Xia Xiao Lan bought tickets for early Saturday morning.
She had originally wanted to leave on Friday night, but her afternoon schedule was packed with classes and assignments—freedom after getting into university? Keep dreaming! While slackers might have it easy, those who wanted to study properly found knowledge endless, making university potentially more exhausting than high school.
The desk lamp in Xia Xiao Lan’s room stayed on until one in the morning. Fen Liu and Grandmother Yu moved quietly, careful not to disturb her.
After finishing, she too moved cautiously, afraid of waking them.
But as soon as she stood up, she heard her mother’s voice from outside the window:
“Have you finished? Mom made you a poached egg, eat it before going to bed.”
It was a soft-boiled egg with light sugar and fermented rice, just as Xia Xiao Lan liked it. She couldn’t refuse such thoughtfulness, opening the door: “Why aren’t you asleep yet?”
Fen Liu just smiled without responding.
No matter how clever Xia Xiao Lan was, she couldn’t understand a mother’s thoughts. No matter how grown-up children become, mothers never stop worrying, concerned about whether their children are sleeping well or eating enough. How could Fen Liu sleep soundly while Xia Xiao Lan was staying up late doing homework?
Xia Xiao Lan realized she was hungry.
Young people’s metabolism worked quickly, and worrying about late-night snacks causing weight gain was something to consider years later. She quickly finished the egg, broth, and all. She wanted to mention Director Ma’s matter, but Fen Liu collected the bowl:
“Alright, go to bed now, you have to catch the train early tomorrow!”
Traveling was indeed tiring.
Since starting university, Xia Xiao Lan hadn’t had a single weekend to rest.
Now she was taking the train to see Zhou Cheng. Fen Liu felt sorry for her daughter’s exhaustion, but Zhou Cheng’s work was special, and unit discipline took priority. Between the two of them, someone had to make more sacrifices.
Zhou Cheng himself had a good personality, which Fen Liu had long approved of.
Zhou Cheng’s parents were easy to get along with; Fen Liu had met them before.
Hui E Guan often brought friends to shop at their store, sometimes when Fen Liu was there, sometimes when she wasn’t. It wasn’t that Fen Liu valued the extra business Hui E Guan brought, but rather appreciated how open-minded Zhou’s family was—Hui E Guan didn’t look down on her and Xiao Lan for being self-employed. If they had opened a shop in Beijing, Hui E Guan might have pretended not to know them, let alone actively bring customers.
Finding a partner with good conditions wasn’t easy, but finding one with an agreeable family was even rarer. Fen Liu had deep personal experience with this!
Apart from not being able to accompany Xiao Lan constantly, Zhou Cheng was faultless from every angle.
Though meeting was difficult now, things would improve after marriage.
Fen Liu was quite good at consoling herself, not considering that even after marriage, who would compromise between Xia Xiao Lan and Zhou Cheng remained a major issue.
Xia Xiao Lan pulled her suitcase and carried a backpack as she hurried to catch the train. Wei Kang came early to see her off at the station. Both the suitcase and bag were heavy—the suitcase was full of food, the bag packed with daily necessities for Zhou Cheng.
The unit would provide uniforms, but toiletries like towels and toothpaste needed to be prepared individually, including underwear and socks… Poor Xia Xiao Lan, in both her lives, had never bought underwear for a man before, and she found herself blushing at the thought.
“Sister-in-law, take care on your journey!”
Wei Kang helped carry her belongings onto the train.
Beijing to North Hebei Province wasn’t far, with the train going directly to Shijiazhuang.
The train’s rhythmic clattering didn’t prevent Xia Xiao Lan from sleeping. She didn’t compromise on comfort—if she could afford a sleeper berth, she wouldn’t take a hard seat. Now that conditions were better, there was no need to save that little money. Having slept late last night, Xia Xiao Lan needed to catch up on rest.
Spring was the most comfortable season for train travel.
Winter was too cold, summer too hot and full of various sweaty odors.
Opening the window in spring brought refreshing breezes. In mid-April, the route from Beijing to North Hebei was full of spring scenery.
Green had reclaimed the earth, replacing the widespread withered yellow, improving even one’s mood.
Xia Xiao Lan slept for two hours before getting up to watch the scenery through the window. Her morning mood was good, and even changing trains at Shijiazhuang didn’t seem so bad. When she arrived at the academy gates dragging her luggage, the guard on duty wasn’t someone she’d met before.
She said she was looking for Zhou Cheng, and the guard told her to wait.
Xia Xiao Lan felt relieved.
She had feared encountering the same situation as last time.
Kai Shi’s sacrifice had affected not only Zhou Cheng; Xia Xiao Lan had become jumpy too, worried that Zhou Cheng might be sent on another secret mission.
Long-distance wasn’t the hardest part—it was the shadow of casualties looming overhead, especially during times when they couldn’t contact each other, leaving Xia Xiao Lan to worry endlessly.
Seeing Zhou Cheng emerge healthy and whole, Xia Xiao Lan’s anxiety eased.
“Zhou Cheng!”
Zhou Cheng was equally happy to see her, taking her backpack and suitcase: “Why did you bring so much? Are you tired?”
She must have caught an early morning train to arrive so early.
Zhou Cheng understood Xia Xiao Lan’s reasoning—coming early Saturday meant staying overnight in North Hebei Province and returning to Beijing on Sunday, maximizing their time together. While family members visiting trainees couldn’t stay in the academy, there were guesthouses outside the school, so Xia Xiao Lan didn’t need to worry about that.
Xia Xiao Lan had initially been angry that Zhou Cheng had bypassed her to arrange housing for Shi’s family through Wei Kang.
But seeing Zhou Cheng in person, her anger dissipated.
The meeting was so rare—how could she waste it on arguments?
Zhou Cheng didn’t have a single room at the school; despite being a company commander, he wasn’t special—everyone was there for advanced training, with no preferential treatment.
He shared a four-person dormitory.
Knowing Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend was coming, his three roommates were very considerate. After greeting Xia Xiao Lan, they vacated the dormitory.
Unable to stay in the dorm, they went to play basketball.
As they walked, they chatted:
“Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend is incredibly beautiful!”
“Ah, don’t envy, it’s useless. Zhou Cheng is handsome and has prospects.”
“If it weren’t for Kai Shi’s incident…”
If not for Kai Shi’s incident, every trainee who went out would have earned merits!
Even now they had achievements, but the academy hadn’t mentioned any commendations, clearly showing the impact.
“Whoever deserves credit will get it eventually!”
Why worry about Zhou Cheng? At such a young age he already had this rank, and after two years of advanced training, he might be promoted further. That’s what you call outstanding—even his girlfriend was exceptionally beautiful.
“Zhou Cheng’s girlfriend must be prettier than Jiang Yan, right? Ow—why did you kick me!”
Not only was he kicked, but his eye was twitching.
Turning stiffly, they saw several female trainees in uniforms standing behind them.
The Land Forces Academy didn’t usually recruit female soldiers, but after the New Year, a “Communications Squad” had suddenly arrived, all female trainees!
Heh, after working for three years, even a sow could look like a beauty, but the sudden arrival of female trainees had most people stirred up. Though they couldn’t train together, the academy was small enough that encounters were inevitable.
In less than a month, the female trainees of the Communications Squad had been privately ranked into tiers.
Jiang Yan was the academy’s goddess, undoubtedly a green flower in uniform, and now she stood right in front of the three men. Being caught discussing Jiang Yan was extremely awkward!