After becoming a widow, I became the apple of a rough man's eye.

There is a public telephone in the lobby on the first floor of the guesthouse.

It was the busiest time of evening, and the hall was filled with people, some discussing business, others chatting and drinking tea.

Li Dongye walked to the counter and handed the note to the girl who had been knitting earlier.

"Call up."

The woman didn't even look up, pointing to the red rotary phone in the corner of the counter. "One cent for local calls, fifty cents for long distances. Pay first."

Li Dongye tossed down a 50-cent bill and then picked up the receiver.

The earpiece was heavy and felt icy cold against my ear.

Insert your finger into the round hole of the turntable, turn it clockwise to the end, release your hand, and listen to the turntable bounce back with a "zzzz" sound.

One, two...

With each number dialed, Li Dongye's heart beat a fraction faster.

After the last number was dialed, a long "beep-beep" sound came from the receiver.

The surrounding noise seemed to have faded away, and Li Dongye could only hear his own breathing, heavy and rapid.

"Feed".

The call was connected.

A man's voice came from the other side.

The voice was deep and resonant, carrying the authority of someone who had long held a high position. Even a single word made Li Dongye's eardrums buzz.

Li Dongye opened his mouth, but his throat was so tight that he couldn't make a sound. He swallowed hard and forced himself to speak.

"I...I'm looking for..."

He didn't know who to turn to.

He had repeated that name in his heart a thousand times, but when it came to his lips, he just couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Who are you?" The voice on the other end was deeper and more wary.

Li Dongye took a deep breath, reached into his coat, and touched the animal hide.

The rough texture calmed him down.

"I have a piece of leather," Li Dongye said quickly into the microphone, as if afraid the other end would hang up at any moment. "There's a drawing on it. And a watch..."

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

Immediately following was a loud crash, like a chair falling over or a cup breaking.

Then came a suppressed gasp.

"What...did you say?"

The authoritative voice trembled, even cracking slightly.

Li Dongye's knuckles turned white as he gripped the receiver, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged out.

I said, I have a piece of leather.

He repeated it, his voice a little hoarse, "The armed forces said this is what you lost."

A series of hurried footsteps came from the other end, followed by a woman's sobbing. It was a heart-wrenching cry, a sob that had been suppressed for more than a decade, and you could hear the utter devastation even through the phone line.

"Give me the phone! Have you found it? Is it my waiter?"

The male voice seemed to have covered the microphone, and it took a few seconds for it to become clear again.

"Where are you?"

The three simple words carried an unquestionable command, along with a subtle hint of pleading.

"Red Star Guesthouse," Li Dongye announced the location.

"Don't move."

The man's voice became unusually urgent, "Don't go away, I'll send someone over right away."

"beep--"

The phone hangs up.

Li Dongye held the receiver and stood in that position for a long time.

It wasn't until the girl knitting impatiently urged, "Hey, are you done yet? There are other people in line behind you."

Li Dongye seemed to wake up from a dream and slowly put the receiver back.

He didn't go upstairs.

He walked to the sofa in the hall and sat down. He took out the pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, wanting to smoke one, but his hand was shaking so badly that he couldn't even strike a match.

A man in a suit standing nearby couldn't stand it, so he took out a lighter and lit it for him with a "snap".

"Thanks." Li Dongye took a deep drag, the pungent smoke filling his lungs and calming his wildly beating heart a little.

Time passed by, second by second.

The clock in the lobby ticked away.

Every second felt like a year.

Just as Li Dongye finished his third cigarette and was about to stub it out in the ashtray...

Suddenly, a screeching sound of brakes came from outside the door.

It wasn't just one car, it was a whole row of cars.

Immediately afterwards, several bright beams of headlights shone directly into the hall, blinding everyone.

The woman at the front desk was so startled that she dropped her knitting needles, and the two old men reading the newspaper also stood up in surprise.

The group of people who had been chatting suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes turned to the doorway.

Three military green jeeps were parked across the entrance, with red license plates.

Several men in military uniforms strode in.

The leader was an officer in his forties, the rank stamp on his shoulder gleaming coldly under the lights. Behind him followed two bodyguards, their waists bulging with guns.

The entire hall fell silent instantly.

After the officer entered, his gaze swept around the hall like an eagle's before finally settling on Li Dongye, who was sitting on the sofa.

Li Dongye stood up instinctively.

He watched the group of people walk towards him, each step feeling like it was stepping on his heart.

The officer walked up to Li Dongye and stopped.

He looked at Li Dongye's face, a face that bore a striking resemblance to the young commander in the photo, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

"Snapped!"

The officer stood with his feet together and raised his hand in a standard military salute.

His movements were swift and decisive, displaying the steely resolve characteristic of soldiers.

"Second Young Master!"

The officer's voice was loud and clear, echoing through the hall.

"Company Commander Zhao Gang of the Guard Company, on orders from the commander, has come to take you home!"

Standing there, Li Dongye felt as if all the sounds had faded away in that instant.

The woman at the front desk gaped, looking as if she had swallowed an egg. All her arrogance from before had vanished, leaving only a face full of terror and disbelief.

Who would have thought that this poor kid, who was just hesitating over the five yuan room fee and wearing a tattered leather jacket, would actually have such a high status!

Li Dongye slowly lowered his eyes, feeling a sharp sting in them.

His gaze went past those broad shoulders and down to the railing on the second floor.

There, Lin Qingqing stood in the shadows, quietly watching him.

She didn't come down, but just smiled at him. The smile was filled with relief, but also with a hint of loneliness, like looking at a child who had finally found his home.

Li Dongye's heart clenched suddenly.

He wanted to push these people aside and rush up to her, to tell her not to laugh like that, because it made him feel uncomfortable.

But he couldn't move.

At that moment, he finally understood that once you embark on some paths, you can never go back to that little courtyard with only five brothers and a few pigs.

The streetlights outside the car window rushed past, casting interplay of light and shadow on Li Dongye's face.

He didn't speak, his back was straight, even a little stiff, and he was holding Lin Qingqing's hand tightly.

My palms were sweaty.

Lin Qingqing didn't break free; instead, she gently scratched his palm with her fingertips.

Li Dongye turned his head to the side, his Adam's apple bobbing as he tried to force a smile, but the muscle at the corner of his mouth seemed frozen, and in the end he could only awkwardly pinch her fingertips.

The convoy drove into a quiet area.

There were armed guards at the gate. Upon seeing the red license plate, they saluted and let the car pass.

It was eerily quiet here; even the chirping of insects was more subdued than outside. The tall, imposing plane trees on both sides shimmered and fragmented the light from the streetlights.

The car stopped in front of a three-story building with a yard.

Before Company Commander Zhao could even open the car door, the heavy door was pushed open.

A woman wearing a dark cashmere cardigan stumbled out. Her hair was neatly styled, and although the years had left their mark around her eyes, her scholarly air and dignified bearing remained.

As soon as Li Dongye stepped out of the car, the woman pounced on him.

"Clouds rise..."