Chapter 43

On the train from SR to GZ, Qin Yu was packing his things and lying on the lower berth. His cousin Zhang Hua had booked him a soft sleeper, which spared him the tiring journey of over ten hours.

"Little brother, can we switch? You go to the top berth. You see, I can't climb up with these two hundred pounds of meat." Not long after Qin Yu lay down, a fat man carrying a bag walked in, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he asked Qin Yu.

"Sure." Qin Yu glanced at the man, who was entirely covered in fat, with almost no neck visible, giving off a comical appearance.

"Thanks, little brother. Do you smoke...?" Seeing Qin Yu agree, the fat man smiled broadly, took out a pack of cigarettes from his bag, and offered one to Qin Yu. It was a pack of soft Zhonghua, already opened.

"No, thanks. You go ahead." Qin Yu politely declined. The fat man looked comical and harmless, but one had to be careful when traveling. Qin Yu had heard many stories of people losing all their belongings after accepting cigarettes from strangers on trains.

"Excuse me, could you move a bit?" Not long after Qin Yu climbed to the top berth, another voice came from the door. A few large burlap bags appeared, and a man's figure was partially obscured by the bags. From his non-standard Mandarin, Qin Yu knew the man was likely a migrant worker.

After putting down the bags, Qin Yu finally got a clear look at the man. He had messy, unkempt hair, a thin and yellowish face with prominent cheekbones, and was wearing a dirty light blue shirt with large letters: "Haitian Soy Sauce."

Noticing Qin Yu looking at him, the man gave a shy smile, seemingly a bit embarrassed. Qin Yu smiled back, a polite greeting.

"Hmph, what do you have in that bag? It smells sour." The fat man's voice came from below.

"Sir, it's some pickled cabbage I made at home. I plan to eat it on the way. Sorry about that." The man looked apologetic. Qin Yu knew about pickled cabbage; many rural people would dry their excess cabbage in the sun, then soak it in water until it turned sour. It was a common dish, often served with alcohol or meat.

"This stinky pickled cabbage isn't worth much, yet you go through all this trouble to bring it." The fat man wrinkled his nose in disgust, lit a cigarette, and tried to dispel the sour smell.

The man didn't respond, looking a bit awkward. The bag of pickled cabbage wasn't worth much, but it could save him money by using it for breakfast or with rice.

"Don't say that. When you're away from home, having a dish of pickled cabbage can really bring back the taste of home. When I was away, I often thought about the pickled cabbage from home." Seeing the man's awkwardness, Qin Yu quickly spoke up to ease the tension. Life on the road wasn't easy, and a meal could cost just a few dozen yuan, but for migrant workers, saving that much was significant.

"Yeah, I know. It's tough for everyone out here. You're going to Guangzhou too, right?" The fat man was just venting and threw a cigarette to the man.

"Thank you, sir. This is good tobacco." The man took the cigarette, looked at it, and smiled. "I'm going to Huizhou, which isn't far from Guangzhou."

"Good tobacco or not, it's just for show. How could you afford a sleeper ticket?"

"Ha!" Qin Yu, lying on the top berth, couldn't help but laugh. The phrase didn't fit the fat man at all; he was already fat enough without needing to puff up his face.

"I couldn't afford it. My daughter booked it for me online. She works in Guangzhou and graduated from university. Knowing I was traveling, she insisted on buying me a sleeper ticket."

The man's face showed pride when talking about his daughter. Clearly, having a daughter who graduated from university was a source of great pride for him.

"Why don't you stay with your daughter? Wouldn't that be better for her to take care of you?"

"That wouldn't be good for her. It might make her lose face!" The man smiled. He knew city people could be very status-conscious, and he didn't want his daughter to be embarrassed by having a migrant worker father.

Parents' love is boundless. Qin Yu shook his head in helplessness. How many children truly understood their parents' sacrifices? Even he himself was no exception, rarely calling home during his school days and hanging up quickly when he did.

The train continued to move, and the three men lay in their berths, each lost in thought. After a few stops, just as Qin Yu was about to fall asleep, the door to the sleeper compartment opened again.

A young woman appeared at the door, her wavy hair flowing freely. She wore a one-shoulder black coat, revealing a section of her shoulder. She leaned lazily against the door, and from below, her 17-centimeter black high heels with straps that wrapped around her knees were visible. She wore a short skirt that barely reached her mid-thigh, exposing her long, straight, and round white legs. The tight skirt hugged her round buttocks, and the outline was clearly visible.

The woman's appearance was alluring, with long, slightly upward-sloping eyebrows. Her gaze swept over the three men in the room, as if throwing them flirtatious glances. Qin Yu could clearly hear the fat man on the lower berth swallowing hard.

"12A8, I'm on the top berth. Could you please move, sir?"

Her voice was soft, with a touch of the southern accent. She checked her ticket and the berth, then spoke to the man below.

"Sure, sure." The man hurriedly moved aside, not daring to look at the woman. Such a beautiful and sexy woman was something he had never encountered, let alone interacted with, and his face turned red.

It wasn't just the man who was flustered; even Qin Yu's breathing became heavier. The woman's appearance was incredibly alluring, and her attire was almost criminal.

The woman bent down to take off her high heels, exposing her round buttocks to the three men. The tight skirt accentuated her curves, and a deep line was clearly visible.

She didn't seem to care about the three men in the room, taking off her high heels and revealing her small, delicate feet, with red nail polish on her toes.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

The woman quickly climbed to the top berth and lay down. From Qin Yu's angle, he could still see her chest rising and falling as she lay flat.

"Truly a seductress." Some women are born with a charm that can stir a man's most primal desires. The woman on the upper berth was clearly one of them.

Qin Yu got up from his bed and climbed down, opened the door, and walked to the smoking area. He took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a deep puff to calm his arousal.

"Phew."

He exhaled a puff of smoke and finally calmed down. Looking at his lower body, which had started to rise, Qin Yu smiled bitterly. He seemed to be more irritable lately, probably because he hadn't been with Meng Yao for a while, and his self-control had decreased.

After finishing his cigarette and washing his face with cold water, Qin Yu returned to the sleeper compartment. When he opened the door, he saw the fat man winking at him with an envious look.

"Little brother, switching with me isn't a loss. You can enjoy the view from up there." As he stepped on the ladder, the fat man leaned in and whispered.

"It's not a loss, but it made me wash my face to cool down." Qin Yu smirked, inwardly criticizing the fat man, and climbed up without responding.

The woman on the opposite side was holding her phone, but the screen was black. Qin Yu quickly realized she was using the phone as a mirror.

"Truly a beauty-conscious girl." Shaking his head, Qin Yu turned his back to her and went to sleep.