A leisurely life starting in a bar after being reborn

As the holiday gets longer and longer, Fu Xiao is going crazy at home.

With a week left before the start of the school year, her mental state was on the verge of collapse—specifically, every day Ms. Liu Meilan would pull off her blanket at 7:30 and bombard her with indiscriminate questions like, "Why are you still sleeping?"

"What time is it? Still sleeping! Look at Wang Li, the daughter of Old Wang next door, she gets up at six to help her mom sell fish!"

"Mom, Wang Li next door dropped out of junior high and has been selling fish with her mother ever since. How can she be compared to me?"

"Oh? You're a student and you think you're right not to get up early? College students don't have to get up early? Look at your brother, he's so successful..."

"My brother used to sleep until noon every day when he was in America, why don't you say anything about that?"

"Your brother's problem is jet lag! What kind of jet lag do you have? Do you even have a time difference between your bedroom and the living room?"

Fu Xiao: ...

These conversations have occurred an average of two to three times a day over the past twenty days, a frequency even more punctual than CCTV's evening news broadcast.

Fu Xiao knew very well that her mother didn't really dislike her; she was just bored. The New Year was over, the stall had been rented out, and Fu Jianguo drove around aimlessly every day—with that Volvo, the old man practically lived in it—while Liu Meilan had nothing to do at home; her only entertainment was taking care of her daughter.

The more pain the person being managed suffers, the more pleasure the person in charge enjoys.

This is a life philosophy that Fu Xiao realized at the age of twenty-two.

So when Chen Shiwen said on the phone, "Xiaoxiao, why don't we go back to school early?" Fu Xiao almost burst into tears.

"Shishi! You're my savior! My living Buddha! I'll buy the tickets right now!"

"Don't get excited, let me check the train schedule..." Chen Shiwen's voice was as gentle as ever. "There's a K-series train at 8:20 tonight. You can sleep through it and arrive in Yanjing. It will be around 8:30 tomorrow morning."

"Perfect! This is it!"

"Okay, I'll tell my mom."

"I'll also tell my mom—no, I'll just inform her directly; I don't need her permission."

Chen Shiwen chuckled softly on the other end of the phone.

……

On the day of departure, Liu Meilan nagged again—"Why are you leaving so early?" "Save your brother's money!" "Bring your brother some dried shrimp when you get to Yanjing!" "What's your classmate's name again? Chen something-wen? That girl is so quiet and well-behaved, you should learn from her!"

Fu Xiao stood at the door, carrying large and small bags, waiting expressionlessly for her mother to finish speaking, and then said, "Mom, I'm leaving."

Liu Meilan paused for a moment, then sighed and stepped forward to help her daughter adjust her scarf: "Give this to your brother when you arrive, and tell him not to stay up so late."

"understood."

"Also, if your roommate comes over to visit, tell them not to be shy."

"Okay, okay."

"Be careful on the road, and don't talk to strangers..."

"Mom! I'm twenty-two!"

Liu Meilan closed her mouth, but her eyes were a little red.

Fu Xiao saw it, her nose stung with tears, and she quickly turned and left, not daring to look back.

……

Before boarding the train, Fu Xiao sent Fu Yan a text message:

"Brother, Shishi and I will arrive in Yanjing tomorrow morning. Can you pick us up at the station? We'll be on train K702, arriving around 8:30."

Twenty minutes passed, and there was no reply.

Fu Xiao sent another message: "Brother! Reply when you see this!"

Fifteen more minutes passed, and there was still no reply.

Fu Xiao took a deep breath and dialed the number.

It rang eight times before Fu Yan answered.

"...Feed?"

His voice was hoarse, like sandpaper grinding against sheet metal; it was clear he had just been woken up.

"Brother! Look at the text message!"

"What text message?"

"I'll be arriving in Yanjing tomorrow! Please pick me up at the station!"

"Oh. What time?"

"It's 8:30! Don't oversleep!"

"understood."

"Dude, get serious! Last time you said you'd pick me up, and you made me wait at the station for forty minutes!"

"Isn't that a traffic jam...?"

