Chapter 187: The Train Home

"Clank-chug~ clank-chug~ clank-chug-chug-chug~"

The 83 train was slow—so slow that passengers could clearly distinguish the subtle differences between each successive "clank-chug."

Many first-time train riders loved the unique metallic rhythm, but those who rode often heard only dullness and monotony.

Jiang Xiaoyan sat by the window, staring blankly at the slow-moving scenery outside, utterly devoid of the excitement and liveliness she'd felt six months earlier on her first train ride.

"Xiao Yan, what are you daydreaming about? I've been calling you for ages!"

"Huh? Oh, oh—you want the window seat? Then let's switch."

Jiang Xiaoyan was nudged by Hu Man and instinctively lifted her buttocks to move over.

The train was packed tight around the Spring Festival, and the air inside the carriage was unbearable—so everyone preferred window seats, even if the window stayed shut, because even a sliver of fresh air sneaking through the gap was precious.

Right now, Jiang Xiaoyan's seat was the best, so she assumed Hu Man wanted to swap for some fresh air.

But Hu Man said: "Why swap seats? Didn't you hear Li Dayong arguing over there? Go quick and calm him down—I'll watch your seats and luggage."

"Huh? Then keep an eye on them! We're going over to help!"

Jiang Xiaoyan strained her ears and indeed heard faint shouting from the next carriage—though she didn't catch Li Dayong's voice. But since Hu Man said so, she quickly stood up and went over.

"Help how? Just talk sense into him—don't let him cause trouble."

Hu Man wasn't worried Li Dayong would get hurt—after all, in Qingshui County No. 2 High, Li Dayong claimed second in physical strength, and only Li Ye dared claim first; the two brothers had never lost a fight.

She was afraid Li Dayong might severely beat someone; their families had repeatedly drilled into them before leaving: "Suffering a loss is a blessing," better to avoid trouble than invite it.

"Oh, okay, I get it—if things get really bad, I'll go get Li Ye."

Jiang Xiaoyan nodded, then followed Yan Jinbu, Fu Yingjie, and others as they squeezed through the crowd toward the next carriage.

She knew why Hu Man didn't go herself to calm Li Dayong—after rejecting him, a silent barrier had formed between them, and they'd developed a mutual habit of avoiding each other to avoid awkwardness.

Originally, everyone could've sat together on this homebound trip, but Li Ye had received a sleeper ticket from Wen Guohua, so he naturally went to the sleeper car.

Li Dayong, meanwhile, had squeezed into the next carriage with two classmates, earning scorn and teasing from Fu Yingjie and the others, who called him and Li Ye the "disunited elements" of their eight-person group.

But they were only teasing—no one took it seriously. After all, Li Ye had the sleeper because of Wen Leyu, and Li Dayong had moved next door because of a female classmate named Lin Qiuyan.

According to Fu Yingjie's reliable intel, Li Dayong had been closely interacting with Lin Qiuyan, a sophomore from Dongshan, for the past two months: studying together, eating in the cafeteria, climbing Xiangshan, touring Beijing.

As Fu Yingjie put it: "How did we never notice Li Dayong had a hidden talent for putting girls before friends?"

"Make way, make way—excuse us! Dayong, don't act rashly—we're here!"

Jiang Xiaoyan and Han Xia, the two girls, followed Yan Jinbu and Fu Yingjie, pushing through the crowd into the next carriage. They all knew Li Dayong's temper and rushed to stop him before he exploded.

But when they finally squeezed into the scene, they realized Li Dayong wasn't the one arguing—he was trying to mediate. The real quarrelers were elsewhere.

A girl in a bright red wool coat stood before a seat, coldly confronting a family of four in the aisle.

"My coat was dirtied by you, right? If you dirtied it, why isn't it your responsibility? You're accusing me of extorting you? Is this how you treat fairness?"

"We never said it wasn't our fault, but you're demanding two hundred yuan? What kind of coat is worth two hundred? You're a college student—you can't just make up prices!"

The red-coated girl replied coldly: "If you won't pay, fine—give me your workplace address. I'll write a letter to inquire why your ideological education is so lax."

"."

Fu Yingjie, Jiang Xiaoyan, and the others were stunned—they had no idea how to mediate this.

