Chapter 87.1

After the scandal in Yuan City, Sun Ying and Wu Youshan were sent back, and Sun Chao’s position as director was also affected. The factory leaders talked to him privately. Sun Chao admitted his mistakes with a good attitude and wrote a self-criticism, and the matter was settled. Ding Hua had already been fired by the factory and had been idle at home.

Director Sun’s family had two daughters. The eldest daughter, Sun Yuan, resigned a few months ago, and no one knew where she went. Before Sun Ying came home, people in the compound and neighbors wouldn’t point fingers at her face, but since the couple brought her back, everyone’s scolding almost drowned Sun Ying and Wu Youshan.

It was well known that Sun Ying had an affair with Wu Youshan before getting married. Now she came back with the child. The Wu family had moved away, not willing to stay in the compound, feeling too ashamed. Wu Youshan stayed with Sun Ying and the child.

Every time someone pointed fingers at them, Ding Hua would go out and argue with them. The image of a good woman was completely shattered in these arguments. Sun Ying and her mother’s reputation in the compound and the textile factory was ruined. Many people in the factory said Director Sun’s family had bad conduct, and he was unfit for his position, blaming the parents for their daughter’s disgraceful actions.

Director Sun was furious and lost patience with his daughter Sun Ying. He had worked hard all his life to climb to the director position and hoped to be promoted in a couple of years, but it was all ruined by his younger daughter.

Director Sun’s temper worsened, previously favoring Ding Hua and her daughter but now resenting them. They not only drove away his eldest daughter but also caused him to be criticized in the factory.

Recently, the Wu family came back, and Wu Youshan’s mother created a scene in front of everyone in the compound, threatening to commit suicide and forcing Wu Youshan to leave with her. She demanded Director Sun come too, insisting his daughter stop clinging to her son. It was a big scene, with bloodshed involved, and Wu Youshan’s mother almost died. The factory leaders, seeing the situation deteriorate, decided to fire Director Sun after a meeting.

Wu Youshan was taken away by his family, leaving Sun Ying and the child behind. Ding Hua was furious, cursing in the compound. The family had lost their jobs, the child had no household registration, and with one more mouth to feed but no additional income, even feeding the child became a problem.

Now, the Sun family had nowhere to go, hiding in the compound and not daring to come out. They were living on their savings, and once the money ran out, they didn’t know how they would survive.

The woman across spoke vividly, making Jiang Nian feel a bit sentimental. The female lead in the original book ended up this way, but thinking about the book’s events, Jiang Nian remembered Sun Ying and Wu Youshan had a fling before their wedding. She wondered what Sun Ying’s final fate was in the book, and what about Lu Yu’s fate?

Jiang Nian turned to look at Lu Yu, who was gazing out of the window at the rapidly retreating scenery, seemingly uninterested in the woman’s story.

Noticing her gaze, Lu Yu turned to her and asked, “Are you hungry?”

Jiang Nian smiled, “A little.”

In this life, Lu Yu had no involvement with Sun Ying. He was hers, and only hers.

Lu Yu had bought some pastries, fruits, biscuits, and milk in the city, afraid Jiang Nian might get hungry on the way. He asked, “Biscuits or pastries?”

Jiang Nian replied, “Biscuits.”

The woman across, holding her child, watched as the man cared meticulously for the woman, offering biscuits and milk to ensure she wouldn’t be thirsty or hungry, and felt envious. She glanced at her own husband, who, meeting her gaze, asked, “What’s wrong? Do you need water?”

The woman shook her head, “No.”

Her husband wasn’t bad either. Although they had a difficult life, he had never let her suffer any grievances.

Especially during childbirth, he took care of everything, so the woman felt better after thinking this through and continued chatting with Jiang Nian. She talked about the embroidery shop, mentioning a former embroiderer whose skills were remarkable. The shop had cooperated with oversea business, but since that embroiderer left, the cooperation ceased.

The woman asked if Jiang Nian knew that embroiderer, but Jiang Nian shook her head and smiled, “No, I don’t.”

They chatted until late, and Jiang Nian, feeling sleepy, lay down on the lower bunk and gradually fell asleep. Lu Yu stayed below, not going to the upper bunk, worried that Jiang Nian might fall during her sleep. When the child needed feeding, Lu Yu got up and left. When the child slept, he returned to accompany Jiang Nian.

The woman across glanced at the man who kept vigil over Jiang Nian and thought the young wife was very fortunate.

Jiang Nian had another dream that night. This time, she didn’t dream of her modern family but a dark night. Everything was pitch black around her. In front of her was a familiar-looking earthen house. Jiang Nian recalled it seemed to be in Xu Cheng’s village, though she couldn’t remember whose house it was. A faint light shone from inside, and through the worn-out windows and door cracks came faint, painful sounds.

