Li Wanrou kept casting unwilling glances at him but received no response whatsoever.
Finally unable to resist, she called out by designation: "Comrade across the aisle, are you also heading to Ping'an Commune?"
Under the collective inquiring gazes of the three, he finally looked up and reluctantly uttered a few words: "Wang Lin, 16, Ping'an Commune."
After speaking, he lowered his head again and picked at his hands.
Guo Youning thought to herself, so young—still a child! A pitiful, socially anxious child!
In truth, she was only seventeen in this world herself, not much older than him.
It was clear that among the four, Li Wanrou was the most lively and outgoing.
After learning each other's basic information, the socially adept Li Wanrou began pulling snacks from her carry-on bag. She fished out a pack of sunflower seeds, placed it on the small tray table, and invited everyone to help themselves.
Guo Youning thought that having someone to chat with during this long journey wouldn't be bad, and this girl seemed quite agreeable.
She took out a pack of peanuts and added it to the spread, joking: "The Heilongjiang train tea party has officially begun! Everyone, please help yourselves!"
Li Wanrou was the most enthusiastic, immediately grabbing a handful of peanuts to eat.
She gave a thumbs-up and praised: "Wow! These are five-spice peanuts! They're delicious! But my sunflower seeds aren't bad either—bought from the time-honored Wangji Roasted Seeds and Nuts shop. You should try them!"
Guo Youning readily complied, sampling a few and finding them indeed quite good, offering some compliments of her own.
Back and forth, the two struck up a conversation.
The two boys acted differently: Wang Lin remained completely still, continuing to look down and pick at his calluses.
Liao Hanjie, meanwhile, was rummaging through his satchel, preparing to take out some snacks to contribute.
Just then, a delicate voice rang out: "Brother Hanjie, what a coincidence! Are you also going to the countryside in Heilongjiang?"
Guo Youning turned toward the voice—what luck! It was their Nanxing First High School's belle, Peng Hua, Deng Xiaojun's childhood betrothed.
She was wearing a brand new light yellow floral Bulaji dress with large puffed sleeves trimmed with lace, a Peter Pan collar with edging, and an exquisite pleated hem. This dress was clearly no ordinary piece.
Li Wanrou's Bulaji dress instantly paled in comparison.
Her slightly wavy hair was tied into a high ponytail, adorned with a fashionable hair clip. Her eyebrows resembled distant hills, her eyes were like amber, her bow-shaped lips were delicate, her pearly teeth gleamed, and her skin was as fair as white jade. The school belle was indeed the school belle—stunningly beautiful.
Both Guo Youning and Li Wanrou felt their eyes light up, momentarily stunned.
But upon regaining their senses, they felt something was amiss—this attire seemed somewhat inappropriate for someone going to work in the countryside, standing out starkly among the other Educated Youth heading to rural areas.
Liao Hanjie stopped rummaging through his bag, nodded, and showed a surprised expression: "Huahua, don't you already have a job? Why are you also going to the countryside? The rural areas aren't suitable for you."
Peng Hua smiled graciously: "If Brother Hanjie can overcome difficulties, so can I!"
After saying this, she turned to Li Wanrou and asked politely: "Sister, could we swap seats? My seat is just across the aisle from yours."
Li Wanrou glanced at the middle seat in the three-person row on the other side of the aisle—she had no desire to move there at all. Her current window seat allowed her to breathe fresh air from outside, far better than that spot.
Besides, she'd already gotten to know everyone here and had just made a congenial friend.
Her eyes darting thoughtfully, she declined: "I'm sorry, comrade, but I get severe motion sickness. I can only breathe properly sitting by the window. Perhaps you could ask someone else."
Peng Hua's face fell instantly, but to maintain her gentle persona, she forced a smile and said: "My apologies for disturbing you."
Her gaze swept past Guo Youning, finding him familiar but failing to recognize him. Dissatisfied, she glanced away, thinking his diagonal seating position was inconvenient.
