Shan Chengming immediately jumped down from his bunk and sat next to Ruan Jingsheng. Introducing himself to Mu Zhaozhao, he said, “Hello! My name is Shan Chengming. We actually met this morning in the ship’s cabin. You were so brave back then—bam! You threw that enamel mug and hit the thief right in the leg. I saw the whole thing!”
Since he and Ruan Jingsheng were on a confidential mission, he made no mention of their first encounter back at the military district.
Mu Zhaozhao, however, had recognized them long ago. Since they didn’t bring up the military district, she kept her mouth shut as well—the last thing she wanted was for the man sitting opposite her to recognize who she was.
Mu Zhaozhao smiled and nodded. “So that’s how it is. Hello, I’m Mu Zhaozhao.”
“Mu Zhaozhao—what a lovely name,” Shan Chengming teased with a grin. “Have you ever practiced throwing darts? Your aim with that enamel mug was incredibly sharp.”
Mu Zhaozhao offered a soft smile and shook her head without responding further, clearly showing she wasn’t eager to engage in prolonged small talk with him. sitting across from her, Ruan Jingsheng unwittingly let his gaze drift back to her face.
He couldn’t shake the feeling that this young woman looked vaguely familiar. But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he inwardly reprimanded himself—Since when did I start paying attention to women in such a cliché manner?
Noticing his inquisitive gaze, Mu Zhaozhao smiled candidly and asked, “And what is your name?”
Since he hadn’t recognized her, acting naturally as total strangers was the best way to avoid raising suspicion.
“Ruan Jingsheng,” he answered in a deep voice before awkwardly shifting his gaze toward the train window.
Seeing his distant and icy demeanor, Mu Zhaozhao politely refrained from pushing the conversation further to give him peace. She pulled out the newspaper she had bought earlier at the train station and quietly began to read.
Feeling the air suddenly freeze, Shan Chengming pulled his neck back and shut his mouth as well.
Just as a heavy silence fell upon the group, a man and a woman walked down the aisle into their carriage.
The woman wore a pink Porage dress and white, round-toed leather shoes, dressed in a style considered very fashionable for the time. The man behind her was carrying two large luggage bags, constantly flattering her—looking every bit like her desperate follower.
“Song Tingting, this is your bunk, and mine is over there. I’m so sorry, I bought the tickets a bit late, so our seats aren’t right next to each other,” the man explained apologetically.
Song Tingting crossed her arms, acting high and mighty. “Gao Hongzheng, I told you to buy soft-sleeper tickets, but you insisted on hard-sleepers! Just look at this environment. The people here are so filthy; how am I supposed to sleep?”
Gao Hongzheng smiled apologetically. “I asked around—there’s a special circumstance with the soft-sleeper car today, so tickets aren’t being sold to the public. Really, just bear with it this once, okay?”
Song Tingting’s eyebrows twisted into a tight knot. She looked around in dissatisfaction, only to freeze when she spotted a handsome man sitting right below Gao Hongzheng’s assigned bunk.
He was currently turning his head to look out the window; even his sharp, chiseled profile was strikingly handsome.
Her face instantly lit up with a brilliant smile. She commanded, “Gao Hongzheng, I’m taking your bunk. You stay put right here.”
Without another word, she strode over to the bed opposite Ruan Jingsheng—right beside Mu Zhaozhao—and prepared to sit down without even asking permission.
Mu Zhaozhao, annoyed, began brushing off her bunk, intentionally flicking dust onto Song Tingting’s skirt. Her message was crystal clear: she was not letting this snobbish, man-crazy woman sit on her bed.
Song Tingting bristled with rage. “Who do you think you are? How dare you shove me?”
“I have nothing to hide—my name is Mu Zhaozhao. And I didn’t shove you, I was just sweeping away dirty trash!” Mu Zhaozhao replied coldly.
“Who are you calling dirty? I’m not a thing!” Song Tingting practically exploded upon hearing this.
Mu Zhaozhao burst out laughing. “You’re right, you’re definitely not a decent thing!”
Hearing this, Shan Chengming spat out a laugh from across the table, then offered an apologetic look. “Sorry! I really couldn’t hold it in!”
