“What if I ask around and find out which old commander is backing the Luo family? If that old commander learns about Luo Shengli’s behavior, there’s no way he’d continue supporting him.”
Shen Yueliang, who had been listless a moment ago, immediately perked up.
“No! Brother, don’t. Let’s just focus on living our own lives well. The more I think about it, the more I realize I wasn’t actually that fond of Luo Shengli. It’s better that he broke off the engagement now. If we’d gotten married and divorced later, my losses would’ve been much greater.”
Not to mention that Luo Shengli possessed an absurd protagonist’s halo.
Even the factory director’s daughter was merely a temporary stop in his story.
In other words, after throwing away her pride and working so hard to change both her family’s fate and her own, all she wanted was to stay far away from the male lead and live peacefully.
Otherwise, what had she sacrificed her dignity for?
Shen Xiangdong felt that the matter shouldn’t be dropped so easily.
However, he could see that his little sister was genuinely exhausted.
Fortunately, the military base had accommodations specifically for visiting family members.
After handling the necessary paperwork, he escorted Shen Yueliang to her room.
“Brother, I’m so tired. I’m going to sleep for a while. Remember what I told you. Don’t worry about home. Just stay in the army and focus on your training. Whatever you do, don’t go running around.”
It was rare to see his little sister lecturing him so seriously.
Not only did Shen Xiangdong not find her nagging, he actually enjoyed it.
Only because they were close would she worry about him this much.
“Alright, alright. I’ll listen to you. I absolutely won’t go running around. Go get some rest. I’ll bring you breakfast tomorrow morning.”
“Mhm.”
Shen Yueliang was truly exhausted.
After sitting in a vehicle for seven or eight hours while maintaining perfect posture, every bone in her body felt borrowed.
She ached everywhere.
And now that the tension she had carried all day was finally easing, the exhaustion hit even harder.
As for Ji Yanchuan…
She wasn’t going to think about him right now.
The more she thought about it, the more frightening it became.
She’d deal with it after returning home.
Still, just as her brother was about to leave, she gathered enough energy to remind him again.
“Brother, stay in your dormitory tonight. Don’t go out.”
Though he didn’t understand why, Shen Xiangdong quickly agreed.
“I won’t run around. Now go get some sleep.”
The building was specifically used to accommodate visiting family members.
Like the soldiers’ quarters, it consisted of a row of single-story rooms divided into small private units.
When she opened the door, she found two beds placed opposite each other.
A wooden table stood against one wall.
Two small stools sat nearby.
The room wasn’t large, but it was visibly clean and orderly.
The toilets and washrooms were outside and shared by everyone.
Shen Yueliang had left in such a hurry that she hadn’t brought any toiletries.
It was also very late.
The entire area was quiet.
Not wanting to make too much noise, she simply rinsed her mouth and wiped her face in the washroom.
Then she returned to her room, collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep.
She was exhausted.
That night she didn’t dream at all.
Truthfully, she enjoyed sleeping in.
Whenever possible, she loved staying in bed and lazing around.
But that wasn’t possible here.
It wasn’t because anyone was noisy.
In fact, military bases were remarkably quiet.
However—
The army had a wake-up bugle every morning.
Though the sound was much fainter by the time it reached the guest quarters, Shen Yueliang still opened her eyes immediately and sat up.
She couldn’t help it.
Sleeping late in a place like this gave her a strange sense of guilt.
The moment she stepped outside, she discovered that all the other visiting family members were already awake.
Unlike her, they were all military wives.
Several of them stood together chatting.
Some spoke about life back home.
Others talked about not having seen their husbands for an entire year.
One woman mentioned that her child had been born after her husband left, and that she had specifically brought the child here for a visit.
After listening for a while, Shen Yueliang felt even more admiration for military wives.
She had always known the role wasn’t easy.
Seeing it firsthand made it even more apparent.
Just then, she noticed several children nearby.
Remembering the White Rabbit candies and peach pastries in her bundle, she brought them out and shared them among the children.
“Are you here to visit your husband too?”
Seeing how friendly she was, one of the military wives approached and started a conversation.
Shen Yueliang shook her head.
“No. I’m here to see my brother.”
The woman fell silent for a moment.
“You’re very pretty, so let me offer a bit of unsolicited advice. Marrying a soldier has its benefits, but seeing him is incredibly difficult. It isn’t easy. It really isn’t.”
