They went back to Shanquan's house by subway through this station. From the station near the house, Shanquan could also take the train to this station, but the process was much more exhausting. There were two reasons. The first reason was that Shanquan had to change lanes three times. The second was, the route was longer because the train had to make a detour. So yesterday afternoon, Shanquan chose to take another train line and get off at the station two kilometers away from the Dafeisi building to save time. Shanquan's experience of visiting Dafeisi Tower many times had made him realize that the travel time for trains on the line was much longer than the travel time for trains on the line that stops at the station, which was two kilometers from the building. This may be because the duration of the stop at each station that the train passes was slightly longer.
On the way, they didn't talk much. The girl's face was bright. Shanquan felt that this girl was not in any fear. She seemed to enjoy every second that happened on the trip. The train was not too full because it was past rush hour, when workers go to work and when students go to school. Just before noon, the train would be full again.
Shanquan knew for a fact that later when they had to change trains, the number of passengers began to grow rapidly. When entering midday, the train would be crowded with passengers. Although the number of passengers would not be as much as the number of passengers in the morning or evening when the mobility of the population in this city was very high.
Finally, they arrived at the subway station near Shanquan's house almost four hours later. Even though Shanquan wasn't starving yet, it was already lunchtime. He happily took Yingyue to the food stall at the station for lunch before continuing on to Shanquan's house. Shanquan was worried that there was no food at home because, most likely, everyone was away. As scheduled, everyone should be busy looking for a new home or moving things to the small warehouse at the station by now.
This time, they didn't eat as much as before because they weren't starving yet. Shanquan chose to eat his favorite food, namely lamb noodles, while the girl ate seafood fried rice. While enjoying their meal, they chatted again.
"The fried rice is delicious," said the girl. Her face brightened again. It seemed, like Shanquan, she was a foodie.
"Right. Next time you should try this lamb noodle too," said Shanquan.
The girl laughed. "It's a huge city. I think there's a lot of food I should try."
Brilliant idea! Anytime, I'll always be ready to take you around the city!
Shanquan and the girl laughed together. But their joy was interrupted by a loud, disturbing sound.
"Anyway, now you have to eat!" There was a deafening scream.
Shanquan and the girl turned their heads towards a few tables beside theirs. Not many people were there. The table to the right of their table was empty. But two people were sitting at a table to the left of that table. They were a mother, and a little girl whom Shanquan assumed was his daughter. The mother's voice was so loud it could be heard clearly from where Shanquan was sitting. From the conversation they later overheard right after, Shanquan knew that the mother was nagging her daughter because she was unwilling to eat. Apparently, the daughter ate too much candy every day, so she lost her appetite.
The girl who was with Shanquan watched them. The expression on her face was not easy for Shanquan to describe.
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Suddenly, the girl said something completely random. "Last night, I had a very strange dream!"
Incidentally, last night, while trapped in the elevator, Shanquan also had a strange dream. He dreamed of meeting the girl who was currently sitting in front of him. Shanquan had no recollection of the dream until the girl's words brought him back to mind.
"I dreamed of selling candies in the middle of a field close to a meadow."
The girl's words shocked Shanquan. It was exactly what Shanquan was thinking. In Shanquan's dream, the girl also sold candies.
The girl continued her story. "Perhaps my subconscious remembers that I used to sell candy, so it got carried away in a dream."
Shanquan was curious. "Have you ever sold candy before? I mean, when you were little."
The girl nodded. "Once. Actually, it's just for fun. There used to be a candy shop near where I lived. I often play there. The candy shop owner really liked me because he thought I looked like his daughter when she was my age. He gave me a lot of candy. Sometimes he just put it in my school bag. Because I was too lazy to unpack my bag when I came home, the candies were usually still inside the bag when I went to school the next morning. When my friends saw me, they asked me for candy. I saw an opportunity to earn some extra money, so I sold the candies to those people. Of course, at half the normal price. That's why, after that, my friends called me Candy Shop."
This girl's story sounds fascinating. Apparently, she's had a business spirit since childhood.
Shanquan nodded at that.
"I realized it turned out that little children really like candy. So when I move to another place to follow the family who takes a turn to take care of me, sometimes I also sell candies. But it's been years since I stopped selling candy."
"What do you think if I call you 'Sheautyan'?
The girl looked at Shanquan. "Sheautyan? You mean 'Tyan,' which means sweet?"
"Yes! 'Tyan,' which means sweet," replied Shanquan.
The girl seemed to think for a moment. Then she smiled. "It's okay if you want to call me 'Sheautyan.'"
Shanquan was happy because it meant he had taken another step forward. After a moment of silence, Shanquan suddenly asked. "Have you ever eaten horse meat?" In his dream last night, the girl cooked horse meat. Then he served the horse meat dish to Shanquan, who immediately ate it voraciously.
The girl's expression changed after hearing Shanquan's question. Instantly Shanquan regretted asking such a ridiculous question.
"I ate once!"
The girl's short answer was completely beyond Shanquan's expectations.
"At that time, there was a relative of mine who liked to eat food that was not commonly eaten. One of them is horse meat. Actually, horse meat is not uncommon to eat because, as far as I know, people who live in some areas in the north usually eat horse meat. It's just not unusual for those of us who live around the equator."
The girl stopped talking when she saw the girl sitting at the next table acting up again. The little girl, who had been scolded by her mother, suddenly threw her bag on the floor. Indeed, this action made the mother even angrier. After picking up the bag, the mother immediately dragged the child and left the place where they were eating. The girl looked at the mother and daughter until they were out of sight. Shanquan got the impression that she was jealous of the child who still had the mother. But she said nothing about what they had just witnessed.
The girl looked back at Shanquan. She continued her words. "It's weird! Last night I also dreamed of cooking horse meat!"
Shanquan almost jumped from the chair he was sitting in. It seemed that their dreams were connected. If it turned out that Shanquan also appears in the girl's dream, it meant they were dreaming the same thing. It really was a magical thing. But Shanquan had to harbor his curiosity because the girl said nothing more about her dream after that. Shanquan didn't want to push her to tell the story, either. He only hoped that one day the girl would be willing to tell him more about it. That was if she still remembered the dream.
After they finished eating, they speedily rose to the surface. Shanquan noticed the girl kept looking left and right all the way home. The hot weather didn't seem to make her feel uncomfortable. Before they got home, Shanquan had already told her not to say anything when he got home. Let him explain to his friends first before the girl told them anything. After walking for a while, they finally arrived at Shanquan's house.