Chapter 142: The Arrival

Upon entering the waiting room, Li Heng felt his scalp tingle instantly. Good heavens! There were just too many people. In this era, Shaodong County, as one of the top 20 cities in the country by urban population, was in the midst of the school enrollment season, and the people waiting were packed together like a herd of wildebeest.

It was the end of August, and the weather was muggy. As soon as one passed the entrance to the waiting room, a complex and unpleasant odor rushed to the nose, mixed with the smell of sweat, foot odor, body odor, and even the smell of baby diarrhea, along with all sorts of shouting and screaming, and even the crying of naughty children being severely beaten—it was truly beyond belief.

"Hey, Li Heng, why did you only just arrive? We have to check tickets and board in half an hour. I thought the bus you were on had broken down on the road; I was worried to death."

Pushed and squeezed in by the people behind him, Li Heng hadn't even stood firm on his heels when Sun Manning descended from the sky like a ghost, appearing right before him with a 'whoosh'.

Mai Sui was following right beside her.

Mai Sui, this young lady, had made a special effort to dress up today: a red, waist-cinching top paired with khaki-colored pencil-leg casual trousers, complemented by a beautiful hair clip. At a glance, she looked exceptionally stylish.

At a second glance, her 168cm height was charming without being vulgar, possessing an unparalleled allure; she truly interpreted what it meant to have charm emanating from one's very bones.

Is this what a woman with natural, innate charm is like?

Incredible. A change every two months—truly extraordinary. As she matures with age, who knows how many men will be conquered in the future, Li Heng sighed with such emotion.

"Ah! What is Li Heng looking at? Do you only have eyes for Mai Sui and not me?" Seeing Li Heng sizing up Mai Sui, Sun Manning immediately chimed in with a playful grin.

"Not at all, I was just marveling at Comrade Mai Sui's fashion sense; she hasn't dressed like this before." Just appreciating beauty, Li Heng looked on openly and honestly, without any concealment or avoidance.

Sun Manning pulled Mai Sui over and circled her, "Pretty, right? Eye-catching, right? I've been envious the whole time."

Li Heng nodded: "Indeed, our male compatriots at Fudan are in for a treat."

Mai Sui was made a bit embarrassed by the two of them singing in harmony, and she explained with a delicate smile:

"Mom said Shanghai is a big place, and since school has started, she told me to dress up a little. We're so close, you two should stop flattering me."

Sun Manning made a playful face, "You don't know, when we first entered the waiting station, many people's eyes went straight; I even saw some men swallowing their saliva."

Zhang Zhiyong couldn't help but blurt out, "Damn! You even noticed them swallowing saliva? I usually swallow secretly when I see a beauty."

Looking at this nonsense, the four of them burst into laughter.

Li Heng adjusted his luggage bag, "Have you been waiting a long time?"

Sun Manning checked the time: "A while now, about 20 minutes or so."

As she spoke, she helped Li Heng share a piece of luggage and led the way: "Follow me, my dad has connections here, no need to squeeze in here, there are too many people, and the air is foul."

Mai Sui said to Zhang Zhiyong, who was carrying bags large and small: "Zhang Zhiyong, give me the bag in your right hand."

"Ah! I can enjoy this treatment too, huh." The blockhead looked flattered; he didn't have much status in their small circle, always revolving around his brother, Master Heng. Today was the first time in history—what a dreamlike feeling.

Mai Sui smiled, bent down to take his bag, and followed the two in front.

As the Sun family, with a principal of a key high school, they indeed had connections in this small city, not only avoiding the crowded waiting room but also securing sleeper berths for all their train tickets.

Even if they were hard sleepers, having them all together was quite an achievement.

In an office, Li Heng met Sun Manning's mother, who was chatting with Mai Sui's parents.

Seeing the four return, the three elders stopped their conversation, their attention fully focused on Li Heng and Zhang Zhiyong.

Li Heng put down his luggage and greeted them, calling out 'Uncle' and 'Aunt' all the way.

Zhang Zhiyong hurriedly followed suit, calling out eagerly.

