Chapter 39: A Surprise

Tan Aizhi was nagging about how Song Xilan was always looking for trouble, but she still rummaged through the house to find many things for her to take back. There were cotton shoes for her father, a knitted sweater for her mother, fabric for her sister-in-law, and some trendy items for her nephew and niece from the city.

Before she knew it, a big bag was packed.

Song Xilan voiced her complaint: “Mom, are you making me move out? I’m only one person, how am I supposed to carry all this? I still need to bring my own clothes!”

Tan Aizhi reassured her, “It’s fine, we’ll take you to the bus station tomorrow. Your uncle can come pick you up. You don’t have to carry all this yourself.”

Song Xilan was speechless… She had originally planned to go to the bus station on her own!

At that time, the bus was very early, leaving at six in the morning.

Since there was only one bus per day to that area, it would leave in the morning and arrive by noon, and then make another trip back in the afternoon.

The next morning, before dawn, Tan Aizhi had already gotten Song Xilan up.

She quickly cooked a scrambled egg fried rice for her. “No soup for breakfast today, it might make bathroom trips inconvenient on the bus. I’ve filled your thermos with hot water—don’t drink too much at once, just sip it when you’re thirsty to soothe your throat.”

She also boiled five eggs and handed them to her. “These are for when you get hungry on the road. And here, take some oranges too.” She found a few and stuffed them into her bag. “If you get motion sickness, peel an orange and smell the peel—it should help. Oh, and take some crackers too, just in case you get hungry.”

“I know, it’s only a few hours! I’ll have lunch at my grandmother’s house, no need to bring so much food.”

Tan Aizhi insisted, “You never know. What if the bus breaks down halfway? You’ll be stuck with no place to buy food! It’s a remote area, you’d end up starving.” After saying this, she realized how ominous it sounded, and quickly spat three times, “Peh, peh!”

Finally, Song Baili rode his bicycle and took her to the bus station.

Once they entered the waiting area, Song Baili placed the large bag of gifts on the ground. “You wait here while I go buy the ticket.”

Song Xilan’s heart raced as she anxiously looked around.

Soon, in the corner, she saw a familiar military coat.

It was cleaner than the last time she saw it—probably wiped down.

The man was wrapped up in the coat, sitting on the bench, with his head lowered as he dozed. The collar of the coat was turned up, covering most of his face, leaving only the top of his dark head visible.

But Song Xilan still recognized him immediately—it was Jiang Chengxiao.

He was holding a bag and had two metal buckets next to him, filled with various odds and ends. It looked like he was preparing for a long journey.

Before long, Song Baili came back with the ticket.

“Dad, I’ll wait here on my own, you should head back to work!”

“Why the rush? Work is still a while away. I can’t let you go without seeing you off, or your mom will scold me when I get home.”

Song Xilan pouted, a little unhappy.

It wasn’t that she was intentionally hiding anything, it was just… it was a difficult situation to explain. She couldn’t really tell him why she had to go back to the countryside with Jiang Chengxiao. Was she supposed to say that if she didn’t go with him, he would marry someone in the village, and their family’s son-in-law would be lost?

At that moment, the station’s announcement rang out, calling for passengers of this bus to board.

Song Xilan stood up, nervously glancing back, hoping Jiang Chengxiao hadn’t fallen asleep and missed the announcement.

But she saw that he was already standing up, slinging the bag over his shoulder, grabbing a bucket with one hand, and heading toward the ticket check.

He was right in front of Song Xilan and her father, but his appearance now was so different from how he looked in front of Song Baili before, so no one recognized him.

Song Xilan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, Song Baili insisted on personally seeing her off, making sure her luggage was settled before he felt at ease.

Just as she was looking at the ticket for her seat number, she suddenly heard someone greet her in a cheerful voice: “? What are you doing here?”

Song Baili didn’t quite realize that the person was calling his daughter, but he did see Song Xilan desperately waving her hands and putting her finger to her lips, signaling for silence. Following her gaze, he widened his eyes in shock.

“Why is he here too?”

Song Xilan laughed: “Haha, Comrade Jiang, what a coincidence!”

Song Baili thought to himself: I don’t believe you!

Jiang Chengxiao had already come over, casually taking the luggage from Song Baili’s hands and placing it on the overhead compartment while saying, “What a coincidence! I came to visit a comrade’s parents in Yang Songkeng . What about you, Uncle Song?”

Song Xilan replied: “I’m here on behalf of my mom to visit my grandparents. What a coincidence, my grandparents are also in Yang Songkeng .My dad came to see me off, but he’s not going.”

Jiang Chengxiao quickly patted the seat by the window next to him: “Then take this one, it’s perfect to sit next to someone you know, makes the trip easier.”

“Uncle Song, don’t worry. I’ll take care of Xiao Song on the way.”

His casual familiarity left Song Baili at a loss for words.

A woman at the back raised her ticket and shouted at them, “That’s my seat! What’s going on here? Why are you sitting in someone else’s seat?”

The woman had a long face and a sharp tone, clearly not someone to mess with.

Her outburst drew the attention of the other passengers.

Song Xilan didn’t want to cause any conflict and was about to get up and give the seat back to the woman.

Jiang Chengxiao quickly grabbed the ticket from Song Baili’s hand, glanced at it, and then casually took an orange from his pocket, handing it to the woman: “Sorry, big sister, we’re together and wanted to sit here. Let me make a suggestion—this is our original seat, further up, near the front. It’s more stable and comfortable, not as bumpy. I already put your luggage up there. Is that okay?”

Since it’s hard to turn down someone with a smile, the woman took the orange, saw that the new seat was actually just as good, if not better, and agreed: “Fine, you two young people are traveling, I’ll make an exception.”

Although the term “young couple” made Song Baili a little uncomfortable, seeing how Jiang Chengxiao handled things, he felt more reassured that Song Xilan would be well taken care of on the trip.

After giving a few last-minute instructions, he got off the train. Song Xilan sighed in relief.

Then she heard Jiang Chengxiao ask, “Is this a surprise for me?”