Chapter 43.2

After they finished washing up, the two of them lay back down on the bed, and it was then that Shen Qingyun told her the reason for his return.

It turned out that the big character poster had indeed had some impact on him. However, due to his outstanding abilities and the full support of Colonel Cheng, no one had seriously considered eliminating him. ^[1]Big-character poster” refers to a large handwritten poster used to publicly criticize or denounce someone, usually posted in a prominent place.

But just as their training aboard the ship was nearing its end, Shen Qingyun suddenly received a transfer order to take up the post of a Commander at the garrison unit on Zhongshan Island.

The order required him to depart the same day he received it, first going to the Capital City for training, and then directly assuming his new position.

When Shen Qingyun received the transfer order, he was completely stunned!

He had been stationed at the coastal defense for many years, and the surrounding islands were almost etched into his mind. He could say, with his eyes closed, that he knew their locations and coordinates.

But he had never heard of Zhongshan Island!

Also, what kind of position is the Battalion Commander of the garrison camp on Zhongshan Island? He was doing just fine as the Battalion Commander of the vanguard camp, and he didn’t make any mistakes—so why was he suddenly reassigned?

But no matter how many questions Shen Qingyun had in his mind, military orders were like mountains—he naturally had to obey without question.

So, while everyone was still concerned whether he would be caught up in the mess and unable to stay on the new ship, he had already secretly gone to the capital.

It wasn’t until Shen Qingyun arrived in Capital City that he heard about the supervision of Old Hua and Engineer Ning.

However, before he could even express his shock, that very afternoon, he was taken to a secret base, where he met Old Hua, who was supposed to be under supervision.

Old Hua told him that the rumors circulating outside were all smoke and mirrors, deliberately spread to mislead.

Because of the successful trial runs of the hunter submarines, those on the coast had fallen into a great panic and had resorted to every possible means to obstruct progress.

Meanwhile, spies and special agents who had been hidden for some time were becoming increasingly active, and they had caused several major, malicious incidents.

Furthermore, the new type of torpedo boat being developed by Engineer Ning and his team had reached a critical point, and there could be no room for error.

Therefore, the organization decided to take advantage of the nationwide espionage investigation activity to turn the situation around. The expert team led by Engineer Ning was deliberately made to appear as if they were being interrogated and debriefed, when in fact they were being sent to a secret island to continue their work.

The island was one of the important secret bases established when the Navy was first formed, and it was not marked on military maps. No one outside the relevant circles knew of its existence.

After discussions within the organization, it was agreed that this was the most suitable place to house the specialized task force.

Given the importance of the position, the selection for the guard was naturally handled with extreme caution. The organization suggested many candidates, but all were rejected one by one.

Shen Qingyun was the candidate jointly recommended by Engineer Ning and Old Hua, and they insisted on his selection. After a series of investigations, the organization finally approved him.

“Old Hua called me over. What he needed to tell me wasn’t this. He told me a secret, a secret about your background.”

Shen Qingyun grasped Yin Xiaoman’s hand and said seriously.

A secret about her background?

Yin Xiaoman blinked in confusion, unable to comprehend for a moment.

Shen Qingyun didn’t waste time with vague words. He reached out and tugged at the wooden tag hanging around her neck. “Xiaoman, do you remember who gave you this tag?”

“My dad.” she answered without hesitation.

“That’s it.” Shen Qingyun nodded. “Old Hua said his late wife also had a tag exactly like this one, and it was something her father had left for the four siblings. If I’m not mistaken, your father should be the younger brother of Old Hua’s wife.”

“Old Hua’s wife? Younger brother?” Yin Xiaoman muttered these two words, a little lost and unable to make sense of the situation.

In the original owner’s memories, her father had never spoken of the past, and she didn’t know she had uncles or aunts.

“Exactly. The reason Old Hua specifically called me was to have me bring you back quickly.” Shen Qingyun continued. “He said some people have already caught wind of things.”

“They’ll likely start looking at Old Hua’s friends and family since they can’t find him. As of now, none of his relatives are still in the country, so if anyone’s left to look into, it would be you.”

“To be on the safe side, he wants me to take you and the children to the island. He’s already arranged a position for you: a special cook for their expert team.”

He had reported the matter to the organization. Your military industry quota has already been assigned to the battalion, and it should arrive in the next day or two. Once the formalities are completed, our entire family will be relocating to Zhongshan Island.

Once that happens, all those messy people and affairs will have no more connection with us.”

Shen Qingyun’s words hit Yin Xiaoman like a huge surprise, so overwhelming that she couldn’t process it for a long time.

It felt like a dream, but such a beautiful dream—so beautiful that she never wanted to wake up.

---

It wasn’t until the next morning when the two children woke up and couldn’t find their mother that they searched the house, crawled into her bed, and fell back asleep with her that Yin Xiaoman finally snapped out of it.

It was only when Sister-in-law Cui raised her voice in the yard, talking to Shen Qingyun, that Yin Xiaoman was pulled out of her daze.

“…What your brother said, is it true? Wait, Xiao Shen, how did you go off to study and come back only to find out you’re leaving? Why didn’t we have any warning about this?”

“It’s true. I was also informed last minute, and I was stunned too.” Shen Qingyun said with a smile.

“Wait, so Xiaoman and the kids are coming with you to Capital City? Does that mean your family is officially moving to the capital?”

