Chapter 2 The Cafeteria...
Hearing that she could stay, Miya's panicked heart calmed down a little.
Her mother specially sent her here. If her third brother hadn't kept her, she didn't even dare to imagine what would have happened if she had been sent back.
Like many of the child brides she knew, she was either kept at home to work herself to death or resold to other families or filthy places.
Miya cautiously raised her eyes, met Ren Qingsong's serious gaze, and quickly looked away, "Third Brother, I'll listen to you."
Ren Qingsong looked at Miya's face, which was wet with tears, and her small face with sunken cheeks and prominent features, and a pang of sorrow welled up in his heart.
He glanced at the time, his eyes quickly scanning the items in the room. He took down the hanging handkerchief, rinsed it with water, and handed it to Miya.
"Miya, wipe your face first, I'll take you to the cafeteria for lunch."
Miya stretched out her bony hands and carefully took the clean handkerchief. She slightly lifted her eyelids, glanced at Ren Qingsong, and seeing that he did not show any unusual expression, quickly wiped away the tears on her face.
Then he stood up and walked towards the direction where Ren Qingsong had just retrieved the handkerchief, preparing to wash and return it.
"I'll do it!"
Before she could even move, Ren Qingsong snatched the handkerchief, walked to the wooden rack, washed it clean, and hung it up. His movements were fluid and effortless, showing no signs of unfamiliarity.
When Miya saw this scene for the first time, she stood there dumbfounded and didn't react for a long time.
Ren Qingsong turned around and saw Miya's silly expression. The corners of his mouth involuntarily turned up slightly. "Let's go eat."
After saying that, he lifted his foot and walked towards the door.
But when he reached the door, he still didn't hear any sound behind him.
Turning around, Ren Qingsong saw that Miya was still in the same position. He mistakenly thought that Miya hadn't heard him, so he raised his voice, "Miya, keep up."
"oh."
The sudden shout caused Miya to instinctively take steps toward Ren Qingsong, as if by physiological reaction.
But as soon as she took a step, a huge downward force caused her to lose control of her body and fall rapidly to the ground.
In her panic, Miya tried to grab something with both hands, but could only let out a nearly silent scream.
When Ren Qingsong turned around, this was exactly what he saw. His eyes widened in fury, and he rushed forward, grabbing Miya's shoulder. "Watch out!"
At this moment, their hands finally found something to cling to, gripping Ren Qingsong's arm tightly and refusing to let go.
"Miya, who gave you that military overcoat?"
The calm voice roused Miya to her senses. When she felt the hard muscles in her palm, she hurriedly let go, lowered her head, and dared not let Ren Qingsong notice the abnormality on her face.
This also revealed that the coat on her feet was significantly longer than hers, suggesting that she had accidentally stepped on it and tripped.
Miya, flustered and remorseful, lifted the hem of her general's coat. Such a fine garment had been dirtied by her. Feelings of regret and annoyance surged in her chest.
The thought of someone kindly lending her clothes only to have them soiled brought tears to her eyes.
"Third Brother, these clothes were borrowed from Commander Zhou's wife. What if they get dirty?"
At this moment, Miya was like a child who had done something wrong, helplessly seeking help from Ren Qingsong.
Ren Qingsong hadn't expected that such a small matter could make Miya feel so guilty, so he quickly spoke up to comfort her.
"It's alright, Commander Zhou and his wife won't mind. If you're really worried, we can wash it clean and return it to you."
Miya didn't know why she had suddenly lost her composure and hadn't even thought of this. She nodded emphatically to Ren Qingsong.
"Third brother, I will definitely wash it clean and return it to sister-in-law."
Where is your luggage?
“There!” Miya pointed to the corner where she had just hidden, and a corner of a bundle peeked out from under the bed.
Ren Qingsong quickly picked up the bundle, and was surprised by how light it was in his hands. But when he thought about his own situation at home, he felt that it was understandable.
Then, Ren Qingsong led Miya towards the door, returning the greeting to the guards as they passed.
Miya saw the inexplicable action again, and helplessly followed suit with a salute. She quickly picked up her clothes and hurried to catch up with Ren Qingsong.
As the two figures gradually disappeared into the distance, Wang Chunsheng suddenly gasped for breath and asked his comrade beside him what had just happened.
"Nothing much? The newly appointed battalion commander confirmed his identity and left with his men."
"Yeah?"
*
Meanwhile, it was lunchtime, and Miya and her companion were clearly seen by those heading to the cafeteria.
Many people at the training ground were curious about the identity of the people who came to Battalion Commander Ren's house. Seeing Miya's thin figure, they couldn't help but have all sorts of speculations.
In addition, the people in the family compound who had always thought about Battalion Commander Ren, this good young man, gathered together, and there was a constant murmur of discussion.
"Who is that little girl next to Battalion Commander Ren? She's even wearing Battalion Commander Ren's military overcoat."
"I heard he came from Battalion Commander Ren's hometown."
"Could it be the young bride that Battalion Commander Ren is engaged to back in his hometown? Given Battalion Commander Ren's age, it's impossible for his parents back home not to be anxious."
"We can't tolerate arranged marriages anymore; they must be abolished!"
"Tch! What do you young people know!"
...
Before long, the murmurs reached the ears of Commander Zhou and his wife.
Upon hearing this, Ma Xiuying, who was always gossiping, was displeased. She was about to retort to the stranger when she glanced up and saw Commander Zhou sitting next to her. She immediately swallowed the words that were about to burst out, and rolled her eyes in discomfort.
