Yang Liwen’s smile stiffened, a flash of hatred flickering in her eyes. She turned and glared at Li Qinkuai, wishing in her heart that Li Qinkuai would die sooner rather than later.
“Li Qinkuai, is Duan Pengyue just an object to you that you can summon and dismiss at will?”
Li Qinkuai took a bite of the pastry, crossed her legs, and continued to provoke her: “No, Duan Pengyue is my man. Look, this is what my man bought for me.”
After saying this, she even waved the pastry in front of Yang Liwen’s face.
Yang Liwen watched Li Qinkuai’s smug expression, feeling so furious that she almost ground her teeth to dust.
Just endure a little longer!
After tonight, Duan Pengyue would definitely divorce Li Qinkuai. By then, Yang Liwen wanted to see what Li Qinkuai would have left to be smug about.
Thinking of this, Yang Liwen couldn’t help but smile. She ignored Li Qinkuai and lay down to rest and conserve her energy. There would be quite a show to watch tonight.
After Li Qinkuai saw her lie down, she glanced at the auntie on the upper bunk: “Auntie, I’m going to the restroom. Could you keep an eye on my luggage?”
The auntie agreed, and only then did Li Qinkuai leave.
In truth, Li Qinkuai hadn’t come out to use the restroom but to find Duan Pengyue. She remembered that Duan Pengyue was in Carriage 3, not far from her own carriage.
Lin Sheng had been hungry as soon as he boarded the train. He opened the pastries Duan Pengyue had bought and ate them in big mouthfuls with water. He hadn’t eaten anything in the morning to catch the train, and his stomach was growling uncomfortably. As he tilted his head back to drink water, he saw Li Qinkuai appear at the carriage door.
He coughed and looked at Duan Pengyue, who was sleeping with his eyes closed on the opposite seat, reminding him: “Your wife is here.”
Duan Pengyue didn’t move, unsure if he was truly asleep.
Lin Sheng had no choice but to change his words: “Li Qinkuai is here to see you.”
The next second, Duan Pengyue’s eyes snapped open. He sat up and looked behind him, indeed spotting Li Qinkuai searching for him.
He strode over, feeling happy inside but not showing it on his face, and said calmly, “What’s wrong?”
Li Qinkuai was about to speak, but the train was crowded and noisy. Moreover, what she wanted to say wasn’t very convenient to discuss, especially since it was still just speculation.
Pulling Duan Pengyue to the connecting area between carriages, Li Qinkuai hadn’t even had time to open her mouth when Duan Pengyue took her wrist and whispered, “Are you still angry? Don’t be angry anymore.”
“Angry about what? Tell me.”
Lin Sheng’s curious voice suddenly came from behind, his gaze probing.
The two turned to look at him, and Duan Pengyue glared coldly.
What a clueless fool!
Lin Sheng smiled shamelessly, refusing to leave, as if determined not to go until he heard the story.
Li Qinkuai thought for a moment and decided that having one more person know about Yang Liwen’s actions might not be a bad thing.
After all, Yang Liwen’s family was also from Beijing. Although they weren’t close to the Duan family, they were classmates, and their parents might even know each other.
Thinking this, Li Qinkuai recounted how Yang Liwen had slandered her as soon as she boarded the train.
The more Duan Pengyue listened, the darker his expression became. He had only been away from Li Qinkuai for a short while, and someone had already bullied her!
“I’ll go find her!” His voice was like shards of ice, his eyes filled with rage.
Li Qinkuai held him back, not letting him go. She had come to see Duan Pengyue’s attitude toward the matter, and now his reaction satisfied her. However, there was no need to confront Yang Liwen again, as what came next was far more important.
Lin Sheng also chimed in indignantly: “Why would Yang Liwen do this? Duan Pengyue has said more than once that he doesn’t like her. Back in the village’s educated youth dormitory, she tried to seduce Duan Pengyue more than once!”
Hearing this, Li Qinkuai raised an eyebrow and looked at Lin Sheng: “Tell me, how did Yang Liwen try to seduce him?”
“She was just copying the way you seduced Duan Pengyue, except Duan Pengyue treated her differently from how he treated you—shameless.”
Li Qinkuai: “…”
She felt like she was being insulted, but couldn’t quite figure out how.
Li Qinkuai took a deep breath, glanced at Duan Pengyue, and asked Lin Sheng again: “How was it different?”
Lin Sheng: “It’s obvious! With you, it was playing hard to get. With Yang Liwen, it was disgust. Otherwise, how could you have succeeded?”
Li Qinkuai: “…”
Duan Pengyue’s face darkened, and he gritted his teeth: “Shut up!!”
Looking at the newlywed couple, Lin Sheng belatedly wondered: They’re already married, so why haven’t they cleared things up?
Li Qinkuai coughed and didn’t press further on the awkward topic. Instead, she voiced her worries: “I have a feeling Yang Liwen won’t let me off so easily. She still wants to do something bad to me. So I was thinking, after she falls asleep tonight, you and I should switch places.”
As soon as Lin Sheng heard this, he immediately said: “I’ll switch. Your sleeper ticket was originally bought by me, but Duan Pengyue insisted on swapping it with you.”
Li Qinkuai looked at Duan Pengyue in surprise—he hadn’t mentioned this.
Duan Pengyue coughed: “Fine, then switch back with my wife.”
Just as Lin Sheng was about to grab his luggage, Li Qinkuai stopped him: “Not now, we’ll switch tonight. I want to see what Yang Liwen plans to do to me. We have to catch her in the act and teach her a lesson!”
Seeing Li Qinkuai so determined, Duan Pengyue agreed.
At six o’clock, after eating, the sky gradually darkened.
Li Qinkuai watched Yang Liwen, who had finished eating and gone back to sleep, and she too lay down to rest.
In the middle of the night, Yang Liwen quietly got up, opened the door, and headed toward another carriage.
Li Qinkuai immediately got up and went to find Duan Pengyue.
Duan Pengyue and Lin Sheng had been waiting near the carriage connection point, anticipating Li Qinkuai’s arrival. Li Qinkuai had Duan Pengyue put on her coat and lie down on her bunk. Then she hid in the restroom while Lin Sheng continued waiting in the carriage.
Before long, Zhang Chao—a man with shifty, beady eyes—arrived at the door with a sleeper ticket in hand. Guiltily, he glanced left and right, and after confirming no one was around, he pushed the door open and entered.
By the dim light, Zhang Chao looked at the person sleeping under the covers on the lower bunk. Though he couldn’t see their face, the woman who had paid him fifty yuan had told him:
The woman sleeping in this bunk was very beautiful. If he touched her, he would get a pretty wife—a city-educated woman named Li Qinkuai.
She also said she would call people over to witness the scene. All he had to do was insist that Li Qinkuai had invited him. She would blow things up, ruin Li Qinkuai’s reputation, and force her to marry him.
Zhang Chao, ugly and with no woman willing to marry him, immediately agreed when offered both money and a bride.
“Beauty, don’t be afraid, big brother is here to take care of you!”
Zhang Chao swiftly stripped off his clothes, spread his arms, and embraced the person on the bed—soft and warm, without any struggle.
This indicated that Li Qinkuai was willing, a thought that excited Zhang Chao even more. He pulled back the covers, puckered his lips to kiss, only to see a man’s face!
Li Qinkuai was a man?!