Chapter One
The high-speed train stopped at Huize South Station for ten minutes.
Lu Xingyan took off his noise-cancelling earphones, and the snoring of the man in the front seat and the sound of the luggage wheels of the passengers who got on the train became immediately clear.
He slouched in his seat, silent for three seconds, then sat up straighter, threw his earphones on the table, and asked as he twisted the cap of his mineral water bottle, “How much longer?”
“We’re at Huize now, it’ll take about another hour,” said Xu Chengzhou, holding his phone and engrossed in a game.
Chen Zhu happened to come over to get some snacks and found a bag of pork jerky in Xu Chengzhou’s backpack. She held it out and said, “Do you two want some?”
Xu Chengzhou dodged to the side and said, “Miss, I’m playing ranked, don’t bother me!”
Lu Xingyan remained silent, only pushing and fiddling with the packaging bag, his cool and aloof demeanor perfectly in place.
Chen Zhu rolled her eyes in exasperation and, with a piece of jerky between her teeth, walked back to the other carriage.
It wasn’t a holiday, and the high-speed train was relatively quiet. The new passengers stored their luggage, the sound of the wheels of the suitcase disappeared, and the man in front seemed to have woken up from his slumber, his snoring gone as well.
After finishing his water, Lu Xingyan lay back in his seat and closed his eyes, trying to take a nap. He hadn’t slept well last night and was very tired, but his illness didn’t care about the time, place, or occasion. No matter how tired he was, he couldn’t fall asleep on the train.
When his eyes rested, his hearing seemed to become more sensitive. He could hear Xu Chengzhou muttering in a low voice, the sound of the doors closing, and even the faint sound of the silent universal wheels rubbing against the ground, getting closer and closer.
It was Shen Xingruo’s first time taking a high-speed train on a trip, and she only found out at the last minute that Huize South Station didn’t support scanning ID cards to enter the station. She had to turn back and queue up to get her ticket, but luckily she made it to the train in time.
Carriage 2, Seat 7A, by the window.
Shen Xingruo double-checked her ticket:
Yes, this was her seat.
But there was already a middle-aged man sitting in her seat.
Shen Xingruo: “Excuse me.”
The man didn’t move, his eyelids didn’t even twitch. His beer belly was sticking out, leaning against the back of the seat, his mouth slightly open, and a strand of nose hair sticking out of his nostrils. His hair was greasy and shining.
“Uncle, this is my seat. Did you accidentally sit in the wrong one?” Shen Xingruo’s voice was cold, as if she had swallowed ice.
Lu Xingyan opened his eyes for a moment, but then continued to rest with his eyes closed, only kicking his legs forward and hitting the beer belly.
The beer belly was caught off guard and tilted his head.
The woman next to him, dressed in white-collar attire, had already put up with him for a long time. Seeing his head tilting, she quickly turned to avoid it and rolled up her magazine to hit him, “Sir, wake up.”
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