Qin Guan picked up Cong Nianwei at noon the next day. They squeezed into the train with their luggage, huffing and puffing. It was Spring Festival peak travelling season, and the train was extremely crowded.
When they finally reached their seats, the train was already full to the brim. Qin Guan didn’t give a damn though as he pushed their luggage wherever there was room and held onto their tickets.
Their seats were not bad. They were double seats by the window. Treating the student in charge of ticket-booking had paid off.
Qin Guan talked to the people sitting in their seats and they left. It was a common occurrence when there were too many people in a carriage for people to take any spare seat until the passenger whose seat this was turned up. Mutual understanding was appreciated when travelling. You might be wondering why Qin Guan hadn’t booked sleeping tickets.
Colleges could only book seats for students. Tickets for beds were only available at the station.
Who dare say that he could have booked tickets for sleepers by waiting in line at the station? Come out and I promise not to beat you.
Qin Guan hung their coats and asked Cong Nianwei to hold their bags in her arms. He took out a thermos bottle from under the table, but saw that it was empty.
He turned his eyes to the crowded carriage aisle and asked Cong Nianwei, “Are you thirsty?”
Cong Nianwei shook her head. She had never seen such a thing. Adults were crying and children were making noise. There were people everywhere in the carriage, including the aisle and the restroom.
She was still shocked when the train slowly pulled out of the station. Qin Guan said something to her, and then began to tread through the ocean of people with the thermos bottle, heading towards the water heater.
When he came back carrying a full bottle, his sweater was wrinkled and sweaty. He took it off right away.
If he had been on the street during the day, he would have surely attracted everyone’s attention. On the crowded train though, nobody paid him any mind. There were so many people who looked even stranger than him. Some had even taken off their shoes and socks, while others were scratching their feet with their fingers or snoring loudly.
Qin Guan folded up his sweater and pushed it into the corner of Cong Nianwei's seat. He told her to use it as a cushion if she felt tired.
By the time they passed the first station, the people in the carriage had finally found their own seats and quieted down.
Qin Guan took a vacuum cup out of the plastic bag that contained their food, put some tea powder in it and poured hot water from the thermos bottle. When he passed the cup to Cong Nianwei, the water in it had already turned into aromatic hot jasmine tea.
They were casting intimate amorous glances at each other, the passengers sitting across from them shouting to them in annoyance and destroying the atmosphere.
“Hey, young man, may I have some hot water?” the old man across from him shouted in a typical loud Shandong Province accent.
Qin Guan nodded and answered, “No problem. At your service.”
The old man gave him a large smile, filled half his jug with hot water and took a sip. “Are you college students? Are you dating?” he asked.
Cong Nianwei flushed suddenly as she met the old man’s eyes. Qin Guan had to restrain himself from laughing at her.
This strong-willed girl was flushing because of something a stranger had said. Watching Cong Nianwei's expression, Qin Guan’s eyes shined. He really wanted to kiss her.
Cong Nianwei turned her head to find a silly expression on Qin Guan’s face. The guy had something naughty in his mind. She stretched two fingers and pinched his waist.
She had been practicing that movement since she was a kid. She poked the side of his waist, where a mass of useless fat tended to accumulate.
Cong Nianwei grabbed his skin and muscle and twisted, but Qin Guan didn't make the sad, shrill cry she had expected. She had failed to twist it right.
Qin Guan's recent physical training had been really effective. He now had V-line abs and tight, flat abdominal muscles. That’s why Cong Nianwei had failed to pinch him.
Not aware that he had just been pinched, Qin Guan kept smiling like an idiot. The old man across from them took out a deck of cards and asked, “Do you want to play?”
The three of them turned their eyes to the only young man there.
The young man, who sitting across from Qin Guan, looked like a college student. He was reading a thick textbook, and he turned to them with a disdainful expression when he heard the old man’s question.
Qin Guan took a glance at the book in his hands. He saw nothing but engineering terminology. Hey, that was my major in my past life. This is a colleague.
When he didn’t get a response from the people sitting beside him, the old man turned to the people standing in the aisle. They all had too much spare time. It was a twelve-hour train ride. Most people were longing for some entertainment, so they joined them.
The table was too small to fit many, so they only accepted one person in the game. The rest just surrounded the table and watched. The reading young man looked at them disdainfully and buried himself in his book again.
Early on in the game, Qin Guan realized they were playing against a superior opponent. His and Cong Nianwei’s total IQ might be ten times their opponents’, but they were no good at playing cards.
Their opponents reached K while Qin Guan and Cong Nianwei gloomily reached six. The young man across from them couldn’t bear it any more. He put down his book and said, “Hey, why are you playing this card? You should play this one...” Cong Nianwei found his suggestion clear and logical. She turned to their opponents, “I’m not very good at this game. Shall we switch a player and start over?”
The old man and his partner nodded, “All right.” The young man rolled up his sleeves and became Qin Guan’s partner.
They started from 2 again. After one round, the old man had reached K. Qin Guan's hand was tragic. He only reached 4.
The young man smiled in embarrassment as he threw his cards on the table.“Actually, my hand was not bad.”
It definitely wasn’t. You knew the cards of both parties. After two rounds, the old man realized how late it was. He took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and asked them, “Smoke?”
Qin Guan shook his head while the young man nodded happily. Why did his attitude change so much after that game?
The two of them finished smoking and filled the thermos bottle again. All four of them prepared to do the most important thing on the train- eat instant noodles, that is.
By that time, they all had gotten to know each other. Qin Guan, Cong Nianwei and the old man were from the same city while the young man came from the City of WF. He would get off the train at midnight.
Qin Guan asked about his profession and realized they had been schoolmates in his past life. He was only two years older than Qin Guan. It seemed like fate.
Qin Guan immediately felt a sense of intimacy. In less than two minutes, the two of them were talking like old friends.
Qin Guan suddenly realized that the young man was exactly like he had been before his rebirth- an indoors man who didn't get along well with others. That was one of the advantages of being good looking.
The old man was even more pitiful. He had had affairs in the capital and had only gotten off at rush hour. He could do nothing, but take this crowded train home.
While they ate instant noodles, the old man gave each of them a boiled egg. Qin Guan took out the thick ham he had bought and cut a piece for everyone. This was a typical train meal- ham, eggs and instant noodles.
When they finished their noodles, they cleared the table, and closed their eyes to get some rest.
It was already deep into the night. Everything was silent except for the clanking train. Several snores were heard occasionally, making the night seem even quieter.
Cong Nianwei was tired and had fallen asleep. Her eyebrows were screwed up in a small lump, as if she was having a bad dream.
Qin Guan gently placed her head on his shoulder, trying his best to make her more comfortable.
Feeling his warmth, Cong Nianwei twisted, trying get into a more comfortable position on his shoulder before she fell asleep once again
Qin Guan was both suffering and enjoying this. Cong Nianwei's soft, warm face was leaning against his shoulder. His lips were near her. His mind was full of naughty thoughts that he wasn’t brave enough to realize. Qin Guan felt conflicted.
Before the conflict inside him could be resolved, the train slowed down again. It had arrived at a small station in the deep, dark night.
By the time Qin Guan had come back to his senses, the train had already stopped. The train workers placed the board down and opened the door.