Chapter 136 Who's in Beijing? ATMs don't get tired, they even...

Jiang Yueming's ticket was for a journey from the 30th until 4 a.m. the next day, almost a whole day. He really wanted to buy a sleeper berth, but during the peak travel season of National Day, let alone a sleeper berth, he had a hard time even getting a hard seat.

Even if there were no hard seats, or even if there were no seats at all, Jiang Yueming would accept it.

As for this, Jiang Yueming didn't tell Li Leshan. He was afraid that Li Leshan would feel sorry for him, and he was also afraid that Li Leshan would be in a difficult position, so he kept it a secret. Just thinking about seeing Li Leshan made him so excited that he couldn't sleep. The train journey was long, so when he got tired of sitting, he would stand and walk around for a while. If he really couldn't stand it anymore, he would take a nap. It wasn't that difficult.

"Hello?" Jiang Yueming answered the phone; it was Han Jiang calling.

"Dude, what are your plans for National Day?" Han Jiang asked on the other end of the line. "What have you been up to lately? You've completely disappeared. What's wrong? Did your school get built in the mountains and there's no signal?"

“What do you need me for?” Jiang Yueming said. “It’s too late. I’m on the train to Beijing now.”

"Damn. You're so fast," Han Jiang was genuinely surprised. "I was just thinking of coming to visit you, actually I just missed you, haha."

He laughed a little embarrassedly on the other end of the line. Even though Jiang Yueming was thousands of miles away, he could imagine Han Jiang's expression—it must have been incredibly awkward.

“What’s wrong?” Jiang Yueming laughed, “You still have time to think about other people all the time.”

"Xu Qing is going home, and I'm too lazy to bother anymore. My mom doesn't like me either, so I was thinking of going to see you," Han Jiang said. Who knew that this person was already on his way to Beijing? That was fast.

“I missed you too,” Jiang Yueming continued, not embarrassed at all, but rather amused. “But my schedule is too full, you’re late.”

"Your schedule is packed, I'm almost embarrassed to say anything. You must have planned this trip ages ago." Han Jiang hit the nail on the head. He knew exactly what his buddy was thinking. Beijing? Who's in Beijing? Could it be that Jiang Yueming is going to watch the flag-raising ceremony at Tiananmen Square?

Jiang Yueming chuckled and said, "Of course."

"Okay, then hang up. The signal is bad on the train." Jiang Yueming had nothing more to say to him.

"Hey, what's the rush? There's still a signal, isn't there?" Han Jiang quickly said.

"I'll get a response soon, I don't have much to say to you."

"Damn it, who just said they missed me? You're kidding me." Han Jiang roared, his voice loud and grating, making Jiang Yueming sound like some heartless man who abandoned his wife and children.

"What good would it do me to lie to you? I really miss you." Jiang Yueming explained. It was true. Although she thought about Li Leshan almost all day, Han Jiang would suddenly pop up. It couldn't be called not missing him.

"Aren't there any pretty girls at school? Have you started dating anyone?" Han Jiang started gossiping.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Jiang Yueming's voice came through again, "Why are you worrying about this?"

Frankly speaking, whether or not they talked about it has absolutely nothing to do with Han Jiang. Yet he's always curious and keeps asking.

What could Jiang Yueming say? He had a girlfriend, and that girlfriend was Li Leshan? He couldn't just say it like that. He really hadn't figured out how to say it. Maybe he should wait until he was older, maybe until later, maybe even after graduation…

"Are you in a hurry to give a gift?" Jiang Yueming then asked.

"Can't I just be curious?" Han Jiang was genuinely curious. He was genuinely puzzled. His buddy had such a charming face, even as a ghost, yet he hadn't had a relationship in all these years. It was strange. Jiang Yueming wasn't exactly a conventional person either.

"Okay, okay, it's still a long way off. I definitely won't hide it from you if I find out." Jiang Yueming replied casually. He knew he would definitely tell Han Jiang one day. When they were both mature enough to stand on their own, he would not only tell Han Jiang, but also his aunt. Although it didn't seem to matter whether he told her or not, he wanted their blessings.

However, Han Jiang is also a guy who's been sitting in jail for life. He's so straight that I don't know what to say. He's never thought about this in all these years, or maybe he just doesn't dare to.

A message suddenly popped up on my WeChat screen; it was from Li Leshan.

Li Leshan: Are you asleep? Where are you?

Jiang Yueming suddenly perked up and looked out the car window; it was already pitch black.

He quickly replied: Not yet. It's...already, ten more hours.

Li Leshan: Okay, I'll pick you up from the station this morning. Get some rest.

In some ways, a hard seat is better than a hard sleeper. For someone like Jiang Yueming, being assigned to an upper or middle berth is a nightmare. The upper berth in a hard sleeper is like a coffin lid; he has to bend over and lower his head to climb up.