"You didn't even leave the house that day! I took a taxi home later!"

"……knew."

"elder brother!"

"Okay, okay, 8:30, I'll go."

Fu Xiao hung up the phone, looked at Chen Shiwen with a look of despair: "He definitely won't be able to get up."

Chen Shiwen tilted her head: "Then what should we do?"

"Let Zhao Gang pick me up. I'll send him a text message first, just in case."

"You and your brother have such a good relationship," Chen Shiwen said, her tone tinged with envy.

Fu Xiao rolled her eyes: "What's so good about him? He's like a long-legged alarm clock—the kind you can never wake up."

……

At 8:20 p.m., train K702 departed on time.

Fu Xiao and Chen Shiwen bought hard sleeper tickets, one middle berth and one upper berth. Fu Xiao climbed up to the middle berth and lay down, while Chen Shiwen quietly read a book on the upper berth—a copy of "One Hundred Years of Solitude," which was almost halfway through, with the edges of the pages curled up.

"Shishi, aren't you going to sleep?"

"It's still early, I'll read for a while."

"You read books even on the train."

Why not read a book on a train?

"Chatting! Playing cards! Eating snacks!"

Chen Shiwen peeked out from the top bunk, looked at the bag of potato chips that Fu Xiao had just opened, and smiled: "You can have them, just leave me two."

"Just two pieces?"

"Yeah, I'm afraid of getting fat."

"You're 1.68 meters tall and weigh 90 pounds, what do you mean by fat?"

"...Then save three pieces for me."

Fu Xiao shook her head helplessly, turned over to face the wall, and fell asleep in no time.

Chen Shiwen continued reading her book "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in the dim light of the carriage from her upper bunk.

The train traveled through the night, the sound of its wheels rolling over the rails rhythmically, "clang—clang—", like an endless lullaby.

Occasionally, the lights of a small station would flash past the window, then quickly disappear into the darkness.

……

At 8:17 a.m., the train slowly pulled into Yanjing Station.

Fu Xiao was awakened by the announcement—"Dear passengers, the train is about to arrive at its final destination, Yanjing Station. Please take your belongings with you..."

She rubbed her eyes and climbed down from the middle bunk, standing in the aisle in her shoes, her hair a mess like a bird's nest.

"Shishi, we've arrived!"

Chen Shiwen had already packed—not only her own luggage, but even the snack bags Fu Xiao had left on the small table were packed into her bag. She was wearing a light blue down jacket and a white scarf, standing quietly in the aisle waiting for Fu Xiao, carrying her own suitcase.

Fu Xiao glanced at her, then looked at herself—she hadn't changed out of her pajamas, hadn't combed her hair, and her face still bore the marks of the pillow.

"How come you're always so neat and tidy?"

"I'm used to it."

"Are you a robot?"

Chen Shiwen smiled but didn't say anything.

……

Exit.

Fu Xiao pushed her suitcase ahead, with Chen Shiwen following behind, the two of them slowly squeezing through the crowd.

As soon as Fu Xiao stepped out of the station exit, she saw—

A piece of cardboard with three words written crookedly on it in marker: "Jie Fuxiao".

The person holding the sign was wearing a black jacket, stood ramrod straight, and scanned the crowd like a radar.

Zhao Gang.

Fu Xiao sighed and turned to Chen Shiwen, saying, "See? I told you he couldn't get up."

Zhao Gang saw them and strode over: "Sister Fu Xiao! And... Sister Chen Shiwen! Brother Fu sent me to pick you up!"

"Brother Zhao, you've worked hard." Fu Xiao took the sign from his hand, glanced at the three characters, and said, "Your handwriting... has a beggar's style."

"Hehe! When I was in school, my teachers often praised me, saying my handwriting looked like a crab crawling!"

"Was your teacher's comment a compliment?"

Zhao Gang paused for a moment, then chuckled twice, picked up their suitcases and left—one in each hand, as if carrying two bags of rice, without any effort.

Chen Shiwen glanced at Zhao Gang's two arms and silently quickened her pace.

……