The train journey from Jingu City to Su Shi Station takes approximately 28 hours.
Chu Yu had departed at 6:08 a.m. the previous day and was scheduled to arrive at 11:15 a.m. the next day.
Of course, these were just the times printed on the ticket; the actual situation would depend on reality, especially since train delays had become the norm these days.
But Gu Fangbai was a meticulous person. Since she had promised to come pick him up, she intended to do it perfectly.
Thus, at 10:30 a.m., she was already waiting at the train station.
Unsurprisingly, the train was delayed again.
The scheduled arrival was 11:15 a.m., but it was already 12:40 p.m.
Fortunately, Gu Fangbai had mentally prepared herself for this, even bringing a thermos of water and some biscuits to snack on.
The only awkward part was that, although it was a Sunday, Xiangxue, who was facing increasingly difficult circumstances, hadn’t been able to get time off.
She hoped that when Brother Chu got off the train and saw her alone, he wouldn’t be too surprised… She really wasn’t desperate to get married!!!
Smack! Before her inner frustration could fully erupt, Gu Fangbai slapped her arm.
The summer mosquitoes were truly relentless. Over two hours, her exposed arms had been bitten into several small, red, itchy bumps.
Frowning, Gu Fangbai flicked away the dead mosquito, scratched the bites haphazardly, and decided not to stand still any longer. She began pacing back and forth, swinging her arms and observing her surroundings to pass the time.
Just as she paused in front of the platform, studying the faded remnants of a slogan where the ink had bled, a deep, drawn-out train whistle sounded.
The entire station fell silent for a moment before erupting into noise:
“The train’s here!”
“It’s over an hour late this time.”
“It’s here, it’s here! I can see the steam from the locomotive.”
“Finally! Any later and I’d have to go back to work.”
“Young man, here to pick someone up too…”
“…”
As the clamor grew louder, more and more people crowded toward the exit.
Worried her slight frame wouldn’t withstand the push, Gu Fangbai didn’t dare join the throng. Instead, she stood a couple of meters back from the crowd.
Then, she rose on her tiptoes, peering toward the end of the tracks.
Soon, with the “clang… clang…” growing louder, the train slowly came to a stop.
The green train doors were pushed open with a “clatter,” and a surge of passengers flooded out like a tidal wave.
Gu Fangbai instinctively took several more steps back, ensuring she was safe from the chaotic crowd, before scanning the scene again.
A soldier… a young soldier…
Suddenly, Gu Fangbai swallowed the words she’d been repeating in her mind. About ten meters away, the man she had only ever seen in two-inch black-and-white photos in both her lifetimes truly appeared within her sight.
Just over ten meters away.
So young… so vibrant.
You’re amazing! What you seek will surely succeed! Because everything is truly different now!
Gu Fangbai took a deep breath, suppressing the inexplicable ache rising in her nose. Then, she raised her hand and waved firmly and vigorously toward the approaching young soldier.
On the other side.
After getting off the train, Chu Yu instinctively looked for his sister first.
He had never met Comrade Gu; finding Xiangxue would mean finding her.
But to his surprise, after scanning all around, he didn’t see any familiar figure.
Just as he was growing concerned that his sister might have been too closely watched to make it, a striking figure caught his eye.
The female comrade was slender and tall, with well-proportioned bone structure and an elegant posture. She wore a blue-and-white checkered peter pan collar dress that accentuated her snow-white complexion.
Taking in her scholarly aura and exquisitely beautiful features, Chu Yu suddenly had an intuition.
The female comrade not far away might just be the extraordinarily beautiful high school classmate Gu Fangbai that his sister had spoken of, someone rare and unparalleled.
Sure enough, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, the female comrade began waving in his direction.
This was entirely unexpected, both in terms of personality and appearance.
Chu Yu steadied himself and strode toward her, quickly weaving through the crowd until he stood about two meters away, making a final confirmation: “Comrade Gu Fangbai?”
Gu Fangbai tilted her head slightly to meet the gaze of the soldier who stood nearly a head taller than her: “I am Gu Fangbai. Are you Comrade Chu Yu?”
