Chapter 88
After sleeping early the previous night, Su Xiaoxiao woke up before 5 a.m. She rarely got out of bed right away, but this time she opened her eyes and sat up.
Jiang Yexun, who had been somewhat lost in thought, immediately looked over. He saw Su Xiaoxiao’s tousled hair with stray strands here and there.
He lightly chuckled, and raised his hand to help her fix her hair, but Su Xiaoxiao quickly shook her head and bent down to pick up a basin.
“I’m going to brush my teeth and wash up. Afterward, you can get some rest.”
“No need, I’ll keep watch,” Jiang Yexun said, suppressing his smile and speaking seriously.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t argue and stood in the aisle with the basin. Jiang Yexun quickly gathered his things and followed her.
At this hour, the train car lights hadn’t been turned on, and the washbasin area was peacefully quiet. Su Xiaoxiao checked around and confirmed that there was no one else in the area.
“Afterward, you can rest and recharge. In broad daylight, on the train, even if she is here for us, she won’t act at this time. She won’t be able to escape.”
“We’ll get off the train at 8 p.m. My brother’s army camp is in the suburbs, near the mountains, and the road is remote, which can be dangerous.”
Jiang Yexun contemplated for a moment and realized her words made sense, so he didn’t insist any further.
After they had freshened up, Su Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yexun deliberately bought several large meat buns, along with some porridge and soy milk, before returning to their train car. The dining car was located in the middle of the train, and Su Xiaoxiao glanced around the adjacent cars, but she didn’t see the two men and the old woman. It wasn’t clear if they had moved to the back of the train or were dealing with the weapons the woman had revealed the previous night.
Su Xiaoxiao leaned toward the latter possibility, given that anyone who carries such items is someone not to be trifled with. The fact that those people were still on the train after offending someone like that was only seeking death.
Jiang Yexun returned with a load of items, and the woman who had been in their compartment had already woken up. She was sitting in Su Xiaoxiao’s seat, lost in thought.
When Su Xiaoxiao came over, the woman stood up, apologizing, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, I wasn’t here earlier,” Su Xiaoxiao replied with a nonchalant smile and took her seat.
Jiang Yexun placed some buns in Su Xiaoxiao’s lunchbox and put the soy milk on her side. “Enjoy your meal.”
“You should eat quickly and then go to sleep,” Su Xiaoxiao insisted. “Don’t play that half-asleep, half-awake game. You need to rest properly. If anything happens, I’ll wake you up.”
Strictly speaking, Jiang Yexun was already an experienced outdoorsman. Those who frequently spent time in the mountains could sleep with one eye open. He replied, “I understand. I’ll get some rest. We’ll call your brother as soon as we get off the train, and he’ll come to pick you up.”
Su Xiaoxiao and Jiang Yexun enjoyed their breakfast, and the woman reappeared more than an hour later. By then, Jiang Yexun had already fallen asleep.
The woman didn’t ask if she could sit down as she had done the previous day. Instead, she placed her basin and sat down next to Su Xiaoxiao.
“Hello, are you two married? Where are you headed? Beijing, perhaps? The autumn leaves in Fragrant Hills in Beijing are beautiful this time of year.”
Su Xiaoxiao responded with a smile and shook her head, “We’re engaged, not married yet. Where are you going? It’s dangerous on the train alone. Are your family members not worried? Aren’t you afraid?”
“I’m heading to Dai City to visit my friend. She graduated from high school and was assigned to a city hospital there. I’m getting married soon, so I thought of coming to ask her for a leave so she could come with me to Beijing to buy wedding supplies.”
She blushed slightly when she mentioned the wedding. Su Xiaoxiao immediately showed an envious expression and then pretended to be upset.
“That’s great. You’re getting married, and I don’t even know when my parents will set our wedding date. But it’s probably going to be after the new year. It’s impossible to have a joyful wedding in the winter. The snow is so thick you can’t even take a step, and it’s not a festive time.”
The woman became even more delighted as Su Xiaoxiao spoke. However, Su Xiaoxiao detected a hint of mockery in her eyes.
What was she mocking her for? Was it the fact that she couldn’t recognize the loud noise from the night before? Or maybe she had no clue about the identities of the two men? However, someone like this woman, who was quick to reach for weapons and didn’t waste words, would surely read the air and wouldn’t approach Jiang Yexun and her after being rejected and humiliated by them, would she?
Yet they ended up on the same train, heading to Dai City, with the woman claiming she was going to the hospital. Was it all just a coincidence? What if this woman knew that her brother was definitely going to get injured and sent to the hospital? Could this be a premeditated plan? Perhaps the woman herself, who Su Xiaoxiao thought was trailing her last time in the hospital, was responsible for her brother’s injuries.
Although these speculations were far-fetched, Su Xiaoxiao had an intense feeling that her suspicions were accurate. If that was the case, then this woman might be the one who caused her brother’s harm in a previous life. Su Xiaoxiao grew angrier with each thought but maintained an innocent and sweet smile on her face.
“Oh, by the way, you haven’t told me where you’re going. If you’re going to Beijing, maybe you can meet up with me and my friend and we can go shopping together. Have you heard of Beijing’s ’Friendship Shop’? It has a lot of great items from abroad.”
The woman enthusiastically asked. However, Su Xiaoxiao responded with a helpless gesture, “I think, no matter where we’re going, we probably won’t be able to go together.”
The woman’s smile froze, and she asked, “Why?”
“Because I don’t like having other females around my fiancé. In the future, I won’t even let him keep a female dog for home security,” Su Xiaoxiao said arrogantly.
The woman likely hadn’t expected to hear such a silly remark. Her lips twitched, and her expression contorted in disbelief.
“Why would he agree? I suppose that your fiancé is from the village, right? Northern village men are tough. They are the ones who make the decisions at home.”
“Why wouldn’t he agree? He didn’t let you sit here yesterday because I had already established rules with him: no getting too close to females, and no more than three sentences with them.”
“That’s why you cut off contact with your friends?”
“I’ve completely severed ties with them!” Su Xiaoxiao said with no hesitation, appearing as if she had no psychological burden. In her view, her high school classmates would have become mere acquaintances in a few years.
The woman gaped at her, speechless. Finally, she laughed awkwardly and said, “So, your relationship must be very good. But going around with a man every day, aren’t you bored?”
“No, not at all. For example, right now, when he’s not available to accompany me, I can chat with you. When he wakes up, I’ll have to ask you to move aside so that I can concentrate on talking with him.”
Su Xiaoxiao’s analogy was like a direct blow, without giving the woman any face-saving way out of it. She saw the woman’s fingers tighten as if she were angry. However, she quickly released them, although her smile faded, and a trace of unnoticed malice appeared in her eyes.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t dare to tease her further and smiled sweetly.
Her bright, clean apricot eyes were pure and transparent, and she had a naturally innocent and tender look. It didn’t take much effort to appear completely blameless.