Midsummer in July, Yancheng, West Railway Station.
It had just dawned, and the waiting hall in the morning fog was brightly lit and crowded.
Anyway, let's give dad - oh no, Lao Xia - a peace of mind first.
Xia Zhaoyao leaned his suitcase next to the ticket gate, opened WeChat on his phone, thought for a while and edited:
"Xia Bang, I'm in the west of Yancheng. Can your company still repay the loan on time in this situation?"
Well, this should be OK.
Xia Zhaoyao stared at the empty message record, his eyes a little dazed.
The same week that Xia Zhaoyao received the acceptance letter, Lao Xia's company suddenly had an accident.
One of Lao Xia's partners disappeared with the money, the company's capital chain was broken, and creditors came to him like hyenas smelling blood.
Fortunately, my mother took my younger brother to study in another city first, and she didn't even know where he was.
Before leaving, Lao Xia cleared all chat records between him and herself, and deleted all Moments.
The small group at home has also been disbanded, so that even if the debt collectors grab the mobile phone, they cannot trace the family members.
However, Xia Zhaoyao still retained Xia Bang's WeChat account - as "a certain creditor".
According to Lao Xia, this is the only way to send living expenses without being caught by other creditors in the transfer details.
Ding dong——
Several new replies popped up in the window in front of me.
Chabon: Don't worry, I found a five-year project in Mauritius.
Chabon: There is a shortage of domestic infrastructure companies in Africa. If things go well, all the debts can be paid off within three years.
Chabon: This is the repayment in the next six months, and there will be more after my salary is paid.
【￥18327.22 please collect】
【WeChat transfer】
"..."
If it was really a repayment, why would it be such a scattered figure?
Xia Zhaoyao couldn't help but feel a sore nose as he looked at the irregular amount of money.
and--
What happened to Mauritius?!
Before this, I had never mentioned this at all!
Just as Xia Zhaoyao was thinking of words to question, the announcement in the waiting hall rang.
"Please note that the G371 train from Yancheng West to Zhucheng North is now open for ticket inspection. Passengers please hurry up to check in and board the train. I repeat, please note that the G371 train from Yancheng West to Zhucheng North..."
"Phew, it's time to leave -"
Xia Zhaoyao checked the background of his mobile phone and checked the information on the electronic ticket.
[Train G371, Yancheng West → Huaijiang North, 11 carriages...]
Lao Xia specially told me in the morning that when you get to the train station, you must queue up in front of the ticket gate in advance and board the train early.
Firstly, she bought the cheapest second-class seat, and it would cause unnecessary trouble if her seat was occupied; secondly, the space for luggage on the train is limited, and if she waits until everyone is on the train before slowly walking onto the train, maybe
Her suitcase could only be placed in a far away corner of the carriage that was out of reach.
If Lao Xia could come to see her off...
Xia Zhao shook his head, trying to suppress the chaotic thoughts that kept pouring out of his mind.
Now is not the time to think about this. After you get in the car, you can find a way to ask Lao Xia what the situation is over there.
In any case, I am also a quasi-college student. When I decided to report to school in advance, I was an adult facing the storm.
Xia Zhaoyao was thinking as he quickly clicked to receive the transfer, stuffed his phone into his pocket, and walked quickly to the ticket gate while carrying the box.
All in all, all she can do now is take care of herself first - and...
Xia Zhaoyao squinted at a huge electronic billboard not far away from the corner of his eye.
[Huaijiang has not only gold, jade and legends, but also opportunities and a future.]
Well, gold and jade are enough——
Compared with policy pilot cities and internet celebrity tourist cities, Huaijiang City is most famous for another characteristic.
Xia Zhaoyao moved to the platform along with the flow of people while recalling what he had searched for before setting off:
"Huaijiang, the sleeping city of gold."
Beneath the city of Huaijiang City lies an unexploited super-large gold vein.
Every year, people pick up gold nuggets washed out from the depths of the mines. This is an officially allowed act of picking up gold.
Of course, countless tourists, gold diggers, and speculators gather here, hoping to become the darling of fate.
Ah, after all, this is more reliable than the lottery... isn't it?
…………
This high-speed train bound for Zhucheng North has 16 carriages and is considered a popular line.
Xia Zhaoyao's seat was the cheapest second-class seat, located near the middle and rear section of the train.
She glanced at the comfortable and soft sleeper compartment with some envy, then dragged her suitcase towards the second-class compartment.
"Daughter, let me borrow it for a moment."
