The express trip to Beijing would take five hours. Yang Zhao read a book in the car for a while and felt that the shaking was too strong, so he put the book down.
Chen Mingsheng looked at her and said, "Would you like to take a break?"
Yang Zhao said, "It's all right."
The carriage was full, and many passengers with standing tickets stood scattered in the carriage, waiting to see if there were any vacant seats. Yang Zhao took a sip of water and sat quietly.
Opposite her and Chen Mingsheng sat a pair of elderly people with a child. The little boy was dishonest in the car, barking once in a while, his grandma pulled him and told him to be quiet.
"Are you hungry?" Grandma asked him.
"Hungry!" cried the little boy.
His grandfather took a tightly tied plastic bag from the ground, opened it bit by bit, and there were some snacks inside. "What do you want to eat?"
The little boy yelled twice again, lying on top of grandma, reaching for the plastic bag. After tossing and picking in it for a long time, I took out a bag.
Yang Zhao didn't know what they were, she had never seen or eaten them, they were arranged in a row, red ones, sealed in plastic.
The little boy opened the snack bag with his teeth, took out one and gnawed vigorously.
The moment the bag was opened, Yang Zhao smelled a strong smell of strange oil, like gas.
She frowned slightly and looked the other way.
But the smell didn't disappear just because you didn't look at it, and as the boy chewed harder, it got bigger and bigger. And he seems to be eating very well, chewing very loudly.
Listening to that voice and smelling that special smell, Yang Zhao felt a little dizzy.
She tugged at Chen Mingsheng who was on the side, trying to distract her, but Chen Mingsheng had been closing his eyes to rest his mind.
He opened his eyes and looked at Yang Zhao.
Yang Zhao whispered, "Are you asleep?"
Chen Mingsheng said, "No."
Yang Zhao hummed, but did not speak.
Chen Mingsheng seemed to see that Yang Zhao was a bit listless, so he held Yang Zhao's hand behind his back and asked, "Are you feeling well?"
Yang Zhao shook his head, and Chen Mingsheng said, "Let me get you some fruit."
Yang Zhao thought that the freshness and sweetness of the fruit might offset the oily smell, so he nodded and said, "Okay."
Chen Mingsheng's travel bag was placed underneath, and all the food was in it. He took out the fruit bag from the bag and brought Yang Zhao a pear.
Yang Zhao took it, "Thank you, I'll go wash it."
In fact, Li had already washed it when she was at home, but in such an environment, Yang Zhao felt that she wanted to wash it again.
She took the pear and left the seat, because the two of them had the smallest seat number, next to the junction of the carriages, the toilet was next to it, the toilet was locked now, and the door was waiting for two people.
Yang Zhao took the pear and lined up behind them.
After a while, when Yang Zhao was in the queue, she went into the toilet. The toilet was in a mess, and no one had flushed it. Yang Zhao held his breath and flushed the toilet, then washed the pears in the sink.
When she went out, she saw a lot of people piled up at the intersection of the two carriages, some were sitting on the luggage, and some were sitting directly on the ground.
She felt dizzy even more.
When returning to his seat, Yang Zhao returned the pear to Chen Mingsheng.
Chen Mingsheng looked at her, "What's wrong?"
Yang Zhao said, "I can't eat it."
Chen Mingsheng looked at Yang Zhao's face and said, "Do you feel uncomfortable?"
Yang Zhao nodded, "A little bit."
The boy eating snacks didn't finish the food, and put the remaining half bag on the table. Yang Zhao lowered his head and didn't look at it.
Chen Mingsheng was a little worried, "Do you want some hot water?"
Yang Zhao thought of the toilet and shook his head, "No need."
She took Chen Mingsheng's hand, moved towards him, and then lightly rested her head on his shoulder.
Chen Mingsheng was still a little worried, "Is it really all right?"
Yang Zhao said, "It's okay, just a little motion sickness, I'll take a rest."
Chen Mingsheng held Yang Zhao's hand, and Yang Zhao's eyes were on his knees. Chen Mingsheng's hand had distinct joints and looked dry, with nice joints and contours.
Yang Zhao closed his eyes, trying not to think about those strange smells.
The car drove for more than three hours, and the radio kept broadcasting advertisements for the dining car. Chen Mingsheng asked Yang Zhao, "Are you hungry?"
Yang Zhao shook her head, let alone eating, she couldn't even think about eating.
Yang Zhao said, "Are you hungry?"
Chen Mingsheng said, "It's okay."
Yang Zhao said, "Then let me accompany you to eat something."
Chen Mingsheng said, "I'll just have some bread, I don't need to go to the dining car."
He took out a bag of bread from his travel bag, and dug out some beef stroganoff. Yang Zhao watched him eat, and the fragrance of the bread finally made her feel better.
Finally, it lasted until after three o'clock in the afternoon, and the train arrived at Beijing Railway Station.
Yang Zhao got out of the car, breathed the air outside, and felt his mind cleared up a lot.
Chen Mingsheng followed behind her and said, "Is it better?"
Yang Zhao said, "It's okay." She said to Chen Mingsheng, "What time is the next bus?"
