The snores inside the train sounded like an old tractor sputtering to life—chug, chug, chug—occasionally mixed with a few long, drawn-out breaths that sounded almost like ghostly wails.
Song Kening was jolted awake by the noise.
At some point, a blanket from either the upper or middle berth had slipped down.
She pushed aside her blanket and sat up, rubbing her eyes before looking toward the aisle.
Lu Zhiyu was still sitting on that same little seat.
He was gazing out the window in profile.
His face looked tired and worn, but his features remained handsome and refined.
With the morning sunlight illuminating his profile, he looked exceptionally good.
As expected of the male lead.
When she was younger, Song Kening had taken the old green trains from her small town to Huacheng to attend college.
High-speed rail tickets had been too expensive, so she’d bought a hard-seat ticket for the thirty-two-hour journey.
She knew all too well how miserable a hard seat could be.
Song Kening put on her shoes, walked over, and patted him lightly on the shoulder.
“Go lie down for a while.”
Lu Zhiyu didn’t even raise his head.
“No need. You can sleep.”
But Song Kening said seriously,
“You didn’t sleep all night. Don’t suddenly drop dead. What are the baby and I supposed to do then?”
Lu Zhiyu: “…”
Song Kening pointed toward the berth.
“Go lie down for a bit. Save your energy. Once we get to Yangcheng, we still have to find a place to live, find jobs, and deal with a whole bunch of things.”
Lu Zhiyu still didn’t move.
Song Kening simply reached out and pulled his arm.
“Stop being so wishy-washy. You’ll wake everyone up.”
Lu Zhiyu couldn’t win against her.
When he stood up, his legs wobbled slightly from sitting for too long.
Song Kening quickly grabbed his arm.
“Careful!”
Lu Zhiyu steadied himself and looked down at her.
“I’m fine.”
He walked over to the berth and looked at the narrow sleeping space.
In the end, he lay down.
A faint fragrance lingered in the pillow and blanket.
It was a pleasant scent, somewhat reminiscent of agarwood.
It was the scent Song Kening had left behind.
Lu Zhiyu closed his eyes.
The fragrance seeped into his senses like a gentle breeze brushing against his tense nerves.
His consciousness soon sank into darkness.
His legs extended beyond the end of the berth, while his shoulders were pressed against the edge.
His entire body looked as though someone had stuffed him into a box that was several sizes too small.
Song Kening looked at his sleeping face and suddenly felt both amused and a little heartbroken.
The mighty CEO of a trillion-yuan empire had slept in presidential suites and lived in Tangchen Yipin.
And now he was squeezed into a tiny hard sleeper on a train.
Song Kening sat down on the little seat and watched the scenery outside gradually move backward.
The sky grew brighter and brighter.
The snores from the berth beside them stopped, replaced by conversations, footsteps, and the cries of children.
Someone walked past carrying a cup of instant noodles.
The aroma drifted over and made Song Kening’s stomach growl.
She glanced at Lu Zhiyu again.
He was sleeping deeply, his brows slightly relaxed, his breathing steady.
When Lu Zhiyu opened his eyes, the sky was already completely bright.
He sat up and rubbed his temples.
Much of his fatigue had faded, though lying down for too long had left his lower back slightly sore.
Song Kening saw that he was awake and stood up.
“Awake?”
Lu Zhiyu hummed and pulled back the blanket before getting out of bed.
Song Kening rummaged through the plastic bags and took out the two large cups, two toothbrushes, the toothpaste, and the two towels.
She stuffed his share into his arms.
“Come on. Let’s go brush our teeth.”
Lu Zhiyu lowered his eyes to the things in his arms, then looked at her.
Song Kening had already started walking with her own things.
After two steps, she turned around.
“What are you standing there for? Come on.”
Lu Zhiyu followed her.
They went to the sink beside the train’s restroom.
Fortunately, there weren’t many people using it at this hour.
Song Kening turned on the tap, filled her cup with water, and began brushing her teeth.
Lu Zhiyu stood beside her and looked at the sink.
The edges were slightly blackened from years of accumulated mineral deposits and grime.
He took a deep breath, turned on the tap, filled his cup, squeezed out some toothpaste, and began brushing.
The moment the toothpaste entered his mouth—
“Urgh—”
He bent over and vomited the toothpaste foam mixed with stomach acid into the sink.
The stench of urine from the squat toilet beside them seemed to rush into his nose all at once.
Lu Zhiyu’s stomach twisted violently as he vomited.
Song Kening was startled.
She quickly put down her toothbrush.
“Are you okay?”
Lu Zhiyu waved his hand.
He wanted to say something, but another wave of nausea surged through his stomach.
He had no choice but to grip the edge of the sink and bend over, dry-heaving repeatedly.
There was hardly anything in his stomach to begin with.
All that came up was yellowish bile.
Song Kening patted his back with one hand and handed him her cup with the other.
“Rinse your mouth.”
Lu Zhiyu took the cup, gulped some water, rinsed his mouth, and spat it out.
Then he took another mouthful, rinsed again, and spat it out.
The unpleasant smell still lingered in the air, but the churning in his stomach finally began to settle.
He straightened up and looked at his pale reflection in the mirror.
His chest was still rising and falling slightly.
Song Kening stood beside him and handed him the towel.
“Wipe your face.”
Lu Zhiyu took it and pressed it against his face.
The towel was new.
Although it carried the faint smell of cheap textiles, at least it was clean.