"You are Li Heng, right? I've heard Sui Sui mention you. Missing Peking University by one point is quite a pity, but it's not bad that you can go to Fudan. Peking, Fudan, and Jiao Tong, you know—Fudan is quite good too. It's good to have a companion when you're studying there together, so you won't be so lonely in a strange place." Perhaps because Li Heng had a decent appearance, Mai Sui's mother couldn't help but look at him several times.

"Yes, Aunt is right." Li Heng replied as such.

After chatting with Li Heng for a while, the three elders felt they had neglected Zhang Zhiyong, so they turned the topic to him, asking things like which university he was attending, which made the less-confident blockhead even more unable to speak. Later, Sun Manning and Mai Sui helped smooth things over.

After chatting for a while, the four of them were familiar with each other. Only then did Li Heng have time to ask Sun Manning:

"Is the English teacher not at school? No one answered when I called?"

Sun Manning replied: "She is. She even ate at our house at noon, but there's an all-staff and student meeting at the high school this afternoon. You see, my dad didn't come to see me off because he couldn't get away and didn't have time."

So she went to a meeting, no wonder.

As they talked, it was time to check tickets, and the group hurriedly grabbed their luggage to check in and board.

Upon reaching the platform, Li Heng and the others felt despair once more—it was a sea of people. Damn it, the train had barely stopped, and before the doors were even open, the crowd rushed up with a roar, instantly turning fat people into thin ones and thin people into sticks.

It is said that this is how wars were fought in medieval Europe; the people in the back didn't know if they were dead or alive, and the people in the front couldn't retreat even if they wanted to, all being impaled on spears, strung together like barbecue—especially tragic.

Of course, a tall guy like Li Heng was naturally the one holding the spear, using his hands to push aside a squeezing middle-aged man, bumping away a young man, and prying off an unknown woman who had grabbed his waist from who knows where.

Damn it!

My waist has only been hugged by Chen Zijin and the English teacher; is that something you can hug? Get lost! All of you, get lost! Don't you dare take advantage of me.

With someone clearing the way in front, Sun Manning and her mother stayed close behind, enjoying the benefits.

Mai Sui's father, afraid of losing his daughter, held her with his right hand and pushed his wife inside with his left.

Zhang Zhiyong, at the very back, suffered greatly, roaring and cursing all the way: "Who the hell is touching my butt! Who the hell is touching my gun!"

Instantly, an auntie scolded him back: "Put your matchstick away, what are you rushing for, you little pervert!"

"Get lost, get lost, get lost! You female hooligan, I'll screw your mother!" Zhang Zhiyong had always been one not to show weakness; even surrounded by a group of people, he was still clamoring.

"Get him down! Pull him down!" The auntie reached out to push the blockhead.

Her accomplices followed suit, reaching out together, pulling and pushing, and Zhang Zhiyong, who had already entered the train, was instantly shoved out, stumbling.

Zhang Zhiyong struggled with all his might, only to hear a 'rip' behind him—his shirt had been torn by someone, leaving a huge hole from his shoulder to his butt. Enraged, he grabbed the auntie's head and slammed it against the train with a 'bang, bang, bang'. These were all 'random punches killing the master' moves; he had been doing this since middle school, grabbing the culprit and attacking with all his might.

Just like that, the platform instantly turned into a mess, with crying, shouting, and calls for help filling the entire space.

Seeing Old Yong being beaten, Li Heng in the front flared up. Regardless of who was right or wrong, he turned around and delivered a long, heavy kick, instantly knocking two people over, then grabbed the blockhead and fled inside.

Seeing the situation was bad, the big and tall Mai Sui's father also rushed over to help, blocking the door, displaying the heroism of 'one man blocking the pass, ten thousand unable to open', and with great effort, kicked that group of people down one by one.

It wasn't until the train police, blowing their sharp iron whistles, arrived from behind that Li Heng's group finally escaped the chaos and found their sleeper carriage, relaxing.

Entering the sleeper compartment, Mai Sui, who was in front, turned around and asked Li Heng with concern:

"Li Heng, are you okay?"

Li Heng checked himself: "I'm fine, just got kicked in the calf."

Subsequently, everyone began asking the blockhead all sorts of questions. This guy had taken quite a few kicks, but he was still jumping around, smiling happily as he said to Mai Sui's father:

"Uncle, thank you for your help. When we get to Shanghai, I'll treat you to a big meal."

