Chapter 261: Chapter 261

The days passed quickly. As Ye Qian went to be an intern, at first, people in the compound were paying attention to how Ye Qian was doing in the company’s training. Although Ye Ling didn’t ask, she learned from Zhao Guodong and the others that Ye Qian was not doing well. At the beginning of the training, she couldn’t keep up; she got sick twice. Initially, she made calls to the compound’s security. Later, she stopped calling. Bai Xue often wiped her tears but had no solution, only waiting for the three-month training to end before visiting her daughter at the company.

By mid-August, Ye Ling and the others had to report to school. They began preparing a day early, but Ye Ling didn’t prepare much. Everything was available at school, and taking things would just mean there’d be no place to put them. Besides, she didn’t have much to bring; all daily necessities were provided by the school. She only needed to bring a few pieces of clothing, especially since the next time she returned home, it would be winter and cold. So, she brought autumn and winter clothes. Ye Ling, however, had a plan in mind—to stay at school during holidays and not return home. After graduating from university in a few years, she would directly join a company and choose a place far from home. The sky would be vast, and she could fly wherever without bothering with those people. How could a new life not be beautiful?

Their train tickets were booked by the company, all uniform sleeper berths. Bai Xue didn’t want to see them off, but she had to show the people in the compound, so she reluctantly went to the train station the next day to bid farewell. At the train station, seeing that out of the eight children, Ye Ling was the only girl, others looked at Bai Xue with envy. Unknowingly, pride welled up in Bai Xue’s heart. It wasn’t until she returned home after watching the train leave that Bai Xue was surprised by her reaction at the station. She should have remained indifferent; why was she so happy?

But thinking about the feeling of being admired, Bai Xue truly liked it. Originally, it was supposed to be her younger daughter giving her face, but it ended up being the big girl who brought admiration. Bai Xue’s face turned hot, blaming herself for being bewitched at that moment and enjoying the feeling.

On the train, the eight children had berths next to each other. It would take two days and one night to reach Beijing. There was a reception at the station after they got off, so there was no need to worry about getting to school by themselves. Wang Ping took out a deck of cards from his bag to play with Liu Zhiyuan, only realizing when he spoke that he had originally intended to win comic books. Ye Ling shook her head and lay on the berth in a daze. Having woken up too early and having insomnia the previous night, she lay on the berth dozing off as the boys played.

In her daze, Ye Ling felt someone cover her with a blanket. She moved her eyelids and fell back into a deep sleep, only to be awakened by Zhao Guodong, with a hot lunch box before her.

"Eat up, you slept until dinner." Zhao Guodong placed the meal on the table and returned to his berth, where Zhang Linong and Wang Ping sat on the upper berth.

At this time, Zhang Linong and Wang Ping were also eating on Zhao Guodong’s berth. Ye Ling, just waking up, didn’t feel hungry and sat up. "Didn’t you guys sleep?"

"No, Wang Ping wanted to win the comic book but couldn’t. We have to thank Liu Zhiyuan and the others for winning so many meal boxes, so everyone gets one for free." Zhao Guodong mockingly raised his meal box towards Wang Ping.

Wang Ping stuffed rice into his mouth, "After I finish eating, I’ll play again. I refuse to believe I can’t win."

"I think you’d better stop, or you’ll be starving before we even reach school." Zhao Guodong mocked him.

Ye Ling watched the two eat and bicker and smiled, turning to talk to Zhang Linong, "Did Wang Ping lose all of this?"

Zhang Linong, usually quiet, smiled and nodded when Ye Ling asked him. Ye Ling covered her head, thinking that if Wang Ping kept losing , with the little money he had, he’d probably run out before they even got to Beijing, as Zhao Guodong had said.

"I’ll cover tomorrow’s meals." Ye Ling still had some money saved from her earnings at home, and she’d been frugal with it.

They were about to reach the school, where meals and accommodation were covered, and there’d be stipends, so she wasn’t worried about having no money to spend. Ye Ling still advised Wang Ping and the others, "You guys don’t spend money recklessly. When the school gives allowances, hand it over to me. Tell me if you need to buy anything, and I’ll give you money. You need to keep some money for emergencies."

Wang Ping sheepishly scratched his head.

Zhao Guodong was, of course, willing, "I planned to give you my money even if you didn’t say so."

After saying this, his face turned red, and he unnecessarily explained, "I can’t save money myself."

His manner seemed fearful of being misunderstood, not realizing that behaving this way only led to more misunderstanding.

Zhang Linong raised an eyebrow and smiled, while Wang Ping looked at Zhao Guodong in confusion, getting glared at in return.

The conversation happening among the four was naturally overheard by Liu Zhiyuan and his group next door. Sun Mingjie didn’t think it was a big deal. "With such a small amount of money, does it even need someone else to manage it?"

Xiang Weilai smiled mockingly, "I’ll also leave my money with Ye Ling, save for half a year and buy something to take home."

Leaning on the bed, he hadn’t touched his meal box. Hearing him, Liu Zhiyuan hesitated a bit, "Then I’ll leave mine with her, too."

After speaking, he dared not meet Xiang Weilai’s eyes, fearing his intentions would be seen through. Even if Xiang Weilai did see through it, he wouldn’t expose it, simply saying, "Okay."

There was no need to mention Dong Haoyu, who naturally followed the crowd. Sun Mingjie was left with no choice but to hold back, having already spoken earlier. If he then said he’d leave his money with Ye Ling, it would be contradicting himself.

After the meal, Wang Ping naturally dragged Liu Zhiyuan and the others to play cards again. Having been tired all day, Liu Zhiyuan was not interested, while Xiang Weilai, who always seemed nonchalant, just joined in regardless. He always managed to win with his demeanor, leaving Wang Ping eventually brought back by Zhao Guodong. When night fell, the compartment was quiet. Having slept too much during the day, Ye Ling found it difficult to sleep at night. She sat up, leaning against the pillow, watching the view outside. If there was a platform, she could see some scenery; otherwise, it was pitch black. The compartment was also dark; Zhao Guodong and Wang Ping were sound asleep, tired from a day’s commotion, while Zhang Linong on the upper berth was not asleep.

"Thinking of your grandma?" Zhang Linong kept his voice low but audible to Ye Ling below.

Ye Ling slightly raised her chin, barely making out Zhang Linong looking down from above in the dark, instinctively nodding, "If my grandma was still alive, she’d be happy to see me go to university. Unfortunately, she’s not here anymore."

Even though she had been given a second chance at life, she couldn’t bring back her grandmother, who had died early—actually even earlier this time around.

And across a partition, on the other lower berth, Xiang Weilai and Liu Zhiyuan above were also lying awake in the dark, quietly listening to the conversation next door. (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com); your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.) ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novel•fire.net