"Dad, I've boarded the train." Standing on the high-speed train platform, Lin Jin held a suitcase in his hand and a laptop bag on his back, speaking into his phone. "I'll be home around eleven or twelve."
"Got it."
His father's tone was quite good, even though Lin Jin, the "unfilial son" had rarely called him since starting college. Clearly, his father didn't mind.
"Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No need, there’s no exact time." Just as Lin Jin heard the approaching sound of the high-speed train entering the station, he hastily told his father, "I got to go, see you at noon."
"Mm."
"Lin Xin, stop playing with your phone, the train is coming." Lin Jin turned his head and yelled toward Lin Xin, who was sheltering from the wind behind an advertisement board.
As luck would have it, Lin Xin had even managed to buy a ticket in the same carriage as Lin Jin. If the person next to Lin Jin was agreeable, they might actually be able to sit and chat together.
"Ok." Lin Xin didn't have much luggage either, his laptop was stuffed into his suitcase. Aside from the suitcase, he didn't carry any additional bags.
The train rolled into the station, and the crowd on the platform began to move along with it. When the train doors opened, dozens of people squeezed towards the entrance, yet they politely waited for the passengers inside to exit first.
Lin Jin was in no hurry, dragging his suitcase to the very end of the crowd. He pursed his lips, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Going home was always a hassle. Lin Jin's hometown was just a county town, and this high-speed train could only go as far as Fuzhou. After disembarking, Lin Jin would still have to lug all his luggage onto a long-distance bus to get home.
As he followed the crowd into the carriage, Lin Jin found his seat, placed his suitcase on the luggage rack above, and took a glance at the empty seat next to him before settling down in seat F with his laptop bag.
I wonder how Dad's doing now.
Although the trip home was cumbersome, Lin Jin was quite concerned about how his father, whom he hadn't seen in three or four months, was doing. Maybe his father had quit gambling and drinking and had started to work honestly?
Speaking of which, Lin Jin's father had a rather chaotic source of income. When money was tight, he would take temporary construction jobs. Even when he did earn some money, he didn't save it. He'd give Lin Jin a few hundred yuan as the family's living expenses and then go off to gamble with the rest. If he won, things were fine, he would generously take Lin Jin out to eat. If he lost, he would drown his sorrows in alcohol and make do with the few hundred yuan he had given to Lin Jin.
If he couldn't find temporary work when broke, he would honestly go to work as a porter in a relative's supermarket, earning just a few dozen yuan a day. However, the job included meals, so he managed to get by. Dad used to be a small business owner with a protruding belly, but his lifestyle now had surprisingly made him much fitter.
Perhaps the only silver lining for Lin Jin was that, despite their financial decline, his father's health seemed to have improved compared to his previous heavy-drinking, heavy-eating days.
At least that's how it appeared on the surface.
Lost in his thoughts, Lin Jin suddenly felt a slight vibration in the seat next to him. Turning his head, he saw a skinny young man, likely a college student, had taken the seat next to him in D.
Ignoring the person beside him, Lin Jin rested his head against the window, feeling the slight vibration as the train moved along. His thoughts continued to drift back to his parents.
Mom should be doing okay now, right?
He had heard that before getting married and having kids, his mother was just a worker in a textile factory. After giving birth to him and his brother Lin Chen, she had to quit her job to become a stay at home mom. She had even hoped that her second child would be a girl, but ended up with the young man that was Lin Chen.
Later, when their financial situation deteriorated, Lin Chen, who stayed with their mother, mentioned that she had taken him and moved to Guangdong to be with relatives. Fortunately, her relatives were quite reliable. They not only gave her and Lin Chen a room in their house but also taught her the clothing business, even helping her set up a street stall.
However, after running the stall for a few years, Guangdong started cleaning up the informal sector. City management officials would show up daily to chase people away and fine them. After being fined and having her goods confiscated multiple times, she gave up the stall. She then pooled some money from relatives, added in her savings, and rented a storefront to sell various types of clothes. Business was slow in the beginning, but it improved when a nearby street was transformed into a food street, attracting tourists and curious passerbys.
