Tang Qiyue quickly pushed Zhan Zeyi away. She hadn't expected such an unexpected turn of events.
Just moments earlier, when the truck jolted violently, she had been frightened and instinctively reached for the ropes hanging beside the carriage to steady herself.
But Zhan Zeyi had suddenly pulled her into his arms.
Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem given the circumstances.
However, the truck kept jolting constantly. Zhan Zeyi was sitting inside the carriage rather than on a stool, and with his long legs, Tang Qiyue naturally ended up sitting on his lap.
Even that wouldn't have been an issue.
But because Tang Qiyue was so panicked, she instinctively wrapped her arms around Zhan Zeyi's neck to steady herself.
The space inside the carriage was limited.
As the vehicle swayed, Zhan Zeyi had to hold onto the carriage wall with one hand for balance while using the other arm to hold Tang Qiyue's waist.
When Tang Qiyue looked up to check on him in this awkward position, her lips accidentally brushed against his cheek.
It wasn't even really a kiss—just an accident.
But the children reacted quickly. Their eyes sparkled with excitement as they blurted it out.
Tang Qiyue's face flushed instantly.
Ignoring the rocking of the vehicle, she hurriedly moved away and sat beside Zhan Zeyi.
She quickly grabbed one of the children—who was still swaying—and pulled him toward her, stuffing a piece of candy into his mouth before he could shout again.
The child's attention was immediately diverted by the candy, and he forgot about the "kiss."
However, the adults were far from calm.
The men looked at Zhan Zeyi with teasing expressions, while the military wives smiled, clearly amused.
Tang Qiyue knew that explaining things now would only make it worse.
So she simply poked Zhan Zeyi and asked,
"How far is it?"
Zhan Zeyi rubbed his nose.
His fingers unconsciously brushed the cheek that Tang Qiyue had accidentally kissed before he answered.
His response surprised everyone.
"It'll take three days to drive there."
The four military wives immediately exclaimed in shock.
"Why so long?"
They had assumed the destination wasn't very far—otherwise, why would they travel by truck?
Hu Peng then added,
"Three days is just to reach the dock. After that, we'll still need to take a boat to our final destination."
"In the next few days, think about anything you might need. We'll buy it together at the dock. Once we get to the island, it'll be inconvenient to go back and forth."
Now the military wives looked uneasy.
Even Tang Qiyue grabbed Zhan Zeyi's arm.
"Why do we have to go to an island?" she asked.
"Aren't you in the army?"
Zhan Zeyi glanced at the hand gripping his arm, looking slightly speechless.
They were all wearing training uniforms today.
Even though they weren't formal military uniforms, the naval style was obvious.
How could she not notice?
Hu Peng's wife also looked confused.
"Husband, what exactly do you do now?" she asked.
"You're not planning to drag us to an island and lock us there, are you?"
Hu Peng sighed in frustration.
He pulled his youngest son away from him and held him still before replying.
He had rushed back earlier and had been busy the entire time.
In the chaos, he had forgotten to explain things to his wife.
Company Commander Wang's wife was also staring at him.
Clearly, that rough man hadn't explained anything to her either.
They often said soldiers reflected their commander's character.
And these two were clearly unreliable.
Under Tang Qiyue's questioning gaze, Zhan Zeyi had no choice but to explain.
"It's not sudden," he said.
"It's a newly formed unit stationed with the navy."
A cross-branch transfer wouldn't surprise the other military wives.
They didn't know enough about the military system to question it.
But Tang Qiyue was different.
Although she didn't know the current structure of the military, she understood how strict military divisions were in the post-apocalyptic era she had experienced.
She sensed that something more complicated was going on.
But she also knew that anything involving military secrets would never be explained to her.
So she asked a different question.
"Are there enough supplies on the island?"
By then, the truck had stabilized again.
The children were listening attentively.
Zhan Zeyi nodded casually.
"Enough."
It hadn't been enough before.
But it was now.
After all, the old leader had approved several large requests for gold the night before.
They planned to buy a huge amount of supplies at the dock.
Tang Qiyue thought that since the military had allowed families to move there, conditions probably wouldn't be too bad.
Three days wasn't long.
But the constant shaking of the truck made everyone exhausted.
When Tang Qiyue finally climbed down from the truck, her legs almost gave way.
Zhan Zeyi quickly grabbed her by the collar and steadied her.
Although they found places to stay each night along the way, the poor conditions meant no one could rest properly.
Some of the younger children cried constantly.
Tang Qiyue was so exhausted that when they finally arrived at the dock and heard they could rest at the guesthouse for a day, she didn't hesitate.
The moment she entered the room, she collapsed onto the bed and fell asleep.
Zhan Zeyi had wanted to tell her a few things.
But seeing how tired she was, he gave up.
Instead, he asked Hu Peng's wife in the next room to keep an eye on her.
When Tang Qiyue woke up, it was already dark.
The long sleep had almost completely relieved the fatigue from the journey.
Xu Qiuju told her that the guesthouse had shower facilities.
Tang Qiyue wasn't in a hurry to eat.
She grabbed a basin and went to wash up thoroughly.
When Zhan Zeyi returned, Tang Qiyue was carrying the basin back to the room, her hair still dripping wet.
He hadn't expected to see such a scene when he opened the door.
He looked slightly uncomfortable.
But since she was already inside, leaving would only make things more awkward.
"I brought food," he said.
"Dry your hair and come eat."
Zhan Zeyi placed the lunchbox on the table and leaned back in the chair.
He watched as Tang Qiyue wrapped her hair in a towel.
Instead of eating immediately, she took out a small jar of face cream from her bag and began applying it carefully to her face.
Then her neck.
Then her arms.
Not missing a single spot.
Zhan Zeyi stared, completely dumbfounded.
As a rough soldier, after showering he usually just wiped himself quickly with a towel.
He had never seen a woman go through such a detailed routine.
The most striking part was Tang Qiyue herself.
Her appearance was already exceptionally beautiful.
Her movements were graceful and strangely captivating.
Rather than looking excessive, the entire process seemed almost elegant.
When Tang Qiyue finally finished, she rubbed the remaining cream onto the backs of her hands and sat down beside Zhan Zeyi.
Only then did she glance at the food in the lunchbox.
There was:
a dish of braised ribbonfish
a dish of steamed eggplant
four steamed buns stacked on top
A faint fragrance of jasmine filled the air.
Zhan Zeyi frowned slightly.
Such a delicate feminine scent was rare in his life.
And now the person carrying that scent was his wife.
It wasn't exactly something he could escape from.
"Aren't you hungry?" Tang Qiyue asked, picking up her chopsticks.
Only then did she notice that Zhan Zeyi hadn't touched his food.
Zhan Zeyi moved.
But instead of picking up his chopsticks, he suddenly pulled Tang Qiyue up from the chair and wrapped his arms tightly around her.
His lips brushed against her ear.
His deep voice followed.
"Hungry."