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Chapter 581: Chapter 571: I’m Not Afraid of Any Exceptional Characters I Meet
"Excuse me, young comrade, seeing as it’s difficult for someone of my age to climb up and down, could you switch bunks with me?" the woman with the curly hair asked Shen Yunfang with a smile.
Shen Yunfang looked up at her and replied apologetically, "Big sister, I’m really sorry, if it were any other time, I’d be more than happy to switch bunks with you upon such a request. But my partner is injured right now, and I have to attend to him whenever he needs to get up. It’s just not that convenient for me to be on the top bunk, so I’m truly sorry." Shen Yunfang’s attitude was also very polite, the woman had approached her courteously, so she responded with a full-faced smile.
The smile on the curly-haired woman’s face stiffened, realizing she wouldn’t achieve her goal, she dropped the smile altogether, turned her face away, gripped the handle and used her feet to climb swiftly up to her bunk.
"These young people nowadays, they have no manners at all," she muttered under her breath, her voice not loud, yet audible enough for Shen Yunfang to hear.
Shen Yunfang burst into laughter, "Big sister, I see your legs are even nimbler than mine, have you practiced this before?"
The woman named Xiaojuan on the upper bunk didn’t take this as a compliment, but given her status as a leader, she couldn’t just argue noisily like an ordinary person would.
"I’m not a monkey performer," she said with a hint of displeasure.
"Big sister, you shouldn’t make that comparison. How could monkey performers match up to your agility?" Shen Yunfang pretended not to notice the dissatisfaction from above and continued with a chuckle.
The two exchanged these disjointed quips back and forth, then the carriage fell into silence.
The curly-haired woman above was so angered that her face changed color, but she couldn’t confront Shen Yunfang below. After all, Shen Yunfang hadn’t said anything rude, and her tone had been particularly friendly, making it hard for the woman to find fault.
However, she also realized that Shen Yunfang below was no pushover. Now feeling trapped, she simply shut her mouth, deciding that silence was the best response if she couldn’t out talk Shen Yunfang.
This was exactly what Shen Yunfang wanted. The woman in the upper bunk had started with nitpicking, and for the sake of a peaceful next two days and nights, Shen Yunfang knew she had to make her move first to keep the woman in check.
At around five in the afternoon, Li Hongjun woke up.
Shen Yunfang noticed the moment he stirred, "Awake? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
"No problem, everything feels fine, nothing’s uncomfortable," Li Hongjun appreciated his wife’s concern.
"That’s good then. Come on, let me help you sit up, drink some water and go to the bathroom," Shen Yunfang had already put on her slippers and picked up her water cup from the side of the small table.
The small table was crowded with items from the woman in the upper bunk, naturally pushing Shen Yunfang’s belongings to the side.
Li Hongjun sat up with the help of his wife’s hand and took a few sips of water to moisten his throat, "Alright, help me to the bathroom."
Shen Yunfang helped Li Hongjun to turn his body, placing his legs down, then slipped the prepared sandals onto his feet. Standing by his side, she exerted her arms, lifting Li Hongjun almost entirely. Of course, this was only known to the individuals involved; what others saw was Shen Yunfang effortlessly helping Li Hongjun get up.
Li Hongjun had fully accepted that his wife was strong; since he himself was stronger than her, there was no grounds for complaints.
Seeing that he was steady on his feet, Shen Yunfang supported him as they slowly walked towards the bathroom.
After coming out of the bathroom, they both washed their hands and didn’t go straight back to the compartment to lie down but rather walked back and forth in the corridor a few times.
"Are you doing okay?" Shen Yunfang was somewhat worried about Li Hongjun’s wellbeing, but she knew it was also tiring to be lying down all the time. Even while recuperating, it was important to get some exercise when appropriate.
"I’m fine, let’s walk a little more," Li Hongjun felt he was recovering quite well, and indeed he was. With the occasional supply of Essence of Life from his wife, his injuries were healing faster than the average person’s.
The two of them walked up and down the corridor for about twenty minutes before they returned to their own compartment.
"Are you hungry? Do you want to have dinner?"
"Not yet, I’m not hungry." Li Hongjun shook his head. He had eaten before getting on the train, and after boarding, he had just lain down to sleep, so his food had hardly digested.
Shen Yunfang wasn’t hungry either, "Alright, then we’ll eat when we feel hungry later."
Shen Yunfang helped him lie down again and handed him a book to read.
The woman with the small curls in the upper bunk snorted through her nose when they said they weren’t hungry. After seeing them lie down again, she climbed down from the upper bunk, picked up her lunch box from the small table, and walked away.
"What’s the matter?" Li Hongjun could tell that the woman who left was somewhat emotional.
"Nothing much. Just a leader being a leader, putting on airs," Shen Yunfang briefly explained what had happened earlier with the woman with the small curls.
Li Hongjun frowned upon hearing this. Why was it that wherever he went, there were people who were so unreasonable?
"Why the frown? We’re only going to be on this train for two days. If she doesn’t pick a fight, let’s just pretend she doesn’t exist," Shen Yunfang said nonchalantly. "Not to mention, these constant wit battles with your mother are actually beneficial. Now, when I come across any difficult person, I feel unfazed and well-equipped to handle them." Shen Yunfang realized that this was indeed true.
Li Hongjun was left speechless with frustration. There was no good way to respond to that.
As the two of them were chatting sporadically in the room, the door to their compartment was opened. The woman with the small curls came back in, holding her lunch box.
"Big sister, you finished eating quite fast," Shen Yunfang was surprised. The dining car was a little far from there, and this woman managed to return in less than ten minutes. She must eat very fast.
"I haven’t eaten yet," the woman with the small curls responded with a subtle roll of her eyes. "There are too many people in the carriage, and I don’t like to squeeze with others." She explained why she had taken her dinner back to eat instead of eating in the dining car.
Shen Yunfang nodded in understanding. Being a leader, it was understandable that she might have some airs or particular quirks.
"Comrade, could you please make some space for me to eat down here? It’s not very convenient for me to eat on the upper bunk." The woman with the small curls lifted her lunch box to indicate that she wanted to sit by the small table to eat.
Shen Yunfang thought the request was reasonable, "Sure, big sister, just wait a moment, I’ll tidy up." Shen Yunfang put down the book and began to straighten up the bed.
There wasn’t much to tidy up, just folding the towel blanket and placing it to one side, then rolling up her own bedsheet, "There you go, big sister, have a seat. Don’t be shy."
When the woman with the small curls saw that Shen Yunfang had rolled up the bedsheet, she thought Shen Yunfang was expressing disdain, not wanting her to sit on her bedsheet. "Where are you from, comrade? I hadn’t realized you were so efficient. Could you please move your water bottle? It’s just to make some space for my lunch box."
Shen Yunfang looked at the small table; there was only one water bottle belonging to her on the edge, with nine-tenths of the items on the table belonging to the woman. To still ask her to move stuff was clearly a show of bullying.
"The only bottle on the table that’s mine is this one. If you think it’s in the way, just push it forward a bit, I don’t mind," said Shen Yunfang, smiling breezily.
The woman with the small curls hadn’t expected that after her request, Shen Yunfang would simply suggest moving it forward—where all her belongings were placed. Moving the bottle forward would imply making space for her stuff, what was the difference between that and her cleaning up?