"Mom, we are in this carriage!"
"Why are there so many people on this train?"
"Yancheng is a tourist city after all."
Passengers passed Xia Zhaoyao from behind one after another, and she felt like a snail carrying a heavy shell.
In fact, this is correct - Xia Zhaoyao turned his head and looked behind him.
If she squatted down, her suitcase could completely block her.
Although she had not weighed it accurately, Xia Zhaoyao was sure that her large suitcase was definitely heavier than her whole body.
A few minutes later, Xia Zhaoyao arrived at the hard-seat carriage at the end of the train. She stood on the steps inside, and then dragged her suitcase onto the train.
"... Phew, now there's only one last step left."
After following the flow of people and moving to his seat, Xia Zhaoyao looked up at the relatively empty luggage rack above the seat.
Passengers around were also lifting their suitcases one after another, and the carriage seemed to be a temporary weightlifting arena that only adults could enter.
Xia Zhaoyao took a deep breath, kicked off his shoes and stood on the seat, grabbed the handle of the suitcase, stood on tiptoe and pushed it into the upper shelf.
Current Olympic records show that humans can lift three times their own body weight.
Although she was not the athlete who set this record, luckily her suitcase was not that heavy.
She held her breath and tried her best to lift the heavy suitcase over her head.
——From now on, she is also an adult.
Click.
The suitcase wheels hit the edge of the luggage rack.
Xia Zhaoyao felt that the weight on his hand was obviously lighter.
Success! Now just follow this direction and slowly push the box in...
Just as he thought this, Xia Zhaoyao's body lost his balance along with a violent impact from behind.
A middle-aged woman carrying a large bag walked past her, cursing in a low voice, seemingly not paying attention to her surroundings.
The suitcase tilted to the right, making a scary scraping sound.
Xia Zhaoyao felt bad.
But her burst of strength was dissipating uncontrollably, and the tilt angle of the suitcase was getting wider and wider. Xia Zhaoyao gritted his teeth and pressed against the suitcase, groping with his left hand to push it back, but he couldn't find anything.
A place where you can exert your strength.
broken.
The train seemed to become quiet all of a sudden.
This time the box was going to be smashed. If I had known better, I would have put less clothes in it.
Xia Zhaoyao looked at the black box getting closer and closer above her. She seemed like she should scream but couldn't even breathe.
At that moment, someone held the back of her right hand.
The box stopped.
The suitcase was slowly pushed back and got smoothly into the groove of the luggage rack.
"ah……"
Xia Zhaoyao could breathe again, "Thank you——"
It was just like in an action movie, everything happened at the critical moment.
Xia Zhaoyao turned around and looked at the "helping" hero who appeared at the critical moment. He was a boy about the same age as her, tall and thin, with half-rimmed glasses and sloppy hair above his cheeks. The boy smiled slightly.
, took the initiative to withdraw his hand from the box.
The train carriage became noisy again.
The sun slanted on the boy's T-shirt from outside, making his smile extremely bright...
——Well, in the center of the T-shirt...is the smile of the anime girl with short blue hair?
Although the two-dimensional culture is becoming more and more popular, I heard that many otakus even regard paper figures as their wives...
But this kind of calmness and confidence in wearing anime characters...
Uh... he is indeed a... hero?
The boy looked around and muttered in a relaxed tone as if nothing had happened:
"This carriage is too crowded."
…………
Xia Zhaoyao has heard of this game. It seems to be a very popular two-dimensional game nowadays.
The content of the game is to control various characters to explore and hunt for treasures. By the way, most of the characters are sexy and good-looking women.
A bit like an electronic girlfriend? Anyway, it’s hard for Xia Zhaoyao to understand those otakus who like two-dimensional characters.
"Uh, are you really not going to order a set menu?"
Xia Zhaoyao hesitated for a moment. The boy sitting next to her was concentrating on controlling a female character in purple clothes to jump around in the screen.
He was wearing a baggy light-colored T-shirt, with a pair of very lively eyes on his thin face. He looked a bit handsome with his concentration, but if paired with the voice of the female character in the game screen and his sloppy hair, it felt more like
He is an otaku who is suddenly drawn into the outdoor world.
There are many games on boys' mobile phones, and without exception they are all two-dimensional games that are explicit and can even be said to be a bit pornographic.
No, there are several games that are definitely considered H games. Xia Zhaoyao can be 100% sure of this.
Of course people are free to have their own hobbies, and aren’t all otakus like this...
