Chapter 56 Bullet Trains Are My Kryptonite

Because of Cao Kun’s presence, although Bai Jing and Wang Shanshan glared at each other with mutual resentment, their confrontation ultimately remained strictly verbal and did not escalate into a physical fight.

By 10:00 AM, Bai Jing had finally finished packing her belongings.

Just as she was about to leave, as if remembering something, she paused at the doorway and turned back to look at Wang Shanshan.

"Wang Shanshan, I'll warn you one last time: those who do injustice will eventually bring about their own ruin. You had better put away your manipulative tricks and learn to be a decent human being, or else the day will come when you'll be crying your eyes out."

Hearing this, Wang Shanshan reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, instantly springing to her feet.

"You're the one with manipulative tricks! You're the one who needs to learn to be a decent human being!"

"And you, Bai, let me warn you as well: cut back on your backstabbing behavior. You'd better watch out—who knows, maybe the next time it rains, a bolt of thunder will strike you dead!"

Seeing Wang Shanshan baring her teeth in fierce annoyance, Bai Jing let out a cold snort. Too lazy to waste any more breath on her, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Meanwhile, Cao Kun let out a heavy sigh and shook his head, looking utterly helpless regarding the strained relationship between the mother and daughter. He picked up his suitcase and followed her out.

Seeing them leave, Wang Shanshan chased them to the doorway and shouted down the stairwell.

"Hey, Bai! Just you wait. The next time I see you, I'll make sure you know what regret feels like!"

When her shouts elicited no response from downstairs—only the fading clatter of high heels echoing away—Wang Shanshan let out a triumphant huff and slammed the door shut with a smug expression.

Lecture me?

With that kind of spare time, you'd better worry about your own future!

You're already forced to leave your hometown to scrape by, practically on the verge of starvation, so what gives you the right to preach to me?

No matter what, your lady here has a cool 320,000 sitting securely in her bank account, with food and drink fully covered. How are you in any position to look down on me?

Absolute joke!

.......

11:00 AM!

At Xia County Railway Station, Cao Kun, carrying two suitcases, and Bai Jing, holding a small handbag, boarded the bullet train bound for Haicheng and Xihe.

Since Haicheng and Xihe were adjacent to each other, many trains stopped at both cities along their routes.

The train Cao Kun and Bai Jing boarded was precisely one of those that serviced both stops.

The journey went smoothly, without any repeat of previous incidents involving occupied seats.

However, as they made their way through the carriage, Bai Jing’s graceful and alluring figure inevitably attracted a multitude of lecherous gazes.

Wang Shanshan had managed to comfortably hold the title of the campus belle at No. 1 High School of Xia County for three years based purely on her looks and figure. Yet her mother, whose beauty and physique were not the least bit inferior—and perhaps even slightly surpassed her daughter’s—was effortlessly breathtaking.

Especially today, as it was Bai Jing's first time venturing this far from home, she had carefully applied exquisite makeup and dressed in a strikingly sexy bodycon skirt paired with black stockings, drawing countless stares from shameless onlookers.

In fact, judging by Cao Kun’s observations along the way, not a single man failed to fix his eyes on her back as she passed.

Cao Kun could easily understand this.

After all, such top-tier proportions were truly a rare sight in daily life. Combined with her striking facial features, she belonged to the absolute pinnacle of desirability. It would be impossible for any normal man to remain indifferent.

Once the two of them settled into their seats, Bai Jing looked at Cao Kun with a mixture of nervousness and anticipation. "Xiao Kun, do you think Xihe must be a lot more prosperous than our Xia County?"

Hearing this question, Cao Kun almost burst out laughing.

Was there even a comparison?

Their Xia County was nothing more than a run-down little county, ranking somewhere in the lower-middle tier among all counties nationwide.

If all the counties in the country were divided into five tiers, Xia County would barely scrape into the fourth.

With a starting point like that, how could it possibly compare to a place like Xihe?

Even though Xihe was only a third-tier city—or barely clinging to a pseudo-second-tier status—it was still a proper city. The two simply weren't in the same league.

Of course, Cao Kun also knew that Bai Jing asked such a somewhat absurd question purely because she was deeply nervous.

Venturing away from one's hometown alone to make a living in an unfamiliar place, with an unknown future and unpredictable hardships awaiting her—it would be a miracle if she weren't anxious inside.

"Of course it is," Cao Kun said with a smile, gently squeezing Bai Jing’s delicate hand. "Xihe is a city, after all. Our Xia County is just a shabby little town. There's simply no comparison."

Bai Jing smiled faintly and said nothing more, though she gripped Cao Kun's hand even tighter.

Just at that moment, a broad-shouldered, bald man holding a smartphone swaggered over and sat down unceremoniously in the vacant seat across the aisle from Cao Kun and Bai Jing.

Judging from his tightly stretched short sleeves, he possessed a massively muscular physique—a textbook gym bro.

Part of a tattoo was visible on his left arm, but because only half of it was showing, and Cao Kun was unfamiliar with tattoos, he couldn't make out what it depicted.

Seeing this bald man casually seat himself directly opposite him and Bai Jing, Cao Kun narrowed his eyes slightly.

Because the man was bald and possessed distinctive features, Cao Kun still retained an impression of him.

When he and Bai Jing had first boarded, this exact same bald man had been sitting in the very last row of this carriage.

And now, he had deliberately relocated right next to them.

Cao Kun didn't for a second believe that this man's actual assigned seat was right here.

"Damn it, trains really seem to have a jinx on me. How many times have I even ridden a bullet train? I just hope this bald guy behaves himself; otherwise, the odds of me getting into a conflict on a train are just way too high."

The very first time Cao Kun ever rode a bullet train, he had encountered an unreasonable person who forcibly occupied his seat.

Originally, he had politely asked the person to move, but the other party completely ignored him. Left with no choice, Cao Kun had simply used a slap across the face to evict the intruder.

The second time he rode a bullet train was on his return trip after purchasing property in Haicheng, and that journey had also been eventful.

Two passengers sitting near him had started arguing and nearly came to blows. Although it had nothing to do with him, he was inadvertently caught in the crossfire when someone spilled water on his trouser leg.

However, considering it a trivial matter, he hadn't fussed over it and simply moved to an empty seat to give the two brawlers plenty of room to fight it out.

And this trip marked his third time on a bullet train!

If he managed to get into another scrape with this bald guy, the probability of something going wrong every time he stepped onto a train would practically hit one hundred percent.

*Behave yourself, just behave yourself. Don't force me to slap you across the face during such a tender moment,* Cao Kun thought, playing with Bai Jing's soft hand while silently praying in his heart.

However, Murphy's law proved true once again: whatever you dread the most is bound to happen, and prayers were utterly useless.

Less than half a minute after sitting down, the bald man cracked a wide grin, leaned his torso straight across the aisle, and stared directly at Bai Jing.

"Hey, beauty, care to add me on WeChat?"

Hearing that opening line, Cao Kun mentally spat out a curse and speechlessly closed his eyes.

What the actual hell!

Trains really are cursed for me!

Looks like I'll have to cut down on taking the train in the future!