Once the train left Jin City's borders, the view beyond the window changed from drab gray suburbs to vast stretches of farmland.
Plump ears of corn stood on their stalks, and now and then, a few farmers could be seen bent over at work in the fields.
Leaning against the train window, Chen Mo watched those farmhands resting on the ridges between fields and drinking water, and felt that the world wasn't so bad after all.
At least the crops in the fields were still growing, and people were still alive.
"What are you looking at?" Li Jinrong leaned over from across the table and followed his gaze. "What's so interesting about crops?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"How wouldn't I understand? Isn't that just corn? I saw you gnaw through four of them last time. You ate like a squirrel, cheeks puffed all round."
Chen Mo's face darkened. "If you can talk, then talk more."
Li Jinrong choked on that, opening his mouth before closing it again.
He always felt there was something more to Chen Mo's words, yet he couldn't figure out what. In the end, he stopped thinking about it and pulled out that deck of playing cards from his pocket, shuffling them with a rustle.
"Come on, come on, let's play cards. We've got nothing better to do anyway."
Shen Yunjin looked up from her book and glanced at Chen Mo, seeming to wait for him to object.
But Chen Mo said nothing this time. He merely picked up the cards from the table and clumsily shuffled them as Li Jinrong had.
Li Jinrong eyed his awkward technique suspiciously. "You really don't know how?"
"I really don't."
"Not knowing is good. Very good."
Li Jinrong gave a chuckle, explained the rules to him, and began dealing.
"Let's play