Chen Mingsheng said, "It's past five o'clock."
Yang Zhao nodded and said, "Then let's find a place to rest."
Although it was not a holiday, Beijing Railway Station was still crowded with people. A whole train got off and crowded together. Yang Zhao dragged his suitcase and walked in front, and Chen Mingsheng followed on her right.
Yang Zhao kept paying attention to Chen Mingsheng. In such a crowd, Chen Mingsheng had a hard time walking. His crutches cannot be stretched too far, nor can they be retracted too far.
Many people who were in a hurry to catch the escalator and the subway rushed forward desperately. Yang Zhao tightly grabbed Chen Mingsheng's left hand and dragged him out of the crowd.
"Wait a minute," Yang Zhao said.
They waited until the mass of passengers were gone before going down again.
"Find a place to sit for a while." Yang Zhao said.
Chen Mingsheng said: "You haven't eaten yet, find a place to eat and wait."
"Um."
Finally, Yang Zhao and Chen Mingsheng came to a fast food restaurant on the second floor, and Yang Zhao ordered a bowl of noodles. After ordering the meal in front, Yang Zhao turned his head and saw Chen Mingsheng sitting on the seat, looking at the table in front of him, wondering what to write.
"Miss, your change." The waiter said.
"Oh." Yang Zhao turned his head and took the change back, "Thank you."
When she returned to her seat, Chen Mingsheng raised his head, "Is the order finished?"
"En." Yang Zhao sat down, looked at Chen Mingsheng, and hesitated to speak.
Chen Mingsheng said, "What's wrong."
Yang Zhao thought about it, and finally shook his head, "It's nothing."
Yang Zhao could see that Chen Mingsheng was a little depressed. Although he didn't show anything, Yang Zhao was very sensitive to him, and she could sense some depression in his seemingly normal tone.
Yang Zhao didn't want him to have extra emotions, but some things were too realistic and beyond their control.
The noodles were quickly served, Yang Zhao took two mouthfuls, and then heard Chen Mingsheng whisper to her:
"I'll go change the ticket."
Yang Zhao said, "What ticket?"
Chen Mingsheng said, "Exchange the ticket for a bullet train."
Yang Zhao paused with the hand holding the noodles, and said, "No need."
Chen Mingsheng said: "There are still more than six hours to wait, I'm afraid you will feel uncomfortable."
Yang Zhao didn't say a word. She really couldn't lie to him that she didn't feel uncomfortable doing that car, but she didn't want Chen Mingsheng to change the ticket either.
It seems that she also has a strange insistence in her heart—it seems that by changing this ticket, she is tantamount to admitting something.
Yang Zhao put down the chopsticks, sat up straight, looked at Chen Mingsheng and said, "No ticket exchange."
Her gaze was firm and undeniable.
Chen Mingsheng looked at her serious expression, suddenly chuckled lightly, and said, "If you don't change it, then you won't change it. Eat well."
Only then did Yang Zhao pick up his chopsticks and start eating.
After eating half a bowl of noodles and drinking some soup, Yang Zhao felt much more comfortable. She planned to take a nap to gather energy for the next six hours or so.
"I'll sleep for a while." Yang Zhao asked the waiter to clean up the table, and then said to Chen Mingsheng, "Take a look at the luggage."
Chen Mingsheng said, "Go to sleep."
Yang Zhao rested on the table while Chen Mingsheng quietly looked at her face lying on her side.
There were a lot of people in the train station, and from time to time the radio would broadcast train schedule information. Sitting in a corner of the fast food restaurant, Chen Mingsheng and Yang Zhao felt like another world.
Yang Zhao didn't wake up after sleeping for an hour. She went to the bathroom to wash her face, then returned to her seat and waited for the bus with Chen Mingsheng.
Two hours passed quickly, and Yang Zhao and Chen Mingsheng went down ten minutes early to wait for the ticket inspection.
This time their seat arrangement is better, not close to the two ends of the carriage, but in the middle. Chen Mingsheng and Yang Zhao boarded the car late, and the luggage racks were full. Chen Mingsheng leaned on his crutches and raised his hands to sort out the messy bags on top, trying to make room.
"Take it easy." A girl dressed as a college student in the seat said, she looked up at the luggage rack, "I have a computer in my suitcase."
Chen Mingsheng hummed.
If he wanted to move things, he could only use one hand and hold the luggage rack with the other hand, otherwise he would easily fall down if he used both hands to grab things.
Yang Zhao supported him, finally vacated a space, and Chen Mingsheng put the box on it.
This time Yang Zhao was seated by the car window, and Chen Mingsheng sat in the middle.
It was already getting dark, and the lights were turned on in the carriage. With previous experience, Yang Zhao felt that he adapted well this time.
At six or seven o'clock, the car is the busiest, those who eat eat, those who play cards play cards. The student sitting across from him has been watching a TV series on his iPad, laughing from time to time.
Chen Mingsheng seemed to have been paying close attention to Yang Zhao's situation. He asked her how she felt from time to time, and Yang Zhao said she was fine. Seeing that Yang Zhao's complexion was much better than before, he felt relieved.
