Extra 6: Farewell
"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless. The evening wind blows the willows and the sound of the flute fades away, and the setting sun shines beyond the mountains."
The spring breeze blew the willows, and a melodious harmonica sound came from the river bank.
Accompanied by the music played by the harmonica, Xu Xiaohui hummed the song "Farewell" softly.
"At the end of the world, at the corner of the earth, half of my friends are gone. It is rare to be together in life, but there are many separations... only separations are many..."
After the song was over, Xiaohui turned her head and looked at Chen He: "You play really beautifully."
Chen He's young face flushed slightly because of his sweetheart's praise: "You sing well too."
The two smiled at each other, and Chen He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the harmonica before returning it to Xu Xiaohui.
Xu Xiaohui refused to offer her hand: "You play better than me, so I'll give this harmonica to you."
“This is not good.”
"Well, just take it. If we have time, I would like to learn how to play this piece of music from you."
Chen He heard the hidden meaning in Xu Xiaohui's words, and his hand holding the harmonica tightened a little, and his excited heart was beating fast.
Since then, two young figures could often be seen by the small river bank not far from the Normal University .
Love at this time is restrained and shy.
Only when no one was around would they dare to hold hands secretly and take a walk together under the pretext of learning the harmonica.
At this time, Xu Xiaohui's heart was full of longing for love and future life.
However, this beauty underwent subtle changes after Chen He visited Nanzhan.
Chen He, who had just returned from an internship in Nanzhan, often talked about the poverty and backwardness of that place when they dated her.
Hearing him describe the children who were hungry and cold, Xu Xiaohui felt sympathy.
But she didn't expect that after graduating from university, Chen He did not stay and did not stay in Qinchuan with her as agreed to be an ordinary teacher.
Instead, he chose to go to the poor mountainous areas of Nanzhan to teach...
Chen He, who has made up his mind, has a special glow on him. His eyes reveal determination, as if he has a sense of mission that makes him desperate for this decision.
Xu Xiaohui wanted to stop him, but when she saw Chen He arguing with her and his conflicted expression because he was reluctant to part with her.
Suddenly, she felt that perhaps what she fell in love with was Chen He’s spirit of wanting to help others.
He has always been a different person. If he is willing to stay in Qinchuan with me and live an ordinary life, then perhaps he is not the Chen He I know.
But what about their previous promise? Xu Xiaohui was confused for a moment, not knowing whether she should let him go.
It’s better to stay and satisfy your desire for a stable life.
Chen He didn't give her too much time to hesitate because he had already made the decision.
It’s just that Chen He didn’t say those cold words.
After returning home and staying there for a few days, he secretly left with his ID.
When Xu Xiaohui found his home, he had been gone for several days.
This made Xu Xiaohui extremely sad and disappointed. She suddenly felt that their love was so fragile.
The days of separation no longer feel as hurried as when we were in love, as if every day is not enough.
After Chen He left, Xu Xiaohui worked hard and spent every day in busyness and longing.
Yes, even though Chen He left without saying goodbye, Xu Xiaohui still missed him.
About a year later, Chen He came back from Nanzhan to visit his parents and also visited Xu Xiaohui.
At this time, Chen He was terribly thin and darker, and there were many inexplicable things in his eyes.
Xu Xiaohui saw it and felt pain in her heart.
This was the first time they met after he left without saying goodbye. Chen He was a little reserved because he didn't know whether Xu Xiaohui no longer loved him because of what he had done.
If that was the case, Chen He decided not to bother her anymore.
But after they met, Xu Xiaohui couldn't help but throw herself into Chen He's arms because of her longing for him.
He just kept saying, "How did you become like this? How did you become so thin?"
Chen He's tears rolled down. He didn't expect Xiaohui would forgive him and care about him.
So he made another promise to Xu Xiaohui: "I borrowed 20,000 yuan from my parents. When the money is used up, I will come back and marry you."
That day, the two of them came to the campus of Qinchuan Normal University again.
By the small river bank, Chen He told Xiaohui many things about Nanzhan, and the kind girl also understood the significance of Chen He's persistence.
The person she loves is great. He wants to change the bad habits over there. What he is going to do will save many people.
Before parting, Chen He played the song "Farewell" on the harmonica again.
