Back To The 80s-Chapter 621: Extra Two: Controllable Range Target Lock Five_1
Chen Gang’s feelings for Jiujiu were fondness and adoration, but what was missing was romantic love. It wasn’t until much later that he understood this. However, at this point, he believed that loving Jiujiu meant letting her be happy. Since Jiujiu liked Li Duo, all he could do was quietly step aside and protect her from a distance.
Chen Gang noticed Jiujiu’s changes early on, noticing her frequent bouts of silent daydreaming. During his summer break after his first year of college, he unintentionally saw Li Duo’s name on her study materials. It was everywhere, written in neat handwriting. Some of the words even had water stains on them, their strokes smeared as if teardrops had fallen on them.
Chen Gang felt a dull ache in his heart as he understood why Jiujiu had suddenly become silent. However, he couldn’t understand why she would shed tears.
After Jiujiu finished her last exam, she went to find Chen Gang. Seeing Li Duo beside Chen Gang, she paused before lowering her head and awkwardly whispering, "Uncle Li."
Chen Gang smiled at the awkward Jiujiu, saying, "Li Duo is only a few years older than us. Stop calling him uncle."
Li Duo didn’t understand why Jiujiu, who had just been grinning at him, became so awkward upon seeing him, as if he were terrifying. He didn’t like it.
The number of trains was scarce at the time, but there were many people going out, especially in winter. At this time, there were many people enjoying better conditions, including a lot of people returning home to visit, and people visiting relatives during agricultural downtime.
Li Duo had initially bought two sleeper tickets in advance.
When Chen Gang got off the train in the Capital City, he could only get two hard seat tickets.
Jiujiu looked troubledly at the four tickets. She had a small hope in her heart, to quietly look at Li Duo. But she felt leaving Chen Gang alone in the hard seat car was unfair.
Seeing Jiujiu’s dilemma, Li Duo gathered the four tickets and said, "We can all stay in the sleeper car during the day, and at night Chen Gang and I can take turns to rest in the hard seat area."
Chen Gang nodded, accepting the proposal. He also noticed Jiujiu’s subtle desire but didn’t understand what her dilemma was all about.
Li Duo bought several roasted chickens, some marinated meat, sesame cakes. It was winter, so they would not spoil. He also bought several packets of instant noodles with a seafood flavor, along with a food container for preparing the noodles on the train.
Inside Chen Gang’s bag were canned luncheon meat, apples, sausages, and canned foods that Gu Xiaobei had stuffed in when he was in the Capital City.
Even Jiujiu’s small suitcase was carried by Li Duo, leaving Jiujiu to follow behind Li Duo and Chen Gang empty-handed.
At the train station, they "coincidentally" bumped into Chen Lu. With a big bag in hand, Chen Lu excitedly said, "Jiujiu, Jiujiu, are you on today’s train too? What a coincidence, we’re on the same train."
Jiujiu nodded without speaking. How could it be a coincidence? She had already disclosed her departure date to Li Fei a couple of days ago, who had asked her about it in the dormitory.
Chen Lu greeted Li Duo with a smile, "Hello, big brother Li." She refused to call him uncle.
Li Duo didn’t even glance at Chen Lu. He said to Chen Gang, "I’ll get the luggage, you hold onto Jiujiu. There are many people. Let’s not lose each other in the crowd."
Chen Gang didn’t speak. He simply snatched the suitcase and luggage out of Li Duo’s hands and said jokingly, "I should carry the luggage. Every year, I’m the one who gets shoved off the train. If I’m holding onto Jiujiu, we surely won’t be able to board."
Li Duo cast a sceptical glance at Chen Gang, wondering how a high-achieving military academy student could be jostled off the train.
Although this wasn’t as crowded as the later spring rush, it was still in some ways more terrifying - with many people but fewer trains. It was still the era of green leather trains with windows that could be opened.
As soon as the train entered the station, the ticket-checking gate was flooded with passengers rushing in.
