Continuation of "Gone with the Wind"

Chapter 84 Protecting Paul

"What's the matter?" Scarlett felt strange and excited at the same time. This was the first time Rhett asked her for help.

"Don't you think, you forgot someone?" Rhett didn't directly say what he was going to do, but went around in circles with her.

"Who did you forget?" Scarlett responded as soon as she said the words, "You mean Paul, shouldn't he be with you?"

"I can't let a child suffer in such a ghostly place." Rhett whispered, "So I arranged for him to go to another place in advance."

"Where is it?" Scarlett asked impatiently.The "in advance" in Rhett's words made her very strange. Did he already know that he would be arrested before he was arrested?But if so, why didn't he hide himself?For a while, she couldn't think of a reason, so she had to put it aside and listen to what Rhett had to say.

"The Hourly Hotel in San Francisco is not very eye-catching. You can find out after you go out and ask around. Remember, I registered a fake name there, Weslow Bird, stretch out your hand, that's how it is spelled." Rui Te meticulously wrote letters on Scarlett's outstretched hand, and then said to her, "I told Paul to wait and if I don't come back within a month, leave me alone and go back to Tara Manor." Before I left, I paid a month's rent and left enough travel expenses for him, so he only needs to take the train."

Scarlett had clenched her hand tightly, as if she was holding Rhett's entire wealth and life in her empty hand except for a slight prickling sensation.But after listening to Rhett's words, she suddenly remembered a very important thing. "Wait Rhett, the time you said is one month, so how long have you been arrested?" She couldn't care less about why Rhett didn't keep Paul in New Orleans, and took Tara as his refuge, Her first thought was whether Paul was still there.

"About two weeks. He might still be around." Rhett's tone was uncertain.

"What is maybe?" Scarlett stared at him with wide eyes.

"Because I haven't seen him since I was arrested, and he hasn't been here-of course he can't come to this kind of place even if he has a conscience, so I said maybe." Rhett didn't seem to be in a hurry.

"What if he's not here?" Scarlett thought he should be acting nervous.

"Then you don't need to worry about it, he was probably taken away by his biological father." Rhett said lightly, completely ignoring the impact of this unexpected news on Scarlett.

Scarlett was startled—she actually jumped up, her green eyes widening on Rhett.But seeing Rhett's calm expression unmoved, she immediately felt that she had overreacted, so she sat down silently again.

"You've seen a lot of turbulent waves, so there's no need to be so surprised." Rhett seemed to have expected this kind of reaction from her. He smiled slightly, and his unkempt black beard was raised at a very small angle, as if provocative. laugh at.Scarlett saw what he meant, and just about to fight back, she remembered the oath she had made before she came here, and she didn't confront Rhett like before. Besides, she really didn't have time, so she asked straightforwardly: "Is he Who?"—she didn't ignore the disappointment that flitted across Rhett's face when she said this.She didn't understand, did Rhett have to quarrel with himself to be mentally motivated, or was life in prison so boring that the only way to have fun was to make a little noise when quarreling?

"One of my acquaintances met in New Orleans, and later we participated in the gold rush together." Rhett said very briefly, and Scarlett heard that he didn't say anything.Seeing that person she didn't know, she didn't pay attention anymore.It didn't even occur to her why Rhett said that person was his "acquaintance" instead of "friend".It was Rhett's next sentence that caught her attention: "You should be familiar with his name, Weslow? Byrd. Of course, I later learned that this is a fake name."

"So you used someone else's pseudonym as your own." Scarlett felt that this was a bit of a twist. "Does Paul know about his father?"

"I haven't told him yet," Rhett said. "There's no way to tell him now, so I hope you'll do me that. I mean, if he's still around."

"What if he's not here, are you sure he was taken away by his father?" Scarlett found the loophole in his words, "What if he—"

"Don't worry, he won't run around." Rhett could see what Scarlett was thinking, "Now this kid is very honest, and he won't cause trouble at every turn. I also have to thank your ward for my ward positive impact." Rhett deliberately circled around again.Scarlett didn't bother to talk to him, but remembered what he wanted to do by herself.

