Chapter 92: Heart's Tip

Yang Tianxing bought a large bag of snacks in preparation for entering the station; only then did Liu Jiaoyue realize that Yang Tianxing was also going to Sichuan-Chongqing, and she was so stunned she didn't even react.

"We're going anyway, what does it matter if it's a bit later or a bit earlier."

Yang Tianxing pulled her forward, and after boarding the train, Liu Jiaoyue discovered it wasn't a hard seat, nor a hard sleeper, but a soft sleeper compartment for four people.

Liu Jiaoyue had never even sat in a hard sleeper before; being upgraded directly to a soft sleeper made her feel very flustered.

She gently touched the clean, soft bedding, only daring to cautiously sit on half of her bottom, while also using both hands to support herself on either side.

Yang Tianxing found it amusing: "What's wrong, are you worried you'll collapse the train by sitting on it?"

Liu Jiaoyue raised her head and said uneasily: "It's, it's too expensive."

Yang Tianxing pinched her little face: "We'll have to take planes in the future, it's fine."

Yang Tianxing didn't have much of a sitting posture; he had long since taken off his shoes and was lying carelessly on the lower bunk, using his quilt as a pillow, his feet propped up on the edge of the bed, reading a newspaper leisurely.

Shao Ziyang had never taken a train before either, and his range of movement had been limited to Qinhan Province, so he ran to the folding stool in the corridor outside, watching the scenery along the way with rapt attention.

Liu Jiaoyue eventually adapted as well; she also took off her shoes, sat on the bed, hugged her knees, and silently recited her English textbook.

Yang Tianxing felt it was very strange; it seemed like Liu Jiaoyue spent a particularly large amount of time looking at English.

"Why do you always look at this stuff?"

"My English is poor."

Liu Jiaoyue said in a small voice.

Yang Tianxing suddenly became interested: "What was your score on the English portion of the college entrance exam?"

Liu Jiaoyue lowered her head and didn't answer.

"Just say it, even if it's zero, it's nothing to be ashamed of."

Yang Tianxing put down the newspaper and pressed her.

"It's, it's zero."

Liu Jiaoyue hugged her knees even tighter: "That day, that day of the English exam, Grandpa passed away, and I was at home keeping Grandma company."

The compartment went quiet; Shao Ziyang heard this conversation from outside and muttered to himself: "If she had added English, she would have gotten into Shanghai Jiao Tong University."

Yang Tianxing took out the snacks and said to Shao Ziyang: "Go get some hot water and make three bowls of noodles."

Shao Ziyang nodded, and after he left, Yang Tianxing closed the door of the soft sleeper compartment and sat down in front of Liu Jiaoyue: "Are you missing Grandpa?"

"Yes."

Liu Jiaoyue raised her head, tears streaming down like pearls off a broken string scattered on the bed; there was the longing for her relative in her memories, and also the helplessness of missing the English exam that could have changed her fate, all falling onto the bedsheet and turning into circles of water stains.

Yang Tianxing raised his hand to help her wipe the tears from her face, then grabbed Liu Jiaoyue's small feet and pulled them over to rub them slowly in his palms; her socks were somewhat thin, with dense traces of needlework where they had been mended, showing they had been repaired many times.

Liu Jiaoyue was embarrassed and wanted to pull back, but Yang Tianxing wouldn't let her, instead continuing to rub gently until the temperature of both feet slowly rose, accompanied by a warm current that darted from the soles of her feet into Liu Jiaoyue's heart.

"Is it a bit better?"

Yang Tianxing asked.

"Tha, thank you."

Liu Jiaoyue looked at Yang Tianxing blankly.

"You're welcome."

Yang Tianxing pretended to wipe his hands with a look of disgust: "But you need to wash your feet more, they stink to death."

Liu Jiaoyue shyly tucked her feet into the quilt and whispered: "They don't stink."

After opening the door, Shao Ziyang had already finished soaking the noodles, and Yang Tianxing called for Liu Jiaoyue to eat.

Liu Jiaoyue still hadn't forgotten the steamed buns she brought from Chang'an; the winter in Chang'an was already cold, and the buns had long since become cold and hard, so she tore them off piece by piece to soak in the noodle soup before eating them.

Seeing Yang Tianxing and Shao Ziyang both staring at her, she said in a small voice: "I, I want to eat the buns."

Yang Tianxing sighed, took two buns for himself, and also handed two to Shao Ziyang: "Finish them off at noon, the longer you drag it out, the worse they taste."

Shao Ziyang didn't mind these things; after putting the buns into the instant noodle soup and slurping them all up, Yang Tianxing pulled Shao Ziyang to the junction between the carriages to smoke.

"Didn't expect Little Liu to be such a pitiable person."

Shao Ziyang shook his head and said: "It's just that her personality is too good, and she's thrifty; Little Yang, you always encounter good women."

