An Ning didn’t try to dissuade him any further.

Life on the road was often hard for people.

’If Second Brother comes back and this man still hasn’t left, we’ll deal with it then.’

A little over half an hour later, just as An Ning was about to go look for him, An Guoming returned.

"Second Brother, did you have diarrhea? Did you bring any paper?"

Her words nearly made the people sitting nearby burst out laughing.

"No, it was just too crowded. I walked through a few cars, but it was still packed, so I just waited a bit."

"Oh."

An Ning didn’t ask any more questions.

An Guoming also saw that someone was in his seat and instantly understood what had happened.

The man’s bundle was a bit strange. It looked bulky, but it didn’t seem to contain any actual travel necessities.

An Guoming ambled over with a friendly smile. He wasn’t in a hurry and didn’t press the man, striking up a conversation instead.

"Where you headed, brother?"

The man in the seat had expected An Guoming to tell him to get up, but he was surprised when he started a conversation.

"Yangcheng."

"Really? We’re heading the same way then."

An Guoming, a natural conversationalist, kept the chat going. His questions were tactful; he didn’t pry into the man’s reasons for going to Yangcheng, just sticking to small talk.

After chatting with An Guoming for a while, the man on the seat prepared to get up on his own.

"You can have your seat. I’m leaving."

"It’s fine, it’s fine. You stay seated. I’ll stand for a bit. I’ve been sitting for a long time anyway."

An Guoming wasn’t in a rush. An Ning, watching from the side, didn’t know what her brother was up to, but she was sure he had his reasons.

An Ning didn’t interrupt An Guoming, letting him do his thing as she went back to her book.

After about ten more minutes of conversation, the man finally couldn’t sit still any longer. He stood up, ignoring An Guoming’s protests.

"Alright. Brother, if you get tired, come find me, and we can take turns sitting."

"Hey, thanks."

The man left, carrying his bundle.

An Guoming nudged An Ning with his arm, tilted his head, and asked in a low voice, "Little Sis, did that man’s bundle look like it had anything in it?"

An Ning glanced over nonchalantly and scanned it with her spiritual power.

"No, it looked like it was stuffed with a bunch of bags."

An Ning’s words matched An Guoming’s own suspicions, piquing his interest even more.

"Second Brother?"

"Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. When we get to our destination, we can’t just go in blind, right? We need to have some connections."

An Guoming said no more, and An Ning nodded in agreement.

’Second Brother is looking for a connection.’

An Ning went back to her book. An Guoming didn’t make any immediate moves, simply leaning back in his seat to rest for a bit.

About two hours later, An Guoming got up again.

"I’m going to see what kind of food they’re selling."

An Ning looked at the various snacks on their table and guessed this was just her brother’s excuse.

"Eating all this dry stuff gets old. I’ll go see if they have any hot meals or something."

An Guoming stood up and left.

He headed in the same direction the man from earlier had gone.

An Ning retracted her gaze and returned to her book.

"Peanuts, sunflower seeds, drinks, mineral water! Make way, pull in your legs."

A train attendant, pushing a long, narrow cart, came by for what felt like the umpteenth time.

An Ning reached out and stopped him.

"I’ll have a bottle of soda."

She had tried one at the train station, and it tasted pretty good. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Alrighty. Want some sunflower seeds to go with that?"

An Ning took a look and nodded. "Sure."

An Ning bought two bottles of soda and some sunflower seeds, spending a total of one yuan.

"Let me open that for you—"

"PSST—"

The sound of the soda bottle cap being opened.

A small, jagged-edged metal cap lay in the palm of An Ning’s hand, the soda bottle already at her lips.

"I can do it myself, thanks."

"Oh, okay. Okay."

The attendant pushed his cart away. ’No wonder a young girl like her dares to travel alone.’

’The skill to open a bottle cap with her bare hands wasn’t something an ordinary person could do.’

An Ning sipped her soda and snacked on sunflower seeds. When she got tired, she’d gaze at the scenery outside. When she got bored of that, she’d flip through her book. She was perfectly at ease.

Aside from the single drawback of having to sit constantly, An Ning was thoroughly enjoying herself.

It wasn’t that the other passengers couldn’t afford a bottle of soda, but rather that they weren’t willing to waste money on one.

An Ning thought differently, however. It wasn’t like she couldn’t afford it, so there was no need to make herself suffer.

When it was time to endure hardship, she wouldn’t fall short.

But when it was time to enjoy herself, she wouldn’t hesitate either.

An Guoming returned just as she finished her soda.

"Little Sis, you can eat in the dining car. You go ahead. I’ll go after you’re done."

An Ning wasn’t actually that hungry, but she saw that the man from before had returned, following right behind her brother.

She understood, stood up, and grabbed her backpack. "I’m off then."

"Okay. Take your time, there’s no rush."

An Ning nodded obediently. ’He’s telling me to eat slowly.’

She walked toward the dining car with her backpack on, while An Guoming called the man over to sit down and chat.

An Ning walked through four cars with her backpack on before she finally found the dining car.

She hadn’t been very hungry, but the moment she walked in, she started to feel a little peckish.

She didn’t know about anything else, but the chef’s skill was something fierce.

An Ning found an attendant in the dining car and looked at the menu.

"Do you just take money, or do you need ration tickets too?"

"There are two prices. One requires tickets, the other doesn’t."

An Ning followed the attendant’s finger and saw the two prices listed.

"Thanks. I’ll have the braised pork, the dry-fried green beans, a bowl of hot and sour soup, and three liang of rice."

"How many people are you?"

The attendant glanced behind An Ning but saw no one else, assuming she had come to order first on her own.

Attendants back then worked for a fixed salary and had no need to upsell anything. Most people were very careful not to waste food.

"Just me. I can finish it all."

The attendant didn’t quite believe her but didn’t press the issue.

She placed the order and paid. An Ning received a small receipt, which she tucked away before finding a seat.

The seating in the dining car was similar to the passenger cars, with seats facing each other, but there was a long table in between, and the space was a bit wider.

She chose a four-person booth by the window, which was currently empty.

She placed her backpack on the inner seat and sat on the outer one by herself, waiting for her food.

"Brother Jiang Xia—"

"Get lost! Could you be any more disgusting? And who are you calling ’brother’? I’m ten damn months younger than you! You’ve got some nerve, putting on an act like this."

The familiar voice and its fluent, venomous tongue made An Ning look up.

’What a coincidence.’

Jiang Xia, who had just entered the dining car, spotted An Ning at a glance.

However, he gave a slight shake of his head and walked past An Ning without a word.

An Ning understood. He was pretending not to know her.

An Ning averted her gaze, acting like a casual busybody who had just glanced at some gossip.

At that moment, the woman who had been calling out "Brother Jiang Xia" was left in an awkward position by his merciless words, but she gritted her teeth and followed him anyway.

"Jiang Xia—, can you please not be like this? We grew up together, after all."

Every fiber of Jiang Xia’s being radiated disgust.

"Don’t try to get familiar with me. I didn’t even know your name until today, so don’t you dare try to pull the ’childhood friends’ card."

"You’re not worthy!"