Chapter 19 We Meet Again (2/2)

Sitting next to the spirited girl was a girl with a slightly thin build.

She wore two slightly yellowed braids, the ends of which were tied with a thin red string.

Her skin was fair and delicate, her eyebrows were curved, and she had a gentle and graceful air about her from the Jiangnan water towns. She was a typical girl from a modest family, but there was a hint of shyness between her brows.

Yan Yu's side also quickly filled up with people.

Right next to the aisle was a young man wearing black-rimmed glasses.

He was wearing a faded blue Zhongshan suit and holding a thick book in his hands. Even in such a noisy environment, he would occasionally look down at it, exuding a refined and scholarly air.

Sitting between the bespectacled youth and Yan Yu was a boy wearing a slightly worn military uniform.

He was tall and muscular, even more so than Yan Yu, his muscles bulging out of his clothes, and his bare arms showed clearly defined muscle lines.

He had a buzz cut, and his bronze skin stood out even more in the dim light of the carriage. His sharp eyes suggested he was a trained fighter, and he probably had an elder in his family who served in the military.

In their small area, the male-to-female ratio was surprisingly harmonious, with three men and three women, clearly separated.

With a loud bang and a sudden jolt, the train finally started moving slowly.

The wheels rubbed against the rails, making a monotonous yet rhythmic "clang, clang" sound, and the scenery outside the window began to slowly recede.

This was a special train for educated youth. Apart from the simply dressed young students carrying large and small bags, there were no other passengers in the carriage.

At first, there was a sense of melancholy due to the separation, but soon, as the train left the city, the nature of the young people was revealed.

At the other end of the carriage, a lively and outgoing boy took the lead and began to introduce himself one by one, saying which school he came from and which commune he was going to work in.

Occasionally, someone would suggest singing the most popular revolutionary songs of the moment, and the atmosphere gradually warmed up, easing much of the sadness of parting.

"Comrades, we are all educated youths responding to the call of the nation to go to the vast countryside and make great achievements..." A loud voice rang out, carrying a distinctive propaganda tone.

However, this lively atmosphere seemed to deliberately bypass Ruan Tang and her small area.

Ruan Tang kept her eyes closed, her face tense, looking like she wanted to stay away from strangers.

The two girls beside her, the one with a spirited air, glanced at Yan Yu, who had a cold face opposite them, and then at the muscular, slightly fierce-looking man in military uniform next to him, wisely chose to remain silent.

The girl, who seemed rather reserved from the moment she boarded the bus, kept her eyes darting around, and no one knew what she was thinking, but she didn't say a word.

As for Yan Yu, his cold face and piercing gaze practically screamed "Don't mess with me!"

His attention was seemingly focused on the little girl opposite him who was pretending to be asleep, and the faint smile at the corner of his mouth, which he himself did not notice, added to his unfathomable air.

The man in military uniform next to him, Zhao Weiguo, was as strong as a wall. His presence alone exuded an imposing aura, which subtly deterred anyone from trying to strike up a conversation.

As for the frail scholar Chen Siming, in this strange silence and standoff, he naturally couldn't be the first to speak and break the deadlock.

Thus, in the increasingly lively and bustling train carriage, their seats ironically formed a strange, undisturbed "vacuum zone." (This chapter has been read. Please click to continue reading the next chapter!)