Chapter 110

Su Ruo got back onto the vehicle and immediately said: "Let's go!"

Li Zhaodi said nothing; no matter what the driver did, she would unconditionally support him.

An'an read quietly, as if nothing had happened.

Only the driver occasionally furtively glanced at Su Ruo; he didn't expect that Su Ruo, so young and delicate-looking, would be so ruthless.

That recent scream made him feel pain just hearing it; he didn't know what deep grudge existed between the two girls to drive them to this.

But since he was sent by Zhou Feng to escort Su Ruo and company, he was naturally reliable, so even if the driver were curious, he wouldn't ask a question now.

When Su Ruo and company arrived at the train station, since time was still early, Su Ruo decided to find a stall to eat something first, after all the food on the train is truly awful.

Su Ruo invited the driver to join, but he excused himself saying he had something to do and left first; Su Ruo didn't insist.

Because time was pressing, Zhou Feng couldn't get tickets for the same train; Zhou Feng and Bai Xinya had already returned to Kyoto ahead of them.

Bai Xinya felt regretful as she left; thinking she would be separated from An'an for two days and two nights, her mood inevitably sank.

Zhou Feng smiled and comforted her: "Once we reach Kyoto, you'll have plenty of time to be with An'an."

Bai Xinya's mood improved a little; Kyoto after all is her home, and the thought of soon being able to bring An'an to see her parents made her extremely excited, lifting her spirits considerably.

Because Zhou Feng had arranged in advance for a freight car to send Su Ruo and company's belongings to Kyoto, they only needed to bring some personal items, so they weren't in a rush to board; they waited until most people had gotten on, then headed straight to their sleeper car.

Su Ruo opened the sleeper door and saw that a mother and daughter were already inside the compartment.

The woman looked to be in her thirties, wearing a white dress and seven- to eight-centimeter high heels; upon seeing Su Ruo and company enter, she merely gave them a haughty glance before looking away.

Seeing that the other party had no intention of greeting, Su Ruo naturally wouldn't press her warm face against their cold backside; she merely gave the woman a faint glance before looking away.

Li Zhaodi leaned close to Su Ruo's ear and said: "Dressed like that, riding the train, isn't she tired?"

Su Ruo smiled and shook her head at Li Zhaodi: "It's none of our business; don't worry about it."

Li Zhaodi couldn't help wanting to complain; she disliked the woman's aloof attitude, as everyone is human—who is more noble than whom? Putting on such airs for whom to see?

Zhou Feng deliberately bought two lower berths to make it convenient for Su Ruo and company to look after An'an.

At that moment, the little girl was sitting on the lower berth, and many things were placed on the bed.

Li Zhaodi already had a poor impression of the woman; seeing this, she walked over and said: "Hello, this is my berth; please move your things."

Upon hearing Li Zhaodi's words, the woman disdainfully scanned Li Zhaodi's attire, then, as if bestowing charity, produced two Great Unity notes and said: "My daughter is young; it's inconvenient for her to stay in the upper berth and switch with you; here's twenty yuan as compensation."

If it were someone else, Li Zhaodi might have agreed, but the woman's contemptuous attitude was truly infuriating.

Moreover, what kind of look was that from the woman? Li Zhaodi glanced at her own clothes; for the sake of travel comfort, she, Su Ruo, and An'an had deliberately worn homemade cotton sportswear, a matching parent-child outfit.

The rose-red tops were gold-painted with Fuwa and koi; besides being sweat-absorbent, breathable, and comfortable to wear, they looked festive and playful.

Li Zhaodi didn't think there was anything wrong with her clothes; most importantly, they were homemade, akin to her own child, and now they were being looked down upon—how could she not be angry.

Li Zhaodi stared at the woman's contemptuous attitude and could no longer suppress her anger; she now counted as a ten-thousand-yuan household, so she wouldn't lack the woman's twenty yuan.

"Put away your foul money; if you're capable, buy the whole train—then you can live wherever you want, and no one will compete with you! If you can't afford it, just stay quiet; what are you insulting people with those few melons and dates? Acting like you've never seen money before."

Li Zhaodi is no longer the bullied girl from Li Family Village; standing there with hands on hips, her words immediately flushed the woman's face with anger.

The woman pointed at Li Zhaodi, stammering "You, you, you..." for a while, unable to utter a complete sentence.

Li Zhaodi brushed aside her hand and said: "What 'you you'? A good dog doesn't block the way—don't you know!"

After saying that, Li Zhaodi scooped up the girl on the bed and dumped all their belongings onto the upper berth.

The little girl immediately burst into loud wails: "I don't want to! I want to stay in the lower berth, not the upper! You country bumpkin, you're a bad person!"

Li Zhaodi pulled from her bag a two-finger-wide bamboo splint used to immobilize wounds, snapped it in two with a crack; seeing that, the little girl instantly dared not cry anymore, and the whole world fell silent.

Li Zhaodi clapped her hands and said: "I have a bad temper; you'd better not provoke me."

The woman, nearly dying of rage, trembled as she pointed at Li Zhaodi and said: "You barbarian!"

Li Zhaodi pretended not to see and continued packing her belongings.

Su Ruo smiled at the scene and began packing her and An'an's things; seeing no one paying her any heed, the woman couldn't continue her solo act, so she promptly grabbed her daughter and left.

The carriage now held only Su Ruo, Li Zhaodi, and An'an, who exchanged smiles.

The woman left the carriage and went to find the conductor, asking him to reassign her a lower berth, but the entire train had no lower berths left, and the conductor could do nothing.

After making a fuss for a while to no avail, she could only slink back to the carriage, dejected.

At that moment, Li Zhaodi was reading a book on clothing design and the like; since she intended to work in this field, she needed a certain understanding of it.

Su Ruo was drafting the design for the next series, preparing to produce a batch of butterfly-themed clothing.

An'an was looking at an all-English picture book; given her current English level, she had no trouble with such books.

The woman glanced at Su Ruo and company, thinking they were just putting on airs; with the current rural education level, merely making it to junior high was already good enough—could they possibly understand such profound books?

The little girl stared at the picture book in An'an's hand, her eyes full of envy; at her age, she loved to compare herself to others.

Seeing that the other had what she lacked, she was already jealous; especially since An'an was prettier than her, and when she looked at An'an she didn't see the admiring gaze other children had, this made the little girl even angrier.

So, while Su Ruo accompanied An'an to the restroom, taking advantage of Li Zhaodi's inattention, she poured all the water from the cup onto An'an's book.

Upon seeing this, the woman not only didn't stop it but felt greatly relieved, thinking to herself: "A bunch of country bumpkins still trying to act cultured, learning to read English books at such a young age—can she even understand them?"

After returning, An'an saw her book was wet; her face instantly turned cold—she hated most when people didn't cherish books, especially since she hadn't finished reading this one.

"Is it you who wet my book?" An'an glared icily at the smug girl.

Upon hearing that, the woman immediately shielded the girl behind her: "It's just a book; what's the big deal? Besides, we didn't do it on purpose—who let you fail to protect your own book?"

"Surely they're from the countryside—narrow-minded and ill‑bred!"