Chapter 55.1

Su Xi took the towel and placed it on her neck. The cool sensation was comfortable, and she squinted her eyes in delight. “Do you know each other?” she asked.

Xie Zhen sat down beside his wife, retrieved a military water bottle from the bag he had placed on the bed, and poured a cup of water. He gently brought it to Su Xi’s lips and said softly, “Drink some water. How is it? Feeling better?”

Without thinking too much, Su Xi took the warm water from the man’s hand and drank it down. Then she weakly replied, “It’s fine. I’m actually not hot anymore. Look, I’m not even sweating. It’s you who’s sweating on your forehead.”

Seeing the man busying himself, Su Xi felt a pang of heartache. She removed the towel from her neck and raised her hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

The intimate actions of the two, oblivious to the world around them, caused the young couple sitting across from them to stare in disbelief, their eyes nearly popping out.

After a while, Pang Xing swallowed hard and leaned closer to Tong Yun, whispering, “Isn’t that Xie Zhen? Or does he just look like him?”

Tong Yun twitched his mouth in response. “Did you forget the way he looked at us when he walked in just now?”

Pang Xing suddenly came to life. That’s right! When he first saw the two of them, Xie Zhen had still worn the same serious and disdainful expression. Was it because of… this beautiful sister?

Wow… that’s impressive!

Tong Yun stroked his chin and suddenly remembered something. He leaned in and whispered, “I just recalled. Last year, I heard my mom say that Aunt Si Yun mentioned in the courtyard that Xie Zhen had a girlfriend. She’s supposedly exceptional, a doctor. It must be this girl!”

Pang Xing responded, “Oh yeah! I remember that too. I didn’t believe it when my mom first said it. I can’t believe the big bad wolf really found a girlfriend, and such a stunning one at that! It’s really unfair.”

Su Xi: “……”

Xie Zhen: “……”

Pang Xing’s remarks, which he thought were quiet, were actually heard loud and clear by Su Xi and Xie Zhen in the small compartment. Su Xi glanced at Xie Zhen’s slightly darkened face, held back her laughter for a moment, but then burst out laughing.

Her laughter startled the two people sitting across from them, who had been murmuring quietly, causing them to look over in surprise.

The two were so startled by Xie Zhen’s dark expression that they instinctively scooted back a bit.

Seeing her husband intimidate the two, Su Xi gently squeezed Xie Zhen’s hand to calm him down.

Xie Zhen opened his large hand, enveloping his wife’s delicate little hand in his palm. His mood eased as he turned to Su Xi and introduced her, “Xi Xi, this is Tong Yun and Pang Xing, who live in the same compound as I do.”

He then looked at the two across from them with a cold expression and stated, “This is your sister-in-law; we are already married.”

Tong Yun and Pang Xing, feeling the distinct difference in Xie Zhen’s treatment, dared not say much more. They obediently greeted Su Xi, with Tong Yun dropping the earlier aloofness and speaking in a warm tone, “So you’re sister-in-law! What a coincidence for us.”

Su Xi also found it quite a coincidence; she had not expected to meet Xie Zhen’s neighbors, and from Xie Zhen’s demeanor, it seemed the families got along well.

Xie Zhen hung the towel on the bed frame next to them, planning to wash it once the train started moving. He had waited in line for quite some time since many people had used the water. “I can understand Tong Yun being here; he just graduated and is returning from Q Province to J City, so it makes sense he would pass through our area. But what about you, Pang Xing?”

It was a simple question, but it reminded Pang Xing of her childhood when she misbehaved and was sent to Xie Zhen for training by her parents. She shivered instinctively, unable to lie, “I… I came to find Tong Yun!”

Xie Zhen frowned. “Just you alone?”

Pang Xing’s face fell. “… Yes!”

Xie Zhen sneered coldly. “You’ve got some nerve.”

Seeing his crush on the verge of tears, Tong Yun quickly shielded her behind him, saying, “Bro, don’t blame her; it’s my fault.”

Xie Zhen stood up straight, his gaze icy as he stared at him. “Of course, it’s your fault. Something must have happened over there for the little girl to sneak away to find you.”

Pang Xing poked her head out from behind Tong Yun, eager to please. “Xie Zhen, you’re so smart!”

Tong Yun looked incredulously at Pang Xing. “Are you betraying your comrade?”

“Speak up; what’s it for?” Xie Zhen said, glaring at the two while picking up his little wife and settling her on the bed so she could lean against him comfortably.

