After a while, Wei Shiyu returned with droplets of water covering his face.
“Why didn’t you dry your face?”
Lin Zhiyi was a little puzzled. It was already autumn, and the weather had begun to turn cooler, so why had he gone to wash up at night?
She picked up the towel beside the washbasin stand and pulled Wei Shiyu back just as he was about to get under the covers.
When she placed the towel against Wei Shiyu’s face, he instinctively flinched away.
“Why are you dodging me? It’s not like I’m going to eat you.”
Hearing that, Wei Shiyu’s temperature, which had just gone down, shot up again.
He had no idea how to describe what he was feeling at that moment. All he knew was that his body felt hot and restless, and he wanted to drink some water.
The fragrance coming from Lin Zhiyi seemed especially strong at that moment, constantly drifting into his nose. He could not tell whether it was her shampoo or her natural scent.
It smelled like stepping into a garden filled with flowers.
“Why is your face so red?” Lin Zhiyi dried his hair as well, only to notice how flushed his face had become.
“Do you have a fever?” As she spoke, Lin Zhiyi placed her hand against Wei Shiyu’s forehead.
Wei Shiyu felt her smooth, soft hand against his skin, cool and comfortable. Without thinking, he rubbed his forehead against her palm.
The moment he realized what he had done, he pulled the quilt over himself.
“No, I’m fine. We have to get up early tomorrow, so go to sleep.”
Thinking about what he had just done, Lin Zhiyi found it amusing. He was like a little dog trying to please its owner, and the corners of her lips curved upward.
Do I even need to put any effort into winning him over?
Before dawn had fully broken, Wei Shiyu woke Lin Zhiyi, who was still reluctant to get out of bed.
After everyone finished breakfast, they followed the group to the railway station.
The Wei family was not the only one going to the countryside this time. There were also several other people from the factories who were involved in the matter, although the two groups were being sent to different destinations.
Wei’s family was heading to Yizhou, a place with a climate similar to Qing’an City.
The journey was not particularly long. It would take only one day and one night by train.
But Lin Zhiyi could not help thinking that in modern times, she could travel from Beijing to Xinjiang in the same amount of time.
As a modern person who had only ever ridden high speed rail, she had no idea just how hard the seats on an ordinary train could be.
When the green skinned train appeared before her, Lin Zhiyi finally realized that she was really going to the countryside.
Yet she felt not the slightest bit uneasy. With the Wei family by her side, her life would not be too difficult.
Wei Shiyu and Wei Zhongliang carried the luggage while Wei’s mother helped Lin Zhiyi onto the train.
There were quite a few people at the railway station. Fortunately, they had arrived early, otherwise it really would have been difficult to find seats.
Wei Shiyu placed all the luggage on the overhead rack before sitting down beside Lin Zhiyi.
Afraid that Lin Zhiyi would not be comfortable sitting on the train, Wei’s mother had brought a cushion from home and placed it beneath her.
As soon as the train started moving, Lin Zhiyi became drowsy.
Seeing this, Wei Shiyu supported her and slowly let her rest on his lap.
Feeling the warmth beneath her head, Lin Zhiyi found a comfortable position and continued sleeping.
She slept for a full hour. The reputation of these hard train seats was certainly well deserved, and Lin Zhiyi almost felt as though she wanted to snap her waist in half.
“You’re awake. Are you hungry?” Wei Shiyu helped Lin Zhiyi slowly sit up.
Lin Zhiyi shook her head, her voice soft and slightly sleepy.
“I need to use the restroom.”
Wei Shiyu quickly moved aside and waited for her to stand.
The carriage was extremely crowded at this time. Once someone stood up, there was barely enough room for anyone else to pass.
Just as Lin Zhiyi straightened up, a child suddenly ran toward her.
Wei Shiyu quickly stepped in front of Lin Zhiyi and caught the child.
“Little boy, there are a lot of people in the carriage, so don’t run so fast, understand?”
“None of your business!” The child struggled, trying to get out of Wei Shiyu’s arms.
“Hey! Who are you? Why are you grabbing my child? Let him go! You’re a grown man bullying a child, honestly. Xiaohu, are you all right? Let Mommy have a look.”
As Li Juan spoke, she walked up to Wei Shiyu and slapped away the hand holding the child.
Lin Zhiyi turned around at the sound of her voice. Standing in front of the child was a middle aged woman around forty years old, wearing a gray and white short sleeved shirt and a pair of dacron trousers.
The little boy cooperated perfectly, crying, “Mommy, it hurts. It hurts.”
Li Juan hurriedly checked every part of her child’s body before shouting loudly, “I’m telling you, if anything happens to my child, you’ll be responsible! Everyone, come and look! This man actually hit a child!”
Li Juan held the child tightly in her arms and pretended to wipe away tears as she spoke.
How dare she bully my man right in front of me?
Lin Zhiyi absolutely could not tolerate that.
“If you have time to accuse other people, why don’t you take care of your own child first? Running around in the carriage is one thing, but he is so young and already knows how to lie! Which one of your eyes saw my husband hit your child? You’re a grown woman, yet you can stand there and lie through your teeth? No wonder people say that when the parent sets a bad example, the child follows.”
Li Juan had not expected this seemingly delicate woman to have such a sharp tongue.
Her eyes shifted, and she reached down and pinched Xiaohu’s leg.
The child immediately let out a loud wail.
“Everyone, look! These two are ganging up on my child! Come and see!”
Seeing what Li Juan had done, Lin Zhiyi smiled instead.
“Fine. Then let’s find a railway police officer and have him settle this.”
Since she was being so unreasonable, Lin Zhiyi could not be blamed for refusing to show her any mercy.
Li Juan became a little nervous and tightened her grip on Xiaohu’s hand.
As they spoke, a railway police officer came over from the other end of the carriage.
Their argument had not only irritated everyone around them, but had also blocked the passage on both sides, making it difficult for passengers to move around.
Naturally, those who were resting or trying to eat were unwilling to simply stand by and watch.
The railway police officer stood between the two women and said, “Comrades, please show me your train tickets and letters of introduction.”
The railway police officer not only asked the two sides about what had happened, but also briefly questioned the surrounding passengers.
“I clearly saw that this comrade never hit the child. He stopped him because he was afraid the child would run into someone.”
“Exactly! Children don’t lie. If this comrade had hit him, the first thing we would have heard would have been the child crying.”
“But if he didn’t hit the child, why did this female comrade say that he did?”
Everyone began discussing the matter among themselves.
Zhou Xiangnan crouched down and asked Xiaohu, “Little boy, let Uncle ask you something. Did this uncle hit you just now?”
Xiaohu instinctively shook his head, but at that exact moment, Li Juan pinched his leg again.
“Mommy, it hurts. Stop pinching me.”
The moment Xiaohu said this, everyone understood what had happened.
Li Juan’s face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
“You child, what nonsense are you talking about?”
“I want to find Daddy.” As he spoke, Xiaohu ran over to Wu Gang, who had just come out of the restroom.
Seeing this, Zhou Xiangnan’s smile disappeared, and he spoke sternly to Li Juan.
“Comrade, there are many people on the train, so don’t let your child run around carelessly. He is still young, and you really shouldn’t teach him to lie.”