Huayu: Brother, I'm having such a great time!

Chapter 13: Is this contrast necessary?

"Why don't you get up first?"

Xu Jingxing took the ticket stub from Zhang Jiani's hand and handed it to the old lady.

"Oh dear, you child."

The older woman took off her shoes, sat cross-legged on the bed, and said, "Young man, how can you be so inconsiderate? I already told you my back hurts, can't you even be a little understanding?"

"Back pain?" Xu Jingxing sneered. "You sat up quite nimbly this time."

"Look how clever you are, so quick-witted! Didn't your teacher teach you how to respect your elders?"

"Respect the elderly? What did you do to deserve my respect?"

Xu Jingxing threw his luggage onto the bed and continued to ask:

"Did you fight against the US or aid Korea? Did you establish the nation or make some other significant contribution to the country? Were you featured on 'Touching China' or built a Hope Primary School?"

"All she does is grab seats on the bus!" Zhang Jiani poked her head out from behind and added insult to injury.

"I...I...I..." The woman was stunned by the question. "I'm so old, you should respect the elderly. It's a virtue."

"You're too old, go ask your parents! Who told them to have you so young? It's none of my business!"

"You! You! You! Are you even speaking human language?"

"I haven't said anything even harsher yet, so hurry up and get started."

Zhang Jiani also chimed in, "If you don't get up soon, we'll call the flight attendants!"

"Oh dear, I can't afford to live like this anymore. I'm so old, and you all treat me like this?"

Seeing that she couldn't win the argument, the old lady had no choice but to resort to the first two moves: crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang herself.

"You two young people, it's no big deal to give up your seat to an older person, there's no need to be so fussy."

Sure enough, the onlookers, always eager for drama, started advising others to be magnanimous.

"What, are you his father? Come here, give your lower bunk to her."

"What nonsense are you talking about? My lower bunk is more than 20 yuan more expensive than the upper bunk, and besides, my back is bad."

"Stop spouting nonsense, go play somewhere else!"

"Hey! How dare you talk like that, young man?" someone in the crowd spoke up in defense of him.

"You go play too!"

Xu Jingxing activated indiscriminate attack mode.

"What's wrong? What's wrong?" The flight attendant arrived late.

Zhang Jiani explained the situation to the flight attendant.

"Hello, ma'am, could you please show me your ticket?" The train attendant held out her hand to the woman.

"I can't find my ticket," the woman continued nonchalantly.

"She said she'd sleep here," Zhang Jiani said, pointing towards the upper bunk.

"Um..." a girl in the crowd said softly, "I'm the one in the upper bunk."

Xu Jingxing looked back and saw a bespectacled, well-mannered girl raising her hand towards the flight attendant.

"So this old man doesn't have a ticket!"

"Hello, ma'am, could you please show me your ticket?" the conductor said to the woman again.

"You're all ganging up on an elderly person, aren't you?" The middle-aged woman started using her signature crying and tantrums again. "Can't you afford to live anymore? You're all bullying me...!"

Seeing that the elderly woman was unresponsive to reason, the flight attendant took out her walkie-talkie and called the train police.

Upon checking, it turned out that the old man had a standing ticket.

Xu Jingxing was genuinely impressed by her; managing to get a sleeper train ticket without a standing ticket was quite an achievement.

The train police took the woman away, and the matter was considered closed. After putting their belongings away, the two sat on the bed.

"Hello, may I sit on your bed for a while?" The bespectacled, refined girl who had spoken earlier looked at Xu Jingxing. "All the seats in the aisle are full."

"Okay."

Zhang Jiani quickly moved closer to Xu Jingxing, making room for him.

"My name is Gu Ling, and I'm going to Linxiang. What about you?"

"My name is Zhang Jiani, and his name is Xu Jingxing. We are also going to Linxiang," Zhang Jiani replied politely.

