Knowing that Director Cai was his mother’s comrade, Ye Jian felt close to him when she saw him.
She smiled as she walked over, “Why are you here? Are you here for a business trip?”
“I wanted to come over to see you a long time ago, but I was afraid of disturbing your studies, so I just waited for you to finish your exam before I came.” Director Cai looked at the girl whom he hadn’t seen for a few months. The more he looked at her, the happier he was. She had a tall and slim figure and a soldier’s sassiness and heroic posture. In her tailor-made student uniform, she looked like a sturdy green pine. Although her branches and leaves were not fully stretched, it could already see her future glory.
Ye Jian first let him sit down and then quickly poured warm water, “Sorry, there is no tea in the reception room. Here’s a cup of warm water.”
“Warm water is good too, clean and light, without any impurities. As a person, you must be like this glass of clear water, light, bright and upright.” Director Cai smiled, took the warm water, and motioned to Ye Jian to sit down. Then, he said, “Although your complexion looks a bit bad, you’re still full of energy, which shows that you’re used to the military school life.”
“Good, good, you didn’t shame your mother. You’re really a soldier’s daughter!”
Ye Jian liked when her mother was mentioned; it gave her a great sense of pride, “Although my mother left early, I remembered things clearly. I still remember that she once said to me that one is only worthed being a ‘being’ if one is open, honest, and open-minded. As you said, a person needs to be like a glass of water, light, bright and upright.”
After Director Cai heard it, his laughter became louder, “Good, very good! Really good! To have a daughter like you, I think Red Plum is willing to go through her sufferings even if it’s very bad.”
“But I can’t bear it.” Ye Jian took a sip of warm water, and when she raised her eyes, her expression became a little solemn, “I wonder if what you said last time in Tongzhou counts? I want to know about my mother, and I can learn about her from you.”
Director Cai also narrowed his smile, leaning on the wooden guest sofa; his kind eyes were serious. It was different from the untrained seriousness of young people; it showed a clear sharpness.
“You didn’t come to me, but I came to you, Ye Jian; I just came here for your mother and to tell you something you don’t know.”
Looking around, Ye Jian, who finally knew what he was here for, became increasingly cold. He asked, “Is this a suitable place to talk about it?”
“Don’t worry; there is no surveillance here. There are guards outside. If someone approaches, they will promptly remind us. This is the most suitable place.” Ye Jian straightened her back, her eyes became darker and colder, “Please tell me, I will keep every sentence you say in my heart.”
Since she said this was the most suitable place, Director Cai did not worry too much anymore. He took out some clues from his recent investigation from his briefcase, “Your mother’s sacrifice, I always think there are many things that are wrong. I thought about investigating, but in the end, because of all the things, I couldn’t get started. But after seeing you later, I felt ashamed of your mother, so I re-investigated secretly.”
“I had an investigation with another comrade back then, and I found a comrade who performed the mission with your mother at that time. Knowing your mother’s mission back then… well, it’s all written here, you can have a look.”
When Ye Jian took the file, her hands were shaking slightly; her eyes trembled when she looked at Director Cai.