Shen Yueliang understood.
Perhaps she simply wasn’t that strong or selfless.
Although she respected soldiers and military wives, she had never considered becoming a military wife herself.
After chatting a little longer, the woman left to handle her own business.
Shen Yueliang finished washing up and returned to her room.
Perhaps because she was staying on a military base, the first thing she noticed was the blanket on her bed lying in a messy heap.
She immediately folded it.
Although she couldn’t make it into a perfect tofu block, she could at least make it presentable.
Then she noticed some dirt on the floor.
She quickly found a broom and swept everything clean.
Only after the room looked spotless—with no signs of habitation except for her bundle on the table—did she finally relax.
Someone as lazy as she was clearly wasn’t suited to military life.
There were simply too many rules.
Before leaving yesterday, her brother had promised to bring her breakfast.
So Shen Yueliang sat on a small stool and waited.
And waited.
Eventually she grew hungry enough to eat two boiled eggs and a flatbread herself.
The sun outside climbed higher and higher.
Why hadn’t her brother arrived yet?
Unable to sit still any longer, she grew increasingly uneasy.
What if something had happened to him again?
Closing the door behind her, she stepped outside to wait.
Fortunately, after standing beneath several trees for only a short while, she spotted her brother hurrying toward her.
“Brother, why are you covered in mud?”
Shen Xiangdong’s uniform was coated with dirt.
Some patches had already dried.
Others remained wet.
There was mud in his hair and on his face as well.
Only his hands were clean.
In them, he carried a food container holding two white steamed buns and a boiled egg.
“It’s nothing serious. Last night our company received an emergency assignment. A landslide occurred about ten kilometers away. Several squads were dispatched to clear the debris. We just got back. I was worried you’d be concerned, so I came to see you first. You must be hungry. Eat breakfast.”
Shen Xiangdong was exactly the sort of straightforward man he appeared to be.
Technically, he’d already requested leave and wasn’t required to participate in the operation.
However, since he was no longer returning home, he’d joined the mission without a second thought.
After working through most of the night, he had just returned.
The others had gone back to rest.
But worried about his sister, he hadn’t even stopped by his dormitory.
Shen Yueliang’s heart pounded violently.
So the landslide had really happened.
And because she had arrived in time, her brother hadn’t been buried beneath it this time?
Then…
The Shen family shouldn’t suffer that chain of disasters anymore.
And she wouldn’t have to wash the factory director’s daughter’s feet or scrub her toilets.
Thinking back on everything she had gone through during this journey—
All the effort.
All the difficulties.
Only now did Shen Yueliang finally feel her heart settle.
Her eyes even began to redden with emotion.
Naturally, Shen Xiangdong had no idea about the complicated journey of emotions she had experienced.
Instead, he was blaming himself for arriving late and delaying her breakfast.
“You must be starving. Eat first.”
After steadying her emotions, Shen Yueliang shook her head.
“I’m not hungry. But your eyes are full of bloodshot veins. Go get some rest.”
Shen Xiangdong grinned honestly.
“I’m fine. It’s just that you rarely visit. Your brother can’t even take you around and show you the place.”
“There’ll be opportunities in the future.”
Shen Yueliang paused.
“I plan on heading home this afternoon. But I’m not familiar with the route. You’ll have to explain it to me so I can find my way back.”
“I was just about to talk to you about that.”
At the mention of the subject, Shen Xiangdong suddenly became excited.
“While we were clearing debris, I ran into a comrade. He’s from a unit near our hometown. But he’s much more capable than me. He’s already a deputy battalion commander. He happens to be returning to our area as well. I’ve already spoken to him and arranged for you to ride back with him. That way, I won’t have to worry.”
The more he talked about this comrade, the more admiration appeared on his face.
While they had been working, the deputy battalion commander had happened to drive past in a jeep.
Without hesitation, he stopped to help.
Despite his rank, he wasn’t afraid of getting dirty or working hard.
When a second collapse occurred, Shen Xiangdong had been covering the rear and nearly failed to escape.
It was Ji Yanchuan who grabbed him and yanked him to safety.
Shen Xiangdong deeply admired men like that.
The more Shen Yueliang listened, the more a certain suspicion formed in her mind.
Testing the waters, she asked,
“Brother… the comrade you’re talking about…”