Thinking that Zhou Tuan's position was higher than her husband's, an awkward smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, and she shouted:
"So it's you, sister-in-law," the voice was like a duck whose foot had been stepped on, harsh and unpleasant, "Hehe! I just said it casually, my fault, my fault."
Seeing that the other party was showing weakness, Liu Limei snorted coldly and stopped pursuing the matter.
Seeing this, the others avoided the two's gaze and stopped talking about Ren Qingsong.
So when Miya and Ren Qingsong appeared in the cafeteria, apart from the quietness, they didn't notice anything unusual.
Miya, smelling the various food aromas filling the air, subconsciously swallowed her saliva, her eager gaze quickly sweeping over the various dishes on the table.
She felt that she could eat two steamed buns just by smelling the aroma, no, even one.
Ren Qingsong keenly observed Miya's behavior and mistakenly thought that she was hungry and wanted to find a seat.
"Miya, find a place to sit down first, I'll go get the food." As he spoke, he pointed to a table in the distance, where there were two empty seats.
"By the way, what would you like to eat?"
Upon hearing this, Miya waved her hands hastily, "No need, no need, I have food."
She pulled out two blackened, hardened cornbread buns from her tightly wrapped military overcoat, her eyebrows curving into a smile, her eyes full of satisfaction.
Ren Qingsong felt sorry for her. He guessed that the cornbread was prepared by her mother when she boarded the train, and that Miya had even kept two of them until now. She probably had been hungry the whole way.
He tried to lower his voice, but it still trembled as he spoke, "Third Brother will treat you to something good to eat; we'll leave these for now."
"Need not……"
Miya wanted to refuse, but seeing the remorseful look in Qingsong's eyes, she couldn't say anything more.
She could only watch Ren Qingsong's figure gradually disappear into the distance. She thought to herself that cornbread wasn't greasy, and one was enough to support her activities for a whole day. She didn't need to consume so much food, and she was easy to feed.
Then, Miya slowly moved her feet and, ignoring the subtle gazes of the crowd, sat down at the table that Ren Qingsong had indicated.
On the other side, Ren Qingsong quickly glanced at today's meals at the window where people were queuing up.
When he saw that there was meat today, a look of surprise flashed across his face. "Old Liu, give me two servings of vegetable dumplings, two servings of meat and vegetables, and one serving of each of the other vegetables."
Old Liu saw that it was Ren Qingsong, and he held the spoon in his hand steadily. Even the vegetable dumplings he handed over were specially selected to be the largest ones.
"Battalion Commander Ren, have someone come to your house?"
Ren Qingsong was surprised that the news spread so quickly. He paused in taking the dishes, his tongue tightened, and he pursed his lips before saying, "My little sister is here."
"So it's your sister!" Old Liu excitedly scooped out another small spoonful from the meat and vegetables, saying warmly, "Consider it a gift from me to our sister."
Old Liu had a loud voice, and everyone around heard the news.
Before long, news spread from the mess hall that Battalion Commander Ren's sister was coming to visit, which excited those who had ulterior motives.
Ren Qingsong thanked Lao Liu for his kindness and appeared beside Miya with a sumptuous meal.
Miya was still clutching a steamed bun tightly in her hand, her wary yet curious eyes scanning the entire cafeteria, just like when she first saw a train.
"Have a meal."
Ren Qingsong snatched the hard, dark cornbread from Miya's hand and placed the sumptuous meal in front of her.
Miya trembled in fright. Looking at the slices of meat in front of her, as if she had seen something dangerous, she quickly raised her head, feeling the saliva spreading on her tongue in a disheveled manner. She dared not swallow, for fear of being discovered by Ren Qingsong.
Ren Qingsong looked at Miya's actions with puzzlement, stuffed the cornbread in his hand into his pocket, and urged again, "Eat first."
Seeing that Miya still didn't move, he shoved the chopsticks and vegetable dumplings into her hands, warning, "If you don't eat, I'll..."
Before he could finish speaking, Miya hurriedly tidied her chopsticks, worried that he would kick her out, and quickly picked up a piece of spinach and stuffed it into her mouth.
The natural sweetness of spinach instantly enters the mouth, causing one's tense emotions and muscles to relax involuntarily.
After finishing one, Miya licked her lips with lingering satisfaction and looked up at Ren Qingsong's encouraging gaze.
Realizing what she had just done, a sudden, booming sound, like the whooshing of a train, shook her, making her mind wander.
Before she knew it, half of the vegetable dumpling was eaten by Miya.
When she realized what she had done, she hurriedly stopped what she was doing and tried to hide the remaining vegetable dumplings to eat later that night.
Ren Qingsong, oblivious to Miya's subtle intentions, pushed the meat and vegetables towards her again, calling out:
"Don't just eat vegetable dumplings, eat some vegetables too."
Upon hearing this, Miya subconsciously moved her chopsticks closer to the spinach next to the meat dish.
"Eat some meat. You're almost skin and bones. How can you not eat meat? Besides, this meat was specially given to you by Old Liu from the cafeteria."
This time, Ren Qingsong picked up the plate and placed the meat and vegetables directly in front of Miya.
Miya quickly put away her chopsticks, her eyes involuntarily drawn to the slices of meat in front of her. The aroma of the meat made her mouth water, and every cell in her body sent out signals of craving.
But she still controlled her hands and bit her lip.
"Third brother, I'm just a girl and I can't do much work, how can I eat meat? The meat is for the men in the family. I'll just eat half a cornbread. I'm easy to feed."
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