364: Chapter 364 Entering Beijing

7:40 AM, Jiangcheng East Station waiting hall.

Lin Que dragged the suitcase that Wang Xiulian had stuffed so full the zipper was nearly bursting, walking through the automatic doors into the hall.

Only Lin Jianguo and Wang Xiulian were there to see him off.

Director Huo Yan wanted to send a business car, but he shut it down with a single phrase: "Keep public and private matters separate."

It was even easier to handle the calls from Principal Jiang Changfeng and Shen Qiuqiu; a few polite words kept them all outside the station.

The most difficult one was Wu Di, who had actually started a "Whole Class Send-off Tomorrow Morning" sign-up list in the class group chat.

Within ten minutes, thirty-two people had signed up, and even Zhang Ya had followed up with a "+1."

Lin Que only replied with one sentence in the group.

"It's not like I'm going to an execution; why the big fuss?"

Only then did he manage to quell the grand scene of the entire class seeing him off.

The flow of people in the waiting hall was sparse. On a weekday morning in mid-September, most travelers were commuters on business trips.

They dragged standardized black carry-on suitcases, their faces wearing a standardized look of exhaustion.

The three of them stood by the barrier in front of the ticket gate, the atmosphere even quieter than on the balcony last night.

Wang Xiulian's nagging instructions hadn't stopped since they entered the station.

From the dried tangerine peel in his suitcase to the climate of the capital, from the seasonal drop in temperature to eating meals on time.

Her speech became faster and faster, pouring out one long instruction after another.

It was as if she wanted to cram all the life experience she'd gathered into these few minutes before the ticket check.

Her fingers gripped the cuff of Lin Que's jacket—not too tight, not too loose, just holding on.

Lin Jianguo stood nearby, hands in his pockets, not saying a word.

Today, he had changed into a clean, dark gray jacket, and the old leather shoes on his feet were polished to a shine.

The announcement in the waiting hall suddenly rang out.

"Attention passengers, Train G600 from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South Station has arrived at Jiangcheng East Station. Ticket checking is about to begin. Please proceed to..."

Wang Xiulian's hand paused on Lin Que's shoulder.

Her lips trembled for a couple of seconds, and all those instructions got stuck in her throat.

Lin Que gently patted his mother, nodded, and walked toward the ticket gate.

"Little Que!"

It was Lin Jianguo's voice.

Lin Que turned around at the sound.

"Don't forget."

Wang Xiulian was stunned for a moment. She looked up at her husband, her voice sounding nasal:

"Don't forget what?"

Lin Jianguo didn't answer.

He quickly turned around and wiped the corner of his eye with the back of his hand in a rough and hurried motion.

Lin Que looked at his father's turned-away profile.

Watching the outline of his ear traced by the morning light, his chest felt tight again.

He knew what followed "Don't forget."

Call your mother more often.

Lin Que gave a firm nod and said nothing.

When Lin Jianguo turned back around, his face had returned to its usual rough calm.

He reached out and put his arm around Wang Xiulian's shoulder, his grip steady and non-negotiable as he led her back.

Wang Xiulian took a couple of steps while being led away, then looked back once more.

Lin Que waved to her, his mouth silently forming the words:

"Go on back."

She bit her lip and finally stopped looking back.

Lin Que watched his father's slightly hunched back and his mother's ankles, which were somewhat turned outward from years of standing.

Their two figures grew smaller and smaller amidst the flow of people in the waiting hall.

He stood at the gate for a full three seconds before turning to enter the station.

The train was on time.

Lin Que dragged his suitcase through the carriage vestibule and found the business class seat the Municipal Bureau had booked for him in advance.

4C, window seat, wide view.

Outside the window was the grayish-white platform of Jiangcheng East Station and the distant viaduct shrouded in morning mist.

He stuffed his backpack into the overhead rack.

Then he pushed the heavy suitcase into the dedicated luggage storage area for business class.

After sitting down, he adjusted the recline of his seat and took out his phone.

The moment the screen lit up, over a hundred messages had piled up in the class group.

"Brother Que, why didn't you let us see you off! That's not cool!"

"Safe travels, Lin Que!"

"Safe travels!"

"Safe travels +1"

"Safe travels +10086"

...

Fang Zhiyuan sent a voice message. Lin Que didn't play it, but just looking at the duration, he knew this guy had been wailing for at least thirty seconds.

