Chapter 25
Qin Huai bought a train ticket. It would take less than three hours to get from their place to City B by train. Although it would take an hour longer than flying, it was always safer on land than in the sky. In fact, he was originally going to buy a plane ticket, after all, time was precious, but seeing that Mu Nan was unwilling to take a plane, he decided to switch to a train, which was not a big deal.
Mu Nan really didn't want to take a plane. In his previous life, a plane exploded. He didn't know if it was caused by the high temperature. At that time, many cars caught fire and buses exploded, all because of the high temperature. Even when the weather was not so hot that people couldn't go out, planes exploded. So even if the temperature was normal now, he didn't dare to take a plane.
Neither of them brought any luggage. Qin Huai just carried a bag with two bottles of water and a charger in it. With so few things, it was easy to go through security. Because they were stuck on time and the train luckily wasn't delayed, they only stayed in the waiting room for a short while before getting on the train.
The country has just lifted the ban, and it’s not a holiday, so not many people are traveling. It seems that most of them are on business trips or work in other regions. They have been trapped for a few months, so they want to go back to see their families as soon as the ban is lifted.
Mu Nan sat by the window and Qin Huai sat by the aisle. A middle-aged man sat across the aisle from him. He was holding a black bag in his arms, but looking at the outline of the black bag, the solemn way he held it in his arms, and the expression on his face that clearly showed he had not yet gotten over the grief of losing a loved one, Mu Nan thought it might be an urn.
But Mu Nan didn't look at it for long. The haze had just dissipated and there were many people having a hard time.
Soon the train started, and Mu Nan looked at the scenery outside that kept receding. Although he had traveled to many places in order to buy the most supplies with the least money in the three months since his rebirth, it had been many years since he could be quiet and empty his mind to enjoy the scenery without making any plans. In his last life, he left the city when he was in his third year of high school to participate in a competition. There would probably be no such scenery again in the future.
Before he could sigh more, a dry and warm big hand touched his face, and with a slight force, pressed his head, which was sitting upright, onto the shoulder beside him. Qin Huai lowered his head slightly, and although he could only see the brim of his hat, he couldn't help but smile: "Sleep for a while, you got up so early in the morning."
Mu Nan did not struggle, but adjusted himself to a more comfortable position, leaning on Qin Huai's shoulder and closing his eyes. He did not think he would fall asleep, although he did have a habit of falling asleep in the car when he was a child, but later he gradually gave up this habit, even if he closed his eyes and played soothing music in his headphones, he never fell asleep in any moving vehicle again.
However, this habit seemed to be broken instantly with Qin Huai's return. Mu Nan was almost drooling in his sleep until he was awakened by a violent and exciting conflict.
As soon as he moved, Qin Huai stood up and stood in front of him. Mu Nan, who was still half asleep, hadn't reacted yet when he saw the middle-aged man who had been sitting next to the aisle strangling a boy's neck. Many people were trying to persuade them to stop, but there was so little space in the aisle of the carriage, and with so many people crowded together, it became even more difficult to separate the two people.
Qin Huai stood in his seat without moving. Mu Nan's head stuck out from behind him, but he pushed it back: "Stay in the back and don't join in the fun."
The middle-aged man was stimulated by something unknown, his eyes were bloodshot with excitement, and he was pinching the boy's neck with all his strength. The boy struggled desperately, but because he was sitting on the inside, he was blocked from the outside by the man who was pinching him. Others could only pull the man from the back, and the aisle was narrow, so two or three people couldn't even pull the mad middle-aged man away at once.
The conductor came over quickly, asked the onlookers to disperse, and quickly asked two strong-looking men to help pull the mad middle-aged man away. The three of them tried left and right, and after a lot of effort, they finally dragged the middle-aged man out of his seat. The people next to them hurried forward and tried to pry open the man's hands that were pinching the boy.
The middle-aged man was still struggling, trying to strangle her again, cursing, "You beast! I'll strangle you to death! You have a life but no one to take care of it. You are so vicious. Do you want to kill your whole family?"
The boy who was being pinched could no longer make any sound and his face was pale. It was not known whether it was because his neck was pinched too hard or he was overly frightened. He fell to the ground and couldn't get up. He kept vomiting but couldn't vomit. His crotch was wet, and because he was wearing khaki shorts, the wet spot was quite obvious.
Mu Nan noticed that the black backpack that the middle-aged man had been carrying had fallen to the ground. The backpack was opened somehow, revealing a white jade box and a piece of yellow cloth inside. Judging from the size and carvings of the box, it was obviously the urn he had guessed before.
Soon the mad middle-aged man was suppressed and dragged out of the compartment by several men. Several train attendants who came from behind helped the boy up from the ground. One of them even picked up the backpack containing the urn on the ground. They also asked those who stood up to watch the excitement to sit down and not to gather together.
Qin Huai was also standing, but he was not standing to watch the fun, but to stand in front, fearing that the group of people pulling and shoving might accidentally hurt the innocent people behind him. Now that the troublemakers were dragged out, he naturally sat down.
As soon as he sat down, Mu Nan curiously asked, "What happened? Why did they start fighting? That boy was almost strangled to death."
Qin Huai said: "He deserves it."
Because he was sitting in the aisle next to him, Qin Huai didn't have the habit of sleeping in the car, so he was awake the whole time, checking his phone, dealing with the warehouse contacts and hotel check-in. He also saw everything that happened next to him from beginning to end.
The seats in the high-speed train are relatively small, and those sitting inside must give way to those sitting outside when entering or exiting. Just now, the boy sitting inside came out to use the restroom, and when he returned to his seat, the middle-aged man slightly sideways avoided him. As a result, the headphone wire hanging on his body got caught on the zipper of the middle-aged man's backpack, and the backpack was almost dropped because of the boy's pulling. The man didn't say anything, but nervously opened the backpack to check, and the urn inside was the kind with a black and white photo on it.
