It’s a Stepmother, Not a Sister [70s] - Chapter 12

The wailing train rolled into the night, with only a dim light flickering inside the carriage. The faces of the people in the seats were all indistinct, barely visible.

Jiang Shuangling took a sip of water. She had just finished eating the train box meal from the 1970s.

Compared to decades later, the train meals of this era looked simpler, but they tasted good. It was said that the chef on this train used to be a famous chef in some restaurant.

The price wasn’t too expensive either, fifty cents a box. There were fish filets and shredded pork with green peppers, with plenty of rice, enough to fill you up.

The four of them ordered three boxes.

At first, Jiang Shuangling thought they had bought too much, thinking they might not finish so many boxes. After all, she didn’t have a big appetite at night, and she doubted if she could even finish half a box of rice. The two four or five-year-old children might not even be able to finish one portion together…

In fact, it was pretty much as she expected. She and the two children together barely finished one box.

It could only be said that the portion of this box meal was too generous.

In order to prevent waste, Jiang Shuangling ate a bit too much. With her two children, it took about half an hour to finish dinner. Meanwhile, the man beside her finished both boxes in just a few minutes, then coldly raised an eyebrow, looking at the three of them.

Fortunately, it was getting late, and the light was fading, otherwise, the gaze from the other side would have been quite unsettling.

Even Qi Yue, this proud brat, obediently lowered his head to eat without saying a word. As for Jiang Che, it was needless to say.

Finally, both children finished their meals, leaving only Jiang Shuangling slowly finishing hers.

There was no choice. Her bowl had the most food, and her appetite was not big. Nowadays, wasting food was not encouraged, so she could only eat slowly. Besides, she naturally liked to savor her food.

As the two children finished eating, that gaze grew colder and colder.

Jiang Shuangling glanced in the direction of Qi Heng, meeting his eyes directly.

—That was the cold light of leadership urging you on.

He was disapproving of her slow eating.

Jiang Shuangling took a deep breath, thinking to herself, “What’s the big deal with this level of cold gaze? I can hold a pen steady; I can even draw a perfect circle for you.”

So she lowered her head and continued to eat slowly and calmly.

However, upon closer observation, her hand holding the meal box still couldn’t help but tremble slightly.

After struggling for over half an hour, Jiang Shuangling finally finished her meal. She handed the empty box to Qi Heng and sat in her seat, still trembling, drinking water with a lingering sense of fear.

The man’s gaze was too fierce.

She hugged her younger brother closer to the window, increasing the distance between them.

Qi Heng glanced at the woman almost pressed against the carriage wall, then turned his head to look straight ahead at the seat back, lowering his eyes and pursing his lips.

In the darkness, Jiang Shuangling felt something warm approach her and something was placed into her hand.

It was a hard object.

She lowered her head to see a white rabbit milk candy resting in her palm.

Feeling surprised, she turned her head slightly, only to see a sharp profile, the person’s eyes closed, his face devoid of any expression, as if nothing had happened.

So let’s just pretend nothing happened.

Jiang Shuangling returned to her original position and unwrapped the candy in her hand. Surprisingly, the carriage was quiet in the darkness, and the sound of crumpling candy wrappers echoed softly.

As the milky candy melted in her mouth, Jiang Shuangling turned to look at the night sky outside.

They were scheduled to arrive at their destination around nine o’clock the next morning.

That meant spending the night on the train. They had been sitting for most of the afternoon until now, feeling stiff in their legs, feet, and backs from the cramped seats.

Both children had fallen asleep, and Jiang Shuangling, feeling the chill of the night, covered her brother with a coat.

She yawned and leaned back against the seat, closing her eyes to rest. In such harsh conditions, Jiang Shuangling thought she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She expected to stay up all night. But before she knew it, with the clattering sound of the train in her ears, she drifted off.

She slept in a daze, feeling a bit cold, and instinctively moved closer to the warmth beside her.

Jiang Che, who had been in her arms, had already leaned against the window and fallen asleep. Jiang Shuangling shifted towards the inside, her hands groping for something. She found it and hugged it close to her, burying her head into it, half-asleep.

Qi Heng opened his eyes. With his left hand holding Qi Yue and his right hand being held by the woman beside him, he found her sleeping posture quite peculiar. She was clutching his arm on one side and pulling at his clothes on the other, bumping her forehead against his arm as the train trembled slightly.

Qi Heng: “…”

He closed his eyes again and lowered the hand he was about to withdraw.

Faintly, he seemed to smell a delicate fragrance.

The next day, Jiang Shuangling woke up around six-thirty. At that time, the first light of dawn was just appearing outside, casting a gentle golden hue through the clouds.

Realizing that she had been on the train for over ten hours and had arrived at an unfamiliar place, she suddenly felt a wave of relaxation and joy.

She was no longer the countryside girl Jiang Shuangling she used to be. When she was in the village, she deliberately suppressed her behavior and demeanor, imitating the habits of the previous Jiang Shuangling.

But that wasn’t her true self.