Chu Yu’s anxious heart instantly settled: “I am Chu Yu. Did you come alone?”
Gu Fangbai gestured in a direction: “Shall we walk and talk?… Xiangxue couldn’t get time off, so I came alone. I hope you don’t find it presumptuous.”
“Not at all. Thank you for coming.” Chu Yu was worried about his sister but hesitated for a few seconds before deciding not to ask: “The train was delayed. Have you been waiting long?”
“It’s alright.” Gu Fangbai didn’t mention she had waited over two hours, only briefly acknowledging it before proactively sharing Xiangxue’s recent situation.
Even with prior mental preparation, when Comrade Gu described the insults and exclusion his sister had recently faced, anger surged in Chu Yu’s heart.
How ridiculous… if he remembered correctly, most of the neighbors harassing Xiangxue had received assistance from the Chu family before.
He hadn’t dared hope they would help, but it turned out even being ignored was too much to ask?
Chu Yu had phoenix eyes that made him seem unapproachable when not smiling. Now, with added subtle anger, he appeared even more intimidating.
Gu Fangbai could probably guess what angered him. After some thought, she gently comforted: “Don’t argue with fools. Living your own life well is more important.”
Chu Yu gave a wry smile: “Thank you. You haven’t had lunch yet, have you?”
She was indeed hungry – a few crackers couldn’t sustain anyone. Gu Fangbai nodded frankly: “Not yet. What about you?”
“I haven’t either. There happens to be a State-run Restaurant not far from the station. Shall I treat you, Comrade Gu?”
“That would be nice…”
=
The State-run Restaurant’s lunch hours were from 10:30 to 14:00.
By the time they arrived, it was already past 1 PM.
The menu on the blackboard at the entrance showed today’s dishes. Though there weren’t many options, there were at least both meat and vegetable dishes.
Unfortunately, they had come too late, and hardly anything remained.
In the end, they only ordered two bowls of shredded pork noodles and one plate of shrimp roe stir-fried with winter bamboo shoots and mushrooms.
“My apologies. Today I can only offer you a simple meal, Comrade Gu.” Glancing at the new Jun Zhuang he had changed into before getting off the train, Chu Yu was quite dissatisfied with this blind date. Not only had the train delay made the female comrade wait long, but they had also missed the proper meal time.
But Gu Fangbai didn’t mind: “This is already very good.”
“Please wait a moment.” Before the food arrived, Chu Yu remembered something. After calling out, he stood up and went outside.
Gu Fangbai watched as the other party walked out the door, only letting out a slow exhale when the tall, military-green figure completely vanished from sight.
How should she put it? She felt a bit nervous. Chu Yu was far more imposing in person than in the photographs.
He could be described as tall, handsome, and exuding an intimidating presence.
His aura was so strong that she found herself carefully weighing her words before speaking, afraid of saying something wrong and arousing suspicion…
“Comrade Gu, this is for you.” Chu Yu had left quickly and returned even faster.
Gu Fangbai instinctively reached out to take it, only then realizing it was a small bottle of essential balm. She looked up, somewhat surprised, at the man across from her: “Did you just buy this?” There seemed to be a Supply and Marketing Cooperative next door.
Chu Yu sat in the typical posture of a soldier. Under her gaze, he unusually curled his fingers resting on his knees with a hint of discomfort: “Yes, I noticed you’ve been scratching your arm.”
Gu Fangbai’s skin was very fair, making the mosquito bites on her arm particularly noticeable. She said earnestly, “Thank you.”
Since she had suffered because of him, Chu Yu shook his head and urged, “It’s the least I could do. You can apply some now.”
Apart from them, there were no other customers in the restaurant. Gu Fangbai didn’t have to worry about bothering anyone with the smell, so she didn’t hesitate.
To her surprise, although the balm was pungent, its effect was immediate. As soon as she applied it, her expression relaxed.
Just then, the waitress brought over two bowls of noodles. Seeing the handsome man and beautiful woman, she couldn’t resist teasing: “Are you two on a blind date?”
Gu Fangbai and Chu Yu both turned to look at the waitress, then calmly nodded in unison.
