A Good-for-Nothing

179. Bonding (1)

Translator: Dragon Rider

Coastal City was an eight-hour train ride from Hang City, which was neither long nor short.

This was the first time that He Zheng had been on a train. At first the car had struck him as stifling and uncomfortable, but after staying in it for some time, he’d begun to feel that it was not really that bad.

All other trainees had returned to their own compartments after being briefed on the task. Li Zong was always busy. Though on a train, he still seemed to have a lot of matters to deal with. By comparison, He Zheng was a downright idler. Ashamed to disturb Li Zong, he quietly lay on his berth with his hands crossed behind his head, intending to have a noontime nap.

The training was trundling forward, shaking the compartment constantly. Some women were chirping in the aisle in dialect, the contents of their chat unknown to He Zheng. He was a little annoyed at the babble of voices. Though his lying position remained unchanged, he had difficulty sleeping.

A cultivator’s five senses were sharper than those of a common people, so naturally Li Zong sensed the state He Zheng was in.

As he hadn’t had any rest for a long time, his eyes were bloodshot with fatigue. He massaged his forehead for a while to relax, and then put down the papers in his hand and rose to his feet.

Li Zong was about five-eleven and, when standing, could easily see He Zheng who was lying on the upper berth.

He Zheng turned over to face Li Zong.

Li Zong affectionately ran his fingers through He Zheng’s hair. “You couldn’t sleep?”

“Yeah,” murmured He Zheng, staring unblinkingly at Li Zong’s face.

Li Zong gave a chuckle, put his palm behind He Zheng’s neck and had him sit up. In a sitting position, the top of He Zheng’s head was just short of the car roof, so he didn’t have to hunch. Li Zong took a step backward and opened his arms. He Zheng immediately came to understand. Smiling, he threw himself onto Li Zong and entwined his legs around Li Zong’s lean, muscular waist.

Li Zong scooped him off the upper berth. What with the limited space, Li Zong had to bend to let He Zheng, who was wriggling, sit on his lap.

Sitting on Li Zong the human cushion, He Zheng felt quite comfortable and narrowed his eyes, the fidgetiness in him vanishing instantly, squinting fixedly at the man who was focusing on helping him put on shoes.

“Are you hungry?” Li Zong reached out a hand and stroked He Zheng’s belly in a very natural manner. He Zheng was slightly thin. Due to the irregularity in his dietary habit, he’d never been fat.

He Zheng relaxed completely, leaning against him.

Li Zong’s attempt to squeeze He Zheng’s belly turned out to be unsuccessful, for his belly had sagged.

“I’ll take you to get something to eat.”

“What could we possibly get in a place like this?” He Zheng couldn’t think of any food. They provided food on a train?

“There’s a dining car on a train.” Li Zong seemed to have just recalled something funny. “Sunflower seeds, peanuts, bottled water, beer, soft drinks, mixed congee… anything you want. They’ll also recommend bamboo-handled toothbrushes and dried Xinjiang blueberries to you.”

He Zheng burst into laugh, wondering where Li Zong learned these.

The two of them had been having the compartment to themselves all along. They stayed in it for another few minutes, making out, enjoying this rare opportunity to bask in each other’s affection.

Zu Zhichong, who was quite a knowing card, made sure nobody showed up to disturb them. Li Zong’s mouth was curving in a very natural fashion when He Zheng rose to his feet, and the two of them exchanged brief kisses.

When Li Zong had taken him out of the compartment, He Zheng was still licking his lips as though reliving the kiss in his mind.

Zu Zhichong, probably because having been saved from having to journey to the south-west to do the worst job, was in a particularly good mood. He’d always had a liking for striking up conversations with people and sometimes could be unbearably clinging. Originally Chen Qianlin had chosen to put up with Zu Zhichong because he was a senior, but unexpectedly, after talking for a while, the two of them actually took to each other.

Therefore, when He Zheng and Li Zong arrived, the mood in the compartment was quite harmonious, which came as quite a surprise to He Zheng.

At the sight of them, the rare friendliness on Chen Qianlin’s face was replaced by disgust as though someone had just forced a fly into his mouth. Showing a total disregard for He Zheng, he naturally walked to Li Zong’s side and said, “Group Leader Li.”

Li Zong inclined his head. He Zheng, feeling that this dumb-ass was going too far in his attempt to steal his partner, directly interposed himself between Chen Qianlin and Li Zong, looking sidelong at the former and asked, “What do you think you’re doing?”

“I was just greeting Group Leader Li. You got a problem with that?” Chen Qianlin was consumed with anger, but He Zheng was Li Zong’s legal spouse, so there was nothing he could say to contradict.

“Of course I have a problem with that. I could tell at a glance you entertain dark schemes and have a nasty mind.”

“…” Speechless with rage, Chen Qianlin shifted his gaze to Li Zong.

Pulling a wry face, Li Zong rubbed He Zheng’s cheek to stop him from saying anything else. As the saying goes, ‘Spare others some embarrassment when you can, for your paths may cross again.’ Li Zong interrupted their eye contact which was dripping with killing hostility and told Zu Zhichong to call the others in.

The dining car was right next to their soft-sleeper car. All trainees were in fairly good states, talking and laughing, though staff members were not. Poor as the food available on the train was, fellow trainees’ chatting made He Zheng find this inferior meal pretty enjoyable. This was the first time that he’d traveled by train, and not unsurprisingly, it didn’t really feel that bad.

The clock seemed to work a lot faster. At three o’clock in the afternoon, the train arrived at its destination without delay.