Qiao Yu arrived at the bustling train station. Looking at the worn-out green train before her and the gray, black, and blue clothes worn by the people around her, she finally felt a sense of reality.
She wasn’t dreaming—she had truly traveled back to the 1970s.
Qiao Yu carried only a small leather suitcase in her hand, containing just a few of her clothes. Everything else was stored in her Spatial Dimension.
She approached the ticket counter and said to the clerk, “Hello, comrade. I’d like to buy a ticket to Ganquan County, departing tonight.”
Hearing this soft, delicate voice, the clerk couldn’t help but look up at Qiao Yu.
It was already past seven in the evening. For such a beautiful young woman to come alone to take the night train—wasn’t she afraid of encountering bad people?
“The ticket is 10 yuan. Departure is at 8:30.”
As she spoke, the clerk couldn’t resist adding a reminder, “Comrade, be careful at night.”
Qiao Yu felt a warmth in her heart and smiled at the clerk. “I know. Thank you.”
With the train ticket in hand, Qiao Yu sat on a nearby bench, waiting for the 8:30 departure to Ganquan County. Once she reached Ganquan County, she would still need to take a boat to Ganquan Island.
Just thinking about it made her feel exhausted. If only she could teleport.
She wondered if that officer Gu Shaoyuan would be easy to get along with. Qiao Yu had never interacted with soldiers before.
Waiting for the train was boring. Suddenly, she thought of Qiao Zhenhua returning home tonight, only to be chased out by the neighborhood committee staff who had come to repossess the building. She couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Comrade, are you waiting for the train?”
Just as Qiao Yu was lost in her own thoughts, a man’s voice suddenly sounded beside her.
It startled her.
Qiao Yu looked up and saw a ruffian standing before her—dark-skinned, thin, with holes in his clothes.
She had a good eye for people, and this man clearly had ill intentions.
Qiao Yu didn’t want to engage with the ruffian. She stood up and moved to a more crowded area, joining the others standing and waiting for the train to depart.
Seeing that she ignored him, the ruffian spat on the ground in anger.
Who did she think she was?
If it weren’t for Qiao Yu’s striking beauty and the fact that she was dressed in branded clothes—clearly the daughter of some wealthy family—he wouldn’t have bothered trying to strike up a conversation.
The ruffian exchanged a glance with a man standing behind Qiao Yu.
The man nodded, understanding immediately.
Qiao Yu was looking down at the paper train ticket in her hand when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a man quietly positioning himself to her left and slightly behind her.
Instantly alert, she tightened her grip on her small leather suitcase.
The man pulled a handkerchief from his pocket, intending to cover Qiao Yu’s mouth and nose from behind while she was distracted.
Fortunately, Qiao Yu was prepared. She quickly crouched down, causing the man behind her to lunge into empty air.
“What are you trying to do?!”
Qiao Yu stood up, her sharp reprimand drawing the attention of everyone nearby.
The human trafficker panicked and quickly explained to the crowd, “She’s my niece! She actually dared to elope with some man. I’m just here to take her back!”
Qiao Yu was stunned and couldn’t help but retort, “That’s nonsense! Who’s your niece?”
In this era, people deeply despised those who eloped. Stirred up by the trafficker’s words, everyone assumed Qiao Yu had indeed run off with someone.
“Young lady, you’re so pretty. Why would you elope with someone? Hurry up and go back with your uncle.”
“Exactly! If she were my daughter, I’d have broken her legs long ago!”
Qiao Yu glanced around at the crowd—everyone was siding with the human trafficker. Her heart sank.
The trafficker was quite pleased with himself, stepping forward to grab Qiao Yu and pull her outside. “Hear that? Hurry up and come home with your uncle!”
“Get lost!”
Qiao Yu wasn’t about to let him succeed. She aimed a kick right at his crotch.
“Ah!!” The trafficker’s face twisted in pain.
He was too busy clutching himself below to pay any attention to Qiao Yu. Seizing the opportunity, she broke free from his grip and delivered another kick.
The commotion caught the attention of a staff member wearing a red armband, who was there to maintain order.
“What’s going on here?”
Qiao Yu pointed at the trafficker writhing in pain on the ground, her brow furrowed. “He pretended to be my uncle and tried to kidnap me. Scum like him should be arrested!”
Seeing the staff member arrive, the trafficker forgot about his pain and scrambled to escape.
Fortunately, the staff member was quick and caught him on the spot.
The ruffian who had initially tried to strike up a conversation with Qiao Yu saw his accomplice being caught and fled in fear.
By then, it was almost 8:30, and the train was about to depart.
Only after watching the trafficker being taken away by the staff did Qiao Yu board the train with her ticket.
Most people on the train had witnessed the earlier scene.
No one expected a seemingly delicate young girl like Qiao Yu to dare kick a man in the crotch so fiercely.
Everyone stole glances at her but didn’t dare say a word about her.
This was exactly the kind of deterrent Qiao Yu wanted. She found her seat by the window, which offered a view of the scenery outside.
The journey to Ganquan County would take over ten hours, so she needed to catch some rest.
…
Ganquan Island.
After finishing training with his subordinates, Gu Shaoyuan’s black tank top was soaked with sweat, clinging to his body and faintly revealing his solid, well-defined muscles.
Just as he was about to head back to the family quarters to change, his subordinate Yang Zhongcheng called out to him.
“Regiment Commander Gu! There’s a telegram for you!”
Gu Shaoyuan looked at the letter Yang Zhongcheng handed him, his brow slightly furrowed.
Over the years on the island, no one had written to him except the Qiao family from Shanghai. What did the Qiao family want this time by sending a telegram?
Yang Zhongcheng caught a glimpse of the sender’s name—Qiao Zhenhua.
“Commander, if you ask me, the Qiao family never intended to marry their daughter to you. Otherwise, why would they drag it out for so long?”
His commander was already 26 years old. At his age, most men already had three children.
With Gu Shaoyuan’s handsome features, tall and robust build, and strong physique, plenty of women would want to marry him. Yet the Qiao family kept delaying.
Yang Zhongcheng couldn’t help but feel anxious for his commander!
Gu Shaoyuan pressed his thin lips together and opened the telegram.
Yang Zhongcheng tried to sneak a peek, but he was half a head shorter than Gu Shaoyuan and couldn’t see a thing.
After reading the letter, Gu Shaoyuan’s eyes darkened slightly.
“The Qiao family says they want to switch the marriage arrangement, asking me to marry their younger daughter, Qiao Yu. They also said she’ll be arriving on the island in the next couple of days and asked me to keep an eye out.”
Truth be told, he had never met either of the Qiao sisters. The marriage had been arranged by his grandfather.
It didn’t matter to him whom he married, as long as he fulfilled the marriage agreement with the Qiao family.
But for them to change the arrangement without consulting him felt somewhat disrespectful.
Yang Zhongcheng couldn’t help but click his tongue. “How could the Qiao family do this? They promised you’d marry the eldest daughter, and now they’re pushing the younger one on you.”
“I heard the eldest Miss Qiao is the gentlest, while Qiao Yu has a spoiled temper. Commander, are you really going to marry Qiao Yu?”
Gu Shaoyuan tucked the letter away and looked down at Yang Zhongcheng with an intimidating gaze.
“You’d be better off spending that idle energy worrying about my marriage on a few extra laps to get some exercise.”
Yang Zhongcheng dared not say more and immediately replied, “No need! I’ve already exercised enough today. Colonel Gu, you should rest well. I’ll head back now!”
Gu Shaoyuan watched Yang Zhongcheng’s fleeing figure, his fingers unconsciously rubbing against the telegram letter.