Chapter 17: If You’re Not Eager to Eat, There’s Something Wrong With Your Brain
“I’m staying in the compartment next to yours. If anything happens, just call for me, Comrade Little Ning,” Comrade Ji said to Ning Xiyue with a serious expression. “It’s best not to wander around if there’s nothing important. And when it’s mealtime, I must accompany you to the dining car. It’s for your own safety — I hope you can understand.”
After everything that had happened, Ning Xiyue had figured it out — those three thieves definitely weren’t ordinary petty criminals. Otherwise, the situation wouldn’t have been handled so seriously. They hadn’t even blamed her for beating one of them unconscious — instead, they’d assigned this Comrade Ji to protect her.
But none of that had anything to do with her. All she needed to do was stay alive — listen carefully, follow orders, and stop wandering about. After all, she’d only just managed to claw this life back by sheer luck.
“Alright, I understand. Thank you, Comrade Ji,” Ning Xiyue replied with a nod.
This Comrade Ji was tall and broad-shouldered — just looking at him gave her a sense of safety and authority. It made her feel reassured.
“No need to thank me. My name is Ji Yanming. If you need anything, just call my name — I’ll hear it. Don’t worry about troubling me.” Ji Yanming looked at her earnestly as he spoke.
“Mm.”
He was really quite dedicated — truly a model public servant.
It was only now that Ning Xiyue realized Ji Yanming was actually quite handsome. His features were well-defined and striking, and he was tall — so tall that even with her 185 cm height, she barely reached his shoulder. He had to be at least 190 cm.
The problem was that his skin was tanned too dark, and his face was always so serious that people completely overlooked his looks. His cold, clipped way of speaking also made him seem intimidating and hard to approach.
Just based on those traits, he really did resemble a grim and merciless “Black-Faced King Yama.”
Still, Ning Xiyue thought that from the few things he’d said, he seemed like someone with warmth underneath that exterior.
Ji Yanming, of course, had no idea what she was thinking. He glanced at the time and said, “It’s almost noon. Let’s go to the dining car.”
“Okay.”
Right as he finished speaking, the train’s broadcast began announcing lunch service. The dining car was in Car No. 9, between the sleeper cars and the hard-seat cars — quite close by.
The moment she heard the announcement, Ning Xiyue perked up and hurried to the front, even urging him to follow: “Let’s go quickly. If we’re late, there’ll be too many people and no seats left — and the good dishes will be gone!”
Maybe it was because she had grown up in an orphanage, but when it came to meals, Ning Xiyue was always the most enthusiastic. Back in her school days, she had always been first in line at the cafeteria — racing ahead at a speed that left her classmates eating dust.
“If you’re not eager to eat, there’s something wrong with your brain.” She’d always firmly believed in that saying.
Ji Yanming followed behind her, watching her practically sprint toward the dining car with enthusiasm. A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
When they arrived, Ning Xiyue found that she was indeed among the first to get there. Maybe most people had brought their own food, because there weren’t many dining in the car.
There weren’t many dishes available, but there were still several choices — and there were even pieces of meat in them. The food looked decent, and it probably tasted good too. What really made Ning Xiyue happy was seeing large portions of braised fish and big chicken drumsticks.
Best of all, you didn’t need ration coupons or meat tickets to eat here. As long as you bought a meal ticket, you could get whatever dish you wanted just by paying money — a huge relief for someone like her who didn’t have many coupons to spare.
Checking the prices, she saw:
One aluminum lunch box: 0.3 yuan
Cabbage stewed with vermicelli: 0.3 yuan
Braised fish fillet: 0.5 yuan
Braised pork belly: 0.5 yuan
It was a bit expensive, but she still had some money left, so there was no need to deprive herself.
She wanted to try all of those dishes, but the portions were too large for one person to finish.
Then she remembered the man standing behind her. Her eyes lit up as she turned and asked, “Comrade Ji, how about we order together and split the dishes into our lunch boxes? That way, we can both try different dishes and save a bit of money. Oh, and… what kind of food do you like?”
“Sure. I’m not picky — order whatever you like.”
His brief, straightforward answer made Ning Xiyue very happy.
“Got it.”
If he wasn’t picky, then she could order whatever she wanted. She pointed to the dishes she wanted and said to the kitchen worker:
“Master, I’ll take two lunch boxes, one cabbage with vermicelli, one braised fish fillet, and one braised pork belly.”
As she reached for her money, Ji Yanming had already handed over two meal tickets and the payment for the food.
The kitchen worker took the money with a cheerful smile. “Alright then, find yourselves a seat. I’ll bring it right over.”
Ning Xiyue quickly took two hard-boiled eggs from her little cloth bag and asked, “Mister, could you heat these up for me? They’re already cooked — just warm them, please.”
“Serving the people — of course,” the kitchen worker said readily, taking the eggs.
“Thank you, mister.”
The two of them found a seat by the window. Ning Xiyue handed Ji Yanming her share of the meal cost.
He glanced briefly at the pale, slender hand stretched toward him, then quickly averted his gaze. Calmly, he accepted the 0.95 yuan she offered, but under the table, his fingers toyed with the single copper coin he had left — and the tips of his ears quietly turned red.
The food came quickly — in about two minutes, a dining car staff member arrived with a tray holding their dishes and the two warmed eggs.
Ning Xiyue helped unload the dishes onto the table and thanked the staff member with a polite nod. “Thank you, comrade.”
She handed one of the eggs to Ji Yanming. “Comrade Ji, I cooked this egg myself. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Thank you.”
Ning Xiyue felt delighted looking at the aluminum lunch boxes filled to the brim with food. Using clean chopsticks, she divided the dishes evenly into two portions and handed Ji his share.
“Mmm, smells so good. Let’s eat!”
Throughout the meal, Ning Xiyue kept her head down, focused solely on eating. She had to admit — the food was delicious, and the portions were generous.
The braised fish fillets were especially good — a whole box of spicy, flavorful fish, not like the restaurants in later generations that served a thin layer of fish on top and nothing but vegetables and chilies underneath.
She ate heartily and with great satisfaction. Both of them finished every last bite of their meals — not a single grain of rice was left.
“Whew… I ate too much. I need a break.” Ning Xiyue rubbed her round, full stomach and hiccupped.
Ji Yanming silently gathered the empty lunch boxes, stacking them neatly and placing them in the bin for used containers.
Ning Xiyue tried to help but was refused, so she stayed seated and rested instead. In her heart, she resolved to write Ji Yanming a long, heartfelt thank-you letter once they reached their destination.
“Xiyue, you’re eating here too!”
Hearing the voice, Ning Xiyue turned and saw Liu Yao — the girl she had met earlier on the train — running toward her excitedly. Behind Liu Yao were Yu Zhiyu and the male comrade who had switched seats earlier.
When they saw Ning Xiyue look over, they all nodded in greeting.