Song Tingting clenched her fists in fury. However, after glancing at Ruan Jingsheng, who remained entirely unbothered and unmoving, she curbed her temper and switched to a softer strategy.
Smiling at Mu Zhaozhao, she asked, “Mu Zhaozhao, was it? Could I swap bunks with you? Mine is up top.” She pointed to the upper bunk across from them.
Mu Zhaozhao shook her head bluntly. “No. I have high blood pressure; I can’t stay on the top bunk.”
Shan Chengming: “…”
What kind of completely nonsense, lame excuse is that? Haha…
“Pfft—!” He raised a hand. “Sorry, couldn’t hold it in again.”
“If you can’t hold it in, go to the restroom! Don’t force it,” Ruan Jingsheng voiced before making a move, his expression deadpan and serious as he spoke.
The moment immediately amused Mu Zhaozhao. “Haha…”
Her laughter was as pleasant as ringing silver bells—pure, crisp, and completely unpretentious.
Feeling isolated and targeted, Song Tingting grumbled indignantly, “Mu Zhaozhao, why are you so petty? Swapping seats isn’t going to kill you!”
Mu Zhaozhao didn’t even bother looking at her directly. “Maybe not, but not swapping seats might just annoy you to death. Don’t you think that’s hilarious?”
“Hilarious! Haha…” Shan Chengming agreed, nodding with a loud laugh.
Furious beyond words, Song Tingting stomped over and sat on the folding jump-seat in the aisle, glaring daggers at Mu Zhaozhao.
Mu Zhaozhao couldn’t care less and casually stretched out onto her bunk.
Unable to watch any longer, Gao Hongzheng fished out peanuts and pig’s trotters from his bag to comfort Song Tingting. “Tingting, you must be hungry, right? Have something to eat.”
Seeing the food, Song Tingting snatched it and slapped it onto the floor. “What kind of garbage is this? Get it out of my sight!”
Her wastefulness instantly provoked public outrage in the carriage, and fellow passengers began calling her out.
“Young lady, you’re so young yet you disrespect food like this? You’re asking for divine retribution!”
“Exactly! So many people don’t even have enough to eat, and here you are committing such a sin.”
They had long been sick of her haughty, condescending attitude.
Even Ruan Jingsheng was drawn by the commotion, his dark eyebrows furrowing tightly as he stared coldly at the ruined food on the floor.
Her eyes welling up with tears under the heavy criticism, Song Tingting looked at Gao Hongzheng, sobbed, and whined, “It’s all your fault~!”
Gao Hongzheng hurriedly tried to cover for her. “Everyone, it’s a misunderstanding! I just didn’t hold the food properly; it wasn’t Tingting’s fault.” He quickly bent down to clean up the mess off the floor.
Seeing his humility, the crowd let the matter drop.
As the train slowly chugged along, Mu Zhaozhao drifted into a light nap.
She woke up groggily as dinner time approached.
Shan Chengming was asking Ruan Jingsheng if he wanted to head to the dining car for food.
Ruan Jingsheng replied in a low voice, “The foreign guests in the soft-sleeper car will be arriving shortly. Just buy meal boxes and bring them back here to eat.”
Shan Chengming nodded. The main reason they were on this train was that several foreign guests were boarding at Jingning Station, and they needed to negotiate with them regarding the procurement of second-generation fighter jets.
Checking the time, he prepared to get up to buy the boxed meals. Right before leaving, he noticed Mu Zhaozhao across from him opening her sleepy eyes.
He asked warmly, “Mu Zhaozhao, do you want a boxed meal? I can get one for you!”
Mu Zhaozhao sat up and smiled without hesitation. “Sure, thank you for the trouble! Here’s the money.”
She pulled out a ten-yuan note and handed it to Shan Chengming.
Shan Chengming waved his hand dismissively. “It’s just a boxed meal, it doesn’t cost this much! Two jiao is plenty.”
Ruan Jingsheng stared unblinkingly at the bill she was holding out, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Why does she also have a habit of handing out ten-yuan notes like that?