The car rode in silence all the way and pulled up directly to the train station entrance.
Zhou Runqing parked the jeep in the military-only parking spot. Guard Xiao Liu raised his military district ID at the comrades on duty in the checkpoint booth and called out loudly: “Comrade, the car will stay here. This afternoon, the military district duty personnel will pick it up.”
The on-duty comrades glanced at the license plate and the ID, saluted, waved, and didn’t ask further questions.
Stepping out of the car, Lin Yuqiu glanced at the two people busily handling the luggage in the back seat and suddenly felt that she was the one who seemed more out of place.
Unsure what to make of the feeling, she walked ahead, not waiting for the others, and headed straight for the ticket gate, quietly lining up at the back of the crowd.
Zhou Runqing hadn’t finished with the luggage yet, but he noticed her hurrying into the station. He smiled wryly and gave a knowing glance to Guard Xiao Liu.
Xiao Liu understood immediately, hurried to catch up with her, and whispered: “Sister-in-law, you’re in the wrong line. We need to go through this passage.”
Lin Yuqiu glanced back and saw the man walking toward her, carrying his luggage with one hand in his pocket, a faint smile at his lips, and a teasing, indulgent glint in his eyes.
Her cheeks heated instantly, a bright flush spreading across her face. Especially when she caught sight of Li Shiyun behind him, her soft, sweet, “I-see-but-don’t-say” smile made Lin Yuqiu bite her lip in embarrassment, eyes full of flustered regret.
Composing herself, she calmly walked to the correct passage and followed him into the station.
Guard Xiao Liu led the way with the tickets, quickly finding the train car.
Once inside, Xiao Liu’s gaze flickered nervously as he looked at the three of them, sensing the tense atmosphere.
He hurriedly handed the tickets to the regiment commander, voice slightly awkward: “Commander, the tickets are for soft sleeper berths: one lower berth, two upper berths. Please arrange as you see fit.”
“I’ll go ahead and put my luggage away first.”
With that, he slipped off as quietly as if his feet were greased, not waiting for Zhou Runqing’s reply, clearly hoping to avoid witnessing any awkwardness.
Lin Yuqiu looked around the soft sleeper compartment. It was a private section with thick, soft mattresses. A thermos sat on the table, and the bedding was clean and neatly arranged.
She scanned the beds and suddenly heard the man behind her, pointing to the lower berth across from her, speaking in a calm, low voice: “Shiyun, you sleep in that upper berth.”
When calling his childhood friend, his tone was remarkably familiar.
A pang of jealousy quietly crept into Lin Yuqiu’s heart, but she revealed nothing, pressing her lips together.
Li Shiyun’s eyes curved in a smile. “Alright.”
Zhou Runqing deftly lifted Lin Yuqiu’s luggage onto the rack and, in the same motion, placed Li Shiyun’s military duffel on top as well, his movements careful and considerate.
Lin Yuqiu’s mind flashed a thought: just as Zhou Wanyi had said, he treated everyone with the same level of care.
He then placed Lin Yuqiu’s small suitcase beside her lower berth, lowered his voice, and softened his tone slightly: “You sleep on the upper berth, I’ll take the lower one. If there’s any noise at night, I can keep an eye on things.”
Lin Yuqiu didn’t reply, quietly sitting on the edge of her bed.
At that moment, two men in railway uniforms suddenly appeared at the compartment door, polite smiles on their faces: “Comrade, during ticket inspection we verified your family registration—you are from a capitalist background.”
“As per regulations, you need to go to the duty office to sign a verification of your political status. It’ll only take a moment. Please come with us.”
Lin Yuqiu’s face went pale instantly. Terrified, she looked at the man beside her.
Zhou Runqing put an arm around her shoulders, his deep voice gentle yet firm: “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be back soon. Stay here in the compartment and don’t go anywhere. Wait for me.”
Lin Yuqiu obediently nodded, watching him follow the two comrades out of the compartment.
Across from her, Li Shiyun quietly observed the man she had grown up with and once been close to, speaking intimately to his new wife.
The closeness between them was something she had never seen before.
A prickly pang stabbed at her heart like tiny needles.
But she had no right to feel jealous.
Li Shiyun took a deep breath, suppressing the surge of emotions, and raised her face with a perfectly measured smile. Looking at Lin Yuqiu, she said calmly: “Yuqiu, this is just routine railway procedure. It’s nothing, don’t worry.”
Lin Yuqiu exhaled in relief, yet as she looked back at Li Shiyun, that sentence stirred a subtle, uncomfortable warmth in her heart.
At that moment, Guard Xiao Liu had finished arranging the luggage and brought the breakfast that the commander had prepared.
“Sister-in-law, the commander brought breakfast for you. Eat quickly. I packed it in a thermos for the trip, still warm.”
Lin Yuqiu had gone to the sanatorium early this morning and was still hungry. Her stomach growled as she looked at the breakfast he had prepared: a bottle of milk, a honey-filled steamed bun, and a boiled egg.
A warm feeling washed through her heart.
Xiao Liu went out to refill the thermos with hot water, but as he reached the connection between train cars, two militia men stopped him.
“Comrade, routine check. Active-duty military personnel’s equipment must be registered. Come with us.”
Xiao Liu had no choice but to follow.
Inside the compartment, only Lin Yuqiu and Li Shiyun remained.
Lin Yuqiu nibbled on the bun, sipped milk, while Li Shiyun sat on the bed, tidying up.
The atmosphere turned quiet.
Li Shiyun suddenly chuckled lightly: “Yuqiu, do you remember? I saw you back at the General Military Hospital before.”
Lin Yuqiu looked up, nodded: “I remember.”
A flicker of surprise crossed Li Shiyun’s eyes. She brightened her tone: “Oh, so you do remember. It’s really not easy for a young girl to take care of a mother who’s bedridden.”
Suddenly, she joked: “By the way, how did you meet Runqing?”
Before Lin Yuqiu could respond, the compartment door was slammed open.
Two men in green militia uniforms barged in, snapping the door bolt shut behind them.
The lead man stared at Lin Yuqiu, tone heavy with implication: “Miss Lin, come with us immediately. Our boss wants to see you.”
Lin Yuqiu’s face went pale. Instantly alert, she stepped back. In the current climate, with the Lin family under pressure for their capitalist background, only a certain group would deliberately call her “Miss Lin” to humiliate her.
She tried to call out to Guard Xiao Liu, but the lead man stepped forward and clamped a hand over her mouth.
“Don’t scream. If you make a sound, we’ll tell the militia that your mother is a fugitive capitalist, and that you’re using the officer to get onto the island to hide!”
“Then it won’t just be your bedridden mother who suffers you’ll drag down your promising officer husband too!”
Lin Yuqiu’s face grew even paler. She struggled furiously, anger rising, but the two men tied her hands and stuffed a towel in her mouth.
They didn’t even approach the door they ran to the window, unfastened the pin with a clang, and held her up, preparing to push her outside.
Lin Yuqiu saw someone already running along the tracks outside to intercept her. Her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach.
She kicked and screamed wildly.
Above the bed, Li Shiyun witnessed the scene, shocked and distressed. Clutching the bedsheet, she raised her voice: “Help! Someone’s kidnapping her!”
The lead man turned sharply, his grin cold and false, and drew a knife from his belt, slamming it against the window bars.
“Mind your own business,” he said coldly. “Or this knife won’t recognize anyone.”
Li Shiyun shivered, stepping back from the knife’s tip, helplessly watching Lin Yuqiu being taken away.