“It’s not exactly moving to the capital. The station is still a bit of a distance away.”

Yin Xiaoman, while slowly getting dressed, listened carefully to their conversation. She suddenly remembered that the move to Zhongshan Island was a secret, and only authorized personnel were allowed to know about it.

This served as a reminder to be cautious and watchful.

Seeing the two children snuggled close together and drifting back to sleep, Yin Xiaoman didn’t disturb them. She quietly got out of bed.

As she bent down to put on her shoes, her gaze fell on a large cardboard box under the bed, partially hidden by the bedspread. Her hand froze for a moment.

Without a second thought, she quickly moved the box, along with its contents, back into the small room inside the palace. Only when she saw the space under the bed empty again did she let out a sigh of relief.

It was only then that she began to feel a bit anxious.

When she had left these things behind, she had planned to leave.

To Yin Xiaoman, having her own space with enough food meant that she would never go hungry. 

So, she had tried her best to leave something behind for the three people in her family.

No matter how chaotic things were outside, the Military Camp itself wouldn’t face any major conflicts. Furthermore, since she had already left, Shen Qingyun wouldn’t be implicated. As the head of the battalion, protecting his own family was a responsibility he was definitely capable of handling.

Yin Xiaoman had originally planned to leave a note for Shen Qingyun about the things she left behind, but upon reflection, she was glad she hadn’t written it.

If he had seen it, she would have no way to explain it now.

Since she had confirmed she would be going to the island, and the people serving there were the ones she respected and liked, including Engineer Ning and Old Hua, all the worries that had lingered in Yin Xiaoman’s mind disappeared completely. She felt much lighter now.

Even the soreness from last night’s events seemed insignificant.

She hurried out of the house.

At this point, Cui Yan had already returned home, and Shen Qingyun took her directly to the camp’s headquarters.

It was clear that Qi Feng hadn’t fully recovered from the shock of receiving the orders early in the morning, so when he saw the couple rushing in to handle the paperwork, he immediately became irritated.

“Ah, so you’re getting promoted, in a hurry to leave, huh?” He glared at Shen Qingyun and said coldly.

Shen Qingyun didn’t mind, and patted Qi Feng’s shoulder. “I didn’t know in advance, otherwise, I would’ve let you know first.”

Seeing Shen Qingyun’s calm attitude, Qi Feng’s expression softened slightly. He was silent for a moment, then sighed. “Alright, go ahead. It’s a good thing.”

He then looked up at Yin Xiaoman. “Take sister-in-law with you. It might save you a lot of trouble.”

He didn’t continue his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant without saying more.

With Qi Feng’s active assistance, the paperwork went much faster than expected. Three days later, the family had packed their bags and was ready to leave.

Since Shen Qingyun had specifically asked for them to travel light, Yin Xiaoman didn’t dare bring large bags this time, unlike before.

She only packed a few of the children’s clothes and the essentials for daily living, yet it still filled three large suitcases.

This time, Qi Feng personally drove them to the train station. At the car, Cui Yan, Qiangzi, and Huzi were all crying loudly.

Yin Xiaoman couldn’t help but shed tears as well.

Although she had been with the army for less than a year, she had developed deep feelings for the Vanguard Battalion.

Perhaps it was because this place had given her a rare period of lighthearted happiness, making it hard for her to let go.

This feeling lingered in her heart until she boarded the train, still feeling somewhat melancholic.

It wasn’t until they had been on the train for a while that she finally asked: “Where exactly are we going?”

The train ticket showed the final destination as Capital City, but Yin Xiaoman knew that wasn’t where they were headed.

Sure enough, upon hearing her question, Shen Qingyun pointed out the window. “We’ll get off at the next station. Someone will be waiting for us at the station.”

Yin Xiaoman had initially thought that this journey would take them directly to their destination, but she hadn’t expected that this was just the beginning.

After they got off the train, they hopped onto a military jeep. The vehicle traveled for nearly two hours before they reached a dock.

At the dock, they boarded a ferry, and once they arrived on the other side, they switched to another train.

It was a continuous series of travel by train, car, boat, and car again… The entire journey took three full days.

Carrying three large suitcases and two children, Yin Xiaoman, even with Shen Qingyun’s help, truly experienced the importance of traveling light.

Even though she had secretly stuffed many items into the space while Shen Qingyun wasn’t looking, Yin Xiaoman still found herself wanting to just throw the suitcases away!

By the evening of the third day, when they got off the car and stood at the dock, not only the children but even Yin Xiaoman herself felt like she could barely hold on.

She was starting to feel light-headed, and walking had become a struggle.

The person waiting for them at the dock was a man in his thirties, dressed simply but carrying an air of determination about him.

When he saw their exhausted state, he couldn’t help but chuckle.

“You’ve had a hard journey. It hasn’t been easy, but don’t worry, the island is just ahead. We’re almost there.”

Although he didn’t speak directly to Shen Qingyun, and Shen Qingyun acted as though everything was normal, Yin Xiaoman could feel from his presence that this man was definitely someone important.

Hearing him mention that island was near, Yin Xiaoman instantly felt her spirits lift, and she found herself walking with a little more strength.

Under his guidance, they quickly boarded a speedboat.

It was then that Yin Xiaoman belatedly realized that they were at a military dock and that the speedboat bore the insignia of the military.

She knew then that they were truly close to their destination.