“Aren’t you afraid your family will worry?” Qiao Xin asked, a kind reminder.
The train would reach Kyoto tomorrow. When the man’s family couldn’t find her at the station and contacted her family, a grown woman suddenly vanishing would probably worry both families to death.
“I’m not afraid. They’re the ones who forced me into this. Let them worry a little!”
Well, then. This girl was probably spoiled rotten. Even if Qiao Xin tried to talk some sense into her now, she probably wouldn’t listen.
She could only hope the partner she spoke of would treat her well in the future. After all, he’d given up his job to stay for her. There had to be some genuine feeling there.
She’d given up on trying to persuade the girl, but the girl was the exact opposite and started persuading her instead.
“I saw how reluctant you were to leave your mom earlier, and you didn’t look happy at all about going to see your fiancé. You don’t have feelings for him, do you?”
“Let me tell you, if there’s no feeling, don’t force yourself. You should be brave and pursue your own happiness. Go find someone who truly loves you and who you love too.”
“Why don’t you get off at Haishi with me? I can take you in for a while…”
“No thanks. My fiancé and I are fine!”
Before the girl could even finish, Qiao Xin hurriedly cut her off.
This girl really was too forward, and her enthusiasm was a bit much. It made Qiao Xin almost suspect she was a human trafficker.
Fortunately, the next stop was Haishi. Before long, the train arrived at Haishi Station, and the girl happily got off with her luggage.
Through the window, Qiao Xin saw a man come to the platform to meet her. He looked refined, wearing silver-rimmed glasses, with a scholarly air about him.
The two looked very much in love. The way they gazed at each other was practically dripping with it.
But in this conservative era, no matter how much they liked each other, all they could do was look. In public, they couldn’t even hold hands.
If this were a later era, she was sure the two would have been locked in each other’s arms by now.
The train departed soon after. The rest of the journey was relatively quiet. The girl’s ticket had clearly been for Kyoto, so the berth across from her stayed empty the whole way.
Kyoto Military Region
Fu Mingze hung up the phone expressionlessly. The call was from home, saying that his childhood betrothed was coming to the army soon to marry him, and he should go pick her up at the station.
Back when the old man hadn’t yet returned to Kyoto and was stationed in Hangzhou, he’d been in danger once, and one of his subordinates had sacrificed his life to save him.
Before dying, the man had asked the old man to take care of his family, especially his granddaughter who had just turned one. He’d also wanted the two families to arrange a child betrothal.
The old man had agreed on the spot. Just like that, at six years old, he’d had a betrothed.
Twenty years had passed. The other party had finally finished her studies and was coming to fulfill the marriage contract.
He felt no joy, no displeasure, no emotion at all. He merely regarded it as a task to be completed.
Go pick her up at the station?
No time.
He still had to train the soldiers under his command. This was a training task that had been planned long ago. It was not to be changed.
He called for his communications officer. “Xiao Lin, tomorrow morning, go to the train station and pick someone up for me.”
“Pick up who?”
Fu Mingze thought about it. It seemed he didn’t even know his fiancée’s name.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, picked up the phone beside him, then put it back down.
“My fiancée. I don’t know her name yet. Make a sign with my name on it. She should recognize it.”
“Yes, Battalion Commander!” Lin Qingshan answered loudly, eyes wide.
Good heavens. He’d thought their battalion commander was going to stay a bachelor forever. Turns out he’d had a fiancée all along.
Tsk tsk. Who was it that said their battalion commander liked men? He was going to go slap some faces right now.
Just because he’d turned down two military doctors, a few nurses, and someone from the cultural troupe, people had started rumors that their battalion commander didn’t like women and liked men instead.
Now the battalion commander’s fiancée was coming. Let’s see how those gossiping old biddies wag their tongues now.
In one night, the entire military region knew that Battalion Commander Fu’s fiancée was coming to the army.
Early the next morning, Fu Mingze had just finished his morning training when he was called to the office by Regiment Commander Gao Feng.
“Your fiancée is coming today?” Gao Feng asked with a smile.
“Yes.”
Fu Mingze stood ramrod straight, eyes forward, as if he were standing at attention.
Gao Feng took a sip of tea, glanced up, and set down his cup. This guy was so serious all the time. Boring!
He’d wanted to tease him a bit, but lost the mood. He waved a hand.
“Go on. I’ll give you the day off. The car isn’t being used today either. Drive to the station and pick up your girl.”
“No need, Regiment Commander. I still have training tasks. Xiao Lin will go pick her up for me.”
Gao Feng choked on his words. “You’re not going to pick her up yourself?”
“No.”
“How did you even end up with a girl?”
“Family arranged a child betrothal.”
“No wonder!”
Gao Feng thought to himself that it was lucky his family had had the foresight. Otherwise, with this blockhead, he’d probably stay a bachelor forever.
He knew this guy took training tasks very seriously. If he said he wouldn’t take leave, he definitely wouldn’t. He didn’t try to persuade him either. He only said,
“Then have Xiao Lin drive to pick her up. Don’t make a delicate young lady come all this way by train and then have to walk to the base.
Their base was in the suburbs. There was no dedicated transport to the base. The most you could do was take a bus to a nearby village, then walk for about an hour to reach the base.
Fu Mingze thought the regiment commander had a point. This time he didn’t refuse and agreed.
Lin Qingshan drove the car at breakneck speed straight for Kyoto Train Station. He looked even more excited than their Battalion Commander Fu.
No, that wasn’t right. You couldn’t see any excitement on their Battalion Commander Fu. The excited one was the soldier under his command.
During training today, every single one of them had been grinning at Battalion Commander Fu.
Fu Mingze saw how worked up they all were today and felt deeply gratified.
“All of you, ten more laps with weights.”
Everyone: Their bared teeth turned into gritted teeth!
.
On the Train
The conductor announced that the train would soon arrive at Kyoto Station. Qiao Xin jolted and began gathering her luggage.
This train ride hadn’t been as unbearable as she’d imagined. She’d read plenty of novels before, all saying that the green trains of this era were crowded, smelly, slow, and always late.
But the one she’d taken wasn’t bad. Maybe because she was in the sleeper car, there weren’t many people. The smell was hard to describe, but at least the windows could open for ventilation.
It was indeed much slower than a high-speed train, and not very punctual either, but it had only been two hours late. She could accept that.
The food her mother had packed in the two lunchboxes was all gone. It had been delicious.
It had nearly driven the other people in the car crazy with longing. Every time she ate, she could hear people swallowing.
She’d only had some biscuits and an apple this morning. It was nearly noon now, almost twelve, and her stomach had been growling for a while.
Qiao Xin couldn’t wait to get off the train and find somewhere to eat. But because her underclothes were a bit uncomfortable, she’d spent some time adjusting and tugging at them, which delayed her.
She also pulled off the gauze on her forehead and used her bangs to cover it, so the wound on her forehead wasn’t visible anymore.
By the time she got off the train with her luggage, she was at the very back of the line.
She was quite annoyed with herself.
But the moment she stepped out of the station, she saw a soldier holding up a sign with the three big characters “Fu Mingze” written on it.
All her annoyance vanished in an instant, replaced by surprise.
Wonderful. Someone had come to pick her up. She wouldn’t have to carry her own luggage, and she wouldn’t have to ask around for directions to the base.
She confirmed the name on the sign again, silently read it once. Yes, that was the name.
So her fiancé’s name was written with these three characters. It actually sounded quite nice!