Chapter 40: Arrival in Kyoto

Li Lin was deeply touched by Fang Mingyi’s words, her eyes reddening as she gazed out of the train window. “Fang Mingyi, as long as you don’t disappoint me, I’ll marry no one but you in this lifetime.”

“Good, I’ll spend my entire life proving to you that I’ll cherish you forever,” Fang Mingyi replied. Just as he finished speaking, the train began to depart, and all he could do was wave a quick “take care” to Li Donghai and Zhao Chunmei before the train disappeared into the distance.

Fang Mingyi stood motionless for a while, watching the train grow smaller and smaller, until his legs began to cramp. Only then did he turn and leave.

Meanwhile, Li Lin continued to stare at the receding train for a long while, lost in thought. It wasn’t until Zhao Chunmei’s voice broke her reverie that she snapped back to reality.

“Li Lin, the train is gone. You should get some rest. We’ve got a long journey ahead,” Zhao Chunmei said, looking at her daughter with concern.

“Alright, you and Dad should rest as well,” Li Lin replied, settling down with her eyes closed.

And so, the three of them spent the next two and a half days on the train. On the afternoon of the third day, they finally arrived at their destination.

“Take it slow, be careful not to bump into anyone,” Zhao Chunmei said anxiously, holding onto Li Lin as they disembarked.

Li Lin chuckled at her mother’s nervousness. “Mom, I’m fine. You don’t need to worry so much.”

But Zhao Chunmei wasn’t reassured and continued to keep a close eye on her daughter, afraid that someone might accidentally jostle her in the hustle of the station. Thankfully, they made it through without any issues.

At the station exit, they saw a young man in military uniform approaching. Fang Mingyi’s older brother, Fang Mingtao, stood by a car, scanning the crowd. As soon as he saw a middle-aged woman supporting a young, beautiful girl, he immediately matched the description of “Fourth Brother’s wife” and quickly made his way over.

“Comrade Li Lin, is that you?” Fang Mingtao asked politely as he approached.

“Yes, and you are…?” Li Lin asked, puzzled by the man’s resemblance to Fang Mingyi.

“I’m Fang Mingyi’s older brother, Fang Mingtao. Yesterday, Little Yi called and asked me to come pick you up,” Fang Mingtao explained with a smile, reaching for the bags in Li Donghai’s hands.

Li Donghai quickly declined, saying, “No need, no need to trouble you. The bags aren’t heavy; I can handle them.”

“Well then, Uncle, Auntie, and Li Lin, please let me give you a ride. You must be exhausted after such a long trip. I’ll take you home,” Fang Mingtao said, waving them toward his car.

After getting into the car, Fang Mingtao struck up a friendly conversation with Li Donghai, chatting about various topics. As he drove, his eyes occasionally glanced at his future sister-in-law, observing her quietly. He found her pale but otherwise serene and composed, and in general, was quite satisfied.

“Comrade Fang, this is fine. We’ve arrived. You can drop us here,” Li Donghai said as they reached the entrance of the residential area.

“No, Uncle, let me take you all the way to your doorstep. Li Lin doesn’t look too well, and you’ve had a long journey,” Fang Mingtao insisted, not heeding Li Donghai’s suggestion, and drove the car further into the complex.

Li Donghai, though a little reluctant, didn’t object. He simply directed Fang Mingtao to their building.

As the car pulled up, a group of women who had been gossiping outside saw it and immediately started chattering excitedly. The sight of a car with four wheels was a rarity in their residential area, and they couldn’t help but wonder if someone important was visiting.

“Comrade Fang, we’ve arrived. Please, won’t you come in for a cup of tea?” Li Donghai asked politely, helping Li Lin out of the car and grabbing their luggage.

“No need, Uncle. I still have to head back to the army, so I won’t stay,” Fang Mingtao said with a smile, shaking his head. “But I’ll make sure to visit your family another day. I’m sure my little nephew will come by as well.”

After seeing that the family had taken all their belongings, he bid them farewell and left.

After sending off Fang Mingtao, Li Donghai’s family turned to head back home. However, before they could even reach the stairs, a group of gossiping women blocked their path.

“Who’s the young man who drove you here? Li Lin has gone to the countryside, why is she back?” they began bombarding them with questions.

Zhao Chunmei, sensing the potential for trouble, quickly told her husband to take Li Lin upstairs and settle her in. She stayed behind to handle the situation.

She explained that the young man driving them was Li Lin’s fiancé’s older brother, and that Li Lin had returned because she had been injured by Liu Lan with an iron fork in the countryside. The story was as tragic as she could make it, emphasizing Li Lin’s hardship, which prompted sympathy from the women. They urged her to hurry upstairs and take care of Li Lin.

Once Zhao Chunmei returned to the apartment and took care of Li Lin, she left again to buy groceries, leaving her husband to keep an eye on their daughter.

Meanwhile, Fang Mingtao didn’t return to his unit as planned. Instead, he went home. His mother, Wu Mei, had taken the day off from work to wait for his report on the situation.

“Well? How did the girl look? What are her parents like? What do they do?” Wu Mei asked impatiently as soon as Fang Mingtao walked in. She didn’t even wait for him to change his shoes before she fired off a series of questions.

“Mum, you’re asking so many things at once! Can I at least take a moment to change and have some water before I answer?” Fang Mingtao was getting a bit frustrated and asked helplessly.

“Alright, alright, go ahead and drink,” Wu Mei relented, but her curiosity didn’t subside. She nudged him to hurry up and answer.

Fang Mingtao quickly drank a large glass of water and then began recounting his observations. “That girl is quiet and well-behaved, very pleasant. She’s also quite pretty. As for her parents, they’re easy to get along with. Her dad is the director of a textile factory, and her mom is the accountant there.”

“Oh, from what you’re saying, it sounds good,” Wu Mei said, not overly concerned with the girl’s family background, as long as the people were decent and not difficult to deal with. 

“I think she’s good, but you should observe her a bit more to be sure,” Fang Mingtao added, leaning back on the couch.

Wu Mei scowled when she saw him lounging around. “Why are you sitting there? You’ve already told me everything, and now you’re not even leaving?”

“Mum, I’ve helped you out, and now you’re trying to get rid of me?” Fang Mingtao jumped up, slightly annoyed. “Don’t push me out yet!”

“Not getting rid of you, just not letting you stay for dinner. Want to eat? Go home and let your wife cook for you!” Wu Mei said, grabbing her purse and putting on her shoes.

Seeing his mom about to leave, Fang Mingtao quickly asked, “Mum, where are you going? Aren’t you cooking?”

“Cooking? The fourth one’s girlfriend is back, I need to go buy some things and visit them,” Wu Mei replied, grumbling as she finished getting ready.

“Well, let me take you. After I drop you off, I’ll go back to the army,” Fang Mingtao said, forcing a smile despite his own reluctance.

Wu Mei hesitated but eventually agreed. “Alright then.”

But when they returned to the house, things didn’t go as expected. Instead of just dropping his mother off, Fang Mingtao ended up having to carry some money and groceries for her, making him feel more burdened than ever.

Later, when he returned home and saw his father, Fang Yuan Shan, he couldn’t hold it in any longer and vented his frustrations.

Fang Yuan Shan listened quietly before casually responding, “What’s wrong? After all the hard work we put into raising you, you don’t want to spend a little money?”

Fang Mingtao could only smile bitterly. What else could he say?

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