The boy, who was dressed very fashionably and had headphones on his neck, was shocked or felt it was unlucky when he saw the things in the middle-aged man's backpack. He suddenly pushed the middle-aged man and cursed, "Fuck, you brought a dead body box on the bus."
Perhaps he didn't expect the boy to suddenly push him, and the urn itself was a bit heavy. He was holding it with one hand and opening the bag for inspection with the other. He was pushed like that and couldn't protect himself. The whole bag fell to the ground, and the urn inside also fell down. The lid was broken open, and even a corner of the yellow cloth wrapped in the ashes was broken out of the box. Fortunately, the ashes inside did not spill out.
The boy didn't think there was anything wrong with his behavior at all. He kept cursing, saying things like "It's unlucky to carry a dead person with you," and that you shouldn't take public transportation with such things. He kept saying things like "It's so unlucky, what the hell!"
Then the middle-aged man went crazy, first slapping the boy hard on the face, and when the boy tried to fight back, he grabbed his neck without any hesitation. The others were shocked by this sudden change, and then they rushed forward to pull the man away. The rest was what Mu Nan saw when he was woken up.
After hearing Qin Huai's explanation, Mu Nan was speechless: "Tsk, people like this really deserve to be beaten to death."
Other people in the car were also discussing this, but most of them said that the boy deserved it, that this was because his family education was not good, so he had to endure the beatings of society. I guess the boy also came from a well-off family and was spoiled. He should not be more sensible, but he knows a little bit and can be a basic person. He would not do anything like throwing someone's urn. Especially since the pandemic has just ended, so many people have died, some died in foreign lands, how else can they be brought back? Not everyone has the money to hire a car.
The train stopped for fifteen minutes at a station. Mu Nan saw from the window that the middle-aged man and the young boy were taken off the train by the conductor. The black bag was returned to the middle-aged man's hands. The man's eyes were red and his expression was numb. He held the bag tightly and let the conductor take him away. The boy was completely supported by two staff members on his left and right. He must have been so scared that his legs were weak because he was almost strangled to death.
Nothing happened on the way until they reached their destination. As soon as they got off the car, a wave of heat hit them in the face. It was noon and the sun was too strong outside to stay for long, so Qin Huai took Mu Nan directly to the hotel. The air conditioner in the hotel room had been turned on in advance, but Mu Nan still took a shower first, which slightly relieved the heat from his body.
When Qin Huai came out of the shower, the lunch ordered by Mu Nan was delivered. He thought they were in a hurry, so he asked while eating: "Are we going to pick up the goods directly? Can we just pack them all and take them away?"
Qin Huai was afraid that he would choke, so he quickly said, "Don't worry, take a nap in the afternoon, and go to the warehouse around four or five o'clock. Even if you go to receive the goods, you will go at night. There is no rush."
Hearing that he was not going out right away, Mu Nan slowed down his eating speed: "So, do you have to go to the company again when you come back this time?"
Qin Huai nodded: "I have to go there. Some transfer documents need to be signed before they can take effect."
Mu Nan said "oh" and glanced at Qin Huai: "Will you meet Jiang Xuan then?" He is still upset about Jiang Xuan lying to him.
It's not just this time that I'm brooding over, but also the previous life.
Order was restored for a while after the smog. Since he was locked up at home during the entire smog period, he naturally tried to contact Qin Huai. However, no one in the alumni group knew about Qin Huai, and he was unable to contact him until the smog dissipated. When he was allowed to go out, he rushed to Jiang Xuan's home and got Jiang Xuan's phone number through Jiang Xuan's parents. When he called, he had just given his name, and before he could ask Qin Huai, the other end said "I'm busy" and hung up the phone. After that, the call could not be reached.
Jiang Xuan was the only person he knew who might be able to find Qin Huai, because he had no connection with Qin Huai's other classmates. The only one they had was Jiang Xuan. Moreover, when Qin Huai left, he told him to go to Jiang Xuan if he had any problems. It was because of this sentence that he felt that Jiang Xuan could contact Qin Huai.
The call was not connected, and he learned from Jiang Xuan's parents where Jiang Xuan worked, so he went there immediately. The weather was already very hot, but this was the only way for him to find Qin Huai, so he went there no matter how hot it was. Unexpectedly, he found the company, but it was said that Jiang Xuan had resigned before the smog, more than half a year ago.
The last possibility of finding Qin Huai was also cut off. On the way back, he even suffered from heat stroke and was admitted to the hospital. Fortunately, he fell on the bus and not directly on the ground. People who fell on the ground at that time would have a layer of skin burned off.
Therefore, when he contacted Jiang Xuan again in this life and learned from Jiang Xuan that he had lost contact with Qin Huai, Mu Nan did not think of going to him to confirm. He felt that Jiang Xuan might really not know. He had given his own name in the previous life, and the epidemic had just passed. If Jiang Xuan knew where Qin Huai was, how could he hang up the phone so coldly.
He didn't expect Jiang Xuan to lie to him, but he couldn't understand why Jiang Xuan lied to him, and what benefit would it bring to him?
Qin Huai naturally didn't know about the past life, and thought Mu Nan was thinking about Jiang Xuan's deception this time, so he said: "If he is still in the company, then it is possible to see him. Do you want me to beat him up to help you vent your anger?"
Mu Nan shook his head: "I'm just curious, why did Jiang Xuan lie to me."
Qin Huai lowered his eyes slightly, then smiled: "Maybe he is sick."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
