Chapter 255 – So Impressive
There were two toilets.
Xu Xiangdong also needed to use the toilet. Since boarding the train, he hadn’t used the toilet yet and was starting to feel uncomfortable.
At that moment, both toilets were empty.
The siblings went into separate toilets.
“Ningning, if you finish first, make sure to wait for me to go back together,” Xu Xiangdong reminded before entering the toilet.
“I know, big brother.”
Xu Jinning pushed open the toilet door and immediately caught a whiff of the smell from outside. When she pushed the door open, the smell of feces and urine became even stronger.
There was an oil lamp inside the toilet that illuminated a small area.
And in that illuminated small area…
Xu Jinning glanced at it and didn’t want to look anymore.
Right now, her only thought was to finish quickly and leave.
If she didn’t really need to go, she wouldn’t want to use the toilet on the train.
But now, there was no other choice.
Xu Jinning quickly finished using the toilet and then left.
It wasn’t until she left the toilet that Xu Jinning breathed a sigh of relief and felt like she had come back to life.
Because of Xu Xiangdong’s reminder, Xu Jinning didn’t leave.
After a while, Xu Xiangdong came out of the toilet.
He muttered, “This toilet, why hasn’t anyone cleaned it up? There’s feces and urine everywhere, and that smell…”
Xu Jinning interrupted, “Big brother, please stop. I don’t want to remember it anymore.”
“Big brother, let’s go back.”
“Okay, sure.”
Xu Xiangdong didn’t say anything more. He held Xu Jinning’s hand again and walked back to their seats, returning to their original place.
“Big brother, you should sleep. I’ll stay awake this time. I’ve slept for so long, and I’m not sleepy now, so I don’t plan to sleep anymore,” Xu Jinning suggested.
“Okay.” Xu Xiangdong was indeed feeling tired.
The train journey was continuous for two days and two nights, and he definitely couldn’t stay awake for that long. He needed rest too.
At this moment, he was genuinely tired and worn out.
Although Xu Xiangdong agreed to sleep, he didn’t want to sleep on the upper bunk. He decided to place their luggage and belongings on the upper bunk and sleep on the lower bunk, with Xu Jinning sitting on the lower bunk’s inner side.
This way, he could protect Xu Jinning inside.
If anything happened, Xu Jinning could call out to him.
Being on the lower bunk would make it easier for him to move around.
“But won’t this position be too narrow? You might not sleep comfortably like that.”
“It’s okay, narrow or not doesn’t matter. Otherwise, I won’t sleep.”
“…”
Helplessly, Xu Jinning could only agree.
Xu Xiangdong quickly placed their luggage on the upper bunk. Xu Jinning sat on the lower bunk, covered herself with a small blanket, and Xu Xiangdong covered himself with another one.
After arranging everything, Xu Xiangdong lay down and closed his eyes.
He was indeed tired and exhausted. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, his breathing becoming heavier.
Wang Chenggong had been looking for an opportunity to talk to Xu Jinning alone.
At this moment, only the two of them were awake.
But…
Wang Chenggong looked at Xu Xiangdong, who was asleep and tightly protecting his sister, afraid that speaking would wake him up.
Besides, Big Brother Xiangdong seemed genuinely tired; it wouldn’t be good to disturb him and risk waking him up. Moreover, the lighting was dim, and he couldn’t even see Xu Jinning clearly across from him, so…
‘Forget it, I’ll find another opportunity later.’
The compartment fell into silence.
Xu Jinning gazed out the window, watching the scenery flash by vaguely, lost in thoughts about the future.
She couldn’t believe it had been two years since she transmigrated.
A former academic underachiever, she had somehow managed to get into university, even the prestigious Beijing University. She knew how highly regarded university students from the 80s were.
She, so impressive!
Unconsciously, Xu Jinning shed her feelings of inferiority and felt proud of herself.
More importantly, she had so many great family members.
She, so fortunate!
…
Time passed unnoticed as Xu Jinning daydreamed.
Gradually, dawn broke, and the once dim compartment began to lighten up.
As daylight arrived, people in the train woke up, and the compartment gradually became lively.
Xu Xiangdong woke up.
“Little sister, do you want something to eat?” The first thing Xu Xiangdong did upon waking up was to ask Xu Jinning if she was hungry.
After all, Xu Jinning hadn’t eaten anything since they boarded the train, except for drinking water.
“Yes, please,” Xu Jinning replied.
She hadn’t felt hungry until he mentioned it, but now that he did, she felt hungry.
It had been quite a while since they had eaten anything.
Wang Chenggong and his sister on the opposite berth also woke up and were thinking about what to eat.
Xu Xiangdong asked the train attendant for hot water.
The two of them began to freshen up.
Because they were on a train, everything was a bit inconvenient, so they only did a simple freshening up.
After freshening up, Xu Xiangdong opened the lunchbox prepared by Zhang Ailian for them.
Inside, there was rice, meat, and vegetables, all packed full.
They had to eat this meal immediately; otherwise, it would spoil.
The aroma of the food—meat, rice, and vegetables—immediately made everyone around, who were equally hungry, salivate.
Although the air in the train wasn’t the best, a bit mixed and stuffy, it couldn’t mask the delicious aroma of the food at this moment.
The fragrance was just too tempting!
“Big Brother Xiangdong, the food you brought smells amazing. Did you get it from a state-run restaurant?” Wang Chenggong asked.
Their family was well-off, and their lunchbox also had meat and vegetables. Usually, having such a meal would already be excellent.
This meal was specially prepared by their mother.
But now, compared to Xu Jinning’s meal across from them, their own meal didn’t seem as appetizing anymore.
“This was made by my mom. The food she cooks is incredibly delicious, and her cooking skills are unparalleled,” Xu Jinning replied with a hint of pride in her expression.
She was proud to have such a mother.
Seeing Wang Xiumei occasionally glancing at her lunchbox with obvious longing, Xu Jinning suggested, “Sister Xiumei, do you want to try my mom’s cooking?”
“Really? Yes, yes!” Wang Xiumei immediately nodded as if she had just been offered a pie in the sky.
Wang Chenggong: …
Ningning, I want to try too. Why don’t you ask me as well?
My answer would definitely be…
“Do you want to try too?”
“Yes!” Wang Chenggong subconsciously replied.
After a while, he realized and turned to look at Xu Xiangdong, who was staring at him, with an embarrassed smile.
“Xiangdong, were you asking me?”
Xu Xiangdong chuckled, “Who else?”
“Then do you want to try?”
Wang Chenggong hurriedly nodded, “Yes, yes.”
The food smelled so good; of course, he wanted to try it.
But, it would have been even better if Ningning had asked him just now.
However…
Why did Brother Xiangdong’s smile seem a bit strange, a bit forced?
Xu Xiangdong thought to himself, ‘Haha, kid, you wear your heart on your sleeve. What are you thinking? Do you think I wouldn’t know?’
While thinking this, Xu Xiangdong still shared some meat and vegetables with Wang Chenggong.
After taking a bite, Wang Chenggong was amazed.
“It’s, it’s so delicious. Only a chef from a state banquet could make something like this.”
