Chapter 34 Lu Lin, you're really attractive!

The train was still some time away from departure, so Lu Lin went to buy her some snacks to eat on the way.

She didn't want to take the train so early, so she sat on the platform and waited.

She watched the passersby, some laughing, some crying, some hurrying along, and some walking leisurely.

She casually glanced at the crowd and unexpectedly spotted Kang Wenbai.

The first thing that came to mind was restlessness and impatience; I even thought he was a persistent ghost.

Kang Wenbai also saw her, with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"Why are you here?" Did you come to see her off? There's really no need for that.

Kang Wenbai mumbled something, his eyes darting around, when someone called his name.

"Wenbai, you run really fast! You disappeared in the blink of an eye. I had to look for you for ages. The train hasn't even arrived at the station yet, there's no need to rush."

The visitor, carrying flowers, spoke a string of words before noticing that someone was beside Kang Wenbai.

"This is?"

Kang Wenbai looked somewhat embarrassed: "This is Mrs. Lu."

The man nearly bit his tongue. He was Kang Wenbai's close friend and had naturally heard of Shen Rong. His smile was somewhat awkward.

Shen Rong realized she had overthought things; Kang Wenbai hadn't come to see her off, but to pick up a friend.

"Oh, it's Mrs. Lu. What a coincidence! Are you going on a long trip?"

They can't be here to pick someone up, can they?

Kang Wenbai then noticed the small leather suitcase next to Shen Rong, and he asked in a daze, "Are you leaving Pingcheng today?"

He felt a little sad, thinking that Shen Rong was avoiding him.

"Yes, I will go with my husband to Bincheng to take up his post."

Kang Wenbai realized what was happening and mumbled, "That's good. I wish you all the best."

"I wish you all the best as well." Shen Rong wore a polite smile.

A look of disappointment and sadness flashed in Kang Wenbai's eyes. He didn't know how Shen Rong could so cleanly and decisively sort out her feelings.

He looked at her abdomen, which was still flat. He had heard from Old Wu that she was pregnant, so everything made sense.

He respected her choice.

"Are you here to pick up a friend?" Shen Rong greeted Kang Wenbai's friend with a smile.

"Yes, our good friend is coming back from the United States, and we came here specifically to pick her up."

Shen Rong noticed a hint of unease flash across Kang Wenbai's face and suddenly remembered that Hu Peifang had said his white moonlight heroine was coming back.

"Are you Miss Lin?"

"Yes, Mrs. Lu knows her too." The man was somewhat surprised, glancing at Kang Wenbai, assuming that he had mentioned her to Shen Rong before.

Lu Lin was carrying a few things when he walked over. He paused for a moment when he saw them, and then walked up to Shen Rong.

Kang Wenbai had a gun pointed at his head before, which was not a pleasant memory, so he was very uncomfortable when he saw Lu Lin.

"Mr. Lu, what a coincidence."

Just then, the train whistled, urging passengers to board. Lu Lin nodded, "We'll go first."

He took Shen Rong's hand, picked up the suitcase with his other hand, and the two walked towards the front of the car.

Shen Rong turned to the two of them and said, "Goodbye."

"Have a safe journey." Kang Wenbai's friend waved.

Kang Wenbai struggled for a moment before catching up: "Um, take care, and... congratulations."

His gaze swept over Shen Rong's stomach.

Lu Lin nodded: "Thank you."

Shen Rong also exchanged pleasantries: "Take care of yourself too."

Seeing that the two were about to get into the car, Kang Wenbai, not knowing where he mustered up the courage, grabbed Lu Lin's shoulder.

Lu Lin's sharp gaze swept over him, and he withdrew his hand, muttering in a low voice, "Please take good care of her."

Lu Lin chuckled lightly, gave Kang Wenbai a deep look, and then turned and got into the car.

Kang Wen stood there blankly.

"Alright, stop wallowing in self-pity. They're a perfectly respectable couple. It's not like you're the one who's made things right for them." His friend patted him on the shoulder.

“You don’t understand,” Kang Wenbai said.

Friend: "I may not understand love, but I understand you. Wenbai, you really are not a good husband candidate. Shenrong is a smart man. It's a good thing she didn't choose you, otherwise, things would be awkward now. I ask you, when you heard that Wenhui was back, didn't you have any thoughts? Weren't you even a little bit glad that you and Shenrong broke up?"

