Chapter 296 - 264: Lin Ruoxi’s Threat

After the dinner party, Xue Rui and Lin Ruoxi were driven to Shencheng West Station by Factory Director He.

After they got out of the car, Factory Director He handed Xue Rui a large tote bag. "My wife made these beef meatballs. You can’t buy any this authentic outside."

"Please thank your wife for me." Xue Rui reached out and took the heavy bag. Inside was a styrofoam cooler.

Factory Director He glanced at the station’s awnings, which reminded him of when he first came to Shencheng. He had also taken one of the old green-skinned trains back then, but for him, it was because he was poor. It was obvious Xue Rui’s reasons were different.

He smiled and said, "President Xue, you’re so frugal, taking the train back."

Xue Rui looked up. The dilapidated train station was certainly nothing to write home about. ’Why are there temporary shelters everywhere?’

"I believe young people shouldn’t be extravagant and decadent. You have to understand the needs of the working class to better serve the people..." Xue Rui said with a straight face.

Lin Ruoxi was startled. ’Is that what Xue Rui really thinks?’

"Oh, then we should take the train more often in the future," Lin Ruoxi said softly.

Xue Rui swallowed. "Yeah, no problem."

"Oh?" Factory Director He couldn’t help but give Xue Rui another look. He didn’t doubt the truth of Xue Rui’s words. After all, why would a rich kid from a wealthy family ride a green-skinned train instead of flying first class?

’No wonder the products Xue Rui designs are so detail-oriented. He must have a deep understanding of his users’ lives, knowing all their pain points...’

Xue Rui glanced at Lin Ruoxi and saw her staring into the train station with wide eyes. ’Just how much does this girl love trains?’ he thought. ’Is she really this impatient?’

Factory Director He noticed Lin Ruoxi’s eagerness. She seemed a bit displeased that he was holding Xue Rui up with conversation. He wasn’t sure if their train was about to depart, or if she and Xue Rui had some urgent business to attend to...

"Let me know when you get home safe..."

After a few more brief pleasantries, Factory Director He turned and left.

Having had a little to drink, he suddenly remembered Xue Rui teasing him about having a second child. He turned back and shouted, "President Lin, I wish you both success in your studies, and may you have a precious child soon!"

Xue Rui’s eye twitched. ’How are those two things even related?’

Lin Ruoxi’s eyes crinkled into crescents as she replied to Factory Director He, "Thank you."

Xue Rui shook his head helplessly. ’Factory Director He was obviously just teasing with that last line, and this girl actually thanked him...’

’He and this girl still have at least four years of school left. What’s this nonsense about having a child soon?’

Besides, during the dinner, whenever someone praised him or offered blessings for him and Lin Ruoxi, she would thank them enthusiastically. The girl was just so adorably clueless.

"During dinner, why did you praise them?" Xue Rui asked curiously. The girl had acted surprisingly mature at the dinner party, but sometimes the things she said were so childish.

Lin Ruoxi looked into Xue Rui’s eyes and said earnestly, "They praised you, which made me happy, so I praised their good qualities too. Um... It’s what you taught me, reciprocating kindness."

"Hm," Xue Rui murmured, nodding. ’So it was just a coincidence.’

"Um, but I think it made them happy. Should I praise people more often in the future?" Lin Ruoxi fell into thought.

Xue Rui felt that Lin Ruoxi was growing up quickly. He didn’t need to teach her anything; in time, she would learn how to read the room.

As for now... he looked at the dilapidated train station and couldn’t help but sigh. "Xixi, there’s one more thing I need to ask of you."

"Go ahead. I’ll agree to anything," Lin Ruoxi said decisively.

Xue Rui paused. ’Didn’t we just agree that I would follow your lead? How is it back to "I’ll agree to anything" again?’

’This girl has absolutely no principles when it comes to him.’

"Promise me you didn’t buy hard seats," Xue Rui said, pinching the bridge of his nose. He had let Lin Ruoxi handle all the arrangements for this trip and hadn’t asked any questions.

Lin Ruoxi had little life experience, and he was afraid she might have bought hard seats. Anyone who hadn’t experienced it couldn’t know how torturous a hard seat on a train could be.

He had taken a long-distance hard-seat train once during a university trip. He’d thought sleeping while sitting up would be no big deal—after all, he was a regular at all-night internet cafes...

But it turned out he had been too young and naive. The power of a hard seat was far greater than any internet cafe. This trip was thirty-three hours; even an iron butt couldn’t handle that...

"I bought soft sleepers," Lin Ruoxi said, placing two red train tickets into Xue Rui’s hand. Then she had him sit down by the roadside and instructed him earnestly:

"Rui, you wait here. Don’t run off. I’m going to buy some snacks."

After she spoke, Lin Ruoxi went to a nearby convenience store, and from his vantage point, Xue Rui could only see half of her body.

Xue Rui was bewildered. What the girl had just said was strikingly similar to the classic line: "You wait here and don’t move, I’m going to buy some oranges." It really felt like she was trying to be his mom...

He looked down at the two thin train tickets. Each one cost more than seven hundred yuan. But his attention wasn’t on the price; it was on the red-and-pink paper... a type of ticket that could seemingly only be bought at a ticket agent or the train station itself.

Besides, the convenience store Lin Ruoxi had gone to was in a rather obscure location. How could she walk toward it with such certainty if this was her first time here?

The pre-purchased tickets, combined with Lin Ruoxi’s familiarity with the surroundings... ’Does that mean this girl has already been to the train station before?’

He thought for a moment. ’Yu Minlan must have come with her. But why didn’t either of them tell me?’

He recalled the girl’s occasional strange behavior recently and felt that she was hiding a lot of things from him.

...

Before long, the girl returned, carrying a large plastic bag.

"Let me carry that," Xue Rui said, reaching out to take it.

"Let’s go inside. The train is coming soon." Lin Ruoxi helped the limping Xue Rui through the security check.