Chapter 18: The Lipstick Seed Smudged
"Crack."
Chen Man cracked open a lon seed shell, the crisp sound seeming particularly jarring in the quiet corridor.
She made no move to let them pass, instead acting like a dutiful security inspector, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Jiang Chen and Lin Wan.
Her look was too direct, carrying a teasing air of soone who enjoyed watching drama unfold.
Lin Wan, already feeling guilty, recoiled as if electrocuted and imdiately let go of Jiang Chen's sleeve, which she had been clutching.
She lowered her head, trying to use the stray wisps of hair near her cheeks to hide her still burning face and her noticeably over-plumped lips.
"Oh, you're back?" Chen Man leaned against the doorfra, spitting the lon seed shell into her palm, her voice drawn out. "You two took quite a long 'breath of fresh air.' I thought you weren't planning on seeing us and would just spend the night outside."
"Don't talk nonsense," Lin Wan's voice was shaky, and she didn't dare look up at Chen Man's eyes. "We just... we just ran into a little trouble."
"Trouble?" Chen Man raised an eyebrow, her gaze hooking onto Lin Wan's lips, followed by a aningful, soft chuckle. "I can see that. This trouble must have been quite 'tricky,' right? Look how flustered our Sister Wanwan is; she even smudged her lipstick that costs thousands per tube."
Upon hearing this, Lin Wan panicked and raised her hand to cover her mouth, inadvertently exposing a circle of red marks on her wrist that hadn't faded yet—marks left when Jiang Chen gripped her in passion earlier.
Chen Man's eyes lit up even brighter, as if she had discovered a new continent. Just as she was about to tease them further,
A slender hand reached out and stuffed a peeled orange into her mouth.
"Sister Man, have an orange." Jiang Chen wore a flawless, faint smile. He naturally stepped sideways to shield Lin Wan, "There was a drunk causing trouble over there. Sister Wan got scared, so we were outside calming down for a bit."
Chen Man's mouth was stuffed with the orange, and she could only let out a few muffled protests, but her peach blossom eyes clearly spelled out the words, 'Keep dreaming.'
She chewed a couple of tis, swallowed the orange, and tossed the lon seed shells into the trash bag by the door. She didn't press the issue further, just stepped aside to clear the passage.
"Fine, fine, a drunk," Chen Man clapped the debris off her hands. As she passed Jiang Chen, she quickly lowered her voice and murmured, "Little brother, rember to wipe your mouth next ti. There's still a red mark at the corner of your mouth."
Jiang Chen raised his hand without changing expression and rubbed his corner of his mouth. Sure enough, his fingertip picked up a trace of extrely faint dusty rose color.
He smiled, said nothing, and pushed the still-dazed Lin Wan into the compartnt.
The atmosphere inside the compartnt was much warr than outside, but also more suffocating.
Su Qingge was sitting by the small table near the window, still holding her book.
Hearing the noise, she looked up, her gaze sweeping lightly over the two of them.
As an old fox in business, Su Qingge's observational skills were even sharper than Chen Man's.
She imdiately noticed Lin Wan's distracted appearance, as well as the lingering, specific restless aura on Jiang Chen.
It was the scent of hormones.
But she asked nothing. She simply closed her book and pointed to the water glass on the table that had long gone cold: "It's good that you're alright. We heard quite a commotion over there earlier and were thinking about calling the railway police."
"No need, it's resolved," Jiang Chen helped Lin Wan sit down on the lower bunk, then sat back down opposite her.
As soon as she sat down, Lin Wan deflated like a leaky ball, shrinking into the corner. She clutched the empty insulated bucket tightly in her hands, as if it were a life raft.
Her heartbeat hadn't settled yet; her mind was filled with that crazy kiss from earlier and Chen Man's suggestive teasing just now.
This feeling was too unfamiliar.
It was both shaful and accompanied by a secret pleasure, like the satisfaction after successfully doing sothing naughty.
"Sister Wanwan, are you hot?" Chen Man climbed back onto the upper bunk, sticking half her body out. She was holding another handful of lon seeds without anyone noticing. "Your face is as red as a monkey's bottom. Should we ask little brother to go get you so evian water to wash your face and cool down?"
"I'm not hot," Lin Wan retorted softly, burying her head even lower.
"Alright, stop teasing her," Su Qingge looked out the window, her brow furrowing slightly. "Didn't you notice? The train speed seems to have slowed down."
This sentence successfully shifted everyone's attention.
Jiang Chen turned to look out the window.
Just monts ago, they could still make out the outline of the snowy plains, but now the view outside was completely pitch black. They could only hear the wind and snow whipping against the glass with a crackling sound, as if soone was scattering sand outside.
This sound was denser and more urgent than before.
"This snow is a bit unusual," Jiang Chen stood up and pressed close to the glass to look out.
In the faint light leaking from the compartnt, one could see a thick layer of white snow already piled up on the window ledge, and it was increasing at a visible rate.
"I rember the weather forecast said there would be a blizzard here tonight," Su Qingge took out her phone. The signal bars on the screen showed only one weak bar, which was flickering continuously. "We were originally expected to reach the major transfer station two hours from now, but looking at it now..."
She didn't finish, but everyone understood the aning.
The train speed had indeed slowed significantly. The rhythmic clanking sound had beco sluggish and heavy, like an old ox pulling a broken cart, requiring imnse effort for every inch forward.
"It's not going to stop here, is it?" Chen Man stopped cracking lon seeds too, her playful expression softening a bit. "There's nothing for miles around here. If we get stuck in this godforsaken place, what will we eat or drink?"
"Worrying about food isn't necessary," Jiang Chen pointed under the bed to the two remaining boxes of evian water and the pile of snacks they had bought earlier. "As long as we don't freeze outside, everyone in this carriage shouldn't starve to death."
"We won't starve, but I have a very important eting tomorrow," Su Qingge's fingers tapped irritably on the table, the sound of her nails clicking. "If we can't reach the provincial capital by tomorrow morning, that bridge loan for the company might fall through."
That was a huge weight pressing on her heart.
This business trip was ant to be a final gamble. If they were stranded on the road, all their previous efforts could be wasted.
The ambiguous atmosphere in the air was instantly dispersed by this real anxiety.
Lin Wan looked up at Su Qingge's tightly knit brow and cautiously spoke, "CEO Su, um... should I pour you a glass of water?"
This was the only thing she knew how to do, her habitual attempt to please.
Su Qingge waved her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. "No need, I'm not thirsty. Right now, I just want to know if this train can even move anymore."
Just then, the loudspeaker on the ceiling suddenly crackled to life, accompanied by a harsh static sound.
"Sss... Attention passengers, attention passengers. Due to heavy snowfall ahead on the line, the train will make a temporary stop ahead for snow removal operations. The stopping ti is tentatively... sss... Passengers are requested to remain in the carriages, avoid moving around unnecessarily, and pay attention to keeping warm..."
The broadcast cut off before it finished.
Imdiately following, the train seed to brake hard as if soone had stomped on the pedal, emitting a teeth-grinding tallic screech. It shuddered violently and then ca to a complete stop.
Inertia caused everyone's bodies to lurch forward.
"It's over," Chen Man slapped the guardrail. "The crow's mouth actually called it right."
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