“Wow! Just with that composure, you two are a rare match!” The waitress gave them a thumbs-up of admiration before turning to leave.
Both were mature in their thinking, and even when teased, they remained composed and unflustered—at least on the surface.
Chu Yu handed a pair of chopsticks to the young woman across from him and said, “Let’s eat.”
=
The train station was still an hour’s drive from the Chu family home.
After the meal, the two transferred buses three times before finally arriving in front of the Chu family’s small Western-style house.
Seeing the mud and filth splattered on the gate and white walls, Chu Yu’s eyes turned frighteningly cold.
Though Gu Fangbai also frowned, she didn’t forget to seize the opportunity to offer advice: “Anger harms the body—it’s not worth it. The rain will wash it all away soon anyway. But personally, I don’t think Xiangxue should stay in Su Shi any longer.”
“Indeed, it’s not suitable,” Chu Yu let out a soft sigh. After releasing the pent-up frustration in his chest, he replied, “I’ll just go inside to drop off my bag, then come out to see you home.”
Gu Fangbai shook her head: “That wouldn’t be appropriate. The bus is only two or three stops away—I can go back on my own.”
Since it wasn’t yet a formal visit, it really wasn’t appropriate. Chu Yu compromised: “Then let me at least see you to the bus stop.”
Outright refusal wouldn’t be good either; she needed to give him a signal that she was willing to interact. So Gu Fangbai nodded in agreement: “Do you have the key to your house?”
Chu Yu: “Yes, I do.”
Gu Fangbai wanted to bring up Fang Zhifan again but worried about alerting the enemy. Over the past few days, she had been patiently restraining herself, not daring to make any moves.
She hadn’t even spoken a single bad word about that scoundrel in front of Xiangxue.
After all, Fang Zhifan was exceptionally patient. In her previous life, even after Elder Brother Chu sacrificed himself, he hadn’t immediately revealed his malice.
Instead, he had busied himself helping with the funeral arrangements. It was only when Xiangxue decided to go to the countryside as an Educated Youth and care for her parents that he gave her a fake address.
After sending her to the remote Northwest, thousands of miles away from Chu Yu’s parents, he repeatedly wrote letters of apology, hypocritically claiming that he too had been deceived and would quickly find a way to transfer her to the correct location.
It wasn’t until two years later that someone who genuinely cared for her grandmother exposed his lies.
Although Fang Zhifan ultimately failed to locate the Chu family’s hidden assets, Grandma still fell apart.
As an Educated Youth, travel was difficult. She rushed around aimlessly like a headless fly, not only failing to help her parents but also missing the chance to see them one last time.
The pain haunted Grandma for the rest of her life, and she never forgave herself.
Thinking of this, Gu Fangbai felt a surge of uncontrollable rage rising within her once again…
“The bus is here.”
Chu Yu’s voice snapped Gu Fangbai back to the present. She glanced at the approaching bus, hesitated for a few seconds, and ultimately decided not to bring up Fang Zhifan just yet.
Fang had presented himself as flawless, while she, in contrast, was the stranger.
As a stranger meeting for the first time, it wasn’t appropriate to criticize too much.
She would wait—at most two more days!
After all, Brother Chu had a 20-day leave. If he still hadn’t noticed anything off about Fang Zhifan in a couple of days, she would find a way to hint at it.
With this thought, Gu Fangbai suppressed her impatience and smiled as she bid farewell.
“…Once you’ve confirmed the time for the visit, can I come find you at the newspaper office?” Chu Yu asked hurriedly as the bus pulled to a stop.
Gu Fangbai closed her umbrella and boarded the bus, then turned and waved. “Sure. If I’m not at the newspaper office, I’ll most likely be at the Glass Factory Family Compound.”
“Okay.” Chu Yu stood holding his umbrella, watching the bus drive away before finally turning to leave.
He didn’t head home—time was of the essence, and he needed to investigate the Gu family’s situation.
And also… Fang Zhifan!
Chu Yu wanted to know: while his sister was in such a wretched state, what had her fiancé been doing?