Chapter 4: The Sisters

At noon that day, Wang Can dragged his suitcase as he left his old, dilapidated apartment. Although university registration was not until the following day, the train journey from Bincheng to Shenhai took twenty-five hours, so he had to leave now.

The woman, Xia Kewei, had stomped off in her high heels immediately after giving her instructions, showing absolutely no intention of sharing the hardships of the journey with Wang Can. Wang Can could do nothing about it; after all, she was on his father’s payroll.

The train station was a surging sea of people, with families of three visible everywhere. As it was the start of the academic season, many parents were still uneasy about sending their children off on long journeys alone, even though they were now grown.

"Neng-ge! Neng-ge!"

Someone in the waiting room shouted out Wang Can’s high school nickname. The nickname "Neng-ge" (Brother Neng) originated from the Chinese pinyin for "Can," which sounds like the English word "can."

Looking toward the sound, he saw a fair-skinned, sturdy young man with the currently trendy long bangs. When he smiled, his small eyes narrowed into two slits. This was Wang Can’s best friend, Qiao Huayang, nicknamed "Yang-zai."

Qiao Huayang’s parents had originally intended to see him off, but fearing that Wang Can would be lonely traveling by himself, Qiao had insisted on accompanying his friend. Upon learning of the poverty in Wang Can’s household, his parents had reluctantly agreed.

"I told you, don't call me that nickname now that high school is over." Wang Can didn't care for the name; the stuttering "Brother Neng" from a certain TV series had left too deep an impression.

Qiao Huayang came jogging over, dragging a mountain of luggage, and was already panting before he even reached Wang Can. Seeing him in such a state, Wang Can clicked his tongue and teased, "Young man, your kidneys must be in bad shape."

Qiao Huayang was outraged. "Bullshit! My kidneys are in perfect condition. I don't even fast-forward through action movies."

"Damn? Color me impressed." Wang Can gave a thumbs-up, conceding defeat.

After some hassle, the two finally reached their sleeper car, and as it turned out, both had lower berths. Wang Can’s luggage was simple—just one suitcase. He shoved it under the bed and flopped onto the mattress with a thud, letting out a groan of relief. He had drunk too much the night before, and having been riled up by Xia Kewei that morning, he hadn't rested well at all.

Qiao Huayang, who was slowly settling his luggage, looked back after hearing the noise and said with a hint of awe, "Neng-ge, train, sleeper berth, narrow space, strangers, overnight—aren't you excited? How can you even sleep?"

"Watch fewer action movies. Why would I be excited about being in a bunk with a grown man like you?"

"What if there are pretty girls?"

"Or it could be a tough-looking lady with smelly feet."

"Damn, stop ruining my expectations, will you?"

By the time Qiao Huayang had finally finished fussing over his things, the hard-sleeper car was becoming lively, with passengers trailing their luggage back and forth.

"Excuse me, would you mind if we put our luggage under your bed?" A melodious voice rang out suddenly.

Wang Can and Qiao Huayang looked up in unison to see a pair of young women wearing identical white T-shirts and gray pleated skirts, dragging matching pink suitcases. Perhaps heaven had heard Qiao Huayang’s earnest prayers; the girls were not only beautiful but were bona fide twins. Aside from the slight difference in hair length, their identical almond-shaped eyes and the little dimples at the corners of their mouths made it obvious to anyone that they were related. This "multiplied by two" beauty was quite visually striking.

"Oh, sure, of course." Qiao Huayang not only agreed immediately but stood up to take the twins' luggage, bending over to help. Seeing Wang Can’s messy luggage in the way, he even gave it a disdainful kick.

*A stray dog will never be a wolf, and a desperate simp will never get the girl.* Wang Can, who was still sprawled out, rolled his eyes.

"Wow, handsome, you’re not only... good-looking, but you're also such a gentleman."

"Yeah, yeah! Your posture while bending over to push the suitcases is super cool. There must be tons of girls who like you at school, right?"

The twin sisters took turns showering Qiao Huayang with compliments.

