From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

"What's there to be afraid of?"

I smiled calmly, then countered, "And what if I don't regret it? What will you say then?"

Without hesitation, Su Qing blurted out, "Then it's the other way around. From now on, whenever I see you, I'll call you Brother Ye! I mean it!"

"Alright, I'll take the bet."

Su Qing happily put away her phone and carefully saved the recording.

His big eyes were full of certainty, as if he was waiting for me to crash and admit defeat.

I lowered my head, picked up my bowl and chopsticks, and silently ate a mouthful of rice.

The fact that I dared to accept this bet means that I have the confidence to back it up.

On this journey through the no-man's-land, I can only succeed; failure is not an option.

Even if the road ahead is fraught with danger, even if it means being left forever in that desolate desert.

I will never look back, and I will never regret it!

I stopped arguing with Su Qing, lowered my head, opened the ticketing app on my phone, and started looking for the high-speed rail ticket to go back to my hometown in the countryside tomorrow.

Jiangzhou is only about 300 kilometers away from my hometown county, which is not far, but the transportation is really troublesome.

There are no direct buses from the county town to Jiangzhou. You have to go to the neighboring county town to transfer, which takes up most of the day on the road, causing a lot of inconvenience.

But when I checked all the train schedules, the pages were all grayed out and there were no tickets available; all of them only had the option to waitlist for tickets.

With no other option, I randomly picked the earliest train and clicked to try and grab a ticket.

The page immediately pops up a prompt that inviting friends to help can greatly increase the success rate of grabbing tickets.

I casually sent the help link to my cousin and Luo Peng, asking them to click it for me.

Right after I posted it, a pop-up window appeared on the page, saying that the more friends you invite, the higher your chances of getting a ticket.

I was speechless for a moment. This ticket-grabbing software is like Pinduoduo's "cut-a-knife" game, it just never ends.

Left with no other option, I forwarded the link to Su Qing next to me and said, "Please click it for me to help me grab a train ticket."

Su Qing's phone on the table chimed. She picked it up, glanced at the message, and looked up, puzzled, asking:

"You want to buy a train ticket? Where are you planning to go?"

"I'm going back to my hometown tomorrow. I'll be staying in the no-man's-land for a month or two this time. I'll go back to see my mom and bring her some of her usual blood pressure medication."

After listening, Su Qing nodded slightly, clicked on the link, completed the assistance steps a few times, and then turned her phone towards me:

"Done, take a look."

I casually said thank you, then switched back to the ticket-buying page to take a look.

The interface is still stuck on the "Crazy waitlist for tickets" message, with no further activity.

This thing looks fancy, but it's actually completely useless. Whether you can get a ticket depends entirely on whether someone cancels their ticket at the last minute. The assistance provided doesn't really help much.

"Did you manage to snag it?" Su Qing asked again when she noticed my expression was off.

I shook my head with a wry smile: "No way. We can only wait for someone to cancel their ticket and snag a spot. If all else fails, we'll just have to postpone our trip until the day after tomorrow."

Su Qing, resting her chin on her hand, asked, "Where is your hometown? You could buy tickets for other trains, why do you insist on this one?"

I said with a bit of helplessness, "It's not far, only about 300 kilometers. The main problem is that there are only a few buses a day from my hometown, and this is the earliest one. Otherwise, I'd have to wait until noon or the afternoon, and then I wouldn't have enough time!"

Su Qing nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly suggested, "Three hundred kilometers isn't that far, let's just take a taxi."

I stared at her in astonishment, then couldn't help but laugh out loud: "You really think I'm some kind of tycoon? It's over 300 kilometers, the fare would be at least several hundred yuan, it's not worth it."

She seemed indifferent, waving her hand dismissively: "It's only a few hundred yuan. It saves me the trouble of queuing at the high-speed rail station and also saves me a lot of time."

I understand the logic, but a one-way ticket for the high-speed rail only costs a few dozen yuan. I have to spend money everywhere now, so I really can't be so extravagant.

I sighed and shook my head helplessly: "Forget it, let's just wait patiently for the supplementary tickets. If there are really no tickets available, postponing for two days won't be a problem."

Su Qing's eyes lit up, and she suddenly became interested: "How about I go back to our hometown with you tomorrow?"

I stood there, stunned, and looked at her, puzzled. "Why are you following me back?"

"Since I'm just killing time anyway, and I get really bored staying in the courtyard all by myself, I might as well go out for a short walk to clear my head."

I gave a wry smile and said, "You're kidding me. I can't even get a ticket for myself right now, and you want to come along?"

Su Qing immediately had an idea, her tone light and cheerful: "That's easy, we can just drive back, it's convenient both ways."

Indeed, even if you manage to snag a high-speed rail ticket, the round trip on the same day is too rushed, and taking a taxi back is equally troublesome. Driving yourself is definitely more worry-free.

But I shrugged, looking troubled: "The problem is, I don't have a car available right now."

"Leave this to me. I'll borrow one from a friend tomorrow," Su Qing said casually.

I paused, then frowned and reminded her, "Who are you going to borrow from? Your parents have already spoken to all your friends, and no one dares to help you out privately. They might not even be willing to help."

Su Qing rolled her eyes at me and said nonchalantly, "It's just borrowing a car, what kind of help is that?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she picked up her phone and made a call.

The phone rang for two or three seconds before being answered. Su Qing spoke directly: "Shanshan, can I borrow your car for a day tomorrow?"

It turned out that she was calling her best friend, Leng Shanshan.

Without asking further questions, Leng Shanshan readily agreed, "No problem. What time do you need the car tomorrow?"

"I'll pick it up at the entrance of your complex early in the morning."

Leng Shanshan paused for a moment and said, "I'm not home right now. How about I arrange for a driver to bring the car directly to you?"

"Now?" Su Qing hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay, I'll send you the address."

Leng Shanshan responded and then asked Su Qing, "By the way, Qingqing, how have you been lately?"

"That's good."

Leng Shanshan sighed softly, her voice tinged with concern, "I know your personality, but it's really tough for you out there all alone. Your parents have already spoken to everyone around you, and we feel restricted in helping you. Why don't you come home and try to mend your relationship with your aunt and uncle?"

Su Qing replied decisively, "Impossible. We agreed to live separately, and I will never back down. I'm living a peaceful life now, and it's not as difficult as you think."

Leng Shanshan sighed softly and asked again, "Is Fang Heng still bothering you?"

Upon hearing the name Fang Heng, Su Qing's face was full of disgust, and she scoffed, "Don't mention him. He's a treacherous and hypocritical scoundrel; he's disgusting to look at."

Leng Shanshan dared not mention that person again, and instead inquired about her recent situation: "So where are you staying now? Have you found stable employment?"

Su Qing's tone softened: "Don't worry, I have a place to stay, everything is fine."

"If you encounter any difficulties, feel free to call me anytime. Although I can't help you openly, I can help you find a solution."

"It's okay, really don't worry about me."

The two chatted for a few more minutes about everyday matters before hanging up.

Su Qing sent over the detailed address of the courtyard, put down her phone, turned to look at me, and smiled:

"All done, we'll drive back tomorrow."