Chen Hansheng bought a large bag of snacks to bring on the train, and it was only then that Shen Youchu realized that he was also heading to Sichuan and Chongqing. She was stunned and didn't know how to react.
"It doesn't matter whether we leave a little earlier or later, we're all going anyway," Chen Hansheng said, pulling her forward.
Once they boarded the train, Shen Youchu discovered they weren't in hard seats or hard sleepers but in a soft sleeper compartment with four beds in a room. Shen Youchu had never traveled by soft sleeper before, and she felt uneasy as she gingerly touched the clean, white bedding and carefully sat down, only daring to place half of her bottom on the edge, using her hands to support herself on both sides.
Chen Hansheng couldn't bear to watch her: "Are you afraid you'll crush the train?"
"No, no," Shen Youchu responded, lifting her head and saying nervously, "It's too expensive."
"Don't worry. You'll even be flying soon," Chen Hansheng chuckled.
As for himself, Chen Hansheng was much more relaxed. He carelessly took off his shoes, lay down on the bottom bunk, used a blanket as a pillow, propped his feet up on the edge of the bed, and leisurely read a newspaper.
Wang Zibo had never traveled by train either, and his travels had been limited to Su Dong Province. He went to the corridor outside and sat on a foldable chair, completely engrossed in the view outside the window.
After a while, Shen Youchu got used to the situation. She took off her shoes and sat on the bed, hugging her knees, silently reciting her English textbooks.
Chen Hansheng found this odd. Shen Youchu seemed to spend an unusually large amount of time looking at English books.
"Why do you always look at this thing?" he asked.
"I'm bad at English," Shen Youchu whispered.
Chen Hansheng suddenly became interested. "How many points did you get on the college entrance exam for English?"
Shen Youchu lowered her head, not answering.
"Come on, it's okay even if you got zero," Chen Hansheng set down his newspaper and continued to ask.
"Uh, I got zero," Shen Youchu responded, her voice soft. "On the day of the English exam, my grandfather passed away, and I stayed at home with my grandmother."
The train compartment fell silent. Even Wang Zibo, who was outside, overheard the conversation. He mumbled, "If you added English, you could have gotten into Dongda University."
Chen Hansheng pulled out the snacks and handed them to Wang Zibo. "Go get some hot water and make three bowls of noodles."
After Wang Zibo left, Chen Hansheng closed the compartment door and sat next to Shen Youchu. "Are you thinking about your grandfather?"
"Yes," Shen Youchu replied, tears welling up in her eyes, dropping like pearls onto the bed sheets. Her tears were not just from missing her grandfather but from the helplessness of having missed the English exam, which could have changed her destiny.
Chen Hansheng gently wiped her tears away, then held her small feet in his hands. Her socks were thin, and the toes had been patched many times. Clearly, they had been repaired repeatedly.
Shen Youchu, embarrassed, tried to pull her feet away, but Chen Hansheng held them firmly, gently rubbing them until they warmed up. A warmth spread from her feet into her heart.
"Feeling better?" Chen Hansheng asked.
"Th-thank you," Shen Youchu said, gazing at him in a daze.
"You're welcome," Chen Hansheng replied with a mock disgust, wiping his hands. "But you should wash your feet more often, they stink."
Shen Youchu shyly pulled her feet under the blanket, muttering, "They don't stink."
When the door opened, Wang Zibo had already prepared the noodles. Chen Hansheng invited Shen Youchu to eat.
Shen Youchu, however, hadn't forgotten the steamed buns she brought with her. The weather in Jianye was so cold that the buns had turned hard and cold. She tore them into small pieces and put them into the noodle soup, eating it together.
Seeing that both Chen Hansheng and Wang Zibo were staring at her, she mumbled, "I… I just want to eat the buns."
Chen Hansheng sighed, then took two buns for himself and handed two to Wang Zibo. "We'll eat them for lunch. The longer you wait, the harder they get."
