Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Right, it was Gu Nianzhi.” Ye Xuan’s voice grew quiet. He didn’t dare to look at He Zhichu as he quickly turned to watch the winding mountains outside the car window. The mountains surrounding Little Rock Canyon were actually part of the mountain range that extended to the Grand Canyon. The red rocks were eroded revealing a metallic appearance inside. It was extremely eye-catching against the white clouds and blue skies.
He Zhichu only snorted quietly and said, “Gu Xiangwen was so kind to you, so what about her?”
Ye Xuan frowned and turned around to look at He Zhichu. “What does Mr. He mean by that? Nianzhi is his real daughter, so he would only be even kinder to her. The truth is, I’ve never seen a father treat his daughter so well before.”
The corners of He Zhichu’s mouth twitched as he draped a hand against the side of the window and stated dryly, “Then you’ve seen too few people.”
“…Really.” Ye Xuan didn’t want to listen to anyone speak badly of Gu Xiangwen, and it was even worse to hear someone say Gu Xiangwen didn’t treat Gu Nianzhi well. “Gu Nianzhi was very smart but had a bad temper. She got angry easily. As soon as she threw a fit, no one could console her except for Uncle Gu. One time, I saw Gu Nianzhi hit Uncle Gu on the head with a rock, and it made his head bleed, but he kept consoling her good-naturedly until she stopped being angry and carried her back.”
He Zhichu was speechless. Who on earth was he talking about?! “Are you sure the bad-tempered little girl you saw was actually Gu Nianzhi?” He Zhichu couldn’t help asking. He thought that what Ye Xuan said was too ludicrous.
However, Ye Xuan nodded solemnly. “I remember how she looked when she was young. Although she’s completely different now, the age matches up. Also, her current face is somewhat similar to Uncle Gu’s, especially the nose. She didn’t look like Uncle Gu at all when she was young but looked more like Auntie Gu.” He originally thought Gu Nianzhi would look like Gu Yanran once she grew up but later on found out that wasn’t the case.
“You saw her often?” He Zhichu actually didn’t have much interest in listening to Ye Xuan talk about these things, but Gu Nianzhi cared about Ye Xuan and Gu Xiangwen, so he had no choice but to get some information.
“Not all the time.” Ye Xuan lost himself in the memories. “When Uncle Gu came to the orphanage, he sometimes brought her along. At the time she always wore a big, white, wide-brimmed hat and a pink princess dress. Uncle Gu held her hand.”
It had been so many years ago, yet Ye Xuan remembered it so clearly, so it was obvious it made a lasting impression. He Zhichu didn’t know what to say so he could only listen in silence.
Ye Xuan was quiet for a while before admitting shamefully, “Later on I fell into the ocean, and she saved me. Because of this she got sick, and I was sent off to the US to attend boarding school. We were separated for so many years and when I returned, I… then… recognized the wrong person.”
He Zhichu casually draped his other hand on the seat, and his finger made gentle and intermittent taps as he remarked dryly, “If you can even mistake her for the wrong person, then it’s clear your impression of her is only that.”
Ye Xuan shook his head with a wry smile. “Right, most of my impression of her is from the years of chatting online with her. It was after that we became close, and I finally knew that she had always been sick. Uncle Gu was very worried about her health and doted over her care.”
“She was sick?” He Zhichu was surprised, and his fingers stopped tapping. “Nianzhi was sick when she was young? Are you sure?”
“She said so online, that she was in poor health and was sick ever since she was born. Her parents were very good to her but didn’t know if they could cure her.” Ye Xuan propped his head up on his hand and leaned on the car window on the other side, his chiseled features appearing even more gentle with his reminiscing, as though the knife-like sharpness was sheathed by the scabbard.
Now it was He Zhichu’s turn to frown. “Who is Gu Nianzhi’s mother?” He Zhichu shifted with some unease, his gaze peering over from his long and narrow eyes.
Ye Xuan wasn’t close with Gu Nianzhi’s mother, so he thought about it and said, “I think her name was Grace. I heard Gu Nianzhi mention it online once. Her mother and Uncle Gu used to be classmates and had a very good relationship.” They sounded like a normal and happy family, but unfortunately the family was nearly broken apart now. He Zhichu was in a bit of a daze. It really wasn’t the same… The two men both lost themselves in their own thoughts, so no one spoke in the car.
The silence wasn’t broken until the driver suddenly called He Zhichu through the cabin’s communication system. “Mr. He, I just received news that the road ahead has been blocked off. We must take another road.”
He Zhichu straightened in his seat to ask, “What’s going on?”
“The radio says the fleet for the Commander of the Pacific Fleet has arrived, so we must all make way for him.” The driver sounded a bit indignant as he slammed the steering wheel. There was a thump from the communication system.
He Zhichu squinted in consideration. “Are we on Highway 95 yet?”
“Not yet. We’d have to exit this highway before getting on the 95.”
Route 95 was an interstate highway that spanned the entire US, so they were still driving on the Little Rock Canyon highway.
“If we detour, how long will that take?”
“It depends on the situation, but now that nobody can leave and are all stuck, it won’t be easy to turn around.” The driver was also very helpless and turned on the GPS to reroute.
He Zhichu rubbed his forehead, considering what to do.
Ye Xuan was very surprised to hear the Commander of the US Pacific Fleet was coming. “What’s this person doing in Little Rock Canyon?”
“I heard that he’s here to inspect Ovi Air Force Base.” The sneer on He Zhichu’s face was growing bigger. “Who does he think he is…”
Ye Xuan had studied in a boarding school in the US, so he was familiar with
American political news. He heard that it was the commander of the US Pacific Fleet and couldn’t help laughing. “Did he want to come here on his own, or did someone set him up?”
“Why do you say that?” He Zhichu put down his hand and contemplated rerouting or waiting to leave once the martial law was lifted.
“This commander of the US Pacific Fleet is Japanese, and Ovi Air Force Base was the training ground for the B-18 bomber. The airplane and pilots who dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan all those years ago trained here. But the Japanese commander has personally come to inspect this Air Force base. Tell me, is this commander too generous of a person, or is someone purposely giving him trouble?” As Ye Xuan spoke, he looked around to try to figure out where they were right at that moment.
He Zhichu laughed. “Maybe it’s neither. Japanese people have a problem called ‘fearing authority but not virtue.’ Simply stated, there is no point in getting them to respect your virtue. You must beat them to the ground before they act respectfully toward you.” So although the Americans taught the Japanese a harsher lesson than the Japanese had taught the Americans, Japanese people didn’t hate the US military. In fact, they had an inexplicable affection for them.
Ye Xuan seemed to understand something once he heard this. “So you mean that this commander doesn’t see himself as a Japanese person?”
“No, it’s exactly the opposite. He sees himself as a Japanese person.” He Zhichu laughed when he said this and also made up his mind. “Reroute to the 95.”
Not far ahead, they could already see the vehicle procession for the commander of the US Pacific Fleet making its grand entrance in their direction. In the very front were eight motorcycles clearing the path, and there were four identical bulletproof Ford limousines. Behind the limousines were two trucks. In the back of the trucks were about a hundred fully-armed soldiers sitting rigidly, all wearing balaclavas covering their faces.
