Chapter 18

Haicheng was a large station and also the final stop for this train, so there were a lot of people getting off.

Shen Qingyun and the driver had to walk for nearly ten minutes through the crowded crowd before they reached the place where the soft sleeper carriage had stopped.

By this time, most of the passengers had already left the carriage, and there were hardly any people to be seen. Instead, there was an array of luggage scattered everywhere.

The five large bundles, each about half a person’s height, stood out in particular, placed together in a conspicuous way.

Shen Qingyun stopped in his tracks, unable to help but close his eyes involuntarily.

If he wasn’t mistaken, one of the bundle coverings seemed to be the sheet from his own bed at home?

Just as Shen Qingyun was still lost in thought, a voice came from the train door.

The voice was loud and excited, full of surprise.

“Colonel, we’re here! Over here!”

Shen Qingyun looked in the direction of the voice and immediately saw Gao Chong desperately waving at him with a silly expression.

His eyes were gleaming, and his expression seemed even warmer than when he saw his closest relatives!

Shen Qingyun couldn’t help but feel speechless and raised his hand to rub his brow.

At that moment, Gao Chong had already jumped off the train.

He placed two large cloth bags on the ground in the pile of luggage, then came over and slapped the driver heavily on the shoulder a few times without any hesitation.

“Xiao Yang, you guys are really smart, knowing to come and pick us up at the station. I don’t know how I’d survive if you didn’t come!”

Xiao Yang looked at the pile of luggage on the ground, then glanced at the frowning captain, letting out a dry laugh without responding.

Gao Chong was in such a good mood that he had completely forgotten to check the colonel’s expression.

When the train had just arrived at the station earlier, Ning Gaogong had suggested helping them with the luggage, but he had rejected the offer.

He had been annoyed just by looking at the man standing next to Ning Gaogong, and would rather tire himself out than deal with him.

But when the two of them had left, and he saw the pile of luggage, Gao Chong had truly started to worry.

Because when the captain had sent the telegram, he had instructed that Sister-in-law shouldn’t bring any luggage, so over the phone, he had volunteered to take care of everything and said there was no need for anyone to come pick them up at the station, just have the captain wait for them at the exit.

For a while, he had felt a bit desperate, but now, seeing Shen Qingyun and the others, he felt incredibly relieved.

“Didn’t I say not to bring luggage? Why did you bring so much?!”

Looking at the mess of things on the ground, Shen Qingyun could hardly imagine how Yin Xiaoman, a girl, had managed to bring so many things along with two children.

Although Gao Chong was with them, he was just a new recruit, a child who hadn’t even grown up yet, so how much could he help?

How much trouble would it be to move all these things around?

And if he hadn’t come to the station out of concern, how would they have managed to leave? The children were small and frail—how would they have made it out?

He had sent that telegram to prevent exactly this kind of situation from happening.

But this girl, though young, was quite stubborn, why couldn’t she just listen?

The more Shen Qingyun thought about it, the angrier he got, and his voice rose in tone as he spoke.

After checking the compartment and making sure there was nothing missing, Yin Xiaoman finally got off the train with the two children.

As soon as they stepped outside, they heard Shen Qingyun scolding Gao Chong.

She couldn’t help but lift her eyes.

Looking at the man before her, Yin Xiaoman’s first impression was that he resembled a tree.

Tall and straight.

Even though it was their first meeting, she felt an inexplicable sense of security.

She secretly nodded, feeling somewhat satisfied with Shen Qingyun’s appearance.

But appearance couldn’t matter too much in her heart. After all, she had seen many handsome guards and generals in the palace.

Being good-looking didn’t mean one was a good man—many were empty inside, with devious minds.

Take this man before her, for example. One glance was enough to tell that his temper wasn’t the best.

A hint of regret quickly flashed in Yin Xiaoman’s eyes, but her expression gave nothing away.

“These are all things I need to bring. Don’t blame anyone else.”

She looked up and calmly said to Shen Qingyun.

At that moment, Shen Qingyun was facing the door, so he didn’t notice Yin Xiaoman stepping out right away.

Hearing her voice, he froze for a moment, then instinctively turned his head.

The moment their eyes met, Shen Qingyun felt something unfamiliar, as though the girl before him didn’t match the memory he had of her.

He stared at her intently, about to speak, but Yin Xiaoman had already averted her gaze and was walking toward him, pulling the two children with her from the side of the door.

She didn’t walk toward Shen Qingyun but instead went up to Gao Chong, showing an apologetic expression and saying: “Sorry for making you suffer.”

Gao Chong quickly took two steps back, his hands flying through the air as he shook them rapidly. “No, no, Sister-in-law, please don’t say that.”

What others didn’t know, Gao Chong knew.

A considerable portion of the items Sister-in-law had brought were food. She had traveled so far just to bring them, wasn’t it because she felt sorry for the Colonel and wanted to improve his life a bit?

It was just a pity that the captain had no idea.

Gao Chong quickly shot a glance at Shen Qingyun, intending to remind him, but before he could say anything, Lin Hui had already rushed over, breathless, from behind.

“Yo, there are even pots and bowls in this mess. Who is this, moved their whole house over?”

She took a few steps and stood beside Shen Qingyun, not yet catching her breath, before she couldn’t help but sneer.

The scene suddenly became quiet, and no one spoke for a moment.

Almost everyone’s gaze was fixed on her.

