Chapter 13

Su Nian pointed with her delicate hand, and Fu Tingchuan followed her gaze—two unfamiliar faces. Removing his sunglasses, he asked tentatively:

“You’re Fu Mingjun? Then she is…”

Fu Mingjun burst into tears, aggrieved: “Uncle, I knew you wouldn’t hold a grudge. You even came in person to pick me up—I’m so touched. This is my wife, Su Yue, your niece-in-law.”

Fu Tingchuan took a step back in disgust. How could the Fu family have such a useless child?

“Su Yue?”

He muttered the name under his breath, rolling it around on his tongue. After a moment, he remembered—the deputy director of the sugar factory once mentioned that name. She was Su Daqiang’s stepdaughter. He hadn’t paid attention then and had forgotten about her.

But the slight curl at the corners of his mouth now revealed his good mood.

All the unhappiness that had weighed on him for days vanished like smoke.

He took two steps back, swung his long legs, and climbed back into the vehicle. He handed the roster to Xiao Jiang, signaling him to handle the rest. Xiao Jiang scratched his head in confusion. Their regiment commander was getting harder and harder to understand.

“Qiao Qiqi, Ji Lin, Xu Zhaodi, Huo Chen, Shen Mo, Su Nian, Fu Mingjun, Su Yue. Alright, everyone’s here. Get in the truck. Stand in the back and hold on tight—the mountain roads are rough. Don’t go flying off.”

Before boarding, Su Nian glanced at Fu Tingchuan, who sat inside the truck—not sparing her a single glance. Good!

Instead, Qiao Qiqi shoved Su Nian aside and greeted him eagerly: “Brother Tingchuan, don’t you remember me? I’m Qiao Qiqi, your next-door neighbor!”

When Fu Tingchuan took off his sunglasses, Su Nian silently cursed him eight hundred times.

She turned away, not wanting to look at those two annoying people.

“Shen Mo, can you give me a hand?” Su Nian had never boarded such a high military vehicle before. Seeing that most people had already climbed on, she had no choice but to turn to the calm and quiet Shen Mo.

She knew the boundaries between men and women, but he was the only one she was familiar with and had no beef with.

From a little farther off, Xu Zhaodi glanced at Su Nian, stood up, and grabbed her arm before Shen Mo could react: “I’m strong—don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”

There was such determination in her eyes that Su Nian chose to trust her. Compared to asking a male comrade, it was obviously more appropriate for a female to help.

Su Nian had seen that kind of look before in the business world.

Women like Xu Zhaodi often came from humble or tough backgrounds, but they refused to be bound by fate. They were determined to change their lives through their own efforts.

As she was pulled up into the truck, Su Nian gave a sincere “thank you.”

You could guess Xu Zhaodi’s background just by her name.

Su Nian had observed her on the train—she didn’t like talking to others, always stayed in the corner, quietly observing her surroundings. She seemed cold and distant.

But Su Nian hadn’t expected her to be warm-hearted underneath. She suddenly found herself liking this girl who refused to be shackled by life.

“My name is Su Nian, I’m from Hangcheng. Thank you again for earlier.”

Xu Zhaodi looked down at the hand Su Nian was still holding. There was a moment of hesitation. Su Nian looked like a girl from a good family, well-dressed and everything.

In school, some privileged girls had tried to befriend her too.

But she eventually realized they only used her to make themselves look better or ordered her around. None of them truly wanted to be friends. Some even thought she was dirty and refused to hold hands.

But this girl in front of her, who still hadn’t let go, seemed different.

Still, her rational mind warned her: stay away from people like this—they’re not from the same world. To avoid getting hurt, it was better not to get too close.

Xu Zhaodi quickly pulled her hand back. “It was nothing. No need to thank me.”

Su Nian wanted to keep chatting, but was cut off—well, smashed, actually—by Qiao Qiqi, who was literally tossed into the truck. Did Xiao Jiang just throw her up like a sack of potatoes?

Qiao Qiqi stomped her foot with a pout.

“What are you looking at? Happy now? Don’t think you can act all smug just because Brother Tingchuan remembers you. You’re nothing!”

Su Nian shoved Qiao Qiqi away.

“Why are you standing so close? We’re not that close. Maybe get some self-awareness?”

Then she patted off her clothes in disgust and found a quiet corner to sit.

Xiao Jiang tossed all the luggage into the truck, one by one.

Xu Zhaodi didn’t take her eyes off Su Nian. Naturally, she noticed the disgusted patting gesture. Then she looked at her own hands—Su Nian hadn’t shown any disgust toward her…

Meanwhile, Su Nian was also thinking about Xu Zhaodi.

Maybe she’d let society and novels shape her biases. Whenever she heard a name like “Zhaodi,” she automatically imagined a petty, jealous, stingy, unreasonable girl.

But maybe not all Xu Zhaodis were the same?

Suddenly, Su Nian recalled something her brother had once told her:

“More terrifying than society’s judgment is your own resigned attitude. Sometimes, you have to learn to resist. Don’t let prejudice become the thing that keeps you from changing your fate.”

The military truck drove very steadily. Even though the mountain roads were rough, it wasn’t too bumpy.

At least Su Nian didn’t feel carsick. Her neighbor’s aunt had once said in the countryside they traveled by tractor—which could rattle your rear end into pieces.

Everything had been calm up until a sudden sharp turn.

Su Yue lost her balance and slid directly into Huo Chen’s arms.

Su Nian instinctively covered her mouth, silently praying for Su Yue. She had seen with her own eyes a girl on the train get kicked several feet for doing the same thing.

Sure enough.

The same tragedy played out again.

After Huo Chen kicked her off, Su Yue slid even farther. She basically cleaned the whole truck bed with her body.

When the truck finally leveled out, Fu Mingjun rushed over.

Trying to defend his wife, he ended up getting kicked too. Huo Chen clearly had some martial arts training.

From inside the truck, Fu Tingchuan barked:

“Everyone settle down! Mountain roads are dangerous. If you get injured, we’re not responsible!”

Fu Mingjun, overwhelmed with frustration, burst into tears: “Why?! You didn’t help me when he kicked me! And now that I got hit, you’re blaming me? I feel so wronged!”

But the only response he got was the sound of the wind.

No one said a word. He had no choice but to swallow his emotions. At least Su Yue was there to comfort him—together, the two looked like a pair of miserable lovebirds.

Meanwhile, Su Nian just admired the view.

The mountains and rivers of the northern province really were beautiful!

Far more entertaining than those two fake lovers’ drama. Although it was getting chilly in that open-top truck…

Beauty always comes with a price!

Su Nian admired the scenery, but everyone else was watching Huo Chen. Ji Lin even looked a little nervous. Honestly, in that situation, he would’ve just dodged. No way would he have struck out that hard!