Zhang Xincheng and his girlfriend Liu Yue drove directly back to his hometown.
It was a drive of several hours.
Along the way, the two didn't talk much, but Liu Yue could see that her boyfriend was much more relaxed than before.
"Don't drive too fast, be careful."
She noticed Zhang Xincheng was a bit anxious.
She reminded him gently from the side.
"Mhm."
Zhang Xincheng slowed down.
Then, he glanced at Liu Yue beside him and continued to drive attentively.
After a long while, he suddenly said, "Yueyue, thank you."
He knew his girlfriend had been quietly helping him resolve his inner turmoil, and the way she did it was full of respect for him.
Having such a kind and understanding girlfriend made him feel incredibly happy.
"Cheng Ge, you don't need to say that to me."
Liu Yue smiled and shook her head.
Zhang Xincheng didn't reply, but focused on driving.
...
They arrived at the village in the evening.
The village had developed well in recent years, and most of the roads had been paved.
They could drive to the entrance of the village.
Zhang Xincheng parked the car, and Liu Yue got out from the passenger seat.
"Wait a moment."
At this moment, Zhang Xincheng went to the trunk, opened it, and took out a black bag.
Liu Yue asked curiously, "What is this?"
Zhang Xincheng looked at the bag and said, "Some incense and candles for sweeping the tomb."
Liu Yue was startled for a moment upon hearing this, then nodded.
After deciding to return to his hometown today, the two had gotten into the car and hadn't stopped since.
But Zhang Xincheng had prepared items for tomb sweeping in his trunk.
This meant he had actually been prepared all along, but was struggling internally.
Thinking of this, Liu Yue held his cold hand.
"Let's go." Zhang Xincheng smiled at her.
Then, he closed the trunk.
The two walked hand in hand in the rural night, their phone flashlights illuminating the path ahead.
It wasn't yet spring, and the night wind was a bit chilly.
Zhang Xincheng quickened his pace, walking slightly ahead of his girlfriend to shield her from the cold wind.
This small gesture moved Liu Yue deeply.
She knew that to outsiders, Zhang Xincheng was an ungrateful prodigal son, that his father had raised him, and he hadn't even seen him one last time.
Moreover, he had appeared completely unfazed at his father's funeral, as if nothing had happened.
However, Liu Yue knew that Zhang Xincheng wasn't inherently bad. He cared about his father more than anyone.
It was precisely because of this that his reaction was so extreme after his beliefs collapsed.
If he hadn't had deep feelings, he wouldn't have taken this matter so seriously.
Therefore, she had been patiently helping Zhang Xincheng resolve his inner conflict all this time.
The two walked, one behind the other, for about ten minutes.
A small bungalow appeared before them.
"Is this your home?"
Liu Yue asked curiously as Zhang Xincheng stopped.
"Yes, this is my home."
After speaking, Zhang Xincheng pulled Liu Yue towards the main door.
He took out a key from his pocket and unlocked the door.
Because no one had lived there for a long time, the house had a musty smell.
However, neither of them minded and stepped inside.
The power was out, so they had to continue using their phones for light.
"This house is no longer habitable. I'll grab some things, and after I finish paying respects at Dad's tomb, we'll head back to the city."
Zhang Xincheng went to his room.
The room was a bit damp from not being lived in for a long time, but the items were still neatly arranged.
Looking at the familiar furnishings, his nose began to sting.
Images of him and his father relying on each other flooded his mind.
He had moved most of his belongings when he buried his father last time, but there was one more thing he wanted to take this time.
On the wooden desk by the window, there was a bamboo dragonfly.
His father had made it for him, little by little, with a small knife.
Zhang Xincheng took out a box, placed the bamboo dragonfly inside, and then put it away in his bag.
"Let's go."
Having done this, he pulled Liu Yue and walked out of the main door.
As they passed his father's room, he suddenly stopped.
Liu Yue asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhang Xincheng pushed open the door with a complex expression: "Let's take a look."
His father's room was small and simple, containing only a bed and a password box.
The password box was army green.
The box was old and worn due to age.
The password lock had broken more than ten years ago.
At that time, Zhang Xincheng had opened it and seen some photos of his father and his comrades.
During childhood summers, under a sky full of stars, his father would bring out a bamboo-woven cooling bed every night, and they would lie on it, enjoying the cool air and stargazing. His father would tell him stories about being a soldier and fighting in wars.
As a child, he would listen, his blood boiling with excitement. Even if his father had told some stories countless times, he still loved to hear them.
So, even after the incident that shattered his beliefs, his father remained a hero in his heart.
"Let's take the photos too..."
Zhang Xincheng opened the box.
Inside was a set of worn military uniform, and beneath the uniform were the photos he had seen as a child.
His father had had these photos laminated, so they were still in good condition.
"Is this your father?"
Liu Yue sat beside him, looking at the photos in his hand, and asked with a smile.
"No, the one next to him is."
Zhang Xincheng shook his head.
This photo was a group picture of his father and his comrades, both smiling brightly.
In the comrade's arms was an infant, Zhang Xincheng himself.
He had once asked his father why he wasn't holding him, and his father had smiled and told him that this comrade was his best brother.
He was also Zhang Xincheng's godfather.
However, he had sacrificed his life during a border mission.
"Oh."
Liu Yue frowned, but said nothing more.
"Let's go, we need to pay respects at the tomb,"
Zhang Xincheng said faintly, putting the photos away.
At this moment.
His movements suddenly stopped.
He quickly took the photos he was about to put in his bag back out.
He stared at the words on the back of the photo, as if struck by lightning, frozen in place.
Liu Yue noticed his abnormality and followed his gaze.
On the back of the photo, a line of small characters was written.
"The son of my comrade, as if my own son."
Upon reading this line, Liu Yue gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
At first glance, she had thought the person in the photo bore some resemblance to her boyfriend, which was why she had asked if it was his father.
Zhang Xincheng's hands trembled.
He gritted his teeth, his eyes suddenly reddening.
"How could this be, how could this be..."
Suddenly, he put the photo aside, mumbling incessantly.
His hands frantically searched inside the box.
He overturned the worn military uniform.
Suddenly.
An item in the box made him stand there, dumbfounded.
It was half a bottle of white wine and two cups.
One of the cups was covered in cracks, but it appeared to have been glued back together.
Zhang Xincheng gently picked up the cracked cup.
Memories flooded back.
It was the last time he had drunk with his father.
It was also the day his father brought that woman home.
He had thrown the cup and stormed out of the house.
Their father-son relationship had become strained from that half-finished bottle of wine.
He hadn't expected that the broken cup would be pieced back together by his father, and the unfinished half-bottle of wine left in the box.
"Let's go!"
Zhang Xincheng quickly put the uniform back into the box, picked up the box, and walked towards the door.
"Where are we going?"
Liu Yue hadn't yet registered what was happening.
Zhang Xincheng grabbed Liu Yue's hand and said to her in a trembling voice, "Let's go finish the drink with Dad!"