Chapter 5: Arrival at the Station

Suddenly, since learning that Lin You had agreed to come to the station, Qin Lang’s joy was evident, radiating from his face and giving him renewed vitality. The change was so noticeable that Li Yang couldn’t help but wonder if Qin Lang had been swapped with someone else.

Qin Lang applied for a family housing unit and used his free time to purchase some furniture, appliances, and daily necessities. Today was the day these items were being delivered.

While Li Yang and Shan Ye helped move the items into the house and were preparing to help arrange them, they were unceremoniously shooed away by Qin Lang.

Li Yang was puzzled and said, “I’ve heard that the captain is married, but I’ve never seen his wife. I used to think their relationship wasn’t that great, but look at how he is now! Clearly, he has deep feelings for her and is taking care of everything himself.”

Shan Ye nodded in agreement and joked, “I wonder what kind of person his wife is to make him so enchanted. Look at how excited he is these days, he thinks he’s hiding it well. I definitely want to meet her when she arrives.”

Li Yang playfully smacked him on the head, reminding him, “With how possessive the captain is, do you think you can just meet her? Don’t dream.”

The family housing unit was newly built just two years ago and many families had already moved in.

The apartment assigned to Qin Lang had never been lived in, making it easy to clean just some dust. Although it was only 90 square meters, it had a three room, one living layout, which was enough for two people to live in. Qin Lang planned to convert one room into a study, so he specifically bought a bookshelf.

Qin Lang dragged a mop through every room, ensuring the floors were spotless.

He then began unpacking the items, carefully arranging all the furniture and appliances according to his layout plan. It was clear that Qin Lang was very meticulous and considerate, he had even prepared curtains, hangers, tables, chairs, and basic kitchen utensils.

While purchasing these items, he may not have known which were the best options, but he chose commonly used styles, hoping to make Lin You feel comfortable and at home, without any sense of unfamiliarity.

Once everything was arranged, Qin Lang took the packaging paper and cardboard downstairs to dispose of them. After returning, he wiped everything down again and mopped the floors once more.

Finally, he stood at the door, surveying the entire apartment, feeling quite satisfied with his work. The arrangement of this place was very similar to their room back home, creating a warm atmosphere as if it was awaiting its mistress’s arrival.

Thinking of how he would be able to see her often and embrace her frequently in the future, a gentle smile spread across Qin Lang’s face, and his heart was filled with anticipation for what lay ahead.

Their station was situated in a secluded valley, surrounded by towering mountains. It was a highly confidential location with poor signal, making it nearly impossible to contact the outside world. Therefore, even if he wanted to reach out to her, he felt powerless. Further more, due to the need to cut off external distractions during training, communication between them became even more difficult.

Contemplating her current feelings, Qin Lang furrowed his brow, lost in thought. She was the one he had known since childhood he would marry. He had always thought that after they got married, even if they weren’t together, she would understand his feelings without him having to say anything. But now it seemed she didn’t understand at all, otherwise, how could she have such dangerous thoughts? Since she was coming, he would make sure to completely extinguish those thoughts.

He returned to his dormitory, hung up his civilian clothes in the wardrobe, rearranged his toiletries, and then went to the bathroom to take a shower, preparing to rest here tonight.

On Lin You’s side, she had already completed all the preparations and was just waiting to depart. Over the past few days, Professor Song had taken leave, fully immersed in preparing various items for Lin You.

Looking at the brand new mattress, quilt, and bedding set before her, Lin You couldn’t help but chuckle, “Mom, will they really lack these things? Maybe it’s better not to bring them.”

Professor Song quickly explained, “Yoyo, the beds in the army are quite hard, you won’t be used to sleeping on them, so better bring them along. Besides, your dad will take you there.”

Lin You turned to look at Father Qin, slightly worried, and asked, “Dad, is that okay? Won’t it make people think I’m getting special treatment?”

Father Qin waved his hand to reassure her, “It’s not a problem, Yoyo. The captain used to be my soldier, he knows. Plus, I have other matters to discuss with him during this visit, so it’s fine to bring more.”

Professor Song had already started packing Lin You’s clothes and accessories. Upon seeing this, Lin You immediately stopped her, saying, “Mom, let’s pack fewer clothes. I won’t be wearing them, I’ll be in uniform for work. Accessories are unnecessary, too.”