The girl in the red wool coat was Lin Qiuyan, the one with a special connection to Li Dayong.

The family of four in the aisle—besides the man, whose face was flushed with rage—the other three were clearly terrified.

Especially a little boy with soup-stained hands, sniffling and tearful, clearly aware he'd committed a grave offense.

On Lin Qiuyan's bright red wool coat, a large stain of dark-brown soup dripped heavily, turning the stylish coat into something resembling a mangy, shedding dog.

Looking at the spilled rice and dishes on the floor, everyone understood: the boy had accidentally dropped his lunchbox, spilling the entire contents onto Lin Qiuyan.

How could anyone mediate this?

Persuade Lin Qiuyan to drop the compensation?

But that red wool coat clearly wasn't cheap—forget washing it, could the grease even come out? And even if it did, would it still hold its shape?

But look at the family—asking them to pay two hundred yuan was simply heartless.

The two children wore old cotton jackets; their feet were in cloth cotton shoes. Two hundred yuan might drain their entire savings.

Li Dayong clearly felt the same—he whispered to Lin Qiuyan: "Forget it. When we get to the provincial city, I'll buy you a new one."

"Are you rich? You're a broke student—what are you showing off for? Do you think they'll be grateful? They'll think it's our fault."

Lin Qiuyan scolded Li Dayong relentlessly, reducing the bear-like man into a hunched, timid figure.

Jiang Xiaoyan and Fu Yingjie exchanged glances and quietly stepped back to confer.

Han Xia said: "How is Lin Qiuyan so fierce? One word and she escalates everything—threatening to write to their workplace? Doesn't she realize how big she's making this?"

Fu Yingjie whispered: "Lin Qiuyan's like this—she's not unreasonable, she just never lets go once she's right. She'll drag out a tiny mistake for hours. Even I get nervous around her."

Jiang Xiaoyan rubbed her head: "What do we do? We can't help! Li Dayong's been yelled at till he's speechless—what are we?"

Yan Jinbu pursed his lips and whispered: "At the next stop, I'll go get Li Ye. Only he can handle this."

"Yes, Li Ye will fix it."

After living together so long, the eight-person group trusted Li Ye more and more—they believed this kind of small issue was child's play for him.

But when the next stop came, Yan Jinbu climbed out the window and ran to the sleeper car to tell Li Ye. Li Ye was just as frustrated.

This wasn't child's play—it was a goddamn mess.

The two rushed over. Li Ye didn't rush to mediate—he first found a bystander near the end of the carriage to ask what happened.

"No one's clearly right or wrong—I just saw it. The little boy was carrying his family's lunchbox, and the girl was laughing with her friend, then somehow bumped into him."

"At first, the girl wasn't this aggressive—but the boy's mother got angry and yelled that two hundred yuan was extortion. Then the college girl exploded like a firecracker."

"Two hundred yuan for a coat? What material is it? So expensive?"

"Tell me about it! Even I thought she was extorting. That family wouldn't even give her a brand-new fur coat."

Li Ye now understood the situation, but had no solution—he could only walk over and observe.

Seeing Li Ye arrive, Li Dayong's eyes flickered away, and he forced a nervous smile: "Bro, it's just a small thing—we'll fix it soon."

"Can you fix it yourself?" Li Ye nodded: "Then I won't interfere. Handle it yourself."

"."

Li Dayong froze. Lin Qiuyan shot a sharp glance at Li Ye.

Li Ye met her gaze calmly for a few seconds, and couldn't help feeling amused.

Because he sensed a touch of "official aura."

His grandfather Li Zhong had it too, but Li Ye had grown up around it and never noticed anything special.

But he'd seen two other giants up close.

Teacher Ke and Wen Qingsheng treated Li Ye kindly, chatting and laughing warmly at home.

But Li Ye had seen them take phone calls at home—their demeanor changed completely. That restrained, powerful aura left a deep impression on him.

Wen Guohua had it too, but weaker. Wen Leyu, however, resembled Teacher Ke—occasionally, she too gave Li Ye that strange feeling.

But Lin Qiuyan's aura? It felt half-real, half-fake. At first glance, intimidating—but after a moment's thought, it was almost laughable.

