On the day of departure, in order to avoid the sadness of parting, they did not let their families see them off. They went to the train station and directly boarded the train to the border.
They took the T5/6 train which departed at 6am.
The total distance from Beijing to Fangchenggang on the border is more than 2,340 kilometers, and including stops along the way, it takes nearly 33 hours by train.
"After getting off the train, you still have to take a four-hour bus ride to the military area. The bus ride is even more uncomfortable than the train, so try to get as much sleep as possible on the train."
Gu Xiao put the luggage on the luggage rack and sat next to Song Youyou.
That being said, he also knew that taking a train for almost two days would not be comfortable at all.
Moreover, because time was tight, I could only buy seat tickets. Although I had told the conductor that I would notify him if there were vacancies in soft sleeper seats, I still had to sit all the way before the train stopped at the intermediate station.
Gu Xiao's eyes couldn't help but flash with heartache and self-blame.
He was the one who made her suffer.
"Okay, I've been running around these two days and haven't had enough rest. It's just right that I can rest more on the train." Song Youyou said with a smile.
Looking at her clear smile, Gu Xiao felt even more upset. She probably didn't even know what it meant to take a 33-hour train ride.
Long-distance train rides are not only long and boring, but also a challenge to one's physical fitness. Back pain, body stiffness, and swollen feet are common.
He knew it, but he was selfish enough to insist on taking her with him to the border.
Gu Xiao hummed in a muffled voice, took out the lunch box from his bag, opened it, and handed over the chopsticks.
"You ate little this morning. Eat something else."
As he spoke, he continued to take things out of his bag.
"I brought earplugs and an eye mask to block out the light. Wear them when you catch up on your sleep later."
"You also brought these? Gu Xiao, you are amazing!"
Song Youyou praised generously.
She hadn't really thought of bringing these.
Infected by her laughter, Gu Xiao's heart softened:
"That's nothing special, it's just experience. Sometimes missions require taking a train or a long car ride."
She really didn't get enough rest these two days, and she got up at night to catch this train, so after eating something, Song Youyou put on the things prepared by Gu Xiao and fell asleep leaning on his arm.
When I woke up again, it was already noon.
Gu Xiao was resting with his eyes closed, but when he noticed her movement, he opened his eyes.
"Are you awake? Are you hungry? Do you want lunch?"
Huh? Eat right after waking up?
"……eat."
Like magic, after hearing what she said, he took out three lunch boxes from a small bag.
One contains braised pork, one contains stir-fried pork, and one contains white rice.
As if he could see her doubt, he opened the lid and explained, "These are made by my aunt. Grandma told us to take them on the train."
He added, "I didn't bring any extra lunch boxes, so you eat first."
This means that she will eat him after she finishes eating.
This arrangement sounded quite normal, but Song Youyou always felt that there was an inexplicable intimacy in this normal action, and her face couldn't help but blush.
He also subconsciously glanced at the opposite side, as if he was afraid that others would hear him.
Sitting opposite her was a middle-aged couple. When they saw her looking at them, they smiled kindly at her.
"Girl, where did you find your husband?"
The aunt sitting opposite laughed and couldn't help asking.
"What?" Song Youyou didn't immediately understand what this meant.
The aunt smiled brightly and continued, "Aunt, I don't mean anything else. It's just that my daughter is old enough to find a partner. I think your husband is really good. I want to ask where he found him so I can find one for my daughter too!"
She saw everything this morning. Not only was the young man handsome, with nice eyebrows and beautiful eyes, he was also very nice to his wife.
For the entire morning, in order not to wake up the girl leaning on his shoulder, the young man sat motionless for several hours, and looked down from time to time.
That sticky look...tsk, it made her want to go back to her youth and date again.
"he……"
Song Youyou really didn’t know how to explain where she found it.
"We used to go to the same school."
"Oh~ they are childhood sweethearts~" Aunt said with a teasing look on her face.
Song Youyou blushed a little because of the laughter, and her aunt turned around and asked Gu Xiao questions.
"Young man, what do you do?"
As soon as the question was asked, Gu Xiao did not answer immediately.
"he……"
"I'm a soldier."
Gu Xiao has always been taciturn to outsiders. Song Youyou was afraid that he was unwilling to speak, so she was thinking of responding, but she didn't expect that he actually spoke.
"Wow! You're a soldier! I was wondering how come you're so tall and strong, and so righteous?"
People nowadays have a natural liking for soldiers.
My aunt's husband had been listening to them chatting quietly, but he couldn't help but say something when he heard what they said.
"The military is good, they're reliable! Hey, I almost chose to be a soldier when I was young."
"Don't try to scam me. How did you get the choice?" my aunt scolded me with a smile.
"Hey, that's almost it."
My aunt continued to ask, "Young man, do you have any unmarried military colleagues around you who you would like to introduce to me?"
"I just got transferred and haven't met my new colleagues yet."
My aunt was a little disappointed, but she asked with the mentality of giving it a try, so she quickly recovered and found other topics to chat about.
The four of them were chatting animatedly, mostly with the cheerful aunt doing the talking, followed by the uncle and Song Youyou, and Gu Xiao would also add a word from time to time.
The aunt had lived for decades, so she naturally realized that Gu Xiao was worried that his wife would be bored, so he was paying attention to her words, so she chatted more enthusiastically.
It's so boring to take the train, and there is no other entertainment.
After finally meeting someone she wanted to chat with, the aunt took the opportunity and did not give up. From time to time, she brought up the topic of outstanding young men and asked Gu Xiao and Song Youyou if they had any suitable and reliable people to introduce to her daughter.
Once the conversation started, we chatted all the way.
It was not until the evening when they arrived at an intermediate station that the conductor informed them that they could upgrade to soft sleeper cars, and they stopped talking.
We bought dinner on the train. The food on the train was not that delicious, but since we didn’t need a ticket, it was still very popular.
After dinner, they took their luggage to the soft sleeper room, packed up and prepared to wash up and go to bed.
Song Youyou was used to taking a shower every day, but the toilet on the train was rather dirty, so after closing the toilet door, she went straight into the space and washed up before coming out.
The green train moved slowly along the track, making a rumbling sound.
With the earplugs and eye mask given by Gu Xiao, Song Youyou fell asleep quickly.
When I woke up in the morning, more than half of the journey had already passed.
Probably because he was afraid that she would be bored, Gu Xiao sat on the lower bunk and chatted with her, sharing with her interesting things in the army.
The man's voice was deep and magnetic. It was obviously a funny story, but he described it with a certain nonchalance, as if there was some kind of fascinating magic that made people immersed in it and not feel the passage of time at all.
Song Youyou couldn't help but recall the scene of her first time taking a train in her previous life.
At that time, she had just been abandoned by her family and boarded a train to the countryside without any preparation.
At that time, she didn't know what preparations she needed to make for the train, nor did she know what she would face when she went to the countryside to work in the fields. Everything was unknown.
Reflected in the train window, she seemed to see herself at that time.
The little girl sitting alone on the train was trying her best to prepare herself mentally and cheer herself up carefully, but she still revealed her anxiety inadvertently.
"Youyou?"
Gu Xiao called her a few times before she came back to her senses from her long thoughts. "Hmm?"
"We're here."
"We're here? So fast..."
Song Youyou was a little dazed. She didn't expect that the two-day journey would pass in just like that.
This time, she made sufficient material preparations and had her closest relatives by her side.
There is no fear of the unknown, only expectations for the future.
In comparison, this train ride felt more like a pleasant journey to her.
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