Restart life

Chapter 57 0056 [Yu Hua, stop right there!]

It will be another three months before China's railways undergo their fifth major speed increase.

It takes Chen Guiliang at least 45 hours to travel from Chengdu to Shanghai by train. Forget about getting a hard seat; you'd be living the life of a standing person.

There's no need for airplanes either.

Chen Guiliang bought a sleeper ticket and arrived just in time for the competition the next day.

A standard sleeper berth has four berths.

But only two people stayed at the starting station: Chen Guiliang and a middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man took off his coat, revealing a wool sweater underneath. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, had a briefcase on his suitcase, and appeared quite refined; he seemed to be going on a business trip.

"Hello."

"Hello."

They nodded to each other in greeting, then went to bed.

Chen Guiliang took out his MP3 player and listened to songs downloaded by Bian Guanyue. He fell asleep shortly afterward.

When I woke up again, it was almost evening.

The middle-aged man asked, "Young man, are you going to the dining car for a meal?"

"Together." Chen Guiliang rolled out of bed.

The middle-aged man actually planned to go to the dining car himself and ask Chen Guiliang to watch his luggage. He guessed that Chen Guiliang was a student and should be reliable.

Thinking about it carefully, the soft sleeper was relatively safe, so the middle-aged man stopped worrying about his suitcase and just took his briefcase to eat.

Moreover, he stood at the door waiting for Chen Guiliang to leave together.

Chen Guiliang took out four eggs and handed two to the middle-aged man.

My aunt boiled 20 eggs, which she couldn't possibly eat all by herself.

"Thank you," the middle-aged man said, taking the eggs. "Young man, are you going on a trip during your winter break?"

Chen Guiliang gave an ambiguous answer: "More or less. Is Uncle on a business trip?"

"Yes, on a business trip," the middle-aged man replied casually.

The dining car is right next to the sleeper car.

There weren't many people here, and most of the tables were empty.

Chen Guiliang ordered a dish at random, but the taste was really bad, so he could only swallow it whole.

He hadn't eaten more than a few bites when he heard someone nearby making a phone call: "Hello, Mom... um, I'm eating in the dining car, it tastes awful... it's nothing, don't worry... oh dear, where did all these bad people come from... okay, okay, I'm hanging up, goodbye!"

His accent is very strong, unique in Sichuan, and even people from other provinces can tell it.

Chen Guiliang carried the food over and asked, "Hey classmate, are you from Longdu?"

This is a fairly pretty girl, with long hair reaching her waist and a slightly thin figure.

Hearing Chen Guiliang's hometown accent and seeing his face clearly, she completely lowered her guard: "Yes."

"Go to Shanghai?" Chen Guiliang asked.

The girl retorted, "New Concept English?"

Chen Guiliang announced his race number: "I am A098."

“I’m A099,” the girl said with surprise, standing up and shaking hands. “My name is Milan, from Shuguang (No. 2 Middle School).

Chen Guiliang introduced himself: "Chen Guiliang, Fu Er Middle School."

Milan was particularly excited when she met a fellow townsman who was also participating in the New Concept Writing Competition: "When I get back from the competition, I'll treat you to a hot pot of rabbit. The food on the train was awful."

Before Chen Guiliang could agree, another boy ran up: "You guys were talking about New Concept English? I want to go too!"

This accent is from Rongcheng, similar to how Bian Guanyue speaks.

The boy continued, "My name is Luo Jin, from Rongcheng No. 12 Middle School, and my contestant number is A097."

It's normal for the three of them to run into each other.

This year, a lot of entries from Sichuan Province participated in the semi-finals. Later, the book "Selected Winning Works of the New Concept Writing Competition" was published, and 16 articles from Sichuan (Group A + Group B) were selected.

That accounts for 8% of the total number of articles!

Most of these athletes from Sichuan are on this train.

After exchanging introductions, Luo Jin asked Chen Guiliang, "Guo Xiaosi is your schoolmate, have you met him?"

"I've met you, but we're not close," Chen Guiliang said.

Milan revealed some inside information: "I was browsing the Sprouts forum the other day, and several former first-prize winners said they wanted to come to the competition to help out. Who knows, we might even see Guo Xiaosi and Zhang Yueran!"

Chen Guiliang offered a humanitarian warning: "Girls, be careful, some men are just looking to hook up with you."

"Tricking someone into having sex?" Milan didn't understand.

Chen Guiliang explained, "Taking advantage of his seniority and under the guise of helping, he won over the female contestants. The two of them, alone in a room, went to discuss literature, but their ultimate goal was to have sex."

Milan's eyes widened: "Is that so?"

Luo Jin asked in surprise, "Who told you that?"

"Anyway, just be careful." Chen Guiliang stopped discussing the topic.

After chatting for an hour and exchanging QQ numbers, they went back to rest and agreed to meet again in the dining car the next morning.

Chen Guiliang's mobile phone doesn't work here.

The next day at noon, they encountered three more contestants from the same school—Dafu No. 1 Middle School.

All three contestants were male and stayed in the same hard sleeper compartment, not far from Chen Guiliang's soft sleeper compartment.

On the afternoon of the third day, the train arrived at its destination.

Shanghai West Railway Station.

The hotel recommended by the event organizers is Qingsongcheng, which is about 8 kilometers away from the West Railway Station.

Chen Guiliang wanted to take a taxi for convenience, but the other five wanted to experience the Shanghai subway. They went to ask a staff member at the train station and learned that the Shanghai West Railway Station didn't yet have a subway line.