The man in the family, now trapped, seized the chance as Li Ye arrived: "Brother, this wasn't intentional—we're willing to pay, but things must be negotiated. You can't just name a price!"

The boy's mother now softened: "We actually have a mink coat—we were going to give it to my sister-in-law as a gift. We're willing to give it to this student, but she insists her coat is worth two hundred yuan."

"I didn't say it's worth two hundred—I said it's worth at least two hundred," Lin Qiuyan said coldly. "Ask this student from Peking University's Economics Department—what's the current exchange rate for thirty-five US dollars?"

"Peking University student?"

The man stared at Li Ye, then looked at his chest, clearly searching for a school badge.

Lin Qiuyan and Li Dayong both wore badges from Beijing Institute of Industry—like magical artifacts in xianxia, radiating strong authority.

But Li Ye rarely wore his badge—the man found nothing.

He asked: "Student, how many yuan for thirty-five US dollars?"

Li Ye smiled: "This year's official exchange rate is 1. 9 yuan to the dollar—but in real life, you can't use that rate."

The girl sitting beside Lin Qiuyan chimed in: "In Beijing, people are fighting to exchange dollars at 1: 0. Ask anyone—this coat was brought back for Lin Qiuyan by her cousin overseas. Two hundred yuan is already a bargain."

"One to ten? That's three hundred fifty yuan?"

The man stared at Li Ye, hoping for better news.

Li Ye thought a moment: "One to ten is unlikely, but I've heard of rates at 1: ."

Li Dayong added: "Honestly, we're all partly at fault. So our classmate saying two hundred yuan already takes half the blame."

The man looked at Li Ye, then his wife, and silently reached for his wallet.

The mother, too, took down a bundle from the luggage rack—clearly hiding cash inside.

The boy, watching his father and mother, burst into loud sobs.

Even though he was young and naive, he knew this year's New Year would be terrible—not only would he get beaten several times, but his parents' years of savings were gone. How could he face relatives back home?

Li Ye suddenly patted the man's shoulder: "Brother, let me see that mink coat."

The man glanced at Li Ye, then handed it over—clearly thinking Li Ye was in league with Lin Qiuyan.

But men are men—if your child caused trouble, you own it. No matter the cost.

"This coat's good. I'll buy it."

Li Ye blew on the fur and couldn't help praising it.

In this era, mink coats were made from whole pelts—genuinely authentic.

But the man, now defiant, snapped: "We're not selling it to you—we'll pay two hundred yuan."

Li Ye chuckled at the stubborn man, patted his shoulder: "Brother, come talk with me."

The man followed Li Ye to the carriage door, where he saw Li Ye pull out a stack of colorful bills.

"I've got some foreign exchange vouchers here—not dollars, but close. That girl's clearly savvy—she'll accept these."

Li Ye had handed over five thousand U. . dollars to Teacher Ke for "arrangements," but he kept another five thousand; before heading home, he stopped by the Friendship Store and bought some rare items for his family.

There were a few exchange coupons left in his bag, so he did a small good deed—regardless of right or wrong, he just wanted peace of mind.

The man stared at Li Ye in surprise, and after a long while asked, "Where did you get foreign exchange coupons? Brother, why are you helping me?"

"Does it matter?" Li Ye said sternly. "Are you selling it or not?"

Do I have a mental problem? This kind of behavior would get you roasted as a saintly mother by readers inside—why are you still whining?

The man hesitated for a long time, then said, "Then I'll pay you extra."

"No need. Money can't buy willingness—I just happen to like this mink coat, and it's perfect for my sister. But let me tell you: you're responsible. You made such a little kid fetch the lunch box—what if he got burned?"

Li Ye shoved the money into the man's hands, took the mink coat, and walked toward Hu Man's carriage.

Before leaving, he reminded the man: "Remember: that wool coat was yours. Take it home and wash it with baking soda mixed with baijiu. And by the way—this has nothing to do with me."

"Hey hey, thanks, brother! Thank you so much!"

The man hurriedly thanked him, then turned and rushed back to his own carriage, his face longer than a donkey's.

So it's just U. . dollars? What's there to show off?

I bought it, isn't that enough? Take it off and give it to me.

(End of Chapter)