Village Doctor's Women-Chapter 159 - 154 Sending daughter to school

Wang Jian rubbed his nose and turned toward the village entrance.

Once the living room was filled with everything they had bought for Ren Yu, Wang Jian couldn’t help but sigh. A woman’s purchasing power was truly a force of nature. Even with his physique, Wang Jian felt exhausted from carrying everything back and forth, yet the three women were happily unpacking and organizing. It seemed that seeing their new purchases brought them a deep, satisfying joy.

Among all the items, not everything was for Ren Yu. Cai Qiong and Xu Qian had also bought a considerable amount of clothes and shoes for themselves, along with some cosmetics and daily necessities.

"These are to be kept here at home, so you won’t have to bring so much back with you from school. Everything you need will be here!" Xu Qian said as she organized a pile of things and brought them into Ren Yu’s room.

"Thank you, Sister-in-law."

"Don’t be so polite. We’re all family."

Xu Qian feigned annoyance and playfully chided Ren Yu, clearly hoping the girl would truly think of this place as her home. Wang Jian chimed in, "You hear that?"

He patted Ren Yu on the head and affectionately ruffled her hair. Ren Yu instinctively started to lean into the touch before catching herself. She pushed his hand away in protest. "What are you doing? Stop it!"

The attention made Xiao Yu blush. Xu Qian and Cai Qiong, unaware of her particular quirks, simply assumed the young girl was shy and laughed. Only Wang Jian, seeing the flush on her face, knew it was from excitement.

Wang Jian then added, "I’ll take you to school tomorrow."

Only after he said this did Ren Yu look up, shocked. "Huh?"

"I’ll take you to Capital City. I can also visit my old school and see my former teachers and classmates," Wang Jian said. He knew she tended to overthink things, so he added the excuse to make the trip sound less deliberate. Otherwise, knowing Ren Yu, she would never want to trouble him so much. Taking her to school himself was something that would surely make her happy, but she would feel it was too much of a bother for him.

And sure enough, even with his explanation, Ren Yu said, "I’m a grown-up now. Isn’t it a bit much for you to take me all the way to school?"

Despite her words, Wang Jian could clearly see the starlight in her eyes, a sure sign she was delighted by the idea. Even Cai Qiong chuckled softly from the side. She knew that if Ren Yu were truly against it, she would have refused directly instead of phrasing it as a hesitant question.

Wouldn’t it be... Cai Qiong subtly shook her head, amused by the girl’s coyness. She’d been just like that once.

"It’s settled, then," Wang Jian declared, leaving no room for argument. "I’ll pack tonight, and we’ll leave together tomorrow. I’ve already bought our train tickets."

In truth, he hadn’t bought the tickets yet, but he didn’t want to give her a chance to object. He decided he would just order them on his phone in a bit.

At this, Ren Yu fell silent. But as she lowered her head, a secret smile crept onto her lips. Her mind was already filled with visions of the days to come. Unconsciously, her movements became much lighter as she put her things away. Her soaring spirits were impossible to hide.

「The next morning」

Cai Qiong drove Wang Jian and Ren Yu to the station, waiting until she saw them both walk inside before she left. Instead of returning to the village, she drove to her hospital. After all, if Wang Jian wasn’t in the village, it lost some of its charm for her.

Boarding the train to Capital City once more, Wang Jian was flooded with emotion. After taking his seat, he stared silently out the window at the landscape speeding by, wondering who he might run into at school this time. His mindset on this trip to Capital City was completely different from when he had returned home over two months ago.

He recalled his very first trip to Capital City for university. His father had wanted to see him off, but he had refused, insisting on going alone. Certain things had happened back then. It was less about going to school and more about escaping his hometown. Wang Jian understood that now; otherwise, he never would have come back. He figured that even without the things he had wanted to escape, he probably would have chosen to leave home anyway. After all, that was Capital City. This time, no matter what he encountered, he wouldn’t let it affect him as it had before.

They had opted for a soft sleeper car instead of the high-speed rail, which meant they wouldn’t arrive in Capital City until the next morning. The main reason for this choice was that this station was closer to their university. The high-speed rail arrived at a newly built station far from the school, and the subway ride would take another hour or two, which was too much of a hassle. With his experience, Wang Jian wasn’t about to make that mistake. The only downside was having to spend over ten hours in the sleeper car. Their journey began with a ride to the provincial capital, where they would board the train with the sleeper cars.

"Are you hungry?" Wang Jian asked, snapping out of his thoughts. He turned to see Ren Yu snacking and suddenly remembered they had left so early they’d skipped breakfast. "I brought some instant noodles. I can get you some hot water."

"No need, Brother!" Ren Yu quickly waved her hands, putting down the rice cracker she was holding. "I was just a little peckish. We can eat at lunchtime. Let’s not dig through the luggage right now; it’s too much trouble."

If there was one thing Ren Yu disliked, it was hassle.

"Alright." Wang Jian grabbed a small bag of rice crackers for himself, tore it open, and took a bite. "You know, these crackers taste the same as they did years ago, but they seem a lot blander now."

"Blander?" Ren Yu paused, then opened another bag. "I think they’re fine. They’re delicious." As she spoke, she stuck out her little tongue and licked the cracker all over.

The sight was rather eye-catching. "Good thing we’re in a private compartment. That’s a bit ungraceful, you know. Is this why you’re still single at school? Because you don’t pay attention to your image?"

"Nonsense!" Ren Yu’s face reddened as she retorted, "I’m single because I want to be! Have you forgotten my suitor followed me all the way back home?"

"Oh, right. I almost forgot about that. Does that upperclassman of yours, Chairman Kang, know you’re heading back to school? He isn’t planning to pick you up, is he?"

"He wouldn’t... right? He... probably wouldn’t." As Ren Yu spoke, her own certainty wavered. Her roommates knew she was coming back, and she had posted about it on social media before she left. If Chairman Kang saw it, he really might show up. At the thought, her expression soured.

Wang Jian started to laugh. "Don’t worry, I’m with you this time. What’s there to be afraid of? If he dares to bother you, I’ll beat him up for you."

"Hahaha!" Ren Yu’s mood brightened considerably, though her thoughts ran deeper. She knew that if Wang Jian accompanied her to school, her roommates would have plenty to gossip about. But... how to put it? The thought of being the subject of gossip with Wang Jian actually made her quite happy.

The rest of the journey was uneventful. After a few stops, two more young women entered their compartment. It turned out they were also university students heading to Capital City. With their arrival, all four berths in the compartment were now occupied. Wang Jian and Ren Yu had taken the two lower bunks, leaving the upper ones for the newcomers.

By night, the carriage lights were off and the compartment door was closed, leaving everything in peaceful silence. The two girls on the top bunks, who had been on their phones, soon drifted off, and the sound of light snoring filled the air. A little later, one of them started grinding their teeth.

Drifting in a state between sleep and wakefulness, Wang Jian suddenly felt someone approach his bunk. The feeling of his blanket being lifted jolted him fully awake. As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw Ren Yu slipping in, wearing a T-shirt and shorts.

Afraid of waking the people on the upper bunk, Wang Jian immediately lowered his voice. "What are you doing?"

He was genuinely startled. He remembered Ren Yu always slept fully dressed, but in that fleeting glimpse, he’d seen that beneath her T-shirt, she was only wearing a pair of briefs, her long legs on full display.

In his moment of hesitation, Ren Yu had already squeezed into the narrow bunk and snuggled into his arms.