Chapter 101

Ji Wanmei had only come over to ask Lei Tingjun to get her food when Lei Tingjun suddenly stood up and hugged her, leaving her stunned.

Lei Tingjun held her very, very tightly.

It was so tight that she felt her shoulder blades and waist were being squeezed painfully.

Several people were watching them secretly by the aisle, whispering and pointing.

It probably refers to the fact that a man and a woman were openly hugging and cuddling in public.

After all, in those days, social customs were not so open, and in public places, men and women would not usually pull each other or engage in intimate behavior.

Reason told Ji Wanmei that she should push Lei Tingjun away at this moment.

But.

Ji Wanmei, who was tightly held in Lei Tingjun's arms, sensed Lei Tingjun's unusually low mood.

Loneliness, darkness, confusion, helplessness.

All of this was what she sensed from him.

His sudden, tight embrace of her had nothing to do with lust, ambiguity, or the occasion.

He seemed to... simply want a warm hug to heal him from some unspeakable sadness.

Ji Wanmei froze for a moment.

At that moment, her emotions overcame her reason.

Ji Wanmei didn't push Lei Tingjun away because of the stares and whispers of others. She simply raised her hand gently, placed it lightly on his shoulder, patted it softly, and asked, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

"No. No." Lei Tingjun rested his chin on her thick, soft hair, closed his eyes, and said in a low, husky voice, "Please don't move, let me hold you for a while."

"Just a little while, just a little while," he said, almost pleadingly.

Ji Wanmei stopped moving and quietly let him hold her.

After a few seconds, Lei Tingjun regained his composure and easily released her.

He knew that holding her like that on the train would draw stares from others.

Lei Tingjun couldn't put her in such an awkward situation, so he quickly recovered and looked deeply at Ji Wanmei: "Why did you come here?"

"It's past six o'clock, are you hungry? I bought braised pork rice and saved some for you."

As Ji Wanmei spoke, she carefully observed his expression.

Beneath his thick, sharp eyebrows, one could see a deep sadness that no one could understand, yet his expression was resolute, rational, and calm.

Ji Wanmei suddenly realized that she actually knew nothing about Lei Tingjun's past.

All she knew was that in her previous life, Lei Tingjun entered the Dongfang Factory in his early twenties, and later left the factory to start his own business as a building materials transportation team.

Later, because she was saving her, she accidentally killed Yang Zhiping and went to jail.

What kind of experiences did Lei Jun have before he turned twenty?

What was his background, his childhood experiences, and his life trajectory that led him to the Eastern Factory, where, as if by fate, he met her?

What past could possibly have caused such a deep sadness to settle on his brow?

But as he looked at her, the deep, dark abyss suddenly dispersed, revealing the dawn-like light of sunrise.

It's as if I am a ray of light shining into that endless darkness.

"Have you eaten?" Lei Tingjun asked her.

Ji Wanmei nodded: "My and Chunyan's have already been taken out."

Lei Tingjun then fell silent.

"Officer Li is at the front and won't be coming over for a while. Come with me to eat," Ji Wanmei gestured for him to follow her back to her seat.

At her seat, Luo Chunyan had already opened the braised pork rice box and started eating.

Seeing Ji Wanmei and Lei Tingjun come over together, Luo Chunyan, with her mouth full of rice, looked up at the two of them and said indistinctly, "Eat quickly, it's hot, the food will taste bad if left overnight."

Ji Wanmei and Luo Chunyan returned to their seats, which were two-seater seats.

Across from me sat an elderly couple, in their fifties or sixties, carrying some local specialties; they looked like they had just returned from visiting relatives somewhere.

Seeing that the three young men were about to eat and the small table was getting crowded, the old man opposite them waved to Lei Tingjun and said, "Young man, come sit here and eat. I just got up to stretch my muscles."

Lei Tingjun said, "No need, old man, please sit down."

He simply squatted down on the ground and said, "I can just squat."

The old man smiled, handed him a newspaper, and said, "Then you can use this as a seat. The conditions on the train are like this, so you'll have to make do."

Seeing that the two elderly people were kind, Ji Wanmei took out the other braised dishes she had bought and handed them over, saying, "Grandpas, have some with us."

The braised dishes consist of duck carcasses, chicken feet, braised pig intestines, and braised peanuts.

The elderly person has bad teeth and can't eat these.

The old man chuckled and waved his hand, "No, no, you guys eat yourselves. We only have a few more stops to go. We'll get home around eight o'clock and then make something for ourselves. We don't like the food on the train."

Upon hearing this, Luo Chunyan said, "Then once the two elderly people get off the car, won't the seats opposite us be empty?"

Ji Wanmei glanced at her, but didn't reply. She just smiled and chatted with the two elderly people.

Lei Tingjun silently put his food into his mouth without saying a word.

Seeing that he was only eating rice, Ji Wanmei put some braised duck carcass and pork intestines into his lunchbox.

The old woman looked at him and said with a smile, "Young lady, is he your boyfriend?"

Ji Wanmei was taken aback, her face flushed slightly, and she didn't know how to respond.

Lei Tingjun looked up and calmly said, "Fellow villager."

"Oh, I see." The elderly couple smiled without saying anything.

Ji Wanmei silently turned her head and glanced at Lei Tingjun. She saw him with his head down, quickly putting rice into his mouth and eating very seriously.

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