Chapter 317 - 314: I’ll See You Off

Chapter 317: Chapter 314: I’ll See You Off

After watching Qiuting leave, Lin Yanwan turned and went back to her room. Seeing the spotless dormitory, a smile unconsciously touched her lips.

’This kid, Qiuting, really treats the dorm like her home.’

She climbed onto her bed and lay there for a while, then opened her wardrobe and took out a few items of clothing she planned to take home.

As she left the dormitory building, she immediately spotted a certain someone waiting under a tree.

"Did you give her the red envelope?" Jiang Xia asked with a smile.

"Yeah, she only took it after a lot of persuading." Lin Yanwan sounded a bit helpless. "Did you see Qiuting leave?"

Jiang Xia nodded. "She headed for the northeast gate. She’s probably going to catch a bus over there."

"That kid has it tough. She can’t bear to spend money on a plane ticket, so she’d rather take the slow train. Do you know how long it takes for her to get home?"

"A day? Two days?"

"The train ride alone is two and a half days. Factoring in all the transfers, it takes at least three days." Lin Yanwan shook her head and recounted her earlier conversation with Qiuting to Jiang Xia.

Hearing this, Jiang Xia sucked in a sharp breath.

"Qianzhou is pretty far. Her hometown is probably in the most remote part of Qianzhou. It’s not easy to make it out of those mountains," Jiang Xia lamented.

"Isn’t that the truth? With scarce resources and poor transportation, the fact that she could get into Tsinghua makes her much better than us."

Jiang Xia nodded in deep agreement. "Qiuting will have a bright future."

For some reason, he thought of a young astronaut from a future generation. That person was also a child who came from the great mountains, yet they became a professor and doctoral advisor at the Imperial Capital Aerospace University’s College of Astronautics, the first payload specialist on the national space station, the first astronaut to fly a mission while wearing glasses, and the recipient of countless honors.

In the end, knowledge truly can change one’s destiny.

"Alright, let’s go. We should head back to the company first. Godmother is still waiting for us."

He had given everyone time off, but there were still many things he had to handle himself.

◇

On the bus to Imperial Capital North Station, Qiuting suddenly received a call from Su Qing.

"Qiuting, where are you right now?" Su Qing’s voice drifted slowly from the earpiece.

"Um, Brother Su, I’m on the bus." Qiuting held the phone with one hand and steadied herself with the other on the back of someone’s seat, speaking in a low voice.

The bus was very crowded, and she couldn’t reach the overhead straps. As the bus started and stopped, she was jostled and swayed within the crowd.

Su Qing was slightly taken aback. "You’ve already left?"

"Yes."

"What time is your flight?"

"It’s a train at 1:30 in the afternoon, Brother Su."

Su Qing glanced at the time. It was only 11:30. There was still time.

"Which station are you going to?"

"Imperial Capital North Station."

"Oh, then wait for me. I’ll see you off."

Qiuting froze. Just as she was about to say he didn’t have to, she realized Brother Su had already hung up.

About half an hour later, the two met at the entrance of Imperial Capital North Station. In fact, Su Qing had arrived a few minutes early, having taken a taxi directly.

"This is Imperial Capital roast duck. I bought it for your grandmother. I was originally going to buy some flaky candy too, but I was worried she wouldn’t be able to chew it at her age, so I didn’t." Su Qing handed two vacuum-sealed bags of roast duck to Qiuting.

He was still quite embarrassed about the last time when he’d assumed her grandmother had passed away right in front of her.

"Um, thank you, Brother Su," Qiuting accepted, her face blushing.

"You haven’t had lunch yet, right? I haven’t eaten either. Since there’s still plenty of time before boarding, shall we go grab a bite together?"

Qiuting nodded slightly. She was indeed a little hungry. She had bought a lot of savory pancakes from the cafeteria earlier, planning to eat them on the train to tide her over.

She glanced at the surrounding shops. "Brother Su, should we just get some noodles?"

"You have a long train ride ahead. How can noodles possibly fill you up?"

Without another word, Su Qing took the suitcase from her hand and headed toward a restaurant.

The restaurant was packed. After all, it was the Spring Festival travel season, and countless migrant workers in the Imperial Capital were heading home for the New Year. The two of them had to wait a few minutes before they found an empty table.

Qiuting ordered a plate of egg fried rice, while Su Qing ordered a large portion of shredded pork with green peppers. When the waiter brought both fried rice dishes to the table, Su Qing decisively swapped his plate for Qiuting’s.

He knew from spending time with her that she had a big appetite, and this small portion of egg fried rice wouldn’t be enough for her.

"You eat this."

He picked up his spoon and took a bite of the egg fried rice. The corner of Qiuting’s eye twitched in resignation. She had no choice but to accept the large plate of shredded pork and green peppers. She knew this was Brother Su’s kind intention—he wanted her to eat her fill so she wouldn’t be hungry on the journey.

"It must take a long time to get home by train, right?" Su Qing asked after swallowing a mouthful of egg fried rice.

"Yes, about two days," Qiuting said.

Su Qing froze. "Two days? That’s so far."

He was born and raised in the Imperial Capital to a well-off family. He usually flew for long-distance travel and could hardly imagine what it would feel like to be on a train for two days.

"Doesn’t that mean you have to sleep on the train?"

"Yes, there are sleeper berths," Qiuting replied with a nod.

"Oh, that’s good."

To be honest, Qiuting was very envious of Su Qing. He was born into the bustling Imperial Capital, which compared to her remote mountain home was like heaven and earth.

But that was just everyone’s lot in life; nothing could be done about it. Some people were born with a silver spoon in their mouth, never having to worry about food or clothing, while others could only wear tattered clothes from a young age, started herding cattle at five or six, and had to wake up before dawn and walk several kilometers of mountain roads just to get to school.

However, Qiuting didn’t complain. While a person can’t change where they come from, they can change their destiny.

After they finished eating, Su Qing pulled Qiuting into a supermarket and bought her a little bit of everything—snacks like bread, crackers, chocolate, and potato chips.

He knew the food on the train would be expensive, so he also bought five or six cups of instant noodles for her to eat whenever she got hungry.

"This is already a lot, Brother Su. If you buy any more, I won’t be able to carry it all," Qiuting said helplessly.

Su Qing was like a real older brother to her, treating her incredibly well.

"Er... is it enough already? Alright, then."

After paying, Su Qing glanced at the time. It was exactly 12:40, less than an hour until boarding began.

"Then I’ll walk you inside. Speaking of which, I’ve never been on a slow train before. If I get the chance in the future, I’ll come visit you."

...

A book recommendation from a reader:

"My Cat Girl Wife Is Just This Cute!"

Here’s the synopsis:

"Oh? You’re blushing? What? Are you falling in love with me?"

"O-Of course not! How could I possibly fall in love with you!"

Jiang Xiaoli’s eyes darted away as she accepted the flowers from Jiang Li.

"It’d be a waste if I didn’t take these flowers after you bought them! I’m just doing this to save money! Don’t get the wrong idea!"

[Ding! Favorability +1. Current Favorability: 90 (Unwavering Until Death).]

Sigh, my cat girl wife is just this cute!

[Single Female Lead] [Daily Slice of Life] [Sweet PDA]

[The book comes with AI illustrations made by the author, which I guess counts as a special feature.]