“Little Treasure, when your sister is happy, your brother-in-law is happy.”
“If your sister isn’t happy, your brother-in-law will make you unhappy too.”
He continued to smile gently, but He Xiaobao felt a chill run down his spine, turning his face pale. The brother-in-law who had always treated him kindly had suddenly become so intimidating that it made his entire body tremble slightly.
“I, I want to go home.”
“I want to get off the train!”
Lin Shiheng retracted his hand, first wiping his fingers disdainfully on He Xiaobao’s new clothes before returning to the head of He Xuezhu, who had fallen into a deep sleep from the massage of her acupoints.
The handsome man’s voice was calm as he reminded, “Little Treasure, you told your brother-in-law before that you and those two rascals in the village play cards every day, right? They even opened a small gambling house?”
“You said if I went to the police and told them it was you who provided the information…”
He Xiaobao’s mind went blank.
Those two rascals were the bullies of the village; he would die, he was sure of it.
Despite his usual bravado at home, He Xiaobao’s confidence was fully reliant on his mother’s pampering. As Lin Shiheng had said, he was just a cowardly kid who couldn’t even retort when insulted.
Facing the man who spoke such terrifying words without a change in expression, He Xiaobao’s eyes turned red.
“Brother-in-law, I’m wrong…”
He surrendered.
Wah wah wah wah.
***
He Xuezhu slept very soundly, even her stomach, which had been feeling uncomfortable, relaxed a lot. When she opened her eyes, she found she was still leaning against her husband’s shoulder and quickly straightened up.
“Shiheng, how long did I sleep? Is your shoulder uncomfortable?”
“It’s nothing, what does that matter?”
Lin Shiheng smiled as he took an apple and a bottle of water from his bag and handed them to her, his gaze gentle. “Are you thirsty? Have some water.”
He Xuezhu accepted it, her face a bit flushed from deep sleep, smiling at him, “This train is so hot; I wonder if it’s because there are too many people.”
“Sister, you’re hot??”
He Xiaobao, sitting across from them, quickly took the book Lin Shiheng had been looking at earlier and began waving it to fan her.
He Xuezhu looked at her brother in astonishment: “… Little Treasure?”
It was enough that he wasn’t fanning himself; why was he fanning his older sister?
“Little Treasure, when you finish the water, go get some hot water.” Lin Shiheng showed no surprise, handing over the thermos. Once He Xiaobao, round and chubby, agreed to fetch the water and squeezed out, he turned to the astonished He Xuezhu and asked, “What’s wrong?”
He Xuezhu said, “… Why is Little Treasure so diligent now?”
He’s fetching water; before, he wouldn’t lift a finger when at home.
“Kids grow up; it’s just like this.”
Lin Shiheng gently wrapped his arm around his wife’s shoulder. “Don’t you want Little Treasure to grow up sooner?”
He Xuezhu still found it hard to believe. Leaning against her husband, her voice dreamy, she asked, “I’m not dreaming, am I?”
She had thought previously how nice it would be if Little Treasure could be sensible. Compared to her always scolding mother, He Xuezhu had hope for this younger brother who had once secretly fed her when she was little.
But as He Xiaobao grew, perhaps the little boy from back then didn’t even remember himself anymore.
The train stopped, and passengers began to disembark in succession, followed by new ones boarding.
Lin Shiheng carefully protected his wife from the crowd. Just then, someone plopped down onto He Xiaobao’s seat.
He Xuezhu quickly said, “Sorry, this seat is taken.”
The man at the seat impatiently set his things down without raising his head. “I bought it; is that okay?”
“Zhang Vice Commander?”
Hearing the voice full of doubt from opposite, Zhang Yanming stiffened, incredulously lifting his head, meeting Lin Shiheng’s mildly furrowed brows.
“Yanming, can you help carry this…” Miao Xing’s voice came from behind. She struggled to carry two big bags through the crowd, wanting to hand them to Zhang Yanming, but when she saw his shocked expression, she followed his gaze and froze upon seeing Lin Shiheng.
In that moment, both of them had worked up a sweat from hurrying not to miss the train. Now, they faced Lin Shiheng, who was impeccably dressed in military uniform, looking clean and fresh.
Regardless of whether it was Miao Xing, who had some lingering thoughts about Lin Shiheng, or Zhang Yanming, who felt his pride injured due to considering him as a rival, their expressions darkened.
Especially Zhang Yanming, who had looked forward to visiting Miao Xing’s family, was met with a less than pleasant surprise upon arrival: he saw two disheveled elders bombarding him with questions about his salary, and a lowly younger brother who immediately asked for money upon meeting him.
What was even more ridiculous was that the brother, who bore no resemblance to Miao Xing, took his money to buy a ticket, only to spend it all, causing Zhang Yanming to miss the seat. When they were about to leave, this younger brother emerged blocking their way without paying, almost delaying their train.
Having worked up a sweat was enough to infuriate Zhang Yanming, but then he encountered Lin Shiheng in his most awkward moment.
The usually obstinate man remained silent, his face darkened.
He Xuezhu didn’t know the grudges between the three and curiously asked, “Shiheng, do you know each other?”
“In the army, this is Vice Commander Zhang Yanming, and this beside him is his wife.”
Lin Shiheng seemed not to notice Miao Xing’s gaze at all. He turned gently to look at He Xuezhu before stating, “This is my wife, He Xuezhu; she’s accompanying me this time.”
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