Chapter 136: Female Educated Youth 6

Finally, the departure time arrived. The older woman ran off at a brisk pace without a single backward glance. Ren Xin sighed, thinking that people of this era were truly energetic. Just look at her—half her body was already in the grave, yet she could still run like the wind.

Book Spirit Number One: “…” When would the tree of self-awareness finally grow in this host’s heart?

Ren Xin looked around and saw that the Ren family members were gone, presumably having left already.

She found the cadre carriage and, as expected, it wasn’t crowded. Everyone there was refined and cultured, speaking in quiet tones and handling their luggage with polite courtesy.

Ren Xin located her berth, which was a lower bunk¹. She was currently the only one in the compartment. After stowing her luggage, she pulled out her own sheets to spread over the bed, took off her outer coat to put it away, and then produced a book to pose as an intellectual.

Book Spirit Number One: “Host, your pretentious, showy behavior is enough to force spring to arrive early in the Northeast².”

Ren Xin: “…” What was that supposed to mean? She didn’t like the sound of that!

For a long time, no one else entered the compartment. Just as Ren Xin thought no one else was coming and she could finally let loose, four people arrived all at once.

And they were all together.

Well… at least it wouldn’t be lonely.

“Mom, Dad, you guys go back. I’ll be fine with Sister Xue, Sister Ran, and Brother Chen.”

The couple seeing them off kept fussing over the girl who had spoken. It was clear at a glance that she had been well-protected by her family.

As the parents were leaving, they gave Ren Xin a small smile. Ren Xin nodded back politely.

Book Spirit Number One asked in surprise, “Host, how did you mutate? Haven’t you always insisted on growing wild and having no manners?”

“I generally tailor my attitude to the person and the situation.”

The four newcomers consisted of three girls and one boy. They maintained an attitude of pointedly ignoring Ren Xin. Ren Xin simply shrugged.

She quietly lowered her head to continue reading her book, though in reality, she was bickering with Huhu.

“Huhu, what would be the harm in giving me some of your fur to make a tiger-hair cushion?”

“I’d become a bald-spotted tiger!”

“Have you forgotten who rescued you from dire straits? Who skimped on food and drink just so you could eat your fill? Who…”

“If I’d known you were going to hold it over my head like this, I would have been better off dead!”

How stubborn!

The four newcomers formed a tight-knit group, chatting away animatedly. However, there were only two lower bunks, and since they all wanted one, they decided to launch a moral offensive³ against Ren Xin.

Ren Xin’s face suddenly began to turn pale. Weakly, she pulled out a few black pills and swallowed them with some water. Then, she looked at the group with a puzzled expression, as if asking: “Did you need something? I’m too weak to help with anything!”

The four of them: “…” Instead of kidnapping her into doing what they wanted, they’d been taken hostage by her frailty.

“This chocolate is a bit bitter. Huhu, you eat it!”

Huhu refused. “Even a tiger can’t swallow that kind of bitterness.”

Since it was useless, she decided to give it to Book Spirit Number One.

Book Spirit Number One: “…” Do you two realize that the three of us are in a group chat?

In the end, the innocent-looking girl secured the right to sleep in the other lower bunk. However, seeing the reluctant expressions on the faces of the other two girls, it was obvious that the innocent girl’s family had some background.

When dinner time arrived, Ren Xin pulled out a pre-prepared smoked meat wrap. It was quite large. Time to eat!

One of the girls said disdainfully, “If there are onions in that, go eat outside. I can’t stand the smell.”

Ren Xin ignored her and kept eating.

The girl grew upset. “Hey, you in the lower bunk! I’m talking to you. Can’t you have some manners? The smell is overwhelming. Weren’t you feeling unwell? How can you eat such a huge wrap?”

Ren Xin took a bite, swallowed some water, and prepared to let loose.

---

Translator’s Notes

---

1. lower bunk: In Chinese sleeper trains, lower bunks are the most desirable and expensive because they provide more headroom and double as seating during the day, often leading to social friction over who gets to use them. ↩
2. force spring to arrive early in the Northeast: A metaphorical way of saying someone is being ‘extra’ or ‘flowery’ (sao), often used to mock someone for acting coquettish or showing off excessively. ↩
3. moral offensive: Refers to ‘Moral Kidnapping’ (道德绑架), a Chinese social concept where someone uses moral standards to pressure or guilt-trip others into doing something against their will. ↩