Chronicle of the 70s

The items were too valuable, yet Qin Xi told Li Xianglu to just keep them in her room. Li Xianglu wondered if she had revealed something unintentionally, but since Qin Xi did not mention it, she didn’t say anything either and agreed. Although the items were placed under the bed, Li Xianglu still felt uneasy and stored them in the Storage Ring, and actually placed pots, pans, ladles, and a stool nearly the same size inside the black bag under the bed.

The next day early in the morning, they didn’t check out of the room but locked the door and notified the office. They left and first went to eat at the State-owned canteen, then waited at the Armed Forces Department before seeing the same car from yesterday with the same driver. They greeted the familiar driver and set off.

On the road, looking at the familiar route brought many emotions, Qin Xi sitting beside her smiled and said: "What are you thinking about? Feeling nervous as we approach home?"

Li Xianglu shook her head and said: "Back then, it was this road that Uncle Ge used a sheep cage to pull me to the county town. Along the way, we met Ge Sanmei and Li Jianwen, who joked and got on the wagon, even telling people on the road that there were lambs in the wagon."

Qin Xi had never heard these details from Li Xianglu before, and now hearing her narrate them calmly as if talking about someone else’s affairs, pained him and he couldn’t help but embrace her tightly, comforting her, "It’s alright, it’s all in the past now."

Yet Li Xianglu stubbornly turned her head, her fair hands holding his face and asked firmly, "Back then, Brother Ge asked you if that note was left by you, and you said no. Today, I want to ask again, did you leave that note?"

Qin Xi took Li Xianglu’s hands down and let her lean onto his chest and said, "It was me who left the note. Initially, I only knew that Ge Congxin had taken you away, but I didn’t know where you were taken. It took a few days of asking around to find out you were at Wang Xiwang’s house."

Upon hearing this, Li Xianglu felt relieved. In fact, she wanted to ask what her past self was like, if anyone had come to rescue her then, but then thinking that person from her past life wasn’t her, even knowing wouldn’t change anything, it was just self-trouble.

Qin Xi also wondered if he should tell her if she asked, but unexpectedly, the girl didn’t ask anything, which made him breathe a sigh of relief, yet also felt a little disappointed.

Forty minutes later, they arrived below the ridge of Li Family Village. A group of older children all ran down from the mountain crest, buzzing around the car.