Seventies Sweetheart: From Breakup to Billionaire-Chapter 216: Hard Sleeper Ticket

Chapter 216: Chapter 216: Hard Sleeper Ticket
She couldn’t help but pat Ge Yuanyi on the shoulder, "Didn’t we compare answers after the college entrance exam? With your grades, getting into a good school is not a problem. If your ambition is big enough, you can apply to universities in Beijing just like I did."
"Yuanyi, it’s almost the end of August, and there’s not much time left before university starts. I sincerely hope you can adjust your mindset in this period."
"Remember, nothing happened that night. Any bad rumors about you are fabricated by others and have nothing to do with you. You just need to maintain this mindset and you’ll be able to start fresh in a new environment."
Ge Yuanyi nodded vigorously, tears welling up in her eyes, "I understand, Lin Xiang. Take care on your way."
Lin Xiang patted Ge Yuanyi’s shoulder again before heading back to the courtyard.
Chunya had been glancing towards the main hall several times but hadn’t seen Ge Yuanyi.
After eating and drinking to satisfaction, Lin Xiang briefly washed up and went to bed.
Mrs. Lin lay beside her, tossing and turning, unable to sleep soundly.
"Girl, how are we going to Beijing tomorrow?"
Lin Xiang, already asleep, suddenly heard Mrs. Lin’s voice. She could only open her eyes with difficulty and said tiredly, "Aunt Ge’s house isn’t far from the train station. We’ll walk there in the morning. The chief has already arranged our tickets, so we can just take the train to Beijing."
"I’ve never taken a train before. I heard from others that trains are dangerous, is that true?"
Lin Xiang yawned, "No, trains travel on tracks and aren’t dangerous. Mom, don’t overthink it. Just follow me tomorrow."
"It’s late, try to sleep early."
"But..."
Lin Xiang’s breathing had already become steady, and Mrs. Lin had no choice but to shut her mouth awkwardly.
Mrs. Lin turned onto her side with her back to Lin Xiang, unable to sleep, so she simply stared wide-eyed at the dark scenery outside, repeatedly imagining what Beijing might be like.
Until she could no longer resist the waves of sleepiness and fell into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, as dawn was just breaking, Lin Xiang got up.
After packing everything and making sure she hadn’t left any valuables behind, she woke Mrs. Lin.
Mrs. Lin, still in a daze, opened her eyes and saw the sky was still dim. Yawning, she asked, "Why are you up so early today? Sleep a bit longer; otherwise, you’ll be exhausted from setting up the stall in the afternoon."
Knowing Mrs. Lin was still confused from sleep, Lin Xiang could only urge, "Mom, wake up quickly. We need to hurry to the train station. If we miss the train, who knows how long we’ll have to wait."
There were fewer train schedules these days, with only one train to a destination per day.
Ji Province is relatively close to Beijing, so there are more trains available.
Once they reached the train station, Lin Xiang told Mrs. Lin to wait in place while she went straight to the ticket window.
After queuing for about ten minutes, it was finally Lin Xiang’s turn. She handed over the introduction letters for herself and Mrs. Lin. After verifying the information, the ticket clerk gave Lin Xiang two hard sleeper tickets.
Even the ticket expenses had already been paid.
Coming out from the ticket window, Lin Xiang walked straight to Mrs. Lin, waving the tickets in her hand, "The train departs in an hour. Let’s eat something first; the food on the train won’t be very good."
In their luggage were a few boiled eggs and pancakes, steamed early by Aunt Ge.
They worried about them spoiling in the heat, so they didn’t bring much.
Mrs. Lin had a natural apprehension of unfamiliar environments and didn’t know where to go, so she could only follow Lin Xiang closely.
Lin Xiang took Mrs. Lin to the station’s cafeteria, ordered two bowls of simple noodles, and only after resolving personal matters did they go to the waiting hall.
The station was crowded, and coupled with poor air circulation, the place was filled with an unpleasant odor.
Mrs. Lin clutched her luggage bag tightly, looking around nervously, fearing someone might suddenly appear and snatch her belongings.
All her possessions were in that bag.
Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait long before the train prepared for departure.
Since it was a hard sleeper carriage, they boarded a few minutes earlier than the regular carriages, avoiding the crowd.
Once on the train, seeing the small but exceptionally well-kept carriage, Mrs. Lin let out a sigh of relief.
"I thought the train would be like the waiting hall’s environment, but it’s so nice."
There were even beds, making it easy to rest during the trip.
Lin Xiang chuckled and explained, "Ordinary hard-seat carriages have worse conditions than the waiting hall, with packed people. We’re in the hard sleeper carriage, which requires some connections to get tickets."
Without the right connections, you can’t purchase a ticket even if you have the money.
There are also soft sleeper carriages, but they aren’t open to the public. Only top officials or foreign guests can use them.
For Lin Xiang, the hard sleeper was more than enough. Unlike the crowded hard seats, at least she could lie down and rest.
Mrs. Lin didn’t understand the difference between hard seats and hard sleepers. Hearing that the tickets weren’t easy to buy, she immediately asked, "Then hard sleeper tickets must be expensive, right?"
Lin Xiang looked at the ticket stub. From Ji Province Jishi to Beijing, a hard sleeper ticket cost twelve and a half yuan.
"Twelve and a half, that’s twenty-five for two tickets, that’s way too expensive!"
"If it’s expensive, why take a sleeper?" As soon as Mrs. Lin finished speaking, a sharp, harsh voice came from the corridor.
Before Lin Xiang could get angry and stand up for her mother, a well-maintained hand reached in, holding two large banknotes, "I’ll give you twenty yuan for that ticket."
Mrs. Lin didn’t know how to react and could only instinctively look at Lin Xiang.
Lin Xiang ignored the person and told Mrs. Lin, "We’ll be on this train for a day and a night, arriving in Beijing by noon tomorrow. Go ahead and sleep now; I’ll wake you at lunchtime."
The ignored wealthy woman glared at Lin Xiang, "I’m talking to you, didn’t you hear me?"
Lin Xiang pointed at her own nose with her right index finger, "Talking to me? Sorry, I thought a stray dog was barking."
"Are you calling me a dog?" The wealthy woman raised her voice sharply.
Lin Xiang’s tone was indifferent, "I didn’t say you were a dog. That would be an insult to dogs."
"You... you..." The wealthy woman was so upset she couldn’t catch her breath and lunged to hit Lin Xiang.
Lin Xiang caught her hand with a reverse grip, "What are you doing? Didn’t get the hard sleeper ticket and now taking it out on us? Who do you think you are?"
The commotion drew the attention of other passengers in the sleeping car to watch the spectacle.