Chapter 59 Train Adventure 1

At dinnertime, Ye Fan returned to the Chunjiang Yueming villa once again. Chen Shutong had not yet returned. Although the Chen family had made exorbitant demands, she still hoped to negotiate further. Besides, having been married into the Lin family for so many years without visiting often, she also wanted to spend a few more days keeping her grandfather company.

The next day, when Ye Fan arrived in the 1980s, Li Yaoyao was already waiting for him there.

"Ye Fan, let's go to the government compound first to meet up with Zhang Tielan."

Li Yaoyao was pushing a vintage "Permanent" brand 28-inch bicycle at the entrance, greeting him with a smile that brought genuine amusement to Ye Fan's face.

He simply could not picture how someone as delicate and gentle as Li Yaoyao would look riding such a towering bicycle.

"Let me handle it!"

Ye Fan proactively took over the bicycle. Li Yaoyao did not put up any false modesty, as the heavy 28-inch bike was indeed a bit too large for her.

Along the way, she naturally wrapped her arms around Ye Fan's waist, pressing her blushing face against his back, filled with an indescribable sense of happiness.

She did not ask for anything more; as long as she could sit in the back seat every day and hold Ye Fan like this, she would be completely content!

Had Ye Fan known about Li Yaoyao's little wish, he surely would have burst into laughter.

Before long, they arrived at the government compound. Secretary Yu had previously informed Li Yaoyao that Zhang Tielan would be waiting for them in the security office on the first floor of the government building.

They parked the bicycle and walked toward the security office, completely unaware that on the fifth floor, Mayor Li was holding a teacup and gazing out the window.

Mayor Li's expression was somewhat gloomy because he had just caught sight of his daughter hugging Ye Fan's waist on the bicycle, looking thoroughly infatuated. A complex mixture of emotions churned in his heart.

"Xiao Yu!"

He suddenly called out, and Secretary Yu instantly appeared behind him. "Mayor."

"Did you make sure to convey everything I told you to Zhang Tielan?"

Secretary Yu lowered his head and replied softly, "I told her everything according to your instructions, asking her to keep a close eye on Ye Fan and making sure to keep Ye Fan and Li Yaoyao at a safe distance."

Mayor Li grunted in acknowledgment, holding his teacup as he gazed into the distance without saying another word.

Downstairs, Ye Fan and Li Yaoyao entered the building and pushed open the door to the security office.

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow slightly, a trace of surprise crossing his face. Inside the security office, a young woman wearing a leather jacket was leaning against a desk.

She had short hair, a resolute mouth, and a stern expression. Standing around one-and-seventy centimeters tall, she looked exceptionally athletic and healthy, especially her long legs, which prompted Ye Fan to click his tongue in appreciation.

This woman gave off an aura of absolute reliability, punctuality, and robust vitality!

"Hello, my name is Zhang Tielan. You must be Mr. Ye Fan and Ms. Li Yaoyao, right?"

Zhang Tielan instinctively straightened her posture and introduced herself.

Li Yaoyao stepped forward proactively and shook her hand. "Hello, Sister Tielan! I'm Li Yaoyao, and this is Ye Fan!"

Ye Fan nodded at her and was just about to ask about the travel permits when he saw her pick up a kraft paper envelope from the desk.

"Secretary Yu asked me to give this to the two of you."

Ye Fan took the kraft paper envelope. Inside were indeed his and Li Yaoyao's travel permits, along with two train tickets and a few banknotes.

Ye Fan opened the envelope to show Li Yaoyao, joking, "It looks like your uncle still doesn't trust you—he even gave you so much money!"

"What are you talking about!"

Li Yaoyao gave him a sideways glance, then pulled Zhang Tielan over and said, "This time, Ye Fan and I are going to Shenzhen to negotiate some business. We'll be troubling Sister Tielan to look after us these next few days!"

"It's nothing, just doing my job!" The corners of Zhang Tielan's mouth twitched stiffly, clearly unaccustomed to Li Yaoyao's affectionate gestures.

Ye Fan took out the train tickets and read aloud, "Oh? Tonight's train?"

He nodded with satisfaction, thinking that Uncle Li's administrative efficiency was quite impressive.

The train would depart at 4:00 PM, travel through the night, and arrive in Shenzhen by 8:00 AM the next morning. Li Yaoyao mentioned she wanted to buy some food to bring along, and Ye Fan naturally took full responsibility for that task.

The three of them agreed to meet at the government compound at 3:00 PM and then head home separately.

Li Yaoyao had to figure out a way to bring her wooden crate, while the rest of the luggage was naturally left for Ye Fan to handle.

