For several days in a row, You Tao had been busy settling into his new job. As a hero who had fought in the War of Resistance Against Japan, the Civil War and the Korean War, he had originally been assigned a position in the provincial government. But he turned down all the honors and benefits he rightfully deserved, choosing instead to serve as the Party Secretary in his small hometown. His stated reason was that his mother was getting old and refused to leave her hometown, so he had to return to care for her. In fact, Nanny You had never asked him to come back and she had told him clearly that she didn't need him to look after her. Of course, both Nanny You and Shen Huanzhi knew the real reason for his return: Shen Hui, the woman who should have been his wife a few years ago.
Under the moonlight, You Tao saw Shen Hui coming out of her father's room. He stepped forward and said gently:
"Hui mei, do you remember what we talked about before I left? Now I'm here, waiting for your answer. I hope you'll tell me how you truly feel."
Hearing this, Shen Hui blushed and lowered her gaze. After a pause, she looked up at You Tao bravely and said:
"Tao ge, I'm truly grateful for your love but I'm afraid I can't accept it. As you know, I have always loved my husband. I have only ever seen you as an older brother. I have spoken with both my father and Nanny You. They told me the same thing. Given the current situation, it is impossible for my husband and me to be together again. Xue'er needs a father to protect her so they urged me to think it over and find someone new, someone who could be a good father to Xue'er. In addition, you've seen Xue'er's eyes. Such a pair of green eyes draw too much attention. If I could find a kind man and strong enough to protect her, that might be good for her. But I have a different view. I don't believe that the relations between China and America will always be like this so I have decided to wait. And even if that day truly never comes, I know I can protect my daughter myself. I don't believe anyone else could love and protect her more than her own mother. So I have decided not to marry again. I'm sorry, Tao ge."
Looking into her resolute eyes, You Tao couldn't help but once again feel how beautiful she was. He said softly:
"Hui mei, I understand how you feel. But I have seen something different in Xue'er's behavior that worries me. You and the master have kept her sheltered at home to protect her from being bullied. But sooner or later, she will have to grow up. How about will she face the society? Okay, we don't talk about how to face the society at large, just think, in two or three years, she will be going to school. Then it won't be just a few neighborhood kids she is dealing with, but nearly a hundred schoolmates. Every child will notice how different she looks and there will always be some who bully her because of it. When that happens, what will you do? Report it to the teacher every day? This is just one part of the problem. The other thing is you worry that if you remarried, that man might not treat Xue'er as his own. I can't speak for others, but you know what kind of person I am. I remember clearly how my master treated me like his son so I can promise you that I will treat Xue'er just as he treated me. As for my character, my master trusted me, you know that. Otherwise, he never would have promised his beloved daughter to me. If it hadn't been for the chaos of those years, you would have been my wife by now and we would already have our own children. But as if fate were toying with us, it made us miss our chance. But I have never forgotten my love for you. I remember carrying you on my back when were kids. I remember how we studied the traditional medicine together under your father's guidance. I have never stopped thinking about you. It was always you who came to my mind whenever I was alone. No matter how you feel about me, you are always be only one woman I want as my wife in my heart. Since you have decided not to marry again, then I won't either. You can trust me, Hui mei. I will never let anyone hurt Xue'er. So please don't worry about her anymore."
Such a brief conversation ended just like that, but judging from Nanny You's expression the next day, Shen Hui knew she had been an eavesdrooper. Nanny You gave Shen Hui a look full of reproach and even Shen Huanzhi also noticed it. So he couldn't help but ask in a low cautious voice:
"What's going on? Who made her upset?"
Shen Hui lowered her head and murmured:
"I turned down Tao ge. I think she might have overheard our conversation. Dad, could you talk to him? Tell him not to pin all his hopes on me. It would be better for him to find someone to marry soon."
"What do you mean? Tell me what happened."
"He said he would never marry again."