Xiaohui said with tears in her eyes: "I don't like this song anymore. Farewell is not a good sign. I just hope you can come back as soon as possible and come back safely."
Chen He promised her...
But he didn't know that he never returned to Qinchuan until his death.
After Chen He left, he always kept in touch with Xu Xiaohui.
They wrote to each other often, every month.
Chen He said that there was no way to receive mail where he was now, and the address he left for Xu Xiaohui was the address of the post office in a nearby town.
Through letters, the two expressed their longing for each other and the details of their lives.
These letters seemed to become the nourishment for each other's persistence.
Xu Xiaohui knew that Chen He was having a hard time there. The people there were uneducated and did not allow children to study.
Chen He invested a lot of energy and money to ensure that those children could go to school and study instead of following adults to do illegal things.
Xu Xiaohui felt sorry for him, so she lived frugally and saved some of her salary to mail to Chen He.
She was not as great as Chen He, but she just couldn't bear to see him suffer, and her mind always appeared the way he looked when he came back last time.
Until one day, Chen He's letter did not arrive on time, and Xu Xiaohui could no longer stay.
Because from the previous few letters, Xu Xiaohui felt that Chen He's mood seemed to be wrong.
When he mentioned those people in Nanzhan, his feeling of pity at first turned into anger later.
Chen He said he hated himself for not being able to wake them up, and he also hated those people for taking the children to grow poppies.
Xu Xiaohui was worried about Chen He's changes. After much thought, she decided to go find him and bring him back.
Knowing that her parents would definitely not agree, Xu Xiaohui secretly resigned and went to Nanzhan.
She only had the address of the town where Chen He received the letter, so she found it and began to inquire about Chen He's whereabouts.
That place was very scary for Xu Xiaohui.
There weren't many people who could speak Mandarin in the town, and there were many dark and thin men on the street, looking at her like hungry wolves.
Xu Xiaohui was scared and wanted to go home, but when she thought that Chen He might be not far away from her, she persisted for a few more days.
Until one day, a man with a strange hairstyle, wearing ethnic minority costumes, and speaking fluent Mandarin found her.
He said he could take her to find Chen He.
The man said his name was Ma Dao and he was Chen He’s good friend.
Ma Dao told some characteristics and things about Chen He, and Xu Xiaohui knew that he was not lying and he really knew Chen He.
He also told Xu Xiaohui that Chen He burned the poppies grown by the mountain people and was beaten badly and seriously injured.
After Xu Xiaohui heard this, she burst into tears. She followed the two people arranged by Ma Dao and hurried into the forest leading to the mountain...
The road is difficult to travel through the mountains and hills.
The same scenery was all around her, and Xu Xiaohui didn't know how far she had walked or where she had gone.
But she became more and more nervous as she walked. The two people accompanying her had serious expressions and looked at her with scary eyes.
When she wanted to turn back, it was already too late.
A knife was inserted into her back, and then a stick hit her back of the head hard. The moment she fell to the ground, Xu Xiaohui seemed to see the trees in front of her become fierce and ferocious.
Sometimes it turned into the Chen River, sometimes it turned into my parents, and sometimes it turned into the small river bank full of spring.
She seemed to hear the song "Farewell" in her ears, sometimes far away, sometimes near, and the clear sound of the piano flowing along with the river.
The speed of the flow was just like the blood that kept flowing out of her body...
"Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless. The evening wind blows the willows, the sound of the flute fades, and the setting sun shines beyond the mountains.
At the end of the world, at the corner of the earth, half of my friends are gone. A pot of muddy wine will end my remaining joy, and I will not dream of the cold tonight.
Outside the long pavilion, beside the ancient road, the grass is green and endless. I ask you when you will return, and when you come back, don’t hesitate…”
The scenes of my past time with Chen He kept appearing before my eyes.
Xu Xiaohui didn't understand why they wanted to kill her. She just wanted to see Chen He and ask him when he would be back.
Aren’t they Chen He’s friends?
"I'm sorry girl."
Ma Dao walked out from the depths of the forest, took off the beautiful hairpin on Xu Xiaohui's head and held it in his hand.
He reached out his hand with a sad face, wiped Xu Xiaohui's eyelids, and helped her close her eyes.
"There won't be another person in the world who is as stubborn as Chen He who doesn't care about personal gain, so he will only stay if you die..."