"The problem is how should I tell him? I can't say that his father is an irresponsible bastard and his mother is a poor prostitute, right? Then this child is too pitiful." She thought of Jack's reticence these days, which had already It was the best performance of a child after learning the cruel truth. Paul must not have such a good mental capacity. She really didn't know how she would explain to Rhett if something happened to him when he couldn't figure it out for a while.What if Belle found out, would she be overwhelmed and insane, just like her father Gerald?I really didn't expect that Rhett would entrust such a difficult matter to himself, it was even more difficult than asking her to kill for Tara again.She knew that maintaining something was much more difficult than destroying it, but the most difficult thing was trying to maintain it while destroying it.Of course she would not hate Rhett for entrusting such a difficult task to herself, nor would she complain about Bell or Paul, so all the resentment in her eyes poured out on that Weslow who had never met?Byrd.This naturally did not escape Rhett's eyes.

"If you think you can't do it, forget it, I won't force it." Rhett was comforting her on the surface, but the deliberately undisguised provocation in his tone aroused Scarlett's competitive spirit again. The most intolerable thing is being looked down upon by Rhett, so she accepted the move pretending to be calm: "Who said that? I just said that the matter is a bit difficult to handle, not that I can't handle it well, just leave it to me."

"You can give it to Jack to do it, he knows how to soothe people better than you." Rhett reminded her, "I know that you want to push it to others for difficult things, but there is no chance. ——but now is an opportunity." Although he was offering an idea, Scarlett heard his tone habitually tinged with sarcasm.Rhett was damned—and even more damned if he was right.

"You're right." Scarlett gritted her teeth and refused to give in, completely forgetting that they were in prison at this time. "I should leave this matter to him. This kid has always cared about other people's affairs. As long as I tell him this matter and let him pass it on to Paul, his mind must be on how to help Paul. You won't think about being suspicious again." She felt like she was back in Atlanta bickering with Rhett, but this time she got an unexpected revelation from it.

But even though Scarlett said so, she still had no idea.She knew that this method was an ostrich tactic in what Rhett used to say, and it wouldn't last too long.She has experienced Jack's extraordinary memory a long time ago, and his amazing persistence in his past memory is also obvious to all. After Paul's problem is solved, he is afraid that he will fall into conscience and self-blame again.What should be done to completely liberate him from this predicament?She raised her head and glanced at Rhett as if asking for help - she couldn't let him find out what she was thinking - only to find that his eyes were full of approval and support, she froze, and then heard Rhett talking to her Said: "I want to give you a new look at Scarlett." He even clapped his hands in agreement, and showed his shining white teeth when he smiled. "This is the best way to kill two birds with one stone." It seemed that what kind of difficulties would come after doing so was completely out of his consideration.

At first, Scarlett wondered why Rhett didn't point out the inappropriateness and self-deception of her method. He always thought farther and thoughtfully than herself, didn't he?But from the strong self-confidence in his approving eyes, she vaguely realized the reason why he did this: this is the best way she can think of, in fact Rhett himself can't think of a better way, otherwise He had already spoken bluntly and ridiculed his own stupidity.He did this on purpose to give himself confidence.He didn't point out the various flaws of the plan, it wasn't that he didn't think of it, he definitely thought of it, not only to encourage her to let go, but also out of a kind of trust, a trust based entirely on understanding.Although this trust was given to the three of them, Scarlett was extraordinarily excited.Rhett used to always look at her with cynicism and anger. Even if he had praised and comforted her, it was only because of her needs. He himself gave her these things because he loved her, so when he no longer loved her, he would Take it all back without mercy.He'd never really trusted himself, and while it was a sad discovery, Scarlett was almost delighted—for he was beginning to trust himself now—not the "silly trust" he mocked himself, nor It wasn't my trust in Jack, who let go of her vigilance when she got along with him for a long time, and it wasn't even the unreserved trust that Mei Li had in her benefactor that came from a noble soul at the beginning—because she knew that person, she chose to believe; because she believed That person, so more understanding.Scarlett instantly understood the huge information hidden in his eyes, which should be regarded as a kind of understanding-God, it must be-I began to understand the man in front of me who I said I loved deeply, God Ah, this is true love, isn't it?Choosing to believe unconditionally because you love someone is far inferior to knowing someone and then loving, and then choosing to believe because of love.She was not good at analysis and thinking, but at this moment she suddenly became enlightened.In fact, she also knows that as long as she compares her previous "love" for Ashley with her current understanding of Rhett, it is not difficult for anyone to come to this conclusion—if Jack is here, maybe even more can be drawn. The incisive and profound philosophy of life, she didn't know why, but she thought of him at this moment.