Chapter 97

This was the first time that Li Qingyao had taken a night sleeper train since he was a child. He had always taken the high-speed train before.

The company could book a hard sleeper, so Chen Pu decided to book a soft sleeper. Later, he would book a hard sleeper and pay the extra amount. Li Qingyao couldn't figure out the difference between the two. Chen Pu carried a bag and her luggage bag, while Li Qingyao followed him into the car empty-handed.

It was not the peak season and it was a weekday, so the carriage was sparsely populated. They were lucky enough to buy two lower berths in the same compartment. It was already past 9 o'clock, and only one upper berth was occupied, sleeping with his head covered.

Chen Pu put his luggage on the occupied lower bunk and let Li Qingyao sleep opposite. After Li Qingyao put his things away, he turned around and saw Chen Pu sweating all over, so he took out a tissue and handed it to him. He took it and said thank you, and wiped the sweat off his head and face. Li Qingyao stared at his wet front and whispered, "Do you want to change your clothes? The air-conditioning in the carriage is very strong, don't catch a cold."

The light in the carriage was dim, but Chen Pu's eyes were the brightest. He looked at her and said, "I hardly catch a cold once a year." But he still took out a clean T-shirt from his bag and a towel, saying, "I'll go wipe it off. You sit down for a while."

"Ah."

After Chen Pu left, Li Qingyao saw a stool on the wall of the aisle, which was a little strange. She walked over, pushed the stool down, and tried to sit down. She rested her arms on the small table next to her and looked out the dark window. The mountain scenery flashed by. She leaned her face against the glass again, which was cold. The sound of the train rumbled in her ears. She felt that this artistic conception was quite good, very old-fashioned and peaceful. It seemed that her heart was also traveling with the train through the endless fields at night.

Just as she was daydreaming, she saw Chen Pu appear at the junction of the carriages a few meters away. She turned her head and saw that he was shirtless, wearing only a pair of black sports shorts, with a towel on his shoulders, and was bending over to put the paper in his hand into the waste paper box.

Chen Pu's five senses were very sharp. He raised his head while still bending over and looked in her direction.

Li Qingyao didn't laugh, nor did he tease him on purpose like he did before. He just held his chin with his hand and looked at him.

His eyes were calm, his shoulders were still wet, his waistline was tight, and his abdominal muscles were slightly concave. He stood up and went into the bathroom again with a calm look.

Li Qingyao tapped his cheek a few times with his index finger, secretly slowing down his accelerated heartbeat, and turned around to continue looking at the scenery outside the window.

Soon Chen Pu came back, wearing a loose white T-shirt, and sat down on the bench opposite her. His hair was half dry, and it was obvious that he had just washed it carelessly.

Li Qingyao frowned and pointed out: "Your hair isn't dry yet, be careful not to catch a cold. Wrap it with a dry towel."

Chen Pu replied: "No more, just this one. Besides, why would a man wrap his hair?"

Li Qingyao didn't force it. He stood up and went back to the private room. He got a disposable towel, opened it and handed it to him: "Wipe it again."

Chen Pu took it and wiped his head with it.

Li Qingyao couldn't bear to watch it any more, so he turned his head and looked out the window.

Chen Pu muttered, "We just made peace, and you're already meddling in this and that."

Sometimes I gave him tissues, sometimes towels, and forced him to change his clothes. We had only been together for two days, oh, I was so upset.

A smile appeared on Chen Pu's face unconsciously.

Li Qingyao said calmly: "After all, you have kidney deficiency, I am just saving you."

Chen Pu shut up.

At this time, the lights in the corridor turned off automatically, and only the lights at the connection between the carriages were still on, and the light was much dimmer. The train rumbled into the tunnel, and the view was dark again. Li Qingyao asked, "Have you ever taken a sleeper before?"

"When do you mean before?"

Li Qingyao glared at him: "Before today."

"Of course I have, but only after I went to college."

"This kind of soft sleeper?"

“They are all hard sleepers.”

"why?"

"At first, your brother refused to spend more money, and refused to let me pay. He told me to take the soft sleeper, while he would take the hard sleeper. So I had no choice but to sleep in the hard sleeper with him. Sometimes we could only buy two upper berths, and we couldn't even stretch our legs straight or sit up. It was so uncomfortable. Later, I got used to it, and it was convenient to get reimbursed."

Li Qingyao wanted to ask why you changed to a soft sleeper today, but he didn't say it because the answer was too obvious.

"Sometimes I find it strange." Li Qingyao said, "Your family is rich, but why are you so stingy sometimes? You buy drinks by the milliliter, and you use coupons to get discounts when you have enough powder. Do you also buy discounted items in supermarkets?"

"Of course I will. Would I be stupid not to buy it when it's on sale?"

Li Qingyao laughed.

Yes, that's the feeling. How can a child from a rich family be so petty and worldly? Sometimes he is even more frugal than a poor woman like her.

"Have you been so... um... frugal since you were a child?"

Chen Pu sighed, changed his position, leaned against the wall, and finally stretched his long legs out to the corridor. His eyelids drooped slightly because of the memories. He said: "Your brother led me astray. He always looked down on my style. Gradually, I felt that it was wrong to spend lavishly. I should save as much as possible. And then when I was working, I saw some people who were not well off, and I felt that I should live like your brother, seriously. No one's money comes from the wind."

Li Qingyao turned his head and looked out the window. The train had already left the tunnel and he could see city lights in the distance. Because of the diffuse light, the edge of the sky was stained with an orange-red color.

She thought, maybe this is life. The people and things that have a profound impact on us continue to shape our personality. Therefore, the appearance of each person's soul can no longer be summarized by a few words or described by a few sentences. A person's soul is made up of many stories. Those stories make up each of his tired hairs, his deep eyes, his scarred hands, every step he takes, and the distance his eyes look at.

Chen Pu looked at her with a look of disappointment he had never seen before, and was somewhat affected by her emotions. He asked, "How did you survive those years after your brother and Luo Huaizheng got into trouble?"

"My mother told you?"

Chen Pu immediately said, "Aunt Yuan didn't say anything specific, she just said that you had a very hard time during that time. If you don't want to talk about it, let's change the subject."

Li Qingyao looked at him. His expression was sincere, his concern was not concealed, and there was also a bit of annoyance and caution.

In fact, Li Qingyao really didn't want to mention that past. If you have fallen into endless darkness, how can you be willing to recall it? Except for her parents, almost no one knew that she was depressed during that time.

But Chen Pu's eyes were too clear, like a cool, windless ocean, which made her heart soft and lazy. She didn't want to be on guard anymore, and she didn't need to be on guard.