Father Qin also chimed in, “Accessories really aren’t needed, keep it low key. You can bring them on your days off. Just bring more food to avoid any adjustment issues with the local climate.”

After considering this, Professor Song agreed and obediently removed most of the accessories from the suitcase, replacing them with food and fruit. Lin You and Father Qin then stopped insisting.

Once everything was packed, Professor Song took out a jade nine palace eight diagram pendant, made from high quality jade. She gently placed it around Lin You’s neck and said, “I just bought this. It has been blessed at the temple for your safety. Sometimes the medical team of the special forces has to go on field missions, so be sure to pay attention to safety and stay away from dangerous places.”

At that moment, Lin You realized she was really about to leave her home. She stepped forward to hug her, reminding her, “Mom, you need to take care of your health. Don’t overwork yourself or take on too many extra shifts. Remember to eat on time.”

Turning to Father Qin, she urged, “Dad, make sure to spend more time with Mom.”

Professor Song’s eyes began to water as she embraced her back, instructing, “Make sure to have a good life with Qin Lang. The signal there is bad for long periods, and sometimes it can take a while to get in touch. You must set aside a day each month to go to the city to call me and update me on your situation. If you face any difficulties, be sure to tell me.”

Lin You nodded obediently, understanding.

The vehicle arrived at the door, and the driver placed the luggage in the car. Father Qin told the two women it was time to go and stepped outside first. Before getting in the car, Lin You hugged Professor Song once more, sobbing, “Mom, please come visit me if you have time.”

At this moment, Professor Song felt an immense ache in his heart, tears falling silently as he patted her shoulder and nodded in agreement. He helped her into the car and once again reminded her, “Yoyo, you must keep in touch often. When you take a long vacation, come home. If you feel wronged, don’t keep it to yourself, tell Qin Lang, okay?”

Lin You’s feelings of reluctance peaked, tears streaming down her cheeks as she nodded vigorously.

Afraid that the two would drag on indefinitely, Qin’s father directly instructed the driver to start the car.

Through the rearview mirror, Lin You saw Professor Song standing there wiping away his tears, and her heart ached for him, this was their first separation in six years.

Qin’s father teased the driver, “Xiao Liu, sorry for making you witness this, all the women in our family are so emotional.” Xiao Liu politely replied, “Commander, that’s because your family values kinship so much.”

At this moment, Lin You also picked up on the subtext in Qin’s father’s words. She hurriedly wiped her tears, composed herself, and looked straight ahead at the road.

Qin’s father was pleased with her response and reminded Lin You, “Yoyo, we won’t reach our destination until tomorrow evening. You should rest a bit, you’ve been tired these past few days.”

Lin You obediently closed her eyes, but in truth, she couldn’t sleep at all, her mind was a whirlpool of thoughts.

She thought about the length of the journey, they wouldn’t arrive until early the next morning, and they had left at 10 AM, which meant nearly 24 hours of travel. No wonder Qin Lang rarely returned home, such long distances made it truly difficult to visit often.

She began to ponder her future life, the sadness of leaving home still lingering in her heart. At the same time, she couldn’t help but worry about her relationship with Qin Lang in the future. They would be seeing each other frequently, but how would they interact with one another?

Suddenly, she recalled Professor Song’s words and found them very sensible. This time together was also an opportunity, if she gave up easily without even trying, wouldn’t that be wasting the years of nurturing by Qin’s parents?

As these thoughts swirled in her mind, Lin You gradually fell into a dream.

When she opened her eyes, it was already dark outside, and the cars on the road had their lights on, yet she still couldn’t tell where they were.

Qin’s father’s voice came again: “Yoyo, are you awake? We’ve arrived in Qihua City, Jing Province. We’ll need to switch drivers at the front camp, and it’ll take about ten more hours to reach Qin Lang’s place.”

Lin You softly responded with an “mm” to indicate she understood.

Along the way, they changed drivers about three times, and by the afternoon of the second day, they reached an area mostly consisting of mountainous roads, surrounded by lush greenery, which felt quite cool.

By the second night, Lin You noticed there were hardly any private cars on the road, only military vehicles passed by. Through the beams of light from the vehicles, she could see that the surroundings were still mountainous.

If it weren’t for Qin’s father sitting in the car, Lin You might have suspected she was being sold into the mountains.

They soon arrived at a flat stretch of road, and Qin’s father opened his eyes, making Lin You realize they must be close.