Lin Hui froze for a second, then belatedly looked toward Yin Xiaoman, who was standing by the train door with one hand holding a child. She immediately showed a look of embarrassment.

“… This is, Sister-in-law?”

She hesitated for a moment before turning her head to look at Shen Qingyun.

Shen Qingyun’s face remained tight, and he simply uttered an “mm” without any intention of introducing them to each other.

He ignored Lin Hui and strode over to Yin Xiaoman. He reached out to take her backpack and slung it over his shoulder.

Then, he gently ruffled the two children’s heads and spoke in a low voice: “We’ll talk about everything when we get back. The car’s still waiting outside.”

After speaking, he turned around and joined the two soldiers in picking up the luggage.

Meanwhile, Lin Hui took this opportunity to walk up to Yin Xiaoman and gently hooked her arm.

In a friendly manner, Lin Hui wrapped her arm around Yin Xiaoman’s.

She said to her: “Sister-in-law, I’m Lin Hui, an officer in the regiment’s organization department. I’m a very good friend of Captain Shen.”

She smiled sweetly, her tone soft and gentle. “Sorry about earlier, I misspoke. What I meant was that the Military Unit’s conditions are actually quite good, with ample supplies, so there’s really no need to bring all these old things from home. They’re pretty heavy to carry, aren’t they?”

Her words were accompanied by a warm smile and an air of natural familiarity, making it hard for most people to feel repelled by her.

But Yin Xiaoman was not like most people.

She had grown up in the Concubine’s Palace, until the death of the little princess. The concubine, seeing that she was young and that her daughter had liked her when alive, out of pity, didn’t direct her anger at her but spared her life and sent her to the Imperial Kitchen.

She was only eleven years old at the time.

Before that, she had spent nearly five years in the concubine’s palace, witnessing the endless scheming among the concubines.

She had seen too much of people’s manipulation and deceit.

Speaking one thing while meaning another, smiling with a knife hidden behind the smile… These tricks barely even reached the most basic level for Yin Xiaoman.

Let alone Lin Hui, whose skills were far too shallow. Even if she wanted to appear friendly, she couldn’t hide the arrogance in her heart. She even unconsciously emphasized words like “old home” and “old things.”

It was so shallow.

Wasn’t it said that these days, a man who was responsible and loyal could be relied upon, while people who played with others’ emotions would be despised?

It seemed that wasn’t quite the case after all.

Yin Xiaoman turned her head to glance at Shen Qingyun, who was busy with the luggage, her gaze faint.

Even when their eyes briefly met, there wasn’t a hint of emotion in her expression, as if she were looking at a stranger.

But when she turned back, she casually raised her hand to smooth Erniu’s braids and freed her arm from Lin Hui’s grip.

Shen Qingyun felt a strange discomfort stir in his chest.

He suddenly had the feeling that he was being rejected by his little wife.

Although he thought this feeling was somewhat unreasonable.

He glanced at Lin Hui and furrowed his brow. “Officer Lin, weren’t you here to pick someone up? Why are you still standing around?”

His tone was clearly displeased, and there was an unmistakable sharpness to it.

Lin Hui’s smile faltered, and she quickly turned her head to look around. “Engineer Ning should be in this carriage, why hasn’t he gotten off yet?”

As she spoke, she left Yin Xiaoman behind and started heading toward the rear of the carriage.

“Officer Lin, you’re here to pick up Engineer Ning, right? He’s already left! They were the first to get off, and we were delayed because we had too much luggage. There’s no one left on the train now. ” Gao Chong said loudly from the side.

At this, Lin Hui’s face fell, and she truly started to panic.

No matter how many personal feelings she had, she couldn’t afford to botch today’s task. If the leaders had to wait for too long, she would definitely be reprimanded when she got back.

“Where did they go?!” she asked urgently.

Gao Chong pointed toward the exit. “Over that way. This station only has one exit.”

At this moment, Lin Hui didn’t care about being mocked by a young soldier. She gave a hasty greeting to Shen Qingyun and didn’t even acknowledge Yin Xiaoman before striding toward the direction Gao Chong had pointed.

As she left, Gao Chong and the driver, Xiao Yang, exchanged a glance and both quietly sighed in relief.

It was well-known throughout the entire regiment that Officer Lin had once rejected being matchmaked with their Colonel. Now, with the little Sister-in-law here, she was putting on airs again… Was she trying to make things even more difficult for their Colonel?

Thinking of this, the two of them shared a look of disdain.

The three men carried the luggage—each taking their share—and at last, they managed to lift everything.

Yin Xiaoman stepped forward, intending to help, but Shen Qingyun refused her offer.

She didn’t insist, instead bending down to pick up Erniu and reaching for the backpack on Da Bao’s back.

“Mom, you don’t need to, I can carry it. ” Da Bao said, clutching the straps of the backpack and refusing to let go.

Shen Qingyun, walking ahead, paused in his tracks. He suddenly turned around.

There was disbelief in his eyes as he didn’t say anything, dropping his things and quickly walking back toward Da Bao.

He reached Da Bao’s side, placed both hands on his shoulders, and, trembling with excitement, his voice quivered as he spoke: “Da Bao, you can talk now?”

Yin Xiaoman raised an eyebrow.

Yin Xiaoman was a bit puzzled, not understanding what exactly was going on.

How could the father not know his own son could talk?!

For a moment, she couldn’t believe her ears.

But just then, something even more unbelievable happened.

Da Bao nodded and gave Shen Qingyun a shy smile. “I can talk now, Godfather.”