The signing took an hour to finish.
When Cheng Che put down the pen, his right index and middle fingers were already a little stiff.
He shook his wrist, stood up, bowed to the crowd still in line, said "Thank you everyone," and then left through the side door of the food cart under the guidance of the staff.
Many people in the group were taking pictures of him with their phones, some shouting " Che Baby!" and others shouting "See you in Capital City!"
He turned and waved, then quickly walked through the two carriages towards the sleeper berths.
Just as I reached the connecting area between the carriages, a middle-aged staff member followed me.
He was in his forties, wearing a railway uniform, and had a somewhat serious expression on his face.
"Young man," he called out to Cheng Che, his tone slightly reproachful, "A big star like you needs to be careful when you go out. That commotion just now almost caused a riot. We're already short-staffed on this train; if there had been a stampede, who would be responsible?"
Cheng Che quickly raised his hand, his attitude very sincere. "I'm sorry, it's my fault. I'll definitely pay attention next time."
The middle-aged staff member frowned, about to say something, when a younger staff member approached.
He was still holding the autograph he had just gotten from Cheng Che, and he patted the middle-aged man on the shoulder with a smile:
" Brother Zhang, he's not a celebrity, you've misunderstood."
"Not a celebrity?" The middle-aged man was taken aback.
"Haven't you been on Douyin lately?" The young staff member turned his phone screen around, displaying Cheng Che's tourism promotional video. "This is Cheng Che, this year's top scorer in the college entrance Zhuangyuan, who got into Peking University. He made that viral tourism promotional video online recently, specifically promoting our Caiyun Province. Those young girls were all his fans."
The middle-aged staff member stared at the screen for two seconds, then looked up at Cheng Che.
"You're Cheng Che?"
Cheng Che nodded.
The middle-aged staff member's expression changed from serious to surprised, and then softened.
He looked Cheng Che up and down, his tone suddenly softening. "You should have said so earlier. Never mind, it's nothing. Are you going to study in the Capital City?"
Yes, Peking University.
" Peking University is great." The middle-aged staff member patted him on the shoulder, his tone carrying an air of unwavering conviction, as if saying, "Of all pursuits, only studying is noble." "It's not easy for our Peking University Caiyun Province to produce a student at Peking University, especially a top scorer in the college entrance Zhuangyuan. This is talent; we should nurture it well. Let bygones be bygones for what happened earlier; just be more careful next time."
Cheng Che breathed a sigh of relief and nodded quickly.
A young staff member standing nearby laughed and said, " Brother Zhang, you see, I told you it was a misunderstanding."
The middle-aged man waved his hand, said nothing more, and turned to leave.
Cheng Che watched his retreating figure and thought to himself: Sure enough, no matter where you are, being a top student is always useful.
The system gave him so many talents, but none of them mattered as much as being a " Peking University student".
Young staff members escorted him to the sleeper carriage.
As he approached the private room, he lowered his voice and said, " Cheng Che, my sister is also a fan of yours. Could you sign another one for me? The last one was for myself."
Cheng Che took the notebook from him, signed it, and took a photo with him. The young staff member left satisfied.
Cheng Che pushed open the door to the private room.
Su Qingyue stood up immediately, walked a few steps to him, and scanned him up and down with her eyes:
"Are you alright? There was such a commotion outside, we heard so many people calling your name."
Lin Xiao also came over, her expression serious. "Did anyone bump into you? I saw a lot of people in the hallway."
Cheng Che smiled and waved his hand, "It's nothing, nothing at all. My hand just got sore from signing autographs."
He sat down on the bunk as he spoke, then glared fiercely at Guo Xin.
Guo Xin was leaning against the blanket scrolling through his phone when he saw the look in his eyes, and paused in his actions.
"You brat," Cheng Che glared at him, "You took advantage of the chaos to post in the supertopic, and even posted my photos. Where's my food?"
Guo Xin obsequiously pulled out a lunchbox from the side and handed it over with both hands:
"Brother, I heated it up for you. Braised pork, your favorite."
Cheng Che took the lunchbox, opened the lid, and began to wolf down the food.
He was indeed hungry.
The consequence of spending an hour signing documents was that he didn't even have time to eat lunch.
After taking a few bites, he took out his phone to play.
I glanced at it.
Yan Ruanning has missed seven or eight phone calls already.
He put down his chopsticks and threw them back.
I answered the phone after it rang once.
" Cheng Che." Yan Ruanning's voice came through the receiver, sounding somewhat anxious, "Are you alright? I saw you were being surrounded in the supertopic."
"It's nothing. I just signed my name, and it took me an hour."
"An hour?" Yan Ruanning's voice rose a notch. "You're taking the train, why aren't you wearing a mask?"
"I forgot to wear it."
"How could you forget?" Yan Ruanning's tone became stern. "Do you know how dangerous it is when there are so many people? What if someone falls? What if there's a stampede? If something happens to you, everyone in the carriage will be affected."
Cheng Che was scolded by her, but secretly he felt... quite satisfied.
He leaned against the bunk, a slight smile playing on his lips, and said in a very obedient tone, "Yes, I was wrong. I'll be more careful next time."
Yan Ruanning spoke for a while, then her tone softened. "I'll be going back to the Capital City soon. Once you arrive and settle in, come visit me."
"Good."
After hanging up the phone, Cheng Che put it down and continued eating.
Su Qingyue sat opposite, holding a piece of green vegetable with her chopsticks, but didn't put it in her mouth for a long time.
She glanced at the phone Cheng Che had put down, her lips moved, but she said nothing.
Lin Xiao sat next to her, keenly noticing her expression, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle.
Guo Xin, without much guile, spoke directly, " Brother Che, is it Yan Ruanning again? You haven't given your cousin the autograph she wanted, have you?"
Cheng Che was taken aback.
He really forgot.
He had promised to get Xu Qian's autograph several months ago.
He scratched his head awkwardly, took out his phone, and sent another message to Yan Ruanning.
[ Cheng Che: I almost forgot, my cousin Xu Qian is your fan. Would it be convenient for you to sign an autograph for her? After you sign it, send it to Peking University, and I'll send it back.]
Yan Ruanning replied with a question mark.
[ Yan Ruanning: You want me to sign your cousin's autograph and then send it to you? Why not just give it to her directly?]
[ Cheng Che: You don't even know her, how can you give it to her?]
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
[ Yan Ruanning: What was her name again?]
[ Cheng Che: Xu Qian.]
[ Yan Ruanning: Oh, Xu Qian. Is she still in school?]
Cheng Che: Yes, second year of junior high.
[ Yan Ruanning: Which school?]
Cheng Che was taken aback.
He didn't know Xu Qian's school. But his cousin had added him on WeChat before, and posted photos of herself in her school uniform on her Moments; the uniform had the school's name on it.
He scrolled through the chat history and found it.
Cheng Che: Junior High School Spring City No. 10 Middle School.
Yan Ruanning sent an "OK" emoji.
Then, she put down her phone.
A few minutes later, Yan Ruanning came out of the room, having changed her clothes and put on a hat and mask.
Yan Ping was sitting in the living room watching TV when she heard the noise. She looked up and asked, "Are you going out?"
"Yeah, meeting a friend."
"What friend?"
"You don't recognize me." Yan Ruanning pulled her mask up, opened the door, and walked out.
Yan Ping looked at the closed door, shook her head, and muttered, "That girl, so secretive."