Stars In His Eyes
Chapter 156 Sudden Farewell 3_1

Chapter 156: Chapter 156 Sudden Farewell 3_1

"Get in the car." He Teng stopped beside a military jeep, opened the rear door for He Zhilan to get in first, then he put the stuff in the back of the jeep and got in himself.

"Sister-in-law!" The driver was a young soldier that He Zhilan knew, the one who had picked her up from the train station. They had met before, so the soldier greeted her enthusiastically.

"You have my gratitude once again!" He Zhilan slightly curled the corner of her lips, her gaze swept over Lan Li sitting in the passenger seat, then swiftly moved away without greetings.

"Sister-in-law, there’s no need for that. It’s my duty," said the soldier with a shy smile. "Actually, I was mainly assigned to drive Chief He and Commander Lan. You were just along the way. You really don’t have to thank me. If you do, it just makes me feel awkward."

Seeing that He Teng had settled down, the soldier started the engine and drove the jeep out of the camp.

The car window was slightly down, allowing the fresh mountain air, much better than that of the city, to circulate. Zhilan leaned her head back, watching the scenery outside the window. In the background, she could hear He Teng’s voice, "Your return ticket to the capital has been booked for you. The driver will take you to the train station later."

He Teng was referring to the young soldier driving the jeep. He Zhilan replied and nodded, "I am aware."

He Teng didn’t speak further. However, seeing her calm and composed demeanor, he was torn between feeling relieved and worried.

No tantrum or mood swings as he had anticipated, however, it seemed as if something was missing, which left him feeling hollow.

"Sister-in-law, you’ve stayed in the camp for a while now. What do you think about it?" The young soldier, oblivious to the mood in the backseat, was the most spirited and talkative among all the four in the car.

"It’s fine. The food in the military canteen is better than that in my school’s canteen, and the soymilk is really tasty!" He Zhilan chose an answer that was unlikely to go wrong.

Naturally, as a family member who had only stayed for a few days, she wasn’t qualified to comment on the military personnel and conditions. Therefore, commenting about the canteen food was absolutely safe.

Upon hearing her, the soldier laughed heartily, "Really? I never expected people like you who are so highly educated to be eating worse than us in normal times? You also like the soymilk? I thought so, too. Every morning when they make soymilk, I have several large bowls to satisfy my cravings. The soymilk in our canteen has a real taste, unlike those from outside that dilute it with water until you can barely taste the beans."

"Hmm." He Zhilan truly agreed with this. Then she turned to look at He Teng and asked, "Brother, do you remember we used to have a pair of stone mills in our village? He... "

Her words stopped short because that pair of stone mills was often manipulated by He Da, who also liked soymilk. Once, he secretly exchanged some of our rice for someone else’s beans, and cooked soymilk while He Zhongguo was out in the fields. At first, He Zhongguo didn’t notice, but eventually, he realized we were running out of rice more quickly. Then one day He Da finally got caught. He Zhilan remembered that day clearly. He Zhongguo was so angry that he took a hanger and hit him. He Da stubborn as always, silently took the beatings without making a sound or running away. In the end, the pot of soymilk he had cooked mostly ended up in her and He Dongxue’s stomachs.

Thinking about this, He Zhilan couldn’t help but sigh. After all these years, she wondered where He Da had gone? He Da was already much older when he lost contact with them, so she had no idea what might have happened. He Zhilan thought to herself that no human traffickers would want a teenage boy, right?