Chapter 18 – Zhou Shiyu Also Came Along

Lin Banxia turned around and saw Gu Shiqing standing there with a worried expression, the concern in his eyes plainly visible.

Gu Shiqing walked over quickly and asked: “What happened? What’s going on?”

“I just saw a person having an epileptic seizure, so I came over to help.” Lin Banxia explained.

The train attendant immediately added: “Comrade soldier, we really owe your wife this time!”

“Yes, if it hadn’t been for her, who knows what could’ve happened. Comrade soldier, you’re truly fortunate. Your wife is not only kind-hearted but also so beautiful.”

“Look at what you’re saying—this comrade soldier is quite handsome too. I think they’re just like a golden couple, truly a perfect match!”

The passengers in the carriage also chimed in, each of them praising Lin Banxia, practically calling her a heavenly fairy.

As Gu Shiqing listened to all of this, he looked a little proud.

Especially when he heard someone say that he and Lin Banxia were a good match, he couldn’t help but glance at Lin Banxia.

Unfortunately, Lin Banxia didn’t catch his gaze. She was in the middle of instructing the woman who had just had the seizure. “Don’t rush to get up just yet. Rest for a moment before standing. You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

When Lin Banxia arrived, she had already asked others to remove anything around that could cause harm, so it should have been fine.

Sure enough, the female comrade shook her head, then handed the coat that had been laid over her back to Lin Banxia, expressing her gratitude repeatedly: “Comrade, thank you so much. If it weren’t for you, I…”

Lin Banxia shook her head slightly at her, showing an expression that meant no need for more words.

When the woman had fallen ill earlier, Lin Banxia had quickly taken off her own coat and laid it over her, then cleared away the crowd—her intentions were very clear.

Lin Banxia knew it, and so did the woman.

“All right, let’s go back.” Lin Banxia said to Gu Shiqing.

“Mm.” Gu Shiqing nodded.

“You couldn’t find me in the carriage earlier—were you scared?” Lin Banxia asked.

Gu Shiqing didn’t deny it.

After washing the lunchbox and returning, he had found the carriage empty of Lin Banxia’s figure, and immediately terrible thoughts had come to mind.

Human traffickers were common in those days. Had she been lured away?

He had hurriedly searched for her, and fortunately, he had found her at last.

Not only was she unharmed, but she had saved someone too.

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Back in their own compartment, Gu Shiqing opened the lunchbox. Inside were peeled apples, cut into small pieces for easy eating.

Lin Banxia suddenly realized—no wonder he had taken two apples with him when he went to wash the lunchbox; it turned out he had gone to peel them.

“So thoughtful? That deserves praise.” Lin Banxia said with a smile, wiping her hands with a damp towel before beginning to eat the apple.

Gu Shiqing lifted the corners of his mouth upon hearing the compliment.

A journey of over thirty hours by train—it was both long and short, depending on how one saw it.

The scenery outside the train window changed from buildings to endless mountains, and at last, they arrived.

Although they were in a sleeper compartment, which was already much better than hard seats, Lin Banxia couldn’t help but sigh—how much more convenient modern transportation was. A flight would have taken just over an hour at most, while the green train had to run for so long.

Fortunately, Gu Shiqing was someone who knew how to take care of others. Lin Banxia didn’t have to worry about anything; in the morning, he had even wrung out a towel for her to wash her face.

Even after such a long train ride, Lin Banxia looked refreshed. When she got off the train, others thought she must have been on a short trip, because she did not look like someone who had just sat through over thirty hours on a train.

Anyone who had ever taken a long-distance train knew—after getting off, not only was one’s face covered in oil, but the whole person looked utterly worn out and disheveled.

But Lin Banxia was the complete opposite.

Gu Shiqing carried the luggage and led Lin Banxia off the train.

He raised his wrist to check the time on his watch and said: “The train station is still two hours away from the military base. I contacted the base before we left and arranged for someone to pick us up. According to the scheduled time, the car should already be waiting for us.”

Lin Banxia had thought she would have to call the base to request a vehicle. She hadn’t expected Gu Shiqing to have prepared everything in advance.

“Okay.” Lin Banxia responded sweetly.

“There’ll be a crowd at the station exit. Just follow behind me so you don’t get jostled.” Gu Shiqing reminded her once more.

With Gu Shiqing clearing the way ahead, Lin Banxia naturally didn’t get pushed or bumped. As they reached the station entrance, they indeed saw a military vehicle parked by the roadside.

Orderly Xiao Zhang was standing next to the military vehicle, craning his neck and looking around.

He immediately spotted his Battalion Commander, who had a female comrade beside him that looked like a fairy. That must be the Battalion Commander’s wife!

“Battalion Commander, Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law, hello! I’m Zhang Gaozhi, the Battalion Commander’s guard. Just call me Xiao Zhang!” Xiao Zhang saluted Gu Shiqing, then hurried over to take the luggage from his hands.

There were five large suitcases in total!

Even Xiao Zhang couldn’t help but click his tongue in surprise. What in the world was packed in all these? Was the Battalion Commander moving their whole house from Hu City here?

But of course, he dared not say any of that out loud and only thought it to himself in silence.

If he had known that this was just the tip of the iceberg, and that several other items had already been mailed over because they couldn’t carry them, he would have been even more astonished.

It was Lin Banxia’s first time being addressed as “Sister-in-law.” and she wasn’t quite used to it. She froze for a second before realizing he was talking to her.

She looked at the dark-skinned young soldier in front of her and smiled. “Hello.”

When Lin Banxia wasn’t smiling, she had the look of a stunning and radiant beauty—dazzling, but a bit aloof. However, it was worth noting that when she smiled, two faint dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

So when she smiled, she suddenly seemed like a fairy who had descended to the mortal world—much more approachable.

“Oh, right.” Lin Banxia patted her pocket and found a few pieces of White Rabbit milk candy. She handed some to Xiao Zhang. “Here, have some candy.”

Xiao Zhang had previously heard gossip about Battalion Commander Gu’s wife—he didn’t even know who started it, but it was all bad.

They said she was hard to get along with, had a terrible temper, and was basically a shrew. That Battalion Commander Gu had really struck misfortune marrying her.

Since the Battalion Commander had never mentioned Lin Banxia before, Xiao Zhang had assumed the rumors were all true.

He had been quite nervous when told to come pick them up—afraid he’d accidentally offend the sister-in-law somehow and get himself into trouble.

But the result? The sister-in-law didn’t just look like a fairy, she even smiled and offered him candy!

Xiao Zhang was practically fuming at all the people who had spread those nasty rumors. From now on, if anyone dared say a single bad word about Sister-in-law, he’d go to war with them!

“What’s wrong? Don’t like candy?” Lin Banxia asked curiously when Xiao Zhang didn’t take the candy for a while.

Back when she was reading novels, they always described people offering a few pieces of candy as a sweet way to greet each other in this era. She’d read that kind of scene countless times.

Gu Shiqing immediately realized that this worthless Xiao Zhang had been stunned by his wife’s beauty.

He gave a small cough and reminded him: “Take what your sister-in-law gives you.”

Xiao Zhang nodded vigorously like a pecking chicken. “Thank you, Sister-in-law! Thank you, Sister-in-law!”

He couldn’t resist tearing one open right then and there and popped a White Rabbit candy into his mouth. Mm—candy from Sister-in-law really was sweet!

Xiao Zhang helped load all the suitcases into the car. Just as everyone was about to get in, Zhou Shiyu suddenly came running up from the front.

“Wait! Wait, I want to go to the base too!”