182. Stirred Thoughts, Hungry Dinner

The two of them enjoyed this wonderful atmosphere to their heart's content, completely ignoring or even glancing at the person sitting opposite them!

When Jing Qingxin took out the bright red strawberries, Huang Mei, sitting beside Wang Lingling, couldn't help swallowing her saliva. Fruit was such a rarity! Especially fruit she had never seen before, yet it looked so delicious just by looking at it!

Meanwhile, Wang Lingling's eyes looked as though they were about to breathe fire! That gaze was filled not only with hatred, but even more so with jealousy—deep, burning envy! When she first caught sight of that man, she had thought he was exceptionally handsome and outstanding, and she had intended to strike up a conversation by using the seat as an excuse!

Her purpose in setting out this time was with the firm intention of marrying a soldier. Her family had arranged a match for her with a military man who reportedly held an official rank in the armed forces—how prestigious and glorious a thing that was in their village! The parents from both sides had talked very agreeably, yet for some reason, that soldier had never given a definitive consent.

In order to live the life of an official's wife, Wang Lingling had dragged along Huang Mei, a close friend from the same village, promising to introduce her to an official in the military as well so that Huang Mei would accompany her to find that man. Her plan in going over there this time was to secure that soldier no matter what.

However, upon seeing Gao Shen on the train, taking in his upright military uniform and striking, handsome facial features, her mind instantly wavered. Since she had already decided to marry a soldier, why couldn't she marry someone even more exceptional?

She simply hadn't expected that he was already married, and that his wife was also strikingly good-looking. The two of them looked so well-matched, a match so perfect that it was an absolute thorn in her eye, breeding an extreme sense of imbalance within her heart!

The subsequent humiliation made it even harder for her to bear! She thought to herself that since their destinations were both Panshi, perhaps they were even heading to the same military unit?

Just you wait! A gentleman takes revenge ten years later, and it's never too late! Wang Lingling chuckled darkly and covertly to herself.

The four of them, each mutually displeased with the others, remained completely unaware that they had long since been targeted by someone in a nearby partitioned compartment!

After five o'clock in the afternoon, passengers on the train successively began to eat their dinners, adding a touch of lively clamor to the carriage!

Gao Shen put away his book and, seeing Jing Qingxin holding a medical textbook and leaning against the bed by the carriage window, reading with complete concentration, asked in a low voice, "Qingxin, shall we have dinner?"

Hearing this, Jing Qingxin closed her book and glanced at the time. It was half-past five; time truly passed quickly when one was reading!

Jing Qingxin glanced briefly at the opposite berth. Both women had their eyes closed and were leaning back, sleeping—whether truly asleep or feigning sleep was anyone's guess. Fortunately, the entire afternoon had passed peacefully and quietly, with no further dramatic antics!

"Mm, I'll go wash up," Jing Qingxin said with a smile.

Jing Qingxin and Gao Shen took turns going to wash up. While Gao Shen was away, Jing Qingxin began setting out their evening meal.

Although there was still chicken soup left, nearly a day had passed. If she took it out and it was still steaming hot, it would arouse suspicion; the thermoses of this era simply didn't possess such powerful capabilities!

What Jing Qingxin took out were two rectangular lunch boxes, thicker than bricks. Inside were cold-dressed pig's head meat and pig's ears, mixed with cucumber slices—both meat and vegetables were accounted for. In the other lunch box were egg pancakes, all of which she had prepared together the night before while stewing the soup!

Cold dishes and pancakes kept relatively well, making them very suitable to be taken out as dinner!

When Gao Shen returned from washing up, he saw that dinner had already been laid out, and the corners of his mouth curved upward slightly. Although his wife was young, she attended to every detail of his life with great care.

Seeing that Gao Shen had returned, Jing Qingxin opened the lids of the lunch boxes, handed him his chopsticks with a smile, and said, "Let's eat!"

The moment the box lids were opened, the aroma of the food instantly drifted out, spreading through the entire partitioned compartment. The couple on the upper berth couldn't help exchanging a glance, their hearts filled with yet another wave of emotional sighs!

As for the other two women on the lower berths, upon catching the scent, their eyelids fluttered—clearly, they had been feigning sleep. When Huang Mei smelled the aroma, she couldn't help sniffing vigorously with her nose: the smell of meat! The smell of eggs!

Huang Mei instantly opened her eyes and stretched her neck slightly to gaze at the food on the small table by the window. Sure enough, it was meat—a whole box of meat, plus egg pancakes!

Huang Mei swallowed greedily, smacked her lips, and her stomach chimed right in with an empty chorus!

That sound made Wang Lingling, who was struggling hard to pretend to sleep nearby, flush a deep red!

It was simply too humiliating! The financial conditions of neither of their families were very good, and their elders had been willing to provide the train fare entirely because they were counting on the military men they were going to find; otherwise, their families would never have been willing to spend money on train tickets!

Both families had also prepared some food, though not very much. By rationing it and eating sparingly, it might have been enough to stretch across two meals, but at noon, the two of them had simply been unable to restrain themselves and had eaten everything at once, figuring that once they got off the train in the evening and reached the military unit, there would be free meals waiting for them!

They had assumed that during dinner time, they could just endure the hunger for a little while and push through. Who could have imagined that at this moment, the couple opposite them would be eating such fine food! The fragrance of that food tugged at their stomachs in painful twists and turns, making them feel utterly wretched!

The couple on the upper berth climbed down from their bed, couldn't resist taking a look either, and immediately headed toward the dining carriage!