sbdcsierra Chapter 121 Going to the Capital to See Her
Chapter 121 Going to the Capital to See Her
That night, they all drank quite a bit, whether out of reluctance to part or to celebrate the imminent end of their university life, all three felt a mix of emotions. Compared to the uncertainty about their future before graduation, they now seemed to have good plans, but the impending separation only added to their anxieties about the future.
They didn't leave until the barbecue stalls on the street gradually shut down and closed their doors, still feeling quite unsatisfied. Everyone knew that they didn't know when they would be able to get together again.
Jian Zheng drank the most. He had been under a lot of pressure lately, and he finally got together with his buddies and had a chance to let loose. He ended up drinking too much without them holding him back.
Zhang Qian looked at Jian Zheng, who was already unsteady on his feet and leaning slumped against Wang Jie's shoulder, and suggested, "Why don't you two stay in my dorm tonight instead of going back to the city?"
Wang Jie replied, "That's for the best. Anyway, I can't handle him by myself. If he goes home like this, his aunt will worry."
He thought for a moment and then asked, "I noticed your dorm room isn't very big. Can the three of us fit in?"
Zhang Qian said, "Let's go, there's always a way. Let's go back to the dormitory first."
The barbecue stall was just outside the west gate of the school. It wasn't far from Zhang Qian's dormitory, and Jian Zheng had already vomited twice along the way.
Zhang Qian said, "It's better to throw up outside than to go back to the dorm and bother others."
Wang Jie responded, "His drinking manners are not bad. He went to sleep after throwing up, so he didn't bother anyone."
After entering the room, Zhang Qian made the bed and helped Wang Jie settle Jian Zheng into it. Then, pointing to the sofa, he said, "You can make do with sleeping on the sofa tonight."
Wang Jie looked around the room and saw a single bed, a two-seater sofa, a desk, a washbasin stand, and a wooden box against the wall. This was all the room's belongings.
Wang Jie asked, "So where will you sleep?"
Zhang Qian found a clean sheet and said, "You can use this sheet as a makeshift blanket; it's clean."
When Wang Jie asked, he replied, "I can go to the lab. Qiu Chunliang has to catch the train at five in the morning, and I can keep an eye on things for him until he goes to work."
Wang Jie took the sheet and placed it on the sofa. "Where can I make a phone call? I'll call Jian Zheng's family and let them know that they've been busy lately, so that Auntie won't worry."
"Yes, you're so thoughtful. It's so late, your grandfather probably can't tell him now."
"When I left home, my grandfather knew I was at school, so it was okay if I didn't go home that night."
"There's a public phone up ahead. Come on, I'll take you there to make a call," Zhang Qian said, and started walking out.
"Zhang Qian, may I use your computer for a moment?" Wang Jie asked, seeing the computer on the desk. "This computer can access the internet, right?"
Zhang Qian said, "Go ahead and use it. The password is six 6s. You can access the internet, but the speed is a bit slow. Online gaming might not be very smooth."
"I don't play games, I just want to check my email."
The two went out the door. Zhang Qian walked in front, and Wang Jie followed behind, asking softly, "Are you going straight to work tomorrow morning?"
"Okay, go straight to work," Zhang Qian replied. "Just remember to close the door when you leave tomorrow, I brought the key."
When Wang Jie returned to the dormitory after making the call, Jian Zheng was already snoring loudly. It seemed that he had vomited on the way and wouldn't cause any more trouble.
Counting the days, Wang Jie figured he should have received a reply by now after sending the email to the embassy to schedule his visa interview. He turned on his computer, logged into his email, and sure enough, there was a pleasant surprise: the embassy's visa section had replied, scheduling the interview for October 8th. Wang Jie checked the dates; it was exactly this Friday. He was very satisfied with the timing. After the interview on Friday morning, he could see Ruoruo in the afternoon. Then there were Saturday and Sunday, two days off, and Ruoruo shouldn't have classes, meaning they could spend two whole days together. Thinking about it, a happy smile crept onto Wang Jie's lips.
Wang Jie had heard that train tickets to Beijing were hard to come by, and Jian Zheng had repeatedly offered to help if needed. Wang Jie knew that Jian Zheng probably wanted his mother to help, but Wang Jie didn't want to trouble his aunt any further; she already had enough troubles lately.
It takes 21 hours to travel from Xichuan to Beijing by train, so he needs to buy a train ticket for October 7th at the latest to ensure he can make it to the visa interview on the morning of the 8th.
He glanced at the time; it was already past midnight. He quickly left a note for Jian Zheng: "I'm leaving now. Zhang Qian has also gone to work. When you leave, just slam the door shut."
Wang Jie went to the bicycle shed, took his bicycle, and rode directly to the train station in the city center...
Upon arriving at the train station and finding the ticket counter, he was quite surprised by what he saw. There were already at least fifty people in line. Had they all come to queue up in the middle of the night? This train departed from Haicheng, and Xichuan City is a major station on the Beijing-Shanghai line, so usually some seats are reserved.
Wang Jie estimated the number of people ahead of him and thought he should be able to buy a ticket today. If not, he would have to consider buying a sleeper ticket.
He spread the two magazines he was holding on the empty space at the end of the line, then sat down, hugged his knees, and buried his head in his arms. At this moment, the alcohol began to take effect, and he felt dizzy and drifted off to sleep.
Suddenly, a commotion arose in the crowd, instantly waking him up. The people who had been sleeping haphazardly on the ground had all stood up, and he quickly got up and stood properly as well. At this moment, he noticed that dozens more people had lined up behind him.
As the crowd surged forward, he had to press himself tightly against the woman in front of him. He tried to straighten his back and lean back as far as possible to keep his distance from her. However, the whole line was pushing forward, and he dared not stray too far from the person in front of him, fearing being cut in line or even more so, being pushed out of the line.
Just as it was about to be Wang Jie's turn in line, a staff member came out of the ticket window and announced to the crowd behind, "Please stop queuing; there are only ten tickets left." Wang Jie quickly calculated in his mind that there were still five people ahead of him, and he worried that if each of them bought two tickets, he might not be able to get one. He silently hoped that at least one person would buy only one ticket.
As a result, the person at the very front of the line bought three tickets, which dampened Wang Jie's spirits. The next three people each bought two tickets. When it was the person in front of Wang Jie's turn, they needed to buy two tickets, but there was only one ticket left. Seeing this, the person shook their head helplessly and left disappointed.
Fortunately, the last ticket landed in Wang Jie's hands, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
After buying the tickets, Wang Jie couldn't wait to tell Zhou Yanruo the good news, as they had agreed beforehand. But he couldn't do so yet, because it was still early, and Zhou Yanruo should be on her way to school. The whole morning wouldn't work; he knew Zhou Yanruo's personality and knew this news might distract her for the entire morning, definitely affecting her studies. Noon would be best, during lunchtime. Yes, he'd text her at noon, ensuring she had time to reply without interfering with her morning classes. Of course, it would be even better if she called back, then he could tell her the good news in person.