“Hey, Boss, you changed cars again! How come everyone else’s cars get better and better, but yours just get worse every time?”

Seeing Boss throw his luggage onto a beat-up jeep, Ryan Bennett was a bit surprised. Boss always said his car was his “main wife” these days, and even the worst car he used to drive was at least a Santana!

“Xiao Rui, watch your mouth and apologize to your Mr. Young.”

Mrs. Bennett said from behind. In her eyes, this classmate of Ryan Bennett really treated him exceptionally well. During the more than half a month that Ryan Bennett was injured, he ran around taking care of things, bringing lots of food and supplies every day—something even close relatives rarely did.

William Young’s thick, almost square face actually turned a little red. He scratched his head and said with a smile, “It’s fine, Mrs. Bennett, we brothers are just joking around. My driving skills are average, but don’t worry, I won’t hit anyone. I had to change cars because I backed the last one into a wall myself.”

Ryan Bennett laughed and opened the car door for his mother, not teasing Boss any further. “Average” was putting it mildly—he’d been driving for almost three years, and every time he reversed, he’d bump into something. His biggest problem was being directionally challenged; unless he drove the same route dozens of times, there was no way he’d remember it.

Once, William Young arranged to meet a girl for dinner at 6:30 p.m. in Huangpu District. The girl waited until 7:00, but he still hadn’t shown up. When she called, she found out he’d gotten on the overpass at 5:30, but after getting on, he didn’t know which exit to take. After twisting and turning, he ended up in Baoshan District, dozens of kilometers away. When the girl called, he was still on his way back. Needless to say, they didn’t have dinner, he ate dust all the way, and the condoms he’d bought specially stayed unused in his pocket.

As expected, it was Ryan Bennett who gave directions. They circled around for over half an hour before finally finding a soup dumpling shop on Huanghe Road in Huangpu District. The place was incredibly busy—even though it was just after 10 a.m., it was already almost full.

But the soup dumplings here really lived up to their reputation. The skins were thin but didn’t break, and when you picked one up with chopsticks, you could see the meat and broth inside wobbling. Take a careful bite, and the soup was plentiful and delicious, the meat filling firm and springy. Ryan Bennett had lived in this city for almost six years, but he’d never tasted such authentic local snacks.

After lunch, William Young drove them to the train station. It was almost one o’clock. To prepare for the Spring Festival travel rush, the station square had five or six waiting and entry areas set up under canopies. Each area had six ticket checkpoints, each with three ticket inspectors, and passengers had to arrive four hours early. Lines of passengers snaked across the square, waiting to enter.

The ticketing area was even more crowded. The huge square in front of the station was packed solid with people. Even though there were many armed police maintaining order, things were still a bit chaotic. Many people had been waiting in line here since dawn, braving the cold wind. Fruit peels and scraps of paper littered the ground everywhere.

After parking, William Young didn’t move the car but made a call right in front of it. A few minutes later, a middle-aged man in a railway uniform hurried over.

“Xiao Wei, why are you only just getting here? The train leaves in ten minutes! Hurry, follow me inside.” The man nodded to Ryan Bennett and his mother, didn’t bother with pleasantries, and turned to lead the way.

William Young stuck out his tongue and whispered to Ryan Bennett, “He’s our old neighbor. He’s doing pretty well now and is in charge of ticketing. If it were anyone else, it’d be really hard to get tickets right now.”

Compared to the chaos outside, the waiting hall inside the station was orderly. There were still long lines at the ticket gates, but the middle-aged man didn’t go through the regular checkpoint. Instead, he took them through the staff passage straight to the platform. Since it was almost departure time, most passengers heading from Zhonghai to Pengcheng were already on board, so the platform was rather empty.

“Youngest, take care of yourself and recover well when you get home. Next time you come, we’ll go see Nurse Foster again.” After seeing Ryan Bennett to the sleeper car, William Young whispered in his ear while his mother wasn’t looking.

Even though it was a warm twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees inside the sleeper car, Ryan Bennett still shivered. He hadn’t expected this guy to still be so lustful.

Chapter 0005: Double Pupils (Part One)

The train sped along, the scenery outside the window flashing by, retreating like walls racing backward. The bleakness of winter meant that everywhere Ryan Bennett looked, it was all bare and desolate.

After watching the scenery for a while, Ryan Bennett got bored and lay down to sleep. He didn’t know how long he’d slept when a loud rumbling woke him up. Looking out the window, he realized they had reached Nanjing and were crossing the Yangtze River Bridge. Ryan Bennett noticed that snow had started to fall from the sky.

In just a short while, the vast land outside turned white. Although it wasn’t cold inside the compartment, when he breathed out, a mist still appeared on the glass. Ryan Bennett instinctively shrank his neck.