"You guys are really brave. I was afraid someone would take my spot. After buying a lower bunk, I ended up getting an upper bunk instead."

"You can give up your position if you want; why are you afraid of others?"

Xu Jingxing was a little confused.

Gu Ling: "My mom says the same thing about me, but I'm not good at saying no to people."

Xu Jingxing: "Then stick your face out."

Gu Ling: "Huh? It reached over, and then what?"

Xu Jingxing: "Let me give you a kiss."

Gu Ling quickly dodged, "That won't do."

"Look at you, you know how to refuse people, don't you?" Xu Jingxing was speechless.

"This...this is not the same thing." Gu Ling adjusted her glasses, her face slightly flushed.

"Stop teasing that young girl." Zhang Jiani took out a bag of biscuits, Master Kong 3+2, from her bag and handed it to Gu Ling. "Just ignore him, he just loves to talk nonsense."

"Oh! No, no, thank you. My mom said I shouldn't eat food from strangers when I'm out and about."

Xu Jingxing chuckled: "I see you're quite good at saying no to people."

Zhang Jiani couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"We've exchanged names, so we're not strangers anymore."

"Ah, right!" Gu Ling suddenly realized, and then took the biscuits that Zhang Jiani handed over.

Two hours later.

As the train staff pushed the dining cart over, all three of them felt their stomachs growl in unison.

"Lingling, did you bring any food?"

After spending two hours together, Zhang Jiani had already fallen in love with this innocent and adorable girl.

She dumped all the food she had prepared from her bag onto the bed.

Let's eat together.

"My mom packed a lot of food for me too."

Gu Ling stood up, took her schoolbag from the luggage rack, and took out all her belongings.

Braised beef, flatbread, fried dough twists, and even candied fruit, donkey rolls, sugar ears, and poria cocos sandwiches.

"This stuff is enough for you to eat for several days." Xu Jingxing stared wide-eyed in surprise at the several bags full of food in front of him.

"My mom asked me to bring these to my classmates, so please don't eat them all," Gu Ling said somewhat embarrassedly. "The main thing is that I promised my roommate beforehand, and my mom said that I can't go back on my word."

"You think too highly of me. Even three of me couldn't eat that much!" Xu Jingxing exclaimed.

"Are you studying at a university in Linxiang? What year are you in?" Zhang Jiani asked.

"I'm a second-year graduate student this year."

"Second year of graduate school? How old are you?"

Zhang Jiani looked at the timid little girl in front of her with some surprise. People would believe her if she said she was still a minor. She never expected that she was already a second-year graduate student.

"I'm 25."

"I've always called you 'little sister'." Zhang Jiani extended her hand to Gu Ling. "Hello, Sister Ling!"

"No, no, no, please just call me Lingling."

The seats by the window were now empty. Food was placed on the table, and Gu Ling and Zhang Jiani sat by the window, while Xu Jingxing sat at the foot of the bed. The group began to eat and chat.

Zhang Jiani: "Lingling, what did you study?"

Gu Ling: "Law".

Xu Jingxing: "What? Law?"

Xu Jingxing looked at Gu Ling and felt that the contrast in her appearance was becoming more and more pronounced.

"You say you can't say no to people, then how come you're arguing with them in court!"

"That's called a court debate, not an argument," Gu Ling explained. "Besides, I plan to be a non-litigation lawyer, so I won't have to go to court."

"That's understandable, but some of the parties involved can be quite difficult, so you should be mentally prepared."

As they ate, they gradually felt the carriage getting warmer and took off their coats.

When Xu Jingxing turned to look at Gu Ling, who was only wearing a tight-fitting T-shirt, he was once again shocked by the contrast in her appearance.

"This...this is way too big!" Xu Jingxing blurted out.

Seeing Zhang Jiani's glance, Xu Jingxing quickly looked away and explained:

"The 'big' I'm referring to is the huge white steamed bun my neighbor's hand is holding; it's really huge!"