Chapter 5: Who Told You I Wouldn’t Come Back?

Song Yue stayed in the hospital room, waiting for the doctor to change her dressing. However, she didn’t wait for Lu Huaishen to return.

After the doctor left, a nurse walked in and handed her an envelope.

“Comrade Song, this is from your fiancé. He asked me to pass it to you.”

“My fiancé?” Song Yue was momentarily stunned but quickly adjusted her tone. “You mean Comrade Lu?”

The nurse nodded. “Yes, the one who came with you.”

Song Yue took the envelope and thanked her.

“It’s no trouble at all,” the nurse said with a smile. “Just call me if you need anything.”

With that, the nurse turned to leave.

“Wait a minute,” Song Yue called after her. “When can I be discharged?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Got it. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Get some rest.”

The hospital room door closed again.

Song Yue looked down at the envelope in her hands and took out its contents—two folded papers and a train ticket.

The ticket was for a sleeper train heading to Rong City at 11 a.m. the next day.

One of the folded papers was an introduction letter issued by the Zhou County Public Security Bureau.

The other was a letter from Lu Huaishen.

In the letter, Lu Huaishen explained that he had urgent matters to attend to and had made all the necessary arrangements before leaving. He also mentioned that he would visit her in Rong City when he had time and would write to her before coming, so she didn’t need to worry.

Looking at the introduction letter and train ticket in her hands, Song Yue let out a bitter laugh. He really had arranged everything for her.

However…

She had still underestimated what Lu Huaishen meant by “arrangements.”

At mealtime, a nurse brought her food. Only then did she learn that before leaving, Lu Huaishen had left money with the nurse to buy meals for her, along with a small service fee.

The next day, after her wound was redressed, the nurse helped her with the discharge process.

After settling the hospital bills, there was a remaining balance of fifty-two yuan and five mao.

The money, of course, was given to Song Yue.

Once she was officially discharged, the nurse led her to the hospital entrance, where a man dressed in a Zhongshan suit was waiting beside a large 128 bicycle.

The man stepped forward and introduced himself. He was an officer from the Zhou County Public Security Bureau, sent by his captain to escort her to the train station.

To prove his identity, he even took out his work ID for both Song Yue and the nurse to see.

After confirming, the nurse left.

The man gestured toward the bicycle. “Get on, I’ll take you there.”

Song Yue smiled. “Comrade, can we stop by your bureau first? I’d like to—”

Before she could finish, the officer interrupted, “Comrade Song, you want to ask about Comrade Lu, don’t you? Our captain already said that Comrade Lu will contact you when the time comes.”

He hesitated for a moment, glanced around, then lowered his voice. “Even our captain doesn’t know anything else.”

Song Yue’s heart skipped a beat. It seemed like this Lu Huaishen wasn’t an ordinary person.

Then again, thinking about his aura and the way he carried himself, it wasn’t surprising.

Before coming here, she had been following the troops.

She understood military rules.

And since Lu Huaishen had a jeep, his rank was probably not low.

With a faint smile, she nodded. “Got it.”

Seeing that she understood, the officer grinned. “Good, then let’s go.”

“Alright.”

Song Yue got onto the bicycle, gripping the seat tightly.

The officer reminded her to sit properly and hold on before pedaling toward the train station.

Outside the station, Song Yue got off the bicycle and was about to thank him.

However, before she could speak, the officer quickly parked the bike and told her, “Comrade Song, wait here for a moment.”

“Hey—”

Before she could stop him, he had already dashed into the train station.

Left with no choice, Song Yue stood by the bicycle and waited.

Then, a thought struck her. She mumbled under her breath, “Could there be more people involved?”

Not long after, the officer returned, bringing along a middle-aged man in uniform.

The two of them stopped in front of her.

Panting slightly, the officer pointed at her. “This is Comrade Song. I’ll leave her to you.”

The middle-aged man waved his hand. “No need for formalities. It’s just a small favor.”

The officer chuckled, then turned to Song Yue. “Comrade Song, this is Comrade Li from the train station.”

“He’ll make sure you get on the train safely. I have to head back now.”

As he spoke, he was already moving to retrieve his bicycle.

Song Yue could only express her gratitude. “Alright, thank you for the trouble.”

She watched as the officer rode away.

Comrade Li smiled at her. “Come with me.”

“Okay.”

Following Comrade Li, Song Yue entered the train station without any obstacles.

After a brief check of her ticket and introduction letter, Comrade Li escorted her onto the train and handed her over to a train attendant.

Song Yue didn’t know what he said to the attendant, but the attendant kept glancing at her with a smile and nodding.

After Comrade Li left, the attendant led her to her sleeper berth.

With a cheerful smile, he told her that the train would arrive in Rong City the following afternoon.

If she needed anything on the train, she could come to him.

Song Yue nodded and thanked him again.

She had nothing on her but an empty wallet, so all she could offer was verbal gratitude.

After the attendant left, Song Yue sat down on her berth and lay down to rest.

Her bed was the lower left berth. The two above her and the three across from her were still unoccupied.

A few minutes later, the train started moving.

As the train stopped at more stations along the way, more passengers boarded.

Soon, the berths around her were filled.

The lower right berth was occupied by a middle-aged woman with a one-year-old child.

The other four young passengers, who seemed to know each other, had taken the remaining bunks.

As soon as they got on, they began chatting nonstop.

From their conversation, Song Yue learned that they were also heading to Rong City for work.

Their chatter, combined with the occasional cries from the baby and the persistent pain from her forehead wound, made Song Yue speechless.

Time passed, and soon it was the next afternoon.

Song Yue got up early and stood by the train doors, waiting to get off.

The bandages wrapped around her forehead attracted a lot of attention, so no one tried to squeeze past her.

After stepping off the train, she thanked the train attendant, left the station, and took a bus home.

Upon arriving at her residential compound, she walked into the courtyard.

The elderly residents sitting there were momentarily stunned when they saw her, then immediately asked if she had been beaten and sent back by her maternal relatives.

Confused, Song Yue asked a few of the more talkative elders and quickly learned the truth.

Apparently, her scumbag father and stepmother had been telling everyone that she refused to acknowledge them and had severed ties, choosing to run off to Beijing to stay with her maternal family.

That’s why rumors had spread that she was beaten and sent back.

Those two sure knew how to manipulate things!

After politely excusing herself, Song Yue headed upstairs.

The Song family lived on the third floor, in a corner unit.

They had combined two rooms into one.

Just as she reached the door, she heard her stepmother, Li Huijuan, speaking in a suppressed but furious tone.

“You useless thing! Do you know why I went through all that trouble to get you this job? It’s so you wouldn’t be sent to the countryside!”

“Just be honest with me—when are you going to come with me and claim the job?”

A male voice, her stepbrother Song Tiezi, replied lazily, “What’s the rush? She’s already been sent away. She’s never coming back in this lifetime. It doesn’t matter when I take over the job.”

Song Yue’s eyes turned icy.

She lifted her leg and kicked the door open.

“Who told you I wouldn’t come back?”