These days, getting meat to eat wasn’t easy, and people were very sensitive to the smell of it. The woman on the lower bunk swallowed hard.
“Hey, girl, did you make this meat yourself?”
Su Wan glanced at her and lightly replied, “Mm.”
Meanwhile, the little boy who had already been awake and running around the train caught the smell of the meat. He sucked on his fingers and stared intently at the braised chicken drumsticks in Su Wan’s lunch box.
Then, his expression changed instantly, and he started crying, “Waaah! Grandma! I want a drumstick! I want meat!”
His grandmother followed behind him and, seeing Su Wan’s lunch box full of braised chicken and eggs, swallowed hard as well.
She pretended to pat the boy on the bottom. “What meat? Who’s giving you meat? She’s not your mother!”
Su Wan cast a glance at both of them, silently thinking she had no interest in a kid like that.
The boy cried for a long time, but seeing that Su Wan ignored him and his grandmother just sat there without intervening, he lost his patience, rolled on the floor, and wailed, “I want meat! Give me meat!”
Su Wan lost her appetite as the boy’s crying was too noisy. Thinking about how long she’d have to endure this on the train, she felt exhausted.
She closed the lunch box and pulled out a book to read.
The old woman, seeing that Su Wan didn’t yield to the boy’s crying, had no choice but to scoop up her grandson, who was still lying on the floor.
“Hmph! Let’s go to the bunk. There are some dried sweet potatoes in the bag. Grandma will give them to you to eat.”
The boy still cried, “I don’t want sweet potatoes! I want meat!”
He even ran to the table where Su Wan had put the lunch box, reaching out to grab it.
Su Wan was quick, snatching the lunch box away and glared at the old woman, “Your grandson tries to steal things? If you don’t control him, I’m not going to indulge him!”
The grandmother knew she was in the wrong. Her child actually tried to take something by force—that was different from before. Stealing was illegal!
“Who told you to steal from others? You’ve got no manners! I’ll smack you!” The grandmother didn’t hold back this time and spanked the boy sharply.
The boy screamed in pain, while Su Wan calmly ate her drumstick, thinking that if she didn’t eat it now, someone might steal it—better to enjoy it herself.
Seeing Su Wan eating the chicken, the boy cried while drooling.
The grandmother had lost all confrontations with Su Wan, so when she carried her grandson up and down the bunk, she intentionally shook the bedframe hard.
When she climbed the bunk again, Su Wan shook the frame wildly in retaliation.
The grandmother almost screamed in fright, jumping down and pointing at Su Wan angrily, “What are you doing? If I fall and get hurt, can you pay for it?”
Su Wan clapped her hands, arms crossed, looking at her. “You like shaking it, right? If you shake, I’ll shake too. Next time you do it, I’ll do it back!”
As for whether she could pay for damages, Su Wan was careful. The old woman was agile, hardly looking like an elderly person, and even if she fell after just two steps, she’d be fine.
Even if she got hurt, Su Wan had plenty of money.
Finally, they got off the train. The old woman also got off at the same station in Chun Province, giving Su Wan several glaring looks.
Su Wan ignored her; after all, they would never meet again.
After leaving the station, she looked around for someone but didn’t see a man. Su Wan felt disappointed—she had told him she’d arrive today, even though the train was three hours late.
Looks like Gu Huaizhi didn’t come to pick her up. Hmph! Stupid man!
Su Wan was a bit upset and was about to ask someone how to get to the Southwest Military District.
Suddenly, someone grabbed the suitcase in her hand. Su Wan was startled and turned to look—was someone trying to rob her?
She saw a military green uniform, broad shoulders. The man’s chin only reached the level of her eyes, and her heart pounded wildly.
In uniform—could it be the man she had longed for day and night?
As she slowly looked up, Su Wan’s nails dug into her palms. She was nervous; after all, she hadn’t seen him in years.
The hallucinations before her near-death experience didn’t count.
She saw his slightly protruding Adam’s apple, then his sharp jawline, clean-shaven.
Then his lips, neither too thin nor too full, the familiar M-shaped upper lip instantly confirmed it.
It was him! Gu Huaizhi.
Su Wan’s heart seemed to settle instantly.
She suddenly threw herself into his arms, tears streaming uncontrollably. Her whole body shook. If she hadn’t seen him, she could have stayed strong, just like she had decisively dealt with Zhao Mengxue—but facing him, she couldn’t be strong at all.
She missed him so much.
Every day and every second in Beidahuang, she had thought of him.
She hated herself for divorcing him back then, regretting it countless times.
And why hadn’t she had the courage to call him and apologize?
At first, she had no money to call while working every day.
Plus, the other sent-down youth traveling with her had looked down on her because of some things Zhao Mengxue said, so no one wanted to associate with her.
She worked desperately, barely eating enough to fill her stomach. The rations given to the team weren’t enough, so she had to forage for wild vegetables to survive.
As the weather got colder, if it hadn’t been for Aunt Zhang, she might have frozen to death in Beidahuang.
Aunt Zhang was an older sent-down youth, two years earlier than her.
Because she was older, Su Wan called her Aunt Zhang. She had learned cooking from her.
That year, when Su Wan went to Beidahuang, she didn’t even have a single thick coat. Upon arrival, she nearly froze to death.
It was Aunt Zhang who gave her a thick set of clothes, saving her life.
Later, having to work daily just to fill her stomach, she had no energy to call. She also kept a grudge in her heart.
She thought the man had probably divorced her already and might be with his childhood sweetheart.
If he knew how miserable she had been, he would have helped—but she didn’t want his pity.
And she had lost their child. That was a lifetime of pain.
Every time she thought of it, she regretted it deeply, blaming herself for not protecting the child and hating Zhao Mengxue for deceiving her!
If it hadn’t been for Zhao Mengxue at the train station, she wouldn’t have realized she’d been lied to.
And since the man agreed to the divorce, she had been avoiding him.
Gu Huaizhi hadn’t expected her to suddenly throw herself into his arms, crying so miserably. He frowned and patted her back.
“Did someone bully you? Why are you crying?”
His voice was still a bit cold. Su Wan felt embarrassed and wiped her tears, feeling a little wronged.
The man was surely still angry at her—she had demanded a divorce and admitted to having feelings for someone else.
But hadn’t she explained? Why was he still upset?
“It’s nothing. I just haven’t seen you in so long,” Su Wan said proudly. She normally wouldn’t speak this way. Before, she would have only argued to get him back, but now she just missed him.
Hearing her, Gu Huaizhi’s hand holding the suitcase tensed slightly. He reached for her hand, holding it in his palm, and moved his lips to ask—