The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

The high-speed train sped smoothly along the tracks, and the early autumn scenery of the north outside the window turned into flowing, blurry patches of color.

Ye Shu sat in the aisle seat, leaning slightly to the side to give more space to the person sitting inside. And the person sitting inside, perched on his shoulder, was Xia Qing.

Unlike the usually bold and decisive Xia Qing, she leaned on his shoulder with her eyes closed, her brows furrowed slightly, and her lips pale. Even on the relatively smooth high-speed train, her complexion was still not good, revealing a suppressed weariness and discomfort.

Ye Shu turned his head slightly and could see her face, which looked somewhat fragile at that moment, so close to him, and couldn't help but feel a little heartache.

This heartache began early this morning when the two of them boarded that old bus to the train station.

Because Ye Shu's hometown is a small county town, there's no way there's a high-speed rail. To take the high-speed rail, you need to go to the bus station first and then take a bus for more than three hours to the provincial capital.

The bus looked quite old; compared to other buses, it was practically an old man.

This old car bounces every five steps and sways every six steps, like riding a roller coaster.

Ye Shu was fine, feeling quite comfortable as he swayed around. But he soon noticed that Xia Qing, who was sitting next to him, was clearly not in a good mood.

At first, she forced herself to look out the window, but as the car continued to sway, her back gradually straightened, her fingers unconsciously gripped the back of the seat in front of her, her face slowly turned pale, and her breathing seemed to be suppressed.

Ye Shu tentatively asked:

"Are you carsick?"

Xia Qing only managed a short "hmm" through her tightly clenched teeth before falling silent, as if saying another word would only intensify the churning sensation within her.

He frantically tried to check his backpack for plastic bags or anything like that, only to find he hadn't prepared anything at all.

If I had known she would get carsick, I should have bought some motion sickness medicine yesterday.

Ye Shu felt a little regretful and guilty, and could only worry anxiously, watching her suffer.

Xia Qing was quite brave; she managed to hold it in the whole journey and thankfully didn't throw up in the car.

He thought that switching to the smooth and fast high-speed train would make things much better, but Xia Qing seemed to still be feeling carsick, or perhaps it was just her constitution, as she was still a little uncomfortable. As soon as she got on the train, she leaned against him and closed her eyes to rest, her brows never fully relaxed.

Ye Shu tried to stay still so that she could lean against him more comfortably.

Looking at Xia Qing's vulnerable appearance, now devoid of all her sharpness, he sighed softly, his breath ruffling a few stray hairs on her forehead.

Xia Qing, who was leaning on his shoulder, seemed to sense the slight movement. Her eyelashes fluttered a few times, and she slowly opened her eyes.

Those eyes, which always shone with a radiant light, were now somewhat hazy and less sharp due to her discomfort. She slightly raised her head to look at Ye Shu, her voice still weak:

"Are you... tired from being carried around? I'll get up now."

"It's okay, lean against me, it'll make you more comfortable."

Ye Shu quickly stopped him. He didn't even realize how gentle his voice was, as if he was afraid that if he raised his voice even slightly, he might shatter the person on his shoulder.

He wanted to distract her, hoping it would make her feel better, so he gave a mischievous smile and said:

"I just suddenly remembered you this morning..."

Before he could finish speaking, he saw Xia Qing, who was leaning on his shoulder, suddenly open her eyes wide. Her face, which had been pale from motion sickness, suddenly flushed with a suspicious blush.

Although she was still feeling unwell, she forced herself to be strong and glared at Ye Shu, her eyes still filled with the same threatening warning:

"Don't tell!"

Xia Qing stretched out her hand, pointed her finger at Ye Shu's mouth, and stared wide-eyed:

"Keep this a secret! Do you hear me? Don't tell anyone!"

She paused, seemingly feeling the scope wasn't clear enough, and then added through gritted teeth:

"Especially Zhi Qiu! Absolutely, absolutely, we can't let her know!"

Ye Shu couldn't help but laugh at her cat-like reaction, but she also found it kind of cute to see her putting on a fierce act despite her discomfort.

He suppressed a laugh, nodded seriously, and went along with what she said:

"Okay, I'll keep it a secret and won't tell anyone."

"Don't even mention it! If you dare utter a single word, I'll... I'll..."

She hesitated for a while, probably because she was carsick and her mind couldn't process anything. In the end, she just glared at him again, leaned back on his shoulder, and muttered something under her breath:

"...Just remember it."

Ye Shu adjusted her posture to make her lean more securely against the railing, then turned her gaze back to the fleeting scenery outside the window, her thoughts drifting back to the courtyard that morning along the railway tracks.

Around 5 a.m., Ye Shu was awakened by the "rolling" sound of a rolling pin.

He got up from the sofa; he hadn't slept well that night. He'd been startled awake by Xia Qing in the first half of the night, and after explaining himself, he spent ages trying to explain to her the classic, utterly classic question: "Who is she? Where is she?"

He finally managed to fall asleep again, but then that beautiful woman from Chu chased him for half the night, which exhausted him.

Struggling to sit up, I stretched and moved my stiff neck a bit before sleepily following the sound toward the kitchen.

As soon as I arrived at the kitchen door, I saw my aunt and dad sitting inside, making dumplings by the light of the kitchen ceiling light—one rolling out the dough, the other filling the filling.

On the side, several rows of plump, white dumplings were already neatly arranged.

"Auntie, why are you up so early?"

Ye Shu rubbed her eyes, her voice still hoarse from just waking up:

"No need for that. We can just grab something to eat on the way, or buy something at the station."

Aunt Ye Shu didn't even look up. She casually pinched a dumpling twice with her fingers, and it instantly took shape. She placed it on the steamer lid and said:

"What's the trouble? It's called 'dumplings before departure, noodles upon arrival.' Eating dumplings made at home before your journey ensures a safe and smooth trip. Don't you want peace of mind at home while you're away?"

Ye Shu felt a warmth in his heart from his family's concern, but he still couldn't resist his habitual playful grin and said:

"Then, Auntie, I'd like to eat the 'Braised Pork Knuckle Before the Bus', is that alright?"

"You look like a giant pork knuckle to me!"

Aunt Ye Shu kept working, chuckled and scolded him, without even glancing at him:

"Go wash your face and brush your teeth, stop causing trouble here. We'll call you when the dumplings are ready."

Sitting beside him, Ye Shu's father glanced at his grinning son and slowly said:

"Coming here first thing in the morning to get scolded, does that feel good? You have a big radish head, you're destined to be beaten."

After saying that, he finished rolling out a sheet of dough, put down the rolling pin, and instinctively reached into his shirt pocket with his other hand.

Just as she took out the cigarette, Aunt Ye Shu's voice rang out:

"Why are you smoking while I'm cooking? What if the ash falls in? Can't you even stand it for a little while?"

Ye Shu's father paused in his hand as he reached for his cigarette, his expression remaining unchanged. He simply said "Oh," then stuffed the cigarette pack he had just taken out back into his pocket. He picked up the rolling pin again and buried himself in rolling out the next dough sheet, remaining silent and not daring to argue.

[Because I was warned that I was padding the word count, I won't include a list of thank-you notes here. However, the author's note can only be up to 300 words, so I won't thank everyone individually, but I have seen each and every one of you. I'm truly sorry, and please bear with me.]