The only thing that made Xia Zhaoyao slightly uncomfortable was that there was a flight attendant standing next to him.
"Brother, do you really not want to order a set meal?"
Xia Zhao waved the lunch box in his hand, thought about it and said sincerely again.
"Now we also have braised beef set meal and tenderloin set meal, and I can treat you as a thank you for just now——"
"Oh, no need. The lunch boxes on the train are IQ taxes."
The boy replied without raising his head, not caring about the slumped flight attendant next to him.
"So-"
Xia Zhaoyao felt his smile freeze on his face.
She had to admit that a box lunch costing fifty yuan was indeed quite painful for her.
I heard that low-cost airlines are like this too. Passengers have to spend extra money to buy lunch boxes, but there is nothing they can do if they are hungry.
"I have instant noodles, the classic braised beef flavor. Please let me get the hot water."
The boy took out the instant noodles from his backpack, shook them, grabbed his cell phone in one hand and the instant noodles in the other and walked out.
…………
It's... not a pleasant lunch time.
Although he doesn't want to admit it, Qin Shuo's evaluation is indeed correct. The train package is an IQ tax.
While Xia Zhaoyao was eating uncooked rice and tasteless braised beef, he looked with envy at the boy who was snoring and eating instant noodles.
She now knew the other person's name: Qin Shuo, a native of Huaijiang City, who had just returned from a solo trip to Yancheng.
Compared to her who was taking a long-distance train for the first time, this otaku from Shefeng is obviously more experienced in all aspects.
Big bucket of braised beef noodles, corn-flavored ham sausage, braised eggs, and pickled mustard...
Well, pickled mustard and ham sausage are delicious - just these two items, Xia Zhaoyao has put the train set meal on the permanent blacklist in his heart.
"Thank you. I didn't expect that I ended up eating your pickled mustard and corn sausage."
Xia Zhaoyao said sheepishly, there was nothing he could do, he was short-tongued.
Her ambition before going out has gradually begun to cool down. Perhaps she has overestimated her abilities?
At present, even otakus who are addicted to games seem to understand thrift and cost-effectiveness better than she does.
"Oh, it's okay." Qin Shuo didn't mind at all, "Didn't you help me look at my bag just now? We were just helping each other."
"But you helped me hold the box! If you hadn't helped, I would have been miserable——"
"That's right." Qin Shuo nodded, picking up the instant noodle fork in his hand, "The situation you were in just now was very dangerous... Hmm."
As he spoke, he took a look at Xia Zhaoyao, who was happily holding a ham and chewing on it. "But you are already amazing. A middle school student traveling alone is amazing..."
"Nothing, where, where--eh?! A middle school student?"
Xia Zhaoyao, who was happily eating corn sausage, raised his head and glanced at Qin Shuo blankly.
"Yeah, when I was your age..."
Qin Shuo replied casually and was about to continue praising the girl next to him.
"Wait a minute - how do you see that I look like a middle school student?!"
"This is not something that is obvious at a glance..."
"stop!"
Before Qin Shuo could finish his words, Xia Zhaoyao pointed at his chest and spoke seriously, word for word, as if he had been stabbed hard.
"Let me reintroduce you, Xia Zhaoyao, a prospective college student. When I report to school, I will be a real college student."
"Oh, college student - well... no wonder -"
Qin Shuo glanced at Xia Zhaoyao in surprise, then nodded suddenly.
No wonder the suitcase just now was so heavy. As travel luggage, it was a bit outrageous.
However, if you are a freshman, that would be understandable.
"If you're a college student... then you should be an adult, right?"
"certainly."
"Well, then..."
Qin Shuo thought carefully, swiped a few times on his phone, and showed a subtle smile.
"By the way, you just said... you have never played these two-dimensional games, right?"
"If you must thank me, there are a few small things."
"……Um?"
Not a good feeling.
"I have several games, but I don't have enough friends to invite—"
Qin Shuo touched his nose and said seriously and somewhat expectantly.
"Many games now require real-name authentication, which also requires practice. I still need a rare maid outfit from NIKKE..."
"Then let me download them one by one..."
Xia Zhaoyao said weakly as he looked at the erotic game scenes on the screen of the other party's mobile phone.
"But this game... uh..."
"Well, 18R+——"
Qin Shuo nodded disapprovingly.
"We are all adults, it doesn't matter."
"In this case, I will send you a free VPN first——"
New book released, la la la la~ This book is~ Well, Dog Food Campus Love