He wiped his face, then the corners of his mouth, took a deep breath, and returned the towel to her.
Song Kening took it and said casually, as though speaking from experience,
“You’ll get used to it.”
You’ll get used to it.
She said those four words so casually.
Lu Zhiyu knew this wasn’t a matter of getting used to it.
He had suffered hardships when he was young too.
But back then, he had been too young to understand what suffering was.
He didn’t know what it meant to be uncomfortable or unable to adapt.
Later, he lived in the orphanage.
The conditions there weren’t bad, so he didn’t have to suffer much.
Once he had money, he lived in the best places and used the most expensive things.
But those memories of hardship had long since been buried beneath his refined, luxurious lifestyle.
Now that he’d suddenly returned to this kind of environment, his body was more honest than his mind.
Lu Zhiyu lowered his eyes, picked up his toothbrush again, and continued brushing.
This time, he deliberately slowed his breathing and tried his best to ignore the smell drifting toward him.
Beside him, Song Kening finished brushing her teeth.
She scooped up some water and washed her face, then wet the towel, wrung it out, and carefully wiped her neck and arms.
Lu Zhiyu finished brushing and washed his face as well.
The cold water splashed against his skin, washing away the last trace of drowsiness and discomfort.
After washing up, the two returned to their seats with their cups.
Song Kening took out the two packets of instant noodles they’d bought.
They were braised beef flavored.
She tore open the packets, put the noodles into the cups, sprinkled in the seasoning packets, then filled them with hot water.
She covered them and brought them back.
“Wait three minutes.”
She pushed one cup toward Lu Zhiyu.
“This one’s yours.”
Lu Zhiyu looked at the steam rising from the cup.
The aroma of instant noodles slowly spread through the air.
Before he could say anything, Song Kening took out the two bottles of milk from the bag and handed him one.
“Here’s some milk. Drink it.”
Lu Zhiyu didn’t take it.
“Keep it for yourself. I don’t like milk.”
Song Kening froze.
Why did that sound exactly like the excuse parents used when they couldn’t bear to eat something themselves and wanted to leave it for their children?
Lu Zhiyu had already started eating the noodles.
He used the plastic fork to lift the noodles, blew on them, and took large mouthfuls.
Song Kening pursed her lips.
She set the bottle of milk aside, picked up her own fork, and started eating too.
After washing her cup and filling it with hot water, Song Kening returned to find Lu Zhiyu leaning against the berth and looking at his phone.
His posture was still perfectly straight.
Even leaning against the narrow berth, he carried an unmistakable air of refinement.
Song Kening leaned over for a look.
The screen showed a rental apartment app.
It was displaying rental listings in Yangcheng.
One apartment after another slid past beneath his fingers.
Jingya Garden, three bedrooms and two living rooms, fully furnished, monthly rent: 8,500 yuan.
Binjiang Royal Court, two bedrooms and one living room, upscale residential community, monthly rent: 6,800 yuan.
Yunjing Garden, two bedrooms and one living room, monthly rent: 5,200 yuan.
Song Kening’s eyelid twitched at the prices.
She hurriedly reached over, pressed down on his phone screen, and lowered it slightly.
“Um… you’re still looking at upscale apartments?”
Lu Zhiyu looked up at her.
“Mm. I’m looking through the rental listings in advance. What’s wrong?”
Song Kening pointed at the prices on the screen.
“Can we afford them?”
Lu Zhiyu answered confidently,
“I’ll find a job. My salary will definitely be enough to pay the rent.”
Song Kening sighed helplessly.
She finally understood the saying:
It’s easy to go from frugal to extravagant, but hard to go from extravagant back to frugal.
“Even if you find a job immediately, don’t you usually have to wait at least forty-five days before you receive your first paycheck?”
“You only have 2,600 yuan left. If the landlord requires one month’s deposit plus one month’s rent, do you even have enough?”
Lu Zhiyu looked at her.
He said nothing.
Song Kening withdrew her hand and sat down beside him.
“When we get to Yangcheng, we’ll go straight to an urban village.”
“You don’t need to look those places up online in advance. Rental notices are posted everywhere—on walls, utility poles, bulletin boards.”
“We’ll rent a single room first. Something under 500 yuan a month.”
She paused.
Knowing she needed to prepare the down-and-out male lead mentally, she added,
“A single room in an urban village may be small, but it’ll be enough for us. With one month’s deposit and one month’s rent, the initial payment will only be about 1,000 yuan. That’ll leave us enough to survive for a while.”
Lu Zhiyu looked at her, his gaze deepening.
“How do you know all this?”
Song Kening froze.
How did she know?
She had just graduated.
To find the cheapest place to rent in Huacheng, she’d spent countless hours reading rental guides online.
“I saw it online. There are tons of rental guides.”
Lu Zhiyu exited the rental app, locked his phone, leaned back against the berth, and closed his eyes.
Thinking he wanted to sleep, Song Kening said nothing.
She lowered her head and searched for routes to the urban villages near Baiyun Station.
After a while, Lu Zhiyu suddenly spoke.
“Song Kening.”
Song Kening turned her head.
“Hmm?”
Lu Zhiyu didn’t open his eyes.
“I didn’t expect you to be so good at managing money.”
Song Kening couldn’t tell whether he was complimenting her or implying something else.
She gave two awkward laughs.
“Even if you’re poor, you’ve got to know how to survive.”
“You weren’t like this before.”
“People change.”