After about an hour, they saw the military gate through the car window, with two guards standing neatly at the entrance.

The driver communicated briefly and drove in, stopping in front of an office building. In front of the building stood two soldiers dressed in off road uniforms one was a middle aged man in his forties, and the other was a young man around twenty-five or twenty-six. However, Lin You did not see Qin Lang’s figure, which puzzled her, where had Qin Lang gone?

Qin’s father instructed Lin You to get out of the car with him.

The two soldiers came over to help Qin’s father open the car door, while Lin You opened the door herself and stepped out. As soon as she steadied herself, she heard a clear, strong voice say, “Hello, Commander. Thank you for your hard work on the road.”

Qin’s father responded, “Xiao Zhou, Li Yang, it’s late, thank you for your efforts.”

“Commander, it’s no trouble. The captain went on a mission yesterday afternoon, leaving me here to pick you and your sister in law up,” Li Yang replied, then walked up to Lin You, greeting her with, “Sister in law, hello.”

Lin You politely responded, “Hello,” also understanding the reason why Qin Lang was not there.

Lin You then approached Qin’s father, who introduced her to the two men “This is Qin Lang’s partner, Lin You. She’ll be working in the health unit from now on, and I hope you can look after her.”

Lin You smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

“Yoyo, this is the Captain Zhou I mentioned, and this is Li Yang, they are all colleagues of Qin Lang. You can ask them for help when Qin Lang is not around.”

Lin You stepped forward, greeting them warmly “Captain Zhou, hello. I hope to rely on you in the future.”

“Welcome to work with us. From now on, we’ll just call you Doctor Lin,” Captain Zhou replied.

Lin You nodded respectfully.

At that moment, Li Yang finally took a good look at Lin You. She was beautiful, dressed simply in a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, yet her elegance was unmistakable. Li Yang thought to himself that she was the most beautiful sister in law he had ever seen, she was certainly a perfect match for their captain.

He understood why Qin Lang had been acting differently these days, with someone so gentle and lovely coming, who wouldn’t be excited? He found himself momentarily dumb founded.

Feeling uncomfortable, Lin You stepped over to Qin’s father’s side. Captain Zhou awkwardly chuckled and kicked Li Yang hard, making Li Yang realize his faux pas. He quickly said apologetically, “Sister in law, I’m sorry. I’ve just never seen someone so beautiful before, so I was a bit taken a back.”

However, Qin’s father ignored Li Yang, giving instructions to Captain Zhou “Our Yoyo is a rare beauty, Captain Zhou. You must keep a good eye on your men.” Captain Zhou shot Li Yang a glare, saying carefully, “Of course, old commander, you can rest assured.”

Qin’s father turned and instructed the driver, “Take Yoyo to the family quarters and help her move her luggage in. Then come find me.”

He then advised Lin You, “Yoyo, Qin Lang should have prepared the place already. Go rest, I won’t come by tonight, but I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“The captain arranged everything a few days ago, sister in law, don’t worry, you can move in directly,” Li Yang added.

He pulled out the key that Qin Lang had instructed him to use, preparing to help, but Lin You’s brow furrowed slightly. Captain Zhou quickly said, “Li Yang, you come with me to the mess hall to have dinner with the commander.”

Li Yang, realizing his earlier blunder had caused Lin You to be on guard, quickly handed the keys to the driver.

The driver unloaded all the items from the car into the room and then handed the keys to Lin You before leaving.

Lin You took a look around each room, finding everything to be very clean and well equipped.

The kitchen had all the necessary utensils neatly arranged, and she suddenly felt a different kind of affection for Qin Lang. Since they had met, she had never seen him do household chores, and she was surprised he could manage it so well. It seemed that life wouldn’t be so difficult after all, and she looked forward to seeing Qin Lang.

Turning to look at her luggage by the door, she intended to tidy up a bit, sitting in the car all day had left her body stiff, and she wanted to stretch.

Lin You struggled to lay the mattress on the bed, changing the sheets and quilt cover, then put her clothes in the wardrobe, discovering that Qin Lang’s clothes were already placed inside. She turned around and put her things in there too.

After she tidied up her other belongings, it was already late at night. Looking at the room, Lin You nodded in satisfaction, feeling quite sweaty. She entered the bathroom to take a shower and prepare for bed, locking the door carefully before sleeping.