Shaodong goods were all the rage across the country in the 80s and 90s, even selling well in Russia and all of Eastern Europe, and Mai Sui's father was one of the first batch of people in Shaodong to do business. He had more money in his pocket than Li Heng, so he wouldn't care about this so-called big meal. He smiled and said:

"That's a small matter. When away from home, we should naturally huddle together for warmth."

After the train started, everyone stopped mentioning the unpleasantness just now and instead talked about their destination, Shanghai.

It was clear that even Mai Sui's father, who had seen the world, held great expectations for the trip to Shanghai.

This was a slow train, commonly known as a 'kowtow train', stopping at many small stations. There was no other way; if it were a fast train, Li Heng and Zhang Zhiyong wouldn't have been able to make it from home at all.

However, although it was a sleeper with a ceiling fan, it was still very hot, with waves of heat from outside the window hitting them, just like a sauna.

But even in such a messy environment, as they chatted, sleepiness welled up, and they slowly drifted off. They wouldn't reach Shanghai until the morning after next. Li Heng couldn't hold on, lay down on the berth, and closed his eyes in a daze.

However, he was a vigilant person and never dared to sleep too soundly when away from home. Sure enough, he woke up again after less than two hours.

Mai Sui, in the opposite berth, seemed to have just woken up too. Her eyes met his, and she dodged them several times, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Taking a stealthy glance, Li Heng instantly understood what the girl was feeling awkward about.

Because it was too muggy in the train, Mai Sui was covered in a layer of fine sweat. At first, it was fine, but water accumulates, and after more than 10 hours, her clothes were soaked through. Coupled with her waist-cinching top and her perfectly developed figure, the faintly visible, full contours were hazy and visible. She, who was already incomparably charming, became even more seductive, with full offensive power!

Fortunately, it was a red top, a darker color. If it had been white, wow! One really wouldn't dare to imagine the scenery inside.

Even though Li Heng had seen beauties and was well-informed, he still found it hard to look directly, fearing she would misunderstand, while also fearing his own 'deputy' would fall for it by accident.

Looking at her parents and then at the others, who all seemed to be asleep, Mai Sui hesitated for a moment, got off the bed, took out a clean set of clothes from her bag, and whispered to Li Heng: "Accompany me to the restroom."

"Oh, okay."

Not bad, it's good to have a clear understanding of one's own charm. Li Heng was really worried this girl would rush over alone; if she attracted covetous eyes, that would be terrible.

Perhaps because it was late at night, their luck was okay; the restroom was empty, no one there.

Mai Sui looked back at him, then walked in with some unclear meaning and closed the door.

Li Heng stood in the aisle, his gaze piercing through the train window, trying to admire the scenery outside. Unfortunately, it was too dark; it was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything. He didn't even know what patch of land they were in now.

After a while, the restroom door opened, and Mai Sui walked out in a light pink outfit, with a cartoon picture of Chief Black Cat embroidered on her chest, paired with two rabbits on the high mountains—don't mention it, the charm was long-lasting.

Walking one after the other in the side aisle, Mai Sui suddenly asked: "Li Heng, are you sleepy?"

Li Heng replied: "Not bad, I just had a nap, not very sleepy. How about you?"

"I can't sleep." Arriving outside her carriage, Mai Sui didn't go to the sleeper bed but instead pulled out a small stool and sat down.

Seeing her like this, Li Heng gave up the idea of returning to his berth and also pulled out another small stool, accompanying her in the aisle.

Mai Sui smiled and said: "Thank you."

Li Heng waved his hand: "No need, I can't sleep either. Sitting here is quite good, there's a little breeze outside the window, cooler than lying down."

The two looked at each other for a while, and Mai Sui asked: "After leaving Beijing, where did you go?"

Li Heng asked back: "You don't know at all?"

Mai Sui blinked: "I know you went to Gansu, and you also went to Dongtinghu in August."

Li Heng asked: "Song Yu told you, right?"

Mai Sui said yes: "I called her before school started, wanting to get together with her, but she was in Changsha and didn't come back. It's quite a pity."

Seeing her looking at him curiously, Li Heng thought for a moment and told her about his summer itinerary.

After listening, Mai Sui asked: "You actually went to so many places, is it for writing a new novel?"

