B5SB -Chapter 85 The Seat-Giving Incident

The next day, Gu Yihan got up early and went to the kitchen to boil an egg and cook a bowl of porridge. After breakfast, she changed into a puffy dress.

Today, she still needed to go to the city to send money to Grandma Gu.

When Wang Erya saw Gu Yihan, she walked over and suddenly said, “Captain Lu’s wife, be careful of Qi Yanran.”

Gu Yihan turned her head and looked at her. “You are?”

Wang Erya laughed bitterly. “I’m the rural wife everyone talks about—the one who supposedly used improper means to cling to Battalion Commander Wen. My name is Wang Erya.”

Gu Yihan: “……”

No matter what, Gu Yihan still thanked her. “Thank you, Sister Wang. I’ll be careful of Qi Yanran.”

Then she added, “I’m going to the city today. If you’re free, you can come to my place sometime. I’ll head off first.”

After parting, Gu Yihan quickened her pace out of the family compound.

It took about an hour by bus from the army base to the city. She walked to the station and saw that the bus hadn’t departed yet, so she got on and found an empty seat.

“Sister-in-law, you’re going to the city too?” Xiao Wu asked in surprise.

Gu Yihan nodded. “There’s an empty seat beside me. Come sit here.” She stood up and let him take the inside seat by the window.

Xiao Wu smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, why don’t you go look for Maomao? It hasn’t come home. Aren’t you worried?”

Gu Yihan glanced at him. “It’s not stupid. It knows the way home. If it hasn’t come back, it’s probably having fun with the military dogs at the base.”

Maomao wasn’t a silly dog. It was smart. When it followed her to work before, it was only because it worried about her.

People boarded the bus one after another. A woman got on with a live rooster whose beak wasn’t tied, and it immediately started crowing.

Complaints rose and fell inside the bus.

Before long, the bus was packed tightly. When no more people could squeeze in, the driver said, “Hold on tight. We’re departing.”

Gu Yihan took out a handkerchief and covered her mouth and nose, but it barely helped. The diesel smell in buses of this era was especially strong.

“Sister-in-law, are you carsick?” Xiao Wu asked worriedly when he saw her pale face.

Gu Yihan nodded uncomfortably and closed her eyes. The mixed smells made her chest churn. She felt like throwing up.

A middle-aged woman standing beside her seat saw Xiao Wu in his uniform and lit up. She said arrogantly, “Comrade soldier, come out and let me sit for a while.”

Xiao Wu instinctively wanted to stand, but seeing Gu Yihan pretending not to hear, he hesitated.

Since she didn’t move, he couldn’t get out and could only sit awkwardly.

Seeing this, the woman thought she had a chance. Who wanted to stand for an hour if they could take advantage?

She reached out and patted Gu Yihan’s shoulder. “Move a bit. Let the soldier come out. He’s going to give me his seat.”

Gu Yihan opened her eyes in discomfort and looked at the woman in front of her—wearing gray, patched clothes, with a greasy face. Her sleeves and front were so dirty they almost reflected light.

Anger flared in Gu Yihan’s eyes.

“Why should we give you the seat?”

“Aren’t soldiers supposed to serve the people?” the woman retorted righteously.

Gu Yihan laughed in anger. “Serving the people means giving you my seat?”

“What does it have to do with you? He’s the one giving it, not you. Why are you in such a hurry?” the woman shrieked.

Everyone on the bus turned to watch.

Gu Yihan already felt terrible, and the woman’s stench kept drifting toward her nose. Even the handkerchief couldn’t block it.

“It has nothing to do with me, and I don’t want him walking past me. That has nothing to do with you either.”

She ignored her after speaking.

The woman fumed. “Are you sick? Why are you so nosy? What’s wrong with asking the PLA to give me a seat?”

Gu Yihan suddenly stood up, startling Xiao Wu.

Her eyes burned with anger. “Yes, I’m sick—heart disease. Do you have medicine?”

The woman raised her arm to slap her, but Gu Yihan grabbed her wrist.

“Let soldiers give you seats? Have you no shame?”

“Whenever there’s disaster, who’s the first to rush out and save you?”

She flung the woman’s arm away.

“If it weren’t for these soldiers driving out the Japanese back then, would you be living so well-fed and fat now?”

Several passengers burst out laughing.

“That young lady’s right!” someone shouted.

Seeing everyone side with Gu Yihan, the woman clutched her chest.

“Oh dear, my heart hurts… I can’t take it…”

“Sister-in-law, how about I stand? I’m not tired. We’ll arrive soon,” Xiao Wu said, trying to get up.

Gu Yihan pushed him back down.

“No. Don’t give her your seat. If her heart hurts, go see a doctor. Will a soldier’s seat work like a miracle cure?”

The woman rushed over to grab her, but Gu Yihan pushed her away.

“Why aren’t you pretending anymore? Stop waving your hands at me. Dare to hit me?”

She deliberately grabbed the woman’s hand.

“Go on, hit me! If you dare, I’ll sue you till you’re ruined!”

The woman was stunned, completely dumbfounded. She had never seen someone like Gu Yihan.

A female passenger noticed that Xiao Wu had called her “sister-in-law” and spoke loudly: “That woman should be a military wife.”

Hearing this, the woman’s heart skipped a beat. She yanked her hand back with all her strength.

She forced a smile. “It’s a misunderstanding. I’ll just stand. Standing is fine.”

After that, she behaved herself.

Under Xiao Wu’s shocked gaze, Gu Yihan calmly sat down again and covered her face with her handkerchief.

Xiao Wu murmured softly, “Sister-in-law, you’re amazing. Except for my late mother, you’re the first person who’s ever stood up for me.”

Gu Yihan looked at him with pity in her eyes.

He was clearly a child who lacked love.

She had grown up in an orphanage and knew best—before loving others, one must love oneself. No one was more important than oneself.