Chapter 12: Convincing Song Mei
The smoke of gunpowder dissipated, and a figure walked over from behind. He casually picked up a Type 38 rifle with a bayonet from the ground and thrust it into the motionless corpse lying on the ground.
“Thwack…”
“Thwack… Thwack…”
With a few muffled groans, the more than ten Japanese soldiers on the ground, whether truly dead or seriously wounded, were all thoroughly dead.
After dealing with these Japanese soldiers, Su Yaoyang could no longer suppress his anxious feelings and rushed into the inn.
“Xiao Lu… Xiao Lu…”
“Shopkeeper Song… Shopkeeper Song… are you there?”
By the end of his shouting, Su Yaoyang’s voice was tinged with hoarseness and uncontrollable sobs.
Although he had only been in this world for a week at most, as the old saying goes, humans are not made of grass and wood, how could one be without feelings? For the girl who had been inseparable from him and whose eyes were full of him, how could he not like her or worry about her?
The thought of possibly losing her made his heart feel like it was being squeezed by a large hand, causing him such pain that he could barely breathe.
“Xiao Lu… Xiao Lu…”
Just as he reached the inn’s backyard, a door was pushed open, and a young girl in a light blue cotton padded jacket, with bright eyes and pearly teeth, rushed towards him and threw herself into his arms, sobbing.
“Young Master… where did you go today? I thought… I thought I would never see you again… sniffle…”
“Xiao Lu…”
Su Yaoyang tightly hugged the girl, feeling an immense joy of regaining what he thought was lost, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.
After they held each other tightly for a while, the girl in his arms suddenly asked, “Young Master… what are you carrying? It’s hard and poking me, it hurts so much.”
“Oh… this… it is…”
Su Yaoyang released her and was about to speak when he saw a graceful silhouette standing before him, with a delicate and fair face looking at them with a smile that was not quite a smile.
Seeing the person arrive, Su Yaoyang’s old face flushed, and he said somewhat embarrassed, “Shopkeeper Song, I’m truly sorry for the spectacle.”
Song Mei appraised him for a moment. Seeing the submachine gun hanging on his chest and the bullets and grenades all over his body, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she was astute enough not to ask anything, merely stating plainly, “Young Master Su, I have returned your little maid to you intact. Don’t hold me responsible for any future issues!”
Hearing Song Mei’s clear voice, Xiao Lu finally realized there was someone behind her. Her face instantly turned red, and she quickly grabbed Su Yaoyang’s hand and said:
“Young Master… after you went out this morning, you haven’t returned. I wanted to go out and look for you, but Sister Song Mei stopped me.
Unexpectedly, in the afternoon, the devils attacked the city. The inn’s guests and staff all fled. Sister Song Mei then closed the inn’s main door and pulled me to hide in the backyard.
Unexpectedly, just now a group of Japanese soldiers came and surrounded the inn. Seeing that they were ignoring us, they started smashing the door. Fortunately, you arrived in time, otherwise… otherwise we…”
Saying this, Xiao Lu began to cry again.
Su Yaoyang fell silent. He naturally knew what the consequences would have been if Xiao Lu had gone out to look for him alone during these turbulent times without Song Mei stopping her.
He turned to Song Mei and bowed, “Shopkeeper Song, thank you for your care these past few days. Without you today, Xiao Lu and I might never have seen each other again.
If you ever need anything from me in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask. I, Su, will never refuse!”
Song Mei snorted, “Forget it. Considering you just saved me and Xiao Lu, today’s matter is settled. Besides, I didn’t save Xiao Lu for you. I felt bad that at such a young age, she not only had to go hungry every day but also had to serve your every need. I couldn’t bear to see it, so I lent a hand.”
Su Yaoyang touched his nose, unsure of what to say for a moment.
He was not ungrateful. Although Shopkeeper Song’s words were sharp, if not for her covert care, he and Xiao Lu would have long since been wandering the streets.
In such cold weather, if they really had to sleep on the streets, he knew what the consequences would be without even thinking.
Not wanting to continue this topic, he cleared his throat lightly, “Shopkeeper Song… so many little devils have died outside. We can’t stay here any longer. Do you have anywhere to go?”
Before Song Mei could answer, Xiao Lu quickly chimed in, “Young Master… Sister Song Mei has nowhere to go.
Since Sister Song Mei’s parents passed away, she has lost contact with her already few relatives. This inn is her entire fortune. Where would she go if she left here?”
Song Mei hadn’t expected the quick-tongued Xiao Lu to reveal all her affairs and shot her a look of shy anger.
Upon hearing this, Su Yaoyang immediately said, “Shopkeeper Song, since you have nowhere to go, why don’t you come with us? That way, we can look out for each other.”
“Yes, Sister Song Mei.” Xiao Lu grabbed Song Mei’s hand, “Now that there is chaos and war, it’s too dangerous for you to be alone as a young lady. Come with us!”
Song Mei hesitated for a moment and looked back at the inn, feeling reluctant. This inn was the only memento left by her deceased parents, and it was too hard to abandon.
Seeing Song Mei’s reluctant expression, Xiao Lu directly linked her arm and pouted, “Oh, Sister Song Mei, please come with us. This inn is still here, no one can move it. We can come back after the Japanese leave. What do you say?”
Song Mei, who had managed the inn so successfully after her parents’ death, was naturally not someone who couldn’t see reason. She quickly made her decision.
“Alright, let’s pack our things quickly and go…”
Just as Su Yaoyang and the other two were packing their belongings to leave, a different scene was unfolding at St. Paul’s Cathedral, over a kilometer away from the inn.
Although Chen George and the female students had reunited at the cathedral, they found that several groups of unwelcome guests had arrived at the church.
One group was naturally Li Gaoyuan and a group of training corps soldiers who had arranged to meet Su Yaoyang at the cathedral. Another group consisted of thirteen prostitutes from the Qinhuai River banks. The last group was just one person, an American named John, who had specifically come to collect the body of Father Ingmar, who had been killed by Japanese artillery shells.
With so many people meeting in the cathedral, the scene was anything but quiet.
Unlike the original movie, as soon as Li Gaoyuan and his group arrived at the cathedral, they occupied the safest cellar and settled the four wounded soldiers there.
The thirteen prostitutes from the Qinhuai River banks, seeking refuge, were not to be outdone. Under the arrangement of their top prostitute, Yu Mo, they also squeezed in, causing a constant chatter.
The soldiers from the training corps asked them to be quiet, but they were instead mocked by these prostitutes.
“If you soldiers weren’t useless, why would we have to hide here?”
This one sentence left the training corps soldiers speechless.