Yang Tianxing puffed on his cigarette and said: "I haven't planned on letting bad women go either."

……………

People on trains fall asleep very easily; listening to the "clatter, clatter" sound, combined with the inherent rocking motion, and in an era without smartphones, Yang Tianxing and Shao Ziyang chatted about things back home and fell asleep without realizing it.

It wasn't until someone opened the compartment door that Yang Tianxing groggily opened his eyes; a female college student walked in.

She was in her early twenties, not very tall, with a fairly delicate face and air bangs; she walked in, took a look, and then stood on tiptoe, wanting to put her luggage on the rack.

However, she wasn't tall enough to reach the rack, and after failing several times, Liu Jiaoyue put down her book and wanted to get up to help, but Yang Tianxing, still sleepy, shouted to Shao Ziyang on the upper bunk: "Shao Ziyang, stop sleeping, get up and help."

Shao Ziyang was also sleeping; after being woken up, he rubbed his eyes, jumped off the bed, and helped the female college student put her luggage up.

"Thanks."

The female college student thanked them politely, and unexpectedly, she also had a Sichuan-Chongqing accent: "What university are you guys from?"

Yang Tianxing didn't want to be bothered while sleeping, and Liu Jiaoyue didn't have much social ability, so in the end, it was only Shao Ziyang who could stutter out a reply.

"Damn it."

Yang Tianxing cursed under his breath, feeling a bit uncomfortable from the interrupted sleep; he himself didn't know why he felt a bit annoyed looking at that female college student, just like a police officer who has been on duty for years can instantly identify who is a criminal.

Unexpectedly, the two of them chatted quite congenially; after Yang Tianxing drifted off to sleep, when he opened his eyes again, it was already dusk, the setting sun dyeing the horizon as if stained with blood, the sunset spilling through the window onto the corridor, yet there was no feeling of warmth.

The train raced along, passing through mountain villages and countless hills; Yang Tianxing felt an inexplicable sense of regret that time was fleeting and difficult to grasp.

"Little Yang, this is Jiang Mumu, a senior at Chang'an University of Electronic Science and Technology; she's already found a job in Chang'an."

Shao Ziyang introduced.

Yang Tianxing gave a muffled greeting; that idiot Shao Ziyang had actually left the soft sleeper compartment door wide open while chatting with Jiang Mumu, letting all the cold air into the compartment, and after waking up, his nose was completely congested.

He took another look at Liu Jiaoyue; this little girl was curled up tightly on the bed, wrapped in the quilt, silently reading her English book; with her personality, if it wasn't something truly excessive, she would only endure it herself.

"Would you like some hot water? I'll get some for you."

Liu Jiaoyue saw Yang Tianxing wake up and asked in a low voice.

Yang Tianxing kept a sullen face and said nothing, slamming the carriage door shut with a "Bang!", which gave Shao Ziyang and Jiang Mumu, who were chatting in the corridor outside, a start.

"Little Yang, can't you close the door a bit more quietly?"

Shao Ziyang opened the door again and said with dissatisfaction.

Yang Tianxing's anger was already overflowing from his face: "If you want to pick up girls, do it in the corridor; are you leaving the door open to give me a live broadcast?"

After cursing, Yang Tianxing picked up the cigarettes and lighter on the table to smoke, and casually shut the door again.

Jiang Mumu's expression looked a bit unpleasant after being told off; she had actually noticed earlier that Liu Jiaoyue looked a bit cold on the bed, but chatting with the door closed made her feel a bit stifled, so she hadn't said anything.

"Your classmate has quite a temper," Jiang Mumu said.

Shao Ziyang felt a bit flustered inside, but he waved his hand, determined to save face: "Little Yang just has this dog-like temper; I'll go check on him."

"Alright, you seem quite afraid of him; classmates should still treat each other as equals."

Jiang Mumu suddenly said from behind.

Shao Ziyang paused, turned his head, and explained earnestly: "I've known him since we were four years old; we aren't just ordinary classmates, we're childhood friends."

"Oh, oh, oh, then you go ahead," Jiang Mumu smiled kindly.

When Shao Ziyang arrived at the smoking area next to the restroom, Yang Tianxing had already finished half a cigarette.

"Can't you give me some face? Shouting and yelling in front of an outsider."

Shao Ziyang snatched the cigarette case and said.

"What, do you like that girl?"

Yang Tianxing handed over the lighter as well.

"It's not that, I just feel like you don't respect me in front of girls."

Shao Ziyang punched Yang Tianxing on the shoulder and lit a cigarette for himself.

"She counts as a passerby at most; if you hadn't engaged with her, she wouldn't even count as a passerby, but look at this?"

Yang Tianxing pointed in the direction of the carriage: "Liu Jiaoyue is the apple of my eye; the fact that I didn't slap that woman twice for freezing her like that means my temper has been pretty good today."