Lin Qingyan knew what kind of person she was. She had ignored her just now, but now she was being so attentive. She probably didn't just want her to eat candy.

She smiled and said, "I'm sorry, I don't like sweets."

Then she told Du Xiaoyue that she was going to the dining car and asked Du Xiaoyue to watch her luggage if she wasn't going.

Although she didn't have much luggage on the surface, and it wasn't very good, she had to act like an ordinary person in front of outsiders to follow local customs.

The cheat code can only be used in private or when absolutely necessary.

Du Xiaoyue said she wanted to eat what she had brought: "You go ahead, I'll watch your luggage for you."

"Thanks."

After giving her instructions, Lin Qingyan went to find Lu Zhengting.

Tong Jiaojiao secretly followed behind and saw her and Lu Zhengting go to the dining car together. She immediately felt like she had spilled dozens of jars of pickled cabbage...

Lin Qingyan and Lu Zhengting went to the dining car together. Along the way, they attracted a lot of attention. Although she knew that most of those eyes were on Lu Zhengting, she still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

The dining car is located between the hard-seat and soft-sleeper carriages, usually in carriage number nine of the train.

Before they even got there, they heard an announcement coming from inside the carriage.

"Passengers please note that a sumptuous lunch has been prepared for you on this train. The dining car is located in carriage number nine. Passengers who wish to dine, please proceed to the dining car."

Lin Qingyan had just come from the ordinary carriage when she saw the scene in the dining car and was immediately incredulous that this was the kind of train dining conditions that existed in the 1970s.

The two rows of dining tables in the carriage were covered with white tablecloths, and looked very clean and tidy.

There were already some passengers dining inside. These passengers all looked to be people of high status, and their table manners were relatively refined.

Inside the carriage, there were waiters bustling about serving tea and water, and Lin Qingyan suddenly felt as if she had returned to the modern world.

Lu Zhengting found a seat and invited Lin Qingyan to sit down.

What would you like to eat?

"I'm easygoing, as long as it's not too spicy or hard to digest."

Seeing that she was thin with a pointed chin, Lu Zhengting stood up and agreed, "Okay."

The staple food on the train is mostly rice, and there are not many side dishes: stir-fried shredded pork with green peppers, stir-fried shredded pork with green vegetables, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and stir-fried cabbage with vinegar.

Lu Zhengting bought two dishes for Lin Qingyan: stir-fried vegetables with shredded pork and scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which were served on top of rice, along with a braised egg.

He only needed one dish and two servings of rice, but fearing that Lin Qingyan might feel embarrassed, he also ordered a dish of stir-fried cabbage with vinegar.

At this time, the meals were all packaged in reusable aluminum lunch boxes. Train meals only required money, not tickets. He paid 1.8 yuan and carried the two rice meal boxes back to his seat, placing Lin Qingyan's portion in front of her.

"Thanks."

"You are welcome."

Because it was very hot and there was no air conditioning in the car, he saw that Lin Qingyan's face was covered in sweat while she was eating, so he asked the waiter to bring her a bottle of soda, opened the bottle for her, and handed it to her.

Lin Qingyan was indeed hot. The temperature in the car was high, and the food she was eating was also hot. She was sweating a lot. She took a sip of the soda bottle, looked up at Lu Zhengting, and found that he wasn't sweating much.

At this moment, she also got a close and careful look at his appearance.

The man's face wasn't dark like that of a typical soldier; instead, it was very fair, likely due to naturally pale skin.

Her facial features are soft, with thick eyebrows, deep and bright eyes, a high nose bridge, and thin lips, which actually fits her aesthetic preferences quite well.

Lu Zhengting noticed she was looking at him and smiled, "What's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"I see you're not sweating much, aren't you hot?"

"It's not very hot."

People say he's a movable block of ice, or an iceberg. Besides his usually cold expression, could it also be related to his physique?

No, he knows he's very hot. When he was little, he slept with his older brother, who would complain that he was burning hot. But in winter, his brother would hug him tightly and call him a little furnace.

“I’m not naturally cold,” he suddenly explained. “I sweat a lot when I do strenuous exercise.”

After explaining, I felt completely baffled.

"oh."

Lin Qingyan responded with a faint "yes".

The air was quiet for a few more minutes. Lin Qingyan chewed her food and turned to look out the window.

The dining car's windows were much larger than those of the regular carriages, allowing Lin Qingyan to enjoy the scenery outside while she ate.

Halfway through the meal, Lu Zhengting asked, "We're pretty familiar with each other now, right? My name is Lu Zhengting, Lu as in sea, land, and air; Zheng as in justice; and Ting as in thunder. I still don't know your name."

"Me." Lin Qingyan still felt there was no need to reveal her name. Her encounters with Lu Zhengting last time and this time were both coincidences. Would there be any more such coincidences in the future? Oh well, it wouldn't hurt to tell him. "My name is Lin Qingyan, Lin as in double wood, Qing as in clear breeze, and Yan as in beautiful woman."

"Qingyan." He pondered the name carefully: "Oh, Comrade Lin Qingyan. Where are you going to go for your rural assignment?"

"They said they were going to Fengshi in Jilin Province, but I don't know which county or commune it was specifically."

"Feng City?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"……nothing."

Lin Qingyan realized that Lu Zhengting had asked so many questions because he must still be concerned about returning the handkerchief.

"You really don't need to worry about the handkerchief; it's not something valuable."

"Then I'll return it to you when we meet again by chance."

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!