Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Companions Along the Way

Wang Miaomiao kept watching the back of the car until the figures of the two elderly people were no longer visible. She felt inexplicably a bit lost…

Wang Jia Bao, however, showed no sadness or reluctance to leave home, only excitement. He leaned on the back of Jiang Yan’s seat and kept asking question after question. There wasn’t a single thing he didn’t ask.

Jiang Yan showed no impatience at all, answering every question graciously, earning continuous admiration from the three men in the backseat.

Even Wang Miaomiao, unknowingly, came to realize that Brother Jiang had a really good temper.

Fortunately, the road from home to the town wasn’t long. Soon, Jiang Yan dropped them off at the Red Star Town Armed Forces Department, where someone was already waiting.

Zhang Xiaofei was a bit stunned to see Jiang Yan personally bringing that silly kid over. Seeing the silly kid call Brother Jiang with such warm familiarity, he seemed really close to the boss.

“Mr. Jiang.” Zhang Xiaofei came over and saluted.

“Hmm, Xiaofei. I’ll leave these two young soldiers to you.” Jiang Yan returned the salute, patted him on the shoulder, glanced at the military truck, and said meaningfully, “Just one truck for so many people, not easy, make sure it takes enough breaks along the way…”

“Yes!” Zhang Xiaofei stood at attention and saluted, receiving the instructions from Jiang Yan.

After handing them over to Zhang Xiaofei, Jiang Yan took Liu Yuxiang back home.

Although Liu Yuxiang was reluctant, he couldn’t resist Jiang Yan’s insistence. The car kept moving; he couldn’t just jump off, could he?

Once they had finished dropping everyone off, only Jiang Yan and Wang Miaomiao were left in the car.

Earlier, she hadn’t felt it with so many people around, but now, with just the two of them, the prolonged silence made Wang Miaomiao feel a bit uneasy.

She glanced at the person driving intently, and slightly awkward, she asked, “Brother Jiang, how long will it take us to get there?”

Jiang Yan was actually quite nervous, too, being in the same small space with the young girl. Even her slightly heavier breathing could be felt by him.

However, he had great self-control and didn’t show it, calmly driving, calmly answering her question, “It’ll take about three to four days if we’re fast. Are you tired? You can recline the seat and nap for a while.”

“Three or four days?” Wang Miaomiao felt like her bones would fall apart. “Why would it take that long…”

“Silly, the roads are not good. We have to take detours most of the time.”

“Ah? If I had known, I would’ve taken the train…” Wang Miaomiao couldn’t help but mutter.

Jiang Yan suggested with a smile, “You could. I can take you to the train station? Let my parents pick you up?”

“No need, no need…” Wang Miaomiao waved her hands in panic. “Taking the car is fine, hehe… It’s quiet and not crowded, with just the two of us. The space is spacious. It’s a bit slow, but it’s more work for you.”

Jiang Yan slightly curled his lips into a smile and said, “I’m not tired; I’m used to it. But you, it’s my oversight, I’ve inconvenienced you. I was just thinking it’s rare to go to J City, and leaving the car there for too long isn’t good, so I thought of driving back.”

Of course, the truth wasn’t that; he just wanted to spend a few days alone with her. Whether it was three days, four days, or even five days, it didn’t matter. After all, opportunities like this were rare…

Wang Miaomiao secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Getting his parents to pick her up? That was crazy, but it was understandable since, in his eyes, she was someone who hadn’t traveled far. Upon reaching the destination, she’d definitely need someone to pick her up for him to be at ease, so thinking of having his relatives pick her up was reasonable.

“I’m not feeling inconvenienced. What’s there to be inconvenienced about? It’s just sitting in a car. It’s not like I have to drive.” Wang Miaomiao chuckled awkwardly and then asked, “What about Xiao Xue?”

“Xiao Xue goes who-knows-where on vacation. It’s hard to say where she is exactly.” Jiang Yan knew what she meant and thought: If you think Xiao Xue can pick you up, no way. She can’t even take care of herself, how could she take care of you?

Indeed, Wang Miaomiao did have that thought and felt a bit disappointed by the answer. However, she quickly adjusted. Since she was already there, she might as well relax, and she climbed to the backseat to nap.

Thus, Wang Miaomiao slept soundly on the first afternoon, and when she woke, it was already getting dark.

She opened the car door and got out, only to find Jiang Yan not far away… making dinner?

Looking around, it was a desolate wilderness. There was no sign of habitation…

“Brother Jiang, what are you doing?” Wang Miaomiao walked over to ask.

The man in front of her had used a few stones to build a simple stove, and he was cooking noodles in a pot.

While stirring the noodles to prevent them from sticking, he said, “It’ll take another three hours of driving to reach the resting place for the night. Let’s eat something first so we don’t go hungry.”

Even though they were driving back, Jiang Yan had prepared well, not wanting the young girl to suffer because of poor conditions, and tried to give her the best.

He lifted the noodles, added three pieces of salted meat, an egg, and some wild vegetables—a bowl of noodles that was quite sumptuous.

Jiang Yan placed the noodles on a small folding table beside him, which, along with a matching small stool, was kept in the car trunk as a backup.

“Come and eat; in this remote wilderness, there’s nothing much good, but make do with this for now.”

“What about you?” Wang Miaomiao frowned at the single bowl of noodles, only one bowl?

“I’ll make mine next. You start first.” Jiang Yan gestured for her to hurry, “Hurry, it’s getting dark.”

Seeing this, Wang Miaomiao had no choice but to go over, take the chopsticks, and start eating in small bites. Once she tasted it, her eyes lit up, oh, this is pretty good cooking.

She was about to praise him when she saw he was crushing an unknown dry bun into the pot. Instantly, holding the bowl, she felt she couldn’t eat anymore.

“Didn’t you say you’d make more?” Having already eaten from the noodles, it wasn’t polite to share and have him eat from her leftovers, leaving Wang Miaomiao quite flustered.

Facing her question, Jiang Yan just smiled and said, “This pot is small, if I put too many noodles, they’ll stick. Making another pot will be slow; the bun is more convenient. My own cooking, I’m already tired of it; you eat quickly.”

He gave an explanation, but Wang Miaomiao still felt uneasy; she was eating plain noodles while he was having dry buns soaked in broth, somehow it didn’t feel right.

The chopsticks absentmindedly poked around, and found slices of meat and an egg hidden underneath, making her feel even more mixed emotions.

Eggs? Wang Miaomiao quickly dashed to the car, opened the trunk, found her own package, and happily brought over the supplies her mom prepared for her.

“Brother Jiang, my mom packed these for me; I’ll peel them for you…”

Wang Miaomiao took out a small jar with tea eggs, peeled three of them, and placed them in his pot, smiling, “Is this enough? There’s more if you need it.”

Jiang Yan looked at the girl with smiling eyes in front of him, his heart softened, “That’s enough, you go eat quickly; the noodles will stick and not taste good.”

“Okay.” Wang Miaomiao didn’t refuse this time; the noodles were delicious, and it would be a shame if they stuck together.

But also, besides the eggs, there were other dishes, “Brother Jiang, my mom also made pickled string beans and dried radish, do you want them?”

“Yes, I do.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep