Chapter Seventeen: The Sunny Boy on the Train

  "Thank you so much today." Xing Ye said sincerely to Li Nanfang.

  "What are you planning to do from now on?" Li Nanfang asked, still looking at her through the rearview mirror while driving.

  Staring at him in confusion under the starry night, she didn't quite understand what he meant by his words.

  "I'm asking you, are you looking for a job in the provincial city? If so, I can help you get in touch with some people. You don't have an ID card and you're not of age, it's definitely going to be tough finding work." Li Nanfang overheard Xing Ye and Hui Ye's conversation and roughly understood her difficulties.

  "Thank you Captain Li, you're really a good person. I still have some things to take care of and I need to leave the provincial city today." Xing Ye expressed his gratitude once again.

  "It's nothing, just a few words, if you have any difficulties, I'll definitely help"

  A surge of gratitude in his heart, he suddenly thought of a possibility.

  "However, there is one thing I'd like to ask for your help with."

  Li Nanfang was taken aback, he had said he would help her and it wasn't just empty words, but he hadn't expected to be called upon so soon. This girl really didn't stand on ceremony with him.

  Xīng yè zài bāo lǐ zhǎo chū xiě yǒu wài gōng xìng míng, dì zhǐ de zhǐ tiáo, dì gěi Lǐ Nánfāng.

  Translation:

  At night, he found a piece of paper with his grandfather's name and address in the bag and handed it to Li Nanfang.

  "Can you help me check if this person still lives in this place, and if they've moved, where are they living now?" Xing Ye glanced at the note for a moment, raised an eyebrow slightly, then put it down and said, "If it's not convenient, I'll just ask around."

  Actually, I had forgotten that the police station at that time was not yet connected to the national network, and thought it was like on TV, where a simple online search of the national ID registration would show everything. So when Li Nanfang saw that the address was from another place, he furrowed his brow, and needed to make a phone call to investigate, but still couldn't be sure if they could definitely find him.

  "Alright, go back and I'll help you make a phone call to ask them which police station that is. They should be able to tell us." Li Nanfang still agreed.

  "Sorry to trouble you, if it's not possible..."

  "We'll see after trying" Li Nanfang remained calm as usual.

  Things seemed to be going surprisingly smoothly, Li Nanfang's phone call reached the Tianyun City Bureau and was transferred to the street police station. The person who had been searching for all night was still a celebrity in that area, and the civil police at the police station really knew him. He had moved away a few years ago, but the house was still empty, and they also helped to investigate his current address and phone number.

  Looking at the note in her hand that Li Nanfang had given her, Xing Ye felt that being able to know this enthusiastic Captain Li was truly her own good fortune, and with this new address she would be able to avoid running many unnecessary errands.

  In the afternoon, Xing Ye was sent onto the train to Tianyun City by Li Nanfang. The only regret was that the knife was left in Li Nanfang's hand.

  "It is controlled knives and cannot be taken on the train at will."

  "But I came with it in a package and no one took care of it?" Starry Night distinguished.

  "That's illegal"

  "Give me your contact information. I can hold onto the knife for now, and you can come find me in the provincial city to pick it up when you return. Alternatively, once you've settled down, let me know your address and I'll have it shipped over to you."

  The conversation ended, Captain Li turned around and walked away with his knife, and Luo Xingye's anger was useless.

  Anger returned to anger, and Starry Night had no choice but to get on the car as it was about to start.

  As it was just after the Spring Festival, there were many people on the train except for those who worked or studied outside, so the train was very crowded, and even the connection between two cars was full of people.

  Pushing through the crowds on a starry night, I found my seat and looked up to see that the overhead racks were already full.

  The big boy opposite stood up, put two small packages together and beckoned to Xing Ye "Put it here."

  In the middle of the night, I suddenly stood up and raised my travel bag, but was pushed from behind by a crowd of people. I couldn't stand steadily and my travel bag fell down.

  "Let me help you." The man picked up Xing Ye's bag and put it on the luggage rack.

