Going back to 18, demanding 30,000 yuan in compensation from the school beauty.

After suppressing Sun Jiajun's homesickness, he instantly switched to his talkative mode.

"Hey Linzi, why do you call Shanghai the 'Magic City'?"

"I heard that university military training is extremely strict, and you might be expelled if you don't pass the training. Is that true?"

"Linzi, are you planning to date in college? If someone pursues me, should I say yes?"

"Lin Zi..."

Lin Zhao's head was about to explode.

"Shut up!!!"

"……what?"

Sun Jiajun looked pitiful.

Lin Zhao took a deep breath and laughed, "You bought so many snacks, why aren't you eating them yet! If there are any left after you get off the train, you can carry them yourself, I won't help you!"

"……All right!"

Sun Jiajun, realizing he was in the wrong, silently started smacking his lips, finally managing to shut them up.

Late at night.

The green train headed east, disappearing into the endless night.

After eating and drinking his fill, Sun Jiajun finally climbed onto the middle bunk to sleep.

Lin Zhao was in the lower bunk. As soon as she lay down, she could hear the rumbling of the train over the tracks, which made it impossible for her to sleep.

In fact, his sleep quality has improved a lot in the month since he transmigrated, but he is still far from having the superhuman ability to fall asleep instantly no matter the environment or occasion.

I rolled around in my bunk for over an hour.

I couldn't fall asleep, but I was hungry.

Never mind, I'll get up and eat some instant noodles.

The lights in the sleeper car were off, and on the side with seats, distant lights occasionally flashed past the window.

He took out a bucket of noodles in the dark and headed towards the hot water room.

Add ingredients, add water, and make instant noodles.

He didn't go back into the carriage, even though there were seats and tables there, because he felt it was a bit too immoral to eat pickled cabbage noodles by someone's bedside in the middle of the night.

Carrying the instant noodle box, I arrived at the connecting area between the carriages, ready to enjoy my meal.

In a flash.

I noticed a girl standing in the narrow connecting space, leaning against the wall, her body turned to the side, intently reading a book in the dim light.

There was also a bucket of instant noodles next to the girl's feet. The plastic insert on it was light yellow and clean, indicating that it was not cold soup residue, but rather hot water and noodles undergoing a puffing reaction.

Next to the noodles was a red plastic bag containing some things.

The girl's gaze was completely focused on her book, and she was completely unaware of the person who had come next to her.

Lin Zhao was somewhat surprised by his focused attention.

He raised an eyebrow, stopped on the other side of the connection, counted to thirty in his mind, pulled out his fork, and prepared to eat.

He likes a chewy texture, so the time from pouring hot water into the instant noodles to putting them in his mouth never exceeds one minute.

Lift the lid of the bucket.

A warm, fragrant aroma wafted from the joint.

The girl reading the book smelled the fragrance and then realized there was someone next to her.

She shook herself out of her daze and closed the book.

Before Lin Zhao could even catch a glimpse of the book's title, the girl threw it on the ground and plopped down on it.

The fluid movements startled Lin Zhao.

The stereotypes about loving books and not loving books have been broken.

He couldn't help but glance at the girl a few more times.

This is a girl with slightly tanned skin, short hair that reaches her ears, and looks to be about the same age as "herself". She has big, bright eyes, and because of her skin tone, she exudes an overall feeling of sunshine, autumn, and the harvest of golden rice fields.

Lin Zhao was unlike any of the women she had ever met in both worlds.

The girl sat cross-legged, lifted the bloated bucket of noodles, and then took out chili sauce, sausage, braised duck, and a round, bright red tomato from the plastic bag next to her.

Put the chili sauce and sausage into the noodles, tear the braised duck into pieces and place it next to it, and hold the tomato in your hand.

Then, she ate a bite of tomato, a bite of noodles, and a bite of braised duck leg, in an orderly and calm manner, without fidgeting because of the people around her, nor making any strange noises like a middle-aged woman.

Lin Zhao was stunned.