"Not really, I was pretty average in high school." Qiao Huayang instinctively lowered his head to scratch the back of his neck, his ears turning slightly red, his voice tinged with bashfulness. However, the corners of his mouth, which were harder to suppress than an AK-47, had already betrayed his inner joy.

Don't let his constant talk about "girls" fool you; whenever he actually encountered a pretty girl, those small eyes would dart around like a frightened rabbit, lacking the courage to even make eye contact.

"Ah, how could that be? You're so modest, handsome."

"That's right, you're so tall, how could there not be girls chasing you?"

The twins’ eyes went wide with feigned disbelief.

"Hehe, I’m not that tall, really." Qiao Huayang’s mouth finally gave way, a smile spreading across his lips to reveal two rows of neat, white teeth.

Watching his best friend being coaxed into a state of total gullibility, Wang Can suppressed his laughter, terrified he might burst out loud. At 1.75 meters, Qiao Huayang was definitely not considered tall in the North, especially since the twins were at least 1.67 meters tall—if they put on high heels, they would likely be on par with him. Therefore, for these sisters—who could easily qualify as campus belles—to praise him in such a coordinated fashion, they definitely had an ulterior motive.

As Wang Can expected, after praising Qiao Huayang’s height, the twins exchanged a tacit look, their lips curling slightly.

"Brother, since you're so tall, it must be easy for you to take the middle berth, right?"

"Yeah, I bet you could jump up there in two steps. I’d love to see that." The girl with slightly shorter hair pointed to the middle berth above Wang Can.

"Piece of cake." Feeling as light as a feather, Qiao Huayang immediately grabbed the ladder and, with a massive, exaggerated stride, climbed up in two steps.

"Wow! So cool!" the twins exclaimed in unison, their voices trailing off into a long, melodic tone. At that moment, Qiao Huayang, who had been an invisible background character for the first eighteen years of his life, felt an unprecedented surge of satisfaction in his chest.

The twins suddenly blushed, appearing a bit hesitant as they spoke: "Um, brother, since that's the case, could we swap spots with you?"

"Yes, we're a bit short, and since we're wearing skirts, it's very inconvenient for us to climb up and down."

Completely lost in the moment, Qiao Huayang didn't even think to refuse. "No problem at all, let's swap."

"Yay!" The sisters high-fived. "Handsome, you're such a good guy. We'll pay you the difference in the ticket price."

"Hehe, no need, it’s not much money. Call me if you need anything else."

"Um, handsome, could you move your shoes to the other side?"

"Oh, oh, sure." Qiao Huayang’s face turned bright red as he scrambled down from the middle bunk, grabbing his sweat-scented sneakers.

Wang Can couldn't hold it in anymore and let out a snort of laughter. *Are these sisters training to be preschool teachers or something?*

His laughter caught the twins' attention, but they didn't ask him to swap berths. Perhaps they were afraid that if they swapped both lower berths, others might sit down, which would be less convenient than their current situation. A single lower berth was enough space for the sisters to move around comfortably.

After the swap, the sisters began to tidy up. Girls always have a lot of trouble when traveling—disposable sheets, pillowcases, and all sorts of other miscellaneous items. Not long after, people arrived for the two empty upper berths—a dust-covered, weary-looking couple. From their conversation, it was clear they were grateful to have the upper berths, as it meant they could get a good night's sleep.

That was how the three-tier sleeper carriage worked; each berth had its own pros and cons. The upper berth was quiet and good for sleeping; the middle berth had moderate height but made it impossible to sit up straight; the lower berth was convenient, but one had to endure others sitting on it and smell the odor of shoes. Of course, most people still preferred the lower berth.

The train began to move slowly along the tracks, the wheels creating a rhythmic clacking sound against the rails. Just as Wang Can thought the berth-swapping drama had settled, a boy in black-rimmed glasses suddenly appeared. Seeing the twin sisters sitting in the lower berths, a flash of undisguised joy crossed his eyes, though he quickly masked it, feigning surprise as he spoke:

"Qi Dong, Qi Xia! What a coincidence! Are you two taking this train back to school too?"

After the greeting, his gaze swept from top to bottom behind his lenses before he walked straight up to Wang Can and waved his hand casually.

"Hey buddy, let's swap berths. I'm with them."