After speaking.
Nan Qingqing turned over, her breathing gradually becoming even.
As if she had fallen back asleep.
Facing the inner wall.
Nan Qingqing couldn’t help but curl her lips into a faint smile – she was really too clever.
She had effortlessly resolved that awkward situation.
However.
Speaking of which.
Were those two really not just stray dogs by the roadside?
Nan Qingqing felt utter contempt in her heart.
Lu Baiyang got up.
And went to the restroom.
After using the toilet, Lu Baiyang came out and stood for a while at the end of the carriage.
He stood by the window.
Watching the curtains swaying in the breeze, gazing at the bright moonlight outside, the abnormal restlessness in his heart finally eased.
Passing station after station.
Dawn finally broke.
Nan Qingqing sat on the bed, Lu Baiyang had already bought breakfast.
The two across from them had just woken up.
Lu Jianguo asked ingratiatingly, “Uncle, which carriage did you buy your breakfast from?”
Lu Baiyang didn’t want to engage with Lu Jianguo.
But Lu Jianguo thought Lu Baiyang hadn’t heard him, so he asked again.
Lu Baiyang’s face darkened like the precursor to a storm.
Lu Jianguo nervously swallowed and asked even more cautiously, “Uncle, where did you buy your breakfast?”
Nan Honghong pulled Lu Jianguo to his feet, “Why don’t we just go see for ourselves? Can’t you tell he doesn’t want to talk to you?”
With that.
The couple left.
Not long after.
A young man sleeping in the upper bunk above Lu Jianguo finally came down, complaining indignantly, “So shameless, on such a small bed, not even afraid of falling off.”
Hearing this.
Nan Qingqing lowered her head without responding.
She needed to act as if she knew nothing about last night’s events.
Unexpectedly, after the young man got down.
He glanced at them.
Then asked, “Are you together with those two from earlier?”
Nan Qingqing hummed in acknowledgment, “Yes.”
The young man snorted, “Did you hear anything last night?”
Nan Qingqing’s ears turned slightly red as she said, “What? I fell asleep as soon as I lay down last night, didn’t hear anything.”
The young man said nothing more and went to buy food.
Nan Honghong and Lu Jianguo returned after eating.
They still had fifteen hours left on the train.
Nan Qingqing sat on the lower bunk.
Pulled her book from the luggage bag, flipping through it boredly.
When the young man returned and saw this, he asked in surprise, “Are you reading ‘The Lady of the Camellias’?”
Nan Qingqing hummed in confirmation.
The young man quickly said, “Comrade, I’m also a fan of Alexandre Dumas fils. I used to have a copy of ‘The Lady of the Camellias,’ but before I could finish it…”
He didn’t finish the sentence, but Nan Qingqing understood perfectly.
Her foreign literary classics were left by her mother. During those years, they had been hidden under the big locust tree at the village entrance, thus escaping being burned.
Nan Qingqing nodded, “What did you want to say?”
The young man said excitedly, “Since I never finished it, I’ve always wondered about Margaret’s final outcome. Could you lend it to me? I’m getting off at Nancheng at midnight. Could you let me read it when you’re resting tonight?”
Nan Qingqing had already read it several times.
Now it was just for passing time.
Hearing the young man’s words.
Nan Qingqing handed the book over with both hands, saying, “I’ve already finished it, here you go.”
The young man was overjoyed.
He first wiped his hands clean before accepting the book. “I’ll read it right away.”
After handing the book to the young man, Nan Qingqing didn’t continue reading. Instead, she rested her chin in her hands, gazing at the scenery passing by outside the train window.
Though human habitation was sparse, the trees were lush and verdant, and the unpolluted sky was clear and bright.
Taking in the view made one feel refreshed and at ease.
Across from her, Nan Honghong was fuming over the young man’s earlier unfriendly attitude toward them. Now, seeing how Nan Qingqing had won him over with just a book, she felt even more resentful.
Unable to hold back, she remarked, “I’ve always envied Qingqing’s love for reading. I just can’t get into books myself. Oh, by the way, I remember back in school, Qingqing was very close to one of our male classmates. Everyone used to tease that you two would definitely end up married.”
Lu Baiyang sat upright by the bed, his back straight as a rod.
Hearing Nan Honghong’s words, he instinctively glanced at Nan Qingqing, though his expression held no particular meaning—it was merely a reflexive reaction to hearing her name mentioned.
Nan Qingqing shifted her gaze from the scenery outside, her cool eyes settling on Nan Honghong.
She said, “It’s hard to predict what will happen tomorrow, let alone ten years from now. The day before my wedding, I never would have imagined that my stepsister would be having an illicit affair with my future husband.”
Lu Jianguo’s eyes widened in anger as he stared at Nan Qingqing.
At first, he was furious, but when his gaze fell upon her delicate, fair-skinned face, her refined features, and her long, dark, glossy hair—all swept to one side and loosely tied into a braid with a few strands deliberately pulled out, giving her the look of a lazy kitten basking in the winter sun—he found her both adorable and beautiful.
Suddenly, his heartbeat grew uncontrollable.
The fact that Nan Qingqing kept bringing up his and Nan Honghong’s illicit affair on their wedding day in their bridal chamber—didn’t that mean she was still holding a grudge?
Didn’t it mean she still couldn’t let him go?
Thinking this, Lu Jianguo suddenly felt more forgiving toward Nan Qingqing for having called out his affair earlier.
After all, when he thought about it, his uncle was almost thirty.
What nineteen-year-old girl would fall for a man pushing thirty, practically an old bachelor?
Moreover, his uncle’s job was special—he was often away on missions, sometimes for over half a year at a time. What young woman could endure that?
Not to mention, his uncle had two dependents back home in the military compound.
Compared to his uncle, Lu Jianguo might not be as handsome or as financially successful, but he was young and had no dependents.
Therefore, he concluded that it was only natural for Nan Qingqing to still harbor feelings for him.
So, he decided to forgive Comrade Nan Qingqing for her nitpicking.
The reprimand he had intended to deliver turned into, “Let’s not talk about such things in public. If other comrades hear, it won’t reflect well.”
Nan Honghong: “???”
Nan Honghong was so angry she felt her heart constrict.
If it weren’t for Lu Jianguo being a business prodigy, she would have long since dumped such a spineless man.
Only because of his business genius was she barely willing to put up with his indecisive and clingy nature.
But Nan Honghong wasn’t willing to let Nan Qingqing off so easily. Leaning against the partition, she said with a laugh, “Does our classmate still write to you often after moving? A letter every few days—I thought you two were dating.”
Nan Qingqing asked, “Did you eat breakfast without brushing your teeth this morning?”
Nan Honghong: “…”
Nan Qingqing pinched her nose. “It smells like rotting meat stuck between teeth. Your mouth is like a cesspit—don’t you feel like throwing up?”