The high-speed train stopped at Huize South Station for ten minutes.
Lu Xingyan took off his noise-canceling headphones, and immediately, the snoring of the man in front of him and the sound of passengers’ luggage wheels became noticeably louder. He slumped in his seat momentarily before sitting up straighter and placing his headphones on the table. As he twisted the cap off a bottle of mineral water, he asked, “How much longer?”
“We’ve reached Huize, so about another hour,” Xu Chengzhou replied, engrossed in his game.
Chen Zhu happened to come over for a snack. She rummaged through Xu Chengzhou’s backpack and pulled out a bag of dried pork. She offered it, “Do you guys want some?”
Xu Chengzhou dodged to the side, “Auntie, I’m in a ranked match. Don’t poke me!”
Lu Xingyan didn’t respond; he just pushed the bag away, maintaining his cool demeanor.
Chen Zhu rolled her eyes and walked back to another compartment, biting into the dried pork.
Since it wasn’t a holiday, the high-speed train was relatively quiet. The new passengers had stowed their luggage, and the sound of rolling suitcase wheels faded. The man in the seat ahead seemed to wake up, and his snoring also stopped.
After finishing his water, Lu Xingyan reclined in his seat and closed his eyes to rest. He hadn’t slept well the night before and was very tired. However, his aristocratic airs flared up regardless of time, place, or situation; no matter how tired he was, he couldn’t fall asleep on the train.
When his eyes rested, his hearing seemed to sharpen. He could hear Xu Chengzhou muttering under his breath, the train doors closing, and the faint sound of silent casters rolling on the floor, moving closer and then farther away.
Shen Xingruo was taking a high-speed train for the first time to travel far. She only discovered at the last minute that Huize South Station didn’t support ID card check-in. She wasted a lot of time queuing for a ticket, but fortunately, she made it onto the train just in time.
Carriage 2, seat 7A, by the window.
Shen Xingruo checked her ticket again—
Yes, it was her seat. But a middle-aged man was already sitting there.
Shen Xingruo said, “Excuse me.”
The man didn’t move, nor did he lift his eyelids. His beer belly protruded prominently as he leaned against the seatback, his mouth slightly open, with a tuft of nose hair sticking out. His hair was greasy, clumped together, and shining.
“Uncle, this is my seat. Did you sit in the wrong place?” Shen Xingruo’s voice was somewhat cold as if laced with menthol.
Lu Xingyan opened his eyes briefly before closing them again, continuing to rest. He bent his leg and gave a casual kick forward.
Caught off guard, the man with the beer belly jerked his head to the side. The woman dressed as a white-collar worker next to him had been enduring him for a while. Seeing his head loll over, she quickly shifted to the side and tapped him with her rolled-up magazine. “Sir, wake up.”
With all this commotion, the man couldn’t pretend to sleep any longer. He wiped his face, pretending to have just woken up, and turned around, seeing Lu Xingyan leaning back in his seat, seemingly asleep. Confused, he turned back to see Shen Xingruo standing in the aisle, looking like a well-behaved student. He said impatiently, “There are other seats over there. Can’t you just sit somewhere else? Why are you so inflexible, young lady?”
“Carriage 2, seat 7A is my seat, Uncle. Let’s check our tickets.”
“What’s wrong with you, young lady?” The man with the beer belly was slightly surprised. He pointed at her, ready to lecture her, but a train attendant happened to hear the commotion and came over.
After Shen Xingruo briefly explained the situation to the attendant, she offered to show her ticket. After checking it, the attendant turned to the man with the beer belly. “Sir, could you please show your ticket and ID card?”
The attendant appeared to be in her early twenties, looking inexperienced. The man with the beer belly didn’t take her seriously and dismissed her, “I bought my ticket on my phone.”
“Then please show me your phone order.”
“My phone is dead.”
“Then your ID card?”
“I lost it.”
Their back-and-forth was getting on Xu Chengzhou’s nerves. His game, which had been going well, was now ruined. Frustrated, he tossed his phone aside and leaned back.
After a few seconds, he suddenly nudged Lu Xingyan with his elbow.
“What?” Lu Xingyan frowned, half-opening his eyes. His voice was hoarse, showing his irritation.
Xu Chengzhou leaned in and whispered, without moving his eyes, “Check out that girl. Isn’t she pretty and elegant?”
Lu Xingyan looked up.
It was early spring in February, the weather was still chilly despite the occasional warmth. The girl was wearing a beige drop-shoulder turtleneck sweater, her long hair tied low into a ponytail. Her back was slender, and the weight of her black backpack made her shoulders slump, making her look very thin. From his angle, he could only see half of her face, but her profile was quite delicate.
Before he could make any comment, Xu Chengzhou, eager to act, said, “Hey, should we help her out, maybe record a video or something?”
Lu Xingyan withdrew his gaze, smiling dismissively, “Real hero, aren’t you?”
Xu Chengzhou shot him a knowing look and was about to say more when suddenly there was a loud “bang” from up front!
Shen Xingruo had just retracted the handle of her suitcase and lifted it a few inches before dropping it back down with a clean, swift motion.
The argument between the attendant and the man with the beer belly came to an abrupt halt, and the murmuring in the carriage quieted.
Shen Xingruo’s face was expressionless. She took off her backpack and threw it onto the horizontally placed suitcase, then took out her phone and pointed the camera at the man with the beer belly. “How about this for a headline: ‘Middle-aged Man Bullies Girl for Her Seat on High-Speed Train’?”
The man was stunned for a few seconds. When he realized what was happening, his face changed, and he started yelling, “What are you filming? Stop filming! You little brat, give me that phone!”
“What kind of manners do you have? I’ll treat you the way you treat me.”
The man hadn’t expected the seemingly quiet girl to be so tough. He was infuriated and tried to push the table away to stand up and grab her phone.
Seeing him about to make a move, the attendant quickly stepped in front of Shen Xingruo. Xu Chengzhou and two other young men also hurried over to intervene.
Xu Chengzhou shouted, “What are you doing, old man? Bullying a young girl, are you?”
One of the young men chimed in, “YeAh you think you’re in the right, hogging her seat?”
In the ensuing struggle, the white-collar woman nearby screamed in panic. The man with the beer belly, just as he stood up, was shoved back into his seat. Amidst the chaos, a heavy kick came from behind, causing him to stumble forward again.
Seeing his disheveled state, Shen Xingruo’s eyes were filled with cold disdain. She kept her camera trained on him, not moving an inch.
The man was so angry his lips were trembling. He leaned back into his seat, gripping the armrest, and nodded repeatedly, saying, “Fine! Fine! You film! Go ahead and film! I’ll just sit here and not move. Let’s see how long you can keep this up, you little brat!”
The people around couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly, “Damn, can things get this shameless?”