Liu Dong went to visit Liu Shu again, and on the way back, he suddenly remembered Su Xiaoxiao. The long-distance train from the prison to the army happened to pass by Shematun, which he had never noticed the first few times, or his mind was not on Shematun at all. When he saw his brother this time, his brother seemed to have adapted to the reformed life in prison, knowing that his younger brother was married, and his brother was happier than he was married, and he also quietly told Liu Dong that his indefinite date might be changed to a fixed period, and the prison had already typed the report and was waiting for approval.

The maximum sentence in prison is 20 years, and if my brother is really commuted to a prison sentence, their family will be able to reunite in another 20 years, which is really exciting news. It was when he heard this unexpected joy that he thought of Su Xiaoxiao in Xiematun, and when the long-distance bus stopped at Xiematun, he hesitated for a moment and got out of the car.

He came to the courtyard of Su Xiaoxiao's house with a familiar car, the courtyard was still quietly located there, and he shouted in front of the door: Su Xiaoxiao, I am Liu Dong.

No one in the room agreed, and he thought: maybe he went to work in the fields.

He shouted again: "Auntie, I am Liu Dong of the 13th Division, and I have lived in your house.

There was still no one in the courtyard, and he saw that there was a lock on the door.

At this time, someone happened to be passing by, looked at him, and asked: Are you looking for Su Xiaoxiao? She's in school too. You don't know it, she's a teacher now.

Following the guidance of the villagers, he found Shematun Primary School. Su Xiaoxiao was walking out of the classroom with a book in her hand, and the children ran out from behind her and chased them on the playground.

Su Xiaoxiao didn't seem to have changed, the only difference was that the thick black braid was gone, and her short hair showed her freshness and maturity. He called her name, she followed the prestige, and saw Liu Dong standing at the school gate, she was startled for a moment, and quickly recognized him. She walked briskly over and stopped in front of him, looking at him with surprise and delight.

He smiled and said to her, "I'm going to come and see you when I pass by here." I heard that you became a teacher, are you okay?

Su Xiaoxiao's eyes were red, and she smiled at him, but he could feel that her smile was a little reluctant, and he sensitively caught a hint of information that she was not doing well.

It turned out that not long after learning the news of Tamura's marriage, Su Xiaoxiao's mother fell ill with a fire, and passed away a few days later with regret and concern for her daughter. From that moment on, Su Xiaoxiao was like a different person, she took the exam organized by the county to recruit rural teachers, and was finally admitted. Now she still lives alone, and many enthusiastic people have introduced her to someone, but she is gone, still silently waiting for something.

When her mother left, she took Su Xiaoxiao's hand and left a sentence: Don't wait stupidly, everyone is married.

She grabbed her mother's hand and did not answer her, but wept silently, and tears fell on her and her mother's hands. Mother used her last strength to open her eyes and look at the most reassuring person in the world, but she didn't see anything, and after a long sigh, the last wisp of life in her body finally left her body. Mother's hand became cold little by little in Su Xiaoxiao's hand. She knew that the person who loved her the most in the world was gone.

The moment her mother left, her heart also died. Sometimes she would be in a daze when she faced herself in the mirror, and she asked in her heart: Are you still the same Su Xiaoxiao? Why are you so stupid? Who else are you expecting in this world? You're so stupid –

After asking herself this and hating herself, she still couldn't convince herself. In the dark she was still looking forward to it, although she knew that it was a fruitless wait, but she was still waiting, hoping that she would not be able to get out of the promise that Tamura had left in the depths of her heart. Her heart still rings coldly with what Tamura once said: I will definitely come to pick you up. As soon as she thought of this, her heart trembled, and it hurt like a pinprick, and it hurt again. For that empty promise, she had to live alone for the rest of her life. Tamura is her sustenance, and when her sustenance is released, her heart is empty. She knew that Tamura was married, and this kind of waiting was a hopelessness, but she couldn't convince herself, she only had Tamura in her heart, she didn't have the enthusiasm to like others anymore, she could only keep herself and that memory alone.

Liu Dong didn't want to tell Su Xiaoxiao the news of Tamura at first, he didn't know about her current situation, and he didn't want Tamura's news to disturb her peaceful life. But Su Xiaoxiao's current situation in front of him told him that she was still waiting for him. If she hadn't pretended to have a persistent love for Tamura in her heart, she might have been a different person a long time ago.

So, he talked about Tamura's situation in one go, and finally he said: Tamura needs you, if you still have him in your heart, go and see him, he will be happy.

Liu Dong didn't say anything more, because he didn't know what Tamura was thinking in his heart, but he felt that Su Xiaoxiao's visit to Tamura at this time must be a comfort to him. He read the persistent love from Su Xiaoxiao's eyes, and he was moved by Su Xiaoxiao.

Liu Dong said goodbye to Su Xiaoxiao with a moved mood, and during this period, Su Xiaoxiao did not speak. It wasn't until the moment he left that she said with red eyes: Liu Dong, thank you.

As he waved goodbye to her, he saw the tears in her eyes.