagining having part of my body dismembered while trying to be positive-cheering up another person and cracking jokes to keep them alive.
Wen He thought as she closed her eyes. The welled-up tears rolled down her cheeks.
“He said, ‘Wen He, don’t worry. I won’t let you die,’ when I was thinking about you,” her voice choked with tears, “He did it. I didn’t die but-it was an exchange. He lied, he didn’t live till the end.”
“…” Huo Chen listened quietly before pulling her into his embrace, “He chose to sacrifice himself for your safety. Therefore, that’s the more reason that you should live properly from now on.”
“Why was he so kind with me?” Her voice was m.u.f.fled as she shook her head, unable to comprehend.
Was it because I saved him twice before?
But—there were a lot of occasions when he clearly returned the favor.
“…” Huo Chen did not reply.
It was love, Wen He. Just like how I would have done the same for Yang back then. A hopeless love, like how you and I were.
And Wen He did not inquire further as those emotions were boiling within her. She could not breathe. It felt like Gu Jinzhi’s death would haunt her for the rest of her life.
She laid down on her bed, covering her face with a swiftly pulled blanket, “Well, I need some time alone. Can you leave for the moment?”
“Okay.” Huo Chen tucked her in and left quietly.
She did need time for herself alone.
Three hours later, the plane landed in the capital.
Yang Yi came to pick them up. It definitely showed how much the military respected their arrival. The commander smiled as he strode towards Huo Chen getting down the stairs off the plane. He patted Huo Chen’s shoulder loudly-it was a form of recognition, a gesture of feeling proud of his achievement.
Huo Chen deserved all this for what he had done.
“Excellent job! You’ve done great, Huo Chen. You will get a promotion in no time! Well, where’s Wen He?”
And there Wen He was, dragging her steps down the staircases. Her face was pale, not sure if it was because of frigidity in the plane countless miles above the ground or her emotion. She seemed utterly worn out, which shocked Yang Yi a little as he glanced at Huo Chen too.
Immediately recognizing the situation, he said, “Wen He.” He flattened his smile as he gently spoke with Wen He, “You have done great and the military decided to bestow you the t.i.tle of Second Lieutenant.”
That might be a simple on-the-desk position but it was a rather decent job for a former member of a terrorist group.