Liang Xiao's perception of this girl took a refreshing turn. At first glance, when he saw her dressed like that, he thought she was an inexperienced young girl venturing out for the first time. After chatting for a while, he realized that she had more than just a beautiful appearance.
As they stood in the aisle, eating instant noodles and chatting, the sleazy middle-aged man passed by and shamelessly pinched Hai Baihe's buttocks again.
Hai Baihe handed the noodles to Liang Xiao and said, "Could you hold this for me, please?"
Liang Xiao freed up one hand and took the noodles. He saw Hai Baihe take three steps and walk behind the middle-aged man, tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey."
"What?" The middle-aged man not only showed no guilt but also stared at her ample chest intently.
Hai Baihe grabbed his T-shirt in front and pulled him towards her, then delivered a knee strike to his groin and slapped him across the face. "Didn't your mother teach you not to touch girls without permission?"
The man couldn't believe how such a slender girl had such explosive strength. The kick made him feel like he would never have offspring. "You little brat," he said as he attempted to choke her.
Hai Baihe grabbed a bottle of ice-cold cola from someone nearby and smashed it against his forehead, causing him to see stars and fall to the ground, knocking over other passengers' luggage. She walked over, placed her foot on his right hand, and pressed down firmly. "Control yourself, or I'll teach you how to be neither a man nor a woman. Got it?"
Although it was embarrassing to be beaten up by a young girl in front of everyone, the pain in his palm reminded him that it was wiser to obey. "Got... got it," he stammered.
"Good." Hai Baihe released her foot, crouched down, and picked up the things that had fallen to the ground, returning them to the innocent passengers. One of them had brought a chicken, and as soon as Hai Baihe touched the bag, a pungent smell filled the air.
"Sorry about that." She handed the bag back, and the honest peasant-looking man smiled foolishly. "It's fine."
She also compensated the boy whose cola she had used with ten yuan. He refused to accept it, but asked for her WeChat instead.
Liang Xiao watched the whole thing unfold. "Impressive, have you had training?"
Hai Baihe took back her noodles and humbly replied, "Oh, not at all. My dad always told me I was pretty from a young age and said I might encounter hooligans when I grew up, so he taught me some self-defense."
"I see." Liang Xiao could clearly see that Hai Baihe's abilities were more than just self-defense, but since they were just strangers who met by chance, there was no need for him to explain further. He followed the flow and changed the subject.
On the contrary, Hai Baihe smiled brightly and asked him, "Mr. Liang, where are you from? Are you on a trip this time?"
"I'm visiting a friend." Liang Xiao answered vaguely.
Hai Baihe pondered for a moment and said, "I see."
"Baihe," Mugen called from inside, "do you have any ham sausages? Give me one!"
"My friend is calling me, I'll go in first," Hai Baihe bid him farewell. "Goodbye."
"Yeah, see you."
Hai Baihe carried the noodles and climbed up. It had been too long since she had eaten and they were starting to get mushy. She found a
ham sausage from her bag for Mugen and opened the can of fish meat. She even added a braised egg. In a few bites, she finished it all.
Mugen bit on the plastic packaging of the ham sausage, speaking unclearly, "Why were you gone for so long?"
"I saw a handsome guy," Hai Baihe winked, "over 1.8 meters tall, definitely with abs. He was so charming and helpful that it made my legs weak. I flirted with him a little."
"Pfft!" The others burst out laughing at her exaggerated description.
Luckily, Mugen was used to it and envied her. "Where is he? Take me to see him."
"He's probably already gone," Hai Baihe said with a smile, "He said he was visiting a friend, but who knows, maybe he was going to meet his girlfriend."
Mugen's disappointment was evident.
Hai Baihe popped two pieces of xylitol into her mouth to freshen her breath and thought to herself that although the train ride was a bit long, it wasn't as boring as she had imagined.