Educated Youth in the Countryside: She is the Village's Embroidery Queen!-Chapter 321: Concealing the Truth

"Here."

Wen Shi led her into a room that was empty except for a table and two chairs.

"The test is in the next room over."

Yi Chichi looked at him, "Can I take a look?"

"Let’s go."

Of course, she had to check out the testing room. Otherwise, if the test wasn’t passed and there were issues on the submarine, that would be problematic.

So, for safety’s sake, even if she didn’t mention it, Wen Shi would have taken her to see it on his own accord.

Then, the couple went to the next room under the curious gazes of the soldiers.

The room was quite small with a window on the left wall, and wooden strips nailed across it to seal it shut.

Yi Chichi leaned in to look and found the wooden strips were freshly cut and not dried, still quite moist.

"Were they nailed temporarily?"

"Yes."

Wen Shi nodded, "We brought people over to do it after morning training."

He then asked her, "Does this work? Do you want to move that thing from last night over here?"

"It’ll do."

Yi Chichi wasn’t sure what the room was used for before, but it certainly wasn’t meant for living.

It was too small to even fit an army cot, and it was long and narrow—just right for testing.

"Shall we start?"

The tone was inquiring.

"All right, one at a time."

"Okay, I’ll go get them."

Wen Shi had no other tasks today; he planned to accompany her to help the soldiers with their issues and then go with her to meet Zhang Xin and some of the other promising new recruits.

So, in the time that followed, Yi Chichi sat in the room and talked with the soldiers one-on-one, providing psychological support and guidance based on their individual circumstances.

For severe cases, like Xiao Kang, memory modification or overwriting was necessary.

One soldier would leave, and Wen Shi would bring another into the small dark room.

One soldier returned after leaving, knocking desperately on the door within minutes, begging to be let out.

He was so frightened that he was on the brink of tears.

Upon hearing about this, Yi Chichi was quite baffled.

Looking at Tu Qing, whose eyes were red and seemed terribly frightened, she asked puzzled, "What’s going on with you?"

"Sister-in-law, I’m scared."

He said, aggrieved, "As soon as the door closes, it goes dark, and I, I feel like there are many eyes watching me."

Yi Chichi helplessly massaged her forehead, "There aren’t any eyes. Why would you think of eyes?"

As soon as she said that, she noticed Tu Qing’s gaze start to drift, and he fell silent.

Oh boy, this kid is hiding something.

Wen Shi noticed it too, and he snapped, "What did I tell you all before?"

"Answer everything Sister-in-law asks, without hiding anything."

Wen Shi’s anger made him not dare to stay silent anymore, and he loudly answered.

"And how are you doing it?"

He ducked his head like a quail, and just as Wen Shi was about to get angry, Yi Chichi stopped him, "Calm down, I’ll chat with him a bit more."

She gestured to Tu Qing, "Come on, let’s go have a friendly chat."

Tu Qing looked at Wen Shi, who glared back at him when he noticed the stare, "What are you looking at me for? Do you still want to be a submarine soldier?"

"Yes!"

He answered loudly and resolutely.

"Then go in."

So, Tu Qing sat across from Yi Chichi once more.

She reached into her pocket, took out a White Rabbit candy, and handed it to him, "Eat it."

"Sister-in-law, I..."

"No refusing, I’m having one too."

Yi Chichi took out another and unwrapped it, popping it into her mouth, and signaled with her eyes for Tu Qing to eat his.

The kid’s emotions were tight, like a bowstring pulled to its limit; without relaxing, the conversation wouldn’t go well.

And candy does help with easing emotions somewhat.

So, no more words; eat the candy.

Her approach proved right; after eating the candy, Tu Qing’s tense emotions relaxed, and Yi Chichi gave him two more.

"Finish them!"

"...Can, can I not?"

He stammered, his eyes showing a complex mix of emotions.

"Why not?"

Yi Chichi responded with a question instead, and Tu Qing softly said, "White Rabbit candy is expensive."

He was reluctant, as it was not something he could usually afford to buy.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, Yi Chichi saw it in his eyes and expression and smiled, "I’m treating you, consider it a favor. You can give me this face, can’t you?"

Her tone was gentle yet firm.

Tu Qing whispered thanks and carefully put the candy in his mouth, his face inadvertently softening.

His expression was like that of a stray cat who’s seen a lot of hardships and cherishes any bit of warmth it receives.

"Have you had White Rabbit before?"

"Yes."

He nodded, sounding somewhat excited, "The squad leader gave me two once. That was my first time tasting it, and it was so good!"

His expression was filled with nostalgia.

But soon, his spirits dropped, and his eyes grew red.

"After the squad leader left, I never had White Rabbit again."

Yi Chichi’s brow furrowed. Left?

The Chinese language is vast and rich; the word "left" can mean several things.

Which kind did Tu Qing mean?

"Did the squad leader retire?"

"... He, he was killed."

"How did he sacrifice himself?"

"He acted heroically on the way home for a family visit."

Speaking of it, he covered his face and sobbed, "I never got to see the squad leader one last time, and then I started dreaming... dreaming that he looked at me with disappointment, saying nothing..."

He murmured on, with guilt apparent between his words.

Yi Chichi was a good listener and skilled at guidance, fully focused on listening while Tu Qing poured out his heart, interjecting only occasionally to steer the conversation.

Meanwhile, she didn’t stop moving her pen, making psychological notes for him. Once he was done, Yi Chichi realized that this child was too kind-hearted.

He had some street smarts but lacked great wisdom.

He was empathetic and sincere in his feelings. If you gave him an inch, he’d give you his heart.

Commonly known as being emotionally attached.

Besides that, he wasn’t good at expressing himself, keeping a lot bottled up, akin to being an enigma.

The squad leader was vital to him, as he wasn’t tall and found speaking difficult, making relationships challenging.

The squad leader taught him how to handle relationships and took care of him in both life and training.

To Tu Qing, the squad leader wasn’t just a leader but was like a brother or father figure.

Of course, the squad leader was good to all soldiers.

However, Tu Qing firmly believed he was special to the squad leader, as his emotions were deeply rooted. When the news of the squad leader’s death came, he couldn’t process it, leading to guilt and self-blame.

He blamed himself for disappointing the squad leader and felt guilty about not being able to visit the squad leader’s hometown for the last farewell.

There’s a saying: what you think about during the day, you dream about at night, so he dreamt of the squad leader looking at him with disappointment in his dreams.

At this moment, Yi Chichi finally understood why his claustrophobia wasn’t severe, yet he still had a fallback phase.

It was because he trapped himself in feelings of guilt and self-blame towards the squad leader.

That’s why he panicked in the small dark room, saying he saw many eyes. It was because entering the room triggered the memory of the squad leader looking at him in disappointment in his dreams.

And this was what he had hidden before. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

This left Yi Chichi feeling quite at a loss.

"You have another candy to calm down. I’ll step out for a bit."