Chapter 6

Looking into her clear eyes, Lu Huaijing chuckled softly to himself. What on earth was he thinking?

A young girl like Tang Wan, if she had the ability to clean out someone else’s household, wouldn’t have needed to marry him and move far away.

“Since their stuff is all gone, does that mean the things Mom and Dad prepared for me are gone too?”

Tang Zhou clenched his little fists angrily but quickly relaxed and said, “Well, it’s fine if it’s gone. They wouldn’t have given it back to me anyway.

I should thank the person who emptied their house in the dead of night—it’s like they carried out justice for the heavens!”

Such words from a child stunned Tang Wan. She quickly pulled Tang Zhou closer.

“Zhouzhou, don’t talk nonsense.”

“I know, sis. I’m just secretly happy in my heart.”

Tang Zhou didn’t yet know that their uncle had a hand in reporting their parents, but because of how their relatives often exploited them in the past, he had always disliked them.

Listening to the sibling’s conversation, Lu Huaijing completely dispelled his doubts about Tang Wan. Just as the train arrived at the station, he carried the luggage and walked ahead.

“Follow me.”

This was still the era of green trains, and the station was packed with people. The crowd made Tang Wan dizzy.

With so many people, she didn’t dare to let go of Tang Zhou’s hand. Lu Huaijing’s long legs carried him ahead quickly, and before long, he was out of sight.

Tang Wan: …

She took back her earlier comment about Lu Huaijing being considerate. What a straight-laced guy!

“Sis, we need to hurry! We can’t see Brother Lu anymore!”

Tang Zhou still wasn’t used to calling Lu Huaijing “brother-in-law,” so he simply addressed him as “brother.” Now, he was so anxious his neck was turning red.

“It’s fine. As long as we get on the train, we can find him later!”

Tang Wan was feeling a headache coming on. She had underestimated people’s enthusiasm for trains in this era.

Without strict modern regulations, even those without tickets forced their way onboard. By the time Tang Wan managed to squeeze onto the train with Tang Zhou, she was dumbfounded!

All the tickets were with Lu Huaijing, and she didn’t even know where their seats were.

“What are you standing there for? Come here.”

Her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Tang Wan looked up to meet Lu Huaijing’s helpless gaze. “We’re just nearby.”

“Oh.”

She felt the roughness of his fingertips. No wonder—this man was a soldier who handled weapons regularly.

The aisle was crowded, but with his height and long legs, Lu Huaijing moved forward with ease. Tang Wan held onto Tang Zhou and followed him closely.

To her surprise, Lu Huaijing had managed to secure hard-sleeper berths, likely with the help of his comrades.

Their spots were conveniently in the same row: upper, middle, and lower bunks. Tang Wan said to Tang Zhou:

“Zhouzhou, you’re smaller. Take the upper bunk.”

Lu Huaijing, being tall and broad-shouldered, already looked uncomfortable even sitting on the lower bunk—understandable given his nearly 1.9-meter frame.

“Okay.”

Tang Zhou obediently climbed to the top. The little boy gazed out the window in a daze. As the train began to move, they were leaving the place he had grown up in.

Tang Wan felt nothing in particular. After all, she had just transmigrated here, and Dongcheng was unfamiliar to her.

What intrigued her was the architecture and development of this era.

To Lu Huaijing, however, it looked like the siblings were grieving. With others occupying the opposite bunks, he refrained from mentioning the Tang parents and awkwardly offered,

“Life in the countryside isn’t bad. I’ll make sure your family has enough to eat and wear.”

That promise included the Tang parents, who had been sent away.

Tang Wan turned to look at him, her heart warmed. A smile crept onto her lips, but just as she was about to speak, a soft scoff came from across the aisle.

The person didn’t say anything further, turning their back deliberately. Tang Wan’s smile faded as she restrained her expression.

“I believe you,” she said.

Out of the corner of her eye, she observed the people on the opposite berths. The top bunk housed a young man who was already snoring away.

The middle bunk belonged to the person who had just sneered—a girl, judging by her back.

As for the lower bunk, it was occupied by an older woman with a child who appeared to be around ten years old. The train compartment had grown quiet.

After the hectic events of the previous night, Tang Wan was utterly exhausted. She took out a small, rough-textured bedsheet from her backpack.

She had deliberately chosen coarse fabric to avoid drawing criticism. Carefully spreading it out on the middle bunk, she lay down.

“I’m going to take a nap.”

“Alright.”

Lu Huaijing had never met such a meticulous young woman, yet he didn’t mind her ways. A delicate and soft girl like her deserved to rest well.

Tang Wan yawned lightly and soon drifted into sleep. When she awoke, the sun was already shining brightly into the compartment.

“Sis, you’re awake?”

Tang Zhou, seated on the lower bunk, quickly stood up at the sound of her movements. “You slept for a long time.”

“I haven’t been sleeping well the past couple of days,” Tang Wan murmured vaguely. She couldn’t exactly admit she had been up all night dealing with serious matters.

At that moment, Lu Huaijing entered the compartment, carrying three aluminum meal boxes. He raised his voice slightly:

“Now that you’re awake, have something to eat.”

He handed her a military water bottle hanging from his wrist. “I just fetched some water.”

“Thank you.”

Tang Wan climbed down from the middle bunk. Though she wasn’t accustomed to sharing water bottles with others, it was common practice in this era.

She pulled out two enamel cups from her backpack, poured water from the bottle, and handed one to Tang Zhou.

She then returned the water bottle to Lu Huaijing. The three of them sat side by side on the lower bunk. Just as they were about to eat, another sneer came from the middle bunk across from them.

“Hmph, so pretentious!”

Tang Wan paused for a moment, her hand hovering over the aluminum meal box. She raised her eyes slightly and finally got a clear look at the person sitting across from them.

It was a girl of seventeen or eighteen, with two braided pigtails and a hair clip in her hair. Judging by her appearance, she seemed to come from a well-off family.

“Comrade, do you live by the sea?”

Tang Wan’s calm tone left the girl, Yu Juan, puzzled. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’re so nosy.”

Tang Wan sneered and looked away, leaving Yu Juan fuming. Just as Yu Juan was about to retort, the young man in the upper bunk, who had been asleep, gave her a stern glare.

“Juanjuan, stop talking nonsense.”

“I’m not wrong,” Yu Juan muttered under her breath, huffing as she pulled the blanket over her head. The young man above her gave her a light tap.

“I’m going to get some food.”

Yu Juan grumbled an acknowledgment, while Tang Wan had already opened her aluminum meal box. She was stunned to find a large drumstick inside.

“You’re too skinny. Eat more,” Lu Huaijing said softly, as if guessing her thoughts.

Tang Wan’s sharp eyes noticed that Lu Huaijing’s meal box contained only ordinary stir-fried green peppers with shredded meat. There was barely any meat—mostly peppers.

Meanwhile, her and Tang Zhou’s boxes not only had drumsticks but also small chunks of chicken.

“I can’t eat that much,” Tang Wan said honestly, picking out some chicken pieces with her chopsticks and putting them in his meal box. She even added some extra rice to his portion.

Her reasoning was simple—she couldn’t finish the heaping amount of rice in her box.

Lu Huaijing, however, thought she couldn’t bear to eat alone. A faint smile tugged at his lips.

“We’re family now. No need to be so polite.”

He figured her thoughtful gesture was a sign she’d make a caring wife.

Unaware of the misunderstanding she had caused, Tang Zhou, feeling sorry for his sister, started moving the chicken from his box into hers.

“Sis, I’m too small. I can’t eat that much.”