From Beijing to Wutai Mountain, you have to pass through Baijian and Lingqiu. After three hours, you will pass Lingqiu. At this time, the car has gradually quieted down, and everyone has been noisy for several hours, and they feel a little tired.
Yang Zhao took Chen Mingsheng's hand and looked out the window in a daze.
It was past nine o'clock, and the sky outside was completely dark, and the outside scenery could not be seen clearly on the glass, but all the scenes in the car were reflected on it.
She looked at the glass and suddenly wanted to see Chen Mingsheng's expression. She leaned back slightly, revealing Chen Mingsheng's face.
Chen Mingsheng didn't rest, he was looking in one direction.
Yang Zhao turned his head, followed his gaze, and saw two people sitting not far away. The two men were not very old, wearing ordinary clothes, one with his head down and his hands in his pockets. With his chin resting on the other hand, he stared straight at the trash tray on the table.
Yang Zhao took a look, then turned his head and asked Chen Mingsheng softly, "Do you know him?"
Chen Mingsheng turned his head indifferently, "I don't know." After he finished speaking, he glanced over there calmly.
After ten o'clock, the sound in the carriage became even quieter. Many people here had been on the train for a day, and many people fell asleep leaning on the back of their chairs on the train at night.
Yang Zhao took a nap in the afternoon and didn't feel tired, so he sat holding Chen Mingsheng's hand.
She felt that Chen Mingsheng was still looking in that direction intentionally or unintentionally, and Yang Zhao felt a little strange, so she looked over again. She was not used to staring at people all the time, so she only glanced lightly.
The two seemed to be talking.
The man with his hands in his pockets buried his head deeper, and seemed to be muttering something in his mouth. The man next to him moved closer to him, frowning, and kept talking in a low voice. During his speech, he even raised his head and glanced to the side, Yang Zhaoxin looked away.
She looked at Chen Mingsheng, wondering if it was an illusion, she felt that his face was darker than before.
Yang Zhao felt his heart beating non-stop. Chen Mingsheng also seemed to look away, but Yang Zhao knew that he was still looking at them, and he didn't even notice her.
"Chen Mingsheng..." Yang Zhao took his hand.
Chen Mingsheng turned his head, looked at Yang Zhao, and said, "What's wrong."
Yang Zhao said, "You... are you okay, you always watch what they do."
Chen Mingsheng's eyes seemed to be hesitant, and finally he lowered his eyebrows and said lightly, "It's okay."
The train was moving at a moderate speed under the dark sky, Chen Mingsheng seemed to really no longer pay attention to those two people. He took her hand and rested on the back of the chair with his eyes closed.
Yang Zhao felt something was wrong.
She didn't know what was wrong.
After another ten minutes, the man with his hands in his pockets suddenly raised his head.
Yang Zhao was startled when he saw his face. After such a distance, she also saw thin sweat on the man's forehead. It was almost winter, and the temperature in the carriage was not warm, so it was impossible to sweat.
He bent down and rubbed his knees vigorously. After rubbing twice, he began to twist his arms again.
His movements were not large. After rubbing twice, he rubbed his face and put his hands back into his pockets.
After a while, he bowed his head and said something to the man beside him, who frowned.
His tone seemed rushed, the man looked around, glanced at his mouth for the last time, and looked away again.
The man took a sip of water, stood up from his seat, and walked to the toilet.
Seeing him leave from the corner of his eye, Yang Zhao looked at Chen Mingsheng again.
At some point, Chen Mingsheng opened his eyes. He looked at the direction in which the man left, and the outline of the corners of his lips seemed to be more obvious.
Just when Yang Zhao thought he was about to say something, Chen Mingsheng breathed a sigh of relief, and slowly closed his eyes again.
Yang Zhao looked at the car window, she didn't know what was in sight, because her attention was all on Chen Mingsheng's hand holding her. That hand seemed to hold her simply, but Yang Zhao felt that if he felt it carefully, he would notice that the hand was tense.
Finally, Chen Mingsheng let go of his hand.
He turned his head and whispered to Yang Zhao, "Go to the flight attendant." After speaking, he simply stood up. Before Yang Zhao could say anything, he had already left.
Yang Zhao watched him walk to the door of the toilet. When he passed by the remaining man, the man seemed to feel something. He turned his head and looked at Chen Mingsheng who was standing outside the toilet. Stand over and tell him: "There are people inside, come back later."
Chen Mingsheng didn't move, the man seemed a little nervous, he pushed Chen Mingsheng with his hand, and said in a low voice, "Stinky cripple, I can't understand human language!"
He pushed very secretly, but Yang Zhao still saw it. She stood up quickly, and Chen Mingsheng glanced at her from the gap.
Yang Zhao turned his head and went to the next carriage to look for the steward.
After walking a few steps, she heard what seemed to be arguing behind her.
"Are you fucking sick!?"
Yang Zhao didn't look back, her heart was beating violently, and she kept staring at the road in front of her.
After passing a carriage, she saw a female flight attendant, and she rushed over to hold the flight attendant's hand.
The flight attendant was taken aback, "This passenger, do you need anything?"
Yang Zhao looked into her eyes and said, "Come with me quickly, something happened ahead."