Chapter 16: Searching for Someone on the Platform

On the other side, Qiao Muting had searched every carriage but found no trace of her. He even asked Huarui, but she seemed just as clueless. Frustrated, he returned to his compartment, just as the announcement came over the loudspeaker, instructing everyone to gather their luggage in preparation for arrival. If he couldn't find that girl before the train reached the station, would they really lose the chance to meet again forever?

The more he thought about it, the more anxious he became. As he turned around, he noticed Wenquan swinging something in his hand that clearly didn't belong to him.

"What is that?"

"Oh! That's the hair clip from that lady," Wen Nuan paused in her packing, only now realizing what her younger brother was holding. "When she brought us porridge this morning, he really liked it, so she let him play with it. Then we forgot to give it back."

It was her possession!

"Give it to me," Qiao Muting, for the first time, found himself competing with a two-year-old for something. "Next time I see that lady, I have to return it to her."

He placed the hair clip in his palm, studying it closely.

It was a small, oval-shaped white clip, adorned with a pair of pale pink rabbit ears.

He chuckled foolishly as he stared at it, picturing how adorable she must look wearing it, a sweet warmth rising in his heart.

Next, he carefully wrapped the hair clip in a clean handkerchief and tucked it into the innermost pocket of his bag.

Return it to her?

Impossible.

If they met again, this would be their token.

He secretly delighted in the thought.

Clang—

They had arrived!

"Wen Nuan, hold on to your brother. We have to hurry and get off."

The crowd on the train surged forward, everyone eager to disembark. With two large luggage bags and two children in tow, Qiao Muting found getting off quickly was harder than climbing to the heavens.

Fortunately, he ran into the conductor, who led them through the staff passage.

Standing on the bustling platform, Qiao Muting scanned the crowd over and over, silently pleading with the gods to let him find the one he longed for.

But even after craning his neck until it felt two feet longer, fate was not on his side.

He waited a long while, the tide of people slowly receding, but she never appeared.

Just as he hesitated, he suddenly heard someone call out behind him, "Muting!"

He turned and saw Fang Wenjie, clad in army green, grinning broadly at him.

"How many years has it been? And your glasses are even thicker now?" Qiao Muting punched him affectionately on the shoulder.

It was his childhood friend Fang Wenjie. The two of them had grown up together in the Beijing military compound, infamous as the "Mischievous Duo," a headache for everyone there.

Back then, Fang Wenjie was practically part of the Qiao family. Influenced by Grandpa Qiao, he too chose to study medicine.

That year, Gu Hanchuan visited Beijing to see family, and within two weeks, had become his idol. Fang Wenjie insisted on following Gu Hanchuan to serve in the Southern Military District after graduation. Unfortunately, his nearsightedness disqualified him from the physical exam. He settled for becoming an army doctor in the Southern District instead.

"Guess who I brought with me," Fang Wenjie stepped aside, revealing a lovely young woman in a white floral dress behind him.

"Brother Muting!" The girl opened her arms, eager for an enthusiastic hug.

Qiao Muting reacted swiftly, stepping back to avoid her embrace.

"It's Wenxue, don't you remember?"

Fang Wenxue was the youngest daughter of the Fang family. She'd grown up in Beijing until age thirteen, then moved with her parents to another provincial military district.

From a young age, Fang Wenxue had followed her brother back and forth between the Fang and Qiao households, and her heart had always secretly belonged to the only son of the Qiao family.

Before leaving Beijing with her parents, she protested by refusing to eat and skipping school, hoping to stay behind.

Even the thought of spending a single day apart from "Brother Muting" was agonizing.

But her parents' decision was final.

At that time, she swore she would return to "Brother Muting’s" side as soon as possible—and that, in the years to come, she would be the only one by his side.

"Wenxue? What brings her to Xinshi too?"

"She graduated. When she heard you were being transferred here, she requested to be assigned to our military hospital's media department," Fang Wenjie replied proudly.

"Brother Muting, these two children must be Wen Nuan and Wenquan, the ones you mentioned on the phone?" Fang Wenxue pulled out some fruit candies, offering them to Wen Nuan. She then reached out as if to hug Wenquan, but the boy, imitating Qiao Muting, also stepped back to dodge her.

His adorable yet stern reaction made Fang Wenjie burst into laughter.

"You need to set a better example for the kids!"

"Let's go, brothers. We can chat as we walk," Fang Wenxue pouted playfully.

Qiao Muting glanced around, thinking how wonderful it would be if the person he longed for could appear at this very moment.

"Are you looking for someone?"

The last of the passengers from the train had already left. Was today destined to be just a missed connection?

Qiao Muting's frustration was palpable. "Let's go," he said, following the crowd out, glancing back every few steps.

Just outside the station, he saw Gu Hanchuan's orderly, Xiao Li, peering anxiously inside.

"Doctor Qiao?! You took this train too?" Xiao Li asked.

"Are you here to pick up my cousin-in-law? She was on this train too?" Qiao Muting quickly surmised.

Xiao Li nodded, "XK945, that's right! But I've been waiting and haven't seen her at all." He wiped sweat from his brow in agitation.

Qiao Muting scowled, "Hmph, troublesome people always cause trouble."

Xiao Li thought, "Troublesome? Doctor Qiao sure has high standards. How could a woman like that be called ‘troublesome’?"

"Xiao Li, tell your commander I'll visit him once I've settled in. But remember, don't let my aunt know I've come to Xinshi yet. Understand?"

"And tell my cousin not to rush into filing for marriage registration. I have something to discuss with him."

"Alright... Doctor Qiao," Xiao Li replied, scratching his head in confusion.

Qiao Muting's transfer to the Southern War Zone had been a secret from his family.

First, because of Li Li's failed surgery, he couldn't forgive himself, which led to constant self-doubt and the decision to exile himself.

Gu Hanchuan’s serious injury and paralysis worried him. With his good friend here, he submitted a transfer request without hesitation.

Another reason was that Cheng Fang'an’s never-ending matchmaking arrangements for her son had become unbearable.

And then there was his own "strange illness," which he couldn't explain to anyone. He decided to leave it all behind.

Before he left, he merely said he was going on assignment, the return date uncertain.

While he despaired over his fruitless search, Qian Lai, who had hidden in the dining car's restroom, had already witnessed everything that happened with him and the Fang siblings on the platform.

Those peach blossom eyes with their soft shadows—surely the mark of a natural flirt!

The girl's enthusiasm, the way they laughed and talked together... and here she was, unable to sleep all night over a fleeting impulse.

How ironic.

But then, once off the train, who would even know whom?

It could be treated as just another game. After all, she would have to return to the real world sooner or later.

With that thought, she finally stepped off the train, luggage in hand.

But as soon as she set foot on the platform, someone called out to her loudly.

"Little ancestor, why are you just getting off now?" Huarui’s voice greeted her.

"You're still here?" Qian Lai was surprised.

"I was waiting for you," Huarui smiled brightly.

"Brother, this is the benefactor I told you about—Comrade Qian Lai."

"Qian Lai, this is my elder brother, Hua Cheng."