Song Jinyue looked up and saw that it was the same female comrade from earlier who had spoken.
The woman raised her eyebrows at her, somewhat smug. “Comrade Song, I saw everything just now. There’s a saying—stand higher and you see farther. Sitting here, I can see everything.”
Song Jinyue feigned confusion. “See what?”
The woman lifted her brows again. “What just happened.”
Song Jinyue looked at her, about to speak, when a voice came from the upper bunk above her.
“What happened? What just occurred?”
A head then popped down from above, meeting Song Jinyue’s gaze. “Oh? Someone’s taken the empty bunk?”
The woman spoke again, “Sister Chen, just go back to sleep. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand.”
Sister Chen smiled helplessly. “Alright, alright, you know everything.”
She lay back down.
The woman’s gaze returned to Song Jinyue. “Comrade Song, I’m talking to you. Did you hear me?”
From the top bunk, another voice sounded, “Young lady, you’re too noisy. Please lower your voice, or better yet, don’t speak at all.”
The woman retorted toward the top, “Sir, how can you even sleep in broad daylight? You’ve slept so much already—will you still be able to sleep at night?”
The old man on the upper left bunk replied, “Resting my eyes.”
The woman rolled her eyes. “Rest—”
Before she could finish, Song Jinyue saw the person on the lower left bunk suddenly sit up and shout at the woman in the middle bunk,
“What unit are you from? Which newspaper? Why do you have so much nonsense to say? Do you believe I’ll write a report to have you investigated?”
The sudden outburst startled the woman on the middle bunk.
Song Jinyue’s gaze also shifted to the speaker. He was an elderly man, around sixty years old.
The old man grumbled angrily, “Ever since I got on this train, I haven’t heard you stop talking. You can even talk to yourself nonstop.”
“If you keep talking and don’t shut up, I’ll go find the conductor to check your ticket—find out what unit you’re from, what newspaper you work for!”
The woman was stunned.
Sister Chen looked at Zhenzhu helplessly—now she understood, didn’t she? Being scolded should make her behave.
Seeing Zhenzhu fall silent, the old man said coldly, “Can you quiet down now? Can you keep your mouth shut?”
Zhenzhu pursed her lips. “Can’t you speak properly, sir? Why are you being so harsh?”
The old man raised his voice again, “Speak properly? Would you even listen if I did?”
Zhenzhu grew angry, glaring at him as she started to say something, “You—”
The old man waved his hand, cutting her off. “Enough. Just shut up.”
Sister Chen spoke up, “Zhenzhu, stop talking.”
Zhenzhu rolled her eyes several times before lying back on her bunk.
Sister Chen apologized, “Sir, I’m very sorry. We disturbed your rest.”
The old man didn’t give her a pleasant look. “Don’t apologize to me—just keep her under control.”
Sister Chen forced a smile and nodded. “Yes.”
Seeing her attitude, the old man returned to his bunk. “Can’t even get rest normally, and not even on a train.”
As he sat down, he noticed Song Jinyue looking at him.
He looked back, their gazes meeting. When he saw her face, he showed undisguised disgust.
“What are you looking at? With a face that invites trouble, you think you’re that beautiful? All you bring is misfortune.”
Song Jinyue said nothing and withdrew her gaze.
People like this weren’t worth arguing with.
“Hmph.” A snort came from above as Zhenzhu muttered, “Some people are ugly themselves but won’t let others be good-looking. The uglier they are, the more trouble they make.”
Hearing this, Song Jinyue’s first thought was—this was bad, the old man would explode again.
Sure enough—
The old man who had just lain down sprang up again, pointing at Zhenzhu on the middle bunk. “Who are you calling ugly? Who are you calling ugly? Get down here! Get down here!”
Zhenzhu refused to back down, shouting back, “Why should I come down? I didn’t name anyone! I didn’t say your name! I didn’t point at you—”
The old man cut her off. “Stop making excuses! You dare to say it but not admit it? And you’re a reporter? An editor? What kind of reports could you possibly write?”
Zhenzhu snorted. “You just gave me a new idea for a story—‘A certain unit leader abusing his age, bullying ordinary comrades over appearance, and trying to oppress others with authority!’”
“Oppress others with authority! Are you trying to—”
The moment the word “oppress” came out—
Song Jinyue’s eyes shifted slightly.
Sister Chen and the old man’s expressions changed abruptly.
Sister Chen shouted, “Zhenzhu!”
Zhenzhu was startled, staring blankly at her.
Sister Chen had always been gentle—she had never spoken like this before.
Seeing she had successfully stopped her, Sister Chen softened her tone, “Alright, Zhenzhu, stop talking.”
She then looked at the old man. “Sir, she’s young and doesn’t understand. Young people can be impulsive—what they say isn’t always appropriate.”
Hearing this, the old man’s expression eased slightly, and he didn’t dare press the matter further.
If he were labeled as oppressive, it would ruin him completely.
He shot an angry glance at Zhenzhu.
A sigh came from the top bunk.
“Ah…”
Song Jinyue looked up and noticed that on the upper left bunk above was another elderly man, also around sixty.
This one had a gentler, more refined appearance.
The other old man looked thinner, and at a glance, not easy to get along with.
The refined old man looked down at them, his gaze settling on the other elderly man. “That’s enough. Young people are bound to be noisy. At our age, even if we wanted to argue, we don’t have the energy anymore.”
The old man rolled his eyes. “Speak for yourself as an old man—I’m not.”
The refined old man paused, then chuckled. “Yes, yes, I’m the old one.”
The other old man hadn’t expected him to agree. He froze for a moment, then rolled his eyes again. Only someone like that would admit being old—he himself certainly wasn’t.
The refined old man continued, “Everyone take a step back, and let this matter go.”
“These days, those who can get a berth like this… as for an old man like me, that’s one thing—but the younger ones…”
At this point, he paused, his gaze shifting toward the other old man.
The old man seemed to realize something and suddenly looked up. The moment their eyes met—
The refined old man gave him a meaningful look.
The old man understood instantly and stiffened.
The refined old man withdrew his gaze and sighed softly. “Ah…”
The old man’s expression turned complicated. He said nothing and quietly turned back to his seat.