Li Duo tightly held Jiujiu’s hand, going with the flow of the crowd. You didn’t even need to walk; the people behind you would push you forward.
Jiujiu stood stunned, watching Li Duo holding her hand, even feeling the sweat of his palms. She moved mechanically. She had no memory of how she boarded the train. By the time she came to her senses, she was already sitting on the berth, with Chen Gang and Li Duo putting away the luggage.
Heat surged to Jiujiu’s cheeks, a warm and burning feeling.
"Jiujiu, so you’re here!" Chen Lu, her face dripping with sweat, squeezed in through the crowd. Not waiting for Jiujiu to speak, she automatically sat down over from Jiujiu.
Chen Gang looked at Chen Lu and slightly frowned. The naked admiration for Li Duo in this girl’s eyes was not concealed at all...
Li Duo looked at Chen Lu expressionlessly, then took a towel to wash his face in the washroom.
After some contemplation, Chen Gang sat down besides Jiujiu and took out several storybooks from his bag to give to her, "Read these to kill time."
When Li Duo returned, seeing Chen Gang and Jiujiu sitting together made him turn around and stand by the aisle window and gaze outside. His only available seat would have been next to Chen Lu.
Chen Lu tried to start a conversation with Jiujiu, but Jiujiu just stared at the frost on the train window, ignoring her.
Seeing that Jiujiu ignored her, Chen Gang buried his head in reading theory books, and Li Duo had no intention of coming back to sit, Chen Lu sat in boredom for a while before heading back to her own compartment.
For the rest of the three-day journey, Chen Lu didn’t visit again, while Li Duo had a stressful journey.
Chen Gang was considerate concerning Jiujiu, peeling the apples and giving them to Jiujiu, cutting the canned meat into small cubes and putting them in Jiujiu’s noodles. He kept telling Jiujiu funny stories from school, making her laugh endlessly.
In contrast, Li Duo was frustrated that such a radiant smile from Jiujiu was only for Chen Gang. Whenever she looked at him, she turned into a shy child, her head down and not speaking.
This perplexed Li Duo so much that he went to the wash basin and stared at himself in the small mirror, which was missing a big chunk. He spent a long time studying his reflection but couldn’t figure out what was scary about him.
Li Duo was frustrated, Jiujiu was conflicted, while Chen Gang was the wise observer.
From Li Duo’s treatment of Chen Lu, he believed that Li Duo would not be a fickle man, but at least be a man of integrity. When dividing food for Jiujiu, he noticed that Li Duo would carefully separate the dark meat and chicken drumsticks for Jiujiu.
A man who won’t use sweet words and flattery, yet is steady and reliable, gives Jiujiu a chance at happiness.
Chen Gang, like a father marrying off his daughter, felt reassured after critically assessing Li Duo. He would be able to go to the Tibetan Area with his mind at peace after graduation.
When these two people would understand each other’s feelings was a question he decided to stay out of. He considered it a small revenge on Li Duo - for taking away the treasure he had cherished since childhood.
Ou Ruoshui received a call from Jiujiu and rushed to the train station with Zhuang Shuxian early in the morning to pick them up.
Since Jin Cheng woke up, Zhuang Shuxian’s life had been getting better over the past couple of years, making her seem even happier and more energetic than she was a few years ago. She kept asking Ou Ruoshui, "Is it this train today? I wonder if Jiujiu has gained or lost weight in the past six months, if she has gotten taller."
Ou Ruoshui comforted her with a smile, "Jiujiu will definitely take good care of herself. Besides, Jiujiu is already eighteen years old. She won’t grow taller."
As soon as Jiujiu followed Chen Gang and Li Duo out of the station, she saw her mother and grandma. Overjoyed, she ran over to them and called out cheerfully, "Mom, Grandma..."
Li Duo watched Jiujiu’s joyful figure departing, his gaze narrowing. Like a sniper, he took aim at Jiujiu’s retreating figure.