Kang Wenbai pursed his lips, and his friend knew he had guessed correctly.

He shook his head and sighed, "It's better to part amicably than to hate each other and harbor resentment. Don't pretend to be a lovesick fool; he doesn't care about you at all."

Two long whistles sounded, and the train slowly started moving. Kang Wenbai's heart tightened, and he couldn't help but take two steps to catch up, but no one at the window waved to him.

A train whistle sounded from the other side, and his friend nudged him, saying, "Quick, the train is coming to the station."

Kang Wenbai snapped out of his daze and followed him to the other platform. Two trains were heading in opposite directions. Kang Wenbai glanced at the slowly departing train and then turned around.

******

Inside the carriage, Lu Lin busied himself tidying up.

That's enough.

Lu Lin glanced at her: "Are you sure?"

Okay, not sure, she waved as if she hadn't said anything.

"Make it a little softer."

"Isn't 'good enough' enough?" Lu Lin quickened his pace.

The further north you go, the colder it gets. Outside the window is a world of ice and snow, desolate and bleak. At first she was full of enthusiasm, but later she lost her spirit.

This train was even slower than the old-fashioned green trains of later generations. She lay in bed listening to the clanging sound to help her fall asleep.

"It's almost time for dinner." Lu Lin looked up from his book, took an orange from the side, and handed it to her, reminding her not to fall asleep.

"No, it's too sour," Shen Rong muttered.

Lu Lin couldn't help but chuckle: "Didn't you want to pick out the sour ones?"

Zhang Ma said that she craved sour foods when she gave birth to her two sons, and sure enough, she ended up having two sons. Shen Rong actually believed her and started thinking about eating sour foods.

Before, when buying oranges at the train station, she would specifically ask if they were sour before she would buy them. Now, she can't stand it after eating just two.

"Don't you want to have a son?" Lu Lin teased her deliberately.

Shen Rong huffed, "You call yourself a modern youth? Don't you know that this requires a scientific approach?"

She pulled the blanket over her head, not wanting to pay any attention to Lu Lin, who only knew how to mock her and didn't understand why she wanted to have a son.

Why have a daughter? Is she here to suffer?

Seeing that she was really about to fall asleep, Lu Lin reached out and shook her: "Let's go, let's go eat first."

"No, I have no appetite."

Lu Lin frowned and pulled back her blanket: "How can you not eat?"

He touched her forehead; there was no fever, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Rong impatiently waved his hand away: "I feel a little nauseous and don't really want to eat. Just bring me whatever you like."

“You didn’t eat well yesterday.” Lu Lin thought for a moment. “Did you eat too much sour food? Why don’t you eat some spicy food?”

Shen Rong opened one eye and looked at him with a complicated expression, wondering if he could be more reliable.

Lu Lin knew his idea was terrible: "Then I'll bring you some soup and porridge."

Shen Rong nodded perfunctorily.

Lu Lin got up, dressed, and prepared to go to the dining car. After thinking for a moment, he decided to bring the sour oranges with him, so that Zhang Ma and the others could eat them to refresh themselves, rather than leaving them for her.

"Close the door properly, I'll open it when I come back," Lu Lin whispered in her ear, and Shen Rong nodded.

After Lu Lin left, she drifted off to sleep, and before she knew how much time had passed, she suddenly seemed to hear Lu Lin speaking outside the door, which jolted her awake.

Lu Lin was not in the private room; he hadn't returned yet.

She got out of bed and quietly opened the door a crack; Lu Lin was indeed outside.

He was talking to someone; the woman opposite him was very cheerful and kept asking him questions.

Shen Rong tilted her head and watched for a while. Seeing Lu Lin's furrowed brows, she knew that he was running out of patience.

This young lady is too proactive. You can't be too enthusiastic when dealing with a man like Lu Lin. You have to be appropriately considerate, otherwise you'll easily wear down his patience.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Lu Lin seemed to have eyes in the back of his head, locking onto her with pinpoint accuracy.

The young lady followed Lu Lin's gaze and looked over, somewhat surprised, then said knowingly, "You must be Mr. Lu's sister. You're so cute, and you look just like your brother."

Shen Rong's mouth was half open. Where did she see that she resembled Lu Lin? Besides... she wasn't cute; please describe this young woman as beautiful, okay?