Pang Xing immediately began to babble, “Xie Zhen, you don’t know how bad my brother’s classmate is! She stole my high school address from him and sent a letter to our school saying she was his girlfriend, telling me not to cling to him. But I’ve been betrothed to him since we were kids! She’s so terrible… blah blah blah…”

Xie Zhen rubbed his forehead in exasperation. “Are you stupid? You believed that? Didn’t you call to confirm?”

Pang Xing pouted, feeling wronged. “She even sent me a photo! It was a picture of Brother and her together. I tried to call my brother, but the school said he wasn’t there… I… I had no choice! I thought I should ask my brother in person. If he really doesn’t like me, I won’t bother him anymore…”

“Nonsense! When has your Brother Tong ever not liked you? Stop overthinking! I have always been waiting for you to grow up. Once you turn 20, we’re getting married!”

Tong Yun could no longer contain himself. He had cherished the girl in his palm and had finally looked forward to bringing her home; he couldn’t bear to hear such heart-wrenching words.

Xie Zhen’s expression darkened, exuding an intimidating presence. “So? Why did you take a photo with that woman?”

Tong Yun lost his previous gentle demeanor and waved his hands in a panic. “Brother, you still don’t understand me? It’s because graduation is around the corner, and the class organized a group photo. There were many classmates who took photos together for keepsakes. I took a lot that day and didn’t think much of it. How would I know she had ulterior motives? I felt like throwing up! Luckily, Xing Xing is okay. If anything had happened to her, I wouldn’t have let her off easily, and won’t let take graduation certificate!”

By the end of his words, Tong Yun’s expression turned icy. Just thinking about his cherished girl traveling all the way to Q Province to find him, asking if he no longer liked her with swollen red eyes, made his heart twist in pain.

Pang Xing slipped her small hand into Tong Yun’s palm and smiled sweetly at him when he looked over.

Just as Tong Yun was about to return a warm smile, he heard the cold snort of the big bad wolf beside him.

“You’re still the foolish one. You can’t even tell if a woman has feelings for you. Besides, since you have a girlfriend, you should keep your distance from all other females. And if it’s that easy for someone to get your address, it looks like you lack training.”

Upon hearing the word “training,” Tong Yun couldn’t help but tremble.

He had lived under the shadow of the big bad wolf’s fist since he was young.

But now that he realized he had indeed been tricked, he gritted his teeth and replied, “It’s my fault, bro. I’ll start extra training as soon as the train departs!”

“At least you’re self-aware.”

Su Xi leaned gently against her husband’s arm, watching as he berated the two with a mixture of disappointment and frustration.

She understood that he had probably taken them as his own little siblings; otherwise, with his character, he wouldn’t have said so much.

However, seeing the two young ones looking dejected after the scolding, Su Xi couldn’t help but chuckle as she patted Xie Zhen’s arm. “Alright, let’s stop talking about this. Didn’t Grandma give us some jerky? I want to eat it.”

Xie Zhen abandoned the reprimanding and quickly turned to rummage through the bag, pulling out more than a pound of jerky. He took a piece out and handed it to Su Xi.

Then he pulled out a few more pieces and handed them to the two across from them. “Eat up! Xi Xi’s Grandma’s cooking is really good.”

Pang Xing and Tong Yun were not polite at all, eagerly accepting the jerky and starting to munch on it. In the meantime, Pang Xing sneakily winked at Su Xi.

A smile spread across Su Xi’s face. She quite liked this girl—enthusiastic, innocent, but not naïve; at such a young age, she already knew what she wanted.

As Pang Xing bit into the roasted jerky, she initially found it a bit tough on her teeth, but as she chewed, the flavor began to develop, becoming more and more delicious. She praised, “Sister Xi Xi, your Grandma is amazing! This jerky is so tasty, and it won’t spoil in the summer. Unlike me and my brother, we worried our food would go bad and brought nothing, so we can only buy food on the train.”

Hearing her Grandma’s skills acknowledged made Su Xi happier than if she were praised herself. “My Grandma is really good at cooking! If you have time, you can come and play with me and Xie Zhen, and I’ll let you taste my Grandma’s cooking.”

Pang Xing nodded vigorously. She was currently quite free; she couldn’t continue her university studies, and until she figured out her future path, wandering around seemed like a good idea.