Li Heng gave a thumbs up: "Comrade Mai Sui is amazing, guessed it right away."

Mai Sui smiled softly and said: "Don't flatter me, you are a great writer. Running to so many places in one breath during the summer vacation is definitely not just for simple sightseeing."

Then she carefully observed the people in the carriage, and after seeing that everyone was still fast asleep, she lowered her voice and asked: "What's the name of the new book?"

Li Heng scanned the area and told her: "Cultural Bitter Travel."

As for the new book, that was all for now. Mai Sui was afraid of leaking the news and didn't ask more.

Little did they know, Mai Sui's father, Mai Dong, had opened his eyes a crack at this moment, peeking at his daughter and then at Li Heng, before closing them again to restore his original appearance, only secretly pricking up his ears.

Don't even think about it, as an old businessman who had traveled north and south for many years, when away from home, especially in a situation where his wife and daughter were present, for their safety, how could Mai Dong really fall asleep?

He had been in a state of feigned sleep, and he had heard the conversation about his daughter asking Li Heng to go to the restroom clearly.

Mai Sui asked: "Running through more than half of China, you must have suffered a lot on the road, right?"

Li Heng said: "That's for sure. The desert in the Northwest, the mountain roads in the Southwest, the Three Gorges and Dongtinghu were waterways, the food in the Southeast—oh, don't mention it. I was unaccustomed to it all the way, restrained all the way. The weight I finally gained in the second half of the third year of high school dropped by 5 jin all at once. When I got home, my mom felt so sorry for me."

Mai Sui looked at him carefully for a while and nodded: "Indeed, you are thinner than before the college entrance exam, but your eyes are more spirited, and your temperament is more elegant. You will definitely be quite popular in college."

Mentioning being popular, Li Heng instantly thought of Xiao Han, who had left without saying goodbye, and his spirit instantly deflated.

Sensing his emotional change, Mai Sui asked: "What's wrong? Heartbroken because you've become thinner, or troubled by Xiao Han and Song Yu?"

"Ah?" Li Heng raised his head.

Mai Sui smiled slyly: "I'm quite surprised that you didn't go to school with Xiao Han, to be honest."

Li Heng pondered for half a while and asked: "A guess?"

Mai Sui nodded and shook her head: "I didn't think in that direction before, but now that I know about a certain relationship between you and Xiao Han, many details cannot withstand scrutiny."

Truly smart! As sharp as Song Yu, just by summarizing a few key pieces of information, she had figured out the unclear relationship between him and Xiao Han.

Li Heng neither admitted nor denied it.

He didn't admit it because the girl in front of him was definitely on Song Yu's side, and the two girls had an excellent relationship.

He didn't deny it because he didn't want to insult anyone's intelligence.

Seeing Li Heng fall into silence, Mai Sui changed the topic again and asked: "Is your father's health any better?"

Li Heng said: "After applying the plaster, it's better, and it's currently under continuous treatment."

Mai Sui asked: "Then are you still going to Beijing?"

"Hmm."

Li Heng hummed and said: "It's a matter of life and death, I have to go."

Mai Sui's lips parted; she hadn't expected Li Heng's father's illness to be so serious, and then she secretly felt sorry for Song Yu. If he went to Beijing, Chen Zijin would definitely gain a lot of points.

The two chatted all the way, and the journey seemed to go much faster. By the time they finished passing through Jiangxi Province, the sky was already bright, and the others had woken up one after another, while the two went back to their berths to sleep.

With someone keeping watch, plus being tired, this sleep was very deep. When Li Heng opened his eyes again, the train had just left Hangzhou Station not long ago.

Compared to before he slept, there were two new unfamiliar faces in the carriage aisle, an old one and a young one, who seemed to be from the next sleeper carriage.

At this time, the old face was holding a freshly baked copy of 'Harvest' magazine, leaning against the train wall, reading with great interest.

Once, the new face took out two peeled boiled eggs and handed them to the old face, saying:

"Old Principal, use this to deal with your stomach; dinner on the train won't be out for a while."

The old principal remained unmoved and said in a deep voice: "Not hungry yet, you eat it yourself."

