Lian caught up with the convoy and joined the middle of the line. She walked beside one of the library wagons, just behind Ying-Ying and some other girls. She turned for a last look back at Meirong, who was swinging her rucksack back onto her shoulders. As she set off, an old man behind her picked up the discarded straw sandals.

Lian hoped Mr. Lee wasn’t aware of Meirong’s activities. But even if he didn’t suspect her, it didn’t matter. With Meirong’s joining the Communist cause, her friend wouldn’t confide in her as before. Meirong had her own secrets now. Between the two of them, their secrets could fill a cavern. Their friendship could never be as before.

She wished her mother had given her a forwarding address for mail. Even if she sent a letter to her mother at Unity Mission, even if a kind person was willing to hold it, her mother wouldn’t be going back to the Mission. And if she did, she wouldn’t think of asking about a letter. Lian could only hope for news once they got to Chengtu. Until then, she couldn’t leave. Not yet.

Some students had stopped by the side of the road for a quick drink, a bite of food from their lunch boxes. The moment he saw her, Shao said something to the classmate beside him and left the group. He was leaving his friends to walk with her. She recalled the warmth of his hand over hers and her heart quickened.

No, she couldn’t leave. Not yet.

Chapter 24

Shangtan was small but blessed with good feng shui, protected by hills behind and the Hsiang River in front like a natural moat. Tucked at the foot of steep hills, Minghua’s new campus was a difficult target for air raids. They had been assigned to army barracks left behind when the unit at Shangtan deployed.

“We’ll be very safe here,” Shao told Lian as they approached the town. “Apparently Shangtan is prone to fog from the river, which also discourages air raids.”

Arranged in rows around a parade ground, the barracks were drafty and only just large enough to house them all, but it was far better than sleeping on the floor of a temple. The outhouses were a long walk down a muddy slope, but it was better than tramping into fields with a spade in one hand and a crumple of paper in the other. Signs at opposite corners of the parade ground pointed toward two bomb shelters dug into the hillside.