"Because of you?" Seeing her nod slightly, he let out a long sign and said, "Hui, I really don't know what to say. It's understandable that you still think about Xue'er Dad. I don't blame you for that but I can tell you it is impossible for you to be together again. The present society doesn't hold people to lifelong devotion like it used to. What I truly hope is that you will have a good life in the future, finding a person you can rely on. And Xue'er also need a father. I will never stop worrying about you if you are alone forever. How am I supposed to face your mother when it is my time coming?" At this point, he glanced at her and continued, "It is reasonable that your Nanny You isn't happy. She has cared for you like her own daughter since you were little. Of course she feels hurt when you rejected Tao. Honestly, even I also think that you went a bit too far."
Shen Hui said:
"That's exactly why I want you to talk to Tao ge. I think Nanny You is upset because Tao ge said he would never marry. I am sure she will be happy if he does decide to marry."
Hearing Shen Hui's words, Shen Huanzhi replied with a helpless sigh:
"Alright, I will talk to him."
But just a couple of days after this conversation, the rumors began to spread through the town: a female PLA soldier had arrived in the county and her purpose was for You Tao. The news came as a shock to the entire family. You Tao had never mentioned anything about this woman but they refrained from asking him directly though they were curious about it. To everyone's surprise, the woman showed up at their home and asked specifically to speak with Shen Hui. She introduced herself to Shen Hui with a firm voice:
"My name is Wang Hongjun, the future wife of Comrade You Tao."
Shen Hui looked at the female soldier in confusion but responded politely:
"Oh, hello, I am Shen Hui. Nice to meet you! Is there something I can do for you?"
With a defiant expression, Wang Hongjun replied:
"I know who you are. And I also know what kind of relationship you had with Comrade You Tao. and you. The reason I come here is to tell you that You Tao and I forged an unbreakable revolutionary bond in the midst of war. This relationship can't be destroyed by an arranged marriage born of a corrupt and backward feudal society. Your arranged engagement should have been abolished long ago ---- swept away. So I hope you will step aside and not interfere with our revolutionary relationship."
This left Shen Hui even more confused, so she said:
"Comrade Wang, I don't understand what you mean. If your relationship with Tao ge is truly an unbreakable revolutionary relationship, how could I possibly interfere with it? Besides, my engagement to him was dissolved a long time ago. Didn't you hear about that?"
Wang Hongjun seemed momentarily taken aback. The she said:
"Dissolved? Comrade You Tao never told me about that. When did you cancel your engagement?"
"It happened a long time ago. I have already married and I have a four-year-old daughter."
Upon hearing this, Wang Hongjun immediately brightened and said:
"Oh, I'm see! Comrade You Tao never told me about this. I'm very sorry. He only told me that he has a fiance, his childhood sweetheart. You have no idea how worried I was that his family might pressure him into marrying you as part of some old arranged marriage. You know we truly love each other with heart and soul."
Shen Hui asked:
"Did he promise you to marry you?"
She admitted:
"No, he didn't. But I believe he will. Anyway, it is time for me to leave. Sorry for bothering you!"
At this moment, Nanny You walked over and asked:
"Hui, who is this?"
Shen Hui replied:
"Well, this is comrade Wang Hongjun, Tao ge's fiance."
Hearing this, Nanny You looked Wang Hongjun up and down and said bluntly:
"It is impossible. Tao would never have any other fiance besides you."
Wang Hongjun changed her expression at this so her voice rose sharply as she snapped:
"Who are you? What gives you the right to make the decision on behalf of Comrade You Tao?"
Nanny You replied with angrily:
"I'm his mother. Of course I have the right to make decision for him."
Wang Hongjun was take aback and immediately changed her expression quickly again. She forced a smile and said:
"Comrade You, now it is new society. We have to eliminate the arranged marriage born of a corrupt and backward feudal system. Even if you are his mother, Comrade You Tao would still resist any outdated arranged marriage made for him. And their marriage has been called off so Comrade You, you have to catch up with our great ideals of socialism and abandon those corrupt and antiquated beliefs rooted in feudalism."
Nanny You looked at this young woman in her PLA uniform again and said coldly:
"My son is also a PLA soldier, a hero. Even so, I know he has never forgotten the marriage arranged in his childhood and his girl he was engaged to."