The new face poked his head to look at the 'Harvest' magazine and couldn't help but say: "Is this 'Cultural Bitter Travel' that good? You delayed your lunch because of it, and now you're still not eating anything—don't bring out your old stomach trouble."

The old principal didn't look sideways and said with dissatisfaction: "Don't make a sound, I'm almost finished."

Speaking of which, after Chief Editor Liao returned to Shanghai in high spirits on August 9th, he went to Ba's house for the first time to present the manuscript from this trip to the other party.

After reading it, Ba was silent for a long time, stroking the manuscript lovingly, and only asked one question: "Is there any word on when the remaining 35 chapters will be finished?"

Chief Editor Liao said: "Li Heng said he will continue writing until November, finishing in November."

Ba lowered his head and continued to stroke the manuscript, saying nothing.

Chief Editor Liao added: "I observe that Li Heng is very well prepared this time and is also very confident; there won't be any trouble."

After listening, Ba put the manuscript on the desk and sighed: "The country produces talented people in every generation; I really didn't misjudge the person.

This Li Heng, he has great talent. Go back, adjust the schedule, and publish 'Cultural Bitter Travel'."

Originally, the August issue of 'Harvest' magazine was already full, but because of this sentence, after Chief Editor Liao returned to the office, he removed two weighty works to make room for the best position.

At first, several editors in the editorial department who considered themselves to have seniority had opinions on this, but when Chief Editor Liao placed the 6 chapters of 'Cultural Bitter Travel' in front of them, there were no more dissenting voices.

On the contrary, the faces that were originally full of deep hatred turned into sighs and regrets. There was no way; strength overrides everything. They could only secretly sigh for the authors under their hands: 'Why did heaven create Yu when it also created Liang? Born at the wrong time! Born at the wrong time!'

This is also the reason why 'Cultural Bitter Travel' was able to step on the tail of the bimonthly magazine and take the stage at the last moment.

After about 15 minutes, the old principal put down the book, took off his nearsighted glasses, and said:

"'Cultural Bitter Travel' is well written, thought-provoking; the writer has put his heart into it. You should take a look when you have time."

Sister Xiao Lin was the old principal's assistant and also his proud student. After listening, he immediately picked up the 'Harvest' magazine and flipped through it, then abruptly asked a question:

"Principal, you say the outside world is arguing noisily about this 'December', fighting endlessly over royalties, while he is fine—not showing off, not revealing, not caring at all, letting you toss and turn, and quietly produced a new work.

This is a proper slap in the face. And you, sir, still rate him so highly; I guess the slap was successful. I've been wondering, how old is this 'December' exactly, and how can he be so composed?"

Hearing this, the old principal laughed happily, picked up a peeled boiled egg, took a bite, and said casually: "By the way, after returning to school, help me handle one thing; get a file."

Sister Xiao Lin hurriedly asked: "Whose file?"

The old principal said: "The Statistics major of the School of Management, the name is Li Heng."

Sister Xiao Lin was stunned, "This year's freshman."

The old principal gave a neither light nor heavy 'hmm'.

Getting confirmation, Sister Xiao Lin was even more confused, "Has a background?"

If it were an ordinary person, they wouldn't ask such a stupid question, but the two had a relationship like teacher and son, and there weren't so many formalities in private, so he asked casually.

The old principal said meaningfully: "Don't play tricks, just get the file for me. Without my permission, don't go disturb him."

"Really has a big background?" Sister Xiao Lin's tone intensified a bit.

The old principal glanced at him sideways and ate the boiled egg by himself.

The voices of the old and young were not loud, but Mai Dong, who was sitting nearby smoking, heard every word.

At this moment, his head was buzzing, suddenly remembering the conversation between his daughter and Li Heng, and suddenly the old man's extremely high rating of 'Cultural Bitter Travel'.

After a long time, Mai Dong finally couldn't suppress his thoughts, handed over two White Sand cigarettes, and enthusiastically tried to get close: "May I ask your surnames? Are you going to Shanghai?"

The old principal loved cigarettes and didn't refuse when he saw good ones. He took them and said: "My surname is Sun."

Sister Xiao Lin also took the cigarette, "Lin Shusen, returning to Shanghai for work."

Later, Lin Shusen looked at Li Heng, Mai Sui, Sun Manning, and Zhang Zhiyong, who were laughing and talking in the carriage, and asked: "Are you sending your children to Shanghai for school?"