Fortunately, Chen Shutong's house had all kinds of rolling suitcases. He directly selected two understated ones and began packing his clothes.

"I bought a few outfits for Yaoyao before, but she said the colors were too vibrant and didn't dare wear them. It should be fine this time down in Shenzhen, right?"

Ye Fan picked up a few jackets, deliberated, and finally chose two to bring along.

At 3:30 PM, Ye Fan, Li Yaoyao, and Zhang Tielan arrived punctually at the railway station.

The train station was quite dilapidated, and the corners of the walls reeked faintly of urine. Without needing to buy tickets, the three of them went straight into the queue leading to the waiting hall.

While waiting in line, Ye Fan actually saw someone using a razor blade to slit a passenger's bag. He shook his head and chose not to intervene.

It wasn't that he didn't want to help, but rather that it was impossible to manage everything. Public security in this era was simply like this; without a surveillance network, petty thieves could just run away, and it was impossible to catch them all.

Just like the local hoodlum Pili Liu who had tried to collect "management fees" from Li Yaoyao earlier—acting so arrogant right in the city—it was easy to imagine the state of the current public security environment.

"No wonder there's going to be a severe crackdown in a couple of years!"

Ye Fan muttered under his breath, growing even more vigilant regarding their personal belongings.

The three of them carefully boarded the train. The sleeper berths prepared by Li Yaoyao's father were three tiers high, with six people per compartment, which already counted as a luxury cabin.

The compartment was still empty. Ye Fan happily said, "How about we exchange tickets with someone later so the two of us can sleep on the top tier?"

He had already planned it out: if he and Li Yaoyao slept on the top tier, it would be convenient for exchanging glances and whispering without worrying about other people seeing. Just as Li Yaoyao was hesitating whether the third tier was too high, Zhang Tielan spoke up: "Mr. Ye, it's better to stick to the seats assigned on the tickets. You sleep on the top tier, let younger sister Yaoyao sleep in the middle, and I'll take the bottom bunk!"

Ye Fan frowned. This Zhang Tielan had been giving him the cold shoulder all along, only speaking to Li Yaoyao, so why did she suddenly adopt such a commanding tone?

Just as he was about to retort, he felt his hand being grasped by Li Yaoyao.

"Brother Ye Fan, let's just do as Sister Tielan says! She must have a good reason for arranging it this way!"

Her voice was gentle, and she blinked at him as if saying, "You've been wronged here, but once we get to Shenzhen, I'll definitely make it up to you."

Ye Fan smiled knowingly and nodded at Zhang Tielan, considering it his consent to her arrangement.

However, Zhang Tielan's face grew cold.

She wasn't blind; she had clearly seen Li Yaoyao taking the initiative to hold Ye Fan's hand!

Thinking of Secretary Yu's parting instructions before they left, she instantly felt the heavy weight of her responsibility and the immense difficulty of the task!

The three of them placed their luggage on the overhead racks. Li Yaoyao sat down on Zhang Tielan's bunk, and just as Ye Fan was about to sit down right next to her, Zhang Tielan stepped forward in a flash, inserting herself between the two of them to block them from sitting close together.

Ye Fan was left speechless. Feeling that Zhang Tielan was deliberately shielding Li Yaoyao to keep him away, a fresh wave of annoyance rose in his chest.

Just as he sat down on the opposite bunk, a middle-aged man walked into the compartment.

The man's hair was meticulously combed, he wore an old-fashioned suit, and he carried a briefcase in one hand and a large box in the other.

"Young brother, give me a hand here!"

The middle-aged man placed his briefcase on the bed and hoisted the box, speaking up.

With no other choice, Ye Fan stood up again and helped lift the man's box onto the overhead luggage rack.

"This box is certainly heavy!" Ye Fan made casual small talk. Once the luggage was stowed, the middle-aged man checked the ticket in his hand and sat down directly across from Li Yaoyao.

Ye Fan was rendered speechless once more. Well, so much for sitting across from Li Yaoyao either.

After sitting down, the middle-aged man carefully wedged his briefcase against the side of the compartment, pulled a business card from his pocket, and said, "Why don't you young folks sit by me? I brought some samples and plan to test the market in Shenzhen. Where are you heading?"

"We're going to Shenzhen too!" Ye Fan replied, sitting down next to him and taking the business card to examine it.

Zhang Chunxun, Professor in the Department of Electronics at Binjiang Provincial University.

Oh? A high-level intellectual!

Ye Fan couldn't help raising his head to look the man over once more.