Pang Xing was quite chatty and was curious about how Xie Zhen had managed to win over Su Xi, such a beautiful girl. She had been too shy to ask before, but now feeling like they were all in the same circle, she directly inquired, “Sister Xi Xi, how did you and Xie Zhen meet?”

As soon as Pang Xing asked this, the train’s whistle blew, and the group turned to look out at the scenery receding outside the window, confirming that the train had started moving on schedule.

Once the sound of the whistle faded, Su Xi turned to the still expectant Pang Xing and briefly recounted the story of how she and Xie Zhen had met.

Pang Xing listened with her small face cradled in her hands, her eyes sparkling with dreamy wonder. “Sister Xi Xi, you and Xie Zhen are so fated to be together! It’s just like they say, it’s destiny.”

As Su Xi thought about it, she realized it was true; they were indeed destined for each other. They had encountered each other time and again, and now they even worked in the same place.

With this in mind, Su Xi raised her gaze to her husband, only to find his gentle, affectionate eyes already looking back at her. She was momentarily taken aback, and her eyes unconsciously curved into crescent moons.

—o—o—o—

In July, the night had lost the heat of the day. The narrow train compartment had its windows open, allowing a refreshing breeze to drift in, bringing a soothing coolness.

Su Xi wasn’t asleep yet; leaning against Xie Zhen’s shoulder while seated by the window, she squinted her eyes, admiring the starry sky.

It was a rare sight she seldom saw in her lifetime.

At that moment, Pang Xing, who was sleeping in the opposite bunk, stirred.

Su Xi looked over and noticed the girl carefully climbing down the small ladder at the edge of the bed, trembling slightly.

Tong Yun, awakened by the movement, immediately sat up and picked the girl up, asking, “What’s wrong? Do you need to go to the bathroom?”

Pang Xing yawned and mumbled indistinctly, “I drank too much water tonight!”

Tong Yun began to put on his shoes in the moonlight. “I’ll go with you!”

Pang Xing hesitated, murmuring softly, “But you can’t come inside with me.”

Su Xi patted the arm that Xie Zhen had wrapped around her waist. “Xing Xing, I’ll go with you!”

Pang Xing felt a little embarrassed; she hadn’t expected her quiet mumbling to be overheard. “Sister Xi Xi, that’s not necessary. Brother Tong can just take me.”

Su Xi had already put on her shoes. “I’m not specifically accompanying you; I need to go myself.”

Pang Xing wasn’t sure if that was true, but she did feel a sense of relief. The outside was pitch dark, and not only did she have to walk through several train cars to get to the bathroom, but once she arrived, being alone would also be a bit scary.

Tong Yun finished putting on his shoes as well. “Then I’ll go with you both. I’ll wait outside for you.”

Su Xi took some tissue and a towel from her bag and waved her hand. “No need, we can handle it ourselves.”

With that, she grabbed Pang Xing’s hand and headed out.

Tong Yun couldn’t bear to let these two delicate girls go out alone at such a late hour. Just as he was about to follow them, he realized that his brother, Xie Zhen, was sitting calmly on the bed without a hint of worry.

Tong Yun was incredulous. “Brother, your wife looks like that, and you’re not concerned? You’re not going to follow them?”

Xie Zhen shot him a sideways glance. “Your sister-in-law doesn’t want me to follow. If I do, she’ll definitely be unhappy and think I don’t trust her.”

Tong Yun was confused. “Even if she’s unhappy, you should go!”

Xie Zhen looked at Tong Yun, who was preparing to follow, and pulled him back. “Alright, just relax. Your sister-in-law could handle ten of you on her own.”

Tong Yun exclaimed, “That’s way too exaggerated! With my physical condition, I’m sure I wouldn’t even compare to most soldiers… No… Wait, Brother, are you serious?”

As he finished speaking, Tong Yun watched in shock as Xie Zhen propped his hands behind his head and lay back down, stammering.

Xie Zhen couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Tong Yun soon realized that his brother was serious. He hadn’t noticed it before, but that delicate sister-in-law, who looked softer than a star, was actually a formidable fighter.

Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, Tong Yun looked at Xie Zhen with an expression of wild disbelief.

Xie Zhen, a top special forces soldier, immediately sensed the intense gaze directed at him. He raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong?”

Tong Yun twisted his face in concern. “Brother, you’re too ruthless! You train your wife like she’s a weapon? She must be so unfortunate…”

Xie Zhen: “……”

—o—o—o—