Mai Dong introduced: "Yes, the one in the pink clothes is my daughter. She got into Fudan this year, and her mother and I are going to see her off."

The old and young looked at each other, Lin Shusen asked: "Fudan is good, which major?"

Mai Dong said heroically: "School of Management, Accounting major."

Next was Mai Dong's performance time. Don't look at him as only having a high school education, but he had been in business for many years, had extremely high emotional intelligence, and spoke flawlessly. Even though the three were not people from the same world, there was still back-and-forth, and the atmosphere was unexpectedly good.

When he felt it was about time, Mai Dong started to borrow the book, "I just heard Principal Sun praising 'Cultural Bitter Travel', and it made me feel itchy. Could you lend it to me to see?"

The old principal was not stingy and gave him the book, "You also love reading 'Harvest'?"

Mai Dong knew how much he weighed. Through the previous exchange, the other party had almost figured out his academic composition, so he didn't pretend to be a big deal and laughed:

"I'm usually busy and don't have time, but I heard that the writer 'December' is from our Shaodong, so I paid special attention to it. I didn't expect a new book to come out so quickly."

Lin Shusen was surprised, "So Mr. Mai and 'December' are from the same place, excuse me, excuse me!"

With just such a turn, the topic successfully circled to Li Heng. Before long, Mai Dong had a rough judgment on Li Heng's status in the literary world, how talented Li Heng was, and how awesome Li Heng's new book was.

After the judgment, the waves in Mai Dong's heart! It was as if he had crossed high mountains, waded through the sea, and was heading to the South Pole. It was truly nothing but shock after shock!

That level of surprise was unprecedented!

Didn't expect such an awesome person to be hidden around his daughter!

Didn't expect this awesome person to have a pretty good relationship with his daughter!

Sun Manning heard the discussion about the writer 'December' in the aisle outside and immediately proudly said to Li Heng, Mai Sui, and Zhang Zhiyong:

"Look, writer 'December' is worthy of being our fellow townsman; his fame is huge. You can hear discussions about him even on the train."

Subsequently, Sun Manning sighed, "It's just a pity, my dad defended him for so long, arguing with that Wang Shuo in the newspaper for a month or two, and still doesn't know what he looks like? How old is he?"

Oh my goodness! Unable to listen to this, Zhang Zhiyong buried his head in the quilt, frantically patted the bed, trying his best to hold back laughter! It was so damn hard to hold back!

Mai Sui was much more composed, glanced at the calm Li Heng, and then lowered her head to peel an orange.

Sun Manning asked Li Heng: "What's wrong with Zhang Zhiyong? Is he stupid?"

Li Heng said: "Should be stupid, he is stupid once or twice every day."

Sun Manning took out playing cards, "It will be a few hours before we reach Shanghai, it's very boring. Come, let's play cards, play 'Upgrade'."

"Okay, I'll go to the restroom." Li Heng also felt bored and got up and said so.

It was just that Li Heng had just walked out of the carriage and greeted Mai Dong in the aisle when Sun Manning's shout came from behind:

"Li Heng, wait for me, I'm out of water, I'm going to get a pot of boiling water."

"Okay, hurry up."

Li Heng stretched, saw an old and young man looking at him, and smiled very friendly at them.

Watching Li Heng and Sun Manning walk away, Lin Shusen finally came back to his senses, turned his head and asked Mai Dong: "This Li Heng, is he also going to Fudan for school?"

Mai Dong felt funny in his heart, you finally found out, "Yes, going to Fudan, the two who just went out are both Fudan freshmen."

The old man, who had always been relatively quiet, interjected at this time: "What major is he studying?"

Mai Dong didn't know this and hadn't asked, so he raised his voice and asked his daughter who was eating oranges in the carriage: "Sui Sui, what major is Li Heng studying?"

Mai Sui turned back, "Statistics."

Hearing this, Lin Shusen looked at the old principal strangely.

The old principal put on his reading glasses unhurriedly, his gaze aimed at the direction of the restroom. He hadn't seen clearly because it was blurry just now, but this time he had to take a good look at this god that his old friend from Peking University complained about him stealing away.

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(End of chapter)