Now was a fresh start. None of the people here knew her.

She could gradually return to being herself, building a new image in front of the people around her. She smiled lightly as she opened her luggage, feeling the drawing paper inside. Glancing at it briefly, she stuffed it back into the bag when she saw the pattern on it, feeling disappointed.

It would be better if she could draw freely whenever she wanted.

However, these thoughts didn’t affect her good mood this morning. Jiang Shuangling hummed a tune from “Nan Ni Wan” as she went to fetch water for washing. After drinking half a cup of honey water, she tidied up her slightly messy braids and even touched up her eyebrows.

She had fallen asleep around eight o’clock last night and slept until six in the morning, a solid ten hours. Jiang Shuangling hadn’t expected to sleep so soundly on such a simple train. It was probably due to being startled.

But there were benefits to sleeping for so long. When she looked in the mirror in the morning, her complexion was rosy, not weather-beaten from too much travel.

Well, she had only been on the train for about ten hours.

Jiang Shuangling returned to her seat, where the two children were already having breakfast. It was steamed buns provided on the train, and she grabbed a lump of sticky rice from the oiled paper package.

“I made this at home. Just had the dining car chef heat it up,” she said.

Qi Heng handed the rice back to her. “No need.”

Jiang Shuangling didn’t take it back. “Don’t worry, it’s savory.”

After hearing this, the other party indeed stopped insisting on giving it back to her.

Jiang Shuangling: “…”

This person really didn’t like sweet things.

Of course, it could also be because they were afraid of her homemade sweets, especially after the overpowering effect of the milk candy from yesterday.

In her mind, she couldn’t help but think, “Who told you to eat so fast? If it didn’t choke you, that would be strange.”

Qi Yue initially wanted to be a steadfast child this time, but the heated sticky rice was too fragrant. He was about to refuse when he saw Jiang Che casually opening the oiled paper package, revealing the snowy white sticky rice glistening with oil underneath.

He took a big bite, revealing the hidden red-brown waxed meat, crunchy pickled radishes, crispy fried pieces, and soft and savory bean paste inside. The combination of softness and crispness created an excellent texture, and the aroma was irresistible.

Seeing this, the nearby steamed buns suddenly seemed bland and tasteless.

Someone on the train even wanted to exchange ration tickets with Jiang Shuangling, but she declined.

Soon it was past nine o’clock, and the train arrived at Rongcheng. The four of them followed the crowd off the train. Rongcheng’s train station was large, and there were many people at this time. Jiang Shuangling held her brother’s hand and walked forward, while Qi Heng held Qi Yue in one hand and carried luggage in the other.

He even let Jiang Shuangling give him her luggage.

“Can you carry so much with just one hand?”

The response she received was just a slight raise of his eyebrow.

Jiang Shuangling hesitated a bit, but it turned out that he had no problem carrying hundreds of pounds with just one hand, walking without any signs of exhaustion.

Such stamina was truly admirable. She wished she had brought more things.

They took a bus to the outskirts of the city.

At the logistics transfer point, two young men in military uniforms stood next to a military jeep.

“Isn’t Captain Qi supposed to be back today… I heard he’s bringing his newlywed wife, who’s a countryside girl?”

“Why would he marry a countryside girl? Not to mention he already likes that nurse teacher, and there are a few pretty girls in the cultural troupe…”

“Teacher Yao introduced her.”

…

“Is she pretty?”

“With Captain Qi’s appearance, he wouldn’t marry someone who’s not good-looking.”

“…Even if she’s pretty, she definitely can’t compare to Commander He’s wife. She’s the most beautiful military wife in the military dependent area.”

As they continued talking, one of the tall guys with sharp eyes suddenly saw someone walking from a hundred meters away. “Stop talking. Isn’t Captain Qi carrying the child?”

Zhang Ying and Yue Weijiang quickly greeted them warmly.

“Captain Qi, hey, is this your new sister-in-law?”

When Zhang Ying looked at the girl standing next to Qi Heng, she was surprised, thinking that his new sister-in-law was quite attractive. 

Although her clothes were plain, and her hair was in a simple braid, her eyes were bright and lively, shimmering with a mix of annoyance and smiles, giving off a bright feeling.

Just looking at her made people feel fond of her.

“First Battalion, Second Company, Fourth Platoon’s Platoon Leader Zhang Ying and Squad Leader Yue Weijiang.”

Yue Weijiang was pleasantly surprised, his face beaming. “Captain Qi, you still remember me!”

“Of course. Captain Qi’s memory is exceptional. He remembers the names of everyone he meets.”

Jiang Shuangling looked at the two of them and greeted them with a smile. “Hello, comrades.”

“Hello, sister-in-law.”

Jiang Shuangling felt puzzled hearing about the first battalion, second company, platoons, and so on. And now there was even a squad leader mentioned. As an art student, she wasn’t very familiar with the organization of the military, only having a vague understanding of something called the ‘three-tier system’.

But she had played military chess when she was a child and vaguely remembered the words “strategist, brigade, and battalion.”