  "Thank you." Xing Ye noticed that the man was very young, probably not even twenty years old. He was quite tall and when he smiled, he looked even more childish, perhaps "boy" would be a more suitable term.

  "No big deal, it's just a small favor."

  The train started moving, and the boy took out a book from his bag and began flipping through it page by page.

  Looking around in all directions on a starry night, I saw that most people were resting with their eyes closed, and some young people were either reading like the boy opposite or playing cards in groups of three or four.

  It will take about seven or eight hours to reach the station, nothing to do, and Xing Ye leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

  It wasn't until much later, under the starry night sky, that I saw the boy opposite me get up to retrieve luggage. I thought he was getting off at this stop, but it turned out an elderly couple sitting inside wanted to get off instead. He helped them, even carrying their bags and seeing them off the bus.

  The boy who returned to his seat looked at the starry night and said "Sorry, did I wake you up?"

  "None, just feel that young people like you who are so enthusiastic are rarely seen." In the life of Xing Ye, it is indeed rare to see a few young people who are polite and kind.

  "It's just a small matter, but you call me young man, it seems I'm older than you by several years, little sister."

  One awkward night, I realized that I'm already over thirty years old, and I naturally used the kind of praise that an adult would give to a big kid on him. From now on, I need to pay attention to my tone, so as not to give people the feeling that it's not precocity but weirdness.

  The boy thought she was angry and turned his face away at night, thinking that the girl's thoughts were really hard to understand.

  The attendant pushed the boxed meal and walked by, it was time for dinner. Looking at the boxed meal that cost 30 yuan per serving, which would not exceed 5 yuan outside, there were still more than three hours before getting off the train at night, so I decided to hold on and have dinner after getting off the train.

  The boy opposite didn't buy a boxed meal either, but instead cooked a packet of instant noodles. Seeing that Xing Ye hadn't eaten yet, and judging from her clothes that she wasn't in good financial condition, he knew that she couldn't afford to buy food on the train.

  Regretted eating instant noodles at night, rushed to ask for that knife before boarding the train and didn't even buy some food to bring on the train.

  "The food on the train is not only bad but also very expensive. Here, my mom bought a lot before she got on the train." The boy handed over two sausages and a big apple to Xing Ye.

  "Thank you, no need, I'll get off at Tianyun." Xingye was impressed by his enthusiasm.

  "What a coincidence, I'm also going to Tianyun, and there are still three hours left. Let's eat something to fill our stomachs first, I plan to get off the bus and have a good meal later too." He pointed at his instant noodles and said, "This is just something to fill my teeth gaps."

  "Then thank you, I'll just have an apple." The other party looked sincere in inviting her to eat something, perhaps it was another small matter, so she didn't refuse and returned the sausage, picked up the apple and started eating slowly.

  The boy finished eating instant noodles in just a few mouthfuls. For a man, this little food is not enough to be full.

  "I can't eat anymore. I promised my classmate that he would treat me to a big meal after we get off the bus, and now it's time to fill our stomachs. If I eat too much now, I won't be able to eat later."

  As he spoke, he pushed the sausage back again.

  Return him a brilliant smile on this starry night, and this person is really unable to make people refuse.

  "You're still a student, right?" This time it was Xīng Yè who asked proactively.

  "Are you a senior three student studying in Tianyun City? How about you, are you here visiting relatives?"

  "Hmm, is college life fun?" Xing Ye quickly changed the subject.

  "It's okay, the coursework isn't as heavy as it was in middle school..."

  The two chatted leisurely, and before they knew it, time had passed quickly, and the train pulled into Tianyun Station.

  Xīng yè jù jué le tā yào bāng máng tí bāo de hǎo yì, suí zhe rén liú chū le huǒ chē zhàn.

  Translation:

  Xingye declined his offer to help with the luggage and followed the crowd out of the train station.

  There were many people waiting at the exit, and Xing Ye squeezed through the crowd at night.

  "Tianyang, over here." Two young men outside the crowd waved their hands in the direction of the starry night, or rather, behind it.

  "My classmate is here, goodbye, I'll go first." The boy said goodbye to Xing Ye and walked towards his friend.