Seeing Wang Hongjun's unpleasant expression, Shen Hui hurried to stepped in to defuse the situation:
"Comrade Wang, it is best if you leave for now. None of us really knows the details about your relationship wit Tao ge. Since Tao ge came back from Korea, he has never told us about you and your relationship. Of course Nanny You wouldn't know about this either. So, let's wait until Tao ge comes back and ask him directly. If you are truly his fiance, I'm sure not just Nanny You but also everyone here will happy for you."
Under the circumstances, Wang Hongjun realized that there was no result if she continued staying here longer, especially since the woman she was facing was You Tao's mother. Seeing that Shen Hui had tried to ease the tension and had given her a way out, she couldn't afford to lose face any further so she turned and left the Shen household without another word. As Wang Hongjun walked away, Nanny You shot Shen Hui a sharp look and snapped:
"That is your fault. If you had agreed to marry Tao, none of this would ben happening. And I'm going to have a serious talk with Tao when he comes back."
Shen Hui clung to Nanny You affectionately and said in a sweet, coaxing voice:
"Nanny You, my dear Nanny You, don't be mad at me. Tao ge is a real hero now. He will definitely find a good wife for your family. Honestly, I think that this girl wasn't so bad."
"Not so bad? Hmph! I didn't think she is a good girl at all and she is certainly not as pretty as you. Judging from the way she spoke and acted, it is clear she doesn't know how to behave properly."
"Nanny You, you can't think her like this. She is a PLA soldier, after all."
"That's true. As we know, PLA soldiers are truly kind and decent people, who have never bullied our common people, like the KMT soldiers did. Don't talk about her anymore. Come help me in the kitchen."
It wasn't until You Tao came back that everyone knew the truth:
Wang Hongjun was an orphan. Both of her parents had been the soldiers in the early Red Army ("Hongjun" means Red Army in Chinese.). When the Red Army began the Long March, the newborn Wang Hongjun had to be left in the care of a farming family in Jiangxi. It wasn't until the spring of 1937 that she was brought to Yan'an by the underground communists. But her mother had already died during the Long March and her father, being a soldier in the Eighth Route Army, had gone to the frontlines. She grew up in the Yan'an Nursery, known as the "the cradle on horseback". Unfortunately, her father also died during the Hundred Regiments Offensive. At the age of seven, she was adopted as a foster daughter by a battalion commander who had served under her father. She took part in the Great Production Campaign in Yan'an, learning to spin thread, work the fields and do whatever work she could manage. Like a real soldier, she worked and studied side by side with the grown-ups. Later, she became a member of a cultural performance troupe. Despite her young age, she traveled from one battlefield to another, performing alongside adults to boost the morale of soldiers, a journey that lasted until the nationwide liberation. After the liberation of the whole country, she followed her adoptive father to Shandong Province. From there she joined a performance troupe that was dispatched to the Korean battlefield during the War to Resis-America Aid-Korea campaign. During a morale-boosting performance, her troupe was caught in an American artillery bombardment. At that time, You Tao was serving with the military forces. Amid the chaos, he risked his life to save Wang Hongjun, but was severely injured and sent to a frontline military hospital. Out of deep gratitude for You Tao saving her life, Wang Hongjun requested to perform at the frontline hospital where he was recovering, using the opportunity to visit him as well. From then on, the two gradually became close friends who shared everything with each other. Over time, Wang Hongjun developed romantic feelings for him and confessed her love. However, You Tao rejected her and told her that he had been engaged under his parents' arrangement to his childhood sweetheart. In order to extinguish her feeling, You Tao deliberately didn't tell her that the engagement had long been dissolved and that Shen Hui actually had married with other person and had a daughter. But Wang Hongjun didn't give up. With the help of her adoptive father's and relying on You Tao's military experience, she originally planned to have You Tao assigned to a position in the provincial capital, where she could also be transferred. However, to her disappointment, You Tao declined that offer and chose to return to his hometown instead. Unwilling to give up, she chased him there.