It was so soft that one wouldn’t hear it unless the surroundings were utterly silent.

It also sounded somewhat familiar, vaguely like Lu Yu’s voice.

Jiang Nian felt a pang of panic and quickened her pace. Just as she reached the door, she heard a man’s anguished roar from inside, sounding very much like Lu Yu. Her fingers trembled as she pushed the door open. There was a kerosene lamp on the table. Next to it, Lu Yu was kneeling on one knee, blood streaming from every joint, especially his wrists and shoulders. The wounds were shocking, soaking his green military uniform with blood that dripped onto the floor.

Lu Yu’s face was deathly pale, his brow furrowed deeply, and his single hand left a bloody handprint on the ground.

Low, painful growls escaped his lips, cutting into Jiang Nian’s heart like a knife, twisting her insides.

“Lu Yu—”

Jiang Nian staggered towards him. In two years of being together, she had never seen him so pained and disheveled.

She wondered if Lu Yu had endured such pain in the past six months. She finally reached him and squatted down to support him, to give him strength, but her hands passed through his body. Jiang Nian was horrified and grasped at the air, watching as blood flowed more profusely from Lu Yu’s joints. Terrified, she cried out, “Lu Yu… Lu Yu, Lu Yu!”

She didn’t know how many times she called his name until she felt a touch on her face and heard Lu Yu’s deep, steady voice. She slowly opened her eyes to the dim light inside the train. Lu Yu’s face was close, his brow furrowed slightly, his face not as pale and weak as in the dream but alive and full of energy.

Jiang Nian blinked in a daze, raised her hand to grab Lu Yu’s arm. The muscles under her fingers felt real and tense, not the illusion from her dream. The warmth in her palm was real, as was Lu Yu’s warmth.

“Lu Yu—”

Jiang Nian finally snapped back to reality and hugged Lu Yu’s neck tightly, feeling the man’s trembling heartbeat. She couldn’t hold back her tears and started sobbing quietly. The low sobs reached Lu Yu’s ears, and his body stiffened for a moment. He no longer cared if anyone was watching and hugged Jiang Nian’s slender waist tightly, pressing her against himself. Feeling her trembling body, he asked in a low voice, “Had a nightmare?”

Warm breath brushed against her ear, and Jiang Nian sniffed, greedily kissing Lu Yu’s neck. The muscles under his skin tensed even more, and he gently patted her back. “I’m here.”

Jiang Nian said, “I had a nightmare.”

She hugged Lu Yu tightly and kissed his neck again. Feeling the warmth of his body under her lips, the fear in her heart finally eased a bit. “Haven’t you slept at all?”

Lu Yu replied, “I’m not sleepy.”

It was now the middle of the night, and everyone on the train was asleep, with someone even snoring loudly.

The woman across from them had heard Jiang Nian repeatedly calling Lu Yu’s name in her sleep, crying as if someone had killed her husband in her dream. Now, seeing the couple hugging and being affectionate, the woman couldn’t help but sigh: their relationship was truly good.

Once Jiang Nian calmed down, Lu Yu let go of her. Seeing her tear-streaked eyes, he gently wiped away the remaining tears with his thumb. “What did you dream about?”

Jiang Nian pressed her lips together, not saying anything. Instead, she lay on the bed, her back against the wall, her wet eyelashes looking at Lu Yu. Then she pointed to the spot next to her. “Can you lie here?”

Lu Yu paused, his deep black eyes lingering on the spot she pointed to for a few seconds. Then he looked up at her expectant gaze, his Adam’s apple moving a few times before he replied, “Okay.”

The bed was small and crowded for two people. They had to lie on their sides to fit.

Lu Yu lay on the outside, hugging Jiang Nian. Listening to his strong, steady heartbeat, she gradually forgot the fear from her dream. She raised her face and kissed his chin. He lowered his head, meeting her bright eyes, and cupped her neck in his hand, holding her close and kissing her lips.

Knowing there were many people on the train, Lu Yu just hugged her and asked softly again, “What nightmare did you have?”

Jiang Nian had been crying out his name in her sleep. He thought the nightmare might be related to him.

Thinking about the dream, Jiang Nian felt terrified. She hugged Lu Yu’s slender waist tightly and whispered, “I dreamt you were in a square room, with blood all over your joints, and there was a pool of blood on the ground.”

Lu Yu’s expression hardly changed, but he pressed his thin lips together a bit tighter and looked down at her fluttering eyelashes. He clasped her hand tightly and said in a hoarse voice, “It’s just a dream. It’s not real.”

Jiang Nian nodded lightly. “Mm.”

Even though it was just a dream, it felt so real to her. Especially when she saw the blood dripping from Lu Yu’s body, it seemed like it had actually happened.

Jiang Nian didn’t fall asleep again until the latter half of the night, this time resting more peacefully in Lu Yu’s arms.