At night, in the train station, a beautiful young couple stood in a corner. Wu Sicheng looked at An Moxue with some resentment, as if he were looking at a heartless person.

Looking at his expression, An Moxue couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Looking at her bright smile, Wu Sicheng's pent-up anger dissipated instantly. "You little ingrate, I worked so hard to get this opportunity to study at the military academy, and I thought we could spend more time together this year. But you, as soon as the holidays start, you run off again. Be careful out there. Even though you're already very capable, don't forget what I gave you. Use it when you need it."

An Moxue understood that he was referring to his secret forces in Osiri, and to put his mind at ease, she agreed, "Okay!"

"Come back as soon as possible, and be sure to stay safe and healthy."

"I know, I'll miss you, and you should remember to miss me too." An Moxue answered generously, not forgetting to say a sweet word, without showing any shyness.

From a distance, they looked like two polite young people talking to each other; there was no indication that they were a couple saying goodbye, and An Moxue was even saying such intimate things.

Upon hearing his words, Wu Sicheng's ears turned bright red. He glanced around cautiously, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he carefully said, "Be mindful of your words in public. However, it's fine to say it in private."

An Moxue laughed and scolded, "Men! What a disgrace!"

The announcement for ticket checking came over the loudspeaker. An Moxue earnestly advised, "Don't attract unwanted attention. Protect yourself. Men are dangerous these days too."

Wu Sicheng was both amused and exasperated. He thought that since she hadn't asked about what happened at noon, it was over, but he didn't expect her to be waiting for him here!

He stood up straight, straightened his clothes, saluted An Moxue, and then said solemnly, "Comrade An Moxue, please rest assured, I have perfectly protected my chastity for thirty-one years and will continue to do so. Apart from my mother, I will stay away from other women and only allow Comrade An Moxue to approach me."

An Moxue quickly grabbed his arm, while looking around. Only a few people were looking in their direction, and they weren't very close. "You really know how to create attention. I'm leaving." But Wu Sicheng still saw the corners of her mouth turn up. He secretly thought to himself, "This is the classic trick my dad used on my mom. It's very effective."

“Yes, I’m telling you the truth. I’ll take you to the ticket gate.” Wu Sicheng said, following An Moxue toward where Old Ma and Aunt Ma were sitting.

When the elderly couple saw them approaching, they also got up, picked up their things, and prepared to queue up to enter the station.

An Moxue walked over, took the things, and said to Ai Guo, "There are many people, so you take good care of Uncle Ma, and I'll take care of Aunt Ma."

"good."

As they talked, the group stood in the middle of the line. Wu Sicheng stood beside them, still reminding them, "If you want to learn about the policies when you get there, don't forget the address of your childhood friend that I gave you. If you need anything, just contact him. I've already called him."

"Yeah, don't worry. It would be a fool not to use a connection. I'll go visit your childhood friend."

The crowd moved forward quickly, and finally it was An Moxue's turn to have her tickets checked. An Moxue waved to him and said, "Go back! I'll take good care of myself."

Ai Guo chimed in, "Don't worry, I'm here."

Wu Sicheng said to Ai Guo in a kind tone, "Thank you for your hard work. Please take good care of the three of them."

The four of them entered the station, and Wu Sicheng only turned around and strode away after An Moxue disappeared from sight.

An Moxue and her group bought sleeper tickets, so there were far fewer people queuing than for hard seats. The four of them boarded the train smoothly. They bought two lower berths and two middle berths, but they were not in the same carriage. They were in two adjacent carriages, but not far apart.

An Moxue and Aunt Ma were the first to find a berth. They put down their things and sat down.

People continued to move inside, and people also entered the carriage where An Moxue was located.

A middle-aged man wearing black-rimmed glasses came up from the lower bunk. After entering, he politely greeted Aunt Ma, "Auntie, are you going out with the younger members of your family?"

"Yes, I'm going to visit relatives. Comrade, are you on a business trip?" Aunt Ma asked, looking at the black leather briefcase tucked under his arm.

The man replied humbly, "Hehe, yes, it's about serving the people!"

Just then, a young man and woman entered. The man pointed to the middle bunk opposite An Moxue and said, "You sleep here, I'll sleep on the top bunk."

The woman said discontentedly, "I told you to buy a lower bunk, but you said there weren't any. How could they buy one if there weren't any? Are you incompetent, making me climb up and down like this? Go ask around and see if anyone is willing to switch. I want to switch to a lower bunk."

An Moxue thought that the girl must have sized up the three of them in terms of their clothes and demeanor before she didn't ask to switch bunks with them, but instead made other requests.

The man said, "There's no guarantee that someone will be willing, but I can only give it a try."

"Just go. Why don't you find someone who looks average-looking, add a little money, and I'll get the difference from them? It's not like we're short of their money, so who wouldn't want to go? Hurry up and go find someone." After saying that, the girl sat down on a small stool in the aisle, looking dissatisfied.

The boy reluctantly went out and asked in each carriage, but no one agreed. He then turned to the other side of the carriage.

A moment later, An Moxue heard Old Ma's voice from not far away, "Young man, I've already said I won't switch. I'm old and my legs aren't good. I can't climb up and down. This isn't about money. Besides, why do you think I would switch beds with you for a few dollars?"

An Moxue looked at Aunt Ma. Neither of them expected that the commotion would turn into something like this involving their own family.

An Moxue stepped out of the carriage and saw the young man saying, "Uncle, look, I'll add five yuan, is that okay? I have a middle berth over there, so you'll make twelve yuan right away, which is almost half a month's salary for an average person. Is that alright?"

An Moxue didn't see Ai Guo; she guessed that kid had gone to queue up for water.

She stood there, watching the spectacle with great interest.

"Young man, is twelve yuan a lot?" Old Ma said, taking out two hundred yuan from his pocket, all brand new ten-yuan bills, and slapping them on the table.

The young man hesitated, unsure what to say. Just then, the girl walked over and said, "Uncle, you have a lot of money, but who would complain about having too much? How about I add another ten yuan for you?"

Old Ma didn't say anything, but pulled out another fifty yuan from his pocket, slammed it on the table, and gave the two men and women a disdainful look, as if to say—you think anyone's never seen ten yuan before!

At this point, the girl and the old man got into a contest, and the girl said, "Add another twenty yuan. That's a worker's monthly wage. It's quite a lot, uncle. You should be content."

Old Ma slammed another fifty yuan on the table with a "thud".

The girl was furious and said, "Add another twenty, that's the most I can do."