Chapter 114

Shi Tingyu, afraid that Lijian was uneasy due to the crowd’s attention, reached out and stroked Lijian’s head.

Lu Weiguo said, “Give Lijian to me. Let’s quickly get into the compartment.”

Shi Tingyu handed the leash over to Lu Weiguo.

With Lijian now in Lu Weiguo’s hands, although people had filters for Lu Weiguo’s military attire, they didn’t dare to approach further.

As Shi Tingyu and Lu Weiguo walked away with Lijian, the discussions around them continued.

Those who hadn’t seen the comic asked those who had, “Is this dog famous?”

Indeed, someone had brought the comic along to pass the time on the train and immediately took it out to show them.

“Here, it’s the dog from this comic.”

The comic shown was from the second story, where the dog’s appearance more closely resembled Lijian’s current size, especially its distinctive right front leg, recognizable to those who had seen it.

“Really…”

The person looked at it with considerable interest.

At that moment, people seeing characters from the comic were almost like modern-day people seeing movie stars.

Discussions ensued.

“Just now, that dog was Zhuifeng. Do you think that soldier and the lady could be the authors of this comic?”

Someone shook their head. “I don’t think the soldier could be.”

Another person said, “The lady looks like she could be an artist, she’s pretty and has style.”

Although people didn’t understand the connection between being pretty and being an artist, they agreed that the lady was more likely the author.

“It must be the lady.” The person who showed the comic said, “The author’s name on this is Shi Tingyu, and Shi Tingyu sounds like a woman’s name.”

People nodded in agreement.

Shi Tingyu and the others entered the compartment, closed the door, and shut out the noisy voices outside.

Seeing that Captain Lu and his wife had entered, the young soldier proposed to take his leave.

When Captain Lu was about to go to meet his wife, he checked the luggage here.

Seeing the young soldier about to leave, Shi Tingyu quickly stopped him and took out two European-style bread rolls from her canvas bag and handed them to him.

“These are baked by myself, they’re nothing special. You came early to send us off, probably without breakfast. Take these to fill your stomach.”

The young soldier rubbed his head embarrassedly and said, “Sister-in-law, it’s okay. I’ll go to the mess hall later.”

Lu Weiguo said, “Just take them. If you go back to the camp now, there won’t be any breakfast left in the mess hall.”

Hearing this, the young soldier gratefully accepted the bread rolls from Shi Tingyu.

After the young soldier left, Shi Tingyu finally relaxed, and now it was completely quiet.

Lu Weiguo said, “You got up early this morning. Why don’t you sleep here for a while? I’ll keep watch.”

Shi Tingyu had never been on such a train before and didn’t know how powerful it was.

Once the train started, the broadcast in the compartment would be turned on, and the sound would be loud, playing all day from six in the morning.

If you turned it off, the people in the same compartment would scold you when they came out.

So if she wanted to sleep, she had to do it while the train was still quiet.

Shi Tingyu was indeed a little sleepy and lay down on the lower bunk.

There were eleven compartments in one train car, and the entrance to their compartment was now closed.

Seeing his wife lying down, Lu Weiguo took off Lijian’s muzzle.

Lijian was well-behaved and didn’t bark, obediently lying down beside the bed.

From outside the compartment came occasional sounds of passengers boarding, various calls, and the sound of luggage being moved.

After sleeping for a while, Shi Tingyu couldn’t sleep anymore.

The train had started, and the broadcast had indeed started playing loudly.

After about an hour, Lu Weiguo said, “I’ll go to the restroom now. If we’re late, it’ll be dirty, and there won’t be any water later.”

Upon hearing this, Shi Tingyu hurried to go.

Lu Weiguo also got up, put the muzzle back on Lijian, and tied it inside the compartment. The train was more chaotic now, especially during festivals, when there were often pickpockets and swindlers.

Shi Tingyu was too pretty, and Lu Weiguo couldn’t trust her to go alone to the restroom, so he went along with her.

Their train car had one restroom, unisex. Their compartment was in the middle, and after passing five or six compartments, they arrived.

Even though they had come relatively early, there was still a smell in the restroom.

If there’s no water later, and waste can’t be flushed away, you can imagine the smell by then.

After Shi Tingyu finished using the restroom, she quickly came out.

Lu Weiguo also went in for a moment.

Back in the compartment, Lijian wagged its tail eagerly.

Shi Tingyu hesitated and asked, “Should we take Lijian with us to the restroom again?”

Lu Weiguo glanced at Lijian and decided to take it out.

Their sleeper compartment was considered decent; some people sat in the cargo compartment where the restroom was just a simple wooden barrel with a hole underneath, surrounded by a ragged mat and wooden boards, placed in the corner of the large train compartment.

When using the restroom, except for the makeshift screen of mats and boards, it was practically under everyone’s gaze. So people ate less and drank less water on the train.

After this restroom experience, Shi Tingyu ate very little.

Lu Weiguo couldn’t persuade her otherwise.

They spent the day amid the noisy broadcast, and when it was time to sleep at night, the broadcast finally stopped. Shi Tingyu felt a moment of peace.

After a quick wash-up, Shi Tingyu went to sleep.

Lu Weiguo slept on the lower bunk on the other side.

The compartment door was bolted, Lijian was with them, and Lu Weiguo was in military attire, so most people wouldn’t dare to target them.

Therefore, Lu Weiguo didn’t keep watch.

Around three in the morning, their compartment door was knocked on.

The knock was urgent.

Lu Weiguo’s eyes snapped open.

By then, Lijian had already reached the compartment door, ears pricked, emitting a low growl from its throat.

Lu Weiguo glanced at Shi Tingyu, saw her furrow her brow, lightly patted her back twice, and whispered, “It’s okay, go back to sleep.”

Then he went to the door and asked in a low voice, “Who is it?”

Outside the compartment, it was the voice of a train attendant. “Excuse me, are Comrade Lu and Comrade Shi here? We need your help with something.”

Outside the door was noisy, and the speaker’s voice was loud. Because of the knocking, people from other compartments also peeked out.

Shi Tingyu sat up from her bunk, now quite awake.

Seeing her awake, Lu Weiguo told her to get dressed first.

Once Shi Tingyu had put on her clothes, Lu Weiguo opened the compartment door.

As soon as the door opened, the group standing there saw Lijian without its muzzle inside the compartment.

The person speaking at the door was a uniformed train attendant, accompanied by the young man who had called Lijian “Zhuifeng” in the morning.

The attendant said, “Sorry to disturb your rest, Comrades. Someone’s money has been stolen on the train, and we can’t find the thief. This young man Comrade Li, here says your dog is a military dog. Could you help us look around?”