Now, Mom even has branches and is planning to buy a house in Guangdong. Meanwhile, Dad is still living in a haze.
I wonder when he'll wake up.
"Miss, could you pick up the bottle cap for me?"
Lin Jin was startled for a moment, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on the skinny young man beside him.
"It's by your foot" said the young man, holding a bottle of mineral water that he'd barely drunk from. He pointed to the ground, "It's by your right foot, I can't reach it."
"Oh." Lin Jin blinked blankly a couple of times, bent down to pick up the bottle cap, and then suddenly snapped back to reality. "What did you just call me?"
The young man, seemingly oblivious to Lin Jin's tone, cheerfully responded, "Miss, of course. You're so pretty, anyone would call you that."
However, those words didn't sit well with Lin Jin. Was this guy mocking him for looking like a girl?
"I'm a guy." Lin Jin shot a dark glance at the man beside him.
The man was momentarily confused, but then he quickly recovered, apologizing with a smile as he took the bottle cap from Lin Jin. What the man thought at that moment, Lin Jin could only guess.
Though he was on the same train as Lin Xin, Lin Jin found the idea of a three-seater next to Lin Xin unappealing. So he had not bothered to switch seats. After an hour and a half on the train, he finally left the confined cabin, dragging his suitcase behind him.
Lin Xin had bought a ticket to Fuzhou North Bus Station, while Lin Jin had already gotten off the train at Fuzhou South Railway Station. He blended into the crowd and left the train platform. But when he walked out of the station, he was momentarily confused.
Where should he go for the bus back home?
He had only taken the high-speed train twice in his life. The first time was when a high school classmate's father had conveniently dropped him off at the south railway station, and this was his second time.
Although Lin Jin knew he should take a bus to get home, he had no idea where to find the busses.
Damn it! If he'd known, he would have checked online while still on the train.
Walking into a KFC, he shamelessly took a seat without ordering anything, pulling out his phone to look up the route home.
I'm a grown man, I can't possibly get lost here, can I?
"Miss, are you going to Changle?"
Huh?
"Dad, I've boarded the train." Standing on the high-speed train platform, Lin Jin held a suitcase in his hand and a laptop bag on his back, speaking into his phone. "I'll be home around eleven or twelve."
"Got it."
His father's tone was quite good, even though Lin Jin, the "unfilial son" had rarely called him since starting college. Clearly, his father didn't mind.
"Do you want me to pick you up?"
"No need, there’s no exact time." Just as Lin Jin heard the approaching sound of the high-speed train entering the station, he hastily told his father, "I got to go, see you at noon."
"Mm."
"Lin Xin, stop playing with your phone, the train is coming." Lin Jin turned his head and yelled toward Lin Xin, who was sheltering from the wind behind an advertisement board.
As luck would have it, Lin Xin had even managed to buy a ticket in the same carriage as Lin Jin. If the person next to Lin Jin was agreeable, they might actually be able to sit and chat together.
"Ok." Lin Xin didn't have much luggage either, his laptop was stuffed into his suitcase. Aside from the suitcase, he didn't carry any additional bags.
The train rolled into the station, and the crowd on the platform began to move along with it. When the train doors opened, dozens of people squeezed towards the entrance, yet they politely waited for the passengers inside to exit first.
Lin Jin was in no hurry, dragging his suitcase to the very end of the crowd. He pursed his lips, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Going home was always a hassle. Lin Jin's hometown was just a county town, and this high-speed train could only go as far as Fuzhou. After disembarking, Lin Jin would still have to lug all his luggage onto a long-distance bus to get home.
As he followed the crowd into the carriage, Lin Jin found his seat, placed his suitcase on the luggage rack above, and took a glance at the empty seat next to him before settling down in seat F with his laptop bag.
I wonder how Dad's doing now.
Although the trip home was cumbersome, Lin Jin was quite concerned about how his father, whom he hadn't seen in three or four months, was doing. Maybe his father had quit gambling and drinking and had started to work honestly?
