The 1970s: Married First, Fell in Love Later

"What are you so lost in thought about?"

Hearing the voice, Xue Yue pulled her gaze back from the window.

"It’s nothing, Sister Feng."

Feng Yujie glanced at the scenery outside the train and sat down opposite Xue Yue.

"This is your first time traveling far, isn’t it?"

"Not really. My hometown is in Black Province, which is pretty far from Beijing City, but not this far."

Feng Yujie nodded. "It certainly is. We’ll be on this train for six days before we arrive."

Xue Yue looked at Feng Yujie. "Sister Feng, have you ever been to the Soviet Union?"

"Yes, I went once back in ’63, with one of the leaders as well."

Xue Yue was surprised. "Sister Feng, you must have been quite young back then, right?"

"I had just graduated from school and started working that year."

Xue Yue realized she must have been mistaken about Feng Yujie’s age.

Feng Yujie seemed to read her mind.

She smiled slightly. "I’m forty-two this year."

Xue Yue shook her head. "You don’t look it at all. I always thought you were only in your thirties, Sister Feng."

Feng Yujie raised an eyebrow, took a sip of water from her cup, and said, "I’ll take that as a compliment."

Xue Yue nodded vigorously. "It’s true! Sister Feng, how old are your children?"

Feng Yujie shook her head and leaned back in her chair. "I don’t have any children."

Xue Yue pursed her lips and quickly fell silent.

After that, Feng Yujie kept her eyes closed to rest.

There were over a dozen people in their group, but besides Sister Feng, Xue Yue didn’t know anyone well.

Over the next few days, it grew colder and colder. There was no heating on the train, so they all bundled up in thick clothes.

Finally, after several days, they arrived in Moscow.

The moment they stepped off the train, they were hit by an unfamiliar chill.

No one was at the station to meet them, so they found a nearby hotel to stay in.

At the hotel, Xue Yue and Sister Feng shared a room.

Sister Feng put down her luggage and said to Xue Yue, "I’m going next door for a bit. Don’t go out if you don’t have to."

"Got it."

After Sister Feng left, Xue Yue scanned the room. It was quite different from the hotels back home.

Feng Yujie returned half an hour later.

"Let’s go down to eat."

When they arrived at the restaurant, their colleagues who had traveled with them were already there.

A waiter came over to take their order.

Xue Yue took one look at the menu and immediately looked away.

After they finished ordering, the waiter suddenly asked, "Are you from Hua Country?"

They exchanged a look and nodded.

The waiter said nothing, but as he took the menu away, his expression was complicated.

After returning to her room and taking a shower, Xue Yue suddenly heard a commotion from next door.

Feng Yujie’s nerves tensed. She shot to her feet, threw on her clothes, and headed for the door.

Seeing this, Xue Yue quickly threw on her clothes as well. A few minutes later, a group of people burst into their room.

Speaking fluent Russian, they were all carrying weapons.

"You’re from Hua Country? Please come with us."

Xue Yue’s heart clenched at the sight of the dark weapons pointed at them, and she looked over at Sister Feng.

Feng Yujie gave Xue Yue a reassuring look.

She replied, "We are from Hua Country. May I ask who you are? We haven’t done anything wrong, have we?"

But the men paid her no mind.

One of them gestured at Feng Yujie with his weapon.

"Come with us. You’ll find out when we get there."

Feng Yujie said to Xue Yue, "Let’s go."

Xue Yue asked Feng Yujie, "What about our luggage?"

The words had barely left her mouth when two of the men went and gathered their luggage.

They had no choice but to follow the men out of the hotel and into a vehicle.

They didn’t know where they were taken, but it was a place that looked a lot like a prison.

They were locked inside.

Anxious, Xue Yue looked toward Feng Yujie.

"Sister Feng? Who are they?"

Feng Yujie was experienced and not as panicked as Xue Yue.

"They’re probably from the State Security Bureau. They must have known we arrived. They’ll probably just inspect our luggage and deport us. They won’t do anything serious to us."

Xue Yue said, "Then what about our assignment?"

Feng Yujie rubbed her forehead. "We’ll see. I didn’t expect the situation to still be this tense."

Xue Yue frowned. After traveling for so long, they had been locked up less than half a day after arriving.

Sure enough, about four or five hours later, someone came and let them out.

Their luggage was also returned.

But their captors also made their intentions clear: they would be taken directly to the train station to leave Moscow.

One of the leaders went to negotiate, asking to see their superior and explaining their purpose for coming to Moscow.

But the man simply held up a hand.

"This is the order from our superiors. If you continue to pester us, we will have no choice but to contact your embassy and have you forcibly removed."

Seeing their firm attitude, the group had no choice but to get into the car they had prepared, which took them to the train station.

The men only left after watching them board the train.

Sitting on the train, someone said angrily, "What kind of mess is this? We came all this way, had guns pointed at us, and were sent right back. Didn’t the minister say we were coming here to fight for an opportunity? Forget fighting for an opportunity, we didn’t even get to meet anyone before we were kicked out."

"Exactly! We got to Moscow, ate one meal of dry black bread, drank a bellyful of some god-awful sour borscht, and now we’re going back just like that. It’s so frustrating."

"Alright, enough complaining. Didn’t you all know the situation between our two countries before we came? It would have been great if we could cooperate, but this outcome wasn’t entirely unforeseeable. We’ll talk about it when we get back."

Sighing, everyone returned to their compartments.

Xue Yue also sat there, a look of disappointment on her face.

Feng Yujie came in and patted her on the shoulder.

"This is a harsh reality, but it’s also something we often encounter. At least they didn’t lock us up indefinitely. This is what happens when diplomatic channels are strained. Compared to decades ago, we’re actually in a much better position now."

Xue Yue nodded. Anyone who understood the history of Hua Country knew that the principle "if you fall behind, you will be beaten" was always applicable.

Meanwhile, back in Beijing City, He Lang had been keeping a close eye on international news ever since Xue Yue left. He felt a deep sense of unease and couldn’t sleep soundly at night.

He even went to see Xue Xingzhou.

It was only after hearing what He Lang said that Xue Xingzhou learned Xue Yue had gone to the Soviet Union. His brow furrowed deeply.

"No news is good news. I’ll go home and ask my dad. You shouldn’t worry too much either."

How could He Lang not worry? But he had come to find Xue Xingzhou precisely to ask Uncle Zheng’s opinion, through him.

"I’ll go back with you."

"Alright."

That evening, when Zheng Guofeng returned, he saw He Lang and Xingzhou both staring at him with expectant eyes.

"You’re here to ask about Yue’er, aren’t you?"

He Lang nodded.

"Uncle Zheng, do you have any news?"

After washing his hands, Zheng Guofeng sat down.

"No. They only went to discuss a partnership. There shouldn’t be any danger to their lives."

He Lang wrung his hands.

"Uncle Zheng, with the situation so tense, couldn’t something go wrong?"

Zheng Guofeng looked at him. "They wouldn’t dare. If shots are fired, it would be a declaration of war. The worst-case scenario is that they get deported."

Xue Xingzhou said, "He Lang, my dad’s right. You should go home and wait for news."