Chapter 369 - 381: Arrival
The man who tried to bully An Ning, only to get outplayed, was taken away by the railway police for a very stern lesson.
At first, the man stubbornly insisted that An Ning had framed him, but the railway police had only one response: "She’s a blind girl."
No matter how the man tried to explain that An Ning was the one who had beaten him up, the railway police stuck to their one line: she was a helpless, blind girl.
The man finally understood what it felt like to be unable to argue his case.
He was a habitual offender. He often had lecherous thoughts, but he wasn’t brave enough for any real action. Still, he’d certainly taken advantage of plenty of people in small ways.
Often, when he was caught or a girl reported him, he would just turn it around and claim the girl had seduced him.
He had a decent job and looked perfectly respectable, so most people chose to believe him.
This time, however, his usual trick didn’t work, because the other party was a "blind girl" who appeared even more pitiful than him.
Most importantly, An Ning hadn’t accused him of sexual harassment, but of theft.
Unsurprisingly, the man was taken into criminal custody for the "theft" on the train. Upon receiving the notice, his employer promptly fired him.
Countless girls must have secretly celebrated. The man had finally gotten the retribution he deserved.
An Ning, the one who had orchestrated all of this, returned to her seat feigning shock.
Lin Cuihua glanced at her worriedly a few times. While pouring An Ning a glass of water, she whispered, "Nobody died, right?"
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH—"
An Ning choked on her water. She looked at Lin Cuihua, thinking, ’Seriously, Mom? What do you take me for?’
Lin Cuihua met An Ning’s gaze directly, her look saying one thing: A living King Yan.
Both mother and daughter struggled to keep a straight face.
"Here, drink some water. Settle your nerves."
An Ning nodded, took the cup, and lowered her head to sip, trying hard to stifle her laughter.
Lin Cuihua made an excuse to go to the restroom, where she burst out laughing. The anxiety that had been churning inside her for so long, that feeling of imbalance, seemed to ease with every such release.
The mother and daughter rode the train all the way from the provincial capital to Jin City.
The train they were on was one of the faster ones of that era, so animals were not allowed.
In fact, many of the older "green-skinned" trains did allow them.
As the train pulled into the station, the "blind" An Ning was led forward by Xiao Lang, her cane tapping the ground. Many people saw how nimbly she followed him, never taking a wrong step.
"That dog is amazing."
"Is it just me, or does that dog look strange? Its tail..."
An Ning gave the leash in her hand a firm tug, and Xiao Lang’s tail shot up and began to wag back and forth, just like a dog’s.
"What about its tail?"
"Huh? I must have been seeing things."
The nimble tail left several people wondering, but by then, An Ning and Lin Cuihua had already exited the train station and rendezvoused in a secluded spot.
"Success!"
"Let’s go."
"As you command."
An Ning said playfully, leading Lin Cuihua onto a public bus. Fortunately, the buses back then didn’t really have any rules against bringing pets aboard.
The pair got off at the Jin City Auto Factory bus stop and headed straight for the factory itself.
Lin Cuihua nervously tugged at her clothes, then bent down to brush the dust off her cloth shoes.
"Should I change into those leather shoes you bought me? Are these cloth ones no good?"
It wasn’t that Lin Cuihua was ashamed of her own things; she was just afraid of embarrassing her daughter.
"Mom, these shoes are gorgeous as they are. If they were any prettier, I’d be afraid someone on the street would see them and try to snatch them."
"Oh, you... I’m not talking to you anymore."
Like a pouting child, Lin Cuihua turned and walked on ahead, ignoring the ever-joking An Ning.
’Still, the shoes on her feet really were quite pretty.’
It had taken Lin Cuihua a long time studying under her eldest paternal aunt to learn this embroidery skill. Though her work wasn’t as good as her aunt’s, it looked truly beautiful on a pair of shoes.
Lost in thought, Lin Cuihua wasn’t paying much attention to the path ahead.
"Hey! My new shoes!"
A girl’s high-pitched voice cried out. An Ning, who had been letting Xiao Lang relieve himself, heard it and immediately ran over, scooping the wolf up in her arms.
As she ran, she casually jostled Xiao Lang’s body, making one of his paws cover his eyes as if in embarrassment.
"I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you."
Lin Cuihua apologized. The girl across from her looked unhappy and impatient, but she didn’t make things too difficult for her.
"Just my luck."
The girl started to walk around Lin Cuihua, only to come face-to-face with An Ning, who had just rushed over.
"It’s you."
"Huh? You’re... I remember you. The girl from the train."
The girl whose shoe had been stepped on recognized An Ning.
An Ning nodded, glanced at the girl’s shoe, then took out her handkerchief, wet it with a little water from her flask, and knelt down.
"Don’t worry about it, I’ll do it myself."
The girl stepped back, took the handkerchief from An Ning’s hand, and dabbed at her shoe a few times.
"I’m so sorry about that," An Ning said.
An Ning apologized again, as did Lin Cuihua beside her.
The girl stood up from wiping her shoe and handed the handkerchief back to An Ning. "It’s fine. My attitude wasn’t great just now, either."
An Ning took back the handkerchief. The girl gave her a slight nod and walked past.
Once the girl was some distance away, Lin Cuihua finally asked, "You know her?"
"Not really. I saw her on the train, so I vaguely recognize her. She looks a bit different now, though."
"Huh?"
"It’s nothing. Let’s go."
An Ning didn’t dwell on it. Life was full of fleeting encounters; she couldn’t possibly know everyone’s story.
An Ning led Lin Cuihua to the gate of the auto factory, where the same old man was on duty. He recognized An Ning immediately.
"You’re here so soon! Our director just held a meeting with me a couple of days ago. He was worried I’d accidentally turn you away at the gate."
"How could I ever do that? I told the director I have your picture enshrined at my house! I look at it every day, so there’s no chance I’d mistake you."
The chatty old man helped Lin Cuihua relax. An Ning, for her part, wasn’t too bothered by the idea of being "enshrined."
’Enshrine away, I guess.’
The old man led the two of them to the director’s office. The moment Assistant Wang saw An Ning, he dropped everything he was doing and gave her his utmost attention.
"Ms. An Ning, you’re here! Please let me know next time so I can come and pick you up."
"You’re too kind. This is my mother; she’ll be staying with me during my time here. Will there be any issues with accommodations?"
"None at all, absolutely not! We’re honored to have you."
Assistant Wang then gave Lin Cuihua a deep, formal bow, which made her very uncomfortable.
"Mom, why don’t you wait here for a bit? I’m just going inside to talk for a moment. I’ll be right out."
"Alright, go on."
The incredibly enthusiastic Assistant Wang had Lin Cuihua sit down and served her tea, along with some snacks and fruit he had scrounged up from somewhere.
An Ning nodded to Director Hu, who had come out of his office upon hearing the voices. Her posture took on a certain cold aloofness as she followed him inside.
Inside the office, An Ning was back in her element.
"Compile a report on the technology you need and the problems you’ve encountered. I’m going to take my mother to get settled first, and then I’ll start working on a solution."
"Here you go. It’s all ready."