Besides, it doesn't matter where you sleep. Especially sleeping sitting up, although you're more likely to wake up with a stiff neck, that's something you've been doing since middle school, so you could say you've pretty much gotten used to it.

The train headed north, and Jiang Yueming sat from dawn till dusk and back to dawn. In the early morning, the carriages were filled with the smell of cigarettes, used to keep people awake. The aisles were full of people sleeping on the floor, and it was common for people to accidentally step on each other or block each other's way.

Next to him was an elderly woman who had nothing better to do than chat with Jiang Yueming.

"Young man, are you studying in Beijing?" the aunt asked him.

Jiang Yueming looked around and realized that the question was directed at him. Although he was the one who gave himself the identity while traveling, he still felt a little embarrassed to say such a thing.

"No, I study in the south." Jiang Yueming touched his nose.

"Going to university, oh, university students, that's amazing."

He became even more embarrassed by the praise and could only smile and say, "It's not that I'm amazing."

There are many more skilled people out there; his skill is so great that you can't even see it if you throw it into the crowd.

"Don't be modest," the aunt said cheerfully. "I'm going to Beijing to see my daughter. She's studying there and is the first college student in our family! You should go there to meet your boyfriend."

Jiang Yueming nodded and grinned at his aunt.

"That's great. It's good to be young. Running and jumping around, you look so energetic. But you two live quite far apart, one in the south and one in the north. It must be inconvenient for you to meet up."

Jiang Yueming said he was alright, but in reality, he and Li Leshan hadn't seen each other for more than half a year. After their meeting in Shengping during the Spring Festival, he was busy preparing for the college entrance examination, and then he couldn't go back home during the summer vacation because of other things.

Although they talk on the phone all the time, it's still not the same. You can't touch or see each other on a video call, but thankfully you can still see each other. Otherwise, he doesn't know how he would live his life. That kind of thinking is truly unbearable.

Jiang Yueming took a deep breath; his eyes were a little red from not sleeping for so long. "I'm alright. I'll go to his place. He..."

“That’s enough…” Jiang Yueming said.

"Oh dear," the auntie quickly said, "that won't do. It's not enough for just one person to run around. A relationship needs two people to maintain it. It's too tiring for just one person."

Jiang Yueming pursed his lips, and unconsciously picked at the thorns on his hands. "I...I'm not tired."

“It’s not like you can just say you’re not tired,” the aunt said with the air of someone who’s been through it all. Looking at Jiang Yueming’s reddened eyes, she continued, “Isn’t it tiring to sit on the train all day? Isn’t it tiring to work and earn money? It’s very tiring.”

“I know you feel sorry for the young girl running around, but relationships require mutual effort. Love isn’t love if only one person is giving.” Seeing his troubled expression, the aunt quickly comforted him, “Auntie doesn’t mean anything by it. You’re about the same age as my child, I’m just worried that you two might get hurt.”

Jiang Yueming forced a smile, nodded quickly, and said thank you.

"Child, you know, sometimes, when you're tired, you have to say it. Don't think that speaking out is complaining or anything. If you don't say it, and he doesn't say it either, then who will say it in the end?" The aunt said, looking at his tired face.

"I..." This was the first time Jiang Yueming had heard this explanation. He wanted to keep everything from Li Leshan, whether it was exhaustion or something else. He had always been like this. He always felt that telling the truth would only make things worse. "I was afraid he would worry. Thank you, Auntie, but some things are not that simple. They are very complicated."

More than whether he was tired or not, he was afraid that Li Leshan would worry about him. Li Leshan already had enough to think about every day, and Jiang Yueming didn't want to add to his burden.

And he really wasn't tired. How could this level of exertion be considered tiring? Wouldn't it be a bit of a fuss over nothing to say that he was tired?

He understood that love is a two-way street, and he certainly agreed with that. He genuinely felt that he and Li Leshan were giving to each other, and there was no question of one giving more or less than the other.

Such a statement is utterly unreasonable and shows no consideration for the other person. Love cannot be measured by such superficial things. If it's about money, then you might as well just talk to an ATM.

ATMs don't get tired and will keep dispensing money. But talking to an ATM is unrealistic, and it's not willing to do it.

As the train gently swayed, Jiang Yueming closed his eyes briefly. His eyes were a little sore from not having closed them for so long. He wasn't dreaming, and hadn't really slept at all. His mind was unusually clear, so clear he felt he could do two sets of math problems.

But I'm really not tired at all.

Jiang Yueming's hangnail had been pulled and was bleeding slightly; he pressed it casually to stop the bleeding. His gaze remained fixed on the scenery outside the window, passing tunnels and mountain peaks…

He was very happy to see Li Leshan. To be honest, he was already much happier on the way to see him than most of the time.