Zhang Ya sent a paragraph, her phrasing as formal as an essay.

The gist was wishing him a bright future, not forgetting his original intentions, and other such official platitudes, but at the end, she added a crying face emoji she would normally never use.

Li Bowen only sent four words: "Meet at the top."

Lin Que's gaze lingered on those four words for a moment, then he continued scrolling down.

The last message was from Wu Di.

A photo.

The angle was crooked, looking like it had been taken secretly from behind the glass curtain wall on the second floor of the waiting hall.

Right in the center of the frame were the backs of Lin Que, Lin Jianguo, and Wang Xiulian standing in front of the ticket gate.

The figures of the three were somewhat blurry due to the distance, but their postures were clearly recognizable.

The caption was only four words: "Actually, we came."

Below it was a Wu Di-style doge emoji.

Lin Que stared at the photo for two seconds, his lips curling up involuntarily.

In the photo, his mother's hand was gripping his cuff, and his father stood nearby with his hands in his pockets.

The morning light from the platform hit them from behind, casting long shadows of the three of them.

He didn't reply to anyone in the group. He closed the group chat and opened the dialogue box with the rabbit-smashing-a-piano avatar.

His fingers tapped three words on the screen.

"On the train."

Then he turned his phone horizontally and pressed the shutter toward the window.

The platform was slowly receding, the concrete edges and steel rain canopy stretching into a gray line in the motion blur.

Less than twenty seconds after the photo was sent, the avatar for "Fugitive Beethoven" popped up.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "[Applause] The Great Author is finally going to stir up trouble in the capital. Did you bring that school uniform covered in signatures? Remember to drape it over yourself when you enter the gates of Tsinghua or Peking University; the effect is equivalent to wearing a dragon robe. [Doge]"

Lin Que typed with one hand, his speed lightning-fast.

[Mu Xia]: "Why do you make it sound like I'm going to the capital for the imperial examinations?"

Ye Xi replied instantly.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "[Chuckle][Chuckle] Then it's not going for exams, it's going to take office! Speaking of which, are you missing a pageboy?"

[Mu Xia]: "If you're willing to be the pageboy, I could consider it."

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "[ShockedRabbit.jpg] Thanks for the invite, but I'll pass. A pageboy has to grind ink and lay out paper for you, and I just got my nails done. That won't do. [Bye]"

Lin Que leaned back in his seat. The scenery outside the window gradually switched from low-rise factories in the suburbs to vast stretches of farmland.

The conversation on the phone screen continued.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: By the way, did your mom make you bring Sweet Garlic?

Ye Xi asked suddenly.

Lin Que casually pulled out the photo he took while packing last night.

A close-up of two jars of crystal-clear Sweet Garlic in the side mesh pocket, the glass bottles reflecting the warm yellow light of the living room.

He sent the photo.

The other side was silent for three seconds, and then a series of floor-thumping laughter emojis filled the entire chat box.

Sandwiched in between was a sentence: "Sugar garlic is strategic material; I suggest applying for the Tsinghua and Peking University Logistics Department to handle unified procurement."

Lin Que was about to reply, "Do you want me to send you a jar?" when the atmosphere in the dialogue box suddenly changed.

Ye Xi's message popped up after nearly ten seconds, without any emojis.

No memes, just a clean line of text.

[Fugitive Beethoven]: "Seriously, the waters in the capital are deep. Be careful. Safe travels."

Lin Que looked at this line, his thumb hovering over the input box.

He was just about to type the word "Relax."

A clear female voice rang out from the direction of the aisle.

"Lin Que?!"

His fingers stopped on the screen, and Lin Que looked up reflexively.

A girl with a low ponytail, wearing an off-white hoodie, was standing in the aisle next to his seat.

The hot water in her paper cup was still steaming, but she had frozen in place.

She stared at him with wide eyes, her lips slightly parted.

Lin Que recognized the girl in front of him.

At the Shanghai book signing, she had sat in the furthest corner of the contestants' area, barely saying a word from beginning to end.

After his speech analyzing the 'Wall of Social Classes,' amidst the applause of the entire audience.

She had sat alone on a folding chair, hands folded over her knees, her eyes slightly red.

Lin Que looked at her; right now, her hands were unconsciously twisting the cuffs of her hoodie.

He opened his mouth with a smile.

"Classmate Tang He, what a coincidence."

...