So they started from Shanghai West Railway Station, took a train to Shanghai Railway Station, and then transferred to the subway to reach their destination. They didn't even know how to buy tickets, feeling like country bumpkins entering the city, and even a little self-conscious.

Chen Guiliang, who took the initiative to buy tickets, became the de facto leader, with the other four men and one woman following closely behind.

Lei Yujie, from Dafu City, asked, "Chen Guiliang, have you been to Shanghai before?"

Chen Guiliang casually made up a story: "I asked on the Mengya Forum how to take the subway."

"You've thought things through very well," Luo Jin praised.

After a short wait, the subway arrived.

The group pretended to be calm as they boarded the train, but their eyes darted around the carriage, appearing both reserved and excited.

This is Shanghai!
This is the subway!
The things they had only seen in movies and novels finally appeared before their eyes, and they felt as if they were on a pilgrimage.

Milan switched to Mandarin and whispered to Chen Guiliang, "I want to study here. Even if I don't get first prize, I'll still apply to a school in Shanghai!"

"I wish you success," Chen Guiliang said with a smile.

Chen Xiaoping, from Dafu City, asked, "Which city do you think is more developed, Shanghai or Beijing?"

His classmate Li Zhen said, "It should be Shanghai."

“I think Beijing is better,” Luo Jin said. “I plan to apply to a school in Beijing.”

Milan asked Chen Guiliang, "What about you? Which city are you planning to go to for university? If you also apply to a university in Shanghai, we can go back to Shanghai together during winter and summer vacations."

"I don't care," Chen Guiliang said honestly.

As they were talking, the subway started moving.

Everyone quieted down and experienced the magic of the subway.

Every vibration and sound seemed to carry the flavor of an international metropolis, exciting young people from remote areas.

Only Chen Guiliang took out his MP3 player to listen to music.

When the subway arrives, ask for directions and walk.

It was raining all day, and everyone bought an umbrella as soon as they got off at the train station.

Upon arriving at the lobby of the Qingsongcheng Hotel, the sign for the New Concept Writing Competition could be seen from afar.

There were two tables set up there; participants needed to go over to register, and the staff would guide them through the check-in process. Of course, they had to pay for their own accommodation.

Apart from Hu Weishi, who was a newcomer to the project, the others who were responsible for registration and reception were all previous award winners who volunteered to help.

For example, Chen Jiayong, who was admitted to Peking University through the first round of admission without examination, is chatting with Hu Weishi at this moment.

The six of them headed straight for the New Concept Writing Competition sign. Chen Jiayong immediately recognized them: "Are you contestants? This way, please."

Chen Guiliang took out his ID card and invitation letter, shook hands with Chen Jiayong and said, "Hello."

"Hello," Chen Jiayong said with a smile.

The other five people appeared more reserved, greeting each other cautiously.

They couldn't figure out Chen Jiayong's identity and thought he was one of the editors of "Mengya" magazine.

Chen Jiayong led them to the hotel reception to check in. Chen Guiliang chose to share a room with Luo Jin. The remaining three men and one woman could not be evenly divided, so they could choose to stay alone or share a room with a stranger of the same sex.

I chose a room number, paid the accommodation fee, and then went to register.

The registration was handled by two other previous award winners.

Hu Weishi glanced at the registered names and immediately became enthusiastic: "You're Chen Guiliang? I called you for the semi-finals."

Chen Guiliang shook hands with a smile: "I thought Sister Weishi was a middle-aged woman, but I didn't expect her to be so young and beautiful."

That's just a polite remark, of course.

Hu Weishi was quite pleased: "Are all of you from Longdu so good at talking? In the past, all the other contestants followed Han Han and called me 'boss,' but only Guo Xiaosi called me 'sister Weishi.'"

"Perhaps it's because I feel more comfortable with you," Chen Guiliang replied.

The other five people also came to register. When they saw Chen Guiliang chatting with the editor, they were surprised and particularly envious.

"Yu Hua, Yu Hua, I've seen his picture!"

Milan let out a low, excited shout.

Everyone immediately turned around and saw Yu Hua wearing a down jacket, chatting and laughing with four or five people as they walked toward the elevator.

Chen Guiliang suddenly shouted, "Yu Hua, stop right there!"

Hearing the shout, Yu Hua turned around in confusion, and the other writers also stopped.

Chen Guiliang dragged his suitcase over, unzipped the side of the bag, and took out a copy of "To Live" and a marker: "Teacher Yu, my cousin is a big fan of yours. She cried and begged me to get your autograph."

Yu Hua was both amused and exasperated, and took the book and pen.

Chen Guiliang continued to make requests: "My cousin's name is Tao Xue. She is still in her first year of high school. I hope Teacher Yu can write a couple of words of blessing."

"Ear pottery, right?" Yu Hua turned to the title page.

Chen Guiliang said, "Yes. The snow of falling."

Yu Hua quickly wrote a few lines: Wishing Tao Xue happiness every day and academic progress! —Yu Hua

When returning the book and pen to Chen Guiliang, Yu Hua asked, "Why didn't you ask me for an autograph? Don't you like my book?"

Chen Guiliang said, "I don't like it; it's uncomfortable to look at."

"Haha, many people say they feel unwell," Yu Hua said smugly.

"Goodbye, teachers."

Chen Guiliang waved and dragged his suitcase back, not recognizing any of the other writers.

The group of people who came from Sichuan were completely dumbfounded.

Is it still possible to ask for an autograph like this?

Just now, Chen Guiliang seemed to have shouted, "Yu Hua, stop!"

Not only did they address him by his first name, but they also used a commanding tone.

(End of this chapter)