The Road Home

Chapter 25

Their vehicle entered the military base, and no one stopped them. When they got out of the vehicle, Lu Yanchen led her all the way to the mess hall.

The same behaviour occurred in nearly every person they encountered along the way: each person would walk two steps past them, then immediately double back and, with a grin, throw a couple of teasing sentences at Lu Yanchen. There was one person who left a deep impression on Gui Xiao. When he approached them, he had first given an especially enthusiastic cry of "Commander Lu!" before hurriedly jogging away. Two minutes later, though, he had dashed back, running like he was doing a hundred-metre sprint, and fixed his eyes on Gui Xiao. "This is Sister-In-Law? And here I'd thought they were joking! Wait for me, all right? Wait for me in the mess hall! I'll be there for sure! I'll come right over!" With those words, he sped away.

Prior to entering the mess hall, Lu Yanchen's footsteps paused.

Gui Xiao's heart had already been beating unsteadily to begin with. She was suddenly about to charge into an unfamiliar place in which every person present had several years of friendship with Lu Yanchen, the type of friendship where they would willingly give their lives for one another. Moreover, he had said that not all of the ones who could stir up mischief had gone last time to that little restaurant, but tonight all who should come, would be present... Her eyes swept over her surroundings. She had grown up in a military compound, after all, so she was not too unfamiliar or curious about military bases.

The only difference between all of them is that some have slightly better conditions and some have slightly worse ones, that's all.

Lu Yanchen knocked the snow from his boots against the stairsteps and then gave a slight tilt of his head towards the inside of the mess hall.

When Gui Xiao stepped inside, she was stupefied by the sight of all the people filling the seats on each side of the four rows of dining tables in the mess hall.

She had originally thought that at most there would be thirty people or so. However, she had underestimated the size of this squadron. A rough glance showed there were almost a hundred people. That number was almost that of a military company. More than half the mess hall was filled with people, forming a stretch of black, buzz-cut heads. There were some whose eyes were sharp and astute, and also some simple and straightforward. None of them said a word, but she was already able to grasp their directness—because they were all staring at her.

Lu Yanchen cleared his throat and removed his sport sunglasses. "That's about good enough. I finally managed to find a sister-in-law for all of you. Who's going to take responsibility if you all stare her away and she runs?"

Silence. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. All of a sudden, an explosion of guffaws erupted. Those men who only a moment ago had been sitting straight as a board now all scrambled over one another in a mad hustle to call out greetings of "Sister-In-Law." Their overly-ardent tones actually made her feel even more ill at ease than before. Clasping her hands in front of herself, she nodded and bowed incessantly, saying, "Hello, hello."

Lu Yanchen led Gui Xiao by the hand over to a blue plastic chair beside the nearest table and pressed her down into it. "Let's eat first."

He had originally thought that once he sat down like this, it would be able to get this gang of men under control. But, contrary to his expectations, no one bothered to care.

"You want to let Sister-In-Law have dinner? That's easy." Qin Mingyu's lips spread into a wide grin. With a wave of his hand, two people behind him carried over a tan-coloured wooden chair. Plopping himself down so that he sat astride that chair with the airs of an arrogant poser, he lifted his chin and declared, "Let's have a little bit of an entertainment program, eh, Commander Lu."