However, seeing the burning gaze in Lu Lin's eyes, Shen Rong suddenly felt mischievous and claimed her identity before Lu Lin could speak.

"Brother, who is this pretty lady? Is she your friend?" Shen Rong's voice was incredibly sweet.

This young lady was wearing the most fashionable clothes, and the necklace around her neck was dazzling; she was clearly a wealthy person.

She secretly pinched Lu Lin to stop him from speaking.

"My surname is Ma, and my given name is Langhua. Lang means enamel, and Hua means gorgeous." Miss Ma spoke with a hint of arrogance, her gaze always looking down at people.

"Miss Ma." Shen Rong's smile deepened.

Ma Langhua nodded politely, even offering a gesture of goodwill: "You can call me Sister Ma."

Shen Rong feigned curiosity and sized up the two of them: "I've never seen my sister before. How do you and my brother know each other?"

Ma Langhua covered her mouth and giggled: "We just met. I came up from the previous stop. I ran into some trouble at the restaurant just now, and your brother helped me out."

Shen Rong gave a meaningful "Oh," and said, "So, it's about a hero saving a damsel in distress!"

Ma Langhua blushed and secretly glanced at Lu Lin.

Lu Lin's face had darkened; he couldn't listen anymore and dragged Shen Rong back to their room.

Upon seeing this, Ma Langhua quickly said that he was in the second-class carriage and would definitely come to find him when he had time.

The door slammed shut, and Ma Langhua nearly hit her nose. The smile on her face vanished instantly.

“Miss…” Her maid came looking for her.

Ma Langhua glared at her. It was all this maid's fault for being so useless. If she had bought herself a first-class private room, maybe...

That Mr. Lu looks extraordinary; he must not be an ordinary person. She must seize this opportunity. It's a pity she didn't have time to ask them where they were going.

But it doesn't matter, once he gets into the four northeastern provinces, he won't be able to escape.

"What are you trying to do!" Lu Lin stared at her, his tone unfriendly.

"Brother, are you angry?" Shen Rong gently patted his chest with her hand, her tone light and affected.

Lu Lin slapped her hand away: "Speak properly." But his ears were a little red.

Shen Rong, with her sharp eyes, immediately noticed that he was shy. Was he unable to bear hearing the word "brother"?

Shen Rong laughed and pounced on his back, startling Lu Lin, who quickly wrapped his arms around her.

Instead of stopping, she became even more audacious, wrapping her arms around his neck and gently blowing into his ear, "Brother, brother."

Lu Lin stiffened, wanting to throw her off, but then hesitated because of her pregnancy, and said coldly, "Get down!"

No, brother.

She suddenly thought of a phrase that was quite appropriate to use at this moment.

She turned Lu Lin's face towards her, her eyes sparkling with laughter: "Brother Yudi, open your eyes and look at me..." Before she could finish, she burst into laughter and leaned against his back.

Lu Lin didn't understand what she was up to now, what was so funny, and he had an expression of helplessness towards her.

"What the hell are you playing at?!"

Shen Rong knew he was asking about the matter of deceiving Miss Ma.

He pursed his lips and said, "That Miss Ma must have taken a liking to you. Lu Lin, you're really attractive. But then again, if she's willing to offer 100,000 yuan, I might be willing to let her go."

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin's face darkened, and he ruthlessly threw her onto the sofa.

"Why are you angry?" She half-knelt down and coaxed him, "Alright, alright, I won't sell. Miss Ma is arrogant and doesn't deserve you."

"Chen Rong," he called out in full as a warning.

"I'm hungry." Seeing that things weren't going well, Shen Rong quickly admitted defeat.

Lu Lin had no choice but to turn around, pick up the food box, open it, and take out the side dishes and congee inside.

Shen Rong drank a few mouthfuls of porridge, put the chopsticks in her mouth, and kept laughing for some reason. She moved closer to him and said, "Lu Lin, I have a question for you."

Lu Lin glanced at her but didn't say anything.

"A serious question."

Lu Lin finally relented and said, "Ask."

Shen Rong put down her chopsticks, moved closer to him, and asked curiously, "Brother, Lu Xuan often calls you brother, why are your ears red? Aren't you used to it?"

His face turned black and red.

Amidst Shen Rong's arrogant laughter, Lu Lin scrambled out of the room.

He took out a cigarette, went to the corridor, his face cold and stern, showing no trace of the helplessness he had just displayed.