Just a moment ago I was craving my pickled cabbage noodles so badly, but now they suddenly seem tasteless.

The girl noticed the gaze directed at her.

Almost without hesitation, she looked up with her large, bright, dark, and incredibly clear eyes and asked, "Want some?"

Lin Zhao was taken aback.

My first reaction was – her voice is very pleasant.

Soft and gentle, yet powerful.

He had almost no chance to hesitate or refuse, so he nodded and went over, plopping down on the dirty ground.

The girl tore off a duck leg and handed it to him, which he accepted without hesitation.

"Thank you!"

he laughed.

The girl laughed heartily, said nothing, quickly ate the tomato, and then picked up the noodle box, picked up the fork, and started eating bite by bite.

Seeing this, Lin Zhao also buried her head in her rice.

At the narrow junction, all that could be heard was the rumble of the train rolling over the tracks and the whooshing sound of the two men speeding along.

Three minutes later, only broth remained in the two buckets of instant noodles.

The girl continued to share braised duck with him.

Without the instant noodle box blocking the way, it's a bit awkward to sit face-to-face without saying a word.

So Lin Zhao took the initiative to ask, "A freshman?"

The girl was taken aback.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

"Looks like it!"

"How is it similar?"

"Hmm...气质 (qi zhi, a kind of refined elegance/aura)!"

Lin Zhao spoke in a mysterious way.

The girl tilted her head, pondering what kind of temperament this was, but she couldn't figure it out and didn't dwell on it.

"And you?" she asked in return.

"Just like you, I'm going to report on it."

"Oh……"

The girl nodded, looked him up and down, and seemed to understand what kind of aura he possessed.

"To Shanghai?" Lin Zhao continued to ask.

"Yes, Shanghai."

When the destination was mentioned, the girl's dark eyes lit up, clearly showing her great anticipation and longing for the city.

Lin Zhao was somewhat taken aback by the look in her eyes.

This girl has a pair of expressive eyes, clean, clear, and bright, like a pure white cloud.

"And you?" the girl asked back.

"Just like you."

"Wow, that's a coincidence."

The girl laughed, her big eyes narrowing into slits, instantly adding a touch of cuteness to her bright appearance.

"Which school do you go to?" the girl asked.

"East China University of Science and Technology, what about you?"

"Me too!!"

Her voice rose slightly, clearly surprised and excited by this unexpected encounter late at night.

Lin Zhao's eyes flickered; she hadn't expected to run into a fellow alumnus.

However, the coincidences don't end there.

When asked about the school, the next natural question is about the college and major.

Upon hearing "Journalism Major in the School of Humanities" from this unfamiliar boy, the girl's already large eyes widened even further, and her lips, reddened by the spicy braised duck, parted slightly and remained open for a long time.

Lin Zhao's eyelids twitched, and she hesitated before asking, "Could it be... you're my classmate?"

As a science and engineering university, journalism is not a mainstream major, so the enrollment is naturally limited, with only one class.

Judging from the girl's reaction, they are very likely in the same major and class.

The girl was about to nod when she suddenly stopped, her eyes becoming wary.

Lin Zhao chuckled, realizing she was being treated like a fraud.

Right.

If a stranger suddenly appeared on the street and claimed to be your classmate, your first reaction would definitely be that it's a scam.

Without explaining, he took out his phone and entered the class group chat.

This group was created by a boy named Zhou Rui in the class. I don't know where he got the phone numbers of the classmates, but he contacted them one by one to get their QQ numbers and created this group.

Lin Zhao showed the group interface and chat history, and then clicked into the group member list.

"Which one is you?" he asked.

"...I don't have QQ."

The wariness in the girl's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by a bright and cheerful smile. "My name is Xing Zhou. What's yours?"

"Forest……"

The sound stopped abruptly.

He had a stage name in the original world.

After transmigrating, even though her family and friends called her "Lin Zhao" for three months, when it came time to introduce herself, she still blurted out the stage name she had used for more than ten years.

"Lin Zhao"

He smiled, extended his hand, and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Xing Zhou!"