Speaking of which, Lin Jin's father had a rather chaotic source of income. When money was tight, he would take temporary construction jobs. Even when he did earn some money, he didn't save it. He'd give Lin Jin a few hundred yuan as the family's living expenses and then go off to gamble with the rest. If he won, things were fine, he would generously take Lin Jin out to eat. If he lost, he would drown his sorrows in alcohol and make do with the few hundred yuan he had given to Lin Jin.
If he couldn't find temporary work when broke, he would honestly go to work as a porter in a relative's supermarket, earning just a few dozen yuan a day. However, the job included meals, so he managed to get by. Dad used to be a small business owner with a protruding belly, but his lifestyle now had surprisingly made him much fitter.
Perhaps the only silver lining for Lin Jin was that, despite their financial decline, his father's health seemed to have improved compared to his previous heavy-drinking, heavy-eating days.
At least that's how it appeared on the surface.
Lost in his thoughts, Lin Jin suddenly felt a slight vibration in the seat next to him. Turning his head, he saw a skinny young man, likely a college student, had taken the seat next to him in D.
Ignoring the person beside him, Lin Jin rested his head against the window, feeling the slight vibration as the train moved along. His thoughts continued to drift back to his parents.
Mom should be doing okay now, right?
He had heard that before getting married and having kids, his mother was just a worker in a textile factory. After giving birth to him and his brother Lin Chen, she had to quit her job to become a stay at home mom. She had even hoped that her second child would be a girl, but ended up with the young man that was Lin Chen.
Later, when their financial situation deteriorated, Lin Chen, who stayed with their mother, mentioned that she had taken him and moved to Guangdong to be with relatives. Fortunately, her relatives were quite reliable. They not only gave her and Lin Chen a room in their house but also taught her the clothing business, even helping her set up a street stall.
However, after running the stall for a few years, Guangdong started cleaning up the informal sector. City management officials would show up daily to chase people away and fine them. After being fined and having her goods confiscated multiple times, she gave up the stall. She then pooled some money from relatives, added in her savings, and rented a storefront to sell various types of clothes. Business was slow in the beginning, but it improved when a nearby street was transformed into a food street, attracting tourists and curious passerbys.
Now, Mom even has branches and is planning to buy a house in Guangdong. Meanwhile, Dad is still living in a haze.
I wonder when he'll wake up.
"Miss, could you pick up the bottle cap for me?"
Lin Jin was startled for a moment, looked around, and finally fixed his gaze on the skinny young man beside him.
"It's by your foot" said the young man, holding a bottle of mineral water that he'd barely drunk from. He pointed to the ground, "It's by your right foot, I can't reach it."
"Oh." Lin Jin blinked blankly a couple of times, bent down to pick up the bottle cap, and then suddenly snapped back to reality. "What did you just call me?"
The young man, seemingly oblivious to Lin Jin's tone, cheerfully responded, "Miss, of course. You're so pretty, anyone would call you that."
However, those words didn't sit well with Lin Jin. Was this guy mocking him for looking like a girl?
"I'm a guy." Lin Jin shot a dark glance at the man beside him.
The man was momentarily confused, but then he quickly recovered, apologizing with a smile as he took the bottle cap from Lin Jin. What the man thought at that moment, Lin Jin could only guess.
Though he was on the same train as Lin Xin, Lin Jin found the idea of a three-seater next to Lin Xin unappealing. So he had not bothered to switch seats. After an hour and a half on the train, he finally left the confined cabin, dragging his suitcase behind him.
Lin Xin had bought a ticket to Fuzhou North Bus Station, while Lin Jin had already gotten off the train at Fuzhou South Railway Station. He blended into the crowd and left the train platform. But when he walked out of the station, he was momentarily confused.
Where should he go for the bus back home?
He had only taken the high-speed train twice in his life. The first time was when a high school classmate's father had conveniently dropped him off at the south railway station, and this was his second time.
Although Lin Jin knew he should take a bus to get home, he had no idea where to find the busses.
Damn it! If he'd known, he would have checked online while still on the train.
Walking into a KFC, he shamelessly took a seat without ordering anything, pulling out his phone to look up the route home.
I'm a grown man, I can't possibly get lost here, can I?
"Miss, are you going to Changle?"
Huh?