Wang Zibo didn't decline and stuffed the buns into his noodles, slurping them down. Afterward, Chen Hansheng took Wang Zibo to the train car's connecting area to smoke.
"I didn't expect Xiao Shen to be such a poor person," Wang Zibo shook his head and said. "She's just too kind, and you, Xiao Chen, always end up with good women."
Chen Hansheng smirked, "Bad women? I never said no to them either."
…
Traveling by train made it easy to fall asleep, with the rhythmic "clank, clank" of the tracks and the swaying motion. Chen Hansheng and Wang Zibo started talking about their hometowns and, before they knew it, had fallen asleep.
It wasn't until someone opened the compartment door that Chen Hansheng groggily opened his eyes. A young female university student walked in.
She was in her twenties, with an average height and delicate features, her hair styled in an airhead fringe. She glanced at the compartment before standing on tiptoe, trying to place her luggage on the overhead rack. However, the rack was too high, and after a few tries, Shen Youchu stood up to help.
Chen Hansheng, half asleep, called out, "Zibo, get up and help."
Wang Zibo, who was also sleeping, rubbed his eyes, jumped down from the bed, and helped the girl put her luggage on the rack.
"Thanks!" the girl said politely, her accent revealing that she was from Sichuan or Chongqing. "What university are you from?"
Chen Hansheng, not in the mood to engage, ignored her, while Shen Youchu, who wasn't good at socializing, remained silent. It was Wang Zibo who ended up talking with her.
To Chen Hansheng's surprise, the two of them hit it off, and when he woke up in the evening, the dim, dusky glow of the sunset shone through the train window, casting a chill into the compartment. The train didn't stop, speeding past mountains, villages, and hills. Chen Hansheng felt a strange sense of time slipping away.
"This is Huang Hui, a senior from Su Dong University of Science and Technology. She already has a job lined up in Jianye," Wang Zibo introduced her.
"Oh," Chen Hansheng muttered, greeting her curtly. Wang Zibo had left the door open while chatting with Huang Hui, letting the cold air flood the compartment. When Chen Hansheng woke up, his nose was a little blocked.
He glanced at Shen Youchu, who was still tightly wrapped in her blanket, quietly reading her English book. Knowing her personality, if it weren't for something really upsetting, she would only silently endure.
"Do you want some hot water? I'll get you some," Shen Youchu asked quietly when she saw that Chen Hansheng was awake.
Without saying a word, Chen Hansheng slammed the compartment door shut, startling Wang Zibo and Huang Hui, who were chatting in the corridor.
"Xiao Chen, could you be a little more careful?" Wang Zibo complained as he opened the door.
Chen Hansheng, fuming, replied, "If you want to flirt with girls, do it in the corridor. Don't leave the door open for a live broadcast!"
After venting, he went outside to smoke, slamming the door again.
Huang Hui, who had noticed Shen Youchu seemed cold but had been too polite to say anything, finally spoke up, "Your classmate has quite a temper."
Wang Zibo, feeling a bit anxious but trying to save face, waved his hand, "Xiao Chen's just like that. I'll go check on him."
"Okay, you seem to be afraid of him. But friends should treat each other equally," Huang Hui said, her voice friendly.
Wang Zibo paused, then explained seriously, "We've known each other since we were four. We're not just regular classmates."
"Oh, I see," Huang Hui said with a smile.
Wang Zibo walked to the smoking area next to the restroom, where Chen Hansheng had already finished half a cigarette.
"Can't you show me some respect? You were yelling in front of strangers," Wang Zibo snatched the cigarette and said.
"Do you like that girl?" Chen Hansheng asked, handing him the lighter.
"It's not that. I just feel like you don't respect me in front of the girls," Wang Zibo grumbled, punching Chen Hansheng lightly.
"She's just some passerby," Chen Hansheng said dismissively. "Once we get off the train, there's no more connection. But Shen Youchu is my heart's darling. You froze her like that, and I'm not allowed to get mad?"