Finally, her bright eyes fixed intently on Wang Lin, but her flirtatious glance was wasted on the unresponsive. Wang Lin gave her a brief glance before lowering his head to pick at the dead skin on his hands.
Undaunted, Peng Hua noticed his shabby clothing and decided to tempt him with material goods. "Comrade, how about swapping seats? I'll give you two egg cakes as compensation."
At the mention of food, Wang Lin looked up and studied Peng Hua for a moment before shaking his head in refusal.
Peng Hua could tell he was tempted and silently cursed his greed.
But she kept her tone pleasant, "As fellow educated youth heading to the countryside to contribute to rural construction, we should help each other. I'll offer five egg cakes – would you please do me this favor?"
This time Wang Lin immediately stood up, grabbed his worn cloth bag, and wordlessly changed seats without another glance.
Guo Youning and Li Wanrou watched the seat exchange while cracking sunflower seeds, thoroughly entertained and occasionally exchanging meaningful looks.
With Liao Hanjie's assistance, Peng Hua successfully moved to the seat opposite him.
She introduced herself proactively: "I'm Peng Hua, freshly graduated from high school, from Beicheng District. Brother Hanjie and I used to be neighbors – we grew up together since childhood, practically childhood sweethearts."
Guo Youning thought to herself that this sounded like a declaration of ownership. Judging by the sparkling way she looked at Liao Hanjie, she'd probably joined the rural assignment specifically to pursue him.
That cousin Xu Xia had blamed the wrong person – Deng Xiaojun was just an unlucky scapegoat.
Pretending to know nothing, Guo Youning acted as if meeting Peng Hua for the first time, reintroduced herself, and offered her some snacks.
Li Wanrou similarly smiled and introduced herself cordially.
Peng Hua glanced at the sunflower seeds and peanuts on the small table but didn't touch them. Instead, she elegantly produced three chocolates to share.
A hint of pride tinged her smile, "These are imported American chocolates from the Friendship Store – each piece costs two yuan! The flavor is exceptional, everyone try some. Brother Hanjie, you must taste this and see if it's the flavor you like."
Hearing the price, Li Wanrou withdrew her outstretched hand slightly, reluctant to take advantage.
Guo Youning couldn't stand her boastful attitude, so she took one, unwrapped it, and promptly popped it into her mouth.
Squinting with exaggerated pleasure, she praised, "Absolutely divine! I've long heard about this chocolate but never tasted it before. Today I'm fortunate to enjoy this treat thanks to our beautiful friend!"
"Wanrou, you must try it – it melts in your mouth, so rich and smooth with a unique flavor."
Seeing both Guo Youning and Liao Hanjie eating theirs, Li Wanrou thanked Peng Hua and accepted one, carefully savoring it.
It was just okay – not as good as the brand she used to regularly enjoy.
But it would do, so she offered some polite praise nonetheless.
Peng Hua now looked pained. She had assumed that mentioning the two-yuan price would make everyone politely decline the expensive treat, allowing her to take them back.
In her heart, she believed such delicacies were only worthy of her Brother Hanjie.
Unexpectedly, the other two hadn't followed the script. Her heart bled – she'd begged her mother for two days to get these precious chocolates, only eight pieces total, and hadn't even dared eat any herself.
Seeing her constipated expression delighted Guo Youning – nobody could take advantage of her friend for free.
After the pleasantries concluded, they broke into pairs for conversation.
Guo Youning discovered Li Wanrou was quite an interesting girl – warm and generous yet tactful, knowing how to protect her own interests without being greedy for small advantages.
Munching on sunflower seeds and peanuts, the two chatted for over half an hour before drowsiness set in, having woken up before dawn they couldn't hold out any longer.
They put away their snacks and leaned their heads together, dozing off on the small tray table. In this half-awake state, they drifted for more than two hours.
Then came